James & Carolanne

As of tomorrow, we're off to our annual Power to Change Staff Conference!  For those who don't know, every year Power to Change holds a Canada-wide staff conference where all the Canadian PTC staff get together for a week of inspiration, networking, team building and spiritual renewal.  There are approximately 500 staff (and potentially their families) who will be attending.  (I'm not certain on the exact numbers)

Staff Conference is always somewhat of a challenge for us as it is a mandatory work related event, that we are required to raise the funds in order to attend.  This year, we were originally planning for Carolanne and the kids not to come due to the high cost of attendance.  However, we have made the decision (and been accepted) to have Carolanne volunteer to help with the childcare during the week which allows for their room and board to be covered.  That's a big praise item for us as we really wanted to stay together as a family for that week.

Another praise item is related to our dog.  We have a very friendly Cockalier (Cocker spaniel/Cavalier King Charles spaniel mix) that we had to find a "sitter" for.  We originally had someone lined up to help with caring for her, but due to complications it fell through a few days before we had to leave.  The past couple days we've been somewhat frantically trying to find someone who could care for her in our absence.  On Saturday one of the families in our church heard about our situation and has generously volunteered to care for her.  That's a HUGE blessing and answer to prayer.

Please pray that this week would be a good time of renewal and refocusing as we meet together.

Have a great week,

James & Carolanne Warkentin