Sleepin' around

From April 1 to May 29

1. Our house - Tuis
2. Ronald's house - The Jungle
3. Our house - Tuis
   
4. Hector's house - San Jose
   
5. Resort - Pacific coast
6. Hostel - San Jose
7. Our house - Tuis
8. Clem's house - Atanis
9. Tom's parents - Winnipeg
10. Candice's parent's house - Dauphin
11. Comtois' House - Winkler
12. Friends' trailer - Minneapolis
13. Tom's parent's house - Winnipeg
14. Tom's Uncle's - Vancouver
15. Tom's Grandma's - Victoria
16. Candice's cousin's - Nanaimo
17. Tom's Grandma's - Victoria
18. Tom's parents's - Winnipeg
    
19. Candice's parents' house - Dauphin
20. Candice's brothers' house - Winnipeg
21. Tom's parents' house - Winnipeg
22. The Lehmann's house - Montreal
23. Tammy's house - Montreal

That's an average stay of 2.6 days in one location.

Good thing we like traveling?

The Plains of Abraham

Little did I know I would be learning all about Quebec's history this week. Or that we'd be house sitting and watching over two young adults. And, come to think of it, it was only a little while ago that we found out that we'd be heading to South America really soon.

I am continually reminded that God's plan is always bigger and better than anything we can dream up on our own.

For he is good. He is faithful. He is omnipotent.

10 things I did this week

1. Began blogging again. I've been longing for this for a while and finally found the time after our presentation was executed. Anyone want to hear about anything in particular? It will help with where in the world to start.
   
2. Did a major presentation on Sunday... Jammed it together on Friday and Saturday. Videos to be posted on the LEC-CR site.
   
3. Flew back to Montreal. I guess that's inherent to the above.
   
4. Took my computer in to the Mac store. I nearly hugged the guy that authorized it to be fixed under warranty even though that ended last month. I told him he made my month! A broken hinge where all the do-dads are for the screen is not a cheap fix. And now is not the time to be computer shopping.
   
5. Staying at amazing friends' house for the time being. We could live here for a while. Hope they're cool with that.
   
6. Agreed (someone disappointingly, see #5) to house/teenager sit for a friend when she's off the east coast this Thursday for 9 days. We first had to turn down the offer to go with them on the super budget-friendly trip. Sigh.
   
7. Signed up for Spanish classes; suppose to start this Thursday. Four hours of Skype a day with a teacher in Ecuador. Cool, eh?
   
8. Been told a number of times that I don't have a tan. Yeah... I guess we didn't spend enough time laying around on the beach to work on it. Ugh.
9. Phoned Costa Rica a few times when preparing for the presentation. Seeing all of our friends' beautiful faces without being able to talk with them is heart breaking.
   
10. Thought of yous a lot. Especially Sonya! Could someone please up date me!!!
    

We're home!!

I was surprised as anyone on the plane last week when I squealed with glee as we pointed our nose to the east and the pilot threw on the jets.


We were returning to Montreal!


Why has my heart kept skipping a beat when I see familiar sights? Friends? Church family? Why did my inners feel all warm while cruising through downtown Montreal on Friday night? Or when we sat and watched the city lights sparkle from on top of Mount Royal?

Because we made it!
Full circle.
We're back.

Tom has the best metaphor to sum it up: It's like we ran a race, and just crossed the finish line. All we have left now are the 'interviews'.

And we've been doing them. I did a speaking engagement at a women's breakfast this past Saturday morning and Sunday evening we had a 2 hour presentation on LEC-Costa Rica. Then an intro to Ecuador...

Lots of people here are really excited that we're back. Some somewhat sad about us taking off again right away. To be honest, at times I dream of just being able to stay... Grab an apartment, set up shop, make a home-cooked meal from my very own fry pan and call it a night. But I know God has other plans right now, and following His is far more important than my fry pan.

Besides, the place we're crashing right now has some super fantastic pans!

And, as per usual, after praying for plans to be revealed at just the right time, God shows us a gleam of something we never imagined would be in our future. Well, at least not this soon*.

Sometimes I'm really glad we don't own crystal balls.






*No, I'm not pregnant.

More on Ecuador

Alright, we're still in Victoria (meaning we're down to chisling Internet access from Starbucks) and because the laptop we brought decided to break on day number 2, you'll have to bear with me, Starbucks connection, a latte, and my iTouch, which = short poorly composed blogs typed with one finger. More details to come after arriving back in Winnipeg on Friday, or after getting back into Montreal next week. But until then...

- We fly to Quito June 5th, 2010... Yes, that's a month away.
- We'll be in there for 6 weeks
- We'll be working with HCJB (http://www.hcjb.org/) a phenominal Christian based humanitarian organization that has 2 main ministries: radio and medical
- Tom will be working with the engineers on transmitters and cool stuff like that, while my work will focus on nutrition and health aspects working in their hospitals.
- We will primarily be based out of Shell. Shell is a rural town on the edge of the amazon. It also has an interesting history (http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shell_Mera?wasRedirected=true )
- We are VERY excited about this opportunity to put our professional skills to work, in a full time manner, in the mission field. We have been in dialoge with HCJB for a few years and are thrilled to have worked things out to take this opportunity now. So are the people on the ground, apparently.
- I will be back in Spanish lessons, via Skype, starting in about 2 weeks, to focus on medical Spanish. I really want to hit the ground running.

- Any questions???!

Let me know your thoughts! If you have any. You are more than welcome to call us nuts.

10 things I've done this week

1. Panned for gold in the Nanaimo river. We did actually find some!
   
2. Visited with Tom's 93 year old grandmother. She is too cool.
   
3. Rented a car and drove the Malahat with my handsome hubby. Chemainus fudge rocks!
   
4. Drank a number of Starbuck coffees, simply to use their wireless. I've done worse things for less
   
5. Bought a big thick woolly jacket to keep my behind warm. Most our stuff is in storage in Montreal
   
6. Felt really homeless and really free, usually at the same time. Our new term is 'with out residence'
   
7. Ate Chinese food
8. Studied nutrition terms in Spanish
   
9. Discovered my suitcases need replacing
   
10. Booked tickets to Quito, Ecuador