greyhound travels

Well, im home for the holidays... but it was an interesting trip. we left edmonton late because a bus broke down and it caused all the buses to be late. we were supposed to leave at midnight and that didnt happen. we left at 2am instead. it was rather annoying. and tiring. and pathetic. The bus was not working correctly and the heat could (apparently) not be turned off... it was rather hot and sweaty in that bus. until we hit grand prairie. then the bus became too cold. lets just say that we were supposed to arrive in dawson at 740am... we arrived just after 10am instead.
but, in all this madness... i did see a glimps of God. i had originally bought a ticket in september to go home, but plans changed... so we called the bus depo then and they said i could use the ticket for christmas... so, i went last night to get my ticket and the bus guy said that it was strange that my ticket was still in the system... apparently ticket reservations leave the system when you dont use them when you originally want to use them. but mine was still there. then, if you want to change the date of your departure... you have to pay a fee... the ticket guy didnt make me pay the fee... and just gave me my ticket. sometimes the little things are the best. thanks God.

God Works!

isnt it wonderful how God works in our lives? i wonder sometimes how we can go through life without even noticing how God is working.
my best friends were all in town last weekend and it was an amazing time. we spent the weekend having our annual trip to 'Just Christmas', a fair-trade christmas shopping place and then cooking together and playing mutiple games together all weekend. i was amazed at how God has been with us the last 4 years. our group definatly had our ups and downs... and they came close to breaking our group apart, but we overcame them and are stronger today to prove it. how God orchestrated the friendships we have in our group to become our own 'family'. this family includes more than those of us who lived together too. other close friends are a part of this family too. its cool.

that sunday was also baptism sunday at church. it was a real blessing to see how God is working in the lives of friends and fellow believers.
i would write more... and i have lots more to say, but im really tired, and i need sleep. Goodnight world.

buzy.

So life has been pretty boring lately but its buzy. i help run a homework club and our church awana on friday nights. dont get me wrong, i absolutly love the kids i work with... but sometimes they can be challenging. they can be challenging in the best of ways. i have grown in my teaching habits and how i relate to the children i teach. throughout the last few years of leading awana, i have tried many different tasks and i think i have finaly found my groove... at least thats what im hoping. :)
my saturdays are my days. thats the day i get to do 'me' things. i joined the church choir and get to play my flute! im really enjoying it and the people are really good. its easy music to play but i really like playing for the choir. its a great way to worship God. i also started going to GIFT. its the college and career at church. its been a good way to get involved... but since i take forever to get close to people... its going to be a while before i really open up.
between work and my weekends.... im pretty buzy these days, but loving every moment of it.

Life.

Life. How interesting is it? I think it varies on where you are in your life. Some days can be really exciting, while others can be extremely boring. I think i'm starting to figure out where I want my life to end up in the next few years. It's scary and kind of good to have at least a part of my life figured out. As you may have read, I am taking a year off of school to work and to figure out where i want to be and what God wants me to do. I am not always certain of where I am going, but i've made some decisions. I am going into the Education program next year (elementary ed) and i will do that for the next two years starting in September. After that, I am taking off. I am going to see the world and teach in an international christian school. That's it. There are still variables I need to consider, but this is it. I don't want to be here anymore (don't get me wrong, I love my country... but there are things I don't like). I want to experience the world and use my gifts and talents elsewhere. I don't know where I will be going yet... but i'm trusting in God to take me where he wants me to go.

teaching...

so, now that im out of school i have a 'real life' job. well, ok. ive had this job for exactly a year today! quite exciting if you ask me! for the month of september i am teaching the preschoolers. the first week of school is the hardest. lots of cryers and clingers... (some of them melt my heart!) so yesterday was the first day back. we had two new girls in our class and they both started crying. (lets just say i had a headache after my morning class...) the one little girl ended up crying herself to sleep in my arms... and the other one was so scared of our table that she wanted nothing to do with it. today, the one girl (who was scared) cried for the first bit. out of 6 children, i had 4 criers this morning... lots of fun!... but the one girl stopped crying after a while and played nicely with the other children and even managed to work on her book for a while. at one point in the class, she was playing on the floor and got up and came towards me... she said "i need give teacher hug!" so she gave me a hug and then went back to playing with the other kids! absolutly melted my heart! we shall see how tomorrow goes! :D

life.

life. such a small word... yet it means so much. who knew that life could be so much and yet hurt.
September will soon be upon us... its a hard time. there are a bunch of firsts in my life right now. not going back to school in the fall is a huge one! for almost all of my life i have gone to school in September... back with friends and papers and homework... no i have none of that. i do get to move in with friends... and they are amazing people... but its not the people i have lived with for the last four years. in the last four years, we have laughed together, cried together, had our disputes, and had some of the best times of our lives so far. who would have thought that the people i lived with would have so much impact on my life... that its incredibly hard to imagine not living with them... ever again. I'm going to miss it...
another first is that i get to live completely independently of my parents. its a weird feeling. im supporting myself in all aspects of my life... its quite scary.
i also have this strong desire to get out and see the world. leave my life here and just go... im almost tempted but i have responsibilities to attend to. i have to save money and support myself. but the temptation is still strong.
i want to travel the world. my list of places in not that large... but its still has some amazing places. Italy, Greece, Africa, Europe (yes all of it), Russia, China, Israel, and the Middle East. i have no real desire to go to south America or Australia... but if the time ever arose when i had the opportunity to go... i would not pass it up. :D
but its late now and im still packing some bins... until i decide to write again... adios.

hmmm...

its definatly been a while since i blogged... my life has been a whole bunch of ups and downs... multiple doors are closing and im not entirely sure why some of them closed... after being rejected for kenya... i applied to teach english in korea. they also declined me. no reason given... just a firm 'no'. so ive decided to stay here in alberta in the lovely city of edmonton and work for a year. since i missed the deadline to apply for the elementary education program... im going to work. save my money and just have fun... its going to be wierd not going back to school in the fall... its what ive done almost my whole life... but i still get to see my friends and encourage them in their journeys.
thats all for tonight... im tired and i have to work in the morning...

hmm...

so, my journey is unfortunatly ending here. i received and e-mail this week from the organization i was planning on going to Kenya with, and their doctor did not give me medical clearance to go. its really too bad.

...

Wow... time certainly flies! Here i am almost done my degree, getting ready to go to Kenya! there is still so much to do, but i feel that God has his hand in the process. every step i have taken is mostly running smoothly and everything is falling into place. My police check is done, and thank you EPS, i am not a criminal! (not that i already didnt know that :D) i was informed the other day that i am now on the top of the list for the next assignment in kenya! how exciting is that?! up next, the travel clinic. got to get all those shots so that i dont get anything over there... i really would like to stay healthy. i really would. :)
at this point in my journey, i am very excited. i am also starting to be a little scarred. i have never been so far from home, i have never done anything like this before. what if i get homesick? its not like i can just drive for 6 hours and go home. what if i get sick? will i be able to stay healthy? this is just my brain going... but still... i know God has his hand over the trip, and i know he will use me for his glory... but sometimes the scarred feeling creeps in on me. i am more excited about going though.