Hey Everyone,
Hope you’re doing well. The last few months have been an amazing journey for me. I’m in the process of being swept off my feet by the man of my dreams. It has been an incredible and healing process for me. I couldn’t have imagined better if I tried, but God has His way of doing things even when they seem imperfect at times.
I had the first meeting with the youth of my church and we hope to get a weekly time set down in the New Year. They seem interested in being involved.
God bless,
Liz.
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Monday, December 24, 2007
Blog blurbs - Pre-WC
Colleen: Hi! I've recently returned home from Western after an amazing semester! In school, my nursing clinical was split between a family who had just had a new baby and the lab where we practice being maternity nurses on manikins--it's a lot of fun! I'm also heading up the Nursing MDA on campus with a great group of girls who want to impact peers. Next semester we're starting up a video campaign with 1min video testimonies of how we've been CHANGED (sound familiar?) by Christ and directing the nursing students to a website so they can hear these messages. I've liked seeing some of you through Summit and personal visits. If anyone else wants to visit Western-I’d recommend it! I've been remembering project A LOT lately and feeling so blessed to have been a part of it. Have a Wonderful & Merry Christmas!
Katherine: Beloveds,
CONDENSED UPDATE!!! [Editor's note: hee hee, not exactly "condensed"] i'm not one of those who keeps in touch, but my heart is still very much woven with yours. got a Christmas card in the mail yesterday from my darling Polish polishing queen Mirka... HALIGONIANS NOSTALGIA!!! Some of you may know I saw Ike shoot some hoops in October here in Qc. He is still walking with the Lord but needs encouragement... unable to be in Nigeria 4 Christmas. I've fallen in love with 16 4-year-olds at my internship this semester. They inhaled music much to my heart's delight... i found myself welcomed with ooooohs and aaaaahss every time i brought in my guitar or flute to teach them a song... so i bought them a child-sized guitar for play-time... gonna make some future Paco de Lucias!!! helped out at a ghetto (seriously) high school this week and bonded with the "demons"... it took me 4 hours to fall asleep last night cuz these teens FASCINATE me... every single one of them is unique, captivating, and have seen too much evil. aaaahhhhhhh! [Continued in COMMENTS]
Amber: Hello! I love hearing from all of you - and I love this continuing community! This past semester has been crazy with school and all the transition stuff needed for graduating, getting my pharmacist license, getting a job and leaving the student stages of life. I am done classes now and have 15 weeks of internship next semester. Then its all the exams I've been dreading for 4 years and grad :) I wasn't able to be as involved in the leadership/planning side of C4C but have been able to disciple two wonderful UofS girls and co-lead a first year DG with K____* :) I'm really going to miss all the encouragement, support, training and community C4C has provided for me over my 4.5 years on campus - I've come to love so many people and God has changed my life dramatically... [For the rest, click on COMMENTS] (*name removed)
Johnson: Hi everyone! I just found out today that I passed my last course ever with a decent B+ grade! I will be concentrating full-time on my research starting next semester, and hopefully graduating next Fall. Remember how I talked about me getting married in 1 year? Well, God's been putting on my heart not to hurry (Ha-ha, good one Johnson. Way to go for making up an excuse, because you're not even trying). [Editor's note: Come on, Johnson, where's the sense of urgency? We believe in Initiative dating - be intentional!] But I did come to the conclusion that "Quincy" is probably not a good name for a son. Merry Christmas everyone!
Jessica/Jallan: Hey Everybody
So what are you waiting for? Continue the discussion in the comments section!
Katherine: Beloveds,
CONDENSED UPDATE!!! [Editor's note: hee hee, not exactly "condensed"] i'm not one of those who keeps in touch, but my heart is still very much woven with yours. got a Christmas card in the mail yesterday from my darling Polish polishing queen Mirka... HALIGONIANS NOSTALGIA!!! Some of you may know I saw Ike shoot some hoops in October here in Qc. He is still walking with the Lord but needs encouragement... unable to be in Nigeria 4 Christmas. I've fallen in love with 16 4-year-olds at my internship this semester. They inhaled music much to my heart's delight... i found myself welcomed with ooooohs and aaaaahss every time i brought in my guitar or flute to teach them a song... so i bought them a child-sized guitar for play-time... gonna make some future Paco de Lucias!!! helped out at a ghetto (seriously) high school this week and bonded with the "demons"... it took me 4 hours to fall asleep last night cuz these teens FASCINATE me... every single one of them is unique, captivating, and have seen too much evil. aaaahhhhhhh! [Continued in COMMENTS]
Amber: Hello! I love hearing from all of you - and I love this continuing community! This past semester has been crazy with school and all the transition stuff needed for graduating, getting my pharmacist license, getting a job and leaving the student stages of life. I am done classes now and have 15 weeks of internship next semester. Then its all the exams I've been dreading for 4 years and grad :) I wasn't able to be as involved in the leadership/planning side of C4C but have been able to disciple two wonderful UofS girls and co-lead a first year DG with K____* :) I'm really going to miss all the encouragement, support, training and community C4C has provided for me over my 4.5 years on campus - I've come to love so many people and God has changed my life dramatically... [For the rest, click on COMMENTS] (*name removed)
Johnson: Hi everyone! I just found out today that I passed my last course ever with a decent B+ grade! I will be concentrating full-time on my research starting next semester, and hopefully graduating next Fall. Remember how I talked about me getting married in 1 year? Well, God's been putting on my heart not to hurry (Ha-ha, good one Johnson. Way to go for making up an excuse, because you're not even trying). [Editor's note: Come on, Johnson, where's the sense of urgency? We believe in Initiative dating - be intentional!] But I did come to the conclusion that "Quincy" is probably not a good name for a son. Merry Christmas everyone!
Jessica/Jallan: Hey Everybody
Only one semester to go! I applied to go to Fanshawe for next year, which is a college in London. It’s for a two-year program called Developmental Services Worker. After that I could work with people with special needs. C4C stuff is going well, and I can’t wait for Winter Conference! Also, I’m thinking about going back to Halifax next summer as an intern. I haven’t finished my application yet though, so I’ll have to get on that over the Christmas break.
MERRY CHRISTMAS... This semester has been really good and busy. I am amazed how God has blessed us with roommates year after year. My sister and I live with two roommates and have so much fun with them. Its nice to come home from school to a house of friends.
C4C still does not have any female staff so the three of us girl leaders have been getting together and planning things as a group, sharing and just enjoying times together which has become a huge highlight for me. The girls have a day of Evangelism every Wednesday and saw two people come to know the Lord. I have been learning about God's divine ways. There are times when I wondered if God actually does go before us to prepare peoples hearts and through Kerry I learned that he did. At the beginning of the semester I met Kerry who filled out an U1 survey... [continued in COMMENTS]
Melissa: Merry Christmas to ALL! I love this time of year!
So I don't have a terrible lot to say for now but for a quick update....
I am done my undergrad...not officially just yet but I got my grades back and all looks a go. Really looking forward to my internship this coming semester and not having any courses, but something is telling me I maybe doing a course or two for FUN...yes I said it...fun. Still living in the TO until April – I love downtown. Looking back this past year a lot has happened and I am so grateful it did...really looking forward TO SEEING WHAT God has in store for me and all of you - it’s gonna be good!
So what are you waiting for? Continue the discussion in the comments section!
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Good Shepherd - sock drive
Coming to WC in Toronto?
I am initiating a project to collect some new and gently used socks for the Good Shepherd downtown street ministry in Toronto. Each day they provide services such as snacks to 750 men, women and children.
It would be a huge God thing for us to collect a pair of socks for each person that the ministry reaches each day. 750 socks is alot of collect, but through prayer and soft hearts it is very possible to reach this goal. By tonight I will have already received more than 12 pairs of socks - and that is even from C4C students who are not coming to WC! My church is also taking up a collection!!
Therefore, please consider participating in this cause even if you are not coming to WC. You can pray, send some socks along with someone else who is attending WC, and encourage fellow students to get involved. Encouraging 2-3 others to get involved can be called the theory of sock multiplication. :P
The socks will be collected a some point during WC and taken to the ministry centre most likely on New Year's Eve when we have some free time.
Good Shepherd mainly asks for men's cotton socks, but they can also make use of children's or women's socks if that is what you have to give.
If you can't bring any socks, please consider giving up a bit of your time to help me bring these socks to the ministry centre.
The Facebook event group can be found at http://uwo.facebook.com/event.php?eid=6771261394
Thanks.
BH
I am initiating a project to collect some new and gently used socks for the Good Shepherd downtown street ministry in Toronto. Each day they provide services such as snacks to 750 men, women and children.
It would be a huge God thing for us to collect a pair of socks for each person that the ministry reaches each day. 750 socks is alot of collect, but through prayer and soft hearts it is very possible to reach this goal. By tonight I will have already received more than 12 pairs of socks - and that is even from C4C students who are not coming to WC! My church is also taking up a collection!!
