the wedding is over.....

 

 

my friends had a lovely farewell party for me at the lake

complete with lots of yummy food:

[Tim Hortons coffee, amazing peanut butter brownie cake, cute drinks, butterfly gummies, chocolate]

 

 

the sunset was beautiful that night! :)

 

the goodbyes were said....

 

the bags were packed

and re-packed

 

and prayed over {that they would lose some weight! ;-) haha}

 

{Story about my bags.....most of you know how I have a hard time packing lightly.....well, my bags were overweight but I couldn't decide what to leave behind, so I just decided to go to the airport and see what would happen. The lady (nicely) said my bags were overweight and if I took out a few pounds that would be okay. So I took out my jacket (to carry--as she recommended), and took out a pair of sandals. Then another official came by and wanted to keep the line moving. So I zipped my bags shut again and the lady tagged them without another word. So all I left behind was a pair of sandals that I wasn't 100% sure I wanted anyway. :-) Thank you, Jesus!}

 

My panda bear story

[the bear pictured above]

My nephew was at the dump and brought home lots of treasures. And, being the sweetheart that he is, he wanted to give me one of his treasures. It was a great big teddy. And I had to tell him that I didn't have room in my bags to take it to Cambodia. :-(  But, bless his heart.......a few minutes later he gave me his prized treasure---a panda bear teddy that turns into a pillow. I told him that this teddy could ride on my carryon bag....and it would be my sweet reminder of him. <3

In the chaos of getting on the plane leaving Chicago somehow panda came off my bag. I was very disappointed. I even went to the bother of retracing my steps to look for him, but couldn't find him. 13 hours later as we were leaving the plane Gloria saw panda sitting on a ledge!!

Panda and I are now happily re-united! :-)

 

As we were flying the pilot came over the PA system and told us to look out the windows as it was an exceptionally clear day and you could see Dubai and the deserts of Omen. It was a beautiful sight, thousands and thousands of miles were between us but yet you could see clearly!!

 

Later you could faintly see Thailand. :) I wished so much that I could stop in there to see some friends!! ...That place definitely still has piece of my heart....

We had an overnight stay in Qatar. It was great! :) They took us across the city to a beautiful hotel...and expensive hotel--paid for by the airline. :) It was so nice to sleep on a comfy king-sized bed rather than a tiny airplane seat. And it was a great change for the kids. 

 

And then,

 

we arrived in this LOVELY place!!!! :)

 

It's good to be back. :)

 

 

It's so good to see familiar sights. The city hasn't completely changed in the time I was gone. Tuk tuk rides are still great! :) The food is just as good as I remember! :) I recognize streets and shops and can still kinda know where I am [kinda!]. 

 

Last night I got to see some dear friends that I had worked with last time I was in the city.

 Good times!

 

Memories of NYC....

I never hated cities.
But I never thought I would L.O.V.E. living in a city.
But I did.

I thought: "It's not going to be that hard leaving NYC. I was only there 6 weeks. Sure, I got close to people there, but I won't sink into some major depression because I'm leaving or anything."
Haha.
Good joke. :)

As I sat in my plane on the tarmac taking in the sights of NYC for the last time [for awhile], I realized I really did fall in love with the city! And I couldn't deceive myself any longer, I was going to miss living in the city.
But that wasn't all,
I was going to miss the people that I had spent the last 6 weeks with, WAY more than I thought!

There is something about connecting with people who have a similar vision and passion in life. Something about having been in the same places, met the same people, seen the same kinds of poverties as you, sat through the same classes as you......something about it makes you connect in way you can't with the person who hasn't been there before.

Some of the things I miss about NYC:
~the people I met there
~our discussions
~the times we would sing together....esp. the times we would go to Roosevelt Island and sing on the top of the hill---or take photos of the lovely city! ;-)
~walking everywhere
Yes, this was also one of the hardest things for me due to some annoying health issues. But some of my greatest memories were made while walking thru the city.....oh, the conversations the sidewalks could share! ;)
~ my daily evening entertainment
Pinterest. Lame jokes. Loud bursts of laughter. Interesting conversations.
Oh, I miss my dear roommates!!! :-(
~riding the subway
~sitting in classes
~Hallal carts....it's been about a week since I ate rice! I need to eat some rice again!!
~the spring flowers
.....and much more!

I've missed just living in a city.

But
good news......
in 1 day, 17 hours and 36 minutes I step on the airplane that will take me to my new 'home'
....another city!!! :)
Slightly [okay, ALOT!] different than NYC!
 But still a city!! :)

Please join me in praying....

I saw something.
I don't know what it was.
For sure....

It was 7:15 am
I was walking over to the other house for breakfast
From about a block away this is what I see.....
A guy is walking down the street
With his hoodie up
And his hands on the shoulders of a kid who is walking in front of him

They walk up to the corner
They stand and wait

A silver van pulls ups
The adult helps the kid into the van

The van immediately drives off

And the man walks off

???

I feel sick

What was that all about?
What just happened?

