Snowbound... or is that Stranded??

What was meant to be a quick jaunt down to the lower mainland to have a meeting with the Bible working team here and to do some Christmas shopping, has turned into the adventure of a lifetime. Let me explain...

Last Wednesday, the entire school left on a music tour to Oregon. That gave me the remainder of the week off from school. I came down to the lower mainland on Thursday to have a debriefing meeting with the Radiant Living Bible work team regarding the four-weekend training session we did with the seniors this fall. While down here, I thought I would get some Christmas shopping done since I wouldn't have much time once I got home for break. Everything went great until Sabbath afternoon when it started snowing hard. (That is a rare occurrence here in the lower mainland where all they get is tons of rain.) It snowed hard all throughout the night and by Sunday morning, we had 5-6 inches on the ground. (Another 2-3 inches accumulated through the remainder of the day.)

On Sunday, I was supposed to go the 3 1/2 hours back up the mountain to get to school, but realized the roads would probably be horrible the farther up the mountain I went. The bus was traveling up from Oregon so I thought I might catch up with them and follow them up just in case I needed help along the way.

When I called them to see if we could meet up, they were about a half hour away so I scrambled out of the house to meet them. After clearing my car of snow, getting onto the horribly slippery snow-covered road, nearly getting stuck in someone's driveway, and getting not more than a couple miles down the road, I had already used up about an hour or more of time. People from the bus called me to see were I was and then advised me not to even try go up the mountain since the roads were getting progressively worse. They thought they would just come get me, but then opted not to since they started sliding around in the parking lot.

So, I opted to stay in town for several more days to get some snow tires and then travel back up the mountains when the roads got better. (The whole ordeal in trying to find snow tires could be a blog all of its own!) Little did I know the roads would just get worse instead of better. By Monday, all roads going into the school were closed from all directions due to ice, snow, and avalanche warnings. So here it is Wednesday and the main roads are still closed up the mountain. I spoke to a friend at school last night and they have well over a foot of snow (she said nearly 2 feet) with 1 1/2 inches of ice on top. They said it is a mess there.

So in the mean time, I am stuck here at the Radiant Living home and it doesn't look like I will get back up to school until Sunday or Monday at the earliest. So my short weekend jaunt has turned into a week and a half adventure. It is pretty crazy! The school is snowbound in and I am snowbound out, so it makes it interesting to teach! I am so thankful I have an awesome sub at home who is taking my classes for the entire week. I email him all my lesson plans and then he teaches them for me.

All and all, it has been a rather relaxing week! I am hanging out with the totally awesome Bible workers on the Radiant Living team. It reminds me so much of living in Troy last year with all the Bible workers there. Brings back fond memories. So I am thankful that at least I was stranded here with wonderful friends, Christian fellowship, and a nice place to stay. I just hope I can get up the mountain early next week since I leave for Christmas break on the 13th and I need to pack for break! (All I have with me here is about 3-4 changes of clothes! Crazy!)

So that is my winter adventure stories...I just hope we don't get another round of this next week or else we aren't going anywhere for Christmas break!

Happy Thanksgiving from Canada...

I do have much to be thankful for...so I am not complaining, but it really does feel terrible to have to work on Thanksgiving! This Canadian tradition of celebrating Thanksgiving in October just doesn't cut it for me. I am too American...Thanksgiving just isn't Thanksgiving unless it is celebrated the end of November. But since I moved up to Canada, I did it to myself. So now I sit in my office and know that I will have to miss Thanksgiving with my family and friends back in the states. I feel just a bit sad....

But I do have much to be thankful for...life, health, family, friends, a job, a home, a dog, and most of all, a loving Saviour. So even though I can't celebrate Thanksgiving with my family, I will celebrate it in my heart because I have much to be thankful for...

Would Jesus really wash his feet?

My principal caught me after class this morning and asked if I had known anything about the controversy that occurred in Seattle and Oregon the beginning of October regarding a painting by Lars Justinen that depicts several world leaders--and a world terriorist-- having their feet washed by Jesus. The painting was designed to advertise for a conference that was going to discuss the character of God. The enraged reaction from the public caused many to take down the posters and others to blog vehemently about the meaning presented in the poster. One man stated, "I guess the point is to show just how forgiving and loving Jesus is. He's so loving th[at] he'll even wash Osama bin Laden's feet! Sorry, I aint that kind of Christian. My Jesus would use nunchucks on Osama bin Laden. Or maybe rip his still beating heart out, Temple of Doom style. This is the South Park Jesus. The one who boxed Satan and only won because the Satan threw the fight..."

One of the leaders who commissioned the painting stated, "that the picture was meant to parallel the story of Jesus washing the feet of Judas. No one is Judas in the picture, but the meaning is that Jesus would stoop to wash the feet of his enemies. The meaning is that in that painting of powerful world leaders -- and one powerful terrorist -- the one with all the power is ultimately Jesus.”

