First year of study and traveling to Canada!

Well it has been an eventful past month to say the least! Over May Josh had his final exams for the year - which meant that he has been keeping very busy with study. We also were preparing for our summer assignment, so I was kept busy at home cleaning, and planning for the trip as well as trying to make sure the car was up-to-date and things would be covered in the time we would be away. We had a number of friends who were moving and planning for travel also, so we were able to give them a bit of help in that process. 

The seminary had commencement - which was really great to attend in support of this year's graduates. It was somewhat intimidating and humbling to imagine that, Lord willing, that is where we will be in just another 2 years. 

This year has gone very quickly - and we are very thankful and fully acknowledge how every good thing, every new experience, and all the new things we have been learning have come to us by God's grace - through the love and service of His people. It is one of the most humbling things to live in full and complete trust in God's provision - and I think a very important thing for us to experience as seminary students, and looking into pastoral service in the future. Every day we are aware of the fact that we are here by His grace, and because of the support of the people back home and in the US and now Canada! Everything we have is from His hand - and we are very aware of it because of this experience. 

I am currently writing from our summer home in Abbotsford, British Columbia - and as I look out the window I can see beautiful green fields, tall trees, and a mountain rising just beyond them. We were very blessed to have arrived right on schedule on Friday - after 5 days of travel across the greater part of the US and Canada. It was mind-boggling to have had the opportunity to make this trip, and in the process discover just how vast these countries are. For 3 out of the 5 days of travel we were driving through the grass equivalent of desert - ultimately, prairie land. Something that we Kiwis really had not experienced before - only to arrive on the 4th day to epic mountain vistas. 

On our first day of travel it worked out that we were able to catch up with Beccy and Jake in Madison, Wisconsin. It was fantastic to be able to catch up with them and spend some time - I only wish that we could have had longer!

This kind of thing was a common sight through North Dakota 

Early morning views of North Dakota before we crossed the border into Canada

The left side of this picture was what most of our last images of North Dakota were. It was a very brown, barren kind of a landscape. Quite unlike anything I've seen before. And it just went on and on for miles. As far as the eye could see. It really did have it's own kind of unique beauty to it. One thing that was cool was that because the land is so flat, the sky was massive! And there were some incredible cloud formations. 

Driving through Minnesota

North Dakota (similar to Minnesota huh)

 Providentially the border crossing into Canada went very smoothly. All up it took about half an hour to process the paperwork, and we now have some very pretty and colourful new visas in our passports. :) That's another thing that is great about Canada - their money is really pretty! Makes a change from the greenback that's for sure. ;) 
Our first day of driving in Canada was through Saskatchewan - which was mostly the same as North Dakota. Flat, treeless fields that go on forever. 

Next day we drove into Alberta which for a long time was a similar landscape, but as we drew closer to Calgary we were beginning to see more hills. We stopped off at lunchtime in Calgary - which was a gorgeous city. Everyone there seemed to be very active, they were all either running, walking, biking, rollerblading, skateboarding, etc. It seemed to be very vibrant and friendly, so we enjoyed our short stop there. 

We stopped off in Calgary for a very short walk into the city

We then traveled on into the mountains! Which was very exciting. I tell you what, it was quite an experience. I don't think that we took as many pictures as we would have liked too because we were too busy just soaking in all the natural beauty around us. There is nothing quite like mountains. 

Main street in Banff, Alberta

 We didn't have a huge amount of time - but had planned our trip so that the day before we did extra driving, so that we would have a little more time on our day through the mountains. Because of this, we were able to go for a short hike around the Bow Valley which was well worthwhile - and a welcome stretch for our legs. 

We went on a short hike in the National Park - looks like a painting doesn't it :)

Me taking photos of Josh taking photos

We were happy to be in nature. 

 We were able to see some of the local wildlife - although didn't get any photos because they were either too far away or disappeared too quickly. We were able to spot two bears as we drove down the highway, some white mountain goats, elk and deer. 

In this clearing we not only got to see amazing views mountains but also an Elk.

Lake Louise - still frozen over from the winter

It was amazing to see how much snow there still was on the hills and mountains - although the weather was quite warm. At one point we went up to visit Lake Louise, and it was all still frozen over and covered in snow. Quite surreal to sit there and take in the view in shorts and light sweaters!

At this point we had driven into British Columbia and got to see more mountains :)

 We were so thankful to have the opportunity to take this trip. We have always wanted to  visit Canada but never thought we would get the opportunity. We are now really looking forward to serving in the church here, getting to know the people and for Josh in particular having the opportunity to learn more practically about the ministry. He has been scheduled in to preach at least once a week, as well as hopefully lead some Bible studies and do some visitation. We hope to be able to keep you updated as the weeks progress. In the meantime thank you so much for your prayers and continued support - we appreciate it so much! 

