Story Time with the Frazers 2024

“And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God
your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming
of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.
Brethren, pray for us” (I Thessalonians 5:23-25).

1. Dad’s Homegoing:
   

What a miracle it was that all eight of us children and our families could be together for three weeks surrounding the time of Dad’s homegoing! We will never forget 1) the incredible flexibility in the midst of uncertainty, 2) the night shifts, 3) the constant shopping, meal preparations, and child care, and 4) the visits at Dad’s bedside with family and friends who were there for us. It was also amazing to see how God brought together the funeral arrangements. Everyone stepped up to plan and prepare to the best of our ability. When we stood up by Dad’s casket and faced the room packed full of friends and family, the wave of support and love was tremendous. In so many precious ways, friends and relatives have shown their care since that time as well. They have been used of the Lord to offer such strength and comfort. We miss Dad. What a treasure to re-listen to a voice message he left or look at pictures of us with with him. We praise God for such a caraing father and so many years and memories together.

2. Theodore’s Medication:
   Theodore is doing very well. The MRI and EEG from this fall did not show anything of concern so the neurologist said she will not need to follow up for a year! At Theodore’s last appointment the doctor gave a glowing report and ended with “. . . and, Theodore, we know what your parents are going to say!” because we always praise the Lord after each good report. As Theodore grows we will see how his CVI affects his ability to read, but for now he is growing well and happily discovering the world. We will continue to have eye appointments for Theodore. He is wearing an eye patch to correct his lazy eye, and is doing pretty well keeping his new glasses on (whenever they are clean enough to wear). He started walking soon after his birthday in August. Many thanks to all of you who have been praying with us. Please pray that Theodore’s healing would continue to bring God great glory.

    

3. Trusting the Lord to Direct Our Steps Each Day:

A reminder to be faithful in little things has been especially fitting for us. We need the Lord’s perspective as we prioritize each day, and we need His wisdom as we consistently move forward in the areas He has clearly directed – such as parenting. This is one of the most joyous responsibilities we have. Such sweet giggles as the twins wrestle with Daddy, play with their plastic manger scenee with Mommy, and throw and chase balls! They enjoyed seeing lighthouses on our vacation to Maine early this year and seeing Blackwater Falls during the Family Reunion in June. We appreciate your prayers as we strive to raise the twins to accurately know Who God is and be aware of His involvement in our lives. Blessings on your new year! Be faithful!

Love,
Jonathan, Esther, Theodore and Timothy Frazer

Story Time with the Frazers 2023

How incredible that the Creator of the universe is also Emmanuel Who has come to abide with us! Here are some stories from this
year where God’s grace and leading have been evident in our lives . . .

1. Storage Dilemma:
   

With the twins needing their own bedroom and IBLP Canada consolidating locations, the need became clear that IBLP’s resources needed to be moved out of our apartment. Early this year we spent many hours researching new shed options for storing IBLP Canada’s books and DVDs, etc. However, the research did not result in a peace about what to do. So when Dad and Mom Frazer decided to build a new building on their property and allow IBLP Canada to use it as long as needed, we were very grateful! We praised the Lord for this provision as we watched each step of the building come together.

2. Trouble at the Border
   In June, we attended the beautiful Northwoods Family Conference! There we picked up some IBLP resources and headed back to Canada to travel with Gabe and Sarah Cleator for a couple weeks hosting Family Connection meetings in Ontario and Quebec. However, our IBLP paperwork had expired and the border guards decided to hold the IBLP resources at the border. We were able to proceed with the first Family Connection meeting as scheduled but had to make some extensive phone calls to iron out the border situation. Amazingly, this was the one time on the itinerary that God had arranged for us to have an extra day to travel. That evening we headed back to the border without the certainty of knowing they would allow us to pick up the resources. Praise the Lord, they did, and we were back on our way without having to miss any of the Canadian Family Connection meetings.

2. Theodore’s Medication:
   A huge answer to prayer this year is that Theodore can see! In June it became obvious as he began reaching to grab objects. This new ability has motivated him to play and start to crawl. Praise the Lord! We went to see a neuro-ophthalmologist. He had read Theodore’s report and was surprised how well Theodore was seeing. Praise the Lord! Many thanks to all of you who have been praying with us. Please pray that Theodore’s life would continue to bring God great glory.

    

3. Van in the Shop:

We are grateful for the many special opportunities we had to spend extra time with Esther’s family this year! For one such trip we borrowed a van which broke down in West Virginia on a short shopping trip. The timing in itself showed the mercy of God as the van broke down right after a long trip to WV and right before the long trip back to QC! The gracious mechanic gave us an excellent deal on the repair! Only $112.00! He did request being paid by cheque or cash – American cash. Jonathan came out of the shop to Esther and said he thought the repairs cost $114.00. We were not sure if we could come up with that much cash on the spot. Esther did have an envelope with her that had $100 US bill in it. Jonathan checked and found a $5 in his wallet he had been carrying around for over 10 years. Esther happened to have a $5 and a couple $1s along with some change in her billfold. Jonathan was so surprised to walk back in with the cash and find out the receipt actually said $112.00. We had just enough. We praise God for how He chose to show His care in this detail of life.

