What a weekend!

SO this is probally the most crazy weekend i could have ever imagained! Seriously! I thought to myself on thursday, i have the whole weekend to rest up for the start of my second session of studnet teaching (on monday) (in Ireton at West sioux). BUt little did i know the surprises friday night held.
On thursday i discovered a good friend of mine visiting from washington. Over the course of the next day i went to the play and caught up with some friends. It was weird to see the play simply as an audiance member and not as a person who did the makeup. Boy i have learned alto about theater considering i have never taken a class. I missed it.
Then outside of the theater was one of my closets friends from Dordt! I thought i would never see her again after May and she had come (with another friend) to visit for the weekend all the way from Tronoto (first from quebece, then toronto) I was so surprised! Then another long lost friend from college showed up! WHat a crazy time! We spent the rest of hte night hanging out togehter laughing, sharing about our current lives, cuddling, and learning that come January we are all going to be homeless. I am thinking abotu starting a homeless club.
The steps for the club:
Find a cardboard box
find a blanket
find wood and matches
Bring a cardboard box to a city nearest you
place cardboard box in sheltered area
place wood and blanket inside box
move in
start a fire, but becareful not to catch the box on fire.

It seems like a good idea, laura had boxes from the paper store and brian has boxes from the shoe store if you would need any.

ANwyaz, what a wonderful way to spend a weekend getting caught up and seeing familarity all around! Hope your weekend was a refreshing as mine!

Finally back in the homeland

Just thought i owuld let you know that I made it back to Iowa safely. I got back around 8:30, but then spent somet ime with the fam until now. A quick rundown: (its quite long acutally)
Friday: 11:00--left from home
12:30- finally got through the hour long wiat at the border(everything went fine)
7:00pm- made it to Spokane with out to much trouble.
7:30-- ate supper with my friend and her roomate
Saturday:7:00am--left my friends house
7:30-left spokane (after buying fruit and coffee)
11:15- Got pulled over by a cop (got a ticket) (in MOntana) for safe driving! It was raining, i took off the cruise, i have a lead foot, realized i was going 90 at the same time the cop relaied i was going 90. He pulled me over, clocked me at 86, asked where i was going. I said: "back to college" he said where is your ownership papers? I said "i don;t know. let me look" I produced insurance papers. He asked if i had proof of ownership-- i said "uhh... i have an owners manuel?" He laughed, told me he would mark the ticket down as 85 so it wouldn;t go on my insurance, and i would get a 20 $ ticket.
12:00-started looking for a park--spent 1/2 hr loooking found nothing
1:00pm-- stopped on the side of the road at a campsite-- ate a muffin went for a 5 min walk.
1:30--stopped again
5:00pm--stopped for supper at perkins (got lost coming off the interstate--this took 45 min)
5:45--Got back on the road--heading towards a large black cloud
6:45--snow started
7:30--hit sheridan--still snowing--got gas, contiinued
8:00--took us 20 min to go 5 miles--turned and went back to sheridan (we were supposed to be in Rapid City at 8:00)
Stayed in a motel
Sunday:
8:00am-left hotel
made really good time
stopped only twice
4:00pm-- creep trucker tries to "communicate" something with us, but we don;t know what--we speed up, he speeds up, he slows down, we speed up, he speeds up, he slows down, we speed way up and leave him in our dusty tracks
5:00pm-- made it to sioux Falls (an hr. from my house) just in time for my church (that i only usally go to in the summer) we had good worship, food and fellowship. It was about spiritual warfare--too bad it was the end of the series.
7:30pm--left sioux falls
8:30-- dropped my firend off, went home, had a party with my family--all extras included--shared pictures, cards, and stories. Talked with my bro until quite late
12:21--writting this blog which is draggin on.
Well, if you made it all the way to the end, you can see that our trip was pretty good, mildy unedventful, but enough to keep us on our toes. I hope you all had a good weekend! I hope to hear from you soon!

Good-Bye BC... Hello Iowa....

A quick update on what is going on....