Just another little update...

I know this is right after I had just posted the previous update - but I had written that the other week and didn't realise that I hadn't actually published it! Whoops! 

So I thought that I would give you a little more of an update on where we are currently at - Josh is all finished with his first year of seminary! We attended the Commencement ceremony for the graduating students on Thursday night, which was so great to be able to share with them, and it was a wonderful opportunity to congratulate them and recognise all the hard, hard work that they put into their studies over the past 3-4 years. 

We helped our friends move in right next door to us over the past week, so we are blessed to have some good friends who will be our next door neighbours for a while! :) 

Josh and I have been busy over the past couple of days getting things finalised for our trip west. Our car needed a bit of work doing to it - but incredibly providentially we were able to get the work done for a fraction of the cost that was originally quoted to us. We were VERY thankful for that. 

It is a strange feeling to be cleaning and packing up our place knowing that we are going to be away for the next 12 weeks - but we are very excited about the opportunity as well and although we will really miss our friends here in the Chicago area - we are looking forward to meeting some new people out west!

So that is the update - we will try and keep you posted over our internship as we will actually be getting out and about and experiencing new things. 

Thank you for your continued support and prayers - it is appreciated so much. oxoxo

Hello Abbotsford - we'll see you soon Lord willing!! :D

Spring Update!

Well, time has flown big time! I thought it was about time that we wrote you an update, especially before we leave for Canada.

We have some exciting things to report on, one of which is that spring has sprung! The weather today is already up to about 28 degrees. Looking outside the grass is beautifully green and lush looking, and over the past week in particular all the trees are getting their new leaves. It's amazing the effect it has on the landscape - and it's almost, almost hard to remember just how cold and hard the winter was. It's amazing the difference that sunshine and warmth can have on your mood and motivation in general. :)

We had a lovely April, and really enjoyed getting into the spirit of Easter - my favourite holiday. :) It was quite a novel experience to celebrate it during the spring! As it turns out Hot Cross Buns are not really done over here - there was only one store that you could buy them from, and they didn't look to appetising, so I rolled up my sleeves and got baking! They actually came out pretty delish!

Things have been finishing up for the school year - which is kind of strange for us - being halfway through the year, but the school year is ending - somewhat back to front from what we are used to. I finished teaching art classes and have just finished up my babysitting - plus the Bible study group that I was babysitting for has finished up too. 

Josh is now in the thick of exams. He sat one this morning, and has another 6 to go over the next 4 days. Needless to say, he has been very busy. He works long hours every day, usually through until 11pm each night - but something that has been really nice is that we have been able to have dinners together. I even took dinner to seminary the other night so that we could enjoy it together! I'm really thankful that he is able to work so hard and consistently - and hopefully the Lord will bless his efforts!

Josh also had to have an interview this past week with the session from Redeemer Church (our church over here) so that they could assess him for his preaching license. By God's awesome grace, they granted it to him - so he is now licensed to preach! (So to speak). 

As most of you would probably know by now, the students at MARS are set up with an internship so they can get some practical experience over the summer. Again, amazingly providentially - we were accepted at Emmanuel URC (United Reformed) church in Abbotsford, British Columbia. This is an incredible opportunity for us - and in particular for Josh - this very generous congregation is willing to give him the opportunity to preach, take a bible study and be involved in some visiting with the members. It really is amazing that they would be willing to take on us first years and give us this opportunity. Plus, we are going to be driving over there - which means crossing over a majority of the width of the US and Canada. A once in a lifetime road trip! We are planning on heading over to BC via Canada, and then Lord willing will return via the US. It's going to take us about 5 days travel to get there (traveling on average 7.5-8 hours a day).

So we look forward to keeping you updated on how things go! We are also looking forward to catching up with Beccy & Jake Gulliksen who are currently in Wisconson - right in our path for our trip, so Lord willing will be catching up with them for lunch on our first day of travel. : ) 

I also had a really cool opportunity this past week to go and visit a local Christian Elementary school. They were having a Book Day, and very kindly invited me to speak about book illustration with the kids. There were two groups that I spoke to - the first being an older group of about 75 kids aged 8-10 and the second group of about 45 aged 6-7. They were a great group and the school was very hospitable. I really enjoyed the opportunity! 

So otherwise, the next couple of weeks are especially busy for us as we pack and prepare for the big trip, as Josh finishes his exams, and I do a thorough spring clean of our apartment! 

Thought I'd include a relatively current picture of us over here to show that we are still alive and well. :)