Another me?

Well, it might just be so!! I met one of the pastors in town yesterday for lunch. He's relatively new to the whole pastor scene, as his background is in evangelism...namely, he was a travelling evangelist. He came up the the Peace Country to do just that, and somehow got convinced to take on a church in town. The church has just recently changed denominations and names, and is now the Victory Church of the Peace. It's a small church, about the same size as the one I attend, but has a slightly younger congregation, with more families.

Anyways, during our lunch we discovered just how much we have in common. To start things off, when he asked what I was going to order, I told him the chicken taco salad...which was precisely what he was going to order. We talked and got to know a bit about each other, and it was scary to discover how much we have in common. The purpose of our meeting was to discuss a possible partnership between Family Services and his church to run a Pioneer Club. While he wasn't sure if his congregation had any more time and energy to give, he assured me that he'd bring this up with them to see if it could work. He really likes the idea of the churches working together, which I was very glad to hear. But above all, this older man (compared to me, maybe mid to late-thirties) has all the energy, enthusiasm and passion that those who know me would expect to see in me...it was kind of scary...and very cool!! Two people like me in one town...what more could a person ask for.

Well, I've decided that I'm NOT going to try to get an apartment here in town. I've decided to hold on to that money to save for a dream of mine that I've been holding on to for a while now and not doing anything to work towards. Already I've begun to save and do some investigating to figure how to achieve this dream of mine. I'm not going to say exactly what it is, although some people already know, but I will say that this is a BIG dream!!

This past weekend was PeaceFest here in town. Main Street was blocked off to traffic, and the street performers, produce stands, and more were out all day Saturday. The fire department hooked up a truck and made a box that they filled with foam for the kids to play in. The Toys for Tots motorcycle run was also held on Saturday, which collects toys for the Salvation Army's Christmas campaign. 45 toys and over $500 dollars were donated by the community. Further donations will likely come in closer to Christmas time, when the Toys for Tots is usually held. The event is entirely organised by community members, for which I am extremely grateful!! Other attractions for the weekend included evening concerts on Friday and Saturday, horse riders on show in the Riverfront Park on Saturday, and other various events put on my local business to celebrate PeaceFest.

Take care everyone!!

Am I becoming a cat lover?

As impossible as it sounds, I might just be falling in love with cats...at least one in particular. For those who aren't aware (if that's at all possible), I am VERY allergic to cats. My symptoms generally consist of difficulty breathing, itchiness, and if I'm very lucky (and have taken an Extra-Strength Reactine recently) I might get away with sneezing (very loudly) and itchy eyes. Despite all this, I agreed to help out one of the families in my church by feeding their cat while they are away this month. It's been one week and I am totally loving this cat. When I go over I spend a bit of time playing with her. She's very affectionate and sociable and loves it when I stop by each day for a bit. I can only stay for about half an hour before my allergies start to get bad...today I stayed a bit too long and I'm suffering for it...not to mention that I forgot to take my Reactine. Sorry Dad, but I think I'm going to have to give up the family motto now...I know, Grandpa would be disappointed.

I'm very excited about Music Camp now that I know that I can go on faculty this year. I've known for a while that I was accept for faculty, but I wasn't so sure about getting the week off work to go down, but I know for sure now that I can go, so that's really cool. I was on faculty two years ago and LOVED it!! It's even more fun than being a camper, so I wanted to go back this year. I missed it last year, even though I was having a great time in Australia while it was happening back here in Alberta. If I remember correctly, the week of Music Camp last year was the week I was out in Forbes with Bart...that was a great week.

Well, Peace River continues to be a great place to live. There have been a lot of forest fires up north here, although none are directly threatening the town. However, the air quality dropped a lot this week with a lot of smoke blowing in and affecting our air. The rain for the past couple of days helped to clear a lot of that up, so things are a bit better again...although fires continue to burn. I'm planning on trying to get an apartment for the start of September or October (depending on how quickly I can get a couple months rent saved up). While the arrangement I have right now is good, and saves me a lot of money each month, there are certain draw backs that are making life less than great for me (although not bad). So I think I'd like to get a place of my own. It'll also be a good experience to have to look after my own utilities and all that fun life stuff.

