Opening Day!

Vancouver hosts the Winter Olympics for the next 17 days and the opening ceremonies are today. I have to work tonight so I won't see the ceremonies unless I can find them online tomorrow. Many of my friends went to the rehearsal and said it was great. Apparently there is a unique version of "O Canada" so I'll be interested to hear more about that. I have other friends who are going to the ceremonies tonight. They paid $1100.00 each for their tickets. Amazing!

Sad news out of Whistler today with the death of a Luger. A huge tragedy for the country of Georgia and for the athletic community. My thoughts and prayers go to the family.

I missed seeing the Olympic torch when it came through my city and although I am not in favour of the Olympics I am putting on my patriotic hat and getting into the Canadian spirit. I will definitely have my TV on for the Men's Hockey games.

Olympics

Vancouver hosts the 2010 Olympics in 5 days. Apparently this is a BIG event because it is on the news every day, all day and tomorrow is suppose to be the busiest day ever at the Vancouver International Airport. The Olympic torch is due to come through my town tomorrow afternoon and I might go and check it out. "Might" be the important word.

I am not in the Olympic spirit yet and I am not sure if I will get there however I am a proud Canadian and will cheer on the Canadian athletes as they attempt to earn medals. After all I cheer on Canadians for many things all year round.

With the Olympics coming to Vancouver I am challenged by the amount of money that has gone into hosting this two week party especially when we have a HUGE problem with homelessness, addiction and mental illness in our city. Vancouver has the poorest postal code in the country and yet we can spend millions of dollars on a sports event. As a justice-seeking, community-involved, taxpaying citizen I just don't understand it.

However my fear of feeling guilty for not experiencing the Olympics in my home town may just take over. It's a story for future years when I look back in time.

Catalogues

It's time to plan the balcony garden and community garden plot for 2010! In the mail today I received one of the seed catalogues I've been waiting for from a local BC company that sells organic seeds. Ironically I also received a gardening catalogue that I didn't even order. I think its a sign to get started with my planning. I can't wait! My initial thinking is to plant herbs on my balcony and veggies in the garden. It's going to be great way to once again build a sustainable garden where I can grow my own food right in my back yard.

Full Moon?

The scheduled full moon isn't for another week and a half however after today I am convinced its happening now. It was a weird day at the office involving two individuals. The first was a man who was clearly calling intoxicated and showed up at the church this afternoon for some food assistance and totally creaped out one of my colleagues. Luckily we were a full staff today and were able to support this person. The second person called four times and was having a breakdown over the phone most likely as a result of challenges due to mental health. Luckily we didn't feel like this person was in danger so we didn't involve the police however the phone calls did consume a lot of time. Neither of the two people are connected to our church. They just live in the community and called for support. On a positive note I noticed all the daffodils blooming around my house. Spring is coming...

Little Fish in a Big Pond

Saturday is the big day. Over the last year I have been working with a small committee to plan, organize and lead an annual event called the Children in the Church Series held at Vancouver School of Theology. It has been an interesting experience because this is the only event that this theology school offers for those working with children in the church and they really don't seem invested in it. It has been quite the challenge to work with the faculty to plan this event. It almost seems like this event is a big pain and nuisance to them instead of recognizing that it is a hugely important. Anyways, the committee and I have worked hard and we are excited to have 70 people registered from four different denominations; United, Anglican, Lutheran and Presbyterian. We are also excited to offer childcare this year (for the first time!) and have two staff people organizing a program for five children who are coming. Bruce Harding will be offering music leadership and Jane Garland will be our keynote speaker. Jane is a child psychologist and clinical professor at Vancouver Children's Hospital and UBC. She will be speaking on the topic of "Spiritual Parenting". I can't wait! It's going to be a great day!

Adoption Update

Will 2010 be the year? Next week marks 30 months since I began the adoption process.

30 months....

It hasn't been easy and at times I have felt incredibly frustrated with the whole thing however I continue to wait with anticipation, hope and patience. In mid-March I will be assigned a new adoption worker serving the Fraser Valley (where I now live for those of you not in BC). This further delay is to give me time to get my house organized since moving in late November; a request of my current adoption worker. I am determined to continue so whatever is required I will do.

I met with my adoption worker today. She said that there are lots of children in the system right now however there haven't been any recent inquiries about my file. So in other words, nobody has expressed interest. My worker has been checking children's files but has yet to come up with a match. It's really an awkward and somewhat prejudice process.

So I ask for prayer this day. If you are one to pray then please pray for my adoption and for the children in this world who just want and need loving homes. I think of the 154 children arriving in Canada today from Haiti, who will soon be adopted by new loving parents. What a gift!

On Retreat

I begin my annual spiritual retreat this afternoon on Bowen Island. A beautiful small island off of North Vancouver and a twenty minute boat ride. It's a special place and one that I love to visit. When not at the retreat centre (which is an incredible place of its own!) I will spend time in the chocolate shop, cafe, pottery store and art gallery. As it's an island, the art scene is booming and there are always really neat things to look at. There is also a great lake to hike around. I always think its neat to have a lake in the middle of a small island so when you go walking you can see the ocean or the lake. The work I will be doing while on retreat will be program planning. I also have a bunch of new books to check out. On Tuesday I will spend a couple of hours with a spiritual director. What a gift!