A slumberless party

João and I had a great Christmas! The Christmas eve service at church was so inspiring and very well attended. There was a real crowd, which is surprising with so many people travelling to visit families.
We enjoyed a "Brazilian Christmas" on Christmas eve with friends. That was really nice. On Christmas day we had a great dinner and visit with a couple from our church. Of course, throughout the day we called family and friends in the US and Brazil and had so many really good chats! It brought them closer to us.
Having Christmas on a Saturday sort of cut short our free time, as we needed to spend a good part of the day getting ready for Sunday morning. It was a chilly, chilly day, but it was good to back with God's people in worship.
I couldn't resist, however, getting in some after Christmas shopping. So I was up early and was at Best Buy by 6:45! It opened at 7:00 and about 300 of us stood outside in -20 weather waiting for our bargains. I got mine and consequently you'll be seeing more photos on this site - I got a digital camera -YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I also had to hit the store in the afternoon to get a stock of food for the sleepover that evening (and I also managed to find time to get my wrapping paper and cards for next year!). I invited 6 girls from the church to spend the night at my house. They arrived in stages on Sunday evening. Here's part of the crew right after they arrived:

We sat up until 3:00 eating pizza, ice cream and watching movies. Unfortunately they didn't sleep in the next morning, so there wasn't much sleep to be had. We spent all of Monday together just doing "girl" stuff. I love being with them. They are great kids and lot of fun.

I need to sleep. So I'll see you round the net!

Bah- Humbug!

You know this Ottawa weather may turn me into a Scrooge and say "Bah-hambug". Just kidding. But for the second year in a row it has rained all day at Christmas and flooded my basement. I hate wringing out towels and sheets and vacuuming constantly. In fact I'm writing this on one of my five minute breaks from mopping up. I would have rather had 15 cm of snow instead of rain. Snow is pretty. Rain is just cold and yucky.
Just had to complain about the rain. It's driving me nuts. And certainly has messed up the travel plans of so many people. But it all brings me back around to say that Christmas is not about turkey and family and presents. It's all about Jesus Christ. I confess that I sometimes lose sight of that and this little basement mop-up operation has reminded me of all the wonderful blessings God has given me. I do refuse to be down! I am joyous not in the season, but in my Saviour - giving thanks IN all things!
Merry Christmas.

A Really Not-So-Silent Night

My voice is back!!! I can talk and sing. So nothing is silent around here anymore. Nor was anything silent at our church on Sunday night. We presented our Christmas Pageant. Although it was advertised as an "instant" program, we had numerous rehearsals and were nervous down to the last rehearsal if everyone would ever get their part right. But once we put the costumes on everyone, the whole thing sprang to life. Five minutes to start, there were about 10 people in the church. Of course with about 15 people in the play, we knew we would have to invite a lot of people to come. When we finally made our grand entrance, the house was full. We know there were around 100 people and that was a wonderful blessing for us. And the "Not-So-Silent-Night" went off without a hitch. Everyone laughted (it was a comedy) in the right places. Afterward João was able to share a message of what Christmas was all about. Because the children were the "stars" of the play, lots of relatives and friends came out. I filled in as an angel (definitely NOT typecasting) at the last minute since Barb became a grandmother to twins that very morning.
Afterwards we had an International Potluck Dinner. Boy did people bring out the food. We had 4 tables laden down and even had some left-overs. I worked back in the kitchen, so I sampled lots of the food before it went onto the table. All delicious. The fellowship was marvelous as well. When João and I finally got home about 9:30 that evening, we were still on a real high. But believe you me, we were ready for a rest on Monday.
Although not very conducive for going out, since it was -25 (C), João went out early on Monday to help one of our members move. A lousy time of year to do that. I went out later that day to shop. But didn't last long, as it is some how tiring to shop clumping along in boots, coat, gloves, etc. It seems to weigh you down. Normally I leave that stuff in the car and make a dash for the stores, but it was just too cold for that. But that makes it feel all the more like Christmas.
Things are very quiet around here this year - such a contrast from last year when the whole family arrived to be with us. But it's kind of nice to have a break. The worst thing about Christmas this year is that boxing day falls on Sunday and I won't be able to do my customary all day shopping. Oh me oh my. Guess I'll survive!!!

