Dancing with the Calgarians!

"Teach me, O Lord, to follow your decrees; then I will keep them to the end. Give me understanding, and I will keep your law and obey it with all my heart. Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight." -Psalm 119:33-35

I like to think of following Jesus like dancing (particularly ballroom dancing). I enjoy dancing the most when I have a partner who really knows how to lead as well as when I am able to follow and get the steps right. When this happens I find dancing to be pure joy. Honestly even when I miss a few steps I still have fun as long as my partner doesn't get frustrated. The great thing about Jesus is he really knows how to lead, it's us who sometimes miss a step or don't get his lead right. Fortunately when we miss a step he extends much grace which I need a lot. I find joy in my relationship with Jesus when I feel his lead and I am in step with him.

These past couple weeks I have taken up ballroom and Latin dancing at Alberta Dancesport which offers introductory lessons on two new dances and then has a dance party every Friday night. The first night we learned the waltz and the merengue. Afterward they played music for all types of dances most of which I don't know. After a bit a guy asked me if I wanted to do the foxtrot. Honestly I have never tried this one and was a bit hesitant almost saying no but I gave it a shot. He taught me the steps and I danced the foxtrot. It was a lot of fun and I ended up trying several other dances that night. I'm sure to be an expert at all the ballroom dances by the end of the summer (well at least have tried them all). I think this also relates to my relationship with Jesus. So often he asks me to dance to steps I don't know very well or ever attempted. I can be resistant sometimes to follow him where he wants to take me and I end up missing out on the joy he has to offer. All we need to do is step out in faith and follow, Jesus will do the rest.

I think Friday night dancing has become my favorite thing to do in Calgary thus far. I have met so many interesting people there. Last Friday I met a guy named Boaz was from Israel. Who would have thought I would meet Boaz from Israel in Canada? and his favorite dance was the Jive. I've never met someone who loves to dance so much even when he doesn't know the right steps. We even tried the quick step. I'm pretty sure none of what we danced resembled the quickstep but he made it fun anyway. I'm looking forward to the next dance class where we'll learn some country two step just in time for the Calgary Stampede. Yeehaw!

Well, this weekend I will be off to go camping with my host family which I'm sure will have it's adventures. It should be a good break as we have Thursday and Friday off for the holiday weekend.

Happy 4th of July for all you Americans! Happy Canada Day to the Canadians!

What's your story?

So I just finished a book by Donald Miller called A Million Miles in a Thousand Years. He writes about his experience writing a script for a movie about his life and how it got him to think about writing a story with his life and how we can choose write a better story. It made me start thinking about my story and what kind of story Jesus wants to write with my life. As I was reading I began thinking about all the adventurous things I could do while I'm in Calgary to make my summer more interesting but then as I thought more I realized that I don't need to climb a mountain, or race in a triathlon, or jump out of the sky to write a better story. Jesus is already writing a better story in my life. I got to thinking about how my story of going to Haiti intertwined with the story of the Haitians we met and with Pierre's story who has been serving the community in Haiti for years. It was fascinating to hear everyone's story and how it led us to that one week in Haiti. While each story was vastly different, for that one week we shared a chapter of our stories and we made a difference however big or small in someone's life.

Well enough of me rambling on, not much is new in Calgary. I've met a few people including a man who lives in Bowness (this is the neighborhood I live in) who ministers to aboriginals, homeless and people in prison. He had a fascinating story about how he was a successful business man who was far from God and eventually came to know Christ after his wife did and eventually started his ministry. I went ballroom dancing last Friday and hope to go again. Hopefully this time I'll have a better experience getting there. Not a fan of the buses. Also, we've accomplished a good amount of work on the project and are about done with the first draft of the architectural drawings.

I'm looking forward to seeing what else Jesus is going to write in my story this summer. Tell me about your story. I'd love to hear it!

Flutter Boards and Toonies

"Stand up and praise the LORD your God, who is from everlasting to everlasting. Blessed be your glorious name, and may it be exalted above all blessing and praise. You alone are the LORD. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you." Nehemiah 9: 5-6


Kananaskis Country

Geocaching with my new family (kaisa is pictured here)

It has been two weeks since I arrived in Calgary and thought it's about time I wrote another post. I have settled into my new home quite well and have greatly enjoyed my new family. I have been on many adventures with them including the Calgary zoo, Cochrane(to watch Talia and Kaisa compete in a kids triathlon), Kananaskis Country, and around town for a little geocaching(this is sort of like a big treasure hunt). I also visited Kananaskis another day with a group of people I met at church. It's absolutely beautiful in the mountains and look forward to more trips there.