We can’t end without expressing the joy we’ve experienced on our parenting journey. Such sweet times of watching the twins laugh in the jolly jumper, hearing Theodore repeat his favourite words after us (“itch”, “Dada”, “aunt”, “eat” and “uh oh”), and seeing Timothy take his first steps. We appreciate your prayers as we try to figure out how to raise them to accurately know who God is and be aware of the presence of Emmanuel each day. We pray that you will experience the joy of God’s presence throughout the year ahead.

Praising our Saviour,
Jonathan, Esther, Theodore and Timothy Frazer

Story Time with the Frazers 2022

This year we have seen the faithfulness of God first hand! Let us tell you a few of the stories . . .

1. God’s faithfulness to guide decisions:

I’ll never forget the prenatal appointment in May when we found out my weak cervix posed a very real threat to the twins’ lives. The evening before, we were planning a trip across Canada and at our appointment we were going to ask the nurse for tips on traveling while pregnant. Instead of receiving travel tips, we received a warning not to go on the trip but to straight to bed instead. They did not even let me walk out of the hospital. Instead, Jonathan pushed me out to the car in a wheel chair. We had to decide between having a cerclage surgery or hoping bed rest alone was sufficient to keep the twins in. On the teary drive home we listened to the Bible being read; we could not believe how God spoke to us through His Word! Multiple verses at the end of Deuteronomy and beginning of Joshua reassured us that God’s will for our situation was to have the surgery and He would give the strength and be with us through every step of the process! We were in awe at His guidance.

2. God’s faithfulness to give grace through hardship:
   When Jonathan found out I had to be on bed rest, he thought I wouldn’t be able to stay in bed long! But God gave grace to remain on bed rest one day at a time for 3 months! And as I lay there, I witnessed the incredible grace God gave Jonathan to care for me, keep up with the house, and still put in 40 hour work weeks. We were so incredibly blessed by those who prayed for us and brought us many delicious meals through this time.
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3. God’s faithfulness proclaimed:
   Because the twins were not named for a couple days after their birth, the announcement of their names was a bigger deal in NICU than it would have been. This opened the door to identify with Christ as we shared the meaning of their names with several nurses. Also, after we were all home a month later, we had a nurse call and come to visit for follow-up. When she asked if we had a good support system and I explained how helpful our church was being, she inquired further. This opened the door to hear about her pursuit of God and share how Christianity is different than any other religion because it acknowledges our need for Christ to save us because we cannot be good enough to save ourselves.
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4. God’s faithfulness to give grace to complete the Biblical Character Illustrated Curriculum:
   I was amazed to see God grant the time to finish my role in the curriculum despite the other happenings of the year. I read over the final PDFs throughout my time on bed rest, during our month-long hospital stay and later while at home feeding the twins. On Nov. 29, Jonathan and I celebrated the completion of this project with the team. We praise the Lord that He enabled us to finish this job well. I’m now a full-time wife and mother!

    

5. God’s faithfulness to provide even little extras:

Being a family of four is such a blessing and we wanted to have a family picture to share with others. I thought it would look nice to match for our family picture, however, the twins had just moved up to a size 0-3 months. As Jonathan and I laid out their 0-3 month sleepers, we realised that we didn’t have any that fit well and matched. Later we would find matching onesies, but we had forgotten about them as we stared at the sleepers on the couch wondering what to do. Just then, Jonathan opened the door to discover a package had been delivered to us. We opened the box and, to our surprise, it was a baby gift! And, to our surprise, it was matching outfits! Navy pants and little grey jackets with red sleeves! And, to our surprise, they were size 0-3 months! What amazing timing! Then Jonathan remembered he had the unusual combination of a grey shirt with red sleeves! He pulled it out of the wardrobe and, to our surprise, it matched the boys’ outfits! What a fun reminder of how much God loves to give fun little extras in miraculous ways to show His care for us.

God has given us a beautiful life right here in Quebec. Early this year I enjoyed experiencing sugar on snow for the first time. We also frequently stopped to ice-skate when we went out to run errands. More recently we’ve enjoyed God’s beautiful creation as we carried the twins on a couple hikes in the mountains. God has given us grace and peace right here as we enjoy life together and precious times with friends and family.

Well, that’s enough for now, but please contact us for more stories about the incredible trip the Lord worked out to visit family and friends in the States to celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas! We have seen God faithful this past year and know that He will also be faithful in the year ahead. “Great is Thy Faithfulness, Lord unto me!”

Praising our Saviour,
Jonathan, Esther, Theodore and Timothy Frazer