3 More Days.

I should be studying for my Greek final. Strangely enough, the necessity to blog has suddenly taken precedence. Many people have finished exams and are on their way home. Then there are those of us who have exams right up until Saturday. We are only slightly bitter watching our friends jump on airplanes as we study our Greek textbooks. I think the fear of taking this final any sooner keeps us from being upset.

Something terrible happened the other day. The temperature actually hit -50 degrees Celsius. Which is about -58 Fahrenheit. This is cold even for Saskatchewan. There is nothing that can prepare an individual for this. Fortunately, it wasn't very windy. And it has since warmed up. Nothing feels cold anymore compared to that day.

Regrettably, there is nothing much else to report. School has been busy in these last weeks. But Christmas break is only a few days away and it couldn't come soon enough. I can't wait to be on that airplane reading my usual, overpriced Paste magazine with this semester behind me. Not that this was a bad semester. It's just time. It's time to study first.

Goodbye.

Monsters vs. Monotony.

In my mind its only been maybe a couple weeks since I last posted. In reality it's been over a month. Oops. Except I don't feel like I have a months worth of worthy stories to mention. Shame. Somewhere between this year and last year things got less exciting. I blame Saskatchewan. Or maybe it's my lack of creativity. Or maybe it's Greek. Hm. Well. K.

So, let me try to recap the highlights of this past month. Brace yourself for mediocrity. First off, our team lead worship for that mission conference I mentioned before. Which was a worthy endeavor that brought us a long way as a worship team. Second, I was able to join my good Kaleo friends (Jayme and Jordana) at Jayme's aunt and uncle's home in Regina for Thanksgiving. That was a good humored time. Third, I had the good fortune of attending a pretty sweet Halloween party with good people. We watched 'Monster Squad.' A prime 80's monster flick. And forth, swine flu has snuck its way on campus. So far there have only been a handful of confirmed cases. Nothing too crazy.

And that basically sums it up. Granted, it would be an unfair picture of reality without mentioning the very good people I am privileged to spend these days with. Life is far from monotonous. It's consistent. Relatively routined (which is a good thing). But not monotonous. Although, sometimes I count the dead flies caught in the fluorescent lights in the library with a guy named Rob. But that's a whole different problem.

Nostalgia.

I just finished snooping around this year's Kaleo blog. I was pleased to see Jim put up some pictures from their Mount Albert-Edward trip. Of course this got me thinking about last year this time when K6 was fresh and awkward. I'm feeling a little weighed down with nostalgia at the moment. I miss it. But, of course, I don't at the same time. Looking through those pictures made me realize that there is no other place that I'd rather be right now than here at Briercrest. Classic, I know. What can I say, this is a good place.

Homework is beginning to accumulate. It's getting heavy but not overwhelming. On the surface I'm tired. And that fatigue scratches the surface a little. But down deep I'm still steady. I have good music, good coffee, good friends and good napping abilities. I'm blessed and ready to keep moving.

Keith (who is the head over the worship teams) has asked our worship team to lead the music for a mission conference that's taking place this weekend. We're all pretty excited for this opportunity. It's going to be a busy week. Everyday from tomorrow until Sunday we will either be practicing or leading. It's going to be an interesting juggling act with homework but nothing excessive. I'm looking forward to it.

I should get back to my reading.

Goodbye.

Soup.

Just a bit ago I posted on twitter that yesterday was the middle of summer and today is the last day of fall. (I still don't know why I use twitter but that's beside the point. Maybe I'll blog about it someday. Ha.) K, so the point is, it's suddenly cold. And the wind is rude. It hits you fast and hard, without mercy. It's extremely indecent and I'm feeling exceptionally indignant towards it right now. But I'll let that go for now because I have better things to talk about.

For example, there's a handful of people who open up their homes after the Sunday service for people to come fellowship on a smaller scale. Generally, there is food and hearty conversation - often relating to that morning's sermon. You see, I went to one of these homes today and I'm excited to make this routine. It was a very nice home. With old chairs and fun pictures. And a kitchen with soup. Dorm life is great and all. But homes are liberating.

