Virginia Photos

I know several of you have been waiting on Virginia photos. Here they are! And I'm a little tired tonight, so if I don't label everything properly, please ask questions in the comment section. Arlington Cemetery Potomac River Lincoln Memorial Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I have a dream" speech site Cherry blossoms Hopefully, this one is obvious (and it's taken inside the tour bus, so a little blurry...) The Canadian Embassy :) The U.S. Capitol Building Air and Space Museum American History Museum Crazy ride on the Metro Our family with Bob's lovely Great Aunt Ivelyn A fun time at the park Bob with cousins Marcia and Steve Great Falls National Park I think we were still in Maryland driving towards West Virginia when I took this shot. What a beautiful drive! Blessings!

Prayer Update (Virginia)

Hi Friends,

Thanks for praying for us during our Virginia trip last week. We were gone for 8 days and returned Tuesday night.

As we shared the news that we are moving to Virginia with one of our neighbours here in Hamilton a few weeks ago, she informed us that one of her dear friends is a real estate agent in Vienna, VA, which was right where we were going to be staying and looking for a home. Crazy!

Overall, it was a great trip. We...
*Met with the very helpful real estate agent and looked at a few houses
*Met some extended family for the first time and spent time at their church
*Had a great time with their pastor sharing the vision of what the Lord is showing us
*Enjoyed some great family time sightseeing in D.C., lots of meals together and some great laughs

Here is how you can continue to pray for us:
1. For those of you who enjoy Old Testament stories, we feel like Abraham, in a sense. The Lord is inviting us to go to a new place, but we are still waiting on some specifics. There is no job offer for us. We may be starting our own organization focusing on several areas…
*Itinerant speaking on Kingdom awakening and revival both in North America and internationally
*Consulting and casting vision for organizations
*Providing a guest house for personal restoration and freedom that Jesus provides *International adoption for us personally

These are just a few things we are dreaming and praying about!

2. For a New Testament connection, we are reminded of Paul’s call to Macedonia in the book of Acts. We feel like Virginia is a neon sign…everywhere we turn Virginia, Virginia, Virginia keeps popping up and when we hear the name, everything in us jumps up and pulls us that direction.

3.For those of you who enjoy praying with a visual picture in mind, we sense that our family is standing in expectation on a beautiful beach looking at the vibrant blue ocean in front of us and a massive growing wave is headed in our direction…we can see it but it is not quite here yet. Basically, we are waiting for its arrival to move us out.

4. Overall, the picture is getting clearer for us, but we are still waiting on some key pieces.

Again…thanks for continuing to partner with us prayerfully and financially!

Eagerly,
Bob and Scarlett Royce
Hamilton, Ontario

Giving Info:
Canada: The Sanctuary West, 948A King St West, Hamilton, ON L8S 1K8
US: Ridgecrest Baptist Church, Memo: Toronto Church Plant, 6801 Wesley St., Greenville, TX 75402

More trip pics coming soon!
Blessings!!!

Hooray for Spring!

Blessings!

Ava = 6

We have been celebrating our sweet and spunky Ava today!

On this day, six years ago, which was also a Sunday, we held her in our arms for the first time. She was my smallest little bundle of joy and my first little American-Canadian. How fun it has been watching her grow and change in the last six years.

Ava, you are beautiful and precious and smart. I love watching you dance ballet! You are an eager and expert helper and a great big AND little sister. I thank the Father for you!

I love these words that a friend spoke over you a few years ago:

Ava...You bring a big smile to God. You will know no limits in God. You will say "Why not?" and extend God's Kingdom with power and influence. You will be a blessing to many.

Happy, Happy Birthday, sweet girl!

Home

What is home? I am pondering this question a good deal lately, as I prepare to say goodbye to our home. Bob and I have lived in this house longer than any other in our almost 19 years of marriage. There are so many sweet memories…and some hard ones.

For our younger children, this is the only home they have ever known. Austin was three and Ben just ten months when we moved into this house. Emma was a little older, so she does remember our previous house, but we have been here almost eight years. That is over half of her lifetime. Ava and Maya both came home from the hospital to this house. Three babies learned to walk and talk here. Multiple teeth have been lost and loonies given. Countless books have been read, some over and over and over again. Traditions have been established. Many meals have been lovingly prepared and many goodies baked for family and friends. A wealth of friends and guests who became our friends have crossed our threshold, shared meals, enjoyed coffee, sipped wine, visited, sang, prayed, cried, laughed, and made cherished memories.