Therefore, please consider participating in this cause even if you are not coming to WC. You can pray, send some socks along with someone else who is attending WC, and encourage fellow students to get involved. Encouraging 2-3 others to get involved can be called the theory of sock multiplication. :P
The socks will be collected a some point during WC and taken to the ministry centre most likely on New Year's Eve when we have some free time.
Good Shepherd mainly asks for men's cotton socks, but they can also make use of children's or women's socks if that is what you have to give.
If you can't bring any socks, please consider giving up a bit of your time to help me bring these socks to the ministry centre.
The Facebook event group can be found at http://uwo.facebook.com/event.php?eid=6771261394
Thanks.
BH
Friday, October 26, 2007
Halifax Project - bonus clips!
Thanks goes out to Johnson for putting this collage of video clips together! Feel free to leave comments!
Monday, October 22, 2007
Liz is dating someone and very excited about it!
So I thought I'd share my joy with everyone else.
Most commonly asked questions:
Name: Jared
Is he in school? No.
How do you know him? I know him through a friend.
How long have you known him? over 2 years
Is he a Christian? Yes, he's been a Christian for 2 years and has changed a lot.
What is he like?
He is kind, compassionate, understanding, communicative, patient, loving and so much more.
Hobbies: Playing drums and guitar, performing slight of hand, talking to Liz.
How did he ask you out? He came on msn (Oct 9th) and told me that there was a girl that he was interested in, but he wasn't sure if he should ask her out. We talked about it for a while and than I asked him a few questions that I thought would be important for him to have answers to if he's planning on dating someone. I asked if he has good support from his friends, adequate finances, emotional stability and if she lived close enough for it to be reasonable. He answered the questions and then he went on a walk to pray. While he was gone I was talking to a friend of mine about my reservations about starting a relationship because I thought there was a good chance Jared was talking about me and I don't take starting a relationship as a small thing.
When Jared came back from his walk he continued talking about the girl he wanted to ask out for a few minutes. Then he said, Hey Liz, I need to talk to you about something. And he told me that I was the girl he had been talking about and asked me if I would date him. And I said yes! Which completely blew him away! :D
He is a delight to me and I've never had any guy treat me so great. I wish all of you could meet him and get to see the great guy he is. :)
Please pray that we will know God's will and timing for the relationship and that we would see God work out every detail.
Mini-reunion
I took some photos of the Halifax project reunion that happened this Saturday (in Ontario)... Wondering how that's possible? Well, you'll have to see!
The photos are on Facebook or here in a Flickr slideshow: http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulman/sets/72157602572831189/show/
Be blessed, guys!
The photos are on Facebook or here in a Flickr slideshow: http://www.flickr.com/photos
Be blessed, guys!
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Looking back...
Hey everybody... what have you all been up to, lately?
Well, before we think about the present, here are some videos that have been sitting around for the longest time... and now they're finally up on the Internet! Well, except the Halifax Project '08 PROMO VIDEO is new to some of you!
+ YouTube videos:
Halifax Project '08 - promo video
For those of you who aren't on Facebook, this video (created by Ben Jolliffe and posted on Facebook by Ben Harrison) spawned like 40 comments on Facebook. Which meant 40 e-mails sent to everyone who was tagged in the video. Heh heh.
CHANGED: Coffeehouse (afterwards)
This was taking right after the Coffeehouse outreach ended. It felt like such a wonderful & healing time!
Aren't my feet always parallel?
*snicker*
Other videos that might interest you:
DDR (Johnson & Paulman) and Arm wrestling (guys appreciation night)
+ Summit photo albums from across Canada:
Ontario Summit with the most Halifax Project people - 10! plus a staff. I think.
Joanna's Facebook album (public version, without comments)
...hint hint, get Facebook!
BC Summit (featuring: Ricky, Paulman, and Dawei - Johnson was at home visiting with family)
Part 1 & Part 2
"Piano or insulin?" shows up in Part 1
If you have more photo albums you want to share, leave a comment and I'll update it!
Well, before we think about the present, here are some videos that have been sitting around for the longest time... and now they're finally up on the Internet! Well, except the Halifax Project '08 PROMO VIDEO is new to some of you!
+ YouTube videos:
Halifax Project '08 - promo video
For those of you who aren't on Facebook, this video (created by Ben Jolliffe and posted on Facebook by Ben Harrison) spawned like 40 comments on Facebook. Which meant 40 e-mails sent to everyone who was tagged in the video. Heh heh.
CHANGED: Coffeehouse (afterwards)
This was taking right after the Coffeehouse outreach ended. It felt like such a wonderful & healing time!
Aren't my feet always parallel?
*snicker*
Other videos that might interest you:
DDR (Johnson & Paulman) and Arm wrestling (guys appreciation night)
+ Summit photo albums from across Canada:
Ontario Summit with the most Halifax Project people - 10! plus a staff. I think.
Joanna's Facebook album (public version, without comments)
...hint hint, get Facebook!
BC Summit (featuring: Ricky, Paulman, and Dawei - Johnson was at home visiting with family)
Part 1 & Part 2
"Piano or insulin?" shows up in Part 1
If you have more photo albums you want to share, leave a comment and I'll update it!
Friday, September 28, 2007
Moments before Summit 2007...
[The last ones!]
Gilberto, Grace, Liz, Melissa, Nicky, and Nicole
Gilberto: Shalom Everyone!
I had a good time at home after the project and now I am almost ready to start school again. I will be starting my 3rd year at Dalhousie, I will also be Weekly Meeting Co-Coordinator and also the President of the International Students Association. I am really looking forward for the year ahead because I was able to re-prioritize a lot of things in my life, and I am excited about the changes that are to come!
I will be living very close to both SMU and DAL and also very close to my friends. I will keep investing in relationships with those who come here to study English and hopefully share the Gospel many times!
My goal is to make my relationship closer and also learn to love people like Christ did: unconditionally!! I have the hope that I will be able to disciple one or two guys during the year, and also learn a lot from my discipler (aka Josh Wong). I am already anxious to see you guys at the EASTERN Winter Conference in Toronto!
Please keep praying for Halifax, pray for the salvation of people, pray that Halifax will be a place where people will come to find Jesus Christ, pray for the C4C ministry here, that it be each day more overflowing!
You guys are all great and I miss you.
Until soon,
Gilberto
Grace: "On the road again,hmhmhmhmmmm, here we are on the road again..." Haha, Well, August has certainly been a crazy month on this road of my life! I have been back working at my old job in retail and have been seeing a lot of friends from school. I am going into my 3rd year of a Communications Studies and Political Science degree. My c4c involvement right now is focused on getting welcome week together! After that, I am unsure of what in C4C i will be doing. Lord-willing, I will be very focused on school and getting to know more of the frosh that will be coming in :) God bless you as you start school this year! It is going to be a great one! Hope to see many of you at Summit and WC!
PS Western is actually a nicer school then I thought it was ;) "W" hand sign ;)
Liz: My mom prayed to receive Christ with my pastor a couple days ago. My cousin
with cancer is continuing kimo at home. My pastor from my home church has asked
me to lead the youth group there and we're in the process of discussing
details.
Melissa: Hey Darlings!
Nicky: Hi friends!
I love and miss you all...what a blast this summer was! Life changing, I'd say! After y'all ski-daddled (sp?) out of Halifax, Veronika ( aka. Veronton, Vetatita..etc..) lived it up at 2730 Windsor Street, Becky's old apartment. It was the perfect venue for our August: it had an amazing dance floor, beautiful lighting and lots of room for entertaining. Jean Brunet made regular Sunday appearances which was fun...somehow we ended up watching boy movies even though Jean was clearly outnumbered, but it was good times nonetheless..we also spent some time with the lovely Katherine and Robert from Germany made a guest appearance. I think what I loved most about August was the amazing quality time V and I were able to spend with our coworkers. They really became our family! We roadtripped and went camping with them to Keji and just loved on them like it was our job! It was a blessed time. Oh Halifax, how I miss thee. There's a large part of my heart there friends!
Coming home was rushed and stressful. I didn't pray nearly enough to prepare myself and it was definitely a rough transition into the
Verboom household. I was only home for 72 hours, so unpacking and repacking for school along with trying to spend quality time with my family and friends proved to be an exhausting venture. It was really hard, but looking back on it now, I can see how God used it to break
and prepare me for O-week. There was no chance I was sailing through on post-project pride. After our Servant Team Retreat, which was a great weekend, I was forced to reflect on a lot of things, why I'm here, in C4C, why this matters...and once again, as he did many times
during the summer, God showed me that ministry needs to come out of an overflow. God showered me with his love and filled with excitement at the thought of others experiencing Jesus' love as he'd shown me.
Praise God for the lessons he teaches us and how he uses trials to
mold us!