Worship practice has begun. We're scheduled to lead this Thursday's chapel. I'm happy to be a part of this.

Other than that, classes are good. People are better. Homework is heavy. And naps in the library, though often unintentional, are becoming my new best friend. And this is all the news I have.

Goodbye.

Settled And Moving Forward.

This post is maybe a little overdue. I've now spent a week here at school and today was finally the first day of classes. I say finally because I'm not sure if I could have handled any more orientation/registration/exasperation mumbo jumbo. It really wasn't that bad... In fact it's been awesome getting to know so many new people. Plus, there are quite a few people here that I've been acquainted with through Kaleo and Camp Qwanoes and I'm finally able to truly get to know them.

Part of this past week was spent auditioning for the various extracurricular activities (ie sports, choirs, worship teams, etc). I considered trying out for one of the worship teams but quickly pushed it aside. There are many music and worship majors that would surely be auditioning for these roles and as a theology major it didn't seem like my place. However, after a few people started pushing me to try (and a sudden burden to audition the day of), I went for it. I was really nervous auditioning among such amazing talent. And if I was in charge of choosing people for the worship teams I surely would not have chosen myself. However, for some reason God put me on one of the teams. I still feel highly inadequate to be a part of this team as well as very blessed. We'll see how it goes.

In other news, today was the first day of greek. And tomorrow is our first quiz. This is a prime example of what greek will be like for the next two years. Shame.

It's getting late and I should really start making the trek back to my dorm. It's quite a trek from "the point" (a gas station connected to a subway connected to a coffee shop down by the highway). "The point" is a common gathering place for everyone. It's a good place.

That's all for now.

Goodbye.

Toast.

Of course, I haven't done much in the area of blogging over the summer. Apologies. However, I will do my best throughout the coming school year to deliver the occasional update. Regrettably, there won't be any stories of climbing mountains or sailing the seas, but I'll do my best to keep you up to date on whatever my life may consist of in the middle of nowhere Saskatchewan.

And we begin:

I've spent the past three days in Winnipeg visiting the incredible Tom Bietz, my good friend and old roommate. Of course, in the company of Tom, there has been much to do. The days have yielded downtown explorations on bicycles, ultimate frisbee with strangers, indoor climbing, golfing and other various pursuits. Also, it would be a great injustice not to mention the amazing cuisine of Mrs. Bietz. Most important though, were the conversations and prayers Tom and I have been able to have. I've missed this guy. Such a visit could only have been orchestrated by a loving and gracious God.


In other news, I'm leaving Winnipeg tonight on the next Greyhound outta here. I'm embarking on, what can only be described as, an unfortunate 1o hour bus ride to Saskatchewan. There is nothing pleasing about this situation. Except that, of course, I will finally arrive at Briercrest. I'm excited for this year. In all honesty, I'm a little scared of some of my classes (i.e. greek). However, I'm confident in God's leading in this and in that I find comfort. So here I go again - back to another year in Canada.

So, here's a toast to another year in this familiarly foreign land.

Goodbye.

A Word On India

Now I face the daunting task of expressing in words the enormity and complexity of two and a half weeks in India. Granted, it could be worse. It could be two and a half years. Although, I feel at that point people are not so much interested in detail as they are in the main chunks of God’s work and the nuggets of truth that were gathered along the way. I’m beginning to think that may be a worthy approach in this case as well. Or possibly I should seek out some kind of balance between detail, God’s work and acquired truths. (I hate the word balance. Or at least what people have done to it. But that’s a whole different topic.) All of that aside, I should tell you a little something about my time in India.

