Summer Travels and Fall Labors

Warm greetings from our family in Toronto! Our summer this year has been a productive time of “getting things done” outside of the rigidity of the school term, and I’m eager to give you all a little window into how things have been going throughout this season of study, ministry, travel, and rest.

As our last missionary update suggested, we were expecting life to get a bit hectic over these last few months: and this has been even more true than anticipated! Mary Beth and our three children headed south in mid-June, to spend a significant chunk of time with grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. With the help of my parents in Indiana and hers in Georgia, they arrived at the latter’s home in the Smoky Mountains safe and sound, where I also joined them a few days later. Although I was only able to spend a week with them, it was a rejuvenating time of relaxing in a beautiful part of the world with people that we love.

While I had to continue my journey en route to Europe, the rest of our family was able to continue spending ongoing quality time with an extended family that had come from places as far away as California. During that month in Georgia, Lily learned to walk, Austin and James re-learned how to go creek-ing, and despite the very full house everyone had a fantastic time with each other in ways that – given our family’s missionary calling – we don’t usually get to have.

While all this was happening, I had made my way to Europe for nearly three weeks. I first visited fellow SAMS-USA missionaries who are serving in the Netherlands, around a half hour north of Amsterdam. Despite the jet lag, I was incredibly blessed to spend an amazing time with Louise and Johann van der Bijl, who in addition to his ministry as an author with Langham Publishing is pastoring an Anglican congregation in Heiloo. I then took the train to Germany, where I spent two weeks in Wittenberg studying Reformation-era paleography: that is, the kinds of cursive and other scripts that were used by Latin-, German- and English-writers in the sixteenth century. Honestly, it was much harder than I expected, but also much more important for my specialization than I had previously realized.

In addition to reading letters written by Martin Luther, Thomas Cranmer, or Queen Elizabeth I in their own hand, I was also fortunate to rub shoulders and learn from some of the top scholars in Reformation scholarship: people like Robert Kolb, Ashley Null, Andreas Stegmann or Dorothea Wendebourg (my encounter with whom was – alas! – all too brief). As our small cohort of graduate students travelled around east Germany, visiting manuscript archives and encountering other historical artifacts, we also formed bonds with one another that, moving forward, will continue in the years ahead. I am deeply grateful to the Wittenberg Center for Reformation Studies for accepting me into the program, and for covering the travel, living, and studying expenses necessary to make it happen!

By the middle of July, both my family and I found ourselves back in Toronto: exhausted, but happy to have made our ways through the world as we did. Less than two weeks after returning, we borrowed a vehicle, packed everyone up and headed to Camp Koinonia, where I served as the speaker and pastor for Family Camp, Week 2. In addition to guiding worship at the beginning and end of the week, each day I led the adults in discussions that centered on allowing the Lord’s Prayer,  combined with excerpts from the Gospel according to John, to inform our understanding of prayer in general. Due to the insightful collaboration of the many campers who joined with us, these discussions were challenging and fruitful, and I myself will be ruminating on our sessions together for months to come. In the meantime, Mary Beth and I enjoyed watching all three of our children flourish in the wild: making crafts, swimming in the lake, going on hikes, jumping on the trampoline, and making friends with a good half dozen other kids around the same age. As usual, when we reached the end of the week at camp, they did not want to go back to the city!

One thing however that we brought back from camp has been colds: since early August, it has been one cold or flu after the other, both for the kids, as well as for me and Mary Beth. While I have been getting back into the swing of reading and writing for school, as well as preparing to TA for Wycliffe’s class on preaching, illness has put something of a crimp in my productivity. Please pray that both I and the rest of the family are able to get back on both feet soon!

In this regard, let me give you an update on how things are going with writing my dissertation. In June I turned in a chapter of my thesis (treating Richard Hooker’s understanding of participation in Christ and the sacraments) that was favorably received by my doctoral supervisor, and I’m now onto the next chapter (on Hooker’s ecclesiology and political theology), a part of which I am scheduled to present next month at a conference in Baltimore. My hope is to get this next chapter, and hopefully another finished by the end of the calendar year. Doing so will take a considerable effort, but the result will be that the bulk of my argumentation will be completed, setting me up (potentially) to submit my thesis for defense some time in 2024.

At the same time that I am chipping away at my academic research, we have also been steadily following up on leads for future mission placements. So far, we have had serious conversations with representatives of three theological institutions – on multiple continents! – that are accepting missionaries to teach, and we are prayerfully continuing in dialogue with them and others that have begun entering our field of vision. It is still far too early to tell where the Lord will be sending us, but we are even now beginning to get excited by the sense that he has a place and a set of ministries for us beyond the horizon of our life studying and serving in Toronto. And we can’t wait to tell you more, even as we find out more ourselves. Stay tuned!

