We all love a redemption story. We like to look at the successful businessman, flashback twenty years and see how he rose from poverty and emerged into excellence. However, it is hard to see that happy ending if you start the story from the beginning. If you introduce the situation as hopeless, difficult and hard it is impossible to sit contently without guarantee of that happily ever after. I’m certain that Joseph was not even capable of imaging the heights to which he would rise while he was being sold into slavery by those he loved or sitting in jail for years in suffering. That is because it is hard to see through suffering. We want to embrace suffering; we want to indulge in it because it feels good. Perhaps from the perspective of the Potter, God is trying to send us a message during those times. Life will present us with a thousand ways to suffer, but it is in that process that we are made to glorify Christ. It is only in battle that we can find victories. It is only in battle that we build our strength, break down our pride and learn a love for Christ that would not be possible if we were only ever made to sail smooth seas. I must daily keep my eyes on Christ, running the race with patience and persistence and never losing hope. I believe one of Satan’s greatest weapons is coaxing us to stay, running in circles, focusing on suffering when we are to keep our eyes on the finale God has for us; the ultimate redemption story.

Faithfulness

So I have decided as of late to try and really try to embody the fruits of the Spirit. Partly because I picked up a book on living with the Holy Spirit and partly because if I am to do so, I need the fruit of that spirit to show in my life. Today in my nightly devotional the verse read, "So then, let us be looked upon as ministering servants of Christ and stewards of the secret purposes of God. Moreover, it is required [essential] of stewards that a man should be found faithful" (1 Cornithians 4:1-2). The writing outlined three key things: a faithful person knows what God puts on their heart and although they may become weary at times, they do not give up. Secondly, we must be faithful with circumstances until God lets us know we are finished with them and thirdly, whatever God tells us to do, we must do it.

Its funny because I never thought of faithfulness in any other forms other than a) not cheating on your spouse and b) not leaving Christianity. It is interesting to me how God is calling me to be faithful in the situations he has placed me in because currently it is exactly what I am not doing. Lately I have felt a bit lost. Why UBC? Why Earls? Why Vancouver? Why! And, the list goes on and on with situations and places that I am restless in. I know and I am confident that God has wonderful things planned for me in accordance with these platforms that I currently cannot understand. He sees my tomorrow, my five years from now and He knows that the steps I take tomorrow will ultimately lead me closer to the purposes He has foreseen and laid out, even if I cannot yet see them. So even though lately I feel as though I am wandering without purpose, calling out to God for peaks into the crystal ball, He calls me to use the spirit within me to find strength and be faithful. To keep an attentive ear, and without reservation, fear or question, reach out my hand to His and make the steps on the path He is already set before me. For if we are full of faith, there is no more need to question God's flawless design for my tomorrow.

The other day I was sitting in Chapters reading a book by Max Lucado entitled “Fearless”. I flipped to a chapter on “doubting God” because I felt as though in all my protesting towards where God has me right now, I was surely doubting Him. Lucado went on to explain that sometimes God lets things happen to us, or pushes us through situations that at the time are seemingly meaningless yet become infinitely important later on, perhaps even in our new life to come. He painted the picture of a baby in the womb, growing fingers and nails that he or she has no apparent use for, forming lungs that have not yet known what it is to breathe or developing eyes that, although never opened while created, will be witness to beauty indescribable one day. All of these which are perceivably useless at the time become necessary for the life to come. He emphasized that although there are times where we lack the wisdom to see purpose, God knows that it will be inconceivable to live without those experiences one day. They are a part of our formation as children of Christ. Until their purposes are revealed He calls us to be faithful and put our doubts and questioning to rest until we can fully understand His plan and purposes.

Some pictures from the last week with the visitors...

Stanley Park

Ice skating on Robson

Skiing at Whistler

Isn't she lovely?

Friends :)

This past week Tasha and some of our other friends from states have been in Vancouver visiting. Although it is a bit emotionally wearing to see people for a few days and then say goodbye all over again it still has been so nice to be able to reconnect with old friends and spend some time playing tourist in my own city.

