Arrival

After five days and over 50 hours on the road, my Dad and I arrived in Durham, Ontario.  My brave little Jetta survived the trek across country but is now letting me know she wasn't very happy about it.   She did her job well, though, and I'm thankful God allowed me to squeeze this one last (safe!) trip out before laying her to rest.

Back on day two Dad and I enjoyed coffee with friends in Calgary before heading towards Saskatchewan and two days of amazingly clear roads.  We hit Manitoba's big blue skies on our third day. 

It's a pretty big deal when you find a corner in Manitoba.  We had to laugh at the warning signs (for drivers dozing in cruise control?).

We had a great time catching up with old friends, Sam & Becky Uyaivato and family, along the way (I  graduated high school with Sam in Papua New Guinea and Dad hadn't seen him in 14 years).  

After a lot of flat, it was beautiful to see the waves and coastline of Lake Superior.   

Thank you, Ontario, for my very first speeding ticket.

42 years ago my Dad was making his way across Canada after hitchhiking through Europe when he spent a night sleeping under Sudbury's Big Nickel.  It was fun going to see it together knowing the memories it held for him.  

The day after arriving in Durham I was on the road again with Pete & Lesley Doerksen and family (Jessica, Josh, Micah and Kelsey) heading to Warsaw, Indiana, for a Thanksgiving Interface reunion with Drew & Bobbi Scholl (Gracie, Malachi, Annie and Levi).  When we all left Papua New Guinea we had no idea when we'd see each other again so this was a big blessing.  A lot of laughs, a few tears, and some new memories to add to the collection of old ones.

Our mouths were watering after we saw this mammoth BBQ gear during our tour of the Sportula factory (check out the link if you need some good Christmas gift ideas!).

A whole lotta good Thanksgiving cooking.

Bobbi's parents, Brent & Karen Wildman (Karen below left), hosted a huge Thanksgiving dinner and welcomed us outsiders.  We'd gotten to know them during their occasional visits to the Scholls in Papua New Guinea so it was like being with family.  

We got to know EJ and Peggy (below next to me) Underwood, a couple from the Scholl's home church, during their visit to PNG earlier this year. They were a gift from the Lord during our painful transition out of Interface and they hold a special place in my heart.

We also got to catch up with Drew's mom (Rose, below) and dad who'd also made a visit to PNG last year.  It was pretty special to get Rose hugs in PNG while missing my own family.  

For now I'm back in Durham and have enjoyed doing some apartment hunting in the area and catching up with more old friends from my missionary training days.  I look forward to getting back here after the holidays in British Columbia and am happy to have "settling in" as part of my vocabulary again.   

On Our Way

Two days into our trip across Canada and my dad and I have left British Columbia, passed through Alberta and are now on our way through Saskatchewan.  Except for a few sketchy sections of highway along the way we've had great roads and haven't seen any accidents (except for a truck that slid into a ditch).  Thank you, Lord, for clear roads and a healthy car so far!

As we got closer to Jasper, Mt. Robson came into view and took our breath away.  You can't even see the top of it in the clouds!

This one, below, looked like something out of a magical world.

This is called the "point and run" pose.

We saw several flocks of small birds eating off the highway at one point, and one flock wasn't quite quick enough to get out of the way.  We must have had about 8 or 9 of them hit our windshield and we noticed this unfortunate guy later.

We were trying to find the town of Jasper and instead found ourselves on this road.  No, we didn't obey the sign.  We live life on the edge, and "the edge" in this case happened to be a dead-end CN Railroad yard. Better excitement next time, maybe.

It was pretty comical to see a whole herd of big-horned sheep refusing to get off the highway.  Semi's were honking their horns and vehicles were driving all around them and they wouldn't budge.

We made a stop in Olds, Alberta, to visit a good friend of mine (and her family) who I went to High School with in Papua New Guinea.  

And then came the prairies.  Beautiful in their own way.

Here's dad trying to prove how warm it was this afternoon.  

 

We'd planned on spending the night in Regina, but apparently it's impossible to find a hotel the same weekend as the Grey Cup.  Had we any knowledge of sports whatsoever we may have been tipped off about this a whole lot earlier than this morning.  So, we change our plans!  What fun would this trip be if we can't make a few memories along the way, right?

Farewell, Wanderlust

Winter has finally come to Quesnel, and I spent the first few days of it loving being able to bundle up in the cooler temperatures and enjoy the snow which I hadn’t seen in three years.  Then one morning I spent 20 minutes trying to warm up my car and scrape the ice off the windows, at which point I wasn’t too thrilled about winter anymore.  My South Pacific blood may take a while to get used to this. 

With the onslaught of winter, it doesn’t seem like the best time to take a road trip, but come Friday morning my brave VW Jetta, myself and my dad will start our five day journey across the country.  Destination: Durham, Ontario.   

In January I’ll be starting my new job at the New Tribes Mission home office, and driving there this week will allow me to get my car (and as many belongings as I can fit) there as well as spend a couple of weeks looking for a house/apartment to rent.  I'm thankful for the chance to then fly home to BC for the holidays, and on December 31st I'll fly back to Ontario to settle in. 

January will mark a full year that I’ve been in constant moving/packing/travelling mode (on top of the normal moving/packing/travelling of missionary life), and the wanderlust that I’ve felt for most of my life has begun to wane.  I’m ready to put my suitcases and boxes away for a while and am looking forward to what's ahead in Ontario.  

So, for now I say goodbye to wanderlust…but maybe we’ll meet again someday.

