Update

Dear Friends and Family,

First of all I want to apologize for taking so long to send out an update! Life has been pretty crazy over the past several months! I am hoping now though that things will settle down a bit, and I will be able to send out more regular updates!

Also I want to say a big thank you for your prayers over the past several months! The transition of moving from Australia to the USA and then on to Canada, was rough, but I am so excited to finally be in Canada! I arrived here on March 4^th.  At the beginning I was staying with a family from Pioneers, who were amazing! It was really great to be staying with a family that made me feel so at home.

There have been lots of ups and downs along the way. One of the big dramas was that I somehow lost my citizenship card for Canada when I first arrived! Without this card I was been unable to work, register my card, get a driver’s license or bank account, and many other things! When I inquired about when I would be able to obtain a new card, they said that it used to be 9 months but that they have now shortened it to 6 MONTHS! Well 6 months is way too long for me to wait, so I was pretty frustrated about the whole thing! I sent in all my paper work and also attached a letter of “urgency”, and since then have been praying that someone would have pity on me and send me the card as soon as possible! Well those prayers have been answered!! Only a day after them receiving the paperwork, they processed it all and I had a new card after 3 weeks! Praise God!

Now that I have the card, I have been trying to settle into life here in Canada. I just recently moved into my “own” place. It is a basement “apartment” with a shared kitchen. It is nothing amazing by any means! But I think it will work for the time being. On top of moving, I have also been working on all kinds of practical things for settling in here! Man it sure was a lot easier when my parents did all of this. :).

I have been able to work part time at Pioneers. I have really enjoyed being able to be a part of all that God is doing here! The people in the office have really welcomed me in and have made me feel at home. Pioneers is now in a new office building, and also has a new director, James Kim. It has been nice to be a part of all the transition and feel a part of the team here.  I would really appreciate your prayers as I seek to figure out where God would have me serve specifically within Pioneers. Whether that be more with MKs or with short term missions, and just that God would give me wisdom in balancing the two.

At the moment I am working to connect with some of our MKs who will be transitioning to university this year, as well as connecting with some of our interns who are looking at heading overseas for short term missions. I am super excited about all that God has in store!

Also another HUGE prayer request would be, I am looking for another part time job. I am nowhere near full support, and so because of this I need to be looking for another job. If you are in London, and know of anything, let me know! Really though, I would LOVE to be able to work at Pioneers full time but due to finances I am unable to do so. If any of you would be interested in helping me out financially I would greatly appreciate it! Just send me an email, and I would be glad to pass on the details of how to go about doing that. :)

Thank you so much for your encouragement! During my time in Michigan I was so blown away by the many people that went out of their way to make me feel so loved. It has been a struggle adjusting to life in North America, but I have been really encouraged by the many people that have come behind me in prayer and support.

God Bless,

Victoria Cowan