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Finding beauty close to home

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When we’re on vacation or far from home, we seek out interesting or unique places to visit and things to do but we sometimes miss out on the gems that are closest to home. Until today, we had never been to the Devonian Botanic Garden just two hours away.

After taking some friends to the Edmonton International Airport to catch a flight, we spent most of the afternoon exploring the nearby garden. I lost my pedometer before we got there 😦 so I have no idea how far we walked but my feet are telling me that they had a good workout! With 80 acres of display gardens and another 110 acres of natural areas and ecological preserves, there were lots of paths to follow and areas to explore!

It was the Kurimoto Japanese Garden that I most wanted to see. During our year in Japan, I fell in love with its beautiful strolling gardens. In fact, I’ve often teased Richard, telling him that we should turn our backyard into a Japanese garden. He just laughs and I doubt that it will actually ever happen but I was curious to see how this style of garden could be replicated in our climate, so different from Japan’s. I wasn’t disappointed. With its meandering paths, reflecting pond, stone lanterns, pagoda and bridges it definitely captured the tranquility and the simple beauty of this unique garden style.

After exploring the Japanese garden, we moved on to the indoor displays. The tropical butterfly greenhouse was my favourite. It was fun picking out plants that we’d become familiar with during our recent stay on Saipan.

Moving back outdoors into the bright September sunshine, we set off to explore the rest of the outdoor displays. Though it’s late in the season and many plants are no longer in bloom, there were still lots of splashes of colour to enjoy.

  

After wandering through the various displays of annuals and perennials, the herb gardens, the native peoples’ garden, the alpine garden and many more, we returned for a final stroll around the Japanese garden before heading for home. After all, who knows how long it might be before I visit another one.

 

A quieter way of living

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Friends from the city came out to spend the long weekend with us. Every once in awhile, they like to leave the noise and pressures of their busy city lives behind and relax in the quiet solitude that rural living offers. Late Saturday afternoon after sitting around and visiting for several hours, we decided to go for a walk. Supper was delayed as we ended up walking out to the lake north of town and exploring the newly upgraded nature trail that runs along it’s edge. That evening, our next door neighbours joined us as we relaxed by our backyard firepit and the city dwellers exclaimed over the myriad of stars stretched across the night sky above us.

Yesterday took us out into the wide open spaces again as we fulfilled one of my long time desires. Two of the fields that Richard and I farm sit at the top of a bluff with an amazing view. Every spring and fall as I’ve come to the edge of those fields and enjoyed the vista spread out below, I’ve dreamed of hiking up from the bottom. After spending the morning in church and returning home for lunch, we set off to do just that. It turned out to be a much easier hike than we anticipated.

As we walked across the bottom pastureland and made our way up the hillside, what looked like nothing more than grass from the distance became a wide variety of plants including low lying junipers, colourful wildflowers and even tiny cactus. A deer bounded away as we came close and we saw the remains of a couple of others who didn’t make it through the harsh winter, their bones picked clean by hungry predators.

I love cities. I spent my teenage years in Vancouver and went to university in Calgary. I’ve walked the streets of Toronto, Montreal, Tokyo, Seoul and Hong Kong but I also love coming home to the wide open spaces and a quieter way of living. As our friends go home today, I hope they’ve been refreshed.

To hell with the bell!

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It’s that time of year again… the beginning of a new school year. Backpacks are packed, lunches made, and school buses ready to pick up excited children. Brand new pencils wait to be sharpened and notebooks with fresh clean pages beg to be filled. For the past few weeks teachers have been making plans and decorating classrooms getting ready for new faces to fill the desks in front of them.

At the same time, across the nation and around the world retired teachers are gathering for their annual “to hell with the bell” celebrations! Since I’m not aware of such an event locally, I won’t be attending one but I’ll be there in spirit.

Did I enjoy being a teacher? Yes, definitely. Do I wish I was back in a classroom? Absolutely not! I still love children and I had an absolute blast working with the kids of Living Hope Church of the Nazarene on the island of Saipan this summer but I wouldn’t trade retirement for the best teaching job on the planet!