Now, back at school, I'm still processing and learning a lot. I'm learning that, although we had a project debrief, I feel like I need an August debrief! I'm really loving my classes ( they're all about families and parenting! yay yay yay!) and I am constantly awed by the remarkable people God is surrounding me with. As Prayer Ministry Coordinator, God's given me a vision to see this campus revived and set on fire for him, starting with the ignited hearts of the Christians. As a prayer team we're working on having God consume every area of our personal lives and being lights to others around us instead of painstakingly trying to take it on ourselves to convince
others to come out to prayer times...that's not our job, we're learning that the Holy Spirit will move and convict others to pray, we just need to provide the opportunity and invitation.
So, I guess that's my life right now...busy and blessed as I'm sure you can all relate...God just keeps blowing my mind with how amazing he is!
I look forward to seeing some of you at Summit and Winter Conference! Miss and love you all...give someone you know a good quality hug today!
Nicole: COULD IT REALLY BE TRUE?? COULD NICOLE HAVE REALLY FINISHED HER BLOG??
Well, friends, here's the DL on my life because you're no longer yelling-distance away... So, it's been an incredibly busy two months since I got back home. First, I spent a few days at my best friend's house-- she just moved two hours away from me with her husband, which isn't ideal but it's completely OK (I've been friends with her since grade six and we've only lived in the same city for two years; we're used to the long-distance thing). Then I went to Lloydminster because I found out that my grandpa has cancer, which my dad didn't want to tell me when I was away in Halifax. It doesn't look very good-- he had cancer before, and I guess it wasn't all cut out or radiated or what have you, and it's gone up his spine and into his lymph nodes, etc., etc. I can't imagine him dying, because he's not the kind of person that would ever die, if you get what I mean-- he's very strong, and healthy, and together-- so it hasn't really hit me yet that he might (the doctors give him 6 mos. to 5 yrs., depending on if the chemo takes). Please pray for him and my grandma to continue hoping and trusting in the Lord-- He's got it all figured out. Then it was catching-up-with-friends time... admittedly one friend in particular (my dating fast continues for another weekish, until October), the C4C planning retreat, then BOOM! School started! I'm not cheerleading this year for lack of time, but I AM ballroom dancing, DG-leading, on our Weekly Meeting team (the MC point-person... I love all things MC...), working (I haven't gotten another concussion or even hit yet, praise God!), and attempting to have a life. I have fallen in love with Chuck Norris movies. I have decided not to be re-baptized, which was a decision that was weighing heavily on my mind to be made. It's my third year of Linguistics and I have the best electives ever-- in drama we stretch and breathe. And play Wink Murder and Zombies. Pretty sure I'm heading out to Tanzania next year, so perhaps I'll see you out there! (And for you westerners, I'd BETTER see you at WC!!!) I think I'll sign off here for now. The end.
Love Nicole
Your long-lost projectile
Gilberto, Grace, Liz, Melissa, Nicky, and Nicole
Gilberto: Shalom Everyone!
I had a good time at home after the project and now I am almost ready to start school again. I will be starting my 3rd year at Dalhousie, I will also be Weekly Meeting Co-Coordinator and also the President of the International Students Association. I am really looking forward for the year ahead because I was able to re-prioritize a lot of things in my life, and I am excited about the changes that are to come!
I will be living very close to both SMU and DAL and also very close to my friends. I will keep investing in relationships with those who come here to study English and hopefully share the Gospel many times!
My goal is to make my relationship closer and also learn to love people like Christ did: unconditionally!! I have the hope that I will be able to disciple one or two guys during the year, and also learn a lot from my discipler (aka Josh Wong). I am already anxious to see you guys at the EASTERN Winter Conference in Toronto!
Please keep praying for Halifax, pray for the salvation of people, pray that Halifax will be a place where people will come to find Jesus Christ, pray for the C4C ministry here, that it be each day more overflowing!
You guys are all great and I miss you.
Until soon,
Gilberto
Grace: "On the road again,hmhmhmhmmmm, here we are on the road again..." Haha, Well, August has certainly been a crazy month on this road of my life! I have been back working at my old job in retail and have been seeing a lot of friends from school. I am going into my 3rd year of a Communications Studies and Political Science degree. My c4c involvement right now is focused on getting welcome week together! After that, I am unsure of what in C4C i will be doing. Lord-willing, I will be very focused on school and getting to know more of the frosh that will be coming in :) God bless you as you start school this year! It is going to be a great one! Hope to see many of you at Summit and WC!
PS Western is actually a nicer school then I thought it was ;) "W" hand sign ;)
Liz: My mom prayed to receive Christ with my pastor a couple days ago. My cousin
with cancer is continuing kimo at home. My pastor from my home church has asked
me to lead the youth group there and we're in the process of discussing
details.
Melissa: Hey Darlings!
I write this looking out of my dorm room window to the CN tower on a day that is very Halifax like and can’t help but wonder if it is sunny in Hali. The last couple months have flown by without any postcards to say breath, but I think I needed that. I have been keeping really busy with C4C, work and school. This term is my last year here at Ryerson...got 4 months of classes in the Fall and an internship in the Winter. Really looking forward to completing my courses b4 my b-day. Must say that I hate that I miss you all so very much...not a day goes by that I don’t think about something we did or shared together guess that is what happens when you live with 30 people - something must remind you of them intentionally and not. My last day in Hali was spent walking around taking in the scenes and remembering the funny things we did...who could forget the wave. I didn’t realize how much I needed the community created on project...it freed me to be me and not have to keep my brave face on. There is only so long that you can keep a mask on. God is so amazing that he gives you exactly what you need when you need it and I really needed all of you! So, thanks for being a part of a real transformational part of my life:D!
Not completely sure what the future holds for me but I am excited...I feel like I am getting my runners on and walking up to the starting line. My short term goal for the term is to get grounded in some deep Christian community in TO and cultivate meaningful friendships around me...gots to be more intentional with my interactions with people. It is no longer enough for me to just say Hi and Bye – I need to know people beyond the surface.
As mentioned before I am more than happy to have people stay with me if they are ever in town over the term...You can always have my couch:D.
Love yous much,
MelissaNicky: Hi friends!
I love and miss you all...what a blast this summer was! Life changing, I'd say! After y'all ski-daddled (sp?) out of Halifax, Veronika ( aka. Veronton, Vetatita..etc..) lived it up at 2730 Windsor Street, Becky's old apartment. It was the perfect venue for our August: it had an amazing dance floor, beautiful lighting and lots of room for entertaining. Jean Brunet made regular Sunday appearances which was fun...somehow we ended up watching boy movies even though Jean was clearly outnumbered, but it was good times nonetheless..we also spent some time with the lovely Katherine and Robert from Germany made a guest appearance. I think what I loved most about August was the amazing quality time V and I were able to spend with our coworkers. They really became our family! We roadtripped and went camping with them to Keji and just loved on them like it was our job! It was a blessed time. Oh Halifax, how I miss thee. There's a large part of my heart there friends!
Coming home was rushed and stressful. I didn't pray nearly enough to prepare myself and it was definitely a rough transition into the
Verboom household. I was only home for 72 hours, so unpacking and repacking for school along with trying to spend quality time with my family and friends proved to be an exhausting venture. It was really hard, but looking back on it now, I can see how God used it to break
and prepare me for O-week. There was no chance I was sailing through on post-project pride. After our Servant Team Retreat, which was a great weekend, I was forced to reflect on a lot of things, why I'm here, in C4C, why this matters...and once again, as he did many times
during the summer, God showed me that ministry needs to come out of an overflow. God showered me with his love and filled with excitement at the thought of others experiencing Jesus' love as he'd shown me.
Praise God for the lessons he teaches us and how he uses trials to
mold us!
Now, back at school, I'm still processing and learning a lot. I'm learning that, although we had a project debrief, I feel like I need an August debrief! I'm really loving my classes ( they're all about families and parenting! yay yay yay!) and I am constantly awed by the remarkable people God is surrounding me with. As Prayer Ministry Coordinator, God's given me a vision to see this campus revived and set on fire for him, starting with the ignited hearts of the Christians. As a prayer team we're working on having God consume every area of our personal lives and being lights to others around us instead of painstakingly trying to take it on ourselves to convince
others to come out to prayer times...that's not our job, we're learning that the Holy Spirit will move and convict others to pray, we just need to provide the opportunity and invitation.
So, I guess that's my life right now...busy and blessed as I'm sure you can all relate...God just keeps blowing my mind with how amazing he is!
I look forward to seeing some of you at Summit and Winter Conference! Miss and love you all...give someone you know a good quality hug today!
Nicole: COULD IT REALLY BE TRUE?? COULD NICOLE HAVE REALLY FINISHED HER BLOG??