This whole thing got me thinking... a lot of people are in a rage that people would kill others in the name of religion. They look with horror and disdain on these people yelling "how unChristian is that!" But then, they turn around and say that the Jesus they serve would not wash the feet of his enemies, but instead would annihilate them too. Sounds like what they accused the others of doing. My principal made the comment that there is only one false religion, but it takes on many different faces. Here, we see that both entities are wrong in their thinking. They are accusing each other of the very thing they themselves are guilty of.

And then I started thinking, Would Jesus really wash the feet of someone like bin Laden? Why not? Did he not wash the feet of his betrayer (Judas)? Did he not wash the feet of his denier (Peter)? Did he not wash the feet of the want-to-be annihilators (James and John referring to Luke 9:54))? I am confident that Jesus would. Granted Jesus wouldn't love the sin that is within the heart of the individual, but he would always love the sinner. That is why he chose to die--even for his enemies. Roman 5:8, 10 says that "God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us...For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life." And if Jesus would die for someone like bin Laden, why wouldn't he wash his feet too?

I don't think any of us can fully grasp the meaning of Christ's love. We view his love from a very selfish, human standpoint that holds grievances for wrong doing and that shows love only to the lovable. But Jesus demonstrated the very opposite in his life. His whole mission was to minister to the worst of society, to seek and save the lost of humanity.

And when I look at bin Laden or myself, what it all boils down to is that we are both sinners in need of a Savior. I am thankful that God is willing to stoop down to wash the feet of the worst of the worst. That's the type of God I serve!

Hurricane Force Winds...

Headline News...

Storm Day in BC
"The BC coast will be battered with strong winds and heavy rain for most of today. Wind and rainfall warnings are in effect for large areas of the BC coast. Winds are expected to be from 70-90 km/h with up to 105 mm of rain forecasted for some areas."

This was the weather forecast for the events we experienced yesterday. And it was an accurate prediction. I don't recall ever being in a wind storm as bad as the one that hit here Sunday night/early Monday morning. Here is what happened.

Sunday night we arrived late back at school returning from our senior outing to Radiant Living in Vancouver. It was cold and slightly windy, but nothing serious. I went out to feed Shanuk and thought that I would bring her inside with me just so I could spend some time with her without having to stay in the cold. (I don't usually bring her inside except when the temperatures are extremely low or she is barking at the bears and keeping me awake.) As nightfall came, the winds started to pick up and Shanuk started to get really nervous. Because I have a corner bedroom, the wind rips around the outside corner and makes horrible groans and screeches. Shanuk didn't like it at all. Several times I thought she wanted to go back outside, but whenever I opened the front door and she saw how terrible the wind was outside, she would run back in. So I just let her spend the night with me.

It was an absolutely restless night. Shanuk kept pacing around and several times throughout the night, I tried to let her go outside, but she wouldn't. I don't think I have every heard the wind like it was that night. It almost sounded like the house was going to blow away. A loose board on the outside paneling right next to my bed kept clapping at the house. The wind blowing around the outside corner shrieked and hollered. It was horrific sounding. It lasted all night.

The next morning, I finally convinced Shanuk it was time to go outside so that I could get ready for class. I stepped outside and looked over toward her doghouse just to realize there was no longer any doghouse there. Instead it had been thrown a hundred some feet into the orchard. Don't ask me how considering that doghouse is extremely heavy (it took three of us to lift it onto a truck bed to haul it away) and there was a full bucket of water in it that made it heavy too. (I am really grateful it blew in the direction it went because my car is always parked right in front of the doghouse. If it had blown the other direction, my car would have been majorly damaged.)



Anyway, I cringe to think what would have happened to Shanuk if she would have been in the house. Since she is tied to a rope, she probably would have been strangled to death had she been thrown with the house. In addition, it would have just traumatized her to wind even more than she already is. (When she was a puppy, a tornado threw her about 100 yards against a tree while she was in her house). I am just so thankful I felt impressed to bring her inside and that she refused to go back out throughout the night.

So now she is staying in my room until I can get her house fixed. I spent nearly three hours yesterday working with the principal's son trying to get it all put back together. It was so torn up from the wind, we had to take it completely apart and start from the foundation up.


In addition to trees down on campus, one of the roofs on a staff house was raised two feet, then moved back one foot and dropped back down on the house. The ceiling collapsed in part of the house. Amazingly, the couple had just been in that room and felt impressed to move right before it collapsed.

All I can say is that God is good and he cares for those who love him. May we always be thankful for his watch care in our lives.

On a silver platter...

What can I say? I just love my students! Especially when they come up with such creative ideas as the one that greeted me as I walked out of the café the other day. You see, my Bible 11 class has been working on a very large project where they are researching the events outlined in Daniel 2 from a purely historical viewpoint. I divided the class into the five different groups (Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Pagan Rome, and Papal Rome) and had them see how history confirms the rise and fall of each of these world empires. My Grecian team was running into a fair bit of problems and begged for an extension in the due date of their project. Of course, being a softy to earnest pleas, I gave them an extension.

