overdue

Okay, okay...this is long overdue...i know.

here is a miniature update since my last blog post:

• BC Lions lost in the first round of the playoffs in DOUBLE over-time.
• We immediately began packing our things and headed home 3 days later.
• Safely arrived back in Lubbock after a 3 day journey home.
• REJOICED in being back home!
• Moved into our new apartment.
• We were SO excited to go back to Experience Life!
• Got to spend Thanksgiving in Lubbock with my family.
• Have watched God provide in the most incredible ways during a month & 1/2 with no income!
• Have LOVED seeing & catching up w/ friends since we've been home.
• Have raised 62% of my support for Campus Crusade.
• Started going to our staff planning meetings for next semester!
• Found out that Richards brother's high school football team made it to the State Championship!!!
• This weekend we get to see Richards family at the football game for the 1st time since FEBRUARY! :)
• We put up our Christmas tree last night.
• We are excited to be home and able to spend the holidays w/ our families!

God is good. :)

Happy Holidays
-the joneses

a little bit longer

Well the BC Lions won their game and the Edmonton Eskimo's lost theirs. We're in the playoffs! We are honestly surprised though. Richard and I really thought we'd be heading home this coming week. But God had other plans and we're grateful for them. More time hear=more paychecks, which we really need as we transition back to Lubbock. But more time here also means Richard will have more time to finish up some of his music at the studio, so we're glad about that, too.

We are both just ready to get back. We miss what we consider "normal". Normal priced gas, normal priced groceries, work, school, friends, family, the dollar menu :), sunshine through our windows, fountain Diet Dr. Peppers!!! :) We miss Experience Life, Monday night prayer meetings, Cru on Thursdays... We just genuinely miss our life in Lubbock.

But we'll patiently wait for the Lord and we'll continue to trust Him during our time here. We'll keep everyone updated as we begin the playoffs. We'll be home soon enough! :)

just an update

Welp, the BC Lions won their game on Sunday. We still have a chance to go to the playoffs, but we HAVE to win our next game and the Edmonton Eskimo's HAVE to lose their game. So we'll see what happens. If we had of lost on Sunday, we would've known when we were heading home, but now we are still waiting to see how this season finishes. Of course we would love for our team to go to the playoffs, but Richard and I are both ready to get home, too. So we have mixed emotions at this point.

Richard had another opportunity to go speak to some kids at a Christian school yesterday and was able to perform his song again. We hope that Richard will have more opportunities to do things like that when we get back home. Here is a link to a new song of his on youtube... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYF4DOpCSZg. Enjoy!

Most of you know that I plan to work with Campus Crusade again when I get back home. I just started the process of raising support again. It's such a nerve-racking process, but God has fully provided two years in a row, so I shouldn't expect anything less this time. It will be difficult raising support during the transition as Richard and I leave Canada, take a 3 day drive home, and move back home. But I'll manage. :) I am excited to start working with the staff team again and with the students at Tech. I have missed the community, the encouragement, and the insight that comes with working in ministry. Please pray with me as I continue the support raising process. I will post my progress every once in a while. And if you are interested in being a ministry partner, here is a link to my giving page...https://www.globalservicenet.org/giving/Lori-Jones .

We'll keep everyone updated as we find out more about when we're coming home. Please pray that we would trust the Lord during this time. Pray that we would have a safe trip home. And pray that the Lord would provide all our needs during this transition.

Richard scores a TOUCHDOWN!!

Yep, that's right! During the first quarter of the game, Richard recovered a fumble, ran for 50 yards, and scored a TD!! Woohooo!! You can imagine how proud I was! BC Lions win the game 36-31!

Here is the best video footage I could get of it since the game didn't air in the states! Enjoy!

what a weekend

Well it has been an interesting past few days up here in Canada.

On Thursday I drove to Seattle to pick up Romeyo from the airport. The drive there and back wasn't as bad as I thought it might be. I left Surrey early because I didn't know how much traffic I would get into crossing the border, but I ended up getting to Seattle early. I drove around trying to find a shopping center to walk around in while I waited, but I didn't have any luck. I did find a nice little lake, though, and ended up stopping there and reading my Bible for a little bit. Here are a couple of pics of the lake.






