The ornaments of your house will be the guests who frequent it. ~Author Unknown

Whenever Bob and I have lived anywhere…Texas, Venezuela, back to Texas, and here, we have asked the Father to make it home for us. And He has done so. What a beautiful gift.


Where thou art, that is home. Emily Dickinson

And I know He will do that for us again, very soon, in Virginia. It does leave me a little giddy with anticipation, even in the midst of my sentimental pondering. I know He has good things planned, things that I have never dared to dream. This adventure with Him is unbelievable sometimes.

Thank you, Father, for home.

Where we love is home - home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts. ~Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

Update and a new book (not just chapter) for our family

Here is our latest prayer update and some very big news...

McMaster University

In early January, we helped to host a joint prayer and worship time for the ministries on campus as well as some local churches in the area. Bob has been part of a group of churches/intercessors in Hamilton called the Nehemiah Prayer Group for a few years. He has been able to share Kingdom stories of students coming to Jesus, praying, being healed, baptized, learning to walk in dreams/visions, hungry for Scripture and being sent out. The group has been so encouraged that they wanted to come and partner with the ministries on campus and be a blessing. So that night was one of those “Holy Wow” kind of evenings together as a multi-generational group worshipped Jesus together and focused on the Kingdom. Bob spoke from Isaiah 61, and afterwards, one of the students came up and said he had been reading that passage earlier that morning and the Lord told him that was going to be the message that night. Another pastor shared about a dream his wife had had when they first moved to Hamilton about a lion blowing over this city and clearing the air. He was a bit skeptical at first about this. Then a few weeks later he was in a meeting where someone sketched in a drawing exactly what his wife had seen. As he shared at McMaster that evening, it was evident that some things are happening at Mac and in Hamilton that are much bigger than each of our own ministries. So we all stepped back, prayed together that night and were just in awe of what the Father was showing us. We, as the whole body of Christ in Hamilton, must stay focused on the Kingdom, walk in unity and keep in tune with the Father so we can see awakening and revival spread in Hamilton at a whole new level.

(250 gathered in the 1280 Pub on the McMaster campus in early January)

A New Book

About this same time as we were praying as a family, the Lord began showing all of us that this chapter…and really this book…is coming to a close for us here in Hamilton. Through many dreams, visions and circumstances, we sense the Lord is moving us this year…probably in June…to Virginia, within driving distance to DC. This has been an exciting and accelerated time of growth for our family. There are so many things that we feel like the Lord has downloaded to us since early January that it is hard to grasp at times. We have received several pieces of this puzzle about future ministry, etc., but are still waiting on more to see the whole picture.

We are asking that you pray with us over the next few months as we discover as a family more pieces to the puzzle, keys to open doors, etc.

Specific Requests

*The Royce crew is headed down to the Virginia area later this month to explore and pray together, enjoy some sightseeing and to discover what else the Lord wants to show us. Please pray for us during this time.
*Pray for keys to unlock doors and more pieces to complete the puzzle!
*Thank you, thank you, thank you for your continued giving and praying during this time.

We have begun to share this with our friends and network of churches here in the Toronto area that the Lord is preparing us for a move. It has been such a privilege for us these past 8 years to be connected with The Sanctuary, the CNBC, and other Kingdom-minded friends here…especially in Westdale and at McMaster. Our family feels much like Paul did when he sensed the urgency to leave Ephesus and move on in Acts 20. I love how the Message puts it:

“Then Paul went down on his knees, all of them kneeling with him, and prayed. And then a river of tears.”

There have been a few joyful (and some sad) tears already…and probably a few more to come. We are so very grateful and excited about the future. We feel like we are journeying on an unforgettable quest!

We will keep you posted as things develop and really do appreciate you joyfully interceding for us during the months ahead. Please let us know that you are doing so!

Privileged,
Bob and Scarlett
Emma, Austin, Benjamin, Ava and Maya

Blessings!