As I walked out of the café earlier this week, these four students met me in the doorway with their assignment. And I must say I have never had an assignment presented to me in that fashion. I laughed so hard! Here is how it came…






Yes, on a silver platter with rose petals. They insisted they wanted to put chocolate on the platter as well but couldn’t find any. They wanted to make sure that I would still forgive them for turning it in late and hoped that their elaborate presentation of the late document would help soften my heart! Of course it worked (although I never intended on penalizing them since I gave them an extension anyway). But still, I thought it was the most clever way to present a late paper. Most of the students in the café were so confused about what was happening… except for a fellow teacher. He picked up on it right away, and mentioned to one of my students, “I gather that was a late assignment?”

So for future reference, if you ever want a late paper forgiven, just submit it on a silver platter with rose petals!

______________
Oh, btw...did you know that a 2000 Nissan Altima can hold 18 people? Well, tonight I hauled 18 girls at once from the cafe to the dorm... Don't ask how we did it! But we all made it in once piece safe and sound!

"If I were a guy, I'd marry after 30..."

These are the words of wisdom spoken by one of my 15-year old seniors. She has commented to me before that she is surprised that I am not married yet. She says she would think that I would have had many guys take an interest in me in the past and how have I just avoided getting married? I assured her I have never been desperate to get married and I enjoy waiting on God. Well this week, she announced to me that if she were a guy, she would most definitely wait until she was thirty to get married. Her rationale is that too many young guys are so desperate to get married that they just settle for anyone rather than being patient and waiting for the best. And then she said, "But then all the really nice quality girls are the older ones like you, Miss O. I think the guys should wait till they're 30 so they can get all the great girls like yourself." Well, Ellen, thanks for your words of encouragement! And so to all my single "older" friends, just remember that things get better with age!

My Season

Yes, for everyone that ever wanted to know, this is my season! That is, the one that follows summer and precedes winter...AUTUMN! And with that comes all the changing colors of the leaves. Here at Fountainview, we have orchards all over the property and the leaves have slowly been changing colors from greens to yellows to oranges to pinks to reds. It is beautiful! Several students and I were in the orchards yesterday getting some last snapshots before they turn brown. Here is just a small selection of the photos... (I thought I would include some of Autumn and Autumn ;)...)











It is amazing to me that many of us think fall is one of the prettiest seasons of the year. But after the fall of man in the Garden of Eden, that first fall was a devastating experience for Adam and Eve. Mrs White comments, "As Adam witnessed the first signs of decaying nature in the falling leaf and in the drooping flowers, he mourned more deeply than men now mourn over their dead. The drooping flowers were not so deep a cause of grief, because more tender and delicate; but the tall, noble, sturdy trees to cast off their leaves, to decay, presented before him the general dissolution of beautiful nature, which God had created for the special benefit of man." {SR 55.2} How is it that today we have come to think of it as such a beautiful time of year rather than a time of mourning. I can think of two things: 1) God brings beauty out of tragedy. Though it is a reminder of sin, God tries to still cover it with his grace and bring a beauty out of it instead. 2) Though it is the beginning of a bleak, barren, harsh, and long cold winter to come, the fall colors almost give us a foretaste and glimpse of the beauty that will come to the earth during the new birth of spring when God makes all things new again.

So in our own lives: when we are on the brink of a winter experience in our lives, he shows us two things: first, that He can bring beauty where their is pain and ugliness and second, He will takes us through that experience to enjoy the rebirth on the other side where he makes all things new. May you remember that this fall.

Show me a mission, then evidence

Today we had a very interesting discussion in Bible class. We have been studying through the defense of the Christian faith and have finally progressed from the defense of God and the Bible to the defense of Jesus Christ. In class, we watched several news casts about Jose Luis de Jesus Miranda and his claim to be Jesus. This spurred an excellent discussion in class about the students' reactions to his claim. After analyzing different things he said that completely contradict what we know in the Bible, several students mentioned something very interesting. When the interviewer asked Miranda why he thinks he was chosen to be Jesus on earth, he says he doesn't know. The students commented that he seems to have no purpose, no mission, no goals. In fact, he doesn't even know why he is Jesus. We compared this with Jesus of Nazareth. He made it very clear from the very start of his ministry that he had a purpose, a mission, and a goal. He knew clearly why He was on this earth--to seek and save the lost. Everything in his ministry to others was with that mission in mind. He had focus and direction.

We then discussed that this man showed no evidence of his being Jesus. The interviewer asked him if he could perform miracles, walk on water, etc. He responded, "Not exactly." This launched us into a discussion of the role of evidence in proving a claim. One student said that if he didn't perform miracles then that proved that he wasn't from God. So I countered that with, "Then if he could do miracles, does that prove that He is divine? What about all the faith healers that perform all those so called 'miracles'? Just because they can do these things, does that prove that they are from God?" Of course they said no. So then I asked them where does "evidence" come into play and how can we know when that evidence confirms the divinity of the individual.

