Christine's Great Canadian Adventure

2010-08-17T00:55:00.000-07:00

Job and paint.

2007-11-18T22:31:00.000-08:00

Hey all! Just wanted to update you on how things are going with my job. I started Vancouver Police call-taking class in October. I passed the class and also obtained my security clearance during that time. I started my mentoring on Nov 8th. I've worked 6 shifts already with my mentor. So far it's going well. It's challenging, but I'm having fun. After 8 to 12 shifts if my mentor feels that I'm doing a good job, she'll cut me loose and I'll be on my own to take calls for VPD. I find that very exciting, but also a little frightening.

In other news, we finally painted the living room and kitchen. It's amazing what a little paint can do! I'll attach a couple of pictures so you can see what the finished product looks like :)

Thanksgiving thoughts

2007-10-08T12:59:00.000-07:00

"You are my God, and I will praise you! You are my God, and I will exalt you! Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever." Psalm 118: 28-29

I am thankful for my Jesus - He is my life. He is every good thing I have and every good thing in me. His love for me is beyond my wildest dreams, his grace far too great for understanding. It is to him that I give all thanks.

I thank Jesus for:
Family
Friends
Sunshine
Laughter
Memories
Mountains
Lessons God teaches me
Work
Love
Music
Trees that change colour in the fall
Health
Children
Smiles
Baby kisses
Games
Books
Tea and Coffee
Chocolate
People
Diversity
Emotions
And so, so much more.

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." James 1:17

****Quick update... I just found out this weekend that I am starting Vancouver Police call-taking training TOMORROW!!!! This means that for the next month at work, I'll be in a training class, after which I will be taking calls for the Vancouver Police (right now I just answer the 911 calls and transfer them to the police call-takers).*****

Just life

2007-08-27T22:19:00.000-07:00

I imagine that some of you have stopped checking this site on a regular basis. I probably would have if I were you. I realize that it's been two months since I've written anything, and I appologize to those of you who have still checked it regularly in hopes of some updates. It seems like the longer I'm here, the less excitement and/or changes happen on a daily/weekly/monthly basis. In January, I had new things to write about daily. In February or March that became weekly. Now, I feel like two months could be summed up in two words... "just life". What began as an adventure has now become daily life. Here are some updates on how life has been over the past couple of months:
I'm still waiting on my RCMP security clearance to come through for my job... I expect to hear sometime very soon. I'm getting anxious to get into the training for the next phase of my job, as what I'm doing right now gets a little redundant after a while. In the last two months that I have been there, I have already seen a number of changes in the team that I work with. I became quite attached to the two women who were on my team in the first month or so of my job... unfortunately one is no longer with the company and the other has already moved into training. I feel very fortunate to be on what, in my opinion, is the best of the four work teams. My supervisor is wonderful and I like the new people working on my team (which is a very good thing, since we are together for long periods of time in a rather small space). I've gotten used to the shiftwork, and although the wacky sleep times still messes with my body, I've learned what works best for me and how to manage my sleeping patterns. I think now that I'm doing this, I actually prefer working twelve hour days on a rotation than five days for eight hours. The four days at work fly by and before you know it you're off again. Nothing beats four days off in a row!
I've been trying to make the most of my time off... enjoying all of the outdoor activities I can... going to beaches, provincial parks, hiking in the mountains, and driving up the coast. Living here, you really could go do something different each weekend and never run out of places to go/things to see. The bonus is that each trip to somewhere new helps familiarize me with a different part of this area (take different highways, cross bridges, etc) which is a very good for work. Looking at a map is one thing, but being able to visualize places in my mind is much more helpful!
I was able to get off one block (four days) this month, which allowed me to take a 10 day trip back to Ontario. Both Kelly and Krista got married on the same weekend. It was so nice to be able to be back for both of their weddings (even though the two hour wait at the US border prevented us from making it to Kelly's ceremony... we did go to the reception). It was really nice to be able to see family and friends again. The trip went by SOOO fast, and it felt like such a short time. I wish I had been able to spend more time visiting people and more time at the cottage, but the time I had was really good. I'm so grateful that I was able to go back. If only I could soak up the sweet times with family and friends and put them in a bottle to bring back with me.
At the begining of this month, my friend Andrea moved back to Ontario (she's also from Ontario). I met Andrea at the home church that I've been attending and we became good friends during the past few months. Life's a little lonlier already with her gone. Although I've been here for almost eight months, I still often feel lonely. I spend a lot of time by myself. There are lots of times when I just want someone to talk to and I don't know who to call (this whole three hour time difference stinks when you have those moments after 8pm). I've met lots of people and have some sort of relationship with some of those people... but I still long for deeper, more meaningful friendships. I am so thankful for Deric, Amber, and Ava - I consider them family.
Reine moved out in the middle of July (a room opened up in a house that some friends are renting). Deric, Amber, and I were hoping to find a new roommate for me by August 1, but were unable to. We did, however, find a really great girl (Jem) who will move in on Sept. 1. She's a Christian and starting a master's at Regent College (the local seminary/Christian university). I'm excited for her to move in and to get to know her better.
I continued volunteering with Urban Promise throughout the summer and plan to get involved with the afterschool program again this year. It's been a while since I've been downtown to help with mom's food ministry because of scheduling issues, but I hope to keep doing that in the fall as well.
So, that's life in a nutshell. I'd be happy to give you more than the nutshell version... but for this blog entry a nutshell will have to do :)

My battle with the "Whatifs"

2007-06-30T11:30:00.000-07:00

"Last night, while I lay thinking here,
Some Whatifs crawled inside my ear
And pranced and partied all night long
And sang their same old Whatif song:
Whatif I'm dumb in school?
Whatif they've closed the swimming pool?
Whatif I get beat up?
Whatif there's poison in my cup?
Whatif I start to cry?
Whatif I get sick and die?
Whatif I flunk the test?
Whatif green hair grows on my chest?
Whatif nobody likes me?
Whatif a bolt of lightning strikes me?
Whatif I don't grow taller?
Whatif my head starts getting smaller?
Whatif the fish won't bite?
Whatif the wind tears up my kite?
Whatif they start a war?
Whatif my parents get divorced?
Whatif the bus is late?
Whatif my teeth don't grow in straight?
Whatif I tear my pants?
Whatif I never learn to dance?
Everything seems swell, and then
The nightmare Whatifs strike again!"
(Shel Silverstein, A Light in the Attic)

I am not unlinke the narritive voice of this poem by Shel Silverstein. I too, have Whatifs that crawl into my ears at night and prance around in my mind. I think we all do. Our Whatifs come in different shapes and sizes... but no matter what the specifics... they try very hard to torment us. "Whatif green hair grows on my chest?" doesn't usually make it past my ear canal and I seldom entertain thoughts like "Whatif my head starts getting smaller?", but I have my own Whatifs. I'm sure you have yours too.... it's pretty easy to identify the Whatifs that we regularly battle. My Whatifs usually involve doubts about my future, my dreams, and the plans that God has for me. Whatif certain dreams are never fulfilled? Whatif life doesn't look the way I always hoped it would? Whatif? Whatif? Whatif?
The thing about Whatifs that make them so dangerous is that when Whatifs crawl into our minds, it's so easy to spend hours entertaining them. Entertaining Whatifs keeps our minds focused on the world of uncertainties... the unknown... the negative possibilities. Whatifs usually bring fear with them.
I spent a great deal of time a couple nights ago listening to the Whatifs that had crawled into my mind. In fact, they were bothering me so much that I found myself writing in my journal, "What if... What if... What if..." I started to think.... well... what if? What if all of these worst case Whatifs come true? How would that change me? How would that change my heart? How would that change my love of my God and my trust in Him? WHAT IF?
I think I won the battle with the Whatifs this time around... although I'm sure they'll come back again. Want to know the secret? Want to know how I killed the Whatifs that night? I killed them with Evenifs. Evenif life doesn't look the way I'd always hoped, Evenif certain dreams are never fulfilled, Evenif I grow green hair on my chest, and Evenif my head gets smaller... EVEN IF all of these things are true... God will still be GOD. No matter what else does or does not happen, no matter what other uncertainties I face... I know with all certainty that God will still be God. EVEN IF.... God will still be GOOD. EVEN IF... God will still be my Father who loves me. IF I know that if God is still God, my Father, and God is still good, then I can still have hope. I can still fight those pesky little Whatifs.

The latest

2007-06-18T00:34:00.000-07:00

Hey all! As promised, here's your long awaited update on the latest and greatest in my life. I'll try to stick with to the reader's digest version to save this from getting too long.
I'll start with the job... I worked my last day at Soup Etc! on Friday June 8th. I started my orientation and training at E-Comm on Monday. Training involved ten hour days for the entire week. It was very exhausting, but also really interesting. I'm learning a lot about the Greater Vancouver Region - geography was a huge part of the training. My class (there were four of us in training) was supposed to be ready to work on our own early this week, but due to staffing shortages, they worked it out so that we could be signed off on by Friday. So, as of Friday afternoon, the trainers (following our assessments) set us free. I worked on Saturday from 3pm to 3am. It was actually quite fun. I'm really enjoying the job so far. It's exciting. At times it's funny too... you'd be amazed with some of the things that people call 911 for. It's also a fun environment to work in... I'm really enjoying getting to know my coworkers. This week I only work a couple of days and then start my regular eight day rotation on Saturday. I'll be working two day shifts (7am to 7pm), followed by two night shifts (7pm to 7am), and then have four days off. I'm not sure how my body will adjust to working some nights and switching from days to nights. This will be a new experience for me.
Liz came to visit last week. Unfortunately she came on a cold rainy week, but we had fun anyway. So when I wasn't working or training, I got to be tourist again for a while. We went to Victoria on the weekend, where unfortunately we saw the naked bike racers (yikes!). That's right... in Victoria and Vancouver they have naked bike races once a year. Sort of humorous, sort of crazy... especially on a cold rainy day. We spent some time with one of our friends from college who we haven't seen in many years. It was a good week.
You may remember from my last post that I was going to meet with "mom" a couple of weeks ago. I had a nice chat with her and started volunteering that night. My schedule doesn't allow me the luxury of volunteering on consistent evenings, but I'm been trying to go out at least once, sometimes twice, each week to help. I have loved every minute that I have spent downtown helping so far (I've also had some very interesting public transit adventures). Most of the people Ellen now serves are adult men. I've gotten to know some, and recognize more faces every time I'm there. I look forward to serving and building relationships with mom's friends. God is there. I see His image and His fingerprints in so many ways when I spend time with these guys... the forgotten in our society. On Friday night, I spent almost an hour talking with one of the younger guys who had come for food. He's a drug dealer who portrays a tough exterior, but as we talked, I was amazed how similar we really are. People are people. We all have the same needs and desires. I hope that I will see this individual again... he's someone I'd like to be friends with.
That's all for now. Oh... one other exciting thing... I was granted the time off that I need in August to come back to Ontario for the weddings I will be attending. I'm going to book a flight soon. I'll be in Windsor for a few days and then off to the cottage for a few more. I'm excited!

