— Updates —

July 2024

How is God moving in your ministry/what can we celebrate with you? 

• Praise God for opening doors into a couple of men that I have been able to meet with semi regularly. God has given us opportunity to have some meaningful, deep conversations. 

• Also Praise God for connecting a great Christian Native band coming through Merritt later in August and the fellowship has begun plans to do a community outreach. 

What is your greatest need?

•  Two of our greatest needs right now is energy to move in the direction of the opportunities God has given us.  And financial support. 

What is a fun fact or unique incident that we probably don’t know about you?

• Fun fact - Lucy is going into grade 8 next year and wants to be a Veterinarian. She also has been learning how to play different instruments over the past few years but has settled on the violin for the next few years to learn how to play. And she is doing really well.

How can we be praying for you?

• Along with the above needs, please be praying for these young men. One in particular has been approached and has befriended some Mormons and is confused.  

• Pray for the outreach Aug 27th that people come and here testimonies of God changing lives.

• Pray also for our family. We are taking some vacation in July and hoping that is rejuvenating and refreshing. 

Thank you for your prayers and support. You are a blessing to us and to the people in Merritt. 

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FEBRUARY 2024

Hello my friends at Lake Tapps.  It is so good to touch base with you and share what has been happening and is going to happen.  I returned from a funeral a couple weeks ago of a young man who was 5 years old when I first met him on my first missions’ trip to Lillooet, BC back in 1996.  It was a sad day, but a day also filled with Hope as he was a believer in Christ.  I was also able to speak at the church I grew up at in Washington last week and it was good to be encouraged and refreshed by them. 

Coming up we have a couple events that could use some extra prayer.  April 25-28 is our Native Christian Conference in Kamloops.  Many people and churches come from all over BC to attend.  Pray for the speaker Huron Claus as well as that those attending would be challenged and encouraged. 

Also coming up is our Waymaker youth Retreat at the end of May.  Pray for all the logistics that need to happen between now and then.  Pray for me as I will be going and talking to the band youth workers and inviting them to attend.  Pray for Gods grace and favor to open doors. 

Personally I could use prayer for strength and for His eyes to see what opportunities and who He has for me to connect with.  It can be overwhelming sometimes with all the different areas of need, and wanting to hear from God on His path for me. 

Thank for your faithful Prayers and support.

Your hands and feet in Merritt,

James, Lori and Lucy Hoad

PS Lori and Lucy are well and have been having fun with Home Schooling and music. Pray for Lori and I as Lucy turns 13 on March 29th. 

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SEPTEMBER 2023

Hello LTCC family,  this summer for us has been a whirlwind of a summer, driving back to Ontario for a furlough trip, Lucy taking in a sailing camp, and preparing for fall.  It has been great to spend time and connect with those we have not been able to see face to face for a while now.  A couple prayer requests we have are:

• For those who attended our Grief and Loss workshop Sept 28-30.  That they would see that God is good and His love for them is real and that He can heal them. 

• October 2-4 we are having a Native youth leaders conference.  Please pray for wisdom and guidance as we connect and discuss how to reach today’s youth.  A large portion of the Native population are youth and are struggling with many of the same things as non-native youth.  One of the challenges in Native youth ministry is that many youth feel lost between two worlds, or worldviews.  Not really being fully one or the other but living in both. 

Pray for our family, as we reach out and connect with those in our community sharing the truth of Jesus in love. 

Thank you for your prayers and support,

Hoads

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MAY 2023

Hello Lake Tapps,

We are celebrating with you as well as grieving with you upon hearing our friend Tim has moved to his heavenly home. I know I will see him again someday.

Lori Lucy and I are getting ready to leave on a furlough trip to Ontario here at the end of May. Please pray for safety as we drive to Ontario and speak with individuals as well as churches. We will be returning to Merritt first part of July.

Pray for the fellowship as there have been fellowship people who have lost family members lately.

It has been a challenging month in the area of spiritual battles as well as testing of faith. God is amazing and has sustained me/us through it all and He deserves so much praise. Let’s praise Him together.

Blessings,

James Hoad

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DECEMBER 2022

Hello friends, it was so good to see you all at your Missions Emphasis weekend. It has definitely turned to winter here. Since I was with you, we have had our Waymaker Native youth gathering, as well as a Native youth workers summit. Both were rewarding and good to be at.

Here are a couple prayer requests:  

• Please pray for the youth that have been a part of Waymaker. I’ve learned that some of the kids whom I’ve taken have already moved to other towns and 1 is leaving at the end of the school year. Pray for God to continue to work in their lives.

• The Youth leaders’ summit was a great way to connect with 30 other youth workers from BC and Alberta. Please pray for strength and wisdom as the different workers face challenges related to trauma in youth. Please also pray for them to be able to be filled with God, overflowing to the people and youth they connect with.

