Chiang Mai, Thailand!

Well, after 20 or so hours of travelling, I finally arrived in Chiang Mai last night around 9:30pm...what a relief! It was so great seeing Bec and getting to see where she's lived for the past 8 months. I was able to meet a few of the friends here that she does ministry stuff with, so that was pretty neat. Most of them can speak a few English words, so I was able to communicate a bit. One of Bec's good friends that she met here, Kate, joined us for a quick late night dinner at one of the local Thai restaurants...definitely a "local" type place. I think my meal was MAYBE a dollar Canadian. At that point I was so hungry I would have eaten anything.
Today it was pouring rain (this week is supposed to be a bit rainy), but apparently pouring rain doesn't stop bec and I from going out on her motor bike to get food...we were SOAKED. Since food is so cheap here many people just eat all their meals out, or get fresh food that day from the markets. We went to the market too for a bit after the rain calmed down...definitely different than anything I've ever seen. I was just casually strolling down the isles of the market, and much to my surprise, there was a row of pigs heads there, just waiting to be purchased I guess. For the first time in my life I'm pretty sure I was speechless and didn't quite know how to react. Needless to say, I will not be eating pig head while I'm here. sorry.
We went to a nice coffee shop this afternoon and just enjoyed the afternoon. In a couple minutes Bec and I are going over to Kate and Tiff's house (two thai girls) where we'll be making them Canadian food, and they'll be making us Thai food. I'm pretty excited. They both speak pretty good English too, so that makes things easier!! I hope to learn a thing or two from them....

Livin for eternity,
A.

ps - the pace of life here is sweet...way more chill and relaxed than us crazy Canadians.

Taking on Hong Kong....

Hello from Hong Kong!

This is the first of two stops before I finally make it to Chiang Mai. I've survived the longest flight, which only ended up being 14 hours...6 of those hours I managed to score a first class seat!! So I was able to kick back and enjoy, not to mention the movie and TV section was FABULOUS! There was probably 100 options or so to watch, including new releases. Very exciting for me! I was able to soak in a few Friends episodes, so was sweet.
I have about an hour to wait until my next plane takes off to Bangkok, where I'll then be running through the airport 'Amazing Race' style in order to catch my next flight. I'll have an hour to get all my luggage then check back in at the domestic gates...will I make it? Time will tell I guess!

It's definitely weird travelling by yourself...I'm not nervous, but not having a conversation for over 14 hours with anyone is rather lonely! No one really spoke english around me on the flight.

Well, I think that's all for now...I'll check in a bit later once I get to Chiang Mai.

Only 5 more hours until I see Bec! I'm SO excited!

Finito!

Well, four years and $60,000 later, my undergrad career is finally done. I can't even begin to describe what a sweet feeling it is. This time next year, I'll be finishing up teachers college and entering the "real world," which I'm so incredibly excited about. It's hard to believe four years in London have come and gone so quickly...it has certainly been a ride. The Lord has worked in ways I could have never imagined possible and radically changed my life, especially within the past year. I entered university loving the world and everything within it, but Praise the Lord, He captured my heart during that time, and I'm leaving as a new creation. Over the past year I've been involved with the youth at my church in London and have LOVED IT. Wednesday = youth night = my favourite night of the week. It is truly such an incredibly privledge to be able to serve the students and establish relationships with them. Witnessing Christ work in each of their lives and seeing a growing desire in their hearts to put Him first, has been a huge encouragement for me. We're just called to plant seeds, and may never see the fruit that God produces from that seed, but the Lord has so beautifully showed the growing fruits in the lives of many of our students here in London. I just love them! I'm so excited for the summer ahead and the many events there are in store...it's going to be great!

Are you Amazed?

Procrastination

If you're in the market for some good, healthy procrastination, blogging is a great option. In an attempt to not study my 130+ pages of class notes, I've decided to give you a sneak peak of my upcoming trip to Thailand. I will first be flying into Bangkok, but then quickly heading north to a city called Chiang Mai to meet up with Bec. We'll be staying in Chiang Mai for the first bit, with a short trip over to Burma (to the left of Thailand) in order for Bec to renew her Visa.
While in Chiang Mai, I will definitely be soaking up the Thai culture in one of these markets. My bargaining skills will undoubtedly be put to good use. Rumour has it there are tons of sweet deals, so I plan on leaving some extra room in my suitcase. Not too sure about enjoying the food in these markets though...I may just have to get over my dislike of seafood in order to survive my three weeks in Thailand. Also, I've heard that the smell in these markets can be slightly overwhelming, so I'll be sure to report back on that. The whole experience will be good for me though...definitely will expand my horizons and 'Western' perspective.
My trip wouldn't be complete with checking out the Maesa elephant camp, so that's on my to-do list for sure. In just a few short days that'll be me riding on the elephants through the Thailand jungle.