This led us to look to Jesus' example in how he used evidence in his ministry to prove his divine nature. We looked at Jesus standing before Herod. Mrs. White states that Herod was anxious to see Christ "prove His claims by working a miracle." While Jesus had done this on many other occasions, he refused to do it now. Herod insisted, "If Thou canst work miracles for others, work them now for Thine own good, and it will serve Thee a good purpose. Again he commanded, Show us a sign that Thou hast the power with which rumor hath accredited Thee. But Christ was as one who heard and saw not.... Herod promised that if Christ would perform some miracle in his presence, He should be released...." DA 729-730.

So here we see that Jesus refused to heal because it would only satisfy idle curiosity. In addition, it would prevent Him from fulfilling his mission to seek and save the lost because Herod would have released Him. Thus, any type of evidence shown would have gone against Christ's purpose--so he refused to do it.

Then we looked at the story of the man sick with the palsy in Matt. 9. I asked the class if Jesus' main goal was to heal the man physically or spiritually. Of course it was spiritually. So instead of healing the man, Jesus forgave his sins. But when the Pharisees cried blasphemy, Jesus knew he needed to give some evidence that he could indeed forgive. So he told them, "But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house." Notice why Jesus gave evidence in this circumstance and not in the one with Herod. Jesus had to emphasize his mission as one who could forgive sin. But since nobody can see whether sins are actually forgiven, Jesus then gave them proof that they could see--a healing miracle. We see this occurring over and over in Jesus' ministry: the evidence was always for one reason alone--to prove his mission, his goal, his purpose.

So that leads us back to the role of evidence. Evidence is never just for the sake of evidence--it is to prove mission. When you look at these faith healers, one must ask themselves "what is the mission? and how does this 'evidence' concur with the mission." The fact is that these healings seem to be for the sake of healings alone--not for the sake of the gospel message in healing the soul of sin.

So our class discussion concluded with one main idea that distinguishes Christ from all other so called 'Christs' and faith healers. He had a very clear-cut mission and purpose. And any evidence that he ever gave was only for the sake of proving that he could fulfill that mission.

Mrs. White sums it up beautifully in one final statement about Christ before Herod: "The mission of Christ in this world was not to gratify idle curiosity. He came to heal the brokenhearted. Could He have spoken any word to heal the bruises of sin-sick souls, He would not have kept silent. But He had no words for those who would but trample the truth under their unholy feet." DA 730

For myself, I am thankful that in the life of Jesus physical evidence was provided that proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jesus could and did fulfill the mission that all this evidence pointed to--that He indeed can save and forgive my sin!

This Morning's Rat Race

Some people have the boring, methodical way to wake up in the morning--their alarm clock. Well for those of you boring souls out there, you just need to come live with me for awhile and you can get all kinds of interesting wake up calls. At six this morning, I was still in bed when I had a light tap on my bedroom door. One of my suite mates tiptoed in and profusely apologized for waking me up and then pleaded and begged me to come to their aid... They had a visitor that morning--a pack rat. He had climbed up the bottom bunk and crawled across one of the girls. She flung him and the covers onto the floor and then started yelling at her roommate that there was a rat in their bedroom. Her roommate thought it was a big joke until they looked in the closet and saw this big rat hiding in the corner behind the shoes. Being the expert rat hunters that we are (ya right! like we've had lots of practice!), we first called one of the assistant boy's deans to come over to help us (poor guy, he had just woken up and then he is called to help some girls catch a rat!). So Johnny came over with an ax of all things (we thought he was going to kill it in the bedroom, but he said it was only so he could corner it...). Then we barricaded all the doors and stuffed sleeping backs under the doors to prevent him from escaping to another part of the house. We set about three rat traps and one live trap and then armed with a trusty trash can, we were ready to shew him out of the closet. We finally coaxed him out and then he ran helter skelter all over the floor nearly crawling up the legs of my friends. They screamed and hollered and danced around. We finally threw the trash can over him but then weren't sure what to do. I unloaded a three ring binder and then carefully slid it under the trash can. The rat jumped when we slid it under causing one of the girls to jump too. We carefully lifted the trash can and then slid the binder just enough for the rat to fall into the live trap. As soon as we dropped him in, he raced up the sides and nearly out the top, but thankfully Johnny closed the trap door just in time. Good thing or we would have had another rat race around the room. To say the least, it was a crazy way to start the morning! (This is the second one we caught in the house in the past week. The first one was three times this big!)







Krystal and I trying to decide how we are going to lift the trash can without the rat escaping. (She's sitting on the trash can to make sure he can't get out!)








Our weapons of mass destruction






Just to show how big he is in comparison with the trap









Cute...maybe, annoying...definitely!



Oh, yes, some of my other wake up calls at night have been for the bears... Many a night since I have been here in Canada, I have been awoken by my dog barking at some unknown thing outside. Nearly every time I look outside to see what it is, it is either a bear or coyote looming in the plum trees right outside my window. A couple nights ago, my suite mates and I heard Shanuk barking so we looked outside to see a huge bear in the orchard. Grabbing the flashlight, we tromped outside to see if we could get a better look. I laughed when I thought of the childhood game I used to play where one person hides and you all go marching around yelling "no bears out tonight, Daddy shot them all last night" and then they jump out of the dark and tag you. Well, I definitely cannot sing that song here! There is a bear out nearly every night. But the bear was shy and took off before we could get close...oh, well, maybe next time. (Just kidding! I have no intention on getting close to those guys! And don't worry, we were being careful when we went out to see it!)

