Exactly one year ago today we left the Philippines with sad hearts. We knew we were doing the right thing, but it still was hard to leave the country we had grown to love and our many special friends we had made over the years. I think we left part of our hearts there. The following 12 months brought lots of variety into our lives though.
Here is just a bird’s eye view -
February 22, 2008 - flew to England and were with Craig, Claire and Ellie for a few days waiting for Rebekah’s arrival. That precious little doll sure was worth waiting for!!
March - went up to North Cotes by train to meet the container with our belongings from the Philippines - unpacked as much as we could in our 3 day stay - flew to the Faroe Islands.
April - we are thankful we were able to be with Ragnar’s parents as they celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary. What a milestone! We also squeezed in many meetings and lots of visits with friends and supporters.
May - back to England for a few days in Birmingham, a few days in our new home to unpack a little more, and then flew to Canada where we met our newest granddaughter, Selah Irene. What a precious gem!
June - spent some time in Manitoba with friends from our Boot Camp days, the Philippines and supporters. We are also thankful for lots of special times with Ryan, Kara, Noah and Selah.
July - drove to Nova Scotia where we visited lots of friends, family and supporting churches. It had been 6 years since our last visit in N.S., so we had lots of catching up to do. Here I am with two of my mom’s sisters.
August - cleaned out our belongings in our home in Stewiacke in-between various trips around the province and P.E.I. It is amazing the things we found - some things were hard to part with while others made us wonder why we had even packed them back in 2000.
September - drove back up to Ontario - more time with grandchildren, visits with friends and our NTM Headquarters. Had a reunion with 2 friends from Bible School days.
October - My sister, Luella, and I had a couple days together in Ottawa - my first time there. Celebrated Ryan’s 30th birthday with his family (this is taken at the Toronto Zoo) and then flew back across the ocean.
November - got settled in our new home, and began the process of learning our new jobs, which included a trip to Spain and Pre-Field Orientation meetings with new candidates. (Our living room.)
December - life started to take on a routine - going to the office each morning while continuing to get to know our neighbours, coworkers and students on the campus. (Our office building.)
January - two wonderful weeks with our sons and their families - lots of joy, excitement, fun, entertainment and noise which comes with 10 people in one house - 4 of them being under 3 years old.
February 22, 2009 - the year literally flew by - we are thankful for each day and the journey the Lord had us on, but now we are very happy to be settled once again - Lord willing for quite some time.
1 comment:
So it's been one year since we bid you a tearful good-bye on this end... It was fun to get a little glimpse of how full your year has been, and I'm sure this coming year will find you staying just as busy. :-) Loved the pictures! We miss you!
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