Sorry

2007-06-14T21:32:00.000-07:00

Some of you have been asking for an update, so I just thought I'd quickly let you know that I am still alive and things are going well. That being said, I am so ridiculously exhausted right now that I'm not even sure I can stay awake long enough to put together a string of coherent sentences. I haven't forgotten about all of you though, and I promise that in the very near future I will write all about how the training for the new job has been and other things going on these days. I'd do it now, but seriously, it will be better if I wait. Soon... very soon... after I've had some good sleep. Goodnight.

Meeting with Ellen on Saturday... I'm really excited :)

2007-05-30T23:10:00.001-07:00

Some of you may have heard me talk about my missions trip to Vancouver back when I was a student at CBC. If you haven't, here's the brief rundown: I flew out to Vancouver with a group of seven or eight other students from my Bible college in Regina during our "intersession" week. We did a number of things while we were here, but by far the thing that had the biggest impact on me was working with "mom" on the streets at night. "Mom" is what all the kids on the street called her, though her real name is Ellen. She went out every night from 7pm to 2am-ish with a wagon full of food. She fed the street kids. She loved on them. She built relationships with them. They trusted her, respected her, and looked out for her. She didn't preach to them, rather she daily lived out Jesus' mandate to love and care for the poor and broken. That week in Vancouver working on the streets with her impacted me more than anything else in my life. That is the one week that I still look back on as probably the best week of my life. The most meaningful. I've often thought about that week over the last 7 years... often wondered. I think in some ways, God used that week and the experiences that came along with it to begin a process in me... start me on a path... begin to develop a passion in my heart. Now seven years later, here I am, back in Vancouver.... unfolding dreams. I've wondered since moving here (or even before really) whether Ellen was still working on the streets and if there was a way to find her. With all that has happened over the last five months, I still hadn't pursued that. But for some reason, this week I felt ready. I went online (Good old google... What in the world did we do before google? Google puts Sherlock Holmes to shame!) and was amazed at how easily I found a phone number for Ellen. I also found a couple of really great articles about what she does. Here's the links for those of you who are interested in reading more:

http://www.vancourier.com/issues02/123202/news/123202nn3.html

http://www.ubyssey.bc.ca/OldWebs/2002/20020308/womenMother.htmlf

So, today I called Ellen. I'm meeting with her on Saturday afternoon. I'm SO excited!

New job :)

2007-05-24T21:25:00.000-07:00

I had my second interview today at E-Comm. It went well. I got the job.... provided that the RCMP doesn't dig up any kind of skeletons in my closet that I am unaware of :) Hopefully I will get into the week of training that starts on June 11th. If I can't make it into that training week, I will have to wait until July 30th. So, I guess I just need to wait and see. I'm a little freaked out now that I actually have the job... but I think it will be a good thing. I hope so :) That's all for now. Thanks so much for praying.

Two steps closer to a really cool new job...

2007-05-13T15:23:00.000-07:00

I just got home from the information/screening session at E-Comm. There were indeed a couple of people who didn't show, leaving enough room for me to be tested. I passed the testing and had my first interview, which went really well. They asked me to come back for a second interview. It is scheduled for Thursday May 24th at 1:00pm. Yippee!

Exciting job opportunity :)

2007-05-12T22:37:00.000-07:00

So I know I mentioned a job possibility a while ago and said I'd fill you in when I knew more... so here's the filling for those of you who haven't talked to me recently:
The company is called E-Comm. They are a private company that is contracted by a number of the police, fire, and ambulance services from cities in the Greater Vancouver Area to answer 911 calls. Every time someone calls 911 in the area, it goes to E-Comm's call centre and is then transferred to the appropriate call takers and dispatchers based on location. The company is currently hiring. Reine's friend Ryan (who is one of the managers) offered to give me a tour and let me listen in on some calls in order to help me decide if I thought that this might be a job I would like. I went in last night to do this. I spent 2.5 hours there. I found the entire operation absolutely fascinating. I learned so many interesting things just in the short time I was there. After sitting with one of the call takers and dispatchers, I decided that this definitely seemed like a fun job. I decided to go ahead with the process of applying for the job. Tomorrow they are doing their information/testing sessions. At these sessions, they do the critical testing and first interviews. If you didn't get this done at the info session, the process would take a few weeks... this way you knock out three steps all at one time. If you pass the testing and make it through the first interview, an RCMP security clearance is started. The sessions for tomorrow are all full... however there are usually people who drop out at the last minute. Ryan told me that if I come to the 11am session, there is a good chance that I will be able to be tested, although he can't guarantee it. So tomorrow morning at 11, I am going back, hoping to get a spot in the testing. I am really excited about the opportunity that this job presents, and trusting that if this is where God wants me next, there will be an available spot in the testing and that I will pass (only 50% of the people who test actually pass). There would be so many really good things about this job: the pay, the benefits, the location (w/in walking distance of my house), the experience dealing with crisis and trauma, and the fact that it would be a great way to get to know the city and the needs in the city better, among others. Any of you who read this before tomorrow afternoon, please pray for me... that I would get to be tested and interviewed and that it would go well. I'll let you know the results ASAP :)

My trip

2007-05-08T22:38:00.000-07:00

Hi all! I made it back safely from Virginia last night, but was too tired to even think about writing then. My trip was wonderful... AMAZING! It was well worth flying across the continent for the weekend. God knew how much I needed this trip and over the course of four days He blessed me in so many ways. I could write a REALLY long blog sharing every detail of the weekend, but I'll try to keep it to the Reader's Digest version, since some of you may have other things to do today besides read my blog :) So, here are some of the things that stood out from the weekend:
1. Walking almost 20 minutes from work to the bus to Seattle with my rather large, overstuffed, very heavy backpack. I felt like a mule (not so good).
2. Missing the Canucks game (everyone in the airport was watching basketball), only to find out later that they lost, eliminating themselves from the playoffs (the most disappointing part of the weekend).
3. Free champagne on my 11:30pm flight from Seattle to Cincinnati (they say it was in honour of Delta's 100th anniversary, or something like that, but I know that it was really in honour of my graduation and trip back to Virginia. How thoughtful of them).
4. Meeting and talking to two girls around my age on my flight from Seattle.
5. Getting two hours or less of sleep and not brushing my teeth in 24 full hours... yup I felt pretty gross by the time I arrived in Norfolk.
6. Flying in over Norfolk... sigh... I cried.
7. Being met at the airport by friends.
8. Commissioning service for the School of Psychology and Counseling. This is where they hooded us, prayed over us, and commissioned us... sending us off into the world. It was very special... a beautiful service. Lots of tears and lots of hugs. A chance to catch up with professors and friends. Definitely a highlight of the weekend.
9. 1830! I had a chance to go to the young adults group that I was part of in Virginia Beach on Friday night. It was so great to see my friends there again and just enjoy spending time with them and catching up on life.
10. Graduation... It was long... maybe even a little bit boring at times (if you're really interested you can watch the entire thing online on Regent's website), but good none the less. It was a cooler, cloudy day, which in some ways was nice. It almost started to rain right before the counseling graduates had our turn, but it held off.
11. Going to VBBBC on Sunday morning. How wonderful to see my church family again! This particular Sunday was a going away service for a couple in the church who I love dearly. I am so grateful that God allowed me to be back at just the right time to see them before they move and to be there for the service sending them off.
12. Spending time with friends... laughing, being silly, playing games, talking, hugging, reminiscing, and making new memories. In some ways, it was like I had never left. My friends are still my friends and spending time with them felt as natural as ever. For those brief few days, life felt normal and right. It didn't feel like I was "visiting", it felt like I belonged.
13. A new suitcase with wheels... the graduation gift that saved my shoulders on the journey back to Vancouver.
14. Very little sleep.
15. Unexpected encouragement and blessings.
So, to wrap it up... my time in Virginia was spectacular. I wish I could have stayed longer, but even after only a few days, I felt like I would be coming back much better off than when I left. I can't even begin to describe how encouraging it was... or how necessary. God knew. He knew that I NEEDED physical touch in the form of hugs. He knew that I NEEDED to laugh. He knew that I NEEDED to be encouraged. So tonight I am thanking Jesus for a weekend that seemed to be absolutely heaven-sent.

My heart.

2007-04-30T22:02:00.000-07:00

I know that I just posted a couple nights ago, so most of you will be surprised to see me posting again. This post is different than the updates that I have given you recently... this post is to share with you my heart. So, here's me... being real. I'm not sure who will read this, but I trust that God does. I feel compelled to write, and hope that by sharing it will help some of you to better know how to pray for me. For others, I suspect that where I'm at right now might resonate with your own experience. I pray that we can be an encouragement to one another through the difficult times. This is what the Body of Christ is about.
My heart hurts. It's hard to explain why... I'm not even really sure myself. I've been able to do little else tonight but cry. I came home, pulled up some songs on my computer, and just lay before my God crying. Every word of every song seemed to touch some part of my already tender heart, causing the tears to become like a waterfall. As I listened to the words of "It is well with my soul", I wondered to myself... 'but what if it's not? '. Today, it does not feel well in my soul. I "feel" far from "well". My heart is in a state of turmoil. And yet, I am certain that in the midst of my brokenness, God is here.
I think that many of the tears came from the feelings of frustration, confusion, anxiety, disappointment, and perhaps even anger toward God. After being here for three months, I still feel like I am no closer to knowing the plan that God has for me... the reason he has brought me here. That frustrates me. I found myself crying out to God, "Why have you brought me here?". Even wondering if He really has brought me here. Has He really brought me here only to find myself feeling so alone and often unsatisfied? Why did He bring me out of the safe and comfortable, only to be lost, confused, and afraid?
I understand much better now why the Israelites grumbled against God in the desert. It's so easy for us to look at the Israelites and say, "They should have trusted God" or "God was performing miracles to protect them and bring them to the Promised Land, and all they can do is complain. What a bunch of ungrateful dummies!" We read the story and it's so obvious to us. God gave them the pillars of cloud and fire to guide them, parted the waters of the sea for them to walk across, and sent food from heaven for them, among other miracles. Man, if we were the Israelites, we sure wouldn't have missed what God was doing! We wouldn't have grumbled! Really? I realized tonight that I have a lot in common with my Israelite ancestors. I grumble. I don't understand what God is doing. I feel like I embarked on this journey with big hopes and dreams, and yet now I feel like those things are so far out of reach... much like the Israelites must have felt about the Promised Land.
As I read the story of the exodus from Egypt tonight, I noticed some things that had never stood out to me before. Exodus 13:17-18 says, "When Pharaoh finally let the people go, God did not lead them on the road that runs through Philistine territory, even though that was the shortest way from Egypt to the Promised Land. God said, 'If the people are faced with battle, they might change their minds and return to Egypt'. So God led them along a route through the wilderness toward the Red Sea, and the Israelites left Egypt like a marching army". Interesting. The shortest distance between two points is a straight line, but God knew them. He knew His people well enough to know that they would turn back if they were faced with battle. So, he took them the LONG way around. For their own protection. To keep them from turning back on their dream of seeing the Promised Land. By taking them the long way, God was looking out for their best interests.... lovingly protecting them from themselves. Hmmm. And yet to the Israelites this seemed like cruel and unusual punishment. Perhaps God has brought me the long way for a reason as well. Perhaps he is protecting me from myself. He knows me. Often I'm sure that if God had not spoken so clearly to my heart back in November I wouldn't stay. I like it here, but this is the hardest thing I've ever done. However, I am convinced that God has me here for a purpose, even if I don't understand. He knows me. He knows the desires of my heart and His plans for my life. But still, I question how long I will have to wait before those desires. Will I ever understand His plans for me? How do I learn to be content here in the here-and-now when I feel like there's something so much bigger? How do I keep from grumbling and continue to trust God in the wilderness when all I really want is to see the Promised Land? These are the questions running through my heart and my mind tonight. Please pray for me. Love you all.