Last weekend I ate with a friend at a really yummy cute little resurante in down town Vancover. The story:
The Plan: to go to Scinence world to see the human body ehibit.
The wrench: the exhibit was sold out when we got there... it was confusing... the washroom was stupid.
The other problem: Neither me nor my friend is from the area (i have lived here 5 weeks, he has lived here almost a year)
The solution: Get into the car (we drove 1/2 to vancover) and drive up the road until we run into a resurant. The only catch, we don't know where to do. But we just kept driving until we hit the longest road in vancover, and it was good becuase there were lots of resurants.
The Resurant:
it was called Joeys, it was very young, modern, and hip. I liked it. We decided that the walls were short, giving it more of a community orriented feeling, the food was good, a little on the pricey side, but good. Modern is the best way to descirbe it.
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I finished school on Wed, it was sad, but good. My staff threw me an open house with icecream cake. I felt affimed by them. It was good. I got good feedback from my teacher and my principal, it made me feel like i really can be a competent teacher. My studnets gave me lots of hugs and good-byes, they wanted to come in my suitcase (after pakcing i realized how hard of a chore this would be) :) Tonight, some friends are coming to hangout one last time. Tommorow i leave for Iowa. Mixed feelings here, pray for saftey. I will post again, when i arrive! Until then, Blessings!

All good things come to an end...

... The story of my life. YOu know what i hate about this time of my life?

... constant switching of communities, changing of relationships, moving to new places and getting lost, but mostly leaving again and saying good bye. Why invest my self in a place only to have to say good bye? Well, the answer... simple... becuase those few weeks, few conversations, few realtionshiops, random strangers who end up friends, is what makes my life totally worth living. I think it is always worth investing in people and places. but i almost (ok i do) wish that i would pick a spot and stay there for a least a year. The differance however is that i like the idea of trying new things and going new places. And it seems almost imposible.

So why this rant on leaveing? Cause you guessed it, i am leaving BC on Friday of next week. That gives me one blessed week. I will be teaching only until wednesday, and i cleaned up my desk today and realzied all i have invested in my students, rejoiced and cried on the commute home. Thier smiles, when they want to hold my hand and tell me they want me to come home with them, and thier laughter, and their tears, and when they get it-finally, makes it all worth it and makes me wish i could invest more. *sigh* Have a great weekend!

good.

On thanksgiving (canadian style) i had the most signifigant converstaion i have had in a really long time. We shared a mutal expeiance in our past, we empathized, we helped each other, we grieved together. It was simply a blessing from God, the right time for both of us. Good.

I am Old

Now, i know most of you a thinking, you are not old, your hair is still brown, your skin still smooth and forheavensakes, you are not even thirty yet. But i feel old.
First off i went to a worship thing, and that was not good. The message was based on like 30 passages, and we sang songs i didn't know, and the message was so.... ... milky. I started thinknig should i be craving some kind of deeper spiritual food? I do, so now the question become where do i find it? if i am wanting something deeper, are other people too? then why is it so hard to find. If we are all (as chrisitans) searching to learn more about God and His charecter and grow in our relationship with him, then why is it that so many messages are the same thing... milky. i think i am not explaing myself clearly, (words are not my forte) How many alter calls to you have to hear before you get to learn more about God, who he is, and how he communicates with his people. I have given my life to Christ, so i don;t have a need for altar calls, i know some people do, it is good to provide the oppurtiuny, but what about those of us at differnt points in our faith. Any insight, please!?

I feel old today becuase i am tired. I have been up at 6:30am and to bed by after 11pm and it makes me tired. but i went to a teachers confeacne today and it was good, i felt old there too, because that means i am almost an adult.

Anwayz, my students constructed thier own understanding and am teachnig this unit they way teaching has been modled for me at Dordt, and it is being succsessful! Also, a student and i decided together on a book for her reading level, and that was huge prgress for her, then enthusiasum in her voice was amazing.

fullfillment

WOW! I went to hear an amazing speaker last night, it was good, followed by good convestaion and company. I like to have such good company, keeps the world turning.
I signed in church on sunday morning, it is harder when the songs are not familar, but God uses the gifts he gives to grow, challenge, and aid in worship. It felt good to be part of a worship service. I wish so much that everyone could be a part of that.

On other news, School was amazing today (despite the fact that i didn't get much sleep last night). I am full time teaching, so the classroom is finally mine!:) But i loved every moment of it. (well the parts when they were listening or learning). I let them go on a "matter hunt" they don't know what matter is, they dont know what solids, liquids, or gases are. but they tried thier best, i created a safe learning envioment (emotionaly) and they constructed thier own understanding. I feel like i was a companted teacher for 50 minutes today. But then i felt like i was just teaching them stuff the rest of the day. i wish that everything i taught i could be as exited abotu as i was this unit. I rearanged the classoom and put up a new bullitan board. my studetns like it i think. One girl told me she liked haveing me as a teacher. I hope i am making an impact. it is those few moments when you know you are, thie eyes light up adn the hours of planning are suddenly worth it. I felt fullfilled today.