On Saturday, Tasha and I met our friends Grady and Holly (along with their little Diego) in Point Roberts and since Grady and Holly just happen to be pilots we had the opportunity to fly with them from Point Roberts to Bellingham to see Kevin and Alyssa. Now, considering that the landing strip in Point Roberts is more like a long stretch of grass and the plane was slightly smaller than what I have taken in the past (not to mention the first step in the take off preparation steps was to "pray") I was a bit skeptical if we would make it alive. However, it

turned out to be an incredible experience so, thank you Holly and Grady!

"I am full now, not empty. I am in Love Himself, not lonely. Strong, not weak. You shall be the same. Come and see. We shall have no need for one another now; we can begin to love truly".

- C.S. Lewis, The Great Divorce

So I have been thinking recently about switching to this "tumblr" thing which seems to be so popular in the blogging world but then I realize that I could never leave this lovely blog behind.

³⁷No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,^[m] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans: 8

Whether it be the vastness of a galaxy of stars in which we are only a small fragment or the beauty of something we know is not of ourselves we are drawn back into the glory of a God much grander than all that is this life. Lost within this world that seeks to confuse us, cloud us with uncertainty and overburden us until we focus so on ourselves that we cannot see a Christ whom redeems all these things. Although we may stumble in the battle, the Lord is near and promises that if we persevere, none of these things can separate us from Him.

On my mind...

Wishing I could go to Costa Rica to visit these two!

Loving the season of Autumn which means colorful leaves and a perfect time to drink Caramel Apple Spice's from Starbucks!

Get to see this beautiful girl in just 2 months!

Missing Schladming... Why do you have to be so far away Austria?

~Greece~ (finally!)

Colorado

Already missing you guys!

Italia

VideoBlog update from Italy!

Barcelona!

So the travels have been going very well so far. I cannot believe how blessed I am to be in so many incredible places and I often catch myself asking "is this even real?". Alas, it is!

Currently we are in Barcelona and I absolutely love it here. After bouncing around Italy it has been nice to just relax and soak up the sun without worrying if we will make it to our train on time, if the airline we are flying really exsists or how to make arrangements to get out of hostels that are not really hostels at all...

Barcelona, you have been good to us and it has been wonderful to be here.

Croatia

Here is the blog update from our travel weekend to Croatia!

I have been trying recently to keep updating videos on the video blog but Tasha and I have really realized that we are worse at video-blogging that we thought. So hopefully you can still enjoy the updates via video despite our lack of talent.

Video Blog 1 -

Video Blog 2 -

Hello folks!

Here is the first post from Europe. Soon Tasha and I will post an update from Austria. The video is not anything too thrilling but I just thought that it would be more interesting than a Facebook album so enjoy!

More to come soon!

To watch a bigger version of the video click here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpNQyO5SQL4

Gone Going

Lately I have been reading Donald Miller’s blog. This is mostly because I read two of his books while away at school and I completely fell in love with his writing. Something about his simplicity and quirky writing style helped me to feel he was humble. Obviously I do not know him personally so I cannot really say for certain, but as I turned page after page I experienced a type of “coffee-date-comfort” as if we were just sitting around Tim Horton’s discussing God. The ease in his writing melted away my desire to “study” and rather encouraged me to just “soak up” his thoughts and opinions.

In January he wrote a post describing how to live a meaningful life. Lately, with working full time, living in Tsawwassen and floating around while most are away at University, life feels anything but meaningful. It has been diced with routine and things that used to give me such joy have been set to the wayside because of awkward work scheduling, especially, attending church.

It is interesting however, because this lifestyle has left me examining things in more fine detail. When one spends every day doing practically the same thing over and over it becomes much more memorable when something unusual occurs. I savour time with friends and family and anything else that occurs because it isn’t the “same old same old”. It has provoked a desire to savour everyday moments into making them memorable. I make an effort to engage because I have noticed that all to easily life can just cruise on by while I am on auto-pilot. As put by Margaret Bonnano, “It is only possible to live happily-ever-after on a day-to-day basis”. Taking three minutes to talk to co-workers, old friends or my little sister have become somewhat important to me. I want to dig deeper, cherish those people and make sure that they know, in that very moment and every moment to come, how much I love them and being around them. This means, sometimes working past tough issues, taking risks that would be easy not to take and making the extra effort to show you care.