Long awaited updates

2007-04-28T22:22:00.000-07:00

I realize that it's been almost two weeks since I've last posted anything, so I figured it was about time for a quick update...

I leave on Thursday after work to go to Virginia Beach for the weekend for my graduation! That is the most exciting thing on the horizon this coming week.

Today was a beautiful sunny day. I wore flip flops and carpis and spent part of the day down at the beach with Reine. It was lots of fun.

On Wednesday night, Reine and I had a dinner party here at our place. She invited some of her friends and I invited a few of mine (of course I had to do a lot of narrowing down, since I have SO MANY friends here in Vancouver ;). Deric and Amber came too. In total we had 16 people in here. I didn't think that we could cram so many people in our tiny apartment at one time, but we managed, and we had an awesome time! Her friends got along great with my friends. Everyone had fun... it was a big hit! I think we'll definitely start entertaining more often.
I spent a great deal of the evening talking with one of Reine's friends about an exciting job opportunity with his company (it's not exactly counseling related, but it's something that I think is definitely worth looking into). I'll fill you guys in on more details when there's more to share. In the meantime, continue to pray that God would give me wisdom in making decisions about jobs.

I've been enjoying volunteering with Urban Promise after work on Tuesdays. It's nice to be around kids. This past week the director was having some problems with the older girls in the group. Knowing that I have a counseling degree, he sought me out for some help dealing with the situation. The events of that day led to a conversation at the end of camp. The result of that conversation is that I will be taking the older girls (grades 5-7) on Tuesdays during homework time and running a group with them. I'm going to use the curriculum that my group created in our group counseling class which deals with various life issues for girls that age. I'm excited to have the opportunity to run a "counseling group" and excited to get to use the materials that my group and I put together. I'm a little nervous though about how these four girls (I think there will only be four participating) will respond. I don't expect a great reaction from them... and I'm not even sure that they will be very active participants. I also need to figure out how to take the eight week curriculum and condense it into six weeks, since that's all the time we have left for the after-school program. I could just choose six of the sessions, but there are valuable things in all eight, so I may try to do some "cutting and pasting". I think that this group could be very valuable for these girls. So, if you think of it between now and Tuesday, pray that God would give the girls receptive minds and hearts and that in the next six weeks, God would use this group in positive ways in each of their lives. Pray that He will give me wisdom and discernment in preparing for the group and that He would give me all that I need to relate with the girls and lead this group effectively.

I've decided to learn Chinese. I realize that it's a huge undertaking... but I want to try it. I guess now that I'm done with school, I'm feeling the need to take on some sort of academic challenge. I've always thought it would be neat to learn more languages, and since Chinese is the second most commonly spoken language in Vancouver, it made sense to me to learn it first (Roughly 30% of Vancouver's population is Chinese). I signed out a few books and CD's from the public library this week, and I'm ready to get going. Self-discipline. I need more if I'm really going to do this. There is a neat website for language exchange. Once I've learned some Chinese on my own, I might check out that site more. Basically you can post what language you know and which you want to know and find someone in your city who is looking for the opposite. So as a native English speaker wanting to learn Chinese, I could connect with someone my age in Vancouver who is a native Chinese speaker wanting to learn English. You both help each other with your skills, and neither have to pay for a tutor or language lessons.... and the best part is, you might make a new friend in the meantime :)

I recently went and printed a bunch of my digital pictures and got to work on my scrapbook. It's been so long since I've had time to work on it. It's nice to get back to it. I've also been reading a little more lately and thoroughly enjoying it.

Work has been going well... still enjoying eating all that soup :). I've been getting to know more of the mall staff and regular customers as time goes on. I know more people by name and have lots of people that I regularly talk to. I have friends at the mall. I find that very fulfilling... it makes my day so much nicer. It amazes me how much connecting with people really does make a difference in our lives.

The Canucks won their game last night! I am excited! This city is just buzzing with hockey excitement... it's great (except for when that excitement turns crazy and destructive). It seems like everyone has either a flag on their car or a jersey. Even the city buses say "GO CANUCKS GO" on their flashing signs. In fact, this week I saw one of those orange flashing construction signs that between flashing bits of info about sewer work on the road, read "Go Canucks Go"! Yeah Canucks!

Well, I should probably wrap this up and head to bed. For all those of you in VA Beach... I look forward to seeing y'all in less than a week. For the rest of you... I wish I could see you in a weeks time too :(. Pray that I'll have a safe trip to VA Beach and that I won't miss my bus to Seattle or anything crazy like that.

Just some thoughts

2007-04-16T19:41:00.000-07:00

I had a bad day today... at least I thought I did. I hardly slept last night... I spent the weekend in Bellingham, Washington with Deric and Amber and their staff team. They had a staff retreat and I went along to babysit Ava while they had meetings. It was a fun weekend away. I was really tired by Sunday night, so I stopped at the 7-11 in Bellingham for coffee before driving home. I knew better. I knew when I bought the coffee that I wouldn't sleep, and yet I drank it anyway. I guess I wanted to make sure I stayed awake the whole way home. And so, I didn't sleep. I gave up trying at 1:30am. Finally by 4:30 I was tired enough nod off. Let me tell you... two hours flies by when you're sleeping. After hitting snooze a couple times I decided that I could skip taking a shower (showers are highly overrated when you're tired) and instead sleep until 6:45 (I believe it was 6:39 when I made this decision). So in my half conscious state, I reset my alarm. At 8:43 (an hour after I should have been at work) my boss called. She wondered why I wasn't picking up the store phone, so she tried my cell. Her call woke me up from a deep sleep. I explained to her that I wasn't at the store yet and then darted around like a pinball to get out of the house in record time (without the shower I might add). My alarm went off at 8:45 (apparently setting an alarm when half asleep... bad idea!). Days like today I really wished I lived closer than 30 minutes from work. I made it to work, albeit late, but already my day was off to a bad start. I guess I had already convinced myself that it was going to be a bad day. I was tired, late, and to top it all off sick... the cold that I thought was getting better seemed to have taken a turn for the worst.
When I got home today from my not so great day at work, I found out about the massacre that happened at Virginia Tech earlier this morning. I cried. I don't know anyone who goes to Virginia Tech, but still, hearing the news of the shootings shook me. Thirty-three people dead and many others wounded. What started as a normal day getting up and going to classes ended in an unimaginable tragedy for the students and staff of that university, their families and friends, and the surrounding community. Monday morning. There were probably lots of students who slept in, skipped showers, and rushed off to their morning classes. Probably some who, like me, got up on the wrong side of the bed and just knew that it would be a bad day. And it was. The worst kind of day. A day that will forever change the lives of so many... in just an instant. Parents receiving the worst kind of phone call. Families torn apart. Siblings, friends, classmates... gone. It hurts my heart. Most of us will not remember Monday April 16th in a year's time, but for so many people, this day will never be erased from their hearts and minds. Perspective. Reflecting on today's events helps me to put my life in perspective. On this "bad" day of mine, I managed to find lots of things to worry about, dwell on, and complain about. However, in light of the events at Virginia Tech today, those things seem so minuscule... incredibly unimportant. Today reminded me that none of us know what lies ahead... I am grateful that God saw fit to give me another day on this earth and that in this day I have not known pain, loss, and suffering. The little annoyances are just that... little annoyances.

I'm going home to Virginia for graduation in one month (and counting)!!!!

2007-04-04T21:19:00.000-07:00

I booked my flight ticket tonight... I'm officially coming back to Virginia for the weekend of commencement!!!!!!! I'll be leaving from Seattle at 11:30pm Thursday May 3 and arrive in Virginia at 9:30am Friday May 4. I'll be there Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I leave early Monday morning. It will be a short visit... I'm sure the weekend will fly by, but I think I need this weekend, even if it is short and sweet. I'm very excited... I'm starting to count down the days already... 29 more days!

Exciting things

2007-03-30T23:08:00.000-07:00

So here are a couple of very exciting things this week that I wanted to share:

I got a raise! I will now be making$1/hour more to be a soup server/"sandwich artist" (that's right... sandwich artist... it's quite the art... the bread, the condiments, the meat, the cheese, the lettuce and tomatoes... just like using different coloured paints on a canvas). I knew that I had a raise coming my way, and with some encouragement from Deric, finally decided to ask my boss about it. Funny thing is, the day I had planned to talk to her about it, she approached me, saying, "How much are we paying you? I just realized that we need to give you your raise." Yeah!

This week was an amazing week of sunny days and nice weather. We just had SIX days in a row with lots of sun and no rain (Sunday - Friday)! The streak was broken with rain tonight... but it didn't start until 6pm-ish, so I still would count today as a good day. Now some of you may not realize just how big of a deal this really is... well... during the winter here, it rains A LOT, so six days of sun is a big deal! You know what it means right? SUMMER IS COMING!!!!!

Spring has sprung here in Vancouver... quite literally. Just within the last two weeks, flowering trees all over the city have blossomed. On my walk home Sunday after church, I walked down one of the streets in my neighbourhood that was lined on both sides with cherry blossom trees. It's lovely!

