german canadians

It has been amazing to hear so much German being spoken by the children in the schools where I sub. I have enjoyed speaking German to many of them and watching their eyes grow wide in surprise! The other day I was in a school that had this sign at the front door. There was a lot of reflection so the picture didn't turn out very well but I think you can tell that it's written in German. You can see the "translation" below. The second day I was in this school I talked to the English Language Acquisition teacher and she said that at least 50% of the kids in this particular school come from Germany and sometimes the percentage is even higher. I had this confirmed when I conducted a quick "Who is from Germany?" poll in one of my music classes. I was shocked when more than half the kids raised their hands. One even said, "Germany is better than Canada." Integration into the Canadian culture and acceptance of the differences has been difficult for many of these immigrants but the Canadian government has been working hard at providing English learning opportunities for them to help them adjust more quickly to their new home.

katy is 19

What a year it has been for this young woman. After spending the last 12 years at BFA (and winning that not-so-coveted longevity award!) she graduated in June and made the big international move with us back to Canada. More schooling was not in her immediate future as far as she was concerned but suddenly her mind was changed when Beth talked to her about taking the TEOSL program at the college where she was studying. It was a great bit of guidance from her big sister. Katy jumped into college life with gusto and has not looked back. She loves her course of studies, her professors and of course, all the new friends she has made. Her grades first semester put her on the Dean's list and her love for children (and a new-found love for teaching) has finally solidified her path of studies - she wants to become a teacher. Can you hear me cheering?!? She is a blessing to us and everyone she meets. She loves life and lives it to the fullest. Tonight she will celebrate this day with 4 of her closest friends plus her "bestest" of friends who also happens to be her sister! We love you, Kathryn Maria. You are an inspiration to us all and we thank the Lord daily for you and for your life!

the "after"

I have a basket from Africa that I carry everywhere. I love it. And not a day goes by when I carry my little basket that someone doesn't make a comment about it. Everyone seems to love it. Especially women!

Anyway, my little basket's handles were beginning to show the wear. Actually they have been showing the wear for a few years already. I have been meaning to cover them with leather for quite some time now but I could never find just the right leather. My good friend Sherri, said, "Buy a pair of leather gloves at the thrift store". Which I did. Yesterday. I came home with my $1.50 prize and tried not to think about what I was going to do. The gloves were in perfect shape. Oh dear.

I had thought of using the longest fingers to make the strips but that seemed too complicated. Instead I just cut strips along the width of the gloves leaving them looking like this. Rather sad.
I took the strips and sewed two pieces together end to end and hand stitched the strips onto the handles.
So here is the "after". I forgot to take a picture of "the before" so this is what you get. All I can say is that the "after" looks a lot more durable than "the before". I have hopefully sewn a bit more life and a few more years into my little basket and I'm sure the little leather gloves are proud of their contribution!

hockey afternoon in canada

Yesterday afternoon the now annual national outdoor hockey game was held at a stadium in Calgary between the Montreal Canadiens and the Calgary Flames. It was only -11 but a huge deal was made about the temperature and keeping the players warm and how the game would be very different played outside than inside because of the "frozen ice" conditions. Good grief. I couldn't watch for long because the commentators went on ad nauseam about these and other things - not to mention the fact that there were $122 million worth of players out there.

Today there were some kids on the street taking full advantage of Louis Riel Day - a holiday from school. The nets were up and they were having a great time. I'm pretty confident that they hadn't checked the temps before they went out and I didn't see any heaters at the players' bench either! It's true that hockey is indeed Canada's game but it seemed like the 40,000+ fans in the stands yesterday proved that point a lot stronger than the players on the "frozen ice"!

a bright spot

I don't think there's a day that goes by that I don't think or say how thankful I am for this beautiful home we've been blessed with.

But it's the people that live in it with me that are the biggest blessings to me and that really make this house our beautiful home.
After a few sick days I enjoyed a day at home all alone - just me, my cleaning rags and my vacuum cleaner.
The sun was shining beautifully and the house was bright and cheerful.