Well, friends, here's the DL on my life because you're no longer yelling-distance away... So, it's been an incredibly busy two months since I got back home. First, I spent a few days at my best friend's house-- she just moved two hours away from me with her husband, which isn't ideal but it's completely OK (I've been friends with her since grade six and we've only lived in the same city for two years; we're used to the long-distance thing). Then I went to Lloydminster because I found out that my grandpa has cancer, which my dad didn't want to tell me when I was away in Halifax. It doesn't look very good-- he had cancer before, and I guess it wasn't all cut out or radiated or what have you, and it's gone up his spine and into his lymph nodes, etc., etc. I can't imagine him dying, because he's not the kind of person that would ever die, if you get what I mean-- he's very strong, and healthy, and together-- so it hasn't really hit me yet that he might (the doctors give him 6 mos. to 5 yrs., depending on if the chemo takes). Please pray for him and my grandma to continue hoping and trusting in the Lord-- He's got it all figured out. Then it was catching-up-with-friends time... admittedly one friend in particular (my dating fast continues for another weekish, until October), the C4C planning retreat, then BOOM! School started! I'm not cheerleading this year for lack of time, but I AM ballroom dancing, DG-leading, on our Weekly Meeting team (the MC point-person... I love all things MC...), working (I haven't gotten another concussion or even hit yet, praise God!), and attempting to have a life. I have fallen in love with Chuck Norris movies. I have decided not to be re-baptized, which was a decision that was weighing heavily on my mind to be made. It's my third year of Linguistics and I have the best electives ever-- in drama we stretch and breathe. And play Wink Murder and Zombies. Pretty sure I'm heading out to Tanzania next year, so perhaps I'll see you out there! (And for you westerners, I'd BETTER see you at WC!!!) I think I'll sign off here for now. The end.
Love Nicole
Your long-lost projectile
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Ekua in Australia
The following update is from Ekua (Sept 13th):
------------
Dear friends,
Hope you are all having a blast at school. Its going to be a great school year and I am really excited. This is to give you an update on what's being going on over here and to tell you about all my adventures in just over two weeks of being in this new country.
I left Canada on the morning of the -hmm can't remember now oh there we go -3oth of August. It was an interesting departure. My room mate decided that since we were close to the airport shuttle we should just drag the bags to the bus stop. Little did we know that the bags were rather heavy. So I dragged one suitcase a guitar and my backpack all the way to the bus stop it was about a 5 mins walk but it took us 20-30mins. I almost lost my hands in the process but thank God I still have them. When we got to the assumed bus stop we were a bit confused so we missed the bus I don't think bus look kindly to confused people. Anyways we finally found the right spot. We were just in time for the second bus. Since the bus driver was 12 mins early he decided to drive us to catch up with the bus we had missed. I was so grateful I felt so duno how to explain it but my mouth was open the whole time. I finally closed it though. Yup so I got to the airport safe and sound and on time. Got on the plane which was to take me to Vancouver. Everything was going on well until someone suddenly got sick, so we had to make an emergency stop in Alberta. Not only that but the crew had to debrief about what happened so we were on land for about 45 mins. During the wait the only thing I could thing about was my next flight. Initially I was supposed to have a 3 hour wait before my next flight. Man I hope this is not boring I am not the greatest story teller.
We finally got to Vancouver and I had about 20mins to rush to my next departure gate. I heard my name over the speakers while rushing to the gate and I thought yikes everyone knows about me now. Well the long and short of it is that I made it safely to Australia without my bags. Somehow during all the rush my bags were left behind. It took me six days to finally get them. I thank God for all this interesting experience. So why all these ups and downs well. I think I learnt to trust God more. For some reason when I got my bags I felt a bit different like some kind of confidence, I just wanted to go back to the time where I had nothing and had to depend on God. I guess its a good way to learn humility.
Last Sunday I attended this church called SurfCity and its awesome so far. But still seeking God in that matter. Oh and on that same day someone came up to me at the mall to share Christ with me isn't that cool. Yea lots of exciting things in just over a few weeks.
Well good friends that's all for now I hope to write again soon. Have an awesome week. If there are any grammatical errors I apologise I'm just about ready for bed.
Ekua
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Keep-in-touch (Fall 2007, Part 2)
[What we have so far...]
Andrea, Becky, Ben T., Ekua, John, Katherine, Lynnette, Myriam, Olga, Ricky, Steve, Tabitha
Andrea: Hi everyone! Wow, summer is going by so fast. After I arrived in Calgary, I had about a week off just relaxing and adjusting back to home life. Then I began to work at Heritage Park as a cashier and hostess for a sit-down kind of restaurant. I met this really nice girl there, she is so gentle. She went to Israel for a month of the summer and is Jewish so it is very interesting to get to know her.
Tomorrow I am going to Disneyland and Sandiego for the first time with my family for a week so that is exciting! Then, in the fall, I will be attending my Bible college again now called Ambrose university College and I will stay there until I finish my behavioral science degree. From there, I will probably go into teaching either elementary or special needs. But that is still a long ways off.
Since I've been home, I have attended two C4C Summer Bible studies so that has been good. I hope to attend other C4C things throughout the year and that I will continue to learn and grow closer to God through all that He will teach me this coming year!! That is exciting to think about!! I hope you will all continue to grow closer to God throughout the year and that God will continue to amaze you!
Becky: I hesitated writing this for a while because at this present time I am still unsure of what I am up to this year! I am planning on staying in Oakville for the year- I am currently looking for a job. I will be helping out with the youth group , joining a small group and being part of a new young adults group at my church which I am really excited about. Since I have been home I have been up to my cottage and just spending time with the family. Its been nice but I miss you all very much!
Ben T.: I am going in my third (but fortunately not last) year of my B.A.Sc. program at University of Toronto. Hopefully by the end of the coming term, I will be able to have the type of community and accountability available to me during project and subsequently extend a positive influence into my program, UT Engineering Faculty, UTc4C, my church, and my community. If time and classes allows, I may even make the epic pilgrimage uptown to attend York's Weeking Meeting! To the people of the Pseudo-West (Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba) and WC non-attendees, I will surely regret not seeing you post-project.
Ekua:August has gone by really fast. I didn't do much when I got back from Halifax, most of the time I was either sleeping or going for long walks. And some days I tried to read but that didn't work out too well either never finished any of the books I started and some days I baked. Yea seems I have been pretty lazy. But I miss you all dear ones. I think of you almost everyday. Hope you are all doing great. Well hmmm......... I leave for Australia in 6 days. I will be studying at a University there for quite a while. But for now I am taking it one day at a time. I don't know what clubs I will be involved in since there is no C4C on my campus so we'll see what happens. I am in the middle of packing and saying goodbye to friends. So I am here with my roomie sorry I didn't know what else to add but I think thats a good point to make. At least it will encourage you all to get together with your roomies sometime in the near future. Oh I am almost done Corinthians, take a look at chapter 13 if you haven't already its really good. Anyways I will keep you all updated as much as I can. Will be praying for you all. Nikkie (hope I spelt that right) I miss your hugs send me one soon.
God bless.
Ekua
John: I'm entering into my last year of Finance and will be taking mostly finance courses and some electives (Quebec Culture [VIVE LE QUEBEC LIBRE!], Business French, & Hispanic Culture). I'll still be working at the radio station, but will be working from 6am-8:30am Mon-Fri from home, on my computer. I plan on focusing on my courses, studying and trying to get the best GPA I've ever had! I have no clue what I'll be doing in a year from now nor where I'll be in this world. I'll continue to be involved with C4C, passing the batton to the younger students. I'll be going to the SMU C4C leadership retreat this weekend, but don't know exactly what I'll be doing or how much time I'll be investing in C4C, as I'll be concentrating on graduating and finding a job.
Katherine: Hello my wonderful wonderful friends...
I'M STILL IN HALIFAX!!! I have been to Rice Res a few times this month...
Walking down the hallways, palms sweaty, pulse racing, i was bashed in the head AND stabbed in the heart: premature nostalgia attacked me. It struck me (yeah, i'm a little slow) that we would NEVER experience life in Rice Res together again... Hani and Kenny say they miss us. Ike says everytime he sees a group of people he thinks of us projectiles ("cuz u always travelled in groups")! oooooohhhhhhhhhhh, life goes on... the Buskers were great... flame-throwing, sword-swallowing, bucket-drumming madness... it has been busy at work... my mother came to visit. we had a blast... Ike's boss dragged us onto a late-night cruise one evening and we danced the night away to good ol' eighties noise. just 4 the record, my mom is amazing. she called me the night she got back to Montreal: " Kass, I miss Halifax!!!" ... my sister, brother-in-law,and niece came 2 visit also. what a blessing. every blood vessel is tightening now as i prepare to pull out the roots that have been so deeply embedded here on Halifax soil... my heart aches already for all the friends & co-workers I will be saying goodbye to. God has truly blessed me and has assured me that He will give me the strength I need to survive this... but thick damaged roots are a beautiful thing. Mirka will drive me to the airport on the 31st, and then the 4th I will resume my Education studies at Concordia. My appartment, job, and C4C frosh events will keep me busy enough to postpone my aching heart 4 the Haligonian culture... shopping carts, foghorns, bad hair days, pan-handlers, granola bars, amber, theodore, friendly bus-drivers, friendly EVERYONE, crab cakes, cooks with cigarettes in alleys, donairs, uncommon grounds, ice cream... yeah, it's all about the food i guess. no, seriously, i am going to miss the lives i've bonded with. i know God loves them more than me, but HOLY PEPPERCORN is it hard to let them go!!! miss yall sooooooo much. u've all touched my life in positive ways. thankyou for your faithfulness to our King. i can't wait 4 WC to see some of u again and sigh & reminisce about Halifax 2007... hugs & kisses,
in Christ,
Katherine
Lynnette: Hello everyone! The rest of this summer has really flown by. My mom was here for a few weeks and it was SO great to spend time together. She has left but we are left with the task of finishing up our kitchen (we are redoing it all!) My brother and I spend the whole day putting together cabinets. We will see how they hold up!
