Greetings and peace in Jesus name!  We trust this finds you well.

page 1 Micah 6:8 | 445 Furby St. Winnipeg, MB R3B 2V7 | director@ywamwinnipeg.com |

More Family Milestones

It seems like just yesterday we brought home a three

year old little boy from Ethiopia who didn't speak a word of English.  Can you believe he is now 5 years old and

well into his first year of school as a kindergartener?  We

have been so amazed at how resilient and persevering he has been in the face of challenges that most of us would

shy away from.  Yet, he continues to thrive- not only at school and with his English, but at home, with his health

and in every way.  He continues to excel in swimming

class (apart from the occasional spectacular belly flop).  We are truly blessed.  We cannot imagine our lives

without him being part of our family.  We look forward

to so many more years ahead. 

With Micah's health so much improved from last

year, he has been able to enjoy the winter season fully for the first time.  After bundling him to play outside after

our first big blizzard, he stepped boldly to edge of the deck where upon he threw himself face first into the

snow- and couldn't have been happier!  Having spent last

Christmas in Australia with Kim's family and attending her sister's wedding, this year marks Micah's first

Christmas in Canada.  Jamie's parents will have their hands full with a house full of grandkids, but I doubt we'll

hear them complaining.  It will be nice to have the whole

Ricci family together for the holidays.  We hope to connect with those of you in that area too!

IN THIS ISSUE

More Family Milestones Page 1

Ministry Update Page 2

Micah Fun-Facts Page 3

God’s Continued Provision Page 3-4

Micah 6:8w w w . a r p i n - r i c c i . c o mDo Justice. Love Mercy. Walk Humbly.

December 2012

page 2 Micah 6:8 | 445 Furby St. Winnipeg, MB R3B 2V7 | director@ywamwinnipeg.com |

Ministry Updates

As we are in a season between

YWAM staff, we are unable to run our annual Justice Discipleship

Training School.  However, we are

excited to be launching a new program this coming spring: The

Peace & Justice Internship.  The Peace & Justice Internship is

designed to provide participants

with practical understanding of and engagement with issues of peace

and justice from a Christian worldview. In the context of

intentional Christian community

and alongside engaged long term m i n i s t r y i n a n i n n e r c i t y

neighbourhood, participants will r e c e i ve t r a i n i n g, t e a c h i n g,

mentorship and opportunities to

ex p l o re d i f f e re n t dy n a m i c s surrounding peace and justice.

 

Interns will engage a broad range o f top ic s , inc lud ing :

Theological Foundations in Peace &

Justice; Practical Expressions & Implications of Peacemaking; Peace &

Justice in Creation Care; Peace & Justice in Context; Doing Peace & Justice as

Community; Weekly & Intensive

Practicum Opportunities; and much more.  Interns will live in our mission

house on Furby, sharing life with us and o ther member s o f the

community as part of their

experience.  However, unlike our DTS, the interns will have more

self-direction, allowing us to run the program with just the two of us. 

We are very excited about this new

development. 

Our church plant, Litt le Flowers Community, has continued

to grow, drawing more people from

the neighbourhood.  It has been great to see other kids playing with

Micah on Sunday as families begin

to come, as well as the many young adults who have made up our core. 

Jamie has also been increasingly busy preaching and teaching, both

throughout Manitoba and beyond. 

He has also released two new ebooks, with another print title in

the works.  It has been hard to find a good balance for travel given our

new family (and Kim sure misses

travel ing hersel f ) , but we're humbled by the breadth of interest

our work has drawn. 

As we continue to serve as

missionaries, pastors and good Christian neighbours in the West

End, we continue to need your prayers for safety.  There has been

an increase of violent crime in the

months running up to winter, which does not bode well for the coming

season.  We know that we are called t o b e p e a c e m a k e r s i n o u r

community, but want to do so with

wisdom and discernment.  Pray too for the families in the community

that are impacted by this trend.  We have seen homes raided by the

police with children living inside. 

We need the grace of God to protect their hearts, minds & bodies

from these experiences.  As difficult as it is, it is also a reaffirming of

why we are here in the first place.

page 3 Micah 6:8 | 445 Furby St. Winnipeg, MB R3B 2V7 | director@ywamwinnipeg.com |

MICAH FUN-FACTSStarted Full Time Kindergarten:

September 10th

Can spell and write his own name!

Micah, in true Ethiopian fashion, is still the only one in our family who

drinks coffee.

God’s continued provision

Over the last few months we have faced the biggest

drop in our missionary support in all our years of service.  We knew that God was calling us to this ministry, but also

knew that there were practical realities and responsibilities

that we needed to be aware of.  We went to the Lord in prayer and asked you to join us.  Since that time, God has

proven Himself again as our faithful provider.  While we still need to see our monthly support strengthened, the

generosity of people like you (and a surprising number of

strangers!) has helped us get past the crisis we were facing.  We have been able to avoid debt, cover our expenses and

continue to serve in the ministries we have been called to.  God is good!  Thank you all for your support.  Again, our

monthly missions support still needs to be strengthened. 

A few of our largest donors have always stated that their giving would not be indefinite. Pray with us for this.

 We are also facing a season where more significant

repairs to our house are becoming increasing needed. 

Many people have generously donated their time, energy

and skills to help us.  However, we face some potentially huge expenses in the near future.  Since the adoption used

all of our savings, we have been working hard to build it

back up.  Our house is not only our home, it is also the center out of which we do most of our ministry.  Our

staff, students and interns live there.  We run training programs in the space.  It is where our church worships

together each week.  It is a place of hospitality, where we

provide affordable housing to people in the community, as well as emergency housing at times for people who are

homeless or in crisis.  Pray with us that we can maintain this place of family and mission.

 

Yet, despite these challenges, we are blessed.  One of the great blessings of living as missionaries, relying on

financial support from the generosity of others, is that we have learned to live very simply.  In a culture of rampant

consumption and materialism, the measure of success

would suggest that we are failing.  Cont. on page 4

page 4 Micah 6:8 | 445 Furby St. Winnipeg, MB R3B 2V7 | director@ywamwinnipeg.com |

God’s continued provision cont.Our combined incomes is still far less than a single

adult professional in comparable roles make.  Yet, we are able to live happy, healthy lives, building a happy, healthy

family.  We have never gone without.  This blessing has

also been a blessing for others, as we have helped many in our community with financial counseling, seeing some

liberated from crippling debt.  God is our provider!

Above all, your prayers and encouragement mean the most to us. There are days we wonder if we are going to

be able to keep going, but when we think of how much

you all have given and how faithfully you have stood with us in prayer, we are encouraged to keep going. Thank

you so very much!

Until next time

We trust this letter finds you all well, celebrating this Christmas season with friends and family you love.  We will be! Our

next newsletter will come right at the beginning of the Peace & Justice Internship, so I know we will have lots of exciting news and updates for you. I would love to hear from you too, so feel free to drop us a line- phone, email or by mail! If

you happen to be in Winnipeg, let us know. We’ll have you over for coffee & a chat, and give you a tour of our wonderful

neighbourhood.

  Thank you again for your continued support.  Your prayers and contributions are an essential part of our ministry.  For that we are so grateful. Until next time!

 

Peace & all good,

Jamie & Kim & Micah