Along these lines, I am aware of how difficult it is to continue supporting missionaries who are back in North America on Educational Ministry Assignment, especially given the financial pressures that so many are finding themselves under. I want to thank you for your prayers and for your gifts, and for continuing to partner with us long-term in this ministry to which the Lord has called us. Indeed, as monthly giving from supporters to our ministry continues to drop, and we would ask you prayerfully to consider giving to our family’s ministry – in Canada, and wherever God next calls us to go. 

To sum all this up with our requests, please pray especially for:

  • Bodily health and financial provision

  • Fruitful study and writing

  • Effective ministry in Toronto

  • Good routines with the children

  • Discernment for next steps as missionaries

On this Labor Day, our family wishes you and yours a wonderful beginning to the Fall months, and we do ask you to keep us and our needs in your prayers. We look forward to sharing more about our life – and more about my progress in writing – in these months ahead!

Busy Summer

Hi everyone! The weather is finally shifting here in the “frigid north,” and we are quickly taking advantage of every sunny day by finding our way outside and soaking up the warmth (“warmth” definitely has developed a new meaning in the past two years … hehe). One of the kids’ favorite movies follows a mama bear and her babies during their first year of life in Alaska. The movie starts with the bears finally emerging from hibernation and they can’t help but immediately start running, tripping over their feet in haste. I’m not saying my kids are the grizzly cubs, but as we run out of the house, tripping and yelling, they do quickly call to mind the little bears finally emerging from their cave (and the mama bear might even outrun them from time to time). David on the other hand is hard at work writing his thesis (moving from one basement study room to another). Occasionally we coax him outside with picnic lunches – but then he’s back to work again. I’ve got to say, I’m constantly impressed by his ability to work and still find time throughout the day to spend time with the rest of us (even if that means working until 11pm after the kids are in bed).

Spring term has officially ended here at Wycliffe, and David and I had the privilege of playing music for the Convocation Chapel service. This had the double benefit of letting us see friends who had returned for convocation from far away, but it was also nice to get a preview of what it will look like for David when he graduates. The end of term has also meant that we no longer have daily chapel services: it’s a wonderful way to start and end our days, but this does mean we can look forward to the Fall term with the boys’ slow but sure transformation into honorary sacristans. At the end of every service they are quick to help with candles, lights, and battery packs for the mics. We’ll see if we can get them fully trained before we leave!

As for me, I’m still working as the organist at a cross-city church on Sunday mornings, and I love it! While it is nice to be an accompanist every week again (I did miss it), it’s the people that make me excited to go to this church each week. The boys spend the morning with David for some Daddy-Son time, while I take Lily with me. This church is solidly community based, with many people walking to church each morning. Honestly, it reminds me of St. Hilda’s  in Belize: a small, tightly knit group of people working together to worship God and reach out to their community. In the afternoons we all still attend our main church’s meeting here at Wycliffe, Christ the King. David still serves in an honorary (unpaid) capacity on the pastoral team, and I’ve taken taken over the position as music director, a job which mostly involves scheduling musicians and planning music. My vision is to grow the music team from a handful of soloists alternating each Sunday to a team of musicians (multiple singers and multiple instrumentalists) leading the congregation in worship. I loved being on the worship team in church growing up, but I also never wanted to have any solos. Having more people up front encourages more people to be up front; and that has already started to be true! The music team has more than doubled in the past two weeks, with many people saying they would join as long as they never had to solo. While I’m still adjusting to “managing” people (I’m not the most organized person), it is wonderful seeing how God is building up the music ministry in our church.

Heading into summer means we’re getting close some travel time. David’s parents visited us last month, and we’re heading down to Georgia to see my parents before David leaves for Europe for a short course on Reformation-era paleography. We are so excited to see family! I’m actually going to get to see both sets of siblings during our visit: they’ll both be driving to Georgia. We rarely get to see one another – I haven’t seen my brother and his family in 3 years – so this trip is going to be pretty special. It’s also nice to know we’re going to get out of the city for a little bit. While I love where we live here at Wycliffe, without a car we are always surrounded by buildings and cars. Even with the difficulty of driving for two days with three young kids in the car, it will be nice just to get to see some country.

When we get home we will officially be gearing up to start homeschooling Austin (and to a degree James). I’m actually pretty excited to start more intentional while teaching our kids. They are always asking us to read them books (we check out about thirty books at a time from the library), and they are constantly wanting to learn more. Having been homeschooled myself (and loving it!) I’m excited along with David to build the kids’ curriculum – with God at the center. Sometimes I feel like our active ministry is on pause while David is studying. Yes, we are preparing for next steps – where on the mission field God will call us – and yes we are very involved in our church: but it still looks far different from when we served in Belize.

