Thirst.

This year in our dorm we picked a theme that is focused on "Thirst".

This we decided would have 3 layers to it:

1. The thirst that we have for Jesus' living water in John 4.

2. Serving one another based on the passage in Romans 12: "if your brother is thirsty, give him something to drink."

3. The justice issue of clean water in the world - inspired from Micah 6:8.

We have done okay trying to incorporate these things this year so far, but the one that has been the most apparent has been the justice issue. I think this is because it is something more tangible. But I do admit that the first two focuses we need to be more intentional about doing - so we still have 7+ months to rise up to the challenge!

The justice issue for me has been eye-opening. Clean water is actually a very scarce commodity in this world.

Did you know that 80% of the clean water in the world is consumed by 20% of the world's population?

One organization that has caught our (by our I am referring to the other RA's in the High School Dorm) attention is called "Charity: Water."

They are doing this great idea where people can give back and give the most necessary gift of all, clean water.

You should also watch the 3 min. about clean water by clicking here.

Some effective ways we have been able to be more aware of our water consumption in the dorm are:

- when girls take water from the communal Culligan, they are asked to make a donation

- the money we get from the recycling we put towards buying clean water filters through Samaritan's purse

- we put water facts and "thirst" Bible verses on the back of the bathroom stall doors

It's been really neat to see our theme actually take place throughout the year so far.

And for it to really start to impact me and have affect on me the way that it is striking and convicting.

So next time you open a water bottle, or take a drink from the tap, offer a little prayer of thanks to the Lord for the gift that it truly is.

Nova Scotia & the Thamers!

Nova Scotia now feels like it was a dream!! It came and went so fast!!!

Here are some pics of the sweet trip out East!

Hope you all enjoy!

The Return to Canada...let the adventures begin!

Hello All!

After I wrote my last post, I said I was going to be better at blogging.... well then things get busy... and then it just gets pushed aside!!

But this post I wanted to do before I left for my good friend Jenn's wedding in Nova Scotia, but it didn't happen...

So this post is about being back in Canada, back in the High School Dorm (Hillson!), Jenn's Fabulous wedding, and now... back to school!

So as you can tell things are busy!

Okay first thing's first!

I finished both of the jobs the Lord blessed me with the 3rd week in August. They were both amazing, and I miss them very much.

My drive to Canada was a bit long, but amazing weather the whole way, and a whole lot of bugs!

The dorm had an AMAZING start to the year.

---It's been SOOO wonderful to be reunited with the faces I love and have missed over the summer, and to meet the new girls the Lord has placed in the dorm for this year! They are all so fantastic, and I'm so pumped for this year!

Here are a few pics from an afternoon that was spent at a park near campus. We just played outside together!

After a week of getting settled into the dorm, I made my first...but not last... trip out East! Halifax, Nova Scotia was the destination for my old roommate's wedding!

It was such a delight see where Jenn is from, and meet her family and friends!

The wedding was truly amazing, and she looked stunning!

The week leading up to the wedding, Diana came from home to be at the wedding, so we both found it such an honor to spend the week before the wedding with the Bride herself, and catch up and hang out like old times! I also got to see and spend time with a couple good friends from Briercrest, so amazing!! Keltie took Diana and I to the market, and Emma picked us up from Jenn's reception, and then played tour guide the next day, and showed us even more of Nova Scotia to make us fall in love!!

I don't have the wedding day pics on my computer yet to post or pics from the exploration of Nova Scotia, so here are just a few pics from the picking up of her wedding dress, Jenn's shower,and hanging out!

More pics to come!

And lastly,

The start of school is going great! I got back to Regina a little early, and drove back to school and made it to lunch and started my classes! I had a sweet reunion with old friends, and have had the blessing of meeting many great new faces!

The Lord really has a lot of things He want to do: at this school, in our dorm, and in my life this year, and I am so very excited for it!

I have a roommate this semester, Kristen---she's amazing!!-- and even she has just challenged and encouraged me in my walk with the Lord, and I just love it! Praise God for great roommates!

