Happy 40th Anniversary Week!

Henri Nouwen said that "Celebration is not just a way to make people feel good for a while; it is the way in which faith in the God of life is lived out; through both laughter and tears. Thus celebration goes beyond ritual, custom and tradition. it is the unceasing affirmation that underneath all the ups and downs of life there flows a solid current of joy."

This past week we have had a meal in our motorhome, Sylvia, to remember some past happy times camping. Sunday we had a fun canoe ride on Porter's Lake After a breakfast at Lisa and Mike's we were directed to a new-to-us hiking zone. They also sent us a wonderful picnic lunch. Taylor Head Provincial Park--all in one afternoon we experienced brilliant sunshine, fog, rugged coast line, forest, beach. It was exhilarating. So many breathtaking scenes. Also you will note a picture of Lou doing what is common for him every time we are out and about--cleaning up the world, one beach at a time!

To end the day after we arrived home, and a mystery anniversary chocolate cake was sitting on our counter. Delicious!!

We are so thankful for our family and the goodness of God!

Houses of Newfoundland

' These houses are situated on a busy street in St. John's. We loved to watch for boldness in colours and style. And there is much to observe. Is this a measuring stick to the personalities, characters of the people? A few days ago I read an article in Saltscapes, by a professor at a Halifax university stating that Atlantic people are the most content and happy in Canada.

This land is your land, this land is my land...

Because it is our fortieth wedding anniversary and because we live in the province next to Newfoundland but have never laid eyes upon that great land and because our friends from the West Coast, Jerry and Lisa Reimer were visiting their daughter in Holyrood, Lou and I decided to take abit of an adventure trip to Newfoundland.

After a five hour journey from East Lawrencetown, we arrived in North Sydney, N.S. where we boarded the ferry in the picture.

The ferry ride is approximately six to seven hours long. The spot in the middle of this picture is a humpback whale. There were many whales enjoying the sunshine that day.

Jerry and Lisa are proud grandparents to Maisy and Alfie. It was fun to see them and to be part of the excitement of that family.

Every day we did some hiking or walking. This pond is close to our friends' house in Holyrood, about 50 km. from St. John's. We noted that the Newfies identify most of their lakes as ponds.


As we stood on Signal Hill this is a harbourview.

Signal Hill tower where the first radio waves were transmitted by Marconi.

The point at which Terry Fox began his epic and courageous journey across Canada. (Jerry, Lisa enjoyed the day with us).

Icebergs float into some of the bays...as seen here at Bay Bulls, south of St. John's. They really are quite spectacular.

Cape Spear is the most easterly point in Canada. The views were phenomenal.

Gros Morne National Park was our destination point on Saturday. In a distance of approximately 20 kilometres we saw six moose. Here is one.

Sunday was foggy, and a little rainy. We were unable to see the mountain tops and the fjords that have made the park famous. However, this is a picture of what was behind the fog. Just like in all of our lives, there is something bigger, very much a part of the dynamics of the "picture", that we cannot see.

I have come to like fog. It forces us to check out the closer, the small details of things around us. And so it was on Sunday.

The Hope of Spring and Black Flies

Spring in Nova Scotia is spectacular. Is it because the winter has been long and harsh? In any case, there is alot of bursting forth of things. Today as I was digging about in the dirt and was wondering what these beautiful flowers were, I was attacked by the crazy black flies that are really the most pesky little insects. They bite! Last year I had many bites on my neck, face and ankles. They seem to only be around for about three weeks or so. This is our second spring now in Nova Scotia, so we realize that we needn't become too discouraged about them, but dress with that in mind. (no shorts for gardening for a few weeks yet). As I was weeding in the garden today, I was thinking about life. That there are often black flies, some unpleasant incidences, that make us realize our vulnerability, imperfections. I am thinking that there is some grander hope beyond those things, though--like spring, new life, new beginnings, God, our rock.

The other day I took a picture of my neighbour's laundry hanging on the line. This is a very common sight in the Maritimes. It is something I love to see, but find harder to do. Our clothesline broke the other day when I actually tried to hang the clothes outside. Lou is in the process of repairing the line. This summer I plan to dry our clothes in this fashion alot more. In any case, I was intrigued at the methodical way in which Sandy had hung out her clothes--totally colour coded. She says she organizes them in that way when she removes them from the washer. There you go. A lesson in washing/drying clothes in the lifetime of learning.

Walking at Lawrencetown Beach

Enjoying a walk with Lisa and Stella--note that Lawrencetown beach is in the background. This was a typical spring day with a good amount of sunshine and abit of a nippy wind.

Beautiful patterns are sculpted on the sand. One thing that we enjoy about our almost daily observations on the beach is that each day the beach changes depending on the wave and wind action.

glorious spring

Each day we are checking for signs of spring. The day we came home from our weekend in D.C. we received about 7-8 cm of snow. The snow has now disappeared. Today was +13 degrees C. at one point in the day. We see the tulips coming up through the ground, rhubarb is up, and we heard a loon today. All very wonderful and hopeful. The above picture was taken on our walk yesterday--close to Cow Bay in Cole Harbour. Part of the Trans Canada trail joins into this park. Some people said that they spotted pussy willlows here yesterday.

Today we enjoyed a nice long walk at Conrad Beach.(about 15 minute drive from our house). It was at low tide so there was alot of sand. Fog was trying to descend upon us from time to time. The birds were sounding cheerful.

Weekend in D.C.

Last week we had a wonderful weekend in D.C. with our children. Besides enjoying a few days of spring like weather--the cherry trees and magnolias were blooming, we had a few inspiring and challenging days of prayer. The purpose of our trip was to attend the Global Prayer Gathering for International Justice Mission, the organization for whom Andrey works. It was wonderful to experience together as a family the messages of justice, hope and joy. "Joy is the priceless treasure found in a field of suffering or sorrow." Gary Haugen,
CEO.

The weekend's program comprised of concerts by some very good musicians--Sara Groves and Ten Shekel Shirt, worship times, praying for specific IJM operations--prayer rooms were designated for each country served by IJM. Updates are given at those times in regards to issues which the IJM staff is working on in their country and what is happening. Countless stories were told of success and some which were not successful and where evil continues. Those are the difficult ones. In any case you may check for more information if you wish on the following website: http://www.ijm.org/

By the way, the picture was taken in a mall--you will notice that a fifth person appears in the picture in between Andrey and Mike--she was someone just standing randomly--not part of our group. Funny how that happened.