Silence is Golden

It really does look at Christmas around here. We have had so much snow in the past week and now it's cold and the snow is hard and frozen and glistens in the sun that it almost looks unreal. Sometimes it feels like you are walking in tunnels as you walk along the sidewalks because the snow is piled up so high on either side of you with the 30 centimeters of snow that has fallen lately.
I haven't gotten out much to play in the snow because I am trying to stay home and be quiet. Literally very quiet! I have a case of laryngitis and am having some enforced silence. I am truly suffering with this, but have learned to just accept it and await the return of my voice.
Sunday we are excited about our Christmas pageant, called "The Not-So-Silent Night"and a potluck supper afterwards. We've invited lots of friends, so I am trying to cook extra to compensate. Do you think a ham, 2 lbs. of potato salad, cranberry sauce and a coconut cake will be enough? Yum, yum, I'm hungry already.
Tomorrow, I'm sure I'll be in a frenzy trying to finish my last minute gift shopping and grocery shopping. And I still haven't made any firm plans for what we are going to do for Christmas. Crazy, huh?
Yesterday we had an interesting experience. For some reason I made an extra large lunch of fried fish, manioc and mock mashed potatoes (cauliflower) and even had dessert. The guy who cleans our driveway stopped by to ask us to move the car so he could scrape the driveway. We invited him to stay for lunch. He did. And we had a nice long conversation (well, I listened). Another friend, Terry Orchard, dropped by as well and the upshot was both he and João were able to share much about Jesus with our friend and really present him with the challenge of accepting Jesus. He didn't make a decision, but the seed was planted. Who knew that fried fish could be useful in the Kingdom of God? All things for God's glory, right?

Let is Snow!

It's snowing, it's snowing and the old lady is snoring. It feels like winter has finally come to Canada. Gorgeous snowflakes are falling all day long here in Ottawa. It's not accumulating too much since it's only 32 and the snow if very wet. It looks so beautiful sticking to the trees. Since I put up my Christmas tree on Monday, now everything looks just right. I used so many candles in my decorating that João thought I was planning on burning the house down. I don't think I should like the twenty candles on my mantle. I needed something to cheer me up, since my sister left on Saturday night and my house seemed so empty after her departure. We had such a good time together and did a lot of fun things. It was especially sensuous to visit the Hershey chocolate factory. I think I got my chocolate dose for the year, just smelling the air.
I am feeling a little hectic right now trying to get ready for the Christmas program (The Not-So-Silent Night) and the New Year's Eve Program (my teen-agers are planning it and want to do a big bash!) Someday I may catch up. I want to do an open house, but I may just have to forget about it. I do so love getting together with people this time of year! Hope you are having as much fun as I am.

Dear Diary

Sometimes when I sit down to write on this blog I feel like a little girl again with my diary open before me and I can think of nothing to say, so I write "Nothing new happened today!"
That's really not true, for each day is new. Last week, for instance I went, by train, to Toronto for a resource committee of the Baptist Women of Ontario and Quebec. We are working on the materials for the years 2005-2006. Our theme is great (can't reveal it yet!). The meeting was stimulating and I'm anxious to use the material in our own church next year. I worked on reading the books for our recommended reading list and was especially enchanted with the book "Daughters of Islam", which I hope you can read too. It's great. I also loved "Your God is Too Safe". I loved the participation in the meeting. I enjoyed my visit with our friends in Toronto, the Keidann's. They truly make me feel at home.
When I got home I hit the ground running. No time to breathe. I taught my English class (I'll write more about that on another day). Then I went off to a 50th birthday party where I got to be a murderer (calm down - it was one of those murder mystery games and I acted the part of the murderous housekeeper).
Then this weekend we started rehearsals for our Christmas program. It's called "The Not-So-Silent Night" and is quite a comedy. We even have a Christmas rap in the middle of it.
The highlight of the week is my sister's arrival. Jeri came to spend a week with me. It's not Thanksgiving here, but it is in the US, so we might enjoy a baked chicken together. Mostly we will give thanks that we can spend time together.
Hope your week was an uneventful... no! I mean as "exciting" as mine!

Lift the Load

I am so excited! Since September we have been running a low-key campaign in the church for a Canadian Baptist Ministries Christmas Project, called “Lift the Load”, to help child labourers in India be able to study in schools and eventually be able to lift their families out of grinding poverty. The church chose to do this rather than operation shoebox, feeling it would truly make a difference in one child’s life if we could raise at least $400. You won’t believe it, but when we counted the offering today, we had a total of $1290. I was so thrilled I just cried with joy. The kids, who were really the focus of the campaign (children helping children) were jumping up and down they were so excited when they found out. Isn’t that just fabulous? And interesting since João preached about the church in Antioch today and their willingness to care for those in nead. Our next project? We will be caring for the needs of seven families for Christmas, quite a large undertaking. Also we are trying to help the mission for homeless people. Our people’s generosity is always amazing to me, when I know how much everyone is struggling financially. I know God will bless their sacrifice. And I know I was blessed. And in India three children will now have their load lifted. What a wonderful day today!

