Road Trip

We are digging our way out of the boxes, so I thought I'd give you a quick update on the move, etc. The move went remarkably well. I left Kamloops at 7:30 in the YEW HAUL with Zoe on the front seat. I had Country 103 on the radio just because it seemed like the kind of music you should listen to when you drive a truck. We got to Merrit in about 1hr and Zoe was whining and needed a break. (I just realized it might have been the music...) Anyway, we pulled over and she sniffed the sagebrush, left a mark to let everyone know she had been there.

We got back in the truck and by the time we near the toll booth she was whining again and I needed a break. I guess she thought if it was okay for me to sing, it should be okay for her to make some noise too. Much to her delight we found a stick and played fetch for 20 minutes. We got back in the truck, got our motor running and headed out on the highway. This was the part of the highway that I looked forward to and worried about all at the same time. If you've never driven the Coquihalla, it's a pretty steep highway from the toll booth to Hope. While I've always thought it would be kind of fun to use a "run away" lane, when I was actually driving a large truck with a full load, I decided that slower is safer. The weather was fantastic when we went through, but a day later there was a freak blizzard at the summit. Glad it came the day after...

We got to Hope safely and I found another country station that was playing "Hillbilly Delux". Again, it all seemed appropriate driving a UHAUL. We stopped in Abbotsford for fuel and shortly after we were "On the Road Again" bound for the ferry. At 12:30 I heard a traffic report that the 1:00 PM sailing was filled and that the next boat went at 3:00. I arrived at the terminal at 12:40 to a nearly empty parking lot (only 25% filled) and got a ticket on the 1:00 PM sailing.

With the help of some fantastic family and friends, we had the truck unloaded in about 90 minutes. And then the work of unpacking began. You know, we left here 13 years ago and thought the move was a lot of work. We had know idea how much work this was going to be. I actually thought that if we planned well, we could have the truck loaded in a few hours, completely forgetting that 3 kids and 19 years of marriage combines to create a magnetic force for all kinds of clutter. The best I've found thus far is a box containing cards wishing us well as we moved to Kamloops. Yup.. unopened for 13 years. It was like a time capsule.. So much for "clutter management".

Anyway, I'll give you the scoop on the new 'hood tomorrow.

Tim

Bye, Bye Kamloops - Thanks for the memories

The big truck in our driveway and a sold sign on the front lawn combined with the papers we signed today all point to the fact that we are going, going, going .... gone in less than 36 hours. The memories of this city will stay with us for a long time. We came here as a family of 3 and leave as a family of 5 plus a dog. Our boys were born here. Brittany is moving back to the city of her birth. The sunset was magnificent tonight. We will only see one more as residents of the city. It was as though the sky was painted.

Tomorrow we will say our final goodbyes to our friends and neighbours. We have been blessed with some amazing people around us. We prayed for good neighbours and God gave us the best! We will miss the Young's, Beveridge's, Frenkel's, etc, etc. Even the people we share the back fence with who we've never seen or spoken to will be missed. They always threw the ball back into our yard!

We came here with dreams, some of which were realized some that weren't. We leave with some disappointments and regrets, but these are the threads of our lives that contribute to the magnificent fabric that God is weaving into our lives to create the masterpiece that He envisioned for us in the beginning.

We are leaving 13 years to the week we came here very different than the way we came. We are older, wiser and changed because of our time here. My head is greyer and there is less hair than before. My head is smaller and my heart is certainly softer than it was at different points along the journey.

We are moving towards something fresh and new. It's a vision and dream that we have carried for years. It is so out of the ordinary, but at the same time so real and tangible. What we saw by faith, first in our hearts, then in a living room in Victoria and then through countless "God moments" is now becoming reality. I never cease to be amazed at how God makes something out of nothing and how He is gracious enough to include me in His plans. Thanks God!

So... tomorrow is the end of one chapter (maybe even a series of chapters...) and the beginning of a new one. This one was written in heaven before God said "Let there be" and one that will be completed on His terms and timeline. Thanks for praying, believing, sowing and standing with us. I'll post again from our Pacific Island home.

Tim

Our New House

We've made a quick trip to Victoria so Barb could see the house and the boys could get a sense of their new "hood". Driving from the ferry to the house was very interesting. I was being plagued with thoughts of "Have I done the right thing?" "What if she doesn't like it?" and "Have we lost our minds?" The house is actually smaller than I thought, but will work just fine with some creativity and adjustments. We did some minor work on the yard today as it is a gardeners paradise/nightmare all at the same time. I'll post some pictures after we are moved in and settled.

So, we are all good with the house and the only family members that haven't seen it are Britt and Zoe. This morning we went for a walk to the Ocean at 7, for a drive at 10 and now Barb and the boys are at "Seeing is Believing" while I mooch an internet connection and catch up on a few things.

I'm preaching at Burnaby Chinese Pentecostal this Sunday and then sharing at our home church one more time before we leave town. We are so blessed to have been a part of Bible Truth for this past 18 months. This time has prepared us in faith and fellowship to take a step that is beyond anything we've ever done before.

Pray for us, this is a long leap...

Tim

The Flood that Didn't Come

If the experts were correct, the Fraser Valley would be experiencing a flood as I write this. But because God intervened, people are able to sleep in their own beds, live in their own homes and carry on with their lives, without the hassles and headaches of a flood. God is good!

Some will attribute this to luck, good fortune and cooperative weather. At the end of the day, it's only God who could manage this and He did it in response to our prayers and to demonstrate His care and concern for people and the MLA's who asked us to take up the challenge. We have seen the first of many miracles as God is very interested in making himself known in our great province and nation.

"Before the nations, He has bared his mighty arm."

Thanks for standing with us!

Anything Can Happen

The combination of the hot weekend and rain in the Interior yesterday has raised concernes about a potential flooding throughout the province. In the natural, flooding appears inevitable. However, our God in heaven is not limited and governed by the laws of nature. So, this week I'm asking you to pray along with people from across the province asking the Lord to hold back a flood and allow for a spring runoff without damage to property and people.

You may live far away from a potential flood zone, but ten's of thousands of people in our province will be dramatically affected if the river spills it's banks, particularly in Prince George and the Fraser Valley. We need a miracle and miracles still happen.

It's time to pray!!