The Novelty of Being a Teacher

Being a teacher is a fun job. You have all kinds of crazy things happen in a day. These are just a few in the last two days.

Yesterday morning: (After a student lost his glasses and can't hardly see a thing), "Miss O, I can't find my eye (a huge magnifying glass he's been lugging with him all week). Can you read this math problem to me cause I sure can't see it!" Poor guy! He can't ever figure out if his math homework is right or not cause he can't see what he is doing. Glasses should be arriving some time next week.

Yesterday evening: Since I arrived here two weeks after all the students did, they were all anticipating my arrival and were trying to imagine what the new teacher would be like. One senior was recounting what she thought I would be like. She knew I would be teaching the first half of senior Bible (Defending Your Faith) but not the second part on Marriage and Family (for obvious reasons!). Of course she gathered that I must not be married (and thus wouldn't know much on that topic), so she started conjuring up images of what I must be like--an old spinster with her hair always tied up in a bun. She declared to me yesterday that she was pleasantly surprised that her imaginings were completely wrong... In fact, at first they wondered if I was a new student on campus and then were surprised to find out I was the new "spinster" teacher they had all been waiting for...

Today: (Helping a student on their science lesson regarding the reproductive system), "Miss O, can you help me find three similarities between the male and female reproductive systems. I'm having a hard time..." Ya, I have to admit, that's not the easiest thing to find similarities with! I must have impressed them with at least some knowledge of A&P, so when I was finished helping them, the next question came: "Miss O, are you a doctor? Like, can you treat cancer and operate on people?" Emphatically no! That would definitely not be me!

It's the type of job that keeps you on your toes, gives you lots to smile and laugh about, and always keeps you busy with tons of grading and lesson planning... speaking of which, that's what I should be working on now rather than this post.

So here I sign out,
Yours truly,
Miss O

Ps. I had the most amazing thing happen in D&R class this week! God is really working on the hearts of some of my students. I will try to share that later on.

My New Home..

Well, as most of you know, the border guards let me into Canada. In fact, the border guard I had was so nice, he was going to let me in without checking some of my crucial documents! So now that I have been here for a little over a week, I have to share with you some of the many things I have experienced so far.

Mom has been with me this whole week. That has been such a blessing! She has helped me get my room in order, my office set up, and has worked with several of my right brained students with their math skills. I will miss her so much when she leaves on Tuesday!

My classes are going well. I have great students and the staff are wonderful. It's been slightly difficult coming in 2 weeks late especially since I started teaching right when I got here... no time for a breather. But that's ok. Here are just a few pictures of my new home. The scenery is absolutely breaktaking!

The first picture is the main building on campus. Located inside is the chapel, the cafeteria, administration offices, classrooms, library, and computer lab. The mountains around it are just amazing! The second picture is the view that I have from my place. It sits up on a little ridge and looks down into the valley. All over the property are lots of fruit trees. There are apples, plums (both purple and green--which are so good, I must add), pears, apricots, cherries, grapes, and of course carrots! (They grow organic carrots for market.) It is so nice to have fresh fruit to eat every day!


















I took a trip to the thriving "metropolis" of Lillooet (20 minutes away) last Sunday (population approx. 2700). Along the way, we saw a bald eagle and a black bear! That was so awesome to see!! I couldn't get a picture of the bear because he was shy and ran away before we could get close. But here is the bald eagle.


On the way down, we ran into this thing called the "Slide." Someone had mentioned it, but didn't tell us what it was. Man was I in for a surprise...I came around a bend on the steep mountain road, and the road went from two lane down to one. The one side was straight up, the other straight down to the valley floor. They had some type of land slide some time ago and it completely messed up the road. After much repair, they finally cleared one small lane. Periodically rocks still fall off the cliff onto the road and you can see them all piled up along the edge. (Several staff members here have had rocks fall into their windows from the ledge.) Most of that section of road has concrete barriers (a recent addition, thankfully!) but one spot still opens straight down to the valley floor beneath. What makes it interesting is when you have to pass other vehicles (especially logging trucks) when you are in the slide. So from what I have heard, Highway 12 is the worst in Canada. I don't doubt it!

It doesn't look that bad from this angle, but the sides are almost vertical with the little road along the edge.












Here is the section that has no barriers.







It is all one lane with potholes and fallen rocks along the edge.

From what I understand, many people have died over the slide. But I know I have angels that are looking out for me so I have no need to fear. "The angel of the Lord encamps round about them that fear him and deliveth them." I am so thankful that God delivers--not just from physical harm, but if we let him, he will deliver us from spiritual harm as well by delivering us from sin! Now that's a promise!