João in the pumpkin patch

I thought I would just wish you a very happy fall with one of my favourite autumn photos (taken over in Gatineau, Quebec by our friend and neighbour, Wing).

Hallelujah

Unfortunately, even in Canada, October 31st is "Halloween". Our church had a family night, which we call our "Hallelujah" party. We had such a wonderful time. Since old and young come out and play together, we really do feel like one big happy family. It's amazing to see an older bachelor playing ping-pong with a girl of 10, and teen-agers playing foosball with their parents. It seems such a healthy way to spend the evening. I played pin the tail on the donkey, and fishing pond with the younger kids. Adults played UNO, Dominos, Scrabble, etc. I'm not sure, but the main sport just might have been chewing the "fat" or maybe eating cupcakes and guacamole (what an awful combination).
The real hit of the night was our jail. For $1 you could put someone in jail (a locked room) for 10 minutes. They could bribe the jailer to get out, paying a double fee. One woman paid for all the men and that set off a real war. I was the sherrif, so I had quite a workout chasing people around the room. Toward the end of the evening, they took up a collection, stole my keys and put me in JAIL. I was glad for the rest, actually. With our little game, we raised $73 for our Christmas missions project, which is for the Samatha Child Labourer School in Tuni, India.
We did fill goodie bags for the children (up to age 16!), who left very satsified with their haul. The adults looked very longingly at the bags and I think some children will be forced to "share". To satisfy the adult's sweet tooth, we had a "candy bar" walk (just like a cake walk), but it was funny because mostly the teen-agers won the kit-kat bars!
Isn't it great to have such a good time in our community? I've been thinking so much about that lately. Last week, our women took food, everyday, to a woman in our church who has been ill. In addition, one single gentlemen has been unable to do his laundry and a couple in our church went by and picked it up and washed a month's worth of laundry and took it back to him. Saturday the folks turned out to do a fall cleaning of the church - right down to scrubbing the oven and fridge. It all made me feel very warm and good about being those who Jesus said would be known by their love. Pray that we may continue in that love.

Computer woes

We all know that our computers are a blessing in our lives, except when they break down. For some time mine has been a pain in the neck. It had gotten slow, programs and drivers disappeared and I spent half my time repairing stuff. Then I discovered my hard drive was "terminally ill". Rather than spend a fortune on a new computer, I decided to buy a new hard drive. When I read the instructions on installation, I decided I was in over my head. So I asked Sidney, from our church to help. Read, do it for me! He came over for lunch on Sunday and then installed the hard drive. Didn't look the least bit easy to me! Although I had made back ups of everything, most of the programs had to be reinstalled and a few even re-downloaded and updated from the internet. That is time-consuming and sometimes frustrating. Because I'm obssesed or neurotic, I'm not sure which, I wanted it DONE now. Consequently, I stayed up all night working on it. At 5:00 I couldn't function too well, so I slept for a few hours. Now I'm back at it. I'm happy to report most everything is up and running. I still am struggling to recover my e-mails. They are there on the old drive, but so far I haven't had too much luck opening them. I can't believe how much quicker the whole computer runs now. As they always say, all's well that ends well.

Frost on the Pumpkin

Fall seems to arrived here and it is time to rake the leaves as the trees are mostly bare now. This has been a mild fall, however, and we still haven't had a good frost yet, although this week does promise some much cooler weather. Out west they have had their first big snow, so ours can't be too far behind. My task for yesterday and today is to do the closet change-over. Bring out the gloves, hats, long underwear, coats, etc. and put away the shorts and summer clothes. That's always a melancholy task, for the winter seems ever so long once it begins. I've been resisting, but yesterday João and I started out for a walk and I had to come back and put on a jacket, gloves and a hat. It was 38 degrees and I was feeling it.
There is not exciting news to report on. Sunday I preached at a neighbouring church and had just a fabulous experience. They church has called a new pastor and it seems my message was exactly what they needed to hear in preparation for the mandate they have given her as their new pastor. God works in wonderful ways. On Saturday another church used our church for their retreat. We had so much fun working together to make lunch and had good fellowship with the others. In addition, João adquired a copy of the book they were studying. That gave me one more wonderful book to read. I am doing reviews of two other books and find my nose in a book when I'm not trying to fix my computer.
That's my crisis of the moment. It seems my hard disk is in "imminent danger" of permanently failing. There seems to be a "spin-up retry failure". Got that? Me neither. But I do know it's not fixable. So I've been diligently backing up EVERYTHING. And when you have 22GB of stuff, that's a lot of back-up. So when the failure happens (could be tomorrow, could be next year) I am ready. Time consuming, but it has to be done.
Enough is enough! I think I shall go inspect my flowers, ignore the falling leaves and generally enjoy life today.