I am starting back at school next Thursday and the first year orientation is on Tuesday and Wednesday. It was really great we had a prayer time with all the christian groups and some churches in the city confessing some sins from the University's past so we can begin again. Such an uplifting time! I am heading into my 2 and 1/2 (ish) year of school and am looking forward to all the wonderful History courses. (You guys should give them a chance you'll like them, REALLY!) I am going to be either leading or co-leading a DG this year with C4C. I am back at the job which I had before going on project and blessed with great hours.
I really enjoyed spending my summer with everyone. What a blessing to have served with you. God Bless!
Myriam: Hello everyone! Well life has been crazy since Halifax, well it never stopped being crazy. In the week I got home I unpacked and repacked to move to Lennoxville. Now that I’m in Lennoxville I’ve been cleaning and painting my new apartment. I also started school last Monday the 20th. So my first week of school is over... It’s ok. I have classes only in the morning and I also have Tuesday off. This year I will also be part of the comity that is in charge of IVCF (Inter Varsity Christian Fellowship) at Bishop’s. That will start when Bishop starts, in the beginning of September. As I’m still in boxes do to painting I have not tock the time to reflect on Halifax yet. It is on my do to list that never ends… ;) It’s was as great time that I know for such!!!
Olga: As I look back on the months in Halifax, I am excited because I know God has so much more in store! I'm looking forward to going back to school and to see how God can use me back on my own campus. I really hope that we will be able to start up a drime team at York this year as well. This weekend I'm going away to a cottage to do some more planning with people from my campus. August has been great! It was a lot of fun driving back home from Halifax and seeing other parts of Nova Scotia. Since I came back, I had the chance to catch up with some friends, do a bit of packing for our move and plan some things for my sister's upcoming wedding. There will be a lot of change this year but it's exciting!
Ricky: If there’s one thing I’ve learned since August 1st, it is a particular way of looking at saving grace that has not occurred to me before (and I got this from reading the “How People Grow” book). Before project, grace was simply an undeserved gift – like a pay cheque before I even start my job. But what that fails to illustrate is dependence – the fact that we NEED to depend on grace to live as Christ-followers. We cannot do it any other way. I could still live without that free pay cheque, but I cannot live a life that is pleasing to God without grace. So, maybe grace should be something like a bottle of water handed to me by an enemy soldier in the middle of the Sahara desert - his bottle of water, to be more precise. Anyways, life after project, to be honest, hasn’t been productive at all. It’s hard because I have no church nor close friends here in Hong Kong. But the past few weeks, especially after going to a few very vibrant Christian youth events here, has changed the way I look at Hong Kong. I realized that until the day I start a family elsewhere, Hong Kong is still my home. I still have a heart for this place. As for the coming semester, as some of you already know, I’ll be the vice-KSL on my campus, and it’ll also be my final year of my undergraduate studies. I am really looking forward to it, and I know for sure that it will not be struggle-free, especially after the lessons I’ve learned on project. Anyways, until next time, keep fit and have fun friends!!
Steve: Hey everybody!
So I'm here in Edmonton right now! I'm now excited to be starting school again in less than two weeks! I'll be entering my fourth year of my Education/Math Degree at the University of Alberta. . . Oh, how I wish I could just push to my Masters! So this coming year I am the MDA coordinator at the UofA, and as well and leading a first year DG. Thankfully, I can use all of the skills and experience that God gave me in Halifax! I am excited to say that I have now found a place in Edmonton! Praise God! This coming fall is going to be a lot of God, ministry, school, and work! But He can easily guide me through it! :D Blessings everybody!
In Him,
Steve
Tabitha: I'm in Toronto and constantly travelling to Waterloo and Kingston to visit my boyfriend. Boys are trouble! I asked Nate "who ARE you?" and he said "trouble", then he asked me "who are YOU?" and I responded "trouble's girlfriend". I had a great August! I came home for just a little bit and then went to Waterloo for a week. I hung out with a lot of friends, went to my fave Christian bookstore (Gospel Lighthouse), and surprised my boyfriend (which went well by the way... it would've been better if he could stop talking!). I then headed to Kingston for a week and hung out with my boyfriend's mom and family friends. It was really relaxing because they basically live in a cottage! I just got back from a weekend trip to Mont Tremblant, Quebec with my family. Next weekend I'll go see some friends and the boy in Waterloo and then school will start (hello reunion with Erin, Liz, Ver and Olga~). Okay, I was told to keep this short, and I doubt I'm doing a good job. I miss many of you! Official shout outs to my roomies (Miss Becky, Colleen and Andrea) and Shalom. Peace out yo.
****************
Andrea, Becky, Ben T., Ekua, John, Katherine, Lynnette, Myriam, Olga, Ricky, Steve, Tabitha
Andrea: Hi everyone! Wow, summer is going by so fast. After I arrived in Calgary, I had about a week off just relaxing and adjusting back to home life. Then I began to work at Heritage Park as a cashier and hostess for a sit-down kind of restaurant. I met this really nice girl there, she is so gentle. She went to Israel for a month of the summer and is Jewish so it is very interesting to get to know her.
Tomorrow I am going to Disneyland and Sandiego for the first time with my family for a week so that is exciting! Then, in the fall, I will be attending my Bible college again now called Ambrose university College and I will stay there until I finish my behavioral science degree. From there, I will probably go into teaching either elementary or special needs. But that is still a long ways off.
Since I've been home, I have attended two C4C Summer Bible studies so that has been good. I hope to attend other C4C things throughout the year and that I will continue to learn and grow closer to God through all that He will teach me this coming year!! That is exciting to think about!! I hope you will all continue to grow closer to God throughout the year and that God will continue to amaze you!
Becky: I hesitated writing this for a while because at this present time I am still unsure of what I am up to this year! I am planning on staying in Oakville for the year- I am currently looking for a job. I will be helping out with the youth group , joining a small group and being part of a new young adults group at my church which I am really excited about. Since I have been home I have been up to my cottage and just spending time with the family. Its been nice but I miss you all very much!
Ben T.: I am going in my third (but fortunately not last) year of my B.A.Sc. program at University of Toronto. Hopefully by the end of the coming term, I will be able to have the type of community and accountability available to me during project and subsequently extend a positive influence into my program, UT Engineering Faculty, UTc4C, my church, and my community. If time and classes allows, I may even make the epic pilgrimage uptown to attend York's Weeking Meeting! To the people of the Pseudo-West (Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba) and WC non-attendees, I will surely regret not seeing you post-project.
Ekua:August has gone by really fast. I didn't do much when I got back from Halifax, most of the time I was either sleeping or going for long walks. And some days I tried to read but that didn't work out too well either never finished any of the books I started and some days I baked. Yea seems I have been pretty lazy. But I miss you all dear ones. I think of you almost everyday. Hope you are all doing great. Well hmmm......... I leave for Australia in 6 days. I will be studying at a University there for quite a while. But for now I am taking it one day at a time. I don't know what clubs I will be involved in since there is no C4C on my campus so we'll see what happens. I am in the middle of packing and saying goodbye to friends. So I am here with my roomie sorry I didn't know what else to add but I think thats a good point to make. At least it will encourage you all to get together with your roomies sometime in the near future. Oh I am almost done Corinthians, take a look at chapter 13 if you haven't already its really good. Anyways I will keep you all updated as much as I can. Will be praying for you all. Nikkie (hope I spelt that right) I miss your hugs send me one soon.
God bless.
Ekua
John: I'm entering into my last year of Finance and will be taking mostly finance courses and some electives (Quebec Culture [VIVE LE QUEBEC LIBRE!], Business French, & Hispanic Culture). I'll still be working at the radio station, but will be working from 6am-8:30am Mon-Fri from home, on my computer. I plan on focusing on my courses, studying and trying to get the best GPA I've ever had! I have no clue what I'll be doing in a year from now nor where I'll be in this world. I'll continue to be involved with C4C, passing the batton to the younger students. I'll be going to the SMU C4C leadership retreat this weekend, but don't know exactly what I'll be doing or how much time I'll be investing in C4C, as I'll be concentrating on graduating and finding a job.
Katherine: Hello my wonderful wonderful friends...
I'M STILL IN HALIFAX!!! I have been to Rice Res a few times this month...