Lately I've been thinking about friendship and other relationships (work relationships, family relationships, etc) that I've had during my life, and that people I've known have had. I've been thinking about what those different relationships and different types of relationships mean to me and what kind of affects they've had on me. And I've started to think about how being seperated from the people that I've had some of the most meaningful friendships of my life is affecting me. I have some absolutely fantastic friends, but I don't see any of them on a regular basis anymore, since the closest are an eight hour drive away, and others live even further away. Some I wonder if I'll ever see again, while others I just can't wait until the next time I know I'll see them. And while I treasure those friendships, I also hate having to leave those friends behind when I move. It's been the same story my whole life. And everytime I move I wonder, do I really want to form new friendships, so that I'll be hurt again next time I move? And now that I've moved up to Peace River, I'm asking myself the same question. Really, it is very easy for me not to make new friends here. I go to a small church with no one my age. My only co-workers are my officers, who are a lot older than me, and while I enjoy working with them, I'm not sure I'd ever regard them as friends...there just isn't much common ground on which to build a friendship. And so, unless I make an effort to get out and get involved in things that will bring me into contact with people who I could build friendships with, I could easily avoid forming new friendships. But at the moment, not having any friends here, I often am very lonely and bored. I want some new friends, to be able to hang out with people and get to know them and for them to get to know me...but I only plan on being here a few years at the most, so I continue to debate with myself as to whether or not I really want to do that.

Well, it's Saturday, and I really shouldn't be at the office, but I wanted to come in and do more of the work I was doing yesterday. I've been digging through all the stuff in the building and trying to organise things. I've been finding things all over the place that just have no use here, or that have various components scattered in various rooms...so I'm trying to make things easier to find by organising things and getting rid of the things that just aren't needed. And seeing as I was here, I thought I'd write up a longer post. So I'm going to go home now and relax some more.

Take care.

Happy Canada Day!!

Okay, so I'm a few days early, but I will be in Red Deer for a "conference" (I guess that's what it is) on Saturday. But after having been out of the country last year for this noble and important holiday I wanted to be sure that I got a post up in honour of this special day.

For the 139th birthday of this wonderful country I wish to quote a beautiful poem popularized by a beverage advertisement a few years ago:

Hey, I'm not a lumberjack, or a fur trader...

I don't live in an igloo or eat blubber, or own a dogsled...

and I don't know Jimmy, Sally, or Suzy from Canada,

although I'm certain they're really really nice.

I have a Prime Minister , not a President.

I speak English and French, not American.

And I pronounce it "about", not "a boot".

I can proudly sew my country's flag on my backpack.

I believe in peace keeping, not policing,

diversity, not assimilation,

and that the beaver is a truly proud and noble animal.

A toque is a hat, a chesterfield is a couch,

and it is pronounced '"zed" not "zee", "zed"!

Canada is the second largest landmass!

The first nation of hockey!

and the best part of North America!

My name is Joe!!

And I AM CANADIAN!!!

So, I'll have been in Peace River for one full month as of tomorrow. I'm still really enjoying it up here. I get a bit lonely at times since I don't know many people here yet, but that'll change in time.

Anyways, just wanted to make sure I got up my Canada Day post, so take care everyone!!

Quick update

Just a note to say that I arrived in Peace River just over 2 weeks ago and am doing well.

The town is beautiful and I'm loving it here. It's small enough that many shops close for lunch and most retail shops are closed by 6pm.

I'm loving my job as well.

Life is good.

All the best to everyone!

Only a matter of hours now...

Well, it's now Sunday, May 28, 2006. The day that I leave Calgary to move to Peace River. It's just after midnight, so there is still a while before we set out. I've been finishing up a few files to leave behind that have to do with Wilderness Camp...I thought I might get one done, but I managed three, so that's good - only two more to do later.

Shortly I will shut down my computer and pack it up...not quite yet though. I've also got to clean my bathroom and pack all the stuff in there.