Oh, yes, today I had another new experience... something I had never seen before. About 200 feet from my house along the trail I walk down to school, I ran across this "pile" of stuff. Anyway, since I wasn't sure what it was, I had to do a google search to identify it! Can you figure it out? (Hint: I didn't get close enough to it to see if it smelled like pepper, but I didn't see any bells in it! Mom did say it had carrots in it though!)

Joy in the Journey

Before I left Michigan, I was talking to my friend Michael about journeys and how some people are so anxious to get to their destination that they don’t enjoy the journey along the way. So I was determined that on my journey to Canada, I would try to find the little things to enjoy about the trip getting there. Wow! It has been crazy… but here is just a little recap about my journey…

Day 1:
Got off around 10am—later than planned, but I had to go to the post office and ship three large boxes to Canada that didn’t fit in my car.





Stopped near Berrien for about ½ hour. My friend Sedric met us at the interstate to say goodbye. That was a nice sendoff out of Michigan.

Minnesota has a 65 mph speed limit and is crawling with policemen. Passed maybe 20 along the road—almost all with a victim. Thankfully none were me…

Had a good travel day. Shanuk traveled well. I am pleased. She even loved her little “cave” in the backseat. She loves hiding in small places.She did freak out in the hotel, though, with all the new sounds of the TV, the toilet flushing, the blow dryer, etc. At one point, she tried to crawl into the night stand that sat in between the two beds. She’s way too big so only her head and shoulders fit in, but she would have stayed there a long time except that we finally coaxed her out. I wish I had my camera right then to catch the moment. I laughed so hard!


Day 2
Woke up with a super sore, swollen, red finger. (I cut it very deeply a week ago and then it developed a rash that spread down to my knuckle. My medical friend Albert said to just keep an eye on it and if it started to get painful and turn red, then I should probably have it checked. A bad infection could lead to a bone infection… not cool! So anyway, today it looked awful… Decided I should get it checked, but where?? Stopped at a medical clinic in Wisconsin and spoke to a nurse. She said to soak it in Epson salts. So thanks to Wendy’s and Starbucks for supplying the hot water, we had a little infirmary on the road. At night we wrapped it in charcoal.

Went through another new state—North Dakota. I had been to every state west of the Mississippi except this one, so that was fun. (My total number of states I have now seen is 47.) It is so flat though! But there are a lot of wetlands. It is neat. Speed limit—75 mph. Temperature slightly chilly at 65 degrees. The people here drive funny. I was ready to go straight through a green light and four cars turned left right in front of me as if they had the right of way. Good thing I stopped or there would have been a major accident. Later, I read the sign from the direction they came “Left turn yield on green.” I guess they don’t know how to read…


Got to the hotel and tried to start my computer. Dead… It freezes whenever I log on. Stressing out since none of my recent lesson plans have been backed up. I have a lot of files I need for school on Monday. I’ll figure it out in the morning.

Day 3
My finger looks and feels so much better. Another soak in Epson salts and another charcoal poultice. I’m turning black…

My computer was hijacked today!! Someone took it over—three times! I realized I needed to get some urgent care on my computer since there are no IT guys at the school and I really need my files for class on Monday. Besides since I can’t even log into my computer, I may be without a computer for months till I get it fixed and I just can’t afford that. So I called Microsoft tech support and spent four hours on the phone with them. The first guy helped me log back in (learned more about my systems configuration than I ever knew before!) and clean out all the spyware, adware, viruses, etc. He was so helpful. But after I finished with him, one particular virus that was logged in a windows system file was still there. So I was patched to another PC security guy who spent another two hours cleaning my computer some more. Craziness! I don’t know how I got all that junk, but I thank God that it is all off and my computer runs so well now! I am virus free!

Got off from the hotel around 2pm (had to stay at the hotel so the IT guys could access my computer through the internet, but it set us off so late in the day. Had an 11 hour drive in front of us, but dad set our reservations closer in so we didn’t have to drive so far…)

Yesterday I was telling mom how barren North Dakota and then she told me she had justs seen a commentary about a man who quit his teaching job to come back to his podunk little town in North Dakota and try to revive the dying town. He started making metal sculptures—some of the largest in the world. She couldn’t remember where in North Dakota they were. As we were traveling today, we passed on of the huge sculptures along the road and mom yelled out, “That’s one of those sculptures I was telling you about.” This man’s town was 15 miles off the interstate, so we took a side diversion to see them. They were so cool.



Got calls along the way from Adriana, Justin, and Joe. Oh, yes, and from Dr. Anonymous who called at 1:30 am his time while he was on call at the hospital. (He was paged while I was talking to him to check someone’s EKG so he had to run to see if his patient was ok. He called me back later to say the guy was fine…good thing or I would have felt terrible if someone had a heart attack while the doctor was talking to me in his on-call room!) Anyway, I am so thankful for all my friends who have called me along the way to say goodbye, see how I am doing as I travel, and wish me a great rest of the journey.

