Stepping out...to Florida!

Well a lot can happen in a few short days when you aren't too scared to take a leap!  I've been talking a lot about not being sure what my next step is, and have been patiently seeking for the past 8 months.  Now I have a small step to take, although it's going to be a wee journey.

A week ago I met with the person who has been giving me some great advice about how to go about making my next step.  I've been looking into grad schools, but haven't been really successful so far in finding what I feel is the right fit.  He recommended looking into a Christian organisation called ECHO (Educational Concerns for Hunger Organisation).  ECHO's vision is "to bring glory to God and a blessing to mankind by using science and technology to help the poor." ...check out their website if you want more information: http://www.echonet.org/

About this time of year ECHO hosts a conference where many people meet together to discuss Agricultural Education from a missions standpoint....exactly what I feel like God has put on my heart.  So I contacted the organisation and am going to do a self study before and after attending the conference.  I've booked flights and registered for the conference and will be leaving Prince George to fly to Fort Myers, Florida on December 1.  Because school gets out early this year, I'll be flying back to the Okanagan on December 14 instead of coming back to Prince George.

I'm really excited about this amazing opportunity.  I'm pretty sure that I'll be able to pay my fees if I get enough work before I go (although it's going to be a bit tight with Christmas right around the corner). 

So I'm taking this step solo and praying for some great learning, working, and networking and maybe even some revelation about what comes next.  A lot of the topics being covered at the conference are things we talked about or did during Outreach and one of the evening sessions is even about Farmer Field Schools in Cambodia so I can't wait to see what God has to show me.

Although I'm excited, steps like this don't come without a little bit of fear and trepidation, so I'll ask once again for your support in prayer: for safe travels and good connections, for wisdom in what I choose to research and energy to do so, for great new relationships and connections--especially with my staff coordinator and the people I'll be sharing living quarters with (at the ECHO farm/campus and a hotel room during the conference), for opportunities to serve the ECHO community (working on the farm or around the site), and of course the finances to make it all happen.

On another note, I heard some tragic news about Cambodia this evening: during celebrations for the end of the rainy season there was a mass stampede over a bridge to get off an island after some boat races and at least 347 people were killed with at least another 349 injured in the capital city of Phnom Penh.  Keep this country in your prayers!

Older than dirt...

Tomorrow is my brother's birthday (ps wish I was with him to celebrate and I hope it's awesome)....one of those birthdays that seems like an epic milestone at the time and you think to yourself, how did I get so old?!  He's been calling himself as old as dirt for the last little while, but apparently this birthday sends him over the edge to actually being older than dirt.  Being his big sister, this makes me that much older than dirt and it got me thinking...

So many times I find myself using age as something to hide behind...at work I feel young, but with friends I sometimes feel old...I'm not doing a lot of the things that friends my age are.  But you know what?  Life as we know it is just happening in a different order....neither one is better or worse.

I think I spend a lot of time wishing....that I was somewhere else, or even that I am someone else (or maybe even a different version of ourselves)....and not enough time enjoying where I am right now....where God has placed me at this moment. 

I did some intercession with a group of young adults a few weeks ago and one of the verses someone got for me was this:

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Philippians 4:4

To rejoice is to be delighted, to feel joyful, and to rejoice in something is to have or possess....it's all about acknowledging the joy there is just having time to hang out with God.  I would like to rejoice in life as I know it at this moment better than I do now...at this point on the trail and not just on the mountaintop. Makes me think of a friend from YWAM who often needed to give me that reminder to look for the good instead of whining about the not so good...

So I rejoice in my family, my friends, my home, my church, but most of all my God!  Maybe being older than dirt isn't so bad after all...although I have to say that being around kids usually sets a great example of how to fully be present in the joy of the moment.

ps I can't take credit for the photos...not sure who took the dirt photo, but he/she is an Oxford YWAMer and it was taken in New Zealand, and the one of me and the little girl was taken by one of the girls on my team in Cambodia

New Zealand Photos up

So I've finally posted some photos from the last 6 weeks of my trip when I backpacked in New Zealand....wish I could hop on a plane and go back again!  Here's the link, enjoy!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=120505&id=505837778&l=4a975ea59a

Settling, travelling, thanking...

So I decided it was about time to update the old blog.  There have been a few moments over the past month and a half that have seemed blog-worthy, but I didn't manage to sit down and type them out so hopefully I can remember them.

I moved back to Prince George, the city I have been teaching in since I graduated from uni (except of course for last year when I was all over the map).  In some ways this was a tough move.  I feel like my life is one of those paths with stepping stones...I'm on the PG stepping stone, but I know it's just about time to jump to the next one...but I can't see where it is yet.  So I have to stay for the time being.  Substitute teaching (or to be politically correct teaching on call) is a really challenging job for many reasons, some of which I'm sure you can guess when you think back to your own experiences, and others are due to the nature of working on call.  Anyway God has been incredibly faithful in showing me that this is in fact where I am supposed to be for the time being.  He has provided practical things (furnishing my whole bedroom for free!), new (and old) friends, and also people to advise and guide me through to my next step. I have been incredibly blessed by those around me.