We rented a U-Haul trailer today, and it is completely packed. There are still more boxes, but they will easily fit in the van.

I went to youth group this evening one last time. We went bowling and out for ice cream. I enjoyed it. Only 7 people came for bowling, so a lot of people were missing, but those of us who were there had a good time.

In the morning I've got two church services, then we're out for lunch. After that we'll come home, get changed and pack the rest of the stuff in the van. Once that's done we're off to St. Albert. We'll spend the night there and drive the rest of the way up on Monday. We should get to Peace River shortly after lunch time, which will give me several hours to unpack the trailer and van and get my stuff into my new place. Then my parents should be headed back to Calgary on Tuesday. I think I'm starting my job on Tuesday or Wednesday, I'll have to talk to Major Compton when I get up there...we didn't really decide on that.

It's really hard to believe that it's so close now!!

Next post coming to you from the land of the Mighty Peace!!

Some of the stuff that needed to go in the trailer today... 

...more of the stuff to go in the trailer...but there was more inside. 

Sound familiar...?

I was surfing a few blogs and came across this entry written by a Salvationist in Europe (I think Latvia...maybe Sweden). Check it out...and more of his blog - lots of interesting posts...

More than a journal entry...

Okay, so most of the time I just post about what's up in my life and stay away from deeper, more serious thoughts...but I'm having a tough time sleeping tonight...lots of thoughts going through my head right now...so I thought I'd actually write some of it out.

So, one of the the things I've been thinking about is my 9 months in Australia/USA. I absolutely LOVED those 9 months. I was challenged far beyond anything else I've done. I grew in ways I never expected to. I met people I'd never have expected to meet. I learned things that can't be taught in a classroom. It was such an amazing experience. I visited the website for the school (www.salvos.com/sfyl) and was checking out the newsletter that we, as students, put together. As I read over it and reflected on some of the memories that it brought up, I was reminded of some of the things I learned, and it renewed some of the desires that were first stirred in my heart at the time of various events.

And in reflecting on those past experiences and lessons, I started to think about the things I'm going to learn and experience in the next while. The lessons of living away from home, the lessons of a new job, the lessons of a job that exists to serve hurting and needing people... And while the prospects are daunting and sobering, they are also in another way rather exciting. I consider it an absolute honour that there are people who believe that I am capable of doing a good job with the task that I am being entrusted with in taking on this job. I also am determined to do my best to live up to the faith they are putting in me.

Another thing that has been on my mind while I've been packing and cleaning is the question of how many of my friends in Calgary will I keep in touch with when I leave. Of all the friends I've had in the different places I've lived in during my life I've only managed to keep in touch with one to date. I've kept in touch with others for a year or two after leaving, and I've re-established contact with a few years later, but my friend Debbie from Ottawa is the only person I've actually kept in touch with for more than a few years. It's been nearly six years since we left Ottawa and Debbie and I still keep in touch. And so, I wonder how many of my friends here I'll keep in touch with down the road. I don't really anticipate moving back to Calgary (though who knows what'll happen in the future), but coming back to live certainly isn't in my plans at this point. I'll come back to visit for sure, but that definately isn't the same. I'll guess I'll have to see what happens.

One of the challenges that I'm looking forward to is finding new friends in Peace River. One of the great advantages of my current church is that I have friends who are my age who share my faith...but this is also one of the disadvantages, because I really haven't had to find non-Christian friends, and so I've become very immersed in "the bubble" that is church. It isn't that I haven't wanted to get out and do stuff to put me in touch with the "outside" but I've been lazy and been satisfied with the easy route of the statis quo. But the church that I'm going to in Peace River is much smaller than my current church, with a congregation that is largely "older." That means I'm going to look elsewhere for friends...and I'm excited about that...how sad. But we, as Christians, were never intended to live in seculsion, and I admire those who have managed to avoid this...good onya Brothers and Sisters.

Well, it's now nearly 3am, and I still very much awake...

I don't really have much else to write at the moment, so I guess I'll conclude this hear.

Until next time...

My room cleaned and rearranged...I even scrubbed the walls...