Thanksgiving

Monday, October 11 is Thanksgiving. We decorated the church with the produce God has given us and it really was beautiful. Everyone admired God's handiwork. We have so much to be grateful for. It would really be hard to try to mention all our blessing this year. It has been so rich. It is good to PRAISE THE LORD.
For lunch today are looking forward to a real turkey dinner with cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie. So I must run along and make the pumpkin pies!

Happy Birthday to Me!

I had a great birthday on Tuesday, celebrating my 52nd. I don't feel old, in fact I feel terrific. It was wonderful to have my mom here to celebrate with me. My day started out great, with lots of presents on my breakfast table. João and my mom took me out to lunch. We went to Wakefield, Quebec and got to see the beautiful autumn leaves of the Gatineau hills. The restaurant we went to, the Penstock, is at the lovely Le Moulin (The old mill), which you can see below. We thoroughly enjoyed our lunch and our leisurely drive home through the hills and by the rivers and lakes.

This is the cool restaurant - it looked just like this with the fireplace working because of the very chilly day.

The day ended with lots of nice phone calls from family and friends. I went to sleep very happy and feeling very loved. That's a nice way to end your day.

My mom has now returned home and the house is awfully quiet. I miss her more now than before her visit, but that's the way it usually works. It's great to have her close enough for these visits. So for me, "God's in his heaven and all's right with the world."

Catching up... Or is it running ahead?

My poor blog! Well, if I have any readers left, I guess you know I’ve been busy and have sorely neglected my blog these days. Week before last we had a missionary at our church and she stayed at our house. I had known her in Brazil, although she has just finished a term in Mozambique and will now be going to Angola. It meant so much to our church to hear her. This Sunday we took up a missions offering and received around $800. We are SO excited. That is really terrific for us. In the summer we had had an offering for Bolivia and gotten around $300, so as João would say “There is hope for us, for where there is a love of missions, certainly God’s people are awake.”
But I get ahead of myself. Or is it behind? At any rate, this past week my mom arrived for a stay and we are having a really good time together, although I can’t think of anything exciting we have done. We just enjoy each other’s company.
Yesterday, Sunday, we had our bilingual service and it went well, although attendance was considerably down. We had so many people out of town. I’m not sure why. In the evening we had the associational meeting at our church. This year we decided to focus on worship and not business. Instead of our usual 30 or so people we must have had well over 100. Our church was packed to overflowing. João said it was so much fun to speak to a really full house. We celebrated the diversity of our churches here by invited various ethnic groups from our Baptist churches to share in the service. We had a children’s Haitian choir to sing – they were so cute in their uniforms. A Burmese choir sang and just knocked our socks off. There were terrific. I kept remembering the suffering of Adoniram Judson (the 18^th century pioneering missionary to Burma) and seeing these, his great-great-great grandchildren (spiritual) and knowing that it’s really all worth it! Our group sang a “samba” arrangement of a Brazilian chorus. We sang hymns in French, Spanish, English and Portuguese. The people from our church read scriptures in about 7 different languages. It was a wonderful evening. I came home tired (I am associational clerk, so I had lots of responsibilities), but so full! What a great way to spend your day. So that’s my blog for today (or is it my blah, blah, blah?)