But then, I look at my kids. God has blessed us with three beautiful children who are learning everyday who He is. We are living in a theological school, we’re attending chapel everyday and Bible studies every week, and we are surrounded by a community of believers who love our kids. This is a season when we can live in one place and spend a lot of time discipling our kids. I’ve got to tell you: it is really fun to see little kids learn about Jesus. David is systematically going through the Bible with kids at bedtime. Sometimes the kids fall asleep during the story, but usually they are fully engaged. There was one night that James interrupted David just to say, “God is Lord! Jesus is God! Jesus is big and strong as Pooh Bear!” And lately the boys have been spending much of their bedtime prayers asking God to heal their scabs from when they fall down. It was really cute to hear them go on and on asking God to heal them, and then wonder why He’s not – since the scab was still there the next day – to then be told that God is healing them because there is a scab – at which point they get really excited and thankful! I love seeing how they are coming to know and relate to God. While having three kids so close together can definitely have its challenges, I’m incredibly thankful for the family God has given us!

As I wrap up, I’d like to ask that you pray for a few things.

Please pray for David as he continues to write his dissertation.

  • Please pray for wisdom in what to write and clarity to do it efficiently.

Please pray for us as we travel this Summer.

  • Please pray for safety and that it will be a refreshing time away from the city.

Please pray for wisdom as we begin the process of homeschooling.

  • Please pray that we will raise up our children in the way they should go.

  • Please pray that we make the best decisions regarding curriculum and how best to engage with each child individually.

Please pray for wisdom and discernment as we continue to look into where God is calling us to serve next.

  • Please pray that as we get closer to the school finish line, clarity will be given in which direction to pursue next.

Please continue to pray for more financial support. Living in Toronto as a family of five (5!) is increasingly harder to do financially.

  • Please pray that we will receive more financial partners as we continue in our Home Educational Assignment.

  • We continue to praise God that we keep getting offered odd jobs around Wycliffe and church to help supplement our financial needs!

Thank you all for your continued prayers and financial support of our family! And thank you for keeping up with what God is doing here with us in Toronto. As always, we’d love to talk to you more individually if you would like to here more. Please feel free to email us to set up a time for a call!

Blessings,

The Alenskis Family

Growing Together

We’re on the cusp of spring here in Toronto, and before the snow disappears and the buds turn into flowers, I want to take a moment and update all of you on how our family is doing, what we’re doing, and what our hopes are for this year that is already passing us by so quickly!

So, as to how we are doing, things are going well, despite the frigid weather, flu and colds, and everything that the winter winds have brought. I say “frigid weather,” but it’s actually been uncharacteristically warm, a fact which by itself has made a big difference for us compared to last year. Not only this, but whereas the “Omicron” wave that hit last winter led to the closure of nearly every child-friendly establishment – restaurants, museums, community centres … even our church, for a bit – this time around, we have been able to take fuller advantage of the opportunities to get the kids out of the confines of the college and explore. We are especially frequent visitors to the Royal Ontario Museum and to an EarlyON programme, as well local libraries and malls, a taste of which the kids’ grandparents ended up getting when they visited us during the Christmas and New Year holidays. We are of course still feeling a little cooped up and squirrelly, the boys more than any of us, although they have become quite mobile as they zip around the city on their red and blue scooters, and that can sometimes get the wiggles out of them. But spring will be a very welcome arrival for our family, and we look forward to getting out and about much more.

The winter has not affected our daughter Lily that much, as she’s still been somewhat confined to laps, floors, and the occasional stroller. But these constraints won’t hold her back much longer: as she nears her first birthday she has been bracing herself on objects (and people) to stand up, cruise around furniture, and ascend a staircase step or two, and it won’t be long before she is walking around like a big girl. Even before having mastered bipedal motion, her strong personality is coming out: she will not be bullied by her brothers or neglected by her parents – she is here and she will be attended! I say this somewhat in gest, since at the same time her strong will is also balanced out by the fact that she is still the chillest baby that I’ve ever run across: she is ordinarily quite happy to play by herself, to be passed back and forth between adults, or simply to sit calmly with us as we go about our business. She’s a happy, squeaky, hilarious joy, and we are so blessed to have her in the mix. Please pray for Lily and her brothers as they continue to grow up into the mature persons that God intends them to be.

Mary Beth is doing well and starting to keep very busy. She is now not only playing the organ for the Sunday morning service at a church on the other side of Toronto, but she has accepted a position on the Church Council for the small Anglican mission we have been attending as a family (and where she also accompanies worship about once a month). In addition to attending a small Bible study on Friday for spouses of Wycliffe students, she was also invited to participate in another, much larger Bible study at a nearby church. What’s more, Mary Beth is looking into taking organ lessons for the remainder of our time here in Toronto – after all, we’re living at a college that has its own organ available for practicing: now would be the time to take advantage of it! Please pray for Mary Beth as she continues to nurture her passions and talents and service in tangible ministries here in Toronto.

