The latest and greatest

Okay as you may have started to realize, no information on me could be quite complete without a picture of the latest developement of facial hair. This one lasted for all of about 1 hour. I was going for the Wolverine look (and if you don't know who he is then I seriously doubt that we can be friends, ha ha) but I quickly realized that without the hair on top of the head, I looked more Amish than Wolverine-ish. But as always, the chops were sure fun to grow!

Anyways, I am looking more or less respectable now. The biggest reason that I am writing this right now is not so much that I feel that I have lots to share, just am bored and can't fall asleep right now so thought I would give a quick update (who am I kidding, nothing I write is ever quick) on what's been going on lately. I have just come back from 5 weeks of work in Vancouver. It was actually really cool because I got to stay in a super nice hotel and I got to fly back and forth every week and I got to eat lots of good food. The best part was that I got to catch up with some of my long time friends like Les and Corina and Kim and Duane and Justin and Joanna. I put in a lot of hours that month which was a huge provision from God in itself because I really needed to make up some time after hardly working at all during the month of May. So I got back on track to save up enough money to go to New Zealand. I leave in two months exactly today. Crazy to think about because I haven't actually thought about it too much. I am nervous a way and anxious and excited. A huge range of emotions. Mostly I am thankful that I will have a chance to go back to New Zealand and serve in a place where I had such an amazing experience before. To be back with many of my friends also will be a huge blessing. And to be again in a place where I can totally focus on my relationship with my Creator and Saviour is the best thing. To see Him work in the people around me and to just worship Him and soak in His presence is so so good. But being away for this last month has also made me realize how much I love Fernie. There are so many things that I love about this place. I have such a great group of friends that are so supportive. I have some of my real family here (my awesome sister Fern) and others that are relatively close (Ben and Cheyanne in Calgary). I also have a great spiritual family that has been so supportive and encouraging to me in many different ways. I have grown so much closer to God as a consequence of being a part of the church that I am a part of here. And SFC (Snowboarders For Christ) was a huge part of triggering that as well. To be involved with that in some way and to sow back into that is a huge blessing. And the scenery and the activities that I can be involved in just by living here.... From a truly selfish perspective you could keep yourself occupied for the rest of your life doing things that bring pleasure. Fishing, hiking, biking, tubing down the river, rafting, hunting, golfing, baseball, skateboarding, snowboarding... the list of outdoor type activities is endless. I really love this place and to imagine that I can live here and support myself and still have time to enjoy all this is almost too much at times. And I take if for granted way too much. Anyway Fernie has grown on me. I personally think it is the most beautiful place on earth. Heaven has got to look something like this place. That's probably a big portion of the latest and greatest that has been happening to me in the last few months. God is good and I keep learning that more and more every day. So all thanks and praise to Him!