Being "Here"

They say that "home is where the heart is," but my heart is a global traveller and can't make up its mind sometimes.  There are so many reasons that I'm thankful to be back home in Canada right now, but there are moments when I think about memories or look back on pictures of Papua New Guinea (like the road often travelled pictured here) and I feel that ache again.  The two places are equally home for me and I sometimes feel stuck in the middle of two worlds. 

If you're a frequenter of my blog you'll have noticed that I haven't had much to say the past few months.  To be honest, I feel like I've lost a bit of my inspiration.  There seemed to be a never ending supply of things to write about in Papua New Guinea - there was always something out of the ordinary going on, or some colorful character giving me a story to write about.  When you're used to barely-clothed men in feathers dancing at your doorstep (the same dancer who took his deceased relative's stained dentures so he didn't have to buy his own pair), it's a bit harder to find exciting things to write about back in North America.  

There are so many things that (granted, although less obviously exciting) make life just as beautiful back here. The vibrant Autumn leaves falling all around you and board games, pj's and lattes with Mom. There are kisses from nieces and notes left on your desk from one saying, "Always love no matter what" that make you want to cry. There are bruises from working with Dad who let's you use his power tools and make mistakes because "that's the way you learn."  

It's easy to mourn what was, and it takes effort sometimes to live in the "now" and be intentionally grateful for the beautiful things that are right in front of you.  I've needed to be reminded of that this week in a big way.  

So thanks for bearing with me as I learn to be "here" and discover my new exciting. $

A Few of My Favorite Things

Things I've missed that make my heart happy:

 I was welcomed home with this (can you hear my heart singing?).

 Beach time with nieces.  Wow, I missed these girls. One just told me today, "Let's paint some rocks the color that our hearts are feeling."

Fall! Yay!

 The wind in my hair.

 

 Just chillin' with the fam (in pants!).  

 Poppies!

The West Coast...going back to my roots.

 

 Beachcombing (also known as "supporting my driftwood habit")

 Lovin' my mom.  

And lovin' my dad. 

 Three generations.

 

Waking up to a cold morning all snug inside my tent.  

 

 Perfect combo: a hot cup of coffee, the Word of God and a campfire.

 

Going to bed tonight with a grateful heart.

 

A Tribute

Being home has been a whirlwind and I confess that I haven't given much thought to any posts in several weeks.  This blog was originally inspired by the many bugs and many bananas of my life in Papua New Guinea, so I thought it fitting (in lieu of a better post) to pay tribute to its title with this, my first Canadian bug.  While visiting family on Vancouver Island, we headed to the waterfront for fish & chips, and getting some good shots of sea birds being fed.  I got a few shots of the birds, but got sidetracked by this tiny arachnid who I thought deserved some camera time as well.

 

 

Around the World in 14 Days

I look back over recent months and am amazed that just six months ago I was living contentedly at Interface, oblivious to the fact that in just a month I'd be packing up my home, in three months I'd be leaving my ministry and in six months I'd be on my way back across the world to live in Canada.  What an incredible 4 1/2 years it's been!!  And truly, what a privelege it was to live and serve in PNG. 

 

 I got to spend one last Canada Day in PNG with good friends.

 I knew that saying goodbye to my "baby," Wyatt, would break my heart, but God provided such an amazing new home for him (beyond my prayers and expectations) that I couldn't help but be so happy.

 

 I spent a morning in the villages around Interface saying goodbye to friends and was thankful for one last hug from my village papa, Judge Peter.

 

 I'm going to miss these trails.

 I couldn't believe the awesome chance God opened up for me to fly to the coast for a few days to say goodbye to some previous Interface co-workers who were back in country.  It did my heart good to visit with Janie Miles again, who'd left Interface in November.

 Jacob & Beth Devine (with their new baby Jonathan) had left Interface last year for nine months, not knowing when they left that they'd be returning to a closed campus and a new ministry and home in a completely different place.  Without going to the coast I don't know when I would have seen them next.

 

 Big smiles and bittersweet hearts at the Goroka airport. Five months ago myself and two other Interface families were joking about travelling home together through Hawaii, but amazingly enough the joke turned into reality!  Pete & Lesley Doerksen with their three kids and Drew & Bobbi Scholl and their four kids have been the greatest travelling companions.

 

 Our travels took us first through the Philippines for a three day layover.  A picture's worth a thousand words.

 

 I really enjoyed catching up with old friends from when I lived in Manila six years ago.  Here I am with my Ate Cynthia whose joyful attitude and love for the Lord have long been a blessing to me.

 Three days in Manila and we're ready for the next leg.

 Just a little excited to be on the way to Hawaii.

 Lugging luggage for 12 around the world was not so fun. 

 

 This may look like just any old meal, but having not had any of it for years made it a delicacy for us. Endless choices of deli meats, cheddar cheese, non-stale chips and real milk! *sigh of happines*

 We took a walk along the beach the next morning for breakfast and coffee.

 This is exactly how we felt about being in Hawaii.

 Gorgeous views of the Na Pali coast.

 It was so windy we had to fight to keep our balance!

 Hanalei Bay.

This trip across the world with great friends has been such a gift!  Our emotions over the past months have run high, and we've grown even closer as we've hurt, cried, prayed, and learned to praise the Lord together through it all.  In a situation that tempted to ruin our trust in the Lord, we've come through it only with a deeper confidence in the goodness of our God who cares enough to bring us through difficult times to grow us and mold us and make His strength more perfect in our lives. 

 

"Taste and see that the Lord is good."