I know I am about to leave again and set off to an adventure where things will always be exciting and changing so I hope I can carry these same desires with me still. I am so excited at the prospect of meeting new people and also of seeing old friends which I love so dearly and could not picture my life without. So, not letting yesterday take up too much of today, I am relishing in each moment to make it memorable and meaningful.

Sometimes the most beautiful moments in life are drawn from periods of great pain. Such as the eight year old daughter who embraces the soldier whom she knows as father after he has been away or the cancer patient whom with their final stretch of strength hears they are free. Our hearts are only as strong as our Maker allows them to be and sometimes all though it feels like the clouds cover the path of our prayers to our Father, He listens and in His wisdom sometimes He remains silent. These times are the most difficult because as tears stream down our face and frustration consumes us it is hard to not have immediate answers. However, I believe that when God is silent and our troubles rise against our patience, the joy of the outcome is that much greater. So as we push through one impossible day after the other, it is not that our prayers are in vain but rather our Father is working towards something far greater, something perfect for us. “Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us." (Romans 5:1-5). So despite our own lack of understanding, God creates splendour from suffering. In the face of our trials, although the temptation to lose hope is great, it is far better to press on because I know with full faith that His conclusion is perfect

Since I have got home my life has been a whirlwind of catching up with old friends, applying for job after job and lots of driving! There is one thing however that has plagued me since the very moment I arrived in Canada; the cold. The first steps off the plane were met by a brisk wind that blanketed my sun saturated skin and filled my tropically accustomed lungs (Don't worry, I already hear the chorus of people saying "we don't feel sorry for you"). This new and all too easily forgotten feeling of winter was not such an easy thing to adjust to. In fact, I have now found myself stealing housecoats at Costco so that I can wear them around the freezing cold store, situating myself on the edge of the Olive Garden fireplace while I eat my dinner as to simply be comfortable and avoiding eating frozen food so I won’t have to venture to the freezer aisles of Safeway. While to others I may appear slightly insane or dramatic, to myself, I am simply trying to survive in this bitter cold.

Till I See You Again

We all came from vastly different worlds and now, after four months, we watch one another past through the gate of Portantorchas, some for the very last time, and drive down the hill that we often complained about having to climb, wondering if we may never see that person that we have come to love as a brother or sister again in this lifetime. Then, we make our way back into the Salla where we stumbled into every morning, eyes half-shut, PJ’s still on and warm from bed, hair messy and unwashed but hey, it didn’t matter because we were like siblings. I think it is going to be the strangest, perhaps most empty feeling to leave the safety of the Port bubble and wake up in a room that is all my own; not sitting down and eating breakfast with my friends every morning, not playing hours of ping-pong because I guess I will have “better things” to do, not speaking Spanish because no one will know what I am saying and not eating copious amounts of McDonalds. Yes, I will be the first to admit I have complained before about how I “miss home” and how excited I will be to go home with all its comforts. However, there may just be a small part of me that wakes up that first morning, in my own bed, uninterrupted by several alarm clocks and blow-dryers, not having to wait for the bathroom (or finding another one all together because someone neglected to pay heed to the angry sign on the door)... and I will think...man, I really miss that place.

Yes, we all came from immeasurably different worlds, and even though we know each other very well, we do not know what it going to be like for our fellow friends to dive back into the lives they used to call normal, whatever that may be. Therefore, to all of you, I promise you that I will always keep you in my prayers and I love you and will miss you all very much!

As time goes by...

I cannot believe how fast the time has gone. It feels like just yesterday that I arrived at this little bubble of a world down here in Costa Rica so uncertain of what it was going to be like, if I would be able to make any friends and if I could ever possibly learn Spanish. After four months I have learned more than I could have ever bargained for and I have memories that I will not soon forget. I am very excited to go home (11 days!!!). I imagine it is going to be a bit weird at first. Not having to translate things in my head, just being able to get in my car and drive and most of all, not seeing the same lovely thirty faces every day, all day. I will miss you guys more than you could possibly know...
(Note: Tash, if you are creepin this, which you most likely are 1. Please don't kill me and 2. Please do not tell Poka about this photo)