Photos from the retreat

I thought you might enjoy a couple of shots of our retreat this weekend.
Here's the whole handsome group:
Women's Retreat

And here we are being silly by celebrating "Purim" or the story of Esther by using our "Noisemakers"


And this is the total make-over experience:

That was the week that was

That was the week that was! Wow. The week whished by and I don’t think I even had time to blink. The main thing that happened was our women’s retreat. We had 23 women present under the theme of Extreme Make-Over. We had beautiful weather; although it was cool the air was crisp and fall-like with bright blue skies. We did a little bit of everything on our retreat, from sharing to praying, to make-up, to a pyjama party. The food was terrific, but healthy and I think we all had a great time. We thought about the plan God has for our lives and how we can be transformed to be used by Him. In one activity we all laid on giant sheets of paper and drew our outlines. Then others, throughout the weekend, wrote about us. It was a very affirming experience. The one thing we didn’t do much of was sleep. So here it is Monday morning and I think I am still sleepy. It was well worth the effort and next year we hope it will be even better. Well here is proof I am still alive!

Weekend photos

Isn't this just the greatest picture? What a wonderful celebration of a wedding.

This was the 65th birthday party on Saturday.

Flying High

Thanks for your prayers. This was a fabulous weekend. It’s Sunday night and I’m still flying high.
First of I must say that today’s youth service was just a huge success. The six kids who participated just loved it. They offered their worship with really pure hearts and God was honoured by their sacrifice of praise. I cannot tell you what a moving experience it was for me to see them moving in the presence of God and leading adults to do the same. Many people were moved by tears. I feel totally full overflowing from the experience. And you should have heard the rap. It was terrific! They ended up using their own words and bi-bop and we all understood everything. I ran the projector and the sound (changing with 4 CD’s and one tape) and I was exhausted from the mental effort of keeping it all straight. (I think I’m too old for this stuff).
Then this afternoon John did the most unique wedding I’ve ever attended. It was at the hospital. It was in the chapel because the groom is very ill. There must have been 50 people there. The couple had divorced some years back. They had been talking reconciliation and recent events sort of hurried things along. Afterwards there was a sit down dinner/reception in one of the hospital’s board rooms. It was such a moving experience. Their daughter (in her twenties) pulled everything together in just 3 days! It was just lovely. Our church had a lot of people there and it was heart warming for all of us.
My heart is full from such a wonderful weekend. Later this week I’ll try to post some photos. Wish everyone could feel this same great feeling inside I have tonight.

Rain, Rain Go Away

Now you wouldn't think that the hurricane Francis would be affecting us up here in Canada. Guess again. We broke the all time weather record for rainfall in one day. I think it's standing at about 133mm, which is a lot of rain. Especially since a lot of it is IN my house. UGH! After all the work on our basement, you'd think we'd have the problem licked. This time we got a double whammy. The new window wells filled up with water and when I looked up this afternoon the water level was above the windows and water was rolling in through the windows themselves. I was alone and wasn't sure what to do - move my computer and books right away or bail the water out of the windows. So I rain out in the cold pouring rain and bailed the water out of the window wells. Then I ran in and started hauling off the computer and bookshelves. When João got in, he took up the bailing and then he put protection around the windows and voilá, no more accumulation. Then we discovered the ceiling dripping in the basement. Coming from our bedroom, where we found the paint peeled off and the plaster soft all under the windows. So back out in the rain and mud and covering the windows in plastic. We both changed clothes at least four times. I HATE RAIN! Now I fully realize our little inconvenience doesn't measure up to the tragedies down south, but nevertheless it didn't make for a great day for me. I've finally got my computer set up in a different corner of the basement right now. The fans are going and I've already dried all my towels 3 times sopping up the water. I figure in a week or so I should be dried out again. But no we know no more water will come in. I had so much to do today, but it didn't get done. So tomorrow will be redoubled! Fun, fun, fun.

See What I Mean?

It really is hard to find time to write on this blog regularly. Amazing. For one thing, right now is just plain hectic. I was at the church on Sunday from 10:00-6:30. It was our bilingual service and despite being a long holiday weekend, the attendance really wasn't off. Afterwards we had lunch, of course. Then I rehearsed with the kids for our service next Sunday. They added in a rap piece. I can't understand a single word! But they were so keen on it that I am going to print the words to put up on the screen. That way they get to do it and we old folks know what they are saying! They had wanted to do an African piece, but finally decided that this rap piece was much better. So we went over and over it. We also worked on the choreography. In addition we painted their tee shirts. At the end of the service they come out with garbage bags over their heads and then tear them off to show their shirts with the word JOY printed on them. Our main passage talks about changing our garments of sadness for garments of joy. We are also making t-shirts with their photos on the back for the beginning part of the service. Afterwards they just didn't want to go home, so I brought them over to the house and let them watch Finding Nemo - which they loved even though they are teen-agers. I made them popcorn and I just had to rest a while. I have allergies or a cold or something and just needed to be horizontal for a while.
I am on the final countdown for my lessons. I have to send them in on Friday. But I only have 14 more to go. I am out of creativity and it's hard to finish those last few ideas. So I hope I can hang in there and between sneezes finish them up. So there may not be any more updates this week. I get a little computer weary. Especially since I also have to do the powerpoint presentation for our youth service. (Isn't it cool that I got a loan on a projector so that we could do the whole service and the sermon that way?)
Our big garage sale to raise money for our ladies' retreat (which is the following weekend) is this Saturday and I need to work setting up for it on Friday. Also on Saturday is a friend's 65th birthday. When I get back from the women's retreat, I think I will be able to breath easier. That's on the 18th. So till then, we all try to hang in there!