New piece of cheap furniture... and curtains are hung.

2007-03-23T20:30:00.000-07:00

This week I bought a chair that I found advertised on Craig's List (For those of you who still haven't heard about Craig's List... it's AMAZING! People advertise all kinds of things on there. That's where I found my bed, my chair, and even my job... I love it!). The chair was only $20, it's in good shape and it's really comfy. It matches pretty well with the colours in my room, so that's where I decided it will stay. It's nice to have something to sit on besides just my bed, and since my room is huge, it fills some empty space. I also have curtains hung on my window now (I finished them last week). I'm going to attach a picture of them for you to see. That's all for now though, not much in the way of big and exciting news.

A fun-filled week.

2007-03-18T22:51:00.000-07:00

I dropped Patrick off at the airport a few hours ago. His plane is in the air right now. I was sad to see him go... I wish I could have kept him here! We had a really fun week. We did some touristy things along with some relaxing things. I quite enjoyed having a companion for the week.
Today I discovered a new form of entertainment... The Georgia Straight "I Saw You" Ads. The Georgia Straight is Vancouver's Free Community Newspaper. It's great. There's a section in there where people place ads to try to connect with other people that they either met, had some sort of random encounter with, or saw. Some of them are unbelievably funny... good Sunday afternoon entertainment.

My first visitor from home :)

2007-03-12T20:44:00.000-07:00

Patrick arrived Saturday night... my first visitor from home (after my mom left that is). His flight was late getting in, and he arrived to find pouring rain here in Vancouver. This weekend we had record amounts of rain. It rained all day Saturday and Sunday. On Sunday Patrick and I went to church, walked around Commercial Drive in the rain, went to the mall, and drove through downtown (also in the rain). Today while I was at work, Patrick went to the University. It was a gorgeous sunny day and I managed to get off early so that we could go down to Granville Island and Stanley Park. I'm having fun playing tourist again for a while. It's nice to have someone to hang out with. It's been fun so far!

My car's identity crisis.

2007-03-08T21:26:00.000-08:00

Today my car received it's third set of license plates. I've owned the car for less than three years and in that time it has changed it's identity three times. My car is confused (it told me so.... that's right, we talk regularly). Can you imagine if your name changed three times in less than three years? You'd be confused too. So, my car is now less of an outsider here in BC. Unfortunately the cost of fitting in was high. Insurance in British Columbia is a government monopoly. That's right. There is one insurance company... no options... no competition... just CRAZY EXPENSIVE insurance from ICBC. But I guess when you're the only insurance company, you can charge whatever you want. Is it any wonder that everyone in Vancouver uses public transit? I could buy a monthly bus pass for one third of the cost of my insurance (and that doesn't even account for gas). Grrrrr! Otherwise, this week has been a much better week so far. Patrick is flying in this weekend. I'm excited about that.

My week.

2007-03-04T22:08:00.000-08:00

It's been one week since I posted. I'm not going to lie... this last week was a pretty crappy one. I found myself feeling pretty down at the beginning of the week... desperately missing Virginia, my friends, and my family. I found myself feeling lonely along with being confused about why I am here, and what the next step is. To top it all off, I was hit with the harsh reality that my student loans are hanging over my head and I will very soon need to begin paying them back. But, even through a discouraging week, God is still good. He allowed me to feel sad and cry, but sent me moments of encouragement along the way so that I didn't have to stay there. Friends to listen, even if they are thousands of miles away. Songs. Dancing with baby Ava. Friendly strangers. Perfectly timed invitations. Good discussions and laughter with new friends. Someone to pray with. Clear days. Grace. So, at the end of the week, I am aware that God's hand has been in it all. I know that He is good and that He has brought me to this place and He will bring me through it. I think the week to come will be a better one than the one that just passed :)

Pictures, as promised...

2007-02-25T16:33:00.000-08:00

OK, so finally, I have taken some pictures of the new paint in the room. It was good that I waited, because now I have a bed and bedspread to show off too. Still haven't finished the curtains on the window... that's the last major project to complete the decorating of the room. I also took a picture of me, so you can see the new (but not so new anymore) hair. Now please understand that I realize this is not the best picture possible. I had my hair in a ponytail all day, and took it out to take a picture. So my hair is not at it's best. Also keep in mind that this is a self portrait... they never turn out quite as good. I had to take the picture about 15 times to get one that was halfway decent (I blinked in at least 12 of the others). So, this is the best picture you get for now. So sorry.

Yay to beds... boo to mall parking lots!!!!

2007-02-24T22:09:00.000-08:00

I got a bed today. It was one that someone was selling for $30. It's a nice Ikea wooden frame single bed. It's actually a little wider than a normal single bed, but not as big as a double. It's nice. It's nice to actually have a bed in my room too. I went to Zellers this evening to buy a comforter (I had seen one there that I liked and figured would match my room). I ended up finding another one that I liked even more, and it was on sale. It's really nice... and it matches perfectly! Yay! So as I was leaving the mall, a friend called to see if I wanted to meet for dinner. My response was "Sure, once I find my car and get out of here". See... I didn't remember exactly where I parked b/c I was on the phone when I got to the parking lot (therefore not paying much attention to which entrance I was going in). I should clarify that the Metropolis Mall is HUGE. It's the second largest mall in Canada (after West Edmonton of course)... it's pretty big. There are a zillion parking places (really). So, I left the mall in search of my car. That began an almost three hour ordeal. When I hung up the phone, my friend said he would call me back in 1/2 hour (that should have been enough time to get to my can and get back home). When he called, I was still searching, and starting to get a little frustrated. After an hour of searching, I was getting really frustrated. After two hours, I was starting to cry. By the time I found my car, I could hardly move (I had been carrying around a rather large heavy bag with my new comforter in it this entire time). Now in those three hours, I went back into the mall a few times... to get my bearings, go pee, get some food, etc. I eventually had to ask a security guard for help. He's the one who actually found my car. I swear I walked every inch of parking lot except for the corner my car was parked in. GRRRR!!!! It was the most frustrating evening EVER! Obviously dinner plans were cancelled due to the fact that I had not yet made it home. So, the lessons I learned were: don't talk on the phone while entering the mall, and always pay attention to where you park and which entrance you come in.

My shopping spree :)

2007-02-20T17:59:00.000-08:00

That's right, I went on a shopping spree today. I bought six shirts and a pair of jeans... all for $14.77. Yeah Value Village!!!! That's the most exciting news of the day.
I learned today that the alarm on my phone (which I have set Monday to Friday at 6:30am) stops ringing after one minute, and just becomes a missed alert. Yikes! Usually I wake up after a couple of rings, but I didn't sleep well last night, so I guess I wasn't ready to wake up this morning at 6:30am. Fortunately just as it was on the last ring, I heard a voice in my head saying "I think that's your alarm ringing". I have no recollection of having heard the alarm before that. I woke up just in time (thank you Jesus)... sleeping in would be REALLY BAD since the store can't open without me. That would make for some angry customers and an angry boss. I decided I'll have to start setting a second (or more reliable) alarm... like my alarm clock :)

Happy New Year!

2007-02-19T21:23:00.000-08:00

Hi all! I realize it's been a whole week since I posted, but there hasn't been a whole lot new and/or exciting this week.
The co-worker I mentioned in my last post has now moved to another store, so I don't get to see her regularly. She called to say hi this morning, and we will probably plan to get together sometime soon.
Yesterday was Chinese New Year. I went to Chinatown on Saturday to explore. It was busy on Saturday, but the festivities for the New Year didn't actually start until Sunday. I'm wishing now that I had gone on Sunday instead of Saturday so that I could have seen the parade. Oh well... next year.
Sorry that I still haven't posted pictures yet... soon. The problem is that I still haven't finished cleaning the room enough to take pictures of it (go figure). Perhaps that will be my job after work tomorrow. When I get the camera out to take pictures of the room, I'll take one of the new hair too. I really should do that soon... before it grows back to the original length :)
Like I said, not much to report. Goodnight!

Adventures, blessings, and things to pray for...

2007-02-12T23:36:00.000-08:00

I'll start with the adventures:
1. I painted my entire room this weekend... all by myself! I should mention that I have never painted anything before (well, unless you count primer... I did help some friends with primer a couple months ago... but never paint). Deric gave me a quick lesson on how to edge and paint, and off I went. Two coats of one colour, three of the other, lots of paint, and a lot of time during a weekend... and voila! My room is no longer drab grey and icky yellow... it's brown. That may not sound like an improvement to some of you, but believe me, IT IS! When I get all of the furniture put back in place and touch-ups done, I will take some new pictures and post them. I'm really happy with the way it came out, and I feel like I accomplished a great lifetime feat by painting a room (by myself at that)!
2. I explored a little bit more of downtown and checked out a $450,000.00 condo that is for sale in the heart of downtown (for that price in downtown Vancouver you can get a two bedroom condo that is 873 square feet... what a STEAL! HA! No wonder everyone in this city rents. I doubt that I would ever be able to buy real estate in this city... unless I decide to become a doctor after all. Even then... as you can probably imagine... if a small two bedroom condo is half a million, a house is too much money to even fathom. It hurts my head just to think about it). So, no, I did not run into a lot of money recently... there just happened to be an open house for this condo in the building that Sarah (see blessings) was house sitting in for a friend. I got some free chocolate out of playing the role of an interested buyer. It was fun!
3. I learned how to juggle... o.k. well I can't actually do it yet, but I started learning how to. I need a LOT of practice. So far I can't even manage two oranges (even one was a bit of a struggle), so it may take years before I get to three (and I probably shouldn't be using oranges... sometimes they split open). For those of you who know me, you're probably not at all surprised that juggling didn't exactly come naturally to me... but the point is that I tried, and that I'm learning new things. I know the technique now, and the theory behind it, I just have a hard time putting it into practice (go figure this coming from the kid who couldn't catch a ball if it was coming straight for her head). The free juggling lessons came out of an unexpectedly fun evening (see also blessing).
Now for the blessings:
1. My dad informed me this week that a refund cheque came in the mail for me. It was something that I had forgotten all about and wasn't expecting. The amount was for the same amount as the interest on my loans. So, the money went into paying back some of that heaping pile of debt I have incurred. That was a nice surprise (the cheque, not the debt).
2. Last week at church I met Sarah, who got in touch with me during the week and invited me to dinner at her place on Friday night. Friday ended up not panning out for her, but we did get together for lunch and an afternoon of fun adventure downtown on Saturday. I had such a good time and left feeling so happy to have really had a chance to connect. I really think that Sarah will be someone who I will become good friends with over time. Hanging out with her, and the fact that she took the initiative to befriend me was such a blessing to me.
3. A couple of weeks ago at the Jacob's Well workshop I met someone involved in a local kid's ministry who invited me to their community meal on Monday nights. The last two Monday's haven't worked for me, but this Thursday I called to ask about coming today. I found out the time and location and agreed to be there for dinner tonight. For various reasons, that I won't expound on in this blog, I was really not looking forward to going by the time today came. In fact, I spent much of yesterday and today thinking of ways that I could gracefully back out of going to this dinner. However, I had already committed to being there, and didn't feel right about backing out just because "I didn't feel like it" So I resigned myself to the fact that unless I came down with some kind of illness today, I was going to dinner tonight. I decided that I would just try to have fun and try to remember that any time I meet new groups of people, I may be meeting someone who will become a good friend or good connection. Well, it's funny how God works. After totally not wanting to go tonight, it ended up being more fun than I could have imagined. We ate, walked, talked, laughed and juggled. I may have made a couple of new friends. I learned more about this ministry and I am seriously considering volunteering once a week.
4. Reine gave me an old sweater of hers that she doesn't wear anymore. It's my new favourite article of clothing :)
I'm sure there have been other blessings along the way that I'm missing, but these are the ones that stand out at the moment.
Things to pray for...
1. Continued financial provision... a way to pay back loans.
2. Wisdom in deciding my level of involvement in various things, including volunteering with ministries.
3. That God would continue to bring people across my path who will be important people in my life here and the ministry that God is calling me to.
4. I had an opportunity today to share with one of my co-workers a little bit about my God. I listened as she told me about her background, her search for truth, and the confusion that she is feeling. I encouraged her that God wants us to know Him and that if she is praying and seeking to know more about Him, He will give her understanding and allow her to see more of Him. Please pray that God would show Himself to her and that she would continue to grapple with those tough questions.
5. Pray that I will be faithful to the Spirit's promptings and that I will truly be an ambassador of Christ both at work and at home.