It began with ridiculous amounts of travel. Honestly, I have never traveled such a distance in my life. It went something like this: Van, ferry, van, (sleep in Vancouver), van, plane, (sleep in Japan), plane, bus, (sleep in New Delhi), train, bus, taxi (sleep in Mussoorie), taxi, bus, (sleep in some village), bus, jeep until the road ends. This is where the trekking began. On average we trekked about 10 kilometers a day. Which normally wouldn’t be so grueling except that we were hiking up the foothills of the Himalayas. Do not be fooled by the word foothills. We reached an 11,000-foot altitude before it was all over. Not that I am complaining in any way. There were some difficult moments, but it was in our weakest moments when we were able to find God’s strength and realize the necessity of not going into this with our own power. It was spectacularly beautiful - both visually and spiritually.

The main idea for the trek was to stop and stay in villages along the way. We were able to meet people, play with kids, hear stories, and develop and understanding of how these people live. It’s incredible to see the joy that can spread through a village through a simple game of ‘duck duck goose’ with the kids. The kids love to play and the parents love to watch. Christ’s love was so evident in our group. It resonated through our presence and spread contagiously. Simply being a light in a dark place was the greatest example of Christ to these people. It was not our place to verbally share Christ with the villagers. Our goal was merely to reflect Christ’s love and to pray for the people. However, there was a Christian, Indian man that came with us on the trek. Being Indian made it culturally acceptable for him to share Christ more openly with the people. At one point in the trip this man was able to talk openly about Christ to a family that we were staying with. This whole family gave their lives to Christ. This was the first family in that village to come to Christ. The husband/father of the family made the comment that if he could gain a better understanding of his new faith then maybe he could start telling others about God too. Beautiful. The most effective way to spread the Gospel in these villages is from the inside out rather than relying on others to come and share. This is an incredible answer to prayer.

I wish I had the time to share the many stories of incredible faith that we were able to hear. Faith that allowed stories of God’s miraculous protection, stories of people being healed, stories of God’s incredible power over evil spirits, stories of visions, stories of God reaching down into a broken and desperate place and with a stroke of grace bringing people to Himself. I honestly wouldn’t even know how to begin to tell those stories. The work that God is doing in India is absolutely staggering. It forced me to consider why I have not believed in this God before. My whole life I’ve believed in a limited God. I knew on paper that my God was all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-present. But in reality I did my best to keep him feasibly contained. I lived easily and the last thing I needed was an unexplainable God. Knowledge requires reciprocating action that reflects the knowledge. I wasn’t ready for that kind of knowledge. Moreover, I wasn’t ready for that kind of action. I wasn’t ready for that kind of faith. This trip has forced a reality of God upon me that is much greater than I know what to do with. I’m humbled. I’m a little scared. I’m a little excited. Curiosity is making me wonder, “What if I really surrender?”

India - Leaving

The time has come. Tomorrow we begin our travels to India. There has been a lot of time and energy invested into preparing for this trip and now it's go time. I think I'm ready. It's difficult to say what thoughts are running through my head. I don't think the full reality of this trip will set in until our layover in Japan. I'm used to buses and ferries and planes. But Japan. That's a reality check. Time will tell. And I will tell you about the time as soon as I get back. But for now I need to get some sleep.

Please continue to pray for us during our time in India. Pray that God will give us peace and strength in the midst of such a dark and suppressed area. Pray that our presence, prayers, and actions will be effective in spreading Christ's love. Pray that God will guide us in our every move and prayer. Pray for safety. Christianity is simply not an option and in this area. Also, we will be trekking many mountainous miles everyday. Pray for physical safety, strength, endurance, and health. One of the guys (Tom) is still recovering from having a broken ankle. Pray that God will carry him through. Thanks for your support. I need sleep.

Goodbye.

