GIRL POWER!

Girl Power was today! This is an event that I've been co-planning for girls, ages 8-12 in the church and community. It was a day to increase self esteem and become aware of healthy living, good choices, healthy sexuality and personal safety. In all I had 40 girls attend and 7 wonderful leaders. The Spa was the big hit of the day with foot soaks, face masks and a lot of nailpolish! It was a very successful event and I am looking forward to doing it again next year. Next up, Boy Power!

Smoke looms in the air

This week on three different occasions the homeless started fires on the benches outside of our church main entrance. Yesterday we had the police and fire department over to assess the situation and it was declared arson. Building smoke is such a scary smell and it was sitting in the air yesterday causing concern for everybody who dropped by.

Our church has had a rough go lately.

We've had drug addicts shooting up in the back of our property. Windows have been smashed and paint balled with bright green paint and this week my colleague arrived to discover that someone had vomited all over the front pathway. The smell was outrageous.

The good news in this is that occasionally we meet some really neat people with great stories. This week I met a women who grew up in the northern part of the province in a fishing village. She knew a United Church Minister really well because he visited her village by boat. It was the only way that they got visitors. It turns out that I had read a book once about the Thomas Crosby Ministry so I was able to continue the conversation well. The two of us sat and chatted for quite some time. Her situation has changed now and she is living in the city with nine people all struggling to make it financially. I was glad to be able to provide her with a bag of food.

Final Semester - I hope!

Today my final class begins and it will be a challenge. The course content should be fine but the four hour length on Monday mornings is going to be hard. Monday's are often my only day off from work. We'll see how it goes. The bonus is that throughout the fall, Monday is often a holiday so we will have less classes this semester.

As far I can see this is my final class of my Diploma in Child and Youth Care however I want to wait to receive the official note from the Registrar as there seem to be credit calculation differences on my transcript and the website. Fingers crossed that the result will be good!

Three Hour Trip

That's right. I left work an hour early and headed across the border for an evening of great shopping. The US dollar and exchange rate is incredible right now and with little to no tax it is way cheaper to shop in Washington than BC. Plus it makes for a fun Friday night. I waited about 10 minutes at the border each way which is nothing compared to weekend and Summer delays. I came home with a car load of groceries (mostly things we can't buy in Canada) and two items of clothing. The most exciting find was pear yogurt. I haven't had pear yogurt since being in Brazil in 2006. YUM!

Sharing Food

It's been a long time since I last posted on my blog. My life has continued to be busy with exciting things. Exciting things like travel, a drumming class, choir practice and a week of vacation bible school. It seems like each day brings something new and something to look forward to. I have so much to be thankful for. I have a great fullness in my life and sometimes wonder what quiet and boring feels like. I also sometimes forget to be really thankful until a situation puts my great life into perspective.

This week has been a short work week due to Labour Day so our office has only been open for three days. Just three days and we've already given out food to ten different households who came in for support. Today it was a family with two adults and five children. Our food cupboard is for emergenices and it broke my heart to hear that parents didn't have food for school lunches. Luckily there are some amazing people in the church who bring in donations all the time and someone just brought in granola bars and juice boxes this morning. It's nice to think that tomorrow five children will wake up and be able to pack a lunch in their school bag and head to class. What an exciting day for them!