On Friday, I took Romeyo up to watch the BC Lions practice before their game on Saturday. Then on Saturday night we headed to the game. We were playing the Edmonton Eskimo's and we really needed to leave with a win. The first half of the game wasn't super interesting, but we ended up in a tie at the end of the 4th quarter and lost in overtime.....again.

(us before the game)

On the VERY first play of the game, our friend Alozie got injured and had to be carted off the field....not good. We later found out that he, in fact, broke his leg and dislocated his ankle. Let me give you a little background on him. He played for the Edmonton Eskimos for his first few years in the CFL. During one of his games with the Eskimo's, he broke both his tibia and fibula. He was out the rest of the season with hopes of returning the next season. His recovery didn't go as planned and he ended up having to have 2 more surgeries on his leg. When training camp came around for the next season, he wasn't ready and the Eskimo's cut him. He took the next year off, unsure if he would return. During that next year, he and his wife began to pray about whether or not he should return to the CFL. They felt that's what God was leading them to do, so he found out about the BC Lions try-out, went for it, and was put on the team. This is his first season back since the injury and now he has broken his fibula on the same leg and dislocated his ankle. We don't know what this means for him or his family's future, but we do know that this has to be a difficult time for them. It's so easy to ask God "why me?" when stuff like this happens, so please pray that he would have quick healing and that his family would trust the Lord during this time!

On a better note, we took Romeyo to White Rock yesterday. We ate lunch at a cute little restaurant right off the beach and walked down the pier. We took lots of good pictures while we there! Romeyo really seemed to enjoy how beautiful is it there! Here are a couple of pictures of us while we were there....


































This morning I got a text message from Richard saying that someone told him he might be up to play this week. Neither one of us thought much of it because we have been told that SO many times since we have been here. But he is, in fact, starting this week! Their game is away in Calgary on Friday. I'll find out if it will be playing online and let y'all know. Anyway, we are really surprised. We honestly didn't think he would play anymore this season for multiple reasons, but we are grateful that God has given him the opportunity!

This past week, Richard has recorded a couple of new Christian rap songs so hopefully they'll be completely produced and ready before we leave here so that we can come home with some new music for you guys!

Tonight, we're going to take Romeyo to downtown Vancouver to sight-see a little on his last night and then tomorrow I'll take the drive back to Seattle to drop him off. Please pray for safe travel as we drive and as he flies!

Canadian Thanksgiving

Yesterday (Monday) was Canada's Thanksgiving. Like in the States, watching football is a part of their Thanksgiving. The Lions played in Winnipeg in the afternoon. We were down a few points in the first half, then by the 3rd quarter we were up 32-11. I thought we had it in the bag. Then the 4th quarter rolls around and our players started behaving like children, fighting and getting penalty after penalty. In the last few minutes of the 4th quarter, one of our defensive linemen got disqualified for punching an opposing player in the face, then our only true center injured his leg and couldn't play, so they brought in the back-up who isn't a true center and caused several more penalties. :( Winnipeg ended up coming back to tie the game, then we lost in double overtime! It was NOT fun to watch! And after the defensive player was disqualified, they REALLY needed Richard there...oh well, their loss! There are only 4 games left before the playoffs and we really need to do well in these next 4 games, so say a little prayer for the BC Lions! :)

Earlier this week, Mrs. Dolly (our landlady) invited us to have Thanksgiving dinner with her family! So after the game, we followed her to her son's apartment where we met up her son, Fraser, and his roommate, TJ, her other son, Grant, her daughter, Lesley, & Lesley's boyfriend, Rob, Lesley's daughter, Brooke, and Rob's friend, Chansler (?). Fraser's apartment was so nice and everyone made Richard and I feel so welcome and really comfortable! Fraser prepared an incredible Thanksgiving dinner! Different than our family's Thanksgiving dinner, but SO good! He's a great cook! It was so fun to spend time with a family who have such a good time with each other like ours do! I was so grateful that they included us in their holiday celebration! They really are like our family here in Canada. Such a blessing. :)

On Thursday, our friend, Romeyo, is flying in to spend a few days with us. He is flying into Seattle, so I'll be driving to pick him up while Richard is at practice. Pray he has a safe flight and that we'll have a safe drive to and from Seattle. I'm glad Richard gets to have a visitor since he hasn't seen family or friends since May. This is Romeyo's first time to visit Canada, so hopefully we can show him around well!