Judy

Recently I've discovered a renewed appreciation for Judy. Judy is the name that we've given my parent's minivan that was so generously lent to me for the year. I wouldn't go as far as to say that I was beginning to take her for granted. Her usefulness is displayed every week in a very tangible way, which makes it difficult to ignore the blessing that she is. However, today I was thinking a little more about her than normal. Judy brings me to church every Sunday as well as a whole van full of Capernwray students that I pick up on the way. Judy takes a bunch of us on Slurpee and Wendy's runs on a weekly basis. (Ok, so maybe a biweekly basis.) Judy allows us to make Walmart runs to pick up birthday cakes so we can have midnight birthday parties for people. Judy enables people to hurry up and mail that letter really quick before the post office closes! Judy takes us on adventures to Victoria, Nanaimo, Salt Spring Island and many other fantastic places. Today I was leaving for church and I saw a couple people walking down the road towards camp. I was able to pick them up and bring them back to camp quick so they wouldn't have to walk in the rain. This actually happened twice today and is the reason for my renewed appreciation for Judy. She's been good to us. Could we have gotten by without Judy? For sure. But by no means would this year have been the same without her. So, thank you Mom and Dad for letting me bring Judy. All of us thank you.

I mentioned that Judy gave us the means to venture over to Salt Spring Island. This week we've been on reading break which means that a lot of people have either gone home or t0 Youth Quake (a youth conference at Briercrest). However, there are about ten or twelve of us that chose to stay here for the break. So yesterday those of us still here decided to take the ferry over to Salt Spring Island, which is just across the water from camp. It was such a good day of hikes and picnics and frisbee and random drives through beautiful places. Part of the goal was to find and drive up Mount Maxwell because apparently it's a worthy effort. We never actually found Mount Maxwell, but we saw a lot of cool things and places along the way. We even saw yaks. I would live on that island in a second.

There is good news in regards to India. Jim was having trouble getting visas for Ben and I (the two Americans). It wasn't that our applications were being rejected but rather it was a back and forth game of where to even send them to begin with. Anyway, in the end we received our visas. This is very good news. Also, that same day I heard word from my church at home that they will be able to support me around 1/3 of the cost of the trip. That is huge. I'm still needing to raise a fair bit and I only have a couple weeks to do it. But God has been faithful thus far and I don't doubt that He will provide.

I also mentioned before that this is reading break. However, it involves more reading than break. We have a couple major assignments due at the end of the week as well as a load of pre-course work for our Gospels class coming up. So, that is what I will be doing for the next three days. Starting now.

Goodbye.

Room Dates And Updates

Yesterday was, of course, Valentines Day. So, it was appropriate that myself and my roommates went on a room date with one of the girls rooms. The first stop was Value Village in Nanaimo. (Value Village is kind of like Salvation Army.) We were on a mission for bowling shirts, and after some minimal compromising we left satisfied. Next, in our new attire, we went to Fast Eddies for burgers and milkshakes. Quality. We ended the night with a game of five pin bowling. The funny thing was that two of the girls have casts on their wrists from snowboarding injuries, and one guy has a cast on his ankle from a piggy-back ride gone wrong. So the rest of us decided to bowl left handed to compensate. All-in-all, it was a solid night. Also, while we were away on our date, one of the girls (Shannon) got engaged back at camp. That was awesome news.

The other day Dan and I met with the rest of our church's worship team to learn some new songs from each other. It was kind of a strange and mildly productive evening. Granted, it was cool to pay some attention, as a group, to the worship ministry outside of the Sunday morning routine. There is enough talent, equipment, and space in this church to have a full band every Sunday. But there is no one making the effort to make that happen. Whenever I lead I make sure to utilize the available resources to show them the possibilities. Yet it fails to catch on. It's not that I think a full band is necessary in order for the church to function properly. I just see a lot of gifted people simply showing up because it's Sunday. These people need to be motivated to get involved and stayed involved. I don't think it is my place to be the one to do that. Even though sometimes I do.

India training is coming along. We hiked up the same trail today with the waterfall. It never fails to be beautiful. We leave for India in just over three weeks. I don't even know what to think about that. I know a lot of people, including myself, are still trying to raise all of the money. Fund raising is a rather daunting task, but it's cool to see how God is providing. It's encouraging. Yesterday we went to the little blue clinic in Duncan to get all the shots we needed for India. My previous immunization records was this foreign looking list of jumbled letters. I had to go online to try and translate it in order to figure out what shots I still needed. Hopefully it was a reliable website. Too late now, the juices are already in my blood.