It has been interesting living in Canada which has a culture that is so close to the United States yet with subtle differences. There are times when I forget I'm in another country and then all of a sudden I realize it when I hear a different phrase or see something spelled wierd. I had my first experience with Canadian money about a week ago. I realized then that one dollar bills don't exist but rather they use one dollar coins called a loonie and two dollar coins called a toonie. I was a bit confused when I received back less bills and more coins than expected. I have also discovered new terms for things such as flutter boards instead of kick boards (there are others but I can't think of them right now). I've also started to learn how to use the metric system. 20 degrees sounds very cold and a speed limit of 110 would be dangerously fast in the states. Luckily those are in celsius and km per hour respectively.

While I have enjoyed my adventures and getting to know Canada I have also been working away at the Church/school/health clinic design. My typical work day goes from 8 am to 5 pm. So far I've made a video documenting our trip to Haiti (hopefully to be posted soon) and have built a 3D computer model while developing the design. Hopefully in the next 6 weeks we will have a completed design and a complete set of drawings.

Jesus is also teaching me a few things. I have to say the hardest thing for me to do in a new place is develop relationships with people. Being the introvert I am it takes a great deal of energy to make new friends. While it's been a struggle for me here I sense that Jesus has provided opportunities for me to develop relationships and is pushing me to step out in faith. I'm sure there will be more stories to come.

To be continued.....

Canada, eh?

Psalm 73:26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

My return from Haiti has been a bit rough to say the least and it has been a quick transition to my new home in Canada. I arrived home early last Thursday and was feeling great besides being a bit tired from getting up at 4 am. After getting home I became sick to my stomach and ended up in bed for the next few days. I improved and felt much better by Sunday just in time to pack for my trip to Canada. Through all of it Jesus reminded me of my need to rely on his strength not my own. With his strength, I made it to the airport Monday afternoon only to wait for 5 hours before taking off for Canada.

So I eventually made it to Canada and the first step to get into the country was of course to go through customs. I was warned ahead of time that some interns have had a little difficulty getting through customs so I prayed and picked a line that seemed good. When it was my turn the customs agent asked me what I was doing during my stay in Canada. I firmly answered that I was volunteering for a non-profit organization and handed him the letter eMi sent with me. He read through the letter for what seemed like a long time making me a bit uneasy about what he would say next. He asked a few more questions about the organization and then went on to talk about the charity he started that aids thousands of children around the world. He was quite interested in my work and gave me a link to his website. You should check it out at www.fortheloveofchildrensociety.org. We had a nice short conversation and he wished me good luck on my way. I couldn't have asked for a better customs experience. It was certainly a Jesus moment.

I am now getting settled in to my new home with Kevin and Michelle Wiens and their two daughters Talia and Kaisa. It is a wonderful home and I look forward to my next two months here.

Back in the USA

I've made it safely back to the United States. The trip back went amazingly smooth. We had no wait in Haiti to go through security and the plane left and landed 15 minutes ahead of schedule, a phenomenon I have not experienced in years. Going through customs was also a breeze. In Miami we have enjoyed a nice dinner and time of sharing the many ways we saw Christ work on this trip. I look forward to a few days of rest before my trek to Canada for the rest of the summer. Matthew 11:28 "Come to me all who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest."

Christ the Foundation

1 Corinthians 3:5-11
"What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe-as the Lord ahas assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building. By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ."

Today is the last day in Haiti and I can honestly say that I will miss my time in Haiti and the amazing people here. It has been a blessing to be a part of the project we are working on. Tonight we will be presenting the design for school/church/health clinic compound. The scripture from 1 Corinthians 3 came up for our devotions last night and perfectly sums up our work here. Interestingly the project involved uses existing foundations on the site put in place by the founding pastor who had a vision for a cathedral that could seat 2000 people. After his death the construction stopped and now the needs of the church have changed. Our design incorporates the existing foundation and builds upon it to house a health clinic, school and church sanctuary. In Corinthians Paul discusses the work we do with Christ as we build on the foundation He has built. Each of us play an important role whether we plant, or water. It was St. Hillaire who planted the church and the vision of a new facility and now it is people like Deni an elder of the church who continue to water it along with his good friend Pierre from Canada who serves the community on health missions, as well as the EMI team which I am a part of who are here to water and create the vision St. Hillaire planted. As I near the end of my trip I am excited to see the small role Jesus has allowed me to play in the work of his kingdom. It is Christ who built the foundation and his followers who work along side him to build on it.

I have internet in Haiti!

I made it to Haiti safely and so far have been well. Thanks for all your prayers. The trip has been amazing thus far. I have to say the best part of the trip are the people. For the first three nights we stayed at a cottage of one of the church elders and were constantly being served by the Haitian hosts. They are all great people and wish I could speak creole so I could talk to them more. It has been hard to see the poor conditions that all the Haitian's live in but I have been blessed by the experience and relationships I have made. There is so much to mention and will shortly have more stories to post but I need to be getting to bed soon. Tomorrow we will get to experience a hatian church service and I am very excited. I hear the music is amazing even though I won't be able to understand the language. I will write more shortly. Please keep praying for the team and the people in Haiti.