Walking down the hallways, palms sweaty, pulse racing, i was bashed in the head AND stabbed in the heart: premature nostalgia attacked me. It struck me (yeah, i'm a little slow) that we would NEVER experience life in Rice Res together again... Hani and Kenny say they miss us. Ike says everytime he sees a group of people he thinks of us projectiles ("cuz u always travelled in groups")! oooooohhhhhhhhhhh, life goes on... the Buskers were great... flame-throwing, sword-swallowing, bucket-drumming madness... it has been busy at work... my mother came to visit. we had a blast... Ike's boss dragged us onto a late-night cruise one evening and we danced the night away to good ol' eighties noise. just 4 the record, my mom is amazing. she called me the night she got back to Montreal: " Kass, I miss Halifax!!!" ... my sister, brother-in-law,and niece came 2 visit also. what a blessing. every blood vessel is tightening now as i prepare to pull out the roots that have been so deeply embedded here on Halifax soil... my heart aches already for all the friends & co-workers I will be saying goodbye to. God has truly blessed me and has assured me that He will give me the strength I need to survive this... but thick damaged roots are a beautiful thing. Mirka will drive me to the airport on the 31st, and then the 4th I will resume my Education studies at Concordia. My appartment, job, and C4C frosh events will keep me busy enough to postpone my aching heart 4 the Haligonian culture... shopping carts, foghorns, bad hair days, pan-handlers, granola bars, amber, theodore, friendly bus-drivers, friendly EVERYONE, crab cakes, cooks with cigarettes in alleys, donairs, uncommon grounds, ice cream... yeah, it's all about the food i guess. no, seriously, i am going to miss the lives i've bonded with. i know God loves them more than me, but HOLY PEPPERCORN is it hard to let them go!!! miss yall sooooooo much. u've all touched my life in positive ways. thankyou for your faithfulness to our King. i can't wait 4 WC to see some of u again and sigh & reminisce about Halifax 2007... hugs & kisses,
in Christ,
Katherine
Lynnette: Hello everyone! The rest of this summer has really flown by. My mom was here for a few weeks and it was SO great to spend time together. She has left but we are left with the task of finishing up our kitchen (we are redoing it all!) My brother and I spend the whole day putting together cabinets. We will see how they hold up!
I am starting back at school next Thursday and the first year orientation is on Tuesday and Wednesday. It was really great we had a prayer time with all the christian groups and some churches in the city confessing some sins from the University's past so we can begin again. Such an uplifting time! I am heading into my 2 and 1/2 (ish) year of school and am looking forward to all the wonderful History courses. (You guys should give them a chance you'll like them, REALLY!) I am going to be either leading or co-leading a DG this year with C4C. I am back at the job which I had before going on project and blessed with great hours.
I really enjoyed spending my summer with everyone. What a blessing to have served with you. God Bless!
Myriam: Hello everyone! Well life has been crazy since Halifax, well it never stopped being crazy. In the week I got home I unpacked and repacked to move to Lennoxville. Now that I’m in Lennoxville I’ve been cleaning and painting my new apartment. I also started school last Monday the 20th. So my first week of school is over... It’s ok. I have classes only in the morning and I also have Tuesday off. This year I will also be part of the comity that is in charge of IVCF (Inter Varsity Christian Fellowship) at Bishop’s. That will start when Bishop starts, in the beginning of September. As I’m still in boxes do to painting I have not tock the time to reflect on Halifax yet. It is on my do to list that never ends… ;) It’s was as great time that I know for such!!!
Olga: As I look back on the months in Halifax, I am excited because I know God has so much more in store! I'm looking forward to going back to school and to see how God can use me back on my own campus. I really hope that we will be able to start up a drime team at York this year as well. This weekend I'm going away to a cottage to do some more planning with people from my campus. August has been great! It was a lot of fun driving back home from Halifax and seeing other parts of Nova Scotia. Since I came back, I had the chance to catch up with some friends, do a bit of packing for our move and plan some things for my sister's upcoming wedding. There will be a lot of change this year but it's exciting!
Ricky: If there’s one thing I’ve learned since August 1st, it is a particular way of looking at saving grace that has not occurred to me before (and I got this from reading the “How People Grow” book). Before project, grace was simply an undeserved gift – like a pay cheque before I even start my job. But what that fails to illustrate is dependence – the fact that we NEED to depend on grace to live as Christ-followers. We cannot do it any other way. I could still live without that free pay cheque, but I cannot live a life that is pleasing to God without grace. So, maybe grace should be something like a bottle of water handed to me by an enemy soldier in the middle of the Sahara desert - his bottle of water, to be more precise. Anyways, life after project, to be honest, hasn’t been productive at all. It’s hard because I have no church nor close friends here in Hong Kong. But the past few weeks, especially after going to a few very vibrant Christian youth events here, has changed the way I look at Hong Kong. I realized that until the day I start a family elsewhere, Hong Kong is still my home. I still have a heart for this place. As for the coming semester, as some of you already know, I’ll be the vice-KSL on my campus, and it’ll also be my final year of my undergraduate studies. I am really looking forward to it, and I know for sure that it will not be struggle-free, especially after the lessons I’ve learned on project. Anyways, until next time, keep fit and have fun friends!!
Steve: Hey everybody!
So I'm here in Edmonton right now! I'm now excited to be starting school again in less than two weeks! I'll be entering my fourth year of my Education/Math Degree at the University of Alberta. . . Oh, how I wish I could just push to my Masters! So this coming year I am the MDA coordinator at the UofA, and as well and leading a first year DG. Thankfully, I can use all of the skills and experience that God gave me in Halifax! I am excited to say that I have now found a place in Edmonton! Praise God! This coming fall is going to be a lot of God, ministry, school, and work! But He can easily guide me through it! :D Blessings everybody!
In Him,
Steve
Tabitha: I'm in Toronto and constantly travelling to Waterloo and Kingston to visit my boyfriend. Boys are trouble! I asked Nate "who ARE you?" and he said "trouble", then he asked me "who are YOU?" and I responded "trouble's girlfriend". I had a great August! I came home for just a little bit and then went to Waterloo for a week. I hung out with a lot of friends, went to my fave Christian bookstore (Gospel Lighthouse), and surprised my boyfriend (which went well by the way... it would've been better if he could stop talking!). I then headed to Kingston for a week and hung out with my boyfriend's mom and family friends. It was really relaxing because they basically live in a cottage! I just got back from a weekend trip to Mont Tremblant, Quebec with my family. Next weekend I'll go see some friends and the boy in Waterloo and then school will start (hello reunion with Erin, Liz, Ver and Olga~). Okay, I was told to keep this short, and I doubt I'm doing a good job. I miss many of you! Official shout outs to my roomies (Miss Becky, Colleen and Andrea) and Shalom. Peace out yo.
****************
Here's something Erin said (not quite verbatim) during our Candlight debrief time that really struck me:
"I get chills looking around this room and thinking that there are thirty amazing people going back to campus across Canada this year....
God is going to use each and everyone one of you, and we have no idea what's going to happen tomorrow, but we have such hope, and such joy knowing that we are loved and He saved each one of us, even though we don't deserve it.
...and I hope that everybody at least can take something away from this and put it towards something in the future. It just astounds me, what He has done and what He will do."
God is going to use each and everyone one of you, and we have no idea what's going to happen tomorrow, but we have such hope, and such joy knowing that we are loved and He saved each one of us, even though we don't deserve it.
...and I hope that everybody at least can take something away from this and put it towards something in the future. It just astounds me, what He has done and what He will do."
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Keep-in-touch (Fall 2007, Part 1)
[This is what we have so far...]
Amber, Ben H., Colleen, Erin, Jessica, Joanna, Johnson, Joyce, K____*, Paulman, Sarah, Veronika (*name removed)
(we're officially 40% of the way there!)
Amber: The end is in sight and I'm heading back to the U of S for my last semester of Pharmacy classes - my 5th year! I'm renting a house with my good friend Amber Reed and 4 other roomates in Saskatoon and anticipate God doing some very cool things with this group. I'm very excited to see how God is going to work on our campus this year and I hope I'll be God-focused through all the busyness. I want to continue to be involved in C4C leadership/planning/serving and I want to help others to become spiritual leaders in the coming years as my time on campus is fast coming to an end. Oh, and a special prayer request - I need to make some big decisions about what I'm doing the next year or two after I graduate and really need God's guidance. Hugs to everyone! God bless.
Ben H.: I have the privilege of continuing to be part of God's ministry at UWO this year. I am filled with anticipation to see how God is going to work this year on campuses across the world, including my own. As a begin my MA in Library and Information Studies (three more terms of school!), I am praying for increased enthusiasm for my academic studies and to have God use me to win one person to Christ in this faculty this year.