• Please continue to pray for me and my family for spiritual protection. Also as we look to the new year and make plans that God would open doors to share and speak the Truth of His Love for all people.

Thank you for being partners in ministry in Merritt, BC

Merry Christmas, God bless you all,
James, Lori and Lucy

JULY 2022

Hello Lake Tapps community church,

It is so great to connect with you and we are looking forward to our “face to face” time together in October.  It may seem like a long way off, but I know it will be here faster than expected.  Lori, Lucy and I are well even with battling 100* F heat.  We are looking forward to our NAIM staff conference Aug 16-19 in Alberta. It will be good to see everyone in person.  Please pray for safe travels, and good connections and conversations.  We have had to change our fall around a little and we won’t be going to Ontario until the spring now.  Please pray for us as we plan for the fall.  Pray for connections at the high school as I will be taking some time away from working everyday there.  Pray the connections new and old will continue to grow.  

The Native Fellowship is strong.  Please pray as lately there has been some challenging situations in the families of fellowship members.  Pray for God to change the hearts as only He is able to.

You are all such a blessing to us. Thank you for your continued prayers and support.  The power of prayer is evident to us and we covet your prayers. 

Blessings, 

James Lori and Lucy

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FEBRUARY 2022

Hello Brothers and Sisters at Lake Tapps,

It is a honor to partner with you to reach First Nations here in Merritt, BC and beyond.  We have had quite the ride the last few months with a great youth conference the first weekend in November followed by massive flooding in and around Merritt the next weekend.  Although there is still much clean up and repairs to do, we are getting things accomplished. Only a few from our Native Fellowship were directly affected by the flooding.  We have been focusing on how we as a fellowship can help those who really need it.  With as chaotic as it has been God is working in people’s lives.  We are working through Romans and God is using His word to challenge, grow, encourage, and motivate people to repair relationships, trust God when the situation is out of their control, and wrestle with the hard things God is asking us to do.  One thing I love is when I see people make decisions that are hard but Godly, I love encouraging them and getting to say that “I think that is what Jesus would have done”.

PRAYER REQUESTS

• Pray for strength and wisdom as we continue to help with repairs and cleanup from the flood.  

• Pray for relationships — that healing and love would come to many who are struggling. 

• Pray for me and my family for spiritual protection and wisdom as we walk this journey. 

Thank you again for your prayers and support. May God bless you and May His face shine upon you.

James, Lori, and Lucy Hoad

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OCTOBER 2021

Hello Lake Tapps Community Church.

We miss you all and wish we could be there in person. In our Native fellowship (church) we have been going through the book of Romans. It has been a great study so far. A verse that stands out to me today is Romans 8:18 “What we suffer now is nothing compared to the Glory he will reveal to us later.” (NLT). Many things in our lives here in Merritt, and your lives at LTCC, have been challenging, frustrating, and heart breaking. Together though, through the power of Jesus we can continue to move forward. Through the challenges there has also been beauty.

Praises

• Our Fellowship has grown stronger and is such a praying group of believers.

• They have a heart to reach their families and communities with the true love of Jesus.

• As I work at the High School, I have been able to have some good heart to heart conversations with students. I am taking a couple of them out on a hike to a local waterfall and planning on more day trip outings.

• We are also planning our Native Youth Conference, Waymaker, for November 5-7, which we haven’t been able to have since Covid. 
  

Your prayers and support are so vital to us and are powerful.

PRAYER REQUESTS

• Please pray with us for strength and wisdom as we plan for Waymaker. 

• For patience and wisdom as I work with students and live out Jesus’ love for them.

• For our Fellowship to stay healthy and to continue to think of new ways to reach out to family and communities. 

• Conversations are so important, please be praying for us as we have planned and unplanned conversations throughout our day and week.  
  

We love you all and are praying for you as you face your own set of challenges. Thank you for partnering with us to share the Good News of Jesus.

Your partners, 

James, Lori and Lucy Hoad
Serving Merritt, BC with NAIM

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June 2021

Hello Lake Tapps, Happy Fathers Day. 

I hope you are all well and ready for summer, I know we are.  For those of you who may not have met us, my name is James Hoad.  Along with my wife Lori and our 10 year old daughter, Lucy, we live in Merritt, BC. Canada.  We work for North America Indigenous Ministries.  Reaching out to First Nations People in Merritt as well as other parts of BC.  Our aim is to reach First Nations youth and families with the truly Good News of Jesus. 

As you can read in our Newsletter, this is not always a straight forward or easy task.  Right now my main focus is building relationships with youth at the local High School where I work part time as an education assistant.  I also work with Nicola Valley Native Christian Fellowship supporting them with music, leadership team, and I’m also on a preaching team. 