Time to read.

Goodbye.

Time

Every now and then, in preparation for India, we hike up one of the nearby mountains. It's not a very large mountain; it can be conquered in under an hour easily. However, we took a different route yesterday that brought us to a bridge (downed tree) that overlooked an amazing, little waterfall. It was in the midst of big trees, mossy rocks and a ground covering of ferns. It's difficult to convey the scene. Paul, my roommate, snapped a couple pictures, but it was getting dark and the pictures don't quite tell the whole story. Even with the best of pictures, I wouldn't be able to show you how beautiful this place is. Not a day goes by where I'm not stopped in my tracks by another beautiful spectacle. I get a sinking feeling when I think how I only have two more months here.

The reality of that two month time frame has really been slapping me in the face lately. At church today someone made a joke poking fun at me, and I realized that those relationships are just now getting to the point where we can do that kind of thing. It's taken a ridiculous amount of time to get to this point. There are some people and groups where that kind of relationship can be achieved in the first five minutes - yet there are others, like at church, that take months. This church is a hard one to crack, and as soon as I'm beginning to feel integrated it's almost time to leave. There's a part of me that is really down about this, but I think it would be foolish to get down and out. I need to get in and get busy. I just wish I knew what to do.

I'm looking forward to the next couple weeks. I think it's going to be significantly slower placed than the 'rush' that has become the norm. Granted, we have a whole heap of homework and major assignments that need to be finished, but that's not so bad. The point is, we don't have any major trips or classes taking place. You know you're too busy when thought of homework becomes exciting - merely for the pleasure of being in one spot for an extended period of time. Although, knowing me, the joy of being still will wear off in about two days and I'll be itching to do something else. I'm sure I'll figure something out.

We have a fairly significant test tomorrow for Old Testament Lit. that I need to study for. I think I need a nap first.

Goodbye.

An Evening Between Headphones

It's been way too long since I've just sat with headphones and cranked music. (I am currently sitting with headphones and cranking music.) I used to spend a lot more time with music. Listening to it, playing it, writing it. Since I've been here, music has taken a back seat ride. I think there are a lot of reasons for that. One, my ipod died. Two, my old computer went crazy on me and it made it difficult to listen to music. Three, my entire itunes library disappeared from existence early last semester, also making it very difficult to listen to music. Four, I felt a need to spend time with people and not be consumed by distractions. I think God did me a favor by creating those obstacles this year. It would be rather regrettable to be a part of this kind of community and waste it between a pair of headphones. Of course, music is not completely removed from me. I am doing a fair bit of worship leading. But for some reason there is a difference in musics between worship and music that I enjoy. That sounds harsh, as if I don't enjoy worship music, which is not true. Leading worship and singing songs to worship God is beautiful and something that I never want to undermine or relinquish. It's wonderful and necessary. Some might find it appropriate to attempt to combine worship and the music that I enjoy. Maybe those two could meet in some beautiful harmony. Maybe. That might be great. I haven't really given that a whole lot of attention. Right now I just miss they way music used to fit in my life before this year. Having said that, I in no way regret the distance I have had from it for this time.

This past weekend we all went over to Vancouver for a thing called Missions Fest. It's an annual event that has numerous seminars all related in some way to missions. Also there were loads of booths from all kinds of mission organizations, colleges, and other ministry groups. It was encouraging to talk with people who are devoted to serving God in such a wide variety of ways. There were quite a few people from Kaleo that were impacted in a pretty cool ways through this trip. It brought focus and direction to many people as well as opened doors to a whole slew of ministries to potentially be involved with. If I'm honest though, I didn't have any immediate/significant things happen to me personally - outside of a honest joy I found for other people who were being impacted. I was really happy to see that.