It was a good day.

a change in plans and planning change

Sunday was a hard but very good day. Howard's dad's funeral was a very meaningful celebration of a life well-lived. There were tears but there was also a lot of joy as we looked back on his life. The church was packed from top to bottom as people came to pay tribute to this dear man.

After we got home Sunday night Katy went into full gear with her cupcake decorating. She had baked the little treats the day before but this task still awaited her after a very taxing day. I helped her by making the icing and cleaning up and then I was pretty much spent.

She toiled on until after 11:00 but by then I was long asleep. I awoke the next morning at 6:00 with a splitting headache and a rolling stomach. I was so sick. I convalesced between our bed and the bathroom until I got up enough strength sometime in the afternoon to drag myself downstairs to the basement and lay in front of the TV yet still close to a bathroom! Our Valentine's date would definitely have to wait...
Howard spent the day with his mom (and far away from my ghastly germs!). They had a good time together of organizing and arranging and discussing things past and things to come. It was a good day for both of them.
This morning I was feeling somewhat better but was thankful that yesterday I had turned down a 1/2 day subbing job for today. It took me until noon to get myself into gear. I was finally able to eat something and things started to settle down. If the phone rings tomorrow morning I'll be ready to go.
As for all these cupcakes.... Katy managed to get them delivered yesterday morning without anyone seeing her. She was quite pleased about that, however, many of the recipients did figure out who the Valentine messenger was.

brazil

By now my English Camp team should be in Gramado. I have had a few moments when I have felt very disappointed about missing out on this amazing opportunity but I am very glad I made the decision I did about staying here and canceling my trip. Because we were in Germany when my dad died and only scheduled to fly home the day before the funeral, I missed all days and preparations leading up to it. I am glad I have been here to walk through this time with Howard's family. It has been important for me to be here.

My mom sent me some verses today that really encouraged me. They made me cry but they did encourage me too! Psalm 31: 14, 15a. “But I trust in you, O Lord, I say, you are my God. My times are in your hands.”
Proverbs 16:9. “In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.” I subbed today and I had such a nice talk with the secretary at the school who is also a Christian. She knew of my plans to go to Brazil and why they were cancelled. We talked about exactly what this verse from Proverbs says. I had everything worked out, my support had come in but in the end the trip did not become a reality. I do not know or understand why but that's okay. It is in God's plans and He knows what's best for me. I am thankful that I can live in that reality and that Howard's dad lived his life every day as a very clear example of exactly that.

the passing

Howard's dad passed away this morning in his sleep. He was 81 years old. He lived a long and rewarding life. He was fit. And sometimes, he was even funny! He was a kind and gentle man who sacrificed much for many. He will be deeply missed by us all.

missio Dei

Bethany and Katy have come through an extremely busy but rewarding time. They were on the committee that organized the missions conference at their college. They worked hard and it certainly paid off. The final evening featured a "Marketplace" where several booths were set up by different nationalities represented in the student body. It was an excellent evening! The Brazilians were out in force and colour. It was great. At the end of the evening the results were tabulated from the silent art auction and over $1200 had been raised to put toward building a house - "Providence House" - in a new village under construction in the Dominican Republic. The girls came home excited but exhausted yet extremely pleased with the way the two-day event had turned out.

Just a note: I used the camera of the young man in the back to take this picture. He was an MK in Brazil when we were there and we knew his parents, his aunt and uncle and his grandparents. Now he's studying at Prov. Another "small world" story!

real canadiana

Canadian towns love, absolutely love to have large statues which depict their towns in some way. As proof of this, "Our Canada", a very homespun Canadian magazine has had a regular feature on these large figures for quite a few years already. It was quite funny to come across several of these on our trip to Saskatchewan and back. This was the only one we actually stopped to take a picture of. He is the "Red Coat" and this monument stands in a small town along the old "Red Coat Trail". http://esask.uregina.ca/entry/red_coat_trail.html

prairie surprises

As we were zipping along the highway on our way back from Saskatchewan last Sunday we came upon a lovely French village and this beautiful church. It's often surprising what one sees in the middle of nowhere - at least what feels like nowhere to us!