the journey thus far

:: board meetings in Ontario... these men are awesome! ::

:: before we left Ontario we stopped by to watch the fundraiser hockey tournament for Gospel Express Canada ::

:: Josh & Steph and Shakirah surprised me (Tania) for my birthday :) ::

:: we tend to think "home sweet home" when our bus rolls into a Walmart parking lot ::

:: recording our new cd back in February already and is now released :) ::

After my parts were recorded I flew to Colorado to attend Ellerslie Discipleship Training so the rest of the family kept on touring and finishing up the recording :)

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:: as many of you probably know, Clifford (my cousin) traveled with us on our last tour ::

:: Lonita never ceases to amaze me... no matter where we go she always finds friends ::

:: and she is still praying for a "bus" dog ::

:: after a morning service one day, someone allowed us to use their van to go to their home for lunch... everyone got their own seat! ::

:: once back at home we witnessed gorgeous northern lights! ::

:: being home during March for the first time in 5 years resulted in thorough spring cleaning and painting of rooms ::

:: painting away ::

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:: Lonita celebrated her 11th birthday at home ::

:: happy/friends/party/cake ::

:: if we are home at the appropriate time, Tyrell and Lonita enjoy taking part of the home school project night ::

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:: enjoying the Manitoba snow one last time before leaving on tour again ::

:: following will be several pictures of my time at Ellerslie! I was so blessed to be there the same time as Josh and Steph and the darling niece ::

:: beautiful sunrise ::

:: Friday night family group ::

:: Cold Stone outing with Alana, Shakirah, and Steph ::

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:: one Saturday we all went to Estes Park to go hiking ::

:: such beauty ::

:: that evening we heard Brother Yun (the Heavenly Man) speak... such a blessing! ::

:: His Little Feet kiddos in concert ::

:: another Saturday we went to Eric & Leslie Ludy's home for the afternoon... sweet fellowship and good encouragement ::

:: hearing this man speak truth with such passion was very rich! ::

It's hardly possible to give you a true picture of what was experienced in those 9 weeks since so much has happened in the heart that cannot be captured in photos... there was the persecuted church night, the set-apart girl/warrior poet weekend, the Stanland bbq, musicians fellowship, the step-up 5K, the Seder meal, and possibly one of the most impactful nights of them all, the intercessor's.

A week and a half ago i officially graduated from Ellerslie Discipleship Training and joined the family again in Ohio... the tour has been wonderful thus far and have seen the Lord in mighty ways in our lives and in each venue. 

:: after the Light of Hope prison crusade orientation we went out for supper with a whole bunch of friends... it's wonderful to have such close friends in ministry like this! dearest Glicks, how we love spending time with you all! ::

:: this was the team that went into prison with us every day. the testimonies of the men that we ministered to were amazing- one thing that always makes me especially thankful is when the songs we sing and the message that is preached reaches the guards. ::

this weekend we are thrilled to be part of the Annual Benefit Auction here in PA. Tomorrow night is the cattle auction, Friday there will be a delicious pig roast, auction, and singspiration. Saturday is a full day including a delicious breakfast accompanied with some hearty "pickin' and singin'" all day auction, and in the evening another singspiration! if you have the chance, please come - we would love to see you! 

Winter tour 2014

It seems to me that we have been slacking in this "blogging" world, so here is a post that contains quite a few photos and some happenings of along the way.

we started the tour two days after our last widow's banquet in Manitoba and headed to our first stop which was Wisconsin. We were all really excited to see Josh & Steph, and the darling Shakirah again and spend some time at their home. Celebrating an early Christmas, baking some delicious treats, black-Friday shopping, and making precious memories was just a few of the things we got to do together. Our family had the honor of being a part of the Gospel Express 30th Anniversary Celebration in PA (where the ministry started), and it was lovely to meet so many others, (former singing teams, board members, and office staff) that have served with Gospel Express over the years. I (Tania) felt like a serious fan-girl meeting my heroes. I grew up listening to them sing. I would dream of someday meeting them and travelling the country like they did. What can i say? We serve an amazing God!

:: the Miller guys and Sean did a hilarious skit of some of our dear office staff ::

:: worship::

:: Ryan and Jeffrey teaching some music classes :) ::

:: my highlight of the weekend was hearing the Coblentz family the way they were way back when they started. such a blessing! ::

:: the former "New Heart" team sang some favourites ::

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:: the following evening our family sang at a church in Millwood, PA, but this time we had the blessing of Steph and Josh being there, and this little girl was rather distracting at times :) such a dear! ::

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:: they're precious ::

:: she thought watching other toddlers would be fun ::

:: the apple skit ::

:: In Everything Give Thanks ::

:: the day before the widow's banquet in PA we hauled in an entire flower shop :) there were many gifts to be made ::

:: <3 ::

:: floral arrangements in tea cups was the choice of gift for the widows ::

 :: some uncle/niece time ::

:: unloading at the church ::

:: ironing table clothes ::

:: happy helpers ::

:: getting it all ready ::

:: they're finally here ::

:: greeters at the door ::

:: they are such sweet ladies ::

:: Days of Elijah ::

:: playing "I Sing the Canon" ::

 :: family song in closure ::

:: while the snow blanketed the fields in white, we made holiday treats and told stories. (not quite sure what's going on here :) ::

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:: we celebrated the American Thanksgiving and Christmas the same day ::

:: the excitement builds ::

:: we have the best cooks in our family! ::

:: in the midst of all that we still needed to get some songs in for our new album (in the making) ::

:: matching aprons and happy faces just make the food that much better :) ::

This past Monday we were at Crossroads studio watching the musicians do their thing and we are looking forward to hearing the finished product with vocals and all coming out, hopefully, beginning of April.

we spent one day at the office and then made our way to Florida for the prison crusade orientation on Wednesday. Please pray for everyone involved in the crusade... volunteers, singing teams, evangelists, chaplains, security, and the inmates. The message that was brought yesterday was about preparing our hearts for the work of Christ; that we would not be a hindrance to the anointing of the Holy Spirit. that's our prayer!