Recently I've been thinking about going to Briercrest to finish my degree. (Briercrest is the college that Kaleo is associated with.) Prior to the past couple weeks, the idea of going to Briercrest never even entered my mind in a remotely probable way. It's a small, Christian college in nowhere Saskatchewan. There is nothing attractive about this school, and suddenly I can't get it out of my head. I really enjoy traveling to new places, but this is honestly one of the last places I would choose to go. Granted, I've been living in one of the most beautiful places in North America for the better part of a year. So, maybe I need a little Saskatchewan to balance things out. Of course, nothing is for sure. This is simply where I'm headed unless God redirects.

Today there was a mouse in the lodge. We managed to corner him and eventually capture him under a metal container. Then somehow we managed to transfer him to a larger container where we could watch him run. Eventually the tree hugging BC people made us let him go. Just kidding... no I'm not. This took up at least twenty minutes of the day.

This week has been franticly busy with class, group projects, homework, and everyday life. However, tonight is one of those nights that I decided I can ignore the rush. So I should really get back to that. It's turning out to be a beautiful evening between headphones.

Goodbye.

Birds

Today I spent twenty minutes staring at a bird. It all began when I went to fulfill my duties in the prayer room. We had 24/4 days of prayer this week. Which means we all had certain scheduled moments when we needed to be in a specified room praying. Anyway, during one of my prayer times there happened to be a bald eagle sitting in a tree outside the window. I watched him for a solid twenty minutes before he flew away. I used to make fun of my parents for watching birds. I am not an old man.

I was asked to lead worship at church this past Sunday. It went well except for the fact that they didn't know very many of the songs. I figured there would be a couple new ones, but I largely underestimated this churches awareness of common worship songs. Granted, they sing songs on a weekly basis that I have never heard of as well. It's like a whole different country or something... Anyway, after the service the other members on the worship team asked to play over a few of the new songs again because they really appreciated them. They were excited to have new songs added to the mix.

Also, this past Thursday Dan and I were able to have dinner at our pastor's house. It was nice to have relaxing conversation with him and his wife away from the church setting (not to mention the amazing food and hot tub). We hope to make this more of a regular occurrence. It was good to gain a new perspective on him in this way.

I'm not sure if I've mentioned anything about our training for India or not. Well, we started training for India. Almost every other day we are doing some kind of workout. Some days we do strength training and other days we do cardio work such as running, stairs or hiking. It has been good not only physically, but it's such a great instrument in preparing and uniting the group as a team. I'm looking forward to this trip more and more.

In addition to our workouts, we have a ridiculous amount of things to do. Our schedules are beginning to overflow. And somewhere in the middle of it all is homework. Lots of homework. Which is what I need to be doing right now.

Goodbye.

Sunshine And Snowboards

Today was sunny. This may not seem like a big deal, but let me explain. Here in the northwest there is a little thing called drizzle. It happens every day and every night for the whole winter. However, every now and then the sun seems to have its way for a time. Sometimes it lasts a whole day and sometimes it lasts 10 minutes. It really doesn't matter how long it lasts. The point is, it happens. And it's those small glimpses of sunshine that pull us through the next stretch of drizzle. I'll leave you to your own analogies.

Today was also my second week back to the Alliance church. It was a fairly standard Sunday morning experience. I'm still praying for something to spark in that place. It continues to continue like it has always continued. I wish it would move. I'm trying to figure out how I can be more effective in that place. I'm scheduled to lead worship next Sunday. I'm looking forward to that.

This past week was spent on a mountain of snow and hot tubs. We snowboarded by day and chilled in a gigantic chalet by night. I had never snowboarded previous to this trip, but after a quick lesson and a ridiculous amount of wipe-outs, I'm feeling relatively comfortable with it. The last day I was able to go to the very top of the mountain and ride down without much pain. It was so beautiful to be up there above the clouds, surrounded by mountains. The view is impossible to explain. Unfortunately, the trip managed to give one girl a concussion, break two of the girl's wrists and leave 11 stitches in one guy's finger. However, the injured are all in good spirits.

Now it is time to finish as much as homework as possible before I pass out. This is basically what tomorrow will look like as well. Tuesday we have a class and much needs to be accomplished before then. So here is the end.