Catching Up

I’m beginning to see that it’s not so easy to keep up with these weblogs! You have to have a little discipline to write every day. If you get busy it definitely goes by the wayside.
Since Sunday we’ve been delightfully busy with our friends who are missionaries in Brazil. What a wonderful visit. Of course it was bound to take a toll on our health – we kept staying up half the night talking. There was so much to catch up on. I don’t think “normal” mortals could have followed our conversations. We switched back and forth between English and Portuguese and on top of that we spoke “Baptist”. It was really wonderful to catch up on everyone and just enjoy time with our friends. In addition we enjoyed doing some sightseeing with them. We had just gorgeous weather while they were here, although we have already begun to see fall is in the air. Across the river in Quebec, in the Gatineau Hills, a few of the trees were just starting to turn red and yellow. This morning when they packed the car to leave it was 42^o. That nip in the air, with the clear blue skies does make you think of leaves starting to fall soon. I’m planning on pulling up my pansies and planting chrysanthemums this weekend. With the arrival of Labour Day this weekend (yes we celebrate it here in Canada), that means the kids go back to school next week. I guess summer, in every practical kind of way, is over. One more season of our life has passed. Now we celebrate autumn. It’s good to live in the present moment.

Forty Years

Yesterday (Saturday) João and I were invited to a surprise 40th anniversary party. It was a member of our church. The cool part was that his and her family had come in from all over Canada to be present. They had made huge journeys to be there and their kids had been planning this for over a year. It was so much fun to get to share in the joy of that family. As we sat out on the deck, overlooking the Ottawa River, munching on shish ka-bobs and potato salad and meeting of dozens of people we had never seen before, I thought of this as one of the joyful perks of ministry - getting to share in special moments like this. It was lovely to see the hugs and smiles and yes the surprise of the couple when they arrived and everyone was on the front porch. What a blessing a family can be. And how we can bless others with a little thoughtfulness. Those who knew me back when, know that I never really was a party goer or "enjoyer" (not to say I was totally antisocial, but I did have my moments), but God does gift those he calls and all my years in Brazil just turned me into a raging party animal. So Friday a party at my house, Saturday an anniversary party and today a surprise birthday party for another church member. Good thing I changed, huh? Have a great celebration of life today.

Brazil in Canada

Last night a group of Brazilians from our church got together for a "good-luck" or "good-bye" gathering for Carolina. She has an audition for an orquestra in Calgary (the other side of Canada) and if she is accepted will not be returning. We had a traditional Brazilian meal of feijoada (black beans with all kinds of meats). Tereza, who is a wonderful cook, made it for us. Eleven of us gathered around the table and ate until we couldn't stand it any more. So then I brought out the watermelon and we ate some more. Finally we convened to the living room where Christina (17 months) entertained us by showing she had learned where her nose, feet, arm, mouth, etc. were on her body. We had such a good time. It was a warm (not to say hot!) humid night and so it felt like I was back in Brazil. Since I have been terribly homesick lately, this was just what the doctor ordered. Tomorrow Alan and Kathy Myatt, missionaries from Brazil, arrive and so another opportunity to pretend I've taken a vacation to Brazil. God always gives us just what we need when we need it.

Good news!