Lori is looking forward to being able to see close friends over the summer as the restrictions are lifted here in BC.  Lori also finished teaching Lucy through grade 4.  Lucy is enjoying being home schooled and is looking forward to summer break and seeing her friends and doing a little camping.  

Covid has thrown a monkey wrench into a lot of our plans.  Can you please be praying with us that we can continue to build relationships with those In the fellowship and those outside the fellowship.  Connecting and reconnecting will be a big part of our summer.  Also pray for us as we walk with people through grief, that we would be empathetic, and share the truth of Jesus with them.  

I want to say a big Thank You for your prayers and your support.  Your prayers are powerful. And without your support we wouldn’t be able to do all that we are doing.  

May God Bless you and Keep you, May His face shine upon you and give you peace.  

Blessings, 

James, Lori, and Lucy Hoad

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PS, If you want some silly Dad jokes :)

And because it’s Fathers Day, here is a dad joke for you, 

• “What do you call your dad when he falls through the ice?………….A POPsicle.

• I’ve got a pen that can write underwater. . . .It can write other words too, but I like the word underwater.  

I know it will sound cheesy, but you dads out there are the greatest !

*** From the Missions Committee *** The Hoad’s June newsletter was shocking! The recent announcement from Kamloops (50 miles NE of Merritt, where the Hoads are located) gave light to what the Hoads are facing every day. The First Nations people are living with the memories of those atrocities (the bodies of 215 children were found buried under the Kamloops Residential School in May). The Hoads have been called to share the power of Jesus’ healing name to these people who are so badly hurting. Please pray for them as they do.

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January, 2021

James first connected with Native Americans by serving the Swinomish Indian tribe in Skagit County. He then felt the call to go into full-time ministry with NAIM (North American Indigenous Ministries) and was sent to Merritt, BC in 2007. Ironically, the vision of NAIM began in 1949 in a coffee shop in Seattle. Using a large boat, teams of missionaries looked to evangelize coastal indigenous communities. Over time, NAIM transformed from a coastal boat ministry to a community based/relational long-term ministry of evangelism and discipleship with Native peoples throughout western Canada and United States. The Hoads have been serving the First Nations people in British Columbia by focusing on youth and families. James also works part time at the only High School in Merritt (approximately 50% Native or Metis) as an education assistant. This opens doors for conversations with youth on a daily basis. Lucy is now 9 turning 10 at the end of March and is enjoying Lori homeschooling her for her grade 4 year. Lori is up to the challenge of homeschooling and is doing a great job teaching Lucy.

PRAISE:

• For Gods presence through all the challenges of the past year.

• For technology that has allowed us to stay connected and encourage those who are elderly or have compromised immune systems.

• That we can pray… I don’t think I have had the opportunities to pray with and for as many people as I have had over the last year.
  

PRAYER REQUESTS:

• Our little town of 7500 is now starting to have a number of COVID cases.

• Wisdom as I converse daily with either youth or adults about life, and direct them to Jesus.

• In Merritt many of our youth struggle with hopelessness.

• Opportunities to partner with other believers in Merritt to reach youth and families.

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August, 2020

Hello Lake Tapps Community Church

As I write this letter I am reminded that even though we are separated by a closed border nothing has stopped our partnership in the spreading of the Good News. Over the last few weeks I have been able to have good conversations around Christ and the freedom that comes from following him. Recently it seems that our fellowship has been praying fervently for friends and family who are caught in addiction.

In my last update I shared about a brother to one of our members who has gone into treatment. An update to that story is he is still there, those that have been able to talk with him say his anger is gone. When they dropped him off it wasn’t clear if he would last a week. This is a Christian treatment center with a one year commitment and he is not a believer yet. And, because of prayer and his example, his other brother has quit drinking and is working on putting himself into treatment, and their mother has quit drinking and is seeking help for her addiction. This is a huge PRAISE. It also needs our continued prayer, that what they leave, addiction, will be filled with Christ. Pray that the triggers and habits will be replaced with freedom and healthy habits. This is a huge answer to prayer and an amazing example of God working in peoples lives.

God is good, and even with the ever changing landscape of our current times we are adapting our form, but never our focus. This is not without challenges and stress. Please pray for us as we continue to share the truth of Christ in Love to those who are lost in the Nicola Valley.

Prayer requests:

• Freedom from addiction.

• Peace in the chaos and unknown working in the high school.

• Words and boldness to share my faith and the Hope that comes through Christ.

• Wisdom and guidance as we navigate the changing landscape.

Thank you so very much for your faithfulness to Christ and the Good News that changes lives. Your prayers and support are so encouraging to us. May God Bless you and guide you as you shine His light.

James, Lori, and Lucy Hoad