Last week I spent 11 days away from Prince George and of those 11 days, 5 were spent either in a car or on a bus.  I travelled all over the place for two weddings (congrats to my cousin and his new wife and also my friend Supipi and her new husband).  As I tried to figure out all the little details that go along with carpooling and coordinating with others I caught myself thinking, "This would be so much easier if I just did it by myself."
An attitude of independence and pride that has tripped me up many times in the past.  As I reflected on this I realized yes, it may have been simpler to do this by myself but what would be the point.  I am travelling to SEE people, to spend time with them and build on relationships that I've begun years ago.  If I didn't bother to coordinate with others then I wouldn't have any events to go to.  I feel blessed to be able to celebrate and be a part of days and times where friendships and relationships are celebrated.

Last weekend was Canadian Thanksgiving and my attempts to coordinate with friends I decided it might be a good idea to go home to the farm.  Once the thought of going home had crossed my mind I started to think back to the last time I was home for Thanksgiving....and it had been 8 years!  Since it's only a 3 day weekend and I've been living away from Enderby for that long now, I just haven't managed to justify the travel time.  Being home was quite uneventful-I helped my mom pick vegetables to decorate their church, helped my dad pile wood (one of my least favourite childhood jobs which somehow wasn't bad at all this time), went for a beautiful walk along Shuswap lake with my brother, and of course ate some turkey and pumpkin pie.

In my experience, Canadian Thanksgiving is a grocery store holiday--about food and fellowship.  A time to enjoy the simple things about life.  I'm thankful for my family who love me regardless of what I do or where I am and who are always happy to see me.  I'm thankful for a God who continues to challenge me to become the person he sees in me.  I'm thankful for friends who bring laughter and joy, who are shoulders to cry on and patient listeners and so much more.  I'm thankful for the beauty I see in the world and people around me. There is so much I can find to complain about if I look, but when I'm looking for things to be grateful for somehow those other things just don't seem so important anymore.  I hope you can think of some things to be thankful for too.

Cambodia Photos

I've posted another album on Facebook, this time covering the 2 and a half months I spent on my DTS outreach in Cambodia...lots of great shots thanks to everyone on my team who shared their photos. 

It's strange to look back on them and think it's been almost 6 months since I've seen some of these people who have made such a profound impact on me and the way I perceive life now.  Hope it gives you a glimpse into life in a country with a past full of heartache, which I pray has hope for a better future...

Here's the link: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=201050&id=505837778&l=90d5edd072

Finally....pictures!

Just a quick update for those of you who read the blog, but aren't on Facebook.  I've posted an album of photos from our 2 1/2 weeks in Bali and here is the link to check them out:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=198257&id=505837778&l=6fc911d42b

There is also a video on YouTube which shows a quick overview of our Outreach time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzcCQtLYHCw

Let me know if the links don't work.  Hope you're all well...more updates soon :)

3 Questions...

As crazy as it seems, a year has passed since I started this blog.  Even though I've been on my trip and returned "home" it still seems like a good place to keep you updated about life as I know it.  As the summer has flown by I've spent a lot of time catching up with friends and family in Canada and I can probably don't have enough fingers to count how many times I've been asked these three questions: What have you been up to? What are you doing now? and What's next?....so I'm going to try and answer them here for those of you I haven't been lucky enough to see in person.

What have you been up to?
Since the last time I wrote I have spent time working on my parents' farm with my dad and even drove the tractor finally!  I co-led a Vacation Bible School for one week...seeing the kids enthusiasm for God, willingness to help, serve, and learn scripture and being part of their energy was really encouraging. I've had multiple opportunities to share photos from my trip as I've visited with my grandmothers, brothers, university friends, old roomates and family friends.  I've enjoyed all the fun summer things in the Okanagan like tubing the river, going to the drive-in, lying on the beach, drinking yummy fruit wine, eating giant peaches, quadding on the farm, and hiking.  I've helped both my grandma's move into care facilities and have spent some much needed quality family time with my brothers, mom and dad.  Gone on a couple road trips-Vancouver Island and Thompson Okanagan mainly.  And visited some babies and kids who aren't babies at all anymore :)

What are you doing now?
 At this very moment I am in Montana visiting a YWAMer I hitched in New Zealand with who is an AMAZING woman of God.  In between Shakespeare in the park, giant burritos, and other adventures she's been working and I've been spending time doing all those things I thought for sure I'd have time to do this summer like finally sorting through the 15GB of photos from my travels.  This time has been a great opportunity for me to spend time with God and figure out what my priorities are going to be over the next 4 months.

What's next?
I'll be back at my parents tomorrow and then will be hopping in my car again on Monday to head North.  I'm moving in with a couple future teachers in Prince George which should be fun.  I'll be hoping for a bit of substitute teaching work to help pay the bills, but am not sure if a teaching contract is a reality yet.  I'm really praying a lot about the next step because I have a feeling that Prince George is more of a stepping stone than a destination.  Before I started my big trip last year this verse kept coming up on my radar and has continued throughout the year:

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." Jeremiah 29:11-13

I'm not sure what those plans are, but I do know that I'm doing my very best to submit to them and will be praying and working toward finding out that next step.

So if you've got some time, I always appreciate being included in your prayers and hearing from you via email, facebook, skype, in person, or even the good old fashioned telephone.  Right now direction for my next step and peace about where I'll be are at the top of my prayer request lists.