But... no pics yet from school, that will be my next post! This one is getting long...

so I'm signing out!

More pics/posts to come!

Love to you all!

annie

back to blogging...again?

Hello one and all!

I never thought I would return to blogging again, but I have never deleted my blog, so I just thought, hey, why don't I post again!

I haven't blogged since my life was a bit more "exciting." I put that in quotes, because that was what I believed was true and why I haven't blogged in so long; but the more I think about it... the more I just realize that my life is plenty exciting now! :)

I've been really pondering this "exciting" thing, and the Lord is really showing me that there are small "exciting" things that happen in and throughout each and everyday, and one doesn't have to travel the world, or write a book, or win the lottery to live an "exciting" life; taking joy in the small things that He puts in your day is more exciting than anything because it is He who put them there. And quite frankly, it's SUPER amazing that the Lord even does anything in anyone's life, let alone mine!

He is so gracious, so patient, so loving. What a good God we serve.

I'm just going to put up a few pics from this past summer.

I go to school again for one last year.

Enjoy!!

Park Time with my 4 year old niece Myli!

She is a serious joy in my life, and she sure keeps my life exciting!

Pics w/ friends from Lexi's wedding:

Chepén, PERU!

I arrived in Lima, Peru to meet a group from Apple Valley, MN in the airport Thursday, June 14th!! They are from Hope Church in Apple Valley, and I was to be part of their group and try to translate for them! This picture below is our welcoming night, Pastor Juan and his wife Marta are on the far right, with their middle of three kids in the front. This group had been to Chepén for a week last year, and now their church has made a "sister" relationship with the church here in Chepén. They taught me the ropes of living in Peru in the 12 days I had with them, and accepted me as if I had been preparing with them all along!

One of our jobs was to help with construction! It was some hard manual labor, but we loved helping and getting a workout in the process! Last year the group helped with the columns for the front in the sanctuary, but now we were helping put in the bathrooms agains the back wall, and an office for the Pastor. A lot of shoveling dirt, wheelbarrowing, and tossing rocks was done, but all in the name of Jesus! The mayor of the city of Chepén paid us a visit too, and did an interview with one of the leaders of the group, and I translated. Then that night they put the interview, and all of us working on the news for all to see! The town was amazed that we were actually HELPING with the construction instead of just paying Peruvians to do the work, and also it amazed them that us women would get down and dirty right with the men!! That's not their culture! So it was a great way to tell the whole city (who are NOT used to North Americans at all) that we were there to serve just as Jesus served!

Below are pictures of the soccer camp that the group had hoped to put on!! The pastor and the "coach" (both named Juan) rounded up 20 little boys ages 7-10 to come to the camp that was Saturday and Sunday for 2 hours each. There they taught new soccer skill games, taught lessons from the Bible, and just had some fun! A person had donated some money to the group for a ministry that they would be doing, and they used it to buy all the boys new soccer balls!! You should have seen their smiles!!

Some other things we did was we went door to door evangelizing. That was very fun, and it was amazing to see God work in that! We went to youth and young adult groups and played games with the kids, we helped out with the Sunday School, and we went to prayer groups on Wednesday.
Here is a little description of some random pictures below: first (from right to left):
This is our Sunday School group of kids that showed up (normally there are only 12 or so!) with thier pictures they colored for kids in the Sunday school back in the home church in the group, next is a picture of our hotel we stayed in right in Chepén, next is the hill that is North (I think) of Chepén-- the city sits right next to it, lots of bakerys with great cakes like this!!, here's a pic with me and some little Peruvian girls, some traditional Peruvian dancers at the airport (but not there to welcome us... haha), this is a picture of a couple of the adolecents, a picture of the museum we went to-- we couldn't bring in cameras--- but it was really cool!, and me with the young girls of the team right before they left to go back to the States.