Today, August 25 at 12:00 the phone rang. It was the Iraqi Embassy. You won’t believe it, but they called to tell us that João’s police clearance had arrived from Baghdad. Of course we calmly received the news. Right?! How long do you think it took us to tear out of the house and make it down to the Embassy? We wanted that document in our hot little hands! Sure enough, it was the right document. You can even take a look at it up close and personal at the bottom of post. We were so excited and so happy. Since it came by Fedex, we know that it was granted after you began praying about the situation. Now we know why we just didn’t feel right about going down to Embassy before now. We gave thanks to God, to whom all the glory goes. He must want us in Canada! Thank you for your participation in this exciting episode of seeing God’s hand at work in our lives.
Police Clearance

Always on a Sunday

Sundays are always busy for us. This was no exception. Today I preached at one of our neighbour churches, Pleasant Park, as they are currently without a pastor. We really liked the pastor there and will miss him a lot. He accepted a church back in Nova Scotia, in his hometown. I tried to share an encouraging, as well as challenging message to the people. I’ve spoken there a number of times, so I know the people pretty well.
Since their worship was at 10:00, I was able to attend most of our 9:00 service and get back in time for most of our 11:00 service. Of course I missed Sunday School, but I had a substitute teacher stand in. After church I made lunch for the kids, as we continue to rehearse for our youth service in Sept. They have such a good time, it is infectious. From sitting around the lunch table talking, to practicing our worship songs, they are just a great group of kids. They are really excited about the worship, hoping that their friends will come. Will you pray about that with us? Our group of kids is small – we have 5-7, but they really are making this an opportunity to reach their friends. Today we even decided to add in the use of helium balloons and homemade matching t-shirts. Sounds like fun, huh? It did make for a long day for me, since we finished practicing at 4:30! So I am going to kick back and relax a little. João is taking someone to the airport at 5:00 tomorrow morning. Better him than me.

Things That Go Bump in the Night

After a long hard day, João and I decided to sit back and relax and finally watch the movie the Matrix. We'd been on the waiting list at the library for 4 months and now it was our turn. So we sat back and Sadik even jumped up in my lap for extra cuddles. As the movie grew more intense, we heard a strange noise over our heads. As we were in the basement, both of us, we found that odd. But it's an old house. Then we thought we heard it again. We looked at one another, and João turned down the sound. There it was again. Didn't take us long to bail out of the house. João in his sock feet and me in my pijamas. And now what? It's after 11:00 at night and there we are on the outside of our house looking wishfully inside. We walk around and find no signs of entry. Still, who is the courageous one to go back inside. Not I! So we walk around the house again. And notice two police cars at the house next to the church. We walk over. They are there because of a break-in. Great. That helped our nerves a whole lot. So as they leave, I ask them to check out our house. They gladly agree.
They go stomping in with their guns and lights and yelling "This is the police". I felt like a regular Law and Order participant. A long time afterwards, while we stand shivering outside, they come out, having discovered the perp! Cleaning supplies. Yes, that's it folks. A bunch of cleaning supplies fell off the shelf and knocked open the door and then went rolling out into the hallway. Why? We'll never know.
But all's well that ends well. Sort of anyway. João couldn't bear to see the rest of the Matrix. I could and did, as somehow it seemed tame after our little adventure. Life is just grand in the slow lane, isn't it?

Saying What You Think

Hey folks, did you know you can write a message on my BLOG? At the end of any message, you can click on the word "comments". That takes you to the page with just that message on it. At the end of that message it says "Post a Comment". If you click on that, it will take you to another page where you can type your comments on that day's message. Unless you have your own Blog on Blogspot, you will have to post it as anonymous. Consequently, it's a good idea to put your name on the message so I'll know who it's from. Remember, everyone can read your comments, so they are not private. After you write your comment, you need to click on the phrase "Publish your Comment". There you go - you've added your two cents worth.

Monday, Monday

Just gotta love Mondays. At least João and I do! It's really our day to let down our hair. Early on João went out to take Willie to a doctor's appointment, while I worked on writing more lessons. I'm making slow progress.
This afternoon we took off and went out for a while. Just what the doctor ordered! We decided to put off for a few days going to the Iraqui embassy. We just feel we need to do this at the right time. We'll keep you informed. Just keep praying about it!
It was such a gorgeous day today that we worked on the lawn and it looks so nice now. João continues to haul dirt (we had tons left from the truckload that was needed to repair our basement) and fill in the holes in the yard. By winter we hope we'll have it all spread out. They say winter is not far off this year. The forecasters don't really know everything, though. They've said summer is basically over, but that's hard to believe on a sunny 82 degree day. Hope your Monday was a good as ours!
PS - I'm studying the humane society site, beginning to look for another cat. Bela left a hole in our hearts.