P.S. The font colours I chose are similar to the colours in my room... just to give you a little sneak peak :)

Updates

2007-02-08T21:13:00.000-08:00

I guess it's a good thing that I haven't had time to post in almost a week... it means that I have more to do now than just be on the computer (I have a social life... YES!), but I apologize to those of you who have anxiously been awaiting an update. A lot has happened since the last time I posted.
Sunday was the best church experience that I have had yet since arriving in Vancouver. The church is one that a couple of friends had recommended, and is close to my house. It's a small church, the pastor was very good, and it was a very welcoming church family. Someone around my age sat next to me and talked to me. After church she invited me to come with her and some of the other young adults in the church to the associate pastor's home for lunch and fellowship. I went, and I'm so glad that I did. I had a wonderful time and met a great group of people my age. Yeah!
On Monday I cut my hair... A LOT! I was at work when a girl who works at the salon in the mall (ironically enough, the name is "Hennessy Salon") came over to let us know that we could get free hair cuts. She is a new hairstylist and needed hair models (people to practice on). I booked an appointment with her for one hour later when I got off work. I'm game to let someone use me as their guinea pig if it means a FREE haircut. I was getting to the point which I needed a haircut anyway, so a free one is great! I was so excited! I had her cut it a lot shorter... it now hangs between my ears and shoulders (probably 3 - 4 inches shorter than it was before). It took a REALLY long time to cut (I was only her second hair model... the first was an older man with hardly any hair to begin with), but it was free so I didn't complain.... and the salon gives you cookies and coffee while you're getting your hair cut! The stylist did a very good job, I love the new doo (I'll try to post a picture on here soon). It just felt right to make a drastic change to my hair. After all, in the last six weeks my entire life has changes drastically, I figured my hairstyle should reflect those changes.
Monday night when I got home from work, Reine (not actually spelled Rayna like I thought) was here and had started to move in some of her things. We both were out for the rest of the evening (I went to the Monday night meal with Deric and Amber's team again), but when we got home, we sat around and talked for quite a while. Since Monday we've had lots of opportunities to spend time getting to know each other a little more. She's really great, and I'm definitely convinced that it's a God-thing that we're living together. Yesterday she moved in the rest of her stuff... our kitchen is now complete (well mostly - still waiting on a microwave, but at least there are more than 3 forks and spoons in the kitchen now, and a table to eat at).
On Tuesday night I went again to the home church in my neighbourhood. I'm really enjoying it and I'm getting to know people there, which is great. I think that will become something I do on a weekly basis.
I'm still enjoying my job. I burned myself the other day... it hurt like crazy, but it didn't even blister, so I was happy about that. I'm discovering my least favourite soups. There is one called "Sicilian Zupe" that although it tastes fine (pasta, tomatoes, sausage... not too bad), it smells horrific. I want to rename it "Sicilian Puke (Pew - k)". I think it smells like vomit... perhaps more specifically, baby vomit. It smells disgusting. I hope we don't serve it again in a LONG time. There is a curry soup that also smells funny, but it's not as gross as this. My favourite soups are still "Tomatoes with a Tan" and "Squashed". They taste and smell good.
I've also been working on some projects in my bedroom. I made a curtain to cover the closet with no door (the room looks so much better with just that added). Once I finished the curtain, I felt more motivated to do more decorating. I found a Fabricland and bought lots of different fabrics that match the curtain and the colour of paint I'm planning to paint the room. Last night I made a runner to cover the top of the entertainment unit in my room (it had a big crack in the wood on the top and didn't look too nice... a runner did the trick to fix that problem). Next is window coverings, a throw blanket, pillows, and whatever else I can manage to make with the fabrics I bought (I got some great deals!). I'm hoping to get started with the painting on the weekend. Once I have the room decorated, I'll take more pictures and post them. I think it'll look really good when it's done. I'm excited!
Aside from all of those things, God has really been teaching me a lot in the last few weeks. He is so good and never ceases to amaze me! Every day when I head north on my way home from work (especially on the sunny days) the view takes my breath away (often quite literally). Every day, I'm amazed by the beauty and every day when I see the mountains, I am certain that my God is a BIG God and that my God loves me. I pray that I will never stop feeling amazed. Sometimes I wonder if He made the mountains just for me. Maybe not, but I think I was made for this place. As funny as that may sound, I believe in my heart that this is where I belong... this feels like home. I'm so grateful for this time of exploring possibilities and seeking Him. I am confident that I am right where God wants me and feel more content to live one day at a time than I have in the past. Even in my wildest dreams three months ago when I decided to move to Vancouver, I never could have anticipated the way this adventure would unfold before me. I'm loving the ride!

The most exciting thing of the day...

2007-02-02T23:50:00.000-08:00

So, there I am, just about at the end of my day serving soup, when I caught a glimpse of a familiar face walking through the mall. We both did a double take and then I realized that lo and behold, there was Jared! Jared was my neighbour at home from the time I was in high school. He moved to Vancouver a year or two ago. When I decided to move out to Vancouver, my brother gave me Jared's e-mail address. I found out at that point that he was indeed in Vancouver, but in January would be moving up to northern British Columbia to work. So, imagine my surprise today seeing him in the mall. I think that he was just as surprised. What are the chances??? We talked for quite some time. As it turns out, plans changed and he is back in Vancouver, and incidentally lives only a few blocks away from the mall that I work at. We exchanged numbers and will likely get together for coffee sometime in the near future. So, that was by far, the coolest thing that happened today. I was very excited about the encounter... it really made my day. Hooray for familiar faces amongst a sea of strangers :)

Roommate moving in soon :)

2007-01-31T22:13:00.000-08:00

Sometimes God answers our prayers in ways that we aren't expecting... go figure. God's plans are not always in line with mine. The thing about God is that He sees the bigger picture that I can never even hope to imagine. I, along with Deric and Amber and many of you, prayed for a roommate to fill the empty spot in this home, specifically praying that we would find someone by February 1st. What I expected and hoped for was a roommate with similar values, interests, and passions... someone who would be more than just a roommate, but also a friend. In spite of my own hopes and expectations, my desire to trust God (and see His plans come to pass in my life) was more important. Even before moving to Vancouver, I felt very strongly that God was in this... in every detail, including who would be my roommate. Something tells me that God's up to something exciting that I can't even begin to dream up. I have a roommate... I believe that she is an answer to our prayers. Her name is Rayna. She is 18 years old and, at least at the outset, it appears as though we have about as little in common as possible. If I had met Rayna one month ago, I would not have pegged her as a potential candidate for a new roommate. However, God, with His "big picture" perspective saw it fitting for the paths of these two unlikely strangers to not only cross, but intertwine for a time. In praying about the decision, I felt as though God were reminding me of the heart that He has given me for youth. It occurred to me that, although the situation may be a little unexpected, here is a teenager, whose life I will be given a wonderful opportunity to invest in. I also think that God is going to teach me a lot of lessons through Rayna. So, I'm excited. Excited to have a roommate. Excited to find those little things we do have in common. Excited for the possibility of an unexpected friendship. And most of all, excited to see what God has in store.

"Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails." Proverbs 19:21

Potential roommate...

2007-01-30T07:52:00.000-08:00

Hey all! I can't write too much right now because I need to leave the house in five minutes for work, but I just wanted to put a quick post to update you on the roommate situation. A young girl came yesterday while I was at work to look at the place and LOVED it! That in and of itself is pretty amazing, cause most of the other people who have seen it had a less positive reaction. She told Amber on the spot that she would take it if it was offered to her. Amber took her number and had me call her last night to set up a time that I could meet with her. She is coming today after I get home from work and we're going to have tea (that was her idea... I like it). From what Amber tells me she's young (18) but has been on her own for a while. Amber says that she's very different, but seems really sweet. As far as we know she's not a Christian, which is fine with me as long as she's someone that I feel I can trust. Please pray for wisdom as I meet with her today. I took some time last night to pray in the empty bedroom for whomever would be moving in. So far everyone else who was interested has said no. There were a couple of awesome girls who I would have loved to live with, and was a little bummed about that. We've been praying all along that God would bring along the right person.... and perhaps that person is not who I may have expected. So please pray about it for me. Thanks so much... my five minutes are up... I need to jet! Have a nice day.

New pictures posted

2007-01-27T22:43:00.000-08:00

Hey all! I've posted new pictures on my photosite http://cemery6.photosite.com/ from Stanley Park the other day. It really is as beautiful as it looks in the pictures.
This workshop that I attended this weekend was amazing! It was all about the marginalized in our society and God's mandate to us to love. We looked through the Scriptures at some of the hundreds of passages that demonstrate God's heart for the orphans, widows, and the poor along with His instructions to us regarding these marginalized groups. It was very powerful! It was also a great chance to meet a few other people with similar hearts, who I think may become good friends over time.