Day 4
Got off this morning in decent time. The first morning we have not had any major incidents. Good thing considering we have a thirteen hour day in front of us (because of all the craziness yesterday…) That should put us within two hours of the Canadian border. We are trying to get to the border with plenty of time tomorrow just in case I have trouble with my papers.

Traveled through the rest of North Dakota, then Montana, Idaho, and Washington. I think Shanuk really like the scenery today. She usually falls asleep in the back of the car, but today she was awake most of the day and just sat in the back seat looking around. I would have to agree it was very pretty.

Got to the hotel around 11:30. Exhausted.

To the border tomorrow…

Goin' Ridin'

Today was a first for me...Going motorcycle riding. Responding to my previous post that my car still has a drinking problem, a friend recommended a solution... get a motorcycle. He says they drink a lot less. Well, I haven't gone so far as to get a bike, but today I did go riding. It was my first experience and it was sooooo much fun! My friend Justin came down for the evening and took me riding so that I could see what it was like. I had a blast! So here are just a few photos that say I actually tried it!






























Oh, btw, for those who are wondering about my visa situation, it still hasn't come yet. So I haven't left for Canada yet like I had planned to on Monday. But I am not complaining. It gives me more time to spend with my wonderful family! I will treasure all the moments I can get!

I feel blessed...

On Wednesday of last week, I was traveling down to Berrien Springs Michigan to deliver a bag to a friend who was taking it to Canada with her. On the way down, my turn signal started smoking on me! (Whoever heard of that!) Yes, I know, I have an apostate car... it smokes and drinks. But thankfully I took it through a stop smoking program and that is fixed, but I am still struggling with its drinking problem...sigh. Anyway, while I was at the dealer, I asked them to give my car a physical (after all, I had to go through a medical exam in order to go to Canada so I figured my car may need it as well.) They came back with this list that included changing my left front wheel bearings, engine gasket, and fuel filter, and flushing the transmission fluid and coolant. They wanted to charge me an outrageous amount of money. I about choked when I saw how much they wanted me to pay. But God has blessed me with many friends in many different professions, one of them being a mechanic (he was also a professional figure skater in Russia. I guess those type make the best mechanics since they are quick on their toes and get the job done faster! :)...). So I called up my trusty friend and he said he could do it at a vastly reduced cost. I went to his shop today and he saved me almost $730! Even at 134,500 miles, he says my engine looks terrific, shows almost no signs of rust (which he says is remarkable for a Michigan car), and should last me a very long time. In addition to all the work he did, he gave me a free engine cleaning so now it looks spic and span. On the way home, my car ran great--more power and smoother shifting. It runs as well as it did 60,000 miles ago when I got it! I feel very blessed.

Here is the fine specimen of my engine and my mechanic friend Vladimir Levchenkov...






























Oh, btw, did you know that transmission fluid is pink? It is really quite beautiful. So for those of you guys who need to get in touch with your feminine side, just remember that your vehicle sports some lovely pink stuff!

Blessings and Friends!

This past weekend was an amazing one--full of many blessings and friends. I went down to Berrien Springs to visit one of my best friends Melanie. It was a spiritually charged weekend and a fun one as well. On Sabbath, my friend Reuben preached. His sermon touched on the fact that it is our God-given commission to make disciples. But in order to make disciples, it is important to know what a disciple is. What are the characteristics of a disciple? He then took us to John 13:35 that says we will know a disciple by one main characteristic--love for one another. That love consists of being willing to give and receive reproof and correction that is intended to build up another person and help them in their quest to be more like Jesus. The motto that we each should have when a person shares with us our faults is to say, "Thank you for caring enough to share." It may not always be easy to take, but if it means having a character more like Christ's than it is more than worth it!

After church we had a young people's potluck during which I found a little bat drowning in the toilet! Poor thing! He was more than grateful to be rescued. (To say the least, he shocked me a great deal. That is not what you expect to find in the toilet!) Then after visiting and singing to several individuals in the community, we went to the beach to have sundown worship. It was amazing!! I miss the beach so much. Here are a few pictures...


Melanie and I. Melanie is one of the most awesome friends you could ask for! Thanks for letting me spend the weekend with you!



There were some awesome dunes that you could jump from. Here Melanie and I are trying pair jumping. Kyle says that we are so good we are on our way to Beijing for the Olympics. I do think our landing needs a bit more work!











Crazy friends are the best. Do we win the prize for cheeziness?



I had no idea Melanie was making a funny face and she had no idea I was. Well, here is the result. Great minds think alike!



On my way down! Thankfully Reuben caught me.













This is how people from Tennessee wear their pants. Or maybe it is how they keep their neck warm. We are still trying to figure it out. Maybe Kyle can help us understand the mind of a Tennessean...











Kyle's prized catch--fillet of sole.









These next four pictures are the artistic talent of Melanie. I think they are awesome and wanted to share them...

Great Bear Tips!

Today I was doing some research on the internet to learn more about my new home in Lillooet British Columbia. I came across a website for the District of Lillooet British Columbia that has tons of information about its history, things to do, places to see, etc. One of the sections had pictures of wildlife that live in the area including mountain goats, big horn sheep, cougars, and of course, bears. I was especially amused by the caption under the picture of the bear.

