Happy Advent and Merry Christmas- HIRD

By Rev. Dr. Ed and Janice Hird

2018 has been a year of great change.  Our eldest son James and Alicia are expecting their first baby in May 2019, our middle son Mark has moved and started a new job at Safeway, and our youngest son Andrew and Ruth and children also moved.  Andrew is enjoying his new leadership position at a White Spot, and Ruth is thrilled to be back working at her newly renovated Starbucks in Coquitlam.  Aaron at 5 is now in Kindergarten which he really enjoys and Kelsea at 3 is now in Preschool. 

June 2018 was challenging as we went through so many changes.  The Bible tells us that those who sow in tears reap with songs of joy.  Saying goodbye is never easy when you have developed so many good friendships, and taken so many weddings, funerals and baptisms.  After 38 years so far of ordained ministry, Ed at age 64 has moved from 31 years of serving at St Simon’s North Vancouver to this new chapter of working full-time writing books and doing marriage seminars with Janice.  We really enjoyed both the Farewell Party and the New Chapters Party.  We particularly appreciated the many prophecies and words of encouragement that we received from so many good friends.  Ed wrote a farewell article that you can read online for the Deep Cove Crier where he wrote monthly for 30 years.

As Janice’s parents and Ed’s dad are all in their ninety’s now, we are very pleased to be closer to them in South Surrey/White Rock.  Janice’s sister Alva and Ed’s sister Wendy and family also live in the White Rock area.  So now we are 3 blocks away from Ted Hird and 5 blocks away from David Cline and Una.

Janice has found it an adjustment to not be standing or sitting at the front of the church and leading the music but hopefully will get to do some music at Christmas time.  She does not miss having to arrange new and exciting music for every Sunday like in other years when she was the choir director.  Ed has enjoyed learning more about book writing through the Word Guild, and Janice has enjoyed doing lots of babysitting of our two grandchildren.  Ed is continuing to write articles for magazines like the Light Magazine covering BC and Southern Alberta and often Janice co-writes them.  We have now started to write a new novel called Blue Sky based in Spokane, Washington.

In May we went to Uganda and Rwanda.  It was a privilege to speak to 30,000 people at once for 5 days in Uganda.  When we gave altar calls for people to come forward wanting to work on their marriages, thousands responded each time.  We were blessed in Uganda that it only rained a few times as the conference was outside but we did have tents to sit under to help protect us from the hot sun.  Ed and Janice carefully wore their hats everywhere and were amazed that the Africans never wore hats or sunglasses either.  Rwanda was delightful and we were impressed how eager the people were to learn how to improve their marriages and family relationships.  Thanks to Archbishop Kolini for arranging it.  At both events we had translators as our Luganda and Kinrwanda are very limited!  Then in August we were invited back to Rwanda and travelled around with Archbishop Kolini and Rev. Dr. Tim Smith for another 10 days and taught new people there about the marriage concepts.

In July we had our annual BC Christian Ashram with wonderful speakers Russell & Gerrie Chadwick and Shannon Stange.  Because our main speaker Gordon Ross fell ill, Ed and Janice were able to show a slide show of our conferences in Africa from May.  You are invited to join us in 2019 July 14^th to 16^th at TWU for our 2019 BC Christian Ashram with returning speakers Russell & Gerrie Chadwick and Shannon Stange.  In July, we also went to two weddings and Ed took part in both of them.  One for Mark’s good friend Jean Paul and now wife Stephanie where Mark was the best man. The other wedding was a huge event in Calgary for Ed’s oldest nephew Sam and his new wife Beth where we all learned how to Swing Dance.

Not only in Africa but also in the Lower Mainland, we have been able to do our marriage workshops and sell our new book ‘For Better, for Worse: discovering the keys to a lasting relationship.’ (available on Amazon and at Pilgrim, House of James, & Regent College bookstores.)  This one lady from Nanaimo has bought 12 of our books at one go!  Janice has enjoyed getting up and telling stories about our marriage and how you can improve your own marriage or family relationships.  In November Ed was blessed to preach a sermon on healing at our new local church All Saints Community where we worship now with Bishop Peter & Jenny Klenner of the Anglican Mission in Canada.  Janice was able to pray with Ed and we pray that many people were healed that Sunday in body, mind and spirit.

We had a great time in October when we went down to Spokane Washington and spoke at a Marriage Seminar, went to a Healing Rooms conference, went to an Open House for the Spokane House of Prayer and were blessed to speak at New Covenant Fellowship church on Sunday morning and pray for people for rejection or to be filled with the Holy Spirit.  There is definitely many days of sunshine and blue sky there.  Thanks to Daniel and Robbie Grether for hosting us and Angel WIlson and Pastor Jim & Marsha Leuschen for giving us chances to minister.  It was really fun to hang out with our Spokane FB friend Angel Wilson who has really an amazing book Over The Rainbow.

In November Ed and his good friend Jim Wilson ran a Word Guild Writer’s Conference here in South Surrey.  It was a very enjoyable event.  Janice learned some good concepts how to improve the novel we are working on at the moment.

God has been reminding us that we can trust him as we step forward into the new adventures that he has prepared for us.  Imagine the courage of Mary and Joseph with all the challenges that they faced on the first Christmas.  Imagine the joy that they experienced in receiving the gift of Jesus in that unlikely manger setting.  We invite you to join us this Advent and Christmas in welcoming the birthday gift of Jesus.  He loves you so much.

Love in Christ,

Ed and Janice Hird

www.edhird.com