Goodbye.

Water Bottles

Home was home and christmas was christmas. I suppose when it comes down to it, most people would prefer it that way. And in many ways I'm no exception. It's good to come home to family and experience tradition and all the comfort of christmas. I have far too many friends who went home to anything but a comfortable christmas. And sure as life goes on I will probably be in their position at some point. So I will cherish my comfortable christmases.

And now I'm back. And I love it here.

Before I go any further I want to share the story of my travels back to the island.

When I arrived at the chicago airport I was greeted by an overwhelming crowd of frantic travelers waiting in the most ridiculous check-in line. It was obvious that if I had waited in that line I would not have made my flight. As I made this mental connection I simultaneously turned my thoughts into a prayer. Immediately a man walked out of the crowd and told me to go to curb side check-in. I was through in twenty minutes. Thanks man. After standing in the security line for the better part of an hour I managed to make it to my plane just as it was boarding. This was good news.

On the plane I began talking with the person next to me who turned out to be a christian military man. He found exceptional interest in the fact that I was in bible school and offered to buy me breakfast. He said that he doesn't get to talk to very many christians at the base and he would really enjoy buying me breakfast. I couldn't say no. What he didn't know was that I was traveling on a really tight budget and meals were pretty low on my list of priorities. Breakfast was a fantastic gift.

Later that day I had to take a four hour bus ride from the Seattle airport to Port Angeles, Washington. At one point on the trip we had to take a short 20 minute ferry ride on which we were able to stretch our legs or get some food if need be. It had been some time since I had eaten that breakfast so I decided to work a hot dog into the budget. I debated buying a bottle of water but in the end decided against it. Then, when I boarded my bus, the driver reached into his little cooler and offered me a bottle of water. I was a bit shocked. I must have given him the most out of place look. As if he had just handed me a hundred dollars out of the blue. I accepted the water.

After arriving in Port Angeles, I had to find a hotel because the ferry to the island only runs a couple times a day and the last ferry had been hours ago. I was completely expecting this, just like I was expecting to stay in a nearby hostel for 13 dollars. However, when I called to reserve a spot I couldn't get anyone to answer a phone so I didn't want to walk the extra distance without a guarantee of having a place to sleep when I got there. So, I decided to hit up a hotel near the ferry. After carrying my luggage up a long and painful flight of stairs, I entered a hotel only find that it was far too expensive for my wallet. When I started walking away the woman at the desk decided to take pity on me and asked me why I was in town. After a small chat she offered me a room for 38 dollars which was almost half of the original amount. I figured it was as good as I was going to get within any reasonable walking distance, and this was a very kind woman - so I accepted. Then she offered me a bottle of water. Suddenly, I found myself staring at her like a bus driver. She was confused but that's ok. I accepted the water.

That night I had dinner in a nearby diner. I had a cheeseburger and tater-tots. It was the best meal I've had in a long time. After dinner I stopped at a bookstore for a while before going back to the hotel. It was a nice place to spend time. Then I sat in my hotel room feeling exceptionally blessed. It was good day.

The next morning the woman at the hotel offered me another bottle of water as I was leaving for the ferry. She was probably testing my reaction. I just smiled this time. And accepted the water.

The ferry to the island was pretty standard. I think I took a nap. It was good to be greeted by friends on the other side. My memory of the bus ride back to camp is vivid and for some reason I feel like it will stay that way. Which is strange because it wasn't all that eventful. However, I really missed these people and it was good to see them again. Maybe that's why I will remember that bus ride.

I arrived at camp with exactly three dollars. God provided. And he kept me well hydrated in light of my cold. I'm so happy to be back.

--the end--

This blog has gone on long enough. That story took a while. I will stop now. Tomorrow we leave for Mount Washington to go skiing/snowboarding. We're spending five days in a chalet. The chalet has three hot tubs. This has potential to be incredible. It also has potential to kill me. I do not snowboard. I am apprehensive.

goodbye.