That's all for now!

Luke 12 & an update

Today, my time with the Lord was full of lists...

I read Luke 12 and the commentary that went with it. I thought some of the commentary was really interesting and insightful, so I thought I'd share a few things.

(read Luke 12 if you can :))

Luke 12:1,2
Signs of hypocrisy:
1. knowing the truth but not obeying it
2. living a self-serving life
3. faith is reduced to rigid rules
4. outward conformity without inner reality

"discern you own heart. consider the signs of hypocrisy and make sure you are not guilty. then ask God to help you live rightly."

Luke 12:8,9
We deny Jesus when we:
1. hope no one will find out we are Christians
2. decide not to speak up for what is right
3. are silent about our relationship with God
4. blend into society
5. accept our culture's non-Christian values

We acknowledge Jesus when we:
1. live moral, upright, Christ-honoring lives
2. look for opportunities to share our faith with others
3. help others in need
4. take a stand for justice
5. love others
6. acknowledge our loyalty to Christ
7. use our lives and resources to carry out his desires rather than our own.

are you doing more to deny Christ or acknowledge Him?

Luke 12:22-34
Overcoming worry requires:
1. simple trust in God, your heavenly Father: expressed by prayer rather than worry
2. perspective on your problems: develop a strategy for addressing & correcting problems
3. a support team to help: find believers who will pray for you to find wisdom & strength to deal w/ worries

"Jesus commands us not to worry. Worry is pointless because it can't fill any of our needs; worry is foolish because the Creator of the universe loves us and knows what we need."

Luke 12:40
People who are ready for their Lord's return are:
1. not hypocritical but sincere
2. not fearful but ready to witness
3. not worried but trusting
4. not greedy but generous
5. not lazy but diligent

"May your life be more like Christ's so that when he comes, you will be ready to greet him joyfully."

As I was sitting there reading, there was an older man sitting at a table near me. He saw me journaling and asked if I was writing an essay. I simply told him I was just reading and studying my Bible. From there he proceeds to tell me that He does not believe there is a God. He shared all sorts of other thoughts and opinions that indicated he hadn't based them on biblical or religious study but rather on his own ideas. I had just read Luke 12:11,12 which says, "don't worry about how to defend yourself or what to say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what needs to be said." So I said a quick prayer to myself and asked the Lord to give me the words to say. He didn't give me the opportunity to say much but when I did speak I tried to be as open and honest about my faith as I could. It was a very minor conversation, but I pray that the Lord will cause our paths to cross again at the coffee shop or that the Lord would place someone in his life to speak truth to him. Please pray that this man would have a divine revelation about the God of the universe and his Son, Jesus.

Football update: The BC Lions won again last Saturday, which is really good for their chances to go to the playoffs. Richard did well, but still didn't play as much as he had hoped. On Monday, the head coach called Richard into his office to talk. He told Richard that he likes how he's been playing but they can only travel with 5 defensive lineman and they need a defensive end more than a tackle. He even told Richard that they might have him drop a few pounds next season so that he can play defensive end, which he would love. So anyway, Richard is back on the practice roster this week. We're not sure what that means for the rest of the season, but we'll continue to trust the Lord's plan for us here.

On Wednesday, Richard had the chance to meet up with a guy who has a recording studio in Vancouver. He recorded a couple of new songs and re-did a song he had already written. The guy who has the studio asked Richard to come back to Vancouver on Friday to perform his song and share his testimony with some kids. I wasn't able to be there, but Richard said he wasn't nervous at all and felt really comfortable as he performed and shared his testimony. We are so grateful for the opportunities God has given Richard here.

As we go back and forth on this roller coaster from practice roster to active roster back to practice roster, we continue to remind ourselves that God has us here for a purpose that is greater than football. Continue to pray for us to trust God with his plans for us. Pray we would be content with his plans. And pray that we would desire His plans over our own.

"The Lord will work out his plans for my life--for your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever."
-Psalm 138:8