Good-bye Bela

Weekends are busy around this place. We had a wedding on Saturday and that went well, although it's such a different experience to do a wedding for people who aren't from our church. It's strange not to know anyone.
One sad note, for me, is that Bela, my foster cat has gone back to her original home in Alberta, Canada. In two months I got really attached and I miss her affectionate nature. Sadik has looked for her all over the house and sat on me for about two hours this evening. That's not characteristic, so I think he's lonely.
Sunday, however, was a good day, as we had two good services today. After church, I had rehearsal with the youth for our youth service in September after classes start again. It's going to be cool! We start off with a hip-hop cheer. We are doing drama and other unusual things. I made lunch for the kids and we sat and talked for about 2 hours. We had such a good time. They are really good kids. Our prayer is that this service will help them grow spiritually and bring their friends into church.

This is sweet little Bela

Our Continuing Immigration Saga

We rejoiced when we finally turned in out last few documents for permanent immigration to Canada some weeks ago. Today, however, we got a letter that didn't make us so joyful. Immigration said that we were responsible for acquiring police clearance from Iraque (since João served there as a missionary in 1981-1983). Of course we explained that was impossible, although we really tried every means possible to do so. So now they require a letter from the embassy here saying that police clearance is not possible. We tried that route and they refused to to so. So where do we stand now? I don't know. I tried to call immigration, but they do not respond to phone calls and they take about 3 months to answer fax inquiries. Monday we plan to go to the Iraqui embassy here and show them the letter and plead for a letter saying that right now there are no records in Baghdad. Can you believe that this small thing might block our whole process? I know all things are in God's hands and I trust Him to work this out. Wouldn't you like to participate in God's work by praying about this? Pray for us on Monday as we try to get this small, but important letter. Our future is literally in the hands of the new ambassador. Since she is a woman, I am going to accompany João on the visit. It's going to be fun to see how God solves this roadblock. So stay tuned.

God's Coincidences

Today the most interesting thing happened. We had a visit from a couple from Winchester, Viriginia. We met them last year when we were on vacation, as we were both visiting the same church in Quebec. We had lunch together and discovered common friends, as I had taught school in Winchester in 1979. Small world, isn't it? Over this past year Nancy has maintained contact with us and her Women's group (WMU) prays for us regularly. They were in Ottawa today and gave us a call and stopped by to see us. We had such a nice visit. They were excited to visit and see our church that they had been praying for all year. Their visit was a bright spot in a rainy dreary day. I know it was no coincidence that we ended up at the same church last year.

Fireworks!

WOW! Last night after prayer meeting we drove over to the river to see the Canadian entry in the Fireworks Competition. We took a couple of people with us this time. It really was spectacular. There were effects I'd never seen before. It truly was a show. I ran out of oohs and ahs. I'm looking forward to Saturday night when there is the Gran Finale with all the countries doing one last show. Wish you could be here to see it. It's great living in Ottawa - always something happening.

We are so enjoying summer this year, it's not been hot. Yes, our previous 3 summers here have been intolerably hot, but this year there's been lots of rain and for the first time I still have grass in August. Even my flowers haven't wilted. Here's recent picture of one side of the house.

Summer in Ottawa

Tuesday morning

Well, it's a new day and I continue procrastinating on writing my lessons. But as soon as I make this post, I am shutting down and writing a lot of lessons. It took a while to get the hang of this thing and add my photo to my profile (if I suceeded). João's blog is a lot easier, but it's in Portuguese. I thought you would appreciate mine being in English.
Our kids at church are going to a day camp out in the country, sort of sponsored by the Baptist churches. In the mornings I drive one of the little girls and two of our volunteers to catch the bus out to the camp and then pick them up in the afternoon. That's my contribution to the cause. Yesterday they had a great time as it was warm and sunny. I'm not so sure about today - it's raining. I don't think their solar oven cookies will work. This is an ecological camp and the kids came back fascinated... "Did you know carrots grow in the ground?" Can you imagine that? Have a great green day.

João Insists

I sit here at João's computer, creating my Weblog, otherwise known as a BLOG. After he created his (in Portuguese), he said I HAD to do mine. Of course I couldn't stay in the dark ages. So here I am in the world of postmodern adolecents, communicating through my very own BLOG. Not that I have anything all that fascinating to say. I am totally against writing anything on the computer right now. I have over 50 lessons I still have to write for the Casa Bautista de Publicaciones in El Paso, Texas. I feel guilty writing anything on the computer that isn't for children 0-3 years old. I'll keep you posted on my progress (if there is any...) So much for my day off. Tomorrow will be more exciting, I'm sure!