Alongside all of this, as Austin approaches preschool age Mary Beth and I have begun thinking through how we’re going to handle schooling for the boys. While we have nothing at all against traditional schools, we also recognize that, as missionaries with feet in multiple cultures, there is a high likelihood that we will be homeschooling our children when we return to the mission field. Mary Beth is excited to lead the charge here – she and her siblings were homeschooled through high school – and together we are trying first to work out our family’s philosophy of education and then to adopt and adapt a curriculum that will work for our needs. Please pray for Mary Beth and me as we make these momentous decisions regarding our children’s education. (Suggestions in this regard are welcome, although we’re also aware that opinions – and judgments – tend to be strong, so please be kind!) Even so, both Austin and James are counting, identifying letters, making up songs, and learning the days of the week, the colors of the rainbow, and more things than I can keep track of. All three are such very intelligent people, and I am already so proud of them.

For me on the academic side, I have been plugging away constantly at my dissertation (what they here call a thesis): working hard, but not as quickly as I might have hoped. I am still following the research plan that I proposed to my committee back in October, but as usual new things come to light and I have to see where they lead! For example, in the chapter I am currently working on, my study of Richard Hooker’s understanding of human participation in the life of God has led me not only to compare his work with that of the Lutheran theologian Martin Chemnitz (something I was expecting) but also with the writings of the Strasburg reformer Martin Bucer (definitely a big surprise to me!). I am happy with where the Lord is leading my research, although I wish it were leading me to write more quickly. I am still hoping (perhaps “wishing” would be a better word) to submit my dissertation by the end of the year, but I’m content with whatever plan God has in store for this project. Please pray for God’s grace for me as I write my dissertation.

In the meantime, the Lord in his good providence has given me other small projects to clear my head when I need a break. I was able to write a review of Brian Douglas’s new book, Sacramental Poetics in Richard Hooker and George Herbert, a review that I hope to be published sometime this year. I continue accompanying Wycliffe weekday Morning Prayer services on piano and weekly Eucharist services on guitar, as well as leading Evensong here about once a month. I’ve also continued assisting the Anglican mission our family is attending by attending weekly pastoral meetings and occasionally leading services, teaching, and preaching (most recently on Ash Wednesday). I’ve even become the resident church baker of (gluten-free) communion bread, a kind of regular pattern of preparation that is (in its own way) a kind of askēsis. Please pray for my ongoing priestly ministry, even though it is part-time and unpaid.

These rhythms of life, mine and those of my family’s, are set to continue here for the foreseeable future, and we are content with them, even as we look beyond the foreseeable to the future that God has for us after this time of school and preparation. Speaking for myself, I have been more focused on researching and writing my dissertation at this point than exploring missionary opportunities for the years to come; indeed, this has come from the global leaders with whom I have spoken that have counseled me: “First, make sure to get your thesis written!” I have to remind myself that, in a strange way, the primary ministry that God has given me right now is to complete this stage of my academic work, and while there are other prongs of ministry available to me now – and there will be more to come – bending my attention to the project at hand is an act of spiritual obedience, worship, and service. Please pray for my present ministry of academic scholarship, and for good discernment regarding our future ministry as part of God’s global mission.

With that said, our family is looking forward to some breaks in the summer. Not only are we planning on returning to camp in August, during which I will serve as camp speaker for the week, but it also appears that I have the opportunity to participate in an all-expenses-paid, two-week course learning how to read handwritten documents from the sixteenth century in Latin, German, and English. The program is run through the Wittenberg Center for Reformation Studies in Germany, and I am looking forward not only to mastering more of the craft of parsing old manuscripts, but also to rubbing shoulders with some of the great scholars of the period I myself am studying. While Mary Beth and the children will not be able to join me, they are planning on taking the time to visit with family in the United States – and really looking forward to it! 

Finally, I also want to mention how grateful we are for those of you who continue to support us financially in our ministry, and to emphasize again how much we are in need of further support. We are being hit right now with a kind of double-whammy: at the same time that inflation has been driving up the prices around us here in downtown Toronto, our monthly pledged support has continued to drop precipitously. I am concerned that if trends continue our family may soon need to take another substantial pay cut (we took a $2,000/month pay cut in March 2021) at precisely the time when our growing family is desperately in need of a pay increase! Please, prayerfully consider making a pledge, or increasing your gift, at this critical moment in our Home Educational Assignment with SAMS (USA) or IATW (Canada)!

But as the snow begins to fall again here at Wycliffe College, I do want to end with thanks: thank you for praying, thank you for giving, thank you for supporting our family as we seek to follow the path that God has put in front of us. It is a privilege to have you on as partners in this ministry … to be riding (as it were) with Team Alenskis. May God richly bless you. We’ll be in touch again soon!

We invite you to partner with us in our ministry!

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