No more homework; endless hours of marking and lesson planning. No more school dreams, crazy nightmares that used to plague me at this time of year! They’d start about mid August, dreams of classrooms with black walls and no windows, dreams of crowded rooms filled with students who wouldn’t stay in their desks and do what they were told. Don’t let anyone tell you that teaching isn’t a stressful job but it’s also an honourable profession and one that I’m proud to have made a career of.

So, as I’m out walking or playing golf and hear the school bell ring, I’ll think of my younger colleagues and wish them well. I’ll also smile and celebrate my freedom!

P.S.  To view my Living Hope Kids slideshow, click here.

Thrift store chic

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I love shopping thrift stores. It’s not usually about looking for things I need. After all, I really don’t need more stuff filling my closets and cluttering up my life! It’s more about finding something I really like and paying almost nothing for it. That definitely appeals to my frugal nature! Thrift stores are also a great place to find cute stuff for the grandchildren.

There are two great little second hand shops in our area, the Good As New here in town and Killam Twice Nice a few miles away. Melaina and I visited both of them on Friday and found some wonderful bargains. Between us, we spent $11.10 and came home with 8 tops (four for each of us); three necklaces; a pair of earrings; a belt; a hardcover book; two Tupperware canisters; two  t-shirts, a pair of jeggings and a cute little dress for Jami-Lee; and two shirts for Drew! Amazing!

Here we are modelling a few of our finds:

 

This one's my favourite - blue and brown are my colours.

What’s next?

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That’s the question we’ve been asked most often since arriving home on Monday evening. One friend and former colleague who’s known us for a long time added “One mission trip won’t be enough, will it?” No, Ian, it won’t! We have no idea what lies ahead but we do know that we’re willing to go wherever God sends us.

In the meantime, there’s lots of catching up to do here at home. Melaina, Aaron and the children are here for a few days so spending time with the grandchildren is our first priority. We appreciate the neighbour who mowed the lawn for us while we were away but the gardens clearly need some attention. I’m pretty sure there are flowers hiding amongst all those weeds! Of course, the golf course also beckons. In fact, Richard and Aaron are out there right now.

We’ll also have a crop to harvest soon. Yesterday, we went for a drive to look at the fields and the grain is beginning to ripen. It won’t be long before I’m out on the combine again.

I’d also like to find time to go camping before winter. After spending the past two months on the other side of the sea, I’m not thinking of a long trip but the trailer hasn’t been out of the driveway since last summer and I’m yearning for at least two or three nights in a campground; perhaps somewhere with a lake and a golf course.

So, in answer to everyone’s question, we don’t know what’s next in terms of missions but for now, I’m enjoying living in the moment and not concerning myself too much with what lies ahead.

How did I end up here?

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I’ve been wondering lately how it is that I am where I am doing what I’m doing. As a child and even a young adult, I was intensely shy. I was scared of my own shadow and just about everything else. I was the little girl in class who never put up her hand to offer an answer and who, even when she knew the correct answer, practically trembled when the teacher called on her. I was the little girl who once stood paralysed at a busy street crossing on the way home from school until a lady actually came out of her house and escorted me across!

Looking back, it seems a bit bizarre that I chose teaching as a career. Me, who was terrified of getting up in front of people! It’s also a wonder that I didn’t give up that dream during my first year of university when one of my professors told me that I should choose a different profession. I was too soft spoken, I was told. I’d never be able to command the attention of a classroom full of students. I might have been shy but I was also stubborn and I was determined to prove him wrong. I realize now that long before I knew him, God designed me to be a teacher. It was part of his plan for my life and I’m sure that my many years in front of a classroom helped bring me to the place I now find myself.

Somewhere along the way, I also developed an interest in drama and I know that my forays onto the stage helped push me beyond my initial shyness. At first, stepping out onto the stage was a giant leap outside my comfort zone but when I discovered how much fun it was, I was hooked! On the stage, shy introverted me became someone else, someone who could do things I would never do like appear in public in a micro mini jungle girl costume!

Stepping outside my comfort zone; that was the key. As my blogging friend, Donloree wrote recently, “So I am going to be afraid, but do it anyways. It means I am doing something new, bold, and exciting and maybe just possibly changing the world.” I couldn’t have said it better myself.