Toward the end of the three weeks, Bec and I plan on travelling to the south of Thailand (Koh Sumai) to enjoy a week on the beautiful beaches. We'll most likely be staying on the Chaweng beach (featured in the picture), which is the largest beach on that island.

Apparently there is snorkeling, scuba diving, and surfing in that area, which are also on my to-do list. Since we'll be travelling in the off-season, the beaches will not be as busy and the prices substantially drop...big bonus for my student budget and Bec's missionary budget. All in all, I'm pretty stoked about this whole trip... travelling to Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Burma and Koh Sumai is going to be an "experience of a lifetime" (quote Bec). I'm so excited to be able to see how Bec has lived for almost a year now...all the phone conversations and emails will suddenly come alive. It's going to be great!!

Highlights from Sarah and Ryan's Wedding...

Rach and I before the ceremony

Ryan kissing his Bride.
Me, Sarah, Rach and Jeff after the ceremony
Rach and I overlooking the golf course, pre-dinner.

A few more highlights from the wedding.

Jeff and I...hor d'oevres outside before the dinner
Lauren, Me, Jeff and Rach
Cutting the Cake
Bride and I
Deep in thought.

Sunday afternoon pondering

I'm going with a number format today, just because there's a whirlwind of thoughts flooding this head of mine, so I think numbering these thoughts may be for all our benefit:

1) Church was fantastic. The sermon title: "Beautiful Grace." Need I say more? You gotta check out Romans 5, if you haven't done so already. Inspired by God, Paul does an incredible job of illustrating just how disgusting we are in our original sinful state: enemies of God. But He then provides such amazing and awesome contrasts of God's grace in our lives. Once we truly understand just how wretched we are, then we can only start to comprehend just how AMAZING God's grace is. At one point in the message Pastor Robbie referred to how short our lives really are, and that really the only thing that matters at the end of the day is what we have done for Jesus Christ. In an instant, when our lives here on earth end, we will be asked: "what have you done for Jesus Christ?"...and man, I'd be lying if I said a question like that doesn't instill some fear in me. Perhaps I need to ask myself that question more often, as it really helps to keep an eternal perspective I think.

2) ONE exam left this week...then I'll officially have that B.A. I've been working towards for 4 years. Next up: teachers college. VERY excited about that.

3) I'm beyond excited that this time a week from now I'll be in the air flying to Thailand. Many updates on this to come during the time I'm there. I'll for sure be blogging and putting up some pictures while I'm there. Stay tuned...

4) Last night I was at my first wedding. Adear friend of mine, Sarah Nowell, was getting married. She looked absolutely beautiful, and the wedding a blast! It's so evident that Christ is at the center of their relationship, which made the wedding an even greater celebration and a blessing to be apart of. Unfortunately, the wedding ended a bit early for me, as my body decided that it wanted to take a trip to the hospital. For those that aren't aware (and because I don't want to explain this story a million more times), I have a heart condition called S.V.T., which basically creates a closed circuit of electricity in your heart, causing it to beat uncontrollably (as in 240 beats a minute). In order to convert the heart back to its usual rhythm, you need to get a needle of some sort, or be to paddled/shocked. Anyhow, it was my first ride in an ambulance, so that was kinda cool, and the nurses got a kick out of me being all dressed up with my hair done...so once I was stable, we were able to joke around a bit. They released me in the middle of the night, so thankfully, I was able to sleep in my bed! It's undeniable that God had His hand over the entire situation, and all is well today...just super tired.

Anyhow, the books are calling me for this one final exam.

Livin' for eternity,
A

A Weekend Synopsis...