And that about sums it up!! It was a wonderful group to be a part of, and to serve with! I was honored for the opportunity to translate for them. Oh, and below is the sign for the church! The Pastor and his wife moved here to Chepén from Trujillo (it is an hour north) to plant an Alliance church. Wonderful people, and good times all around!!
God is SOOO good!

Wonderful Trip to North America!

A quick two weeks home, but filled with family, friends and FUN!!
My oldest sister Nikki got married to my new brother Mike!! They got married on the North Shore, and it was beautiful!! It was just family, so small, but amazing. It was so wonderful to have all the family back together again!! I loved getting time to catch up with all my siblings, and to see my neices and nephew and how they have all grown!! That's when I know I'm missing out on time, because they grow up so fast!! But they are super adorable!

I also got the opportunity to go to my best friends wedding in Ontario!! I was a bridesmaid, and it was a privlidge to stand for her on that day! Sarah and Andrew got married May 5th, but I got to spend the whole week with them before the wedding. We drove down to Niagra Falls one day, and they are very beautiful! It was a great time to catch up from lost time, and to celebrate with them on their special day!

I rode home with a group that drove out from Minnesota/Manitoba to go to Sarah's wedding. We made a pit stop in Toronto, which was really fun, and also stopped at Niagra Falls (again!!). That gave us ample time to catch up being it was a 17 hour drive home, but it was well worth it!

Everyday that I was home home, in Monticello, I got to see my cute neice Myli!! She's growing up sooooo fast, and talking soooo much!! She now says my name, and calls me by it!! I love it!

Running everywhere to see friends was part of the trip, but a great part at that!! The little amount of time that I had with everyone was cherished sooo much!! Everyone was so encouraging, and happy to seem me too, it was wonderful!

As I said before I am now refreshed and ready to finish my time here in Costa Rica!! Thank you all for taking time to spend with me while I was home. Love you all and miss you already!! And sorry to those that I didn't get a chance to see and spend time with... but we'll have to do it in October for sure!

Erikson's Come for a Visit!

My Dad's youngest brother John and his family came for a visit to Costa Rica!!

John, Karen, Vanessa and Jack were looking for a family vacation destination, and since I was going to be here in Costa Rica for a year, they decided to come and see the country and see me!!
It was SOOOO fun to have them here!! We went to a museum here in San Jose, and just walked around a little and saw some of the sights that the capital has to offer!
I also got to go on a tour with them one of the days there were here! We went on a 12 hour tour of Costa Rica, which was really great! We went to a coffee plantation for breakfast, and then went to one of the volcanos here, it has one of the largest sulfuric acid craters in the world, this was volcano Poas, then saw a waterfall, and had lunch at a resort area here in the rain forest where we saw some rain forest animals! Then went on a boat tour in the rain forest where we saw tons of monkeys and other fun animals!

It was so great to have my family here. It had been awhile since I had see them all, and my little cousins are getting so big!! They were so encouraging to have here, and super refreshing!
Thanks for coming to visit me guys!! I love you!

Horquetas de Sarapiqui~

I had the opportunity to go live in the jungle/rainforest for 10 days, and it was increadible!!

There is an Alliance church there, and I got the opportunity to live with the pastors and to experience their church while I was there. I met a lot of people in the church by doing house visits!! Each day someone opened their house to me and had me over to talk with me, and then they served me lunch. It was so humbling, because a lot of these people have nothing. They have the house they live in, and are sincerely grateful for each meal the Lord provides them. I learned a lot from these people. I also got the opportunity to go to the pastor's son's school and teach English for a week or so. That was interesting, and very fun. It is a small school (of about 20 students), and are from preschool to grade 12. I had the chance to teach grades 7-12. Since I'm looking at continuing my studies in college with this major (Teaching English as a Second Language) this was a great opportunity for me to see what I would be getting into!

I learned a lot in the days that I was there. The pastors were very welcoming and giving. They take so much time for anyone that comes to their door, and that was so amazing to see. The people are very accepting and loving. Just life in general there is more slow pace than the busy city life that I've been living in the time I've been here.