So the little girl who was afraid to cross the street by herself has crossed the world. She isn’t always as confident as she might seem but she’s learned to push herself out on life’s stage and grab onto all it has to offer.

If I can do it, anyone can!

Beautiful feet

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“How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”   Romans 10:15

This is the verse our pastor used this morning as he commissioned us to carry the gospel to the people of Saipan. He then proceeded to tell us that we have beautiful feet and I know he wasn’t referring to the fact that I was wearing my bright red shoes!

Over the past few days, we’ve been asked many times “Are you excited?” Of course, we are! Once again we’re stepping way outside our comfort zone but we’re doing it with peace and confidence knowing that this is God’s direction for us and that we go with the prayers of many behind us. As our pastor pointed out, each one who gathered around and prayed for us this morning and many others who weren’t able to be present are part of the mission that we’re going on. Ours may be the feet that go but theirs are the hands that hold us up.

We’ll be taking these beautiful feet to bed soon. We’re tucked into our hotel room across the highway from the airport and have a wake up call scheduled for 3:40 a.m. The airport shuttle will pick us up 45 minutes later and some 28 hours after that, our feet will step onto the island of Saipan.

Today was the day!

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Before our first grandchild was born, we decided that I would be called Gram to distinguish me from his other grandmother who was already Grandma to his three cousins. I was delighted when, at 15 months old, Drew first called me Am. As time went by, however, and his speech didn’t improve, we learned that this was actually a symptom of a severe phonological disorder. He dropped the initial sounds from almost every word making his speech virtually unintelligible.

As Drew began speech therapy and he and Melaina worked diligently at home, we began to see a marked improvement in his speech. I was confident that the day would come when he would finally call me Gram and today was that day! My heart nearly burst with joy! The r isn’t quite clear yet but it’s there and the G is as clear as a bell.

Each time we’ve seen Drew over the past few months, we’ve noticed progress. Not only is his pronunciation so much clearer now but he’s also speaking in simple sentences and using lots of descriptive words… “big white garbage truck” “Drew’s sandals on”  “play train games” and “baby ducks swimming” are a few of the phrases that we heard today. Life must be much less frustrating for him now that he’s able to express his feelings, ask for the things he wants and tell Mommy when something hurts. It’s definitely a delight for us to be able to carry on a conversation with him!

Bowness Park

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We spent this morning at Calgary’s Bowness Park. I hadn’t been there since I skated on the lagoon during my university years but Melaina and the children have gone quite often lately and Drew was anxious to show us the baby ducks and geese.

   

I love city parks; natural oases in the midst of the rush and bustle of urban life. I truly appreciate those who had the foresight to set aside these tracts of land so that future generations could enjoy a taste of nature without travelling far from home. As we strolled along the banks of the stream, in addition to the ducks and geese, we stopped to enjoy a squirrel that seemed to be as interested in watching us as we were in watching it.

Of course, we had to stop at one of the playgrounds and play on the slides before leaving the park.

   

Hmm... how does this thing work?

Like this?

Ready!

Amazing connections

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When Richard’s cousin learned that we were going to Saipan, she sent us a note along with an insert from her church bulletin that told of another Alberta couple who are also going to Saipan on a short term missions assignment this summer! Rod and Beth were missionaries with Far East Broadcasting on Saipan from 1995 to 2002 and are returning for the summer to help with the decommissioning of the FEBC station there. The short wave transmitters, which are no longer needed there, will be shipped to the Philippines.

I was somewhat surprised to hear that we wouldn’t be the only Albertan missionaries on Saipan this summer but didn’t give it a lot of thought until a friend from church mentioned that her husband’s second cousin and his wife were also going to Saipan as short term missionaries this summer! Could there actually be three couples from Alberta going to the same tiny island? No. As it turns out, Doris’ husband is related to Rod and Beth!

Doris gave Rod our email address. We’ve been corresponding and have discovered yet another connection. When he and Beth left the island in 2002 they sold their car to the missionary couple that we’ll be filling in for! It’s a tiny island but it has a population of over 60 000 people so what are the chances of that?

What do all these amazing connections mean? Are they simply coincidences or are they part of a bigger picture that only God can see? I don’t know. In fact, I may never know but I do know that my God can orchestrate amazing things. Pondering the possibilities is quite delightful.