Wear small bells to warn bears you're coming and carry pepper spray. Black Bears are in the area if you see 'scat' with berries and rabbit fur in it. Grizzly Bears are in the area if you see 'scat' that smells like pepper and has small bells in it.

Wow! That's one important informational tip! I will have to remember that when I get to Canada. I think I'd rather look out for the bells though considering I don't treasure the thought of sniffing bear 'scat'! I'll let you know if I come across any when I am up there.

Musings About Brussel Sprouts

I have been doing a lot of serious thinking today...about brussel sprouts. (Ok, please don't laugh. I have been submerged up to my eyeballs in Algebra 1 preparation for next school year so I needed something a little less "brainy" to think about!) So if you care to know my deepest thoughts about brussel sprouts, then read on...

I can vividly remember my childhood exposure to those little round green things that my mom tried to convince me were little cabbages. All her prodding and coaxing never convinced me of that fact. Granted, I liked cabbage, but those little “look-a-likes”? Ugh, I just despised them. But none the less, my mom always insisted I had to eat at least one or two every time she served them. (She said they were good for me. Hmmm. Do all good things have to taste that bad?) No matter what I drowned them in—salt, salad dressing, etc.—I could never escape that unique brussel sprout flavor. It permeated through everything.

Well that was during my childhood. Thankfully now, mom doesn’t make me eat them. But they still frequent the dinner table. Especially in the last four months or so, my mom and sister have been having major cravings for brussel sprouts. (I know, I am still in shock and disbelief.) From what they have told me, they eat them at least once or more a week. But thankfully I haven’t been living at home to experience this latest craze at the Osterman house. But just in the nine days I have been home, they have already appeared on the table twice. Well, today, was one of those days. I decided to be brave and actually see if my childhood dislike has somehow morphed into at least a tolerance for the little “cabbages.” I had some leftover Italian dressing in my salad bowl, and thought that maybe it would help to at least drown out that brussel sprout flavor and make it somewhat tolerable. After making sure they were well drenched, I bravely faced the taste test. The result? Even after all that dressing, that pungent flavor still screamed at me—“I am a brussel sprout. You can’t get rid of me no matter how hard you try!” As I choked down the rest of the sprout in my bowl, the text came to mind, “Can a leopard change his spots or a brussel sprout its flavor.” (quoted from the Textus Autumnus)

My sister chided me and said that I should congratulate that sprout for maintaining its true identity and not letting anything change what it really is deep down inside. Well, I guess from that point of view, I will just have to concede that once a brussel sprout always a brussel sprout and I will just have to refrain from eating them.

Whirlwind!

Life has been a whirlwind since I got back from Broadview Academy on June 7th. I left for Ann Arbor on the 8th for my friend's wedding. I was there till the 11th. I then spent two days in Troy visiting my Bible study contacts. I came home on the 13th to unpack, do laundry, and then repack to go to campmeeting on the 14th. We just got back Sunday night and I immediately started sorting through all my belongings trying to decide what I will be taking to Canada. In addition, I have been on the phone a lot with the principal at Fountainview Academy trying to work out next years course schedule, finalizing what classes I will be teaching, looking over all the course outlines, objectives, etc. of the classes I will be taking over from other teachers, reviewing the provincial requirements for the courses I will be teaching, and getting all the immigration stuff squared away. Whew! I think I could use a summer break in the midst of all of this!

But somehow, I have been able to snatch a few minutes to post some long overdue entries! So here is another one of my time at campmeeting.

It was a wonderful week and a half of spiritual upliftment, Christian fellowship, and challenging messages. I went to a series on the Old and New Covenants by Skip McCarty. It was a wonderful, insightful lecture that takes a look at this issue from a whole new perspective. Although I spent a great deal of time studying this topic when I was in Troy (since that seemed to be the big topic with a lot of my contacts), I liked the new insights I learned in these lectures. If you ever get the chance, pick up McCarty's book titled In Granite or Ingrained. You will enjoy the read!

I also ventured out on a limb this year at campmeeting. For years, Staci has tried to get me involved in some major public speaking endeavors, but for those of you who know me well, that has always frightened me. This year she couldn't be on the Sabbath School panel for campmeeting like she was last year. She asked me to fill her place. My first response, you have got to be kidding! But I promised to pray about it and ask God to give me the courage to do it if I felt he was leading that way. Well, I finally agreed to do it and God blessed so much! Of course I was so nervous at first but God was good. This is a picture of us on the panel before we got started. All the ones of us during the discussion were out of focus.















Both Sabbaths, we were blessed with some great company. The first Sabbath, Diana Santos, Kyle Allen, and Sedric Benson came over for lunch. And the last Sabbath, Kyle and Michael Goetz. It was all so much fun!















And no, it is not the traditional Adventist haystacks. We had Korean food instead!















btw, that is not a worm in Kyle's mouth!















Craziness!















Oh, thanks Michael for the grilling session! Hope your mind is at ease now!