Beauty, attitudes and Vancouver driving tips.

2007-01-25T22:40:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was perhaps the most beautiful day that Vancouver has seen since I arrived. Seeing the city on a clear, bright, and sunny day was absolutely breathtaking! I am so excited about living here... I can't wait until summer! I only had to be at work until 2pm yesterday, so after work I decided to go out to Stanley Park. Parts of the seawall are still closed (a huge storm wiped out a ton of trees and caused a big mess in the park back in around Christmas - the cleanup is still in progress) but I walked as much of it as I could and took one of the roads back. I took a lot of pictures. When I get a few minutes I'll post them on my photosite for you guys to see. Amazing!
My job seemed a little less exciting today after I was squirted with crab chowder first thing in the morning and learned that I would, indeed, as I kinda suspected, only be making minimum wage (at least to start off). I had to do a major attitude check this morning because after that my attitude and thoughts got pretty ugly. I started thinking along the lines of "This is ridiculous. I have a Master's degree and I'm getting paid minimum wage to work in a mall serving soup". After a while though, I was reminded that I should be grateful to have a job, and especially that I was able to find one that was full-time. I also realized that even though this job doesn't pay me much, I've had more fun in the last three days serving soup than I had many days at previous jobs. When I started to put things into perspective and decided to make the best of things, the day started to get much better. It really is a fun job, and I'm glad for this time. Even in serving soup, I will do it as unto the Lord.
Yesterday not one, but two of the other places I had applied for called me to offer me interviews. One was the Starbucks close to my house... a job that I would have jumped at one week ago... I have to believe that things don't just happen by accident and that for some reason, although Starbucks had my resume much longer, Soup Etc! called me a week earlier. I think that for now, that is where I need to be, for whatever reasons, yet unknown to me. The opportunity is out there though and the manager at Starbucks told me that I could call her back if at any point in the future I was interested in working there, even if it was just doing part-time shifts... maybe an option to consider down the road.
This weekend I am planning to attend a workshop put on by Jacob's Well, a Christian ministry here in Vancouver that works with the homeless population. The workshop is something they do once every three months for free... and apparently they fill up fast. Deric and Amber work very closely with this ministry, and Deric found out today that they had a group back out at the last minute from the workshop that is scheduled for tomorrow and Saturday, leaving some open spaces. Yeah! So tomorrow night and all day Saturday I'll be there. I'm very excited. It should be a great way for me to get a better idea about the different types of ministries that work in the city and how to get involved.
The search for a roommate is still on, and getting down to the wire. The girl from England, who I was really hoping would live here, decided that she wanted to be in a location closer to the area she is hoping to work in. We've had a couple of other girls check it out since then, but so far nobody who has decided they want to stay.
I'm learning a lot about how to drive in Vancouver (it really is different than any place I have lived before). Here are some things that one would need to know about the traffic rules in Vancouver:
1. Green flashing lights DO NOT mean advanced green (really). They just mean that you have a green light and will for an indefinite amount of time.
2. In many cases, green flashing lights are used at intersections where a smaller side street meets a major road. The people driving on the major road have a green flashing light, while the people on the side street have a stop sign. The green flashing lights in these cases do not change to red on the behalf of cars sitting at the stop sign waiting to turn. No they only turn for pedestrians and bicyclists who press the button (I'm thinking on busy traffic days I should just jump out of my car to push the button... a little like a new and improved "Chinese Fire Drill"). Therefore, flashing green lights are the new pedestrian crosswalk symbol.
3. However, pedestrians pretty much rule the roadways anyway. I mean, I know that they have the right of way everywhere, but here, they take that job seriously. In Vancouver, you CANNOT actually turn right on a green light... unless you are playing the "see how many pedestrians you can hit" game.
4. It's very important to know that red lights DO NOT actually mean stop... they really mean LEFT TURN. So, red lights are the new flashing greens or green arrows.
5. Green arrows DO NOT actually mean advanced green, they actually mean stop.
6. Yellow arrows mean start making left hand turns whenever possible (ie. when oncoming traffic or left hand turners from the other street have finally come to a stop).
7. Red arrows mean FAST, FAST, FAST, GO, GO, GO (similar to red lights). When a red arrow is displayed, it is required that five cars quickly make left turns before the light turns green and oncoming traffic starts moving toward you.
8. Green lights mean wait... wait for those stinkin left hand turners to get out of your way so that you can start moving (hopefully before the light is red again).
So all this to say, I've come to some conclusions about driving here in the city...
a) Everyone who lives here must be colour blind.
b) Driver's ed. programs are failing miserably.
c) Police are too busy to care.
d) It's no wonder everyone uses the buses and sky train!

First Day on the job, a social outing, and creepy window washers.

2007-01-23T22:13:00.000-08:00

I started work at Soup Etc! today. It was quite a lot of fun! I got to taste all nine of the soups we were serving today... it's actually sort of a job requirement. We have to check to make sure the soup's are hot enough before serving them... so this means either standing over each pot of soup with a thermometer and waiting, or just tasting them and saying "Yup, they're hot". I much prefer this extremely scientific method. I was quite impressed with all of the different soups. I love the free food... and good free food at that! Yeah!
Today I worked from 10-6, but once I am fully trained, I'll be working from 8am to 4pm Monday through Friday. Although I still don't know exactly what my hourly wage is (how bad is that? I just couldn't bring myself to ask), my boss told me today that once I am trained and get into the position full swing, my rate of pay would get bumped up since I would be considered the shift supervisor (because I'm the daytime staff person). Sweet!
Being at the mall is actually a fun place to work... especially if you're someone who loves to watch people (and I do). Today's highlight was the middle-aged lady who was running (the just beyond skipping kind of running) through the food court flapping her hands in the air. At first I thought she was trying to flag down a friend, but nope, she just kept running... she almost looked as though she was trying to fly. She looked happy all the while, it wasn't as if she was running away from something out of fear. Quite interesting. I expect that working at the mall will be quite entertaining.
Both my boss and the other staff member that I worked with today were really nice. They even invited me out with them after work along with 3 other girls who work at different Soup Etc! locations. It was fun to hang out with a group of girls my age and I enjoyed the opportunity to get to know each of them a little bit and I look forward to the ways that God will use these developing relationships with coworkers in cool and exciting ways.
When we left tonight, Lindsay gave me directions from where we were to where I needed to be to get in the direction heading home. She told me to lock my doors since I had to go up to Main St./Hastings (AKA - the shadiest part of the city). I'm kinda glad I did have my doors locked. A man who was trying to make money washing people's windows (formerly they would have been called "squeegee boys" but I don't feel the title exactly fits since A. - he was a grown man and B. - he didn't even actually have a squeegee, just a rag and a spray bottle) walked in front of my car and asked using gestures if he could wash my windows. I firmly shook my head "No", but he continued to insist, until finally he just started washing my window (this is all while at a red light... it felt like the longest red light ever, although I'm sure it wasn't really, it just seemed that way). I tried inching my car forward a bit, and indicating to him using gestures and head shakes (cause there was NO WAY ON EARTH I was about to open my window at that point) that I had no money (True... $0 cash in my wallet) and I did not require his services. He still didn't get the hint, but the light turned green so I was GONE! Ay ay ay... After that I took a nice drive around the city in the dark (took a wrong tun somewhere), but made it home safe in the end. The lesson I learned... I should avoid the downtown eastside after dark, especially if I'm alone (not that I was planning to hang out down there at night to begin with). It's pretty creepy at night in that area.

Yeah!

2007-01-22T14:25:00.000-08:00

I got the job... I start tomorrow. That's all.

Fresh produce.

2007-01-21T22:01:00.000-08:00

Grrr... So, it's 10pm on Sunday night. Lindsay from Soup Etc! said she would call me to let me know about the job on Sunday night.... so far no phone call at all. I'm guessing that I won't be starting tomorrow morning if I haven't heard anything at this point. Perhaps I will still be unemployed tomorrow... in which case I guess it's back to putting out more resumes for me. I'm really craving ice-cream right now... but it's crazy expensive here, so no ice-cream for me. That will be the first thing I treat myself to when I get a job.
On a more positive note, after church today, I walked up to the fresh market. It was raining, but I decided to walk anyway. It only takes 15 minutes each way. I was very excited at the load of fresh fruits and veggies I was able to get for an incredible price. For only $9.95, I bought: A small butternut squash, a mango, two grapefruits, an English cucumber, snow peas, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, bean sprouts, garlic, green onions, and a cauliflower. Yeah! I had an amazing salad for lunch when I got home. It made my day... even the rain and the disappointment about not hearing back about the job can't spoil that :)

My new piece of furniture

2007-01-20T21:17:00.000-08:00

So I don't know anything for sure yet, but I really liked the girl who came to check out the place today, and would love to have her be my roommate. I think that we do have a lot in common, and she seems really nice. Deric and Amber both liked her too. They asked her to let them know in the next couple of days since there are a few other girls coming to look at it on Tuesday and Wednesday as well. I guess we'll see...
I received the first of my "left behind" boxes in the mail today. I asked my dad to mail this one to me last week, knowing that it held all of my extra bedding and warm blankets. Ah, warmth!!! I also am excited because the box that the blankets (and some games) were packed in was actually my big blue Rubbermaid container. Like a faithful companion, it's travelled all over North America with me (or by Canada Post). I bought it in Regina to use as extra storage... and for a while it served as a laundry basket. When I moved home from Regina, it got mailed from Regina to Windsor full of things that I didn't have room for on the plane. While in Windsor it was used as storage. When I moved to Virginia Beach, that trusty old Rubbermaid came with me, packed with belongings... then back to Windsor it came when I graduated. There wasn't room for it in my car coming out to Vancouver, so once again it travelled by mail... and now here it is in Vancouver with me. It now serves as a linen closet and a nightstand. What more could a girl ask for? My alarm clock finally has somewhere to sit, and I have lots of warm blankets. Life is good.

From broken toilets to soup and roommates.