Colleen: Hey! It’s Colleen! Right now I’m finishing packing for Choral Camp! It’s a camp composed of babies through seniors where we spend 6 hours of day singing (dream come true!!!) some old spirituals, some Mozart, some newer ditties as well as the occasional liturgy. Upon returning to school I’ll be helping to lead the Nursing MDA and continue discipling a few of my girls! I’ll also be helping with the Sr. Highs at church and learning to wrap sprained ankles in sports injuries class. I’m still digesting what I’ve learned on project, every day realizing more and more things. It’s exciting! Let’s keep praying for Halifax-the city as well as SMU and Dal.
Erin: I'm two weeks away from entering my 4th year in Design, and I'm happily buried under a pile of things to do (oh, come on, would any of you expect any less from your resident stress-ball?) Actually, the return to Ontario was quite smooth and stress-free. I was thankfully given almost full-time work at the tea room, I was trained as a shop manager, and recently got asked to redesign a number of items like menus and tea guides. I've been visiting with friends and helping out here and there around the community. Project has definitely taught me that busyness doesn't have to equal stress, and that it's okay to take time out. Also, I've found that I'm much more conscious of how I use my time. All this leaves me very optimistic for the upcoming school year!
(I'm also helping co-head the design team for York's C4C, and generally helping out where I can!)
Jessica: I had an awesome time driving home from Halifax with my mom. We got home on the 9th, and then I volunteered at a camp from Aug. 12-16. I'll probably head back to London around Aug. 28. This year I'm going to be on the servant team for C4C, and I'll lead a discipleship group. I'm also planning on getting more involved at my church, maybe in the nursery. I'll let you know how that goes in the next update. Keep it real!
Joanna: Hey everyone!
I miss you all like crazy! What a great 3 months! My August has been really nice and I'm so thankful for the transition home. I spent a week at a cottage with my parents which was a great chance to wind down and catch up with them. And after that I was camp nurse for a week at Camp Cherith. It was a refreshing and fun week. This Sunday I'm leaving London again and helping lead the youth group canoe trip to Temagami with my church. There's 19 of us going hardcore into the woods, so pray for safety! And if you could also pray for me as I give my testimony on Sunday night. Speaking to a group in general is always a little nervewracking, so pray that I would speak Christ's words in confidence to these high school students!
This year, I'm heading into my fourth and final year of nursing at Western! My clinical placement in the fall is in labour & delivery and I'm really excited (and slightly scared) for that - I'm sure I'll have lots of stories to share!
And with C4C stuff, I'm on the servant team (or Central Action Group as Western is calling it) focussing on reaching out to first years. We've got some great things planned and I'm looking forward to it. And I'm also leading my nursing DG and reaching out to nurses. It will be a busy year, but I'm really excited to get to put into practice the things God has been teaching me this summer. Pray for time management and that my heart would be in the right place as I serve.
I hope you all enjoy the remaining days of summer! Be blessed!
Johnson: I will be starting my 2nd year of graduate studies at Simon Fraser University. I will be taking 2 courses, and possibly TA'ing as well. Paulman and I will be living on campus residence, hopefully as roommates (we won't find out until move-in date). This coming year at C4C, I will be serving as web admin and also helping out with the planning of IGNITE, our C4C weekly meetings.
I think this Fall semester will be very exciting in all aspects of my life. As I get more involved with C4C and serve God and His people, I want to make sure that I am leaving lots of time for myself as well, so I won't get stressed out.
Joyce: I am going to be entering my 3rd year as a Linguisitics major at the University of Alberta. As for Campus for Christ, myself and another girl are co-coordinating the Weekly Meeting. SCARY as this is on a much larger scale than what I have been doing. But, I know that as long as I surrender daily to God, the Holy Spirit will enable me to do the things which I cannot do on my own strength.
K____*: I keep thinking I see people from Halifax here in Saskatoon and it makes me want to go back just to see every one.
I am entering into my second year of International Development Studies. I am finally getting excited about school. I am also going to be volunteering with our International Student Office in the Buddy Program, like some of us did with the TESL center in Halifax. I am definitely looking forward to studying the Bible in a DG and just being involved with C4C.
(K____* also says that she's trying to get her old lifeguard job back and is hoping to join the rec soccer team when school starts)
Paulman: I'm going to be doing my third and last year of my M.A.Sc program at Simon Fraser University. I'm going to be living in Townhouses in residence, hopefully as Johnson's roommate, so I'm looking forward to that! I have no idea what it's going to be like on campus in my last year here (I'm Promotions Coordinator with C4C), but my goal is going to be to spend quality time with God each day - so that God will change me, and bless others through me. I will also be slowing down a bit and focusing my time and effort on fewer things. However, keeping disciplined with my time and not wasting any of it is proving more of a struggle than I'd thought - keep me in your prayers!
Looking forward to seeing a bunch of you at Winter Conference, and for you Easterners... I'll miss you! At least we'll always have Facebook/blogs/Internet! (right?)
Sarah: ¡hola mis amigos!
The month of August is counting down and it's been a good time catching up with a lot of people back at home. I'm going into my last year at Waterloo, but in a different program (Social Work), so I'm not really sure what to expect. I'm looking forward to being with the exact same class of people the whole year and getting to know my classmates well. I'm really looking forward to my practicum where I'll be working with immigrants and new Canadians- it looks like I'll be interacting with internationals again! I'm still figuring out what my role will be in C4C- this needs prayer. But I know that no matter what, I anticipate the great things that God will be doing on my campus! I'll be moving into my final and 5th Waterloo home in early September and I'm really excited to hit the ice again to shape up for hockey. Maybe I'll be able to practice my Spanish again, too. But above all, as we learned in Halifax, I hope to make God my focus over busyness, ministry and stuff. I want to love God more through quality time with him. That's all for now friends!
[Little addendum from Sarah:] For the Toronto ppl, a heads up, there's a whole bunch of TESL students who'll be going through Toronto in the next month- Marilyn (Aug 25-30), Sang Won and Sang Yoon (Sept 2 or 3), Jung (Sept 6-11), Vivi and Lu Wen (Sept 10ish). If you're free, make time to hang out with them and show them the sights; if you have space at your house, it'll really help if you let them stay at your place. Thanks!
Veronika: Helloooooo Friends!!!
I'm still in Halifax and will be here till the 31st. I'm not looking forward to this Fall as I still don't know what I'm doing with my degree :( and I really want to know what God wants me to do. The mass sign up emails from C4C are already filling my inbox :|. The transition out of project was kinda difficult but at least I still have Nicky to keep me accountable. Love you all !!!!
Official Halifax Project 2007 - Fortune Cookie ;P
Amber, Ben H., Colleen, Erin, Jessica, Joanna, Johnson, Joyce, K____*, Paulman, Sarah, Veronika (*name removed)
(we're officially 40% of the way there!)
Amber: The end is in sight and I'm heading back to the U of S for my last semester of Pharmacy classes - my 5th year! I'm renting a house with my good friend Amber Reed and 4 other roomates in Saskatoon and anticipate God doing some very cool things with this group. I'm very excited to see how God is going to work on our campus this year and I hope I'll be God-focused through all the busyness. I want to continue to be involved in C4C leadership/planning/serving and I want to help others to become spiritual leaders in the coming years as my time on campus is fast coming to an end. Oh, and a special prayer request - I need to make some big decisions about what I'm doing the next year or two after I graduate and really need God's guidance. Hugs to everyone! God bless.
Ben H.: I have the privilege of continuing to be part of God's ministry at UWO this year. I am filled with anticipation to see how God is going to work this year on campuses across the world, including my own. As a begin my MA in Library and Information Studies (three more terms of school!), I am praying for increased enthusiasm for my academic studies and to have God use me to win one person to Christ in this faculty this year.
God has blessed me with having this month away from school and work. It has been nice to see family, to visit with some students headed out on STINT this year, and to encourage other students from Western at a retreat on Lake Huron. The most encouraging times of this August have been the multiple occasions where I have either met with supporters or shared at church how God is working in Halifax. I see how project has been a blessing for me as well as to those who supported the project through prayer and finances. I realize how many prayers were lifted up to God for the city of Halifax, and how people continue to pray for revival there.
I am eager to resume my role as a prayer meeting leader at Western. Please know that I will continue to lift up all of you before God as you seek to serve Him wherever He takes you. Please pray for me as I seek God's direction in regards to applying to join staff with Campus for Christ in some capacity next fall.
Colleen: Hey! It’s Colleen! Right now I’m finishing packing for Choral Camp! It’s a camp composed of babies through seniors where we spend 6 hours of day singing (dream come true!!!) some old spirituals, some Mozart, some newer ditties as well as the occasional liturgy. Upon returning to school I’ll be helping to lead the Nursing MDA and continue discipling a few of my girls! I’ll also be helping with the Sr. Highs at church and learning to wrap sprained ankles in sports injuries class. I’m still digesting what I’ve learned on project, every day realizing more and more things. It’s exciting! Let’s keep praying for Halifax-the city as well as SMU and Dal.
