Josh has been preaching every week since we have been here - and for him to practice writing sermons and delivering them has been excellent. The people in the congregation have been really encouraging and he has received some good constructive feedback. It's a huge deal that they would allow for a student to come in and preach - especially when they already have a very excellent minister - but we are very thankful that we have been able to come here.
I love this congregation in Abbotsford. The people are wonderful - they have shown us a lot of hospitality, generosity and love - even in the short time that we have been here. Every Sunday, and during the week, we seem to be able to get to know more people from the church who we hadn't known so well previously - it's very cool.
Josh works really hard during the week, and has chosen to work from Tuesday through to Saturday in sermon prep and some visitation. Some days he will go into church to work, but most days now he works from home - that way I can use the car if need be, and it saves an almost hour long round trip (not to mention gas) to get there. Then he usually preaches in one or sometimes both services on the Sunday. So Mondays have been really valuable in regards to him being able to have a bit of breather, and also an opportunity for us to go out together and do some exploring of the area.
The view from church |
Looking across from Stanley Park to Vancouver city |
The bridge that goes through the middle of Stanley Park and heads to north Vancouver |
The other side of the bridge mentioned above |
We did shout ourselves some ice-creams at the top of the hill :) |
Along the walk to Bridal Veil Falls |
Bridal Veil Falls |
We got some lunch and a coffee each and walked around the lake which was really nice. There was a really cool big inflatable fun park floating in the middle of the lake which was pretty neat. Josh and I were tempted to go and play on it - but the water looked really cold, and it cost about $30 each to go on it. :P
Harrison |
Hicks Lake |
The hike around Hicks Lake - it was so incredibly green! |
This past Monday we were really blessed to be able to travel into Whistler with Pastor Swets and his wife Rachel. They drove us up there (it's about 2 hours drive, north of Vancouver) and we got to visit Lost Lake and hike around it, then Josh and I traveled the gondola and went up Whistler and Blackcomb Mountains. This was something that did cost a bit of money - but we had set aside some of my babysitting money from earlier in the year so that we could use it for an opportunity like this and we were so thankful that were able to do so. God is so good in providing us with the means to do things that are special and an opportunity to experience His awesome creation!
Lost Lake |
The beach you see in the middle distance is where the last two photos were taken |
Whistler village - the architecture was really cool |
The gondola ride up the mountain |
Getting higher all the time! |
Whistler Mountain (and Josh's arm) |
On the Peak to Peak gondola heading to Blackcomb mountain |
The view on the way home out the window - driving along the coast of BC and the edge of Canada. It was beautiful! |
Last week while Josh was working hard, I was also blessed to be able to go on a couple of day trips with some new friends from church. We visited White Rock beach which was gorgeous, and it was so great to eat fish and chips on the beach again!
The view off the end of the pier |
On Thursday I was able to help out with some preparation for VBS (Vacation Bible School) which starts up next week. That was a lot of fun, and it was another good opportunity to get to know some more people from church.
Immanuel United Reformed Church where we are privileged to be serving this summer! |
The view out the back of the church and across the car park |
Across the street from church |
We had some more opportunities to spend some time visiting with some more families in the church last week as well - the hospitality we have been shown here has been an amazing example to us.
So all in all time is flying by. It is hard to believe that we are over halfway through our time here, and soon will be making our way back to Chicago. However in the meantime we are really enjoying the opportunity to be here - meet new people and enjoy another part of the world. We are very blessed!
If anyone has any other questions about Josh's internship or our time in Canada you are welcome to contact us directly, we would be happy to catch up with you! If you are interested you can also listen to Josh's sermons here. So you can check up on what he is preaching about. ;)