2007-01-19T21:18:00.000-08:00

I went to bed last night with a splitting headache and a broken toilet (grrr). I prayed that God would fix both while I slept (the headache was enough to make me want to cry, and I don't know anything about plumbing). I woke up this morning headache free, but with a toilet that still didn't work. Knowing that God is still God and must have some reason for allowing me to have to deal with a broken toilet, I went in search of help. Fortunately Deric was home. Just as he was about to call a plumber, he managed to get that toilet back to normal working condition (well, as normal as this toilet has ever been). I'm very glad that it didn't overflow, as I had just spent all afternoon yesterday cleaning the bathroom. Sometimes toilets break, it's a fact of life that at some point we will all have to face. Things don't always work the way we want them to. Sometimes you need to be humble and ask for help in order to solve the problem. Anything that can be broken, can also be fixed. This is what I learned from the broken toilet.
I had my interview at Soup Etc! today. It sounds like it would be a pretty cool job... and I would get FREE lunch every day (I am a big fan of free food, especially if it's good)! It's a very cool little place. They have 40 different kinds of soup, 8 of them are served each day. They also have sandwiches and muffins and coffee and stuff like that. If you want to check it out, here's their web site: http://www.soupetcetera.com/ It's a healthy alternative to fast food. Look at me, I haven't even been given the job yet and I'm already a walking billboard for them. They really should just hire me ;)
The manager was interviewing a few people today and told me that she would make her final decision by Sunday night. I think she liked me, and I expect that she'll offer me the job. She asked if I could start on Monday if she hires me. Uh... YES! She brought up the fact that she knew given my experience and education that this would probably not be a long-term job for me. She told me that she was totally o.k. with that. She said that even if I only stayed for a few months, as long as I got something good from the experience and was able to give something to them, it would be worth it in her eyes. I like her perspective! That was one of the things I was worried about - taking a job and having something in my field come up and feeling bad about quitting. It was like she had read my mind, and expressed that she would fully support me moving on to something else at whatever point in the future that time came. She seems like she would be a very good boss and it sounds like a cool company to work for. I have no idea what the pay is... I feel like you're not supposed to ask that in an interview and she didn't bring it up. I have a feeling it's not much more than minimum wage (but I'm hoping and praying that it is). But, like I said to my dad... 40 hours of minimum wage is a heck of a lot better than 0 hours with $0 wages. I'm kinda excited and hoping that I get it. It would only be weekday hours. That leaves my nights and weekends to do some volunteering, get involved in a ministry, and maybe still have some free time...
FREE TIME... sweet free time. Although unemployed is not so good, I am really enjoying having free time for the first time in a LONG time! It's great! No. It's better than great... it's magnificently splendid! I actually have time to cook real meals... no more rushed microwave dinners on the way out the door to run from one place to the next. I feel like I have time to breathe and I'm really enjoying the fresh air. I hope that my life never has to feel as crazy, stressful, and hectic as it did in the last four or five months before leaving Virginia Beach! Life is much less enjoyable that way.
Oh, I also took the sky train today for the first time. I should have taken the bus to the sky train station (in nice weather I could even walk... it's about 1.5 miles from my house... that would be a pretty long walk though so maybe not), but I sorta cheated and drove to the station. I was afraid I'd get on the bus going in the wrong direction and end up being really late. I parked my car in Safeway's parking lot - since I was only gone for a couple of hours I figured I could get away with doing that. If I was gone all day there would be no way... my car would probably get towed (there are signs in the parking lot proclaiming a one hour limit for parking). Anyway, the sky train is very cool. It only takes 7 minutes to get downtown from the Broadway station (the REAL downtown that is... I feel like I live downtown, but technically I don't... technically I live on the east side... in Hastings-Sunrise area/neighbourhood... I think. If you ask me, all of Vancouver feels like "downtown"). If any of you are interested, I found a really good Vancouver website that has a section detailing each of the different neighbourhoods. I thought it was cool. If your bored, or planning to visit :) you should check it out: http://www.vancouveruserguide.com/
One more exciting thing today (this is getting long). Amber told me that tomorrow afternoon (3pm) there is a girl coming to check out the other room and apartment and see if she wants to move in. It sounds like she may be a perfect match... she's 27 years old, new to the area (she had another place to live and it fell through at the last minute), and is here because she feels called by God to this area. She is a Canadian citizen, but grew up in England. She is looking for a job here and trying to get involved in ministry in the downtown eastside (that's the area that has the high rates of homelessness and drugs). Hmm... does she sound at all like anyone else we know (except for the growing up in England part)? Please pray for Deric and Amber and I as we meet her tomorrow, that if she is the right person to fill the empty spot in this house that God would make that clear to us and to her. I'm really excited to meet her, and hope that it will work out. I'll post an update tomorrow. Well, that's all for tonight. It's already past midnight... yikes! Goodnight!

One job interview coming up...

2007-01-17T19:43:00.000-08:00

The last couple of days I have been focused on getting out resumes and applications. So far I've sent out 15 resumes - 3 of them went to Christian miistries that work in the downtown area, 1 to a counselling/community service agency, 1 to a tutoring company, 1 to a childcare staffing company, 1 to a grocery store, and the rest to cafes, coffee shops, and things of that sort. I have information for two more counselling organizations that I intend to send resumes to later tonight or tomorrow... and there are always plenty more Starbuck's that I can hit with resumes tomorrow if I need to. So far I haven't heard from any employers yet, but it has only been a few days. I'm finding hard to be patient, but I know that God's got in under control so I'm trying very hard to not be stressed and enjoy this time.
Last night Amber and I went to check out the Asian grocery store around the corner from our house. I managed to find vinegar and edamame, which made my night. For anyone who's never tried edamame (soy beans), you should... they're delicious. You can get them anywhere you can get sushi.
I'm learning to cook without using a microwave. Last night I turned leftover rice and chicken into chicken fried rice. Add some spinach and VOILA... a meal made of leftovers using only a stove. It's actually not as bad as I thought (living without a microwave), it just requires a little more advanced planning.
***NEWS BREAK: As I was sitting here doing my blog and watching American Idol (they're doing the Seattle auditions... it's pretty hillarious... there are a lot of people out there who think that they can sing, but CAN'T... sad really). Anyway, I got a call from the manager of Soup Etc (one of the places I sent my resume). It's a soup and sandwich type place. I have an interview on Friday at 2:30pm.
Something to pray about. I have no idea what they pay, and obviously serving soup is not my long term goal, but it may be a good job for now (I bet I'd get some free meals out of the job:) It's a Monday - Friday, daytime hours job, which is appealing. On the one hand, I don't want to jump on the first thing that comes along... what if the day after I take a job, sommething in my field comes along? But, on the other hand, I feel like I can't afford NOT to jump on the first thing that comes along... If someone has a job they're willing to give me and I turn it down, what if nothing else comes along for three months? So if the soup interview goes well, I may have a job to start on Monday. In the meantime, we can pray that if I'm meant to be somewhere else, that they would call before Friday :)

Little surprises... meeting new people :)

2007-01-15T22:38:00.000-08:00

I dropped my mom off at the airport today, which was much less of an ordeal than I thought it might be (the airport was very clearly marked). My mom however has had quite the trip home. I haven't talked with her yet, but my dad just sent an e-mail saying that her plane is due to arrive in Windsor at 2:04am - much later than she originally expected to arrive at home. I'm sure she'll be pretty tired tomorrow (not to mention messed up because of the three hour time change). It was really great having my mom here for the last week, and I am sad to see her go. I wish I could keep her here in Vancouver with me. I expected that tonight would feel a little lonely... my first night here all by myself. But, God is good, and when you least expect it, he brings along little surprises....
Yesterday I was disappointed that I didn't meet a single soul at church, but today made up for it! Deric and Amber (the couple I'm renting from) invited me to go with them for dinner with some friends/colleagues. Deric and Amber work for a missions organization that trains Christian leaders. The other staff on their team (two other couples) and some friends get together every Monday night at one of their homes for a meal and fellowship. Yeah! I had such a wonderful time and met three other wonderful Christian couples and their children. It really was a wonderful evening (and the fact that it meant a good meal for free was a bonus)! Two of the women I met gave me suggestions of people I may want to talk to in order to find out more about the ministry opportunities out there (connections are good). The evening also provided a good chance to get to know Deric and Amber a little better. I really am convinced that me finding them was a God thing, and I look forward to getting to know them more. Please continue to pray that we will be able to find a roommate for me by the beginning of February. Also continue to pray about jobs. I plan to spend all day tomorrow dropping off more resumes at places that are advertising available positions... and then maybe spend the evening finishing up with cleaning my new home.

Exploring new territory....

2007-01-14T20:03:00.000-08:00

During the past couple of days, my mom and I have done a lot of exploring. We have ventured out to various parts of downtown (my place is VERY close to downtown) Vancouver. Yesterday we walked up and down Commercial Drive (not to be confused with Commissioner Drive, which is not actually the name of a street in Vancouver... at least not that we can tell... not a major street anyway), and were impressed with all of the little coffee shops and multiethnic restaurants and markets. Today we went over to Granville Island, which was really fun. They have an indoor market with everything from produce stands, to fresh fish, to any kind of food you can imagine. There are also lots of little shops and fun places to check out. We figure it would be a lot more fun in the summer when it's not so cold. Although there hasn't been any more snow in the last few days, it is still very cold here right now.
We went to church today, and although the service was good and the church we went to had a very young population (lots of people my age), I was a little dissapointed that not one single person introduced themselves to us. I guess I've gotten used to southern friendliness (and a small church). I'm sure I'll try that church at least one more time, and check out some other churches in the area too.
In the last couple of days, I have also dropped off a few resumes at places that had signs saying that they were hiring. I'll do some more looking after I drop my mom off at the airport tomorrow. I'm hoping that I can find a job VERY SOON... like starting tomorrow would be really good!
Aside from the bathroom, the rest of the apartment has been cleaned and we've started to hang things on the walls. It looks much more like home now. It's still a little too chilly, so I'm having to run a space heater almost all day and night... which I'm sure won't be good for the hydro bill. We tried out the fireplace the other day, which helped to warm things up a bit... until my dad put a damper on that by telling us that we shouldn't be buring things with paint (there were old baseboards and floorboards left from renovations that we were told we could burn). Apparently burning things with paint is not good... something about emitting toxic fumes, blah, blah, blah. So, no more fires for me... until I get some real (paint-free) wood.
My internet is finally hooked up here at home! Yippee!!!
Tomorrow my mom flies back to Ontario. Pray for a safe trip (and that she won't get lost in TO when she changes planes) and please pray that God would provide a job for me and that He would provide financially in the meantime. Thank you so much to all of you for your love and prayers. I am so blessed!