The first thoughts through my head
Are things that in my mind only happen in Asia....

Could it really be?

I pray not!!! :-(

I cannot get this kid out of my head
Can you join me in prayer for this situation?
And especially for the protection of the kid.

Thanks

Next stop...the big city

Well I have survived my first week in the city.

Actually, it's not like that

-I have enjoyed my first week in the city! :)

But it has been a stretching week. 

Classes--well, they don't seem that bad [after the intense medical classes I just finished!]

Outreach times---now those ARE stretching!!!  {But they are getting exciting.}

We got to go to a Khmer temple.

We talked to some Khmer people.

And they insisted that we eat Cambodian food--which was a pleasure! :)

We rode the subway.

And we walked

and we walked.....

I enjoyed the beauty of the city.

The people of various cultures.

The beautiful buildings.

The trees that are starting to blossom.

The daffadils.

And the dandelions.

God is teaching me alot. 

About what it means to have peace and quietness in my soul....even if the rest of my world is not as 'perfect' as I would like it to be.

He is trying to teach me to fully rely on Him for strength for each.

He is teaching me how to humble myself.

....and many more things....

...it's been a good week...looking forward to the rest of my time here. :)

Drama

Sometimes I think my life is so boring.
I look at some of my friends and they always have some sort of drama going on in their life.
Some good drama.
Some not so nice drama.
Some drama that makes me smile.....and say "Thank you God for my boring life!" :-)

But then,
then
it is winter in Canada
and I have D.R.A.M.A.

Not neccessarily what I would call the good kind of drama. :-P

But my life is not boring anymore!
{Am I supposed to thank you, God, for that? ....Sorry, still working on getting to that place!}





If you were within earshot of me these are things you might hear me say:
"well....we'll see"
"well.....maybe"
"well........IF so and so works out....."
"I H.A.T.E. winter" {this one gets repeated quite frequently, said to the tune of  "I hate 'toconut'"!! :-) haha}
"yeah, I think so...."



*disclaimer about the winter comment......I don't really hate winter. I just don't like blizzards and weeklong storms that change my plans--or worse, keep my plans all up in the air until the very last minute. :-p Yup, I'm kinda fussy. :-)
*I do have to say: "Check back hear in a year from now, and I will most likely have forgotten how bad a Canadian winter storm was, and will be wishing to see just a few snowflakes!!" ;-) ....So I am trying to enjoy this winter as much as possible. :-)

Happy Birthday, Sister!

 Hmmmm

Does Heaven have floral delivery service?

'Cause I would like to order the biggest bouquet of

 the most beautiful roses

 EVER 

delivered to my sister's mansion!

Roses of any colour would be fine.

{Well, maybe no yellow ones please. She wasn't fond of the that colour.}

But she loved roses.

And tulips.

And irises.

{And handfuls of weeds brought to her by her dear children.}

Happy Birthday, Sis!

Today you would have been 35 yrs old!

You know I would have teased you about it only being 5 more years until you turned 40! 

Wow! Can't believe you are that old!!

Seems like no that long ago that we were kids growing up together.

{nice "poof"! ;-) yes, yes, I know that's mostly to blame on the shadow.}

Wonder what cake I would have decorated for you this year?

A chiffon cake?

A Black Forest cake?

Just a pretty cake?

Or one baked for it's flavour?

It probably would have been chocolate somehow...we do like our chocolate. :-)

Maybe I could have got you a new pillow for your birthday?

Or given you the sisters photo frame that is sitting in my drawer.

Or a copy of the photo of us that I got drawn in Thailand...I know you would have loved that!

You never were a big 'gifts' person.

You cared more about relationships and spending time with people.

You never wanted people to make a fuss for you.

[Though you always went out of your way to make sure you cared for other people!]

This is your 2nd birthday you are celebrating in Heaven.

Wonder if the birthday celebrations get better each year....

Or maybe it's just another day of dancing thru God's flower gardens

and singing the Hallelujah Chorus [you would love that!!!].

For us here on earth, it's just another reminder that you are gone.

A reminder that we can't pick up the phone and chat for hours.

A reminder that we can't sit around your table with cake and laughter and good times....and YOU!

You are loved.

You are missed.

xoxo

Peace

the train is coming

well, not literally

tho at some moments it does seem like the train is waiting, 

ready to be boarded, 

& to take me away on many new [& possibly scary] adventures

ready to drive one place for a bit,

pick me up,

& drop me off at a new place
and then

repeat

repeat

repeat

it doesn't always feel like an adventure

some days it seems like a drudgery 

a task that just has to be completed

other times the fresh new page looks exhilerating!

new  place to visit

memories to make

the beginning of friendships 

life is like a fresh blanket of snow

new

clean

sparkling with promise

beautiful

I've been blessed recently with the reminder to just trust

to remember that God is in control

that He has already gone before me on this brand-new path I have to walk

and He is going to walk right beside me!

enjoy the beauty

it's time to stop

smell the flowers

enjoy the moment

.....He has it ALL in His control!!!