Erin: I'm two weeks away from entering my 4th year in Design, and I'm happily buried under a pile of things to do (oh, come on, would any of you expect any less from your resident stress-ball?) Actually, the return to Ontario was quite smooth and stress-free. I was thankfully given almost full-time work at the tea room, I was trained as a shop manager, and recently got asked to redesign a number of items like menus and tea guides. I've been visiting with friends and helping out here and there around the community. Project has definitely taught me that busyness doesn't have to equal stress, and that it's okay to take time out. Also, I've found that I'm much more conscious of how I use my time. All this leaves me very optimistic for the upcoming school year!
(I'm also helping co-head the design team for York's C4C, and generally helping out where I can!)
Jessica: I had an awesome time driving home from Halifax with my mom. We got home on the 9th, and then I volunteered at a camp from Aug. 12-16. I'll probably head back to London around Aug. 28. This year I'm going to be on the servant team for C4C, and I'll lead a discipleship group. I'm also planning on getting more involved at my church, maybe in the nursery. I'll let you know how that goes in the next update. Keep it real!
Joanna: Hey everyone!
I miss you all like crazy! What a great 3 months! My August has been really nice and I'm so thankful for the transition home. I spent a week at a cottage with my parents which was a great chance to wind down and catch up with them. And after that I was camp nurse for a week at Camp Cherith. It was a refreshing and fun week. This Sunday I'm leaving London again and helping lead the youth group canoe trip to Temagami with my church. There's 19 of us going hardcore into the woods, so pray for safety! And if you could also pray for me as I give my testimony on Sunday night. Speaking to a group in general is always a little nervewracking, so pray that I would speak Christ's words in confidence to these high school students!
This year, I'm heading into my fourth and final year of nursing at Western! My clinical placement in the fall is in labour & delivery and I'm really excited (and slightly scared) for that - I'm sure I'll have lots of stories to share!
And with C4C stuff, I'm on the servant team (or Central Action Group as Western is calling it) focussing on reaching out to first years. We've got some great things planned and I'm looking forward to it. And I'm also leading my nursing DG and reaching out to nurses. It will be a busy year, but I'm really excited to get to put into practice the things God has been teaching me this summer. Pray for time management and that my heart would be in the right place as I serve.
I hope you all enjoy the remaining days of summer! Be blessed!
Johnson: I will be starting my 2nd year of graduate studies at Simon Fraser University. I will be taking 2 courses, and possibly TA'ing as well. Paulman and I will be living on campus residence, hopefully as roommates (we won't find out until move-in date). This coming year at C4C, I will be serving as web admin and also helping out with the planning of IGNITE, our C4C weekly meetings.
I think this Fall semester will be very exciting in all aspects of my life. As I get more involved with C4C and serve God and His people, I want to make sure that I am leaving lots of time for myself as well, so I won't get stressed out.
Joyce: I am going to be entering my 3rd year as a Linguisitics major at the University of Alberta. As for Campus for Christ, myself and another girl are co-coordinating the Weekly Meeting. SCARY as this is on a much larger scale than what I have been doing. But, I know that as long as I surrender daily to God, the Holy Spirit will enable me to do the things which I cannot do on my own strength.
K____*: I keep thinking I see people from Halifax here in Saskatoon and it makes me want to go back just to see every one.
I am entering into my second year of International Development Studies. I am finally getting excited about school. I am also going to be volunteering with our International Student Office in the Buddy Program, like some of us did with the TESL center in Halifax. I am definitely looking forward to studying the Bible in a DG and just being involved with C4C.
(K____* also says that she's trying to get her old lifeguard job back and is hoping to join the rec soccer team when school starts)
Paulman: I'm going to be doing my third and last year of my M.A.Sc program at Simon Fraser University. I'm going to be living in Townhouses in residence, hopefully as Johnson's roommate, so I'm looking forward to that! I have no idea what it's going to be like on campus in my last year here (I'm Promotions Coordinator with C4C), but my goal is going to be to spend quality time with God each day - so that God will change me, and bless others through me. I will also be slowing down a bit and focusing my time and effort on fewer things. However, keeping disciplined with my time and not wasting any of it is proving more of a struggle than I'd thought - keep me in your prayers!
Looking forward to seeing a bunch of you at Winter Conference, and for you Easterners... I'll miss you! At least we'll always have Facebook/blogs/Internet! (right?)
Sarah: ¡hola mis amigos!
The month of August is counting down and it's been a good time catching up with a lot of people back at home. I'm going into my last year at Waterloo, but in a different program (Social Work), so I'm not really sure what to expect. I'm looking forward to being with the exact same class of people the whole year and getting to know my classmates well. I'm really looking forward to my practicum where I'll be working with immigrants and new Canadians- it looks like I'll be interacting with internationals again! I'm still figuring out what my role will be in C4C- this needs prayer. But I know that no matter what, I anticipate the great things that God will be doing on my campus! I'll be moving into my final and 5th Waterloo home in early September and I'm really excited to hit the ice again to shape up for hockey. Maybe I'll be able to practice my Spanish again, too. But above all, as we learned in Halifax, I hope to make God my focus over busyness, ministry and stuff. I want to love God more through quality time with him. That's all for now friends!
[Little addendum from Sarah:] For the Toronto ppl, a heads up, there's a whole bunch of TESL students who'll be going through Toronto in the next month- Marilyn (Aug 25-30), Sang Won and Sang Yoon (Sept 2 or 3), Jung (Sept 6-11), Vivi and Lu Wen (Sept 10ish). If you're free, make time to hang out with them and show them the sights; if you have space at your house, it'll really help if you let them stay at your place. Thanks!
Veronika: Helloooooo Friends!!!
I'm still in Halifax and will be here till the 31st. I'm not looking forward to this Fall as I still don't know what I'm doing with my degree :( and I really want to know what God wants me to do. The mass sign up emails from C4C are already filling my inbox :|. The transition out of project was kinda difficult but at least I still have Nicky to keep me accountable. Love you all !!!!
Official Halifax Project 2007 - Fortune Cookie ;P
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Countdown to launch...
Hello again,
I’m e-mailing to announce the start of the Projectile Follow-up Program (PFP). This is something us DG leaders and Ben and Joanna have talked about as a way of keeping in touch and seeing where God is leading each of us now that we’ve left project.
What we decided was that at periodic times over this year, EVERYONE will be asked to send a little blurb about what’s going on in your life now (i.e. where you are, what you’re doing). It just needs to be a few sentences (see my example at the bottom).
WHAT I'LL NEED: Please send me several sentences about where you are, what you'll be up to over the next while (i.e. Fall), etc., by August 24th or earlier. If we don't hear from you, whoever did PD/discipleship with you will CHASE YOU DOWN!
WHAT will it look like?
We’ll compile everything and send out a big e-mail. We'll also post it up to this blog – http://hp-2007.blogspot.com – and you'll be able to leave comments on the blog!
WHEN will it be?
We’re planning on doing at least THREE updates over the next year.
Update #1: We’ll be collecting your short blurb by August 24th, right before everyone starts the Fall.
Update #2: Around November/December, right before a lot of us go off to Winter Conference
Update #3: Maybe around March. I’m curious to see who God will lead to go on summer project this year, or do something completely different, and this is probably a good time to hear about it :P
After that, who knows. I’d like to keep in touch at least once a year (or maybe more), but I guess we’ll have to see how it goes.
NOTE:
We can post interesting things on the blog throughout the year, as well. If you’d like to be able to post, just talk to me and I'll get you set up.
That's all for now! Grace and peace to you :)
Example:
[see next blog post for examples]
I’m e-mailing to announce the start of the Projectile Follow-up Program (PFP). This is something us DG leaders and Ben and Joanna have talked about as a way of keeping in touch and seeing where God is leading each of us now that we’ve left project.
What we decided was that at periodic times over this year, EVERYONE will be asked to send a little blurb about what’s going on in your life now (i.e. where you are, what you’re doing). It just needs to be a few sentences (see my example at the bottom).
WHAT I'LL NEED: Please send me several sentences about where you are, what you'll be up to over the next while (i.e. Fall), etc., by August 24th or earlier. If we don't hear from you, whoever did PD/discipleship with you will CHASE YOU DOWN!
WHAT will it look like?
We’ll compile everything and send out a big e-mail. We'll also post it up to this blog – http://hp-2007.blogspot.com – and you'll be able to leave comments on the blog!
WHEN will it be?
We’re planning on doing at least THREE updates over the next year.
Update #1: We’ll be collecting your short blurb by August 24th, right before everyone starts the Fall.
Update #2: Around November/December, right before a lot of us go off to Winter Conference
Update #3: Maybe around March. I’m curious to see who God will lead to go on summer project this year, or do something completely different, and this is probably a good time to hear about it :P
After that, who knows. I’d like to keep in touch at least once a year (or maybe more), but I guess we’ll have to see how it goes.
NOTE:
We can post interesting things on the blog throughout the year, as well. If you’d like to be able to post, just talk to me and I'll get you set up.
That's all for now! Grace and peace to you :)
Example:
[see next blog post for examples]
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