My cardboard box :)

2007-01-11T20:15:00.000-08:00

My mom and I are at a little coffee shop in downtown right now... using the internet. So far I don't have internet hooked up at home, but it should be set up soon. The last couple of days have been spent cleaning a once VERY DIRTY apartment and exploring the city (read between the lines: spending more time driving around the city lost while trying to find places like grocery stores, thrift store, etc.) So we now have seen a lot of Vancouver. We spent a good amount of time in the mall (Burnaby has the second largest mall in Canada... however, it is not to be confused with the "Crystal Mall" down the street from the second largest mall in Canada. Yup, we were definately confused. At first we thought we entered the food court of the mall, until we realized all of the restaurants were Chinese ones, and all of the stores... apparently Vancouver has a Chinese mall). My apartment is starting to look a little more like home. It still needs a lot of work, but my mom did a lot of cleaning while I went in search of a cell phone and a few other items yesterday (and spent almost 2 hrs. in traffic due to the snow - LOTS OF SNOW here in Vancouver yesterday!!!). The couple upstairs have donated some furniture, so at least I'm not sitting on boxes. So, here's a funny visual of the apartment to help you imagine it (courtesy of my mom): Imagine a cardboard box with two shots of yellow, and there you have it, my apartment. In fact, I think I'll add a picture to this to help you better understand. It is also very COLD. Imagine sleeing in an igloo in the arctic... yup that's what my bedroom is like. We sleep with an electric space heater running and our coats on. The windows are only one pane and are very drafty... But I guess it's a little warmer than a cardboard box, so I really shouldn't complain. I have my printer, so I was able to print some resumes. Tomorrow's job will be dropping them off to places that are hiring.

Day Five.. now the real adventure begins!

2007-01-09T08:23:00.000-08:00

My mom and I arrived safely in Vancouver last night at 6:30pm local time (9:30pm for all you east coasters). The drive from Canmore to Vancouver definately made up for the boringness of the drive some of the other days! WOW! Driving through the mountains is amazing! The map committee was also nominated as picture committee, so even while I was driving, she was snapping pictures... we got a few interesting ones that way, but got a lot of great pictures too. The weather was perfect... better than we had even hoped for. Lots of sun! There was a little bit of snow on the roads in the mountains, but nothing that slowed us down. We didn't see any precipitation until we reached Vancouver, where of course... it was raining. I think that was God's funny way of saying "Welcome to Vancouver... hope you like the rain".
So the trip was a success, and now I'm here. Now the real adventure begins. The apartment that I'm renting leaves much to be desired, but I'm trying to look at the possibilities instead of the problems. It definately has a lot of potential... with a lot of work - some of which may need to be done by professionals :)

Day Four

2007-01-07T21:11:00.000-08:00

The map committee - AKA my mom - had to do most of the driving today (or at least more than the map committee usually does). I had a really bad headache most of the day today, making it hard to drive, or even keep my eyes open. With lots of coffee, drugs, and some sleep, the headache eventually went away. The drive today was pretty boring... until we got to Calgary. From Calgary to Canmore is a beautiful drive. I took lots of pictures, but can't post them tonight, so I'll add pictures later. Camore is a really cute little ski town with amazing scenery. I'm tempted to stay here!! We arrived in Canmore, AB in time to eat dinner, but had trouble getting into Sarah's house (she wasn't home). We ended up spending a good part of our evening at Starbuck's playing scrabble. Now we're into Sarah's house safe and sound and looking forward to sleeping good tonight. The drive tomorrow will be long, and there is some potential for bad weather, but it looks as though the worst of it should clear by then. One more day!!!!

Day Three

2007-01-06T19:37:00.000-08:00

Goodbye Winnipeg, hello Regina! Today was a short day of driving. We left Winnipeg at 9:00ish and arrived in Regina around 3:30pm. The drive was relatively uneventful. I discovered that Winnipeg has the coldest, best quality tap water of any Canadian city (at least of those I've been to)... so good... colder than ice water! Both Winnipeg and Regina are pretty cold, but not so cold that my car wouldn't start in the morning. When we arrived in Regina, we met with my friend Sara who lives an hour or so outside of Regina. Sara and I took a trip down memory lane... we went back to the old CBC campus and explored. We also went to check out some of the places that we frequently hung out while we were here at CBC. When we had finished exploring, we went to Boston Pizza for some food and catching up. The rest of the evening has been spent relaxing at the hotel. Tomorrow we head to Canmore, AB where we will stay with my other friend Sarah. They are predicting some bad weather (snow) in the mountains between Calgary and B.C. This shouldn't slow us down tomorrow but could be a problem when we leave Sarah's on Monday morning. Although spending extra time with Sarah would be fun, I'm a little anxious to get to Vancouver... and would rather not have to drive through the mountains in really bad weather... something to pray for.

Day Two

2007-01-05T18:27:00.000-08:00

Today we slept in... oh, no wait... I should say we TRIED to sleep in. We were rudely awoken MUCH EARLIER than we intended by the alarm clock in the room next to us that started blaring at 7:30 - I think the room was vacant, we had to call the front desk to make the alarm stop (why do they put the headboards of neighbouring rooms on the same wall?).

We didn't start driving until 10:30am since today was a shorter drive (about 700km from Thunder Bay to Winnipeg)... that and the fact that it took us 20 minutes of driving around Thunder Bay in the morning to find a gas station (it was practically next door to our hotel... oops - at least we got to see Thunder Bay).

There's not a whole lot to see between Thunder Bay and Winnipeg. The further we went, the more snow we saw and the colder it seemed. You'll notice in the picture that I was wearing slip-on shoes... not exactly winter boots (I haven't worn winter boots in years... you don't exactly need them in VA Beach). We did see a few very fun road signs along the way today. The first was "moose on the loose". We haven't actually seen any wildlife yet though - only a lot of signs to warn about the potential. My mom was especially thrilled by the sign that said something to the effect of: "Arctic Watershed - All water north of this point flows to the arctic circle". My favorite was the sign in Manitoba (just before Winnipeg) that marked the longitudinal centre of Canada. Cool! We didn't get an opportunity to take pictures of either sign. That would have required backing up on a major highway (although it wouldn't be the first time on the trip...).

We crossed one time zone today... getting an extra hour of daylight is great!

We arrived in Winnipeg tonight at 6:30pm local time, checked into our hotel and went to get dinner. We went to a grocery store and bought a chicken and some salads. We picked up plastic forks and ate at our hotel... without plates or knives... just forks. Ah the adventure!!!

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Day One

2007-01-04T23:30:00.000-08:00

We have arrived safely in Thunder Bay (our first stop in the journey to Vancouver). What a long day... 15 hours of driving. For those who ever plan to drive through that part of Northern Ontario, here are a few things you need to know:

1. The drive from Sault Ste. Marie to Thunder Bay is much longer than it looks on the map!!!!

2. EVERYTHING between Sault Ste. Marie and Thunder Bay closes during the winter... really EVERYTHING: rest stops, restaurants, gas stations... civilization just hibernates for the winter in this area.

3. Get gas and go pee in Sault Ste. Marie...even if you don't think you need to stop, do. There are no places to stop to take care of such needs until you hit the booming metropolis of Wawa (which, thankfully, now has a Tim Horton's... and at least one gas station). Wawa is a good three hour drive from Sault Ste. Marie. Nice!

It's amazing how much stuff can fit in a small car...

2007-01-03T19:42:00.000-08:00

My car is packed, courtesy of my master-packer dad. Lots of stuff had to stay behind and will get shipped later, but I was impressed with how much he was actually able to get into the car. My mom and I leave at 7am tomorrow. I'm headed to bed now... hopefully I'll be able to sleep. I can't believe I'm actually doing this! That's all. Goodnight :)

Yay God!

2007-01-02T19:11:00.000-08:00

Good news!!!! I have a place to stay in Vancouver when I arrive (and my parents will sleep tonight)! I will be renting a basement apartment from a young Christian couple who work for a missions organization in Vancouver. I am very excited to get to know them and I suspect that they will become not only neighbours, but also friends! I think that they will also be able to help me with things like finding a church, getting familiar with the city, and meeting people in Vancouver with similar passions who are involved in ministries there. I am very excited! The thought of moving to a strange and unfamiliar place is much less daunting knowing that even in my living arrangements God is placing members of the body of Christ alongside me.
The only problem (and I already know that this isn't a problem for God) is that the apartment is a two bedroom. This couple is willing to let me stay for January and only pay half of the rent for the apartment (which is an awesome blessing), but if I am going to stay permanently, I will need a roommate. You can add that to the things to pray for... that we will be find another single Christian girl who needs a place in Vancouver. I am confident that God will bring the right person across my path.
As silly as this may sound, I mapquested their house to see how close it is to Stanley Park. When I was in Vancouver six years ago, we went to Stanley Park... I still remember how amazing it was! It's a huge park in Vancouver, surrounded almost entirely by water. Around the perimeter of the park is a sea wall that makes an excellent location for walking, rollerblading, etc. It's absolutely gorgeous, and it's only 9km (5.5 miles) from where I will be living... probably not close enough to walk, but definitely close enough to hang out there frequently... very excited!
Today I'm trying to finish organizing all my stuff... it's getting late though, so I'll have to finish tomorrow. We will load the car tomorrow afternoon and leave first thing Thursday morning. The first day will be our longest day of driving (14 hours or so). We'll stay in Thunder Bay the first night, then Winnipeg, Regina, Canmore, and VANCOUVER! I expect to arrive Monday around 4pm-ish. Any time I have internet access along the way (I think at least two of our hotels have wireless), I'll try to update the blog. Pray for safe travelling and NO BLIZZARDS :)
P.S. to my American friends: "When in Rome..."... Now that I'm back in Canada I'll be using Canadian spelling again (it tends to come more naturally anyway). So if you see words that you think are spelled incorrectly, it's because I'm spelling like a Canadian again (although I may occasionally slip up and leave a 'u' out here and there...).

New year... new adventures!

2007-01-01T18:59:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!!!

O.K. so I decided to start a blog to make it easier for friends from far away to keep up with what I'm doing. You'll have to bear with me, as I've never done this before (although it seems pretty simple... I'm pretty computer slow). I'll try to update it regularly... or at least when there's anything exciting to tell.
I've had a great Christmas break at home with my family... but time surely does fly when you're having fun. It's hard to believe that I leave for Vancouver THIS WEEK!!!! I'm very excited, but also a little nervous. I don't feel ready to leave yet. I spent New Year's Eve playing "Clean Sweep" with Liz and my mom - getting rid of more stuff (I already left LOTS in Virginia Beach) and sorting through boxes to see what I really NEED, since I can only take with me what fits in my car. I still have a lot to do before I leave. There are also still details to be worked out as well, the most important of which is where I will live when I get there. I have one potential arrangement, and I am trusting that God has his hands all over these details.
I'm excited about the trip across Canada. My mom is traveling with me, and I have plans to stop along the way to see some friends I haven't seen in a while. We will do the trip in five days. So far, it appears as though the weather will cooperate. I will try to post some pictures of the trip (if I can figure it out:)).