One Year To-day

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.

Birthday Month

In February we have 5 birthdays in the Niclasen family.

 From the 12th to the 27th, Kara, Noah, Craig, Ellie and Rebekah all change their age.

Ryan and Kara on her special day. Noah is 3 now.

This past week-end we went down to Birmingham to be with Craig on his birthday. Saturday afternoon and evening Ragnar was Craig’s assistant in putting up tiles on their kitchen wall.

Claire made yummy pizzas and a Caesar salad for this special occasion.

Some of their friends came over for dinner and evening.

Claire’s parents joined us for lunch after church on the actual day.

Good Bye Betsy

While we were living at our flight center in the Philippines, one of the young ladies from that village whom we had gotten to know quite well, was offered the opportunity to attend the NTM training in England.

What excitement - what a huge step - to travel all the way from Manila to London all by herself, making her way into a new language and culture. She felt that God was opening the door for her, and she was ready to go.

I remember having a farewell party for her the night before she left. Lots of friends and neighbours from that area came up on the hill to help us give Betsy a good sending off.

Betsy was in the Biblical training course here in North Cotes, while Craig and Claire were in the Missions Training Course. They shared graduation night - the same evening we saw Craig and Claire receive their certificate for Missions Training, Betsy graduated from Bible School.

After she finished her education here, she stayed on to cook in the kitchen for 1½ years. Now the time has come for her to return to her homeland. Another farewell party - on the other end.

Friends and coworkers gathered to say their farewells to one they have grown to love. We miss her - not only a good friend, but our connection with the Philippines, our opportunity to keep up our Filipino languages. We know God has work for her to do back in her homeland though and we want the best for her too - God’s plan.

Everyone signed an apron for Betsy - while she is cooking in the Philippines she will be reminded of her friends here in England.

Week End in Birmingham

We just had another great week-end in Birmingham. In January, Ryan enjoyed helping Craig with their kitchen renovations. This past week-end Ragnar had the joy of helping to paint the newly plastered walls. Their new kitchen is lovely - they have waited a long time for this, but I trust worth it.

We always enjoy going to church with Craig and Claire. We have gotten to know quite a few people there now. This time Rocky enjoyed talking with a missionary with SIL. Claire’s parents, Doug and Hilary Jefferies invited us for Sunday dinner. She always makes sure we are well fed. The last time we saw them was at Ryan and Kara’s house in Niagara Falls last summer.

Both sets of grandparents with Ellie and Rebekah.

Just the ‘girls’.

Ellie will be 3 later this month.

Rebekah will have her first birthday later this month.

Birthday Surprise

When I found out yesterday that Ragnar had invited all of the staff to join us for coffee last night, to help me celebrate my 55th birthday, I quickly got some snacks ready to go along with the coffee. I had been in the office all morning, and gone into town in the afternoon for a hair appointment, so no time for last minute home made cakes and cookies this time. Bring out the Doritos, veggies and cheese & crackers.

Ragnar sheepishly admitted to me that ‘the secret’ was to save me from spending lots of time getting ready for it - just let them come and enjoy some fellowship together.

So I was blessed with my 2nd birthday celebration - lots of friends and neighbours dropped by and we enjoyed a great evening together.

Friends made their way to our Noel table. Any more guesses on how the table got its name?

Generous gifts added to the fun.

To top the day off and to make it complete - I received phone calls from our family in Canada and Birmingham. Thanks to all of you for helping to make this old lady’s special day superb.

Family Fun

With two of the sweetest couples in the world, and 4 precious grandchildren in our home, the second week continued to bring us lots of joy and excitement!

Noah and Ellie enjoyed lots of activities at the "Noel" table. Can you guess where the table got its name??? A fun spot for eating breakfast together.

Coffee break - or was that hot chocolate?

Game of crock - they didn’t have much trouble keeping themselves entertained.

Our British daughter made us all a typical English breakfast - yummy, yummy, but no room for lunch.

Puzzles for all ages.

Feeding peanuts to the chipmunks at the zoo.

Lots of fun at the Indoor Playground.

Then on to McDonalds

All 4 grandkids at once and loving every second of it.

Noah loved this little detailed book. Only problem was that it was written in German.

The slide in our backyard came with our house.

Noah and Ellie enjoyed lots of time on that,

after our daily 'peanut and raisin picnic' with "Omma" in the shed.

Out for a cup of tea with my two special daughters.

One afternoon they surprised me with an early birthday party. Kara cooked my favorite meal - chicken curry. I think it was the best curry I have ever had!!

Sometimes the side benefits of getting older are worth it.

Claire made a yummy meringue birthday cake.

Then Kara presented me with a drawing of Selah when she was only a few days old. I love it, and it is super special knowing all the time that she spent on it.

Their last night with us.

We miss them - the house is so quiet - Omma’s arms are empty.
Yet we try to focus on the wonderful blessing we had of being together for a fun packed two week special. Thank you Lord!!