Although Friday started off a bit shaky - still suffering a bit from vaccinations for Thailand -- Saturday quickly rolled around and things kicked into high gear. The Saturday evening service at Harvest Oakville was fantastic. Pastor Robbie is doing a series on "Beautiful Salvation, Beautiful Saviour," which is taking the church through Romans 5, and really, I am yet again reminded of what a privilege it is to open God's Word and worship Him. More specifically, the message was on the "Beautiful Love of God", and it absolutely blows my mind how while I was still a sinner, Christ loved me enough to send His only son to die for ME. Insane. Unfathomable. In verse 7 Paul provides a fantastic contrast -- how it's so unlikely that we would die for a 'righteous' person, how we wouldn't dare die for a 'good' person, YET God shows his love for us that while we were still sinners, He died for us (v. 8). WHILE we were still sinners, thus not even a bit good, or even close to righteousness, Christ STILL died for us. Talk about beautiful love eh?
Afterwards, I went to a super fun wedding shower for a good friend from the good ol' MBC days. It's always so nice meeting up with these girls who I don't get to see that often, yet still able to pick up right where we left off. The wedding in this coming Saturday, and I'm STOKED. It'll be the first wedding I attend that's actually for a good friend of mine.
This evening I was able to meet up with an aunt of mine and my grandparents at Milestones for a sweet dinner...always sweeter too when someone else is footing the bill. ha! Always a pleasure seeing them though. I truly have an incredible family.
Tonight was also young adults night at Harvest, also a great time. Solid teaching and a great time of worship, not too mention the stellar fellowship.
All in all, great weekend!

And hey, random quote for ya: "You can't learn while you're talking". This is a good one for me, as it always seems way easier for me to blab on than to actually listen and just quiet myself.

Only two exams to go until I receive that piece of paper I've worked four years for!

Livin' for eternity,
A

Treadmill thoughts...

Second to driving, running on the treadmill is one of my favourite times to just think or reflect on whatever may be on my heart. Recently, I finished a bible study, "Jesus the One and Only," examining the life of Christ primarily through the gospel of Luke. In this life where I am seeking to become more like Christ, doing a study such as this was absolutely incredible. No where will you find a better example of love, humility, wisdom, discipline and obedience than in the life of Jesus Christ.
Currently, a good friend and I are working through the Psalms of Ascent (120-134) - a study called "Stepping Up" by Beth Moore. Also a fantastic study. During my little jaunt on the treadmill this morning, Psalm 123 as at the forefront of my mind, which mainly talks about our eyes looking up to the Lord, our God. God calls us to look to Him, seek and find in Him, but he wants us to approach on His terms based on who He really is. Not as we think we'd like to make Him. Stay with me here...let me explain. We are not presented with a functional god who will help us out of jams or an entertainment god who will lighten our tedious hours. We are presented with the God of exodus and Easter, the God of Sinai and Calvary. If we want to understand God, we must do it on his terms. If we want to see God the way he really is, we must look to the place of authority -- to Scripture and to Jesus Christ. And hey, do we really want it any other way? I dont think so. We would very soon become contemptuous of a god whom we could figure out like a puzzle or learn to use like a tool. No, if God is worth our attention at all, he must be a God we can look up to -- a God we MUST look up to. The moment we look up to God (and not over at him, or down to him) we are in the posture of servitude and humility. I dont mean that God can't or won't get us out of jams, but if that's all we make of Him, I think we've missed the true enormity of God.
I think what is missing and unexplained on the pages of Scriptures is in some ways just as inspired as what you find in ink. Who else is so brilliant, so multidimensional and gloriously mysterious that you could spend your entire life studying and never grasp His vastness?

And so it begins...

Well, I have come to the realization that this journey the Lord is so graciously taking me on and His faithful process of santification is simply too exciting to keep to myself. My heart is ready to burst like old wineskins (Job 32:19), so I felt as though blogging may be a great option to share what the Lord is doing in my life, along with the many other random assortment of thoughts that flood this brain of mine.

My days as an undergraduate student are quickly coming to a close, and my days here in London are few. I'm on the cusp of entering a new season of life, with the summer quickly approaching and the start teacher's college in September. In a few short weeks I'll be taking off to Thailand to visit one of my bestest -- I'm STOKED! I'm super excited to share some of the adventures Bec and I will partake in during that time...no doubt, the Lord has some exciting things in store.

On that note, I must be off to my second last class of my undergrad career!

Livin' for eternity,
A