Flat3D

Home again…

Isn’t it funny how home always seems so bland and boring after being away from it for a while? When I left Toronto it was 34 degrees, the sun was shining, I was hanging out with Kevin having chicken feet and enjoying quality chat. When I arrive home, its 11 degrees (forecast max is 14 today), I’m alone in my room, I can expect to make my own lunch and eat it alone today with no chat… (did I hear an “awwwww” ?)

I also always seem to learn so much more easily away from home, when God has a lesson to teach me its plain in front of my face when I don’t have 10-dozen distractions at my fingertips. This time He is telling me I’m not giving Him enough of my time. When I look back at the past year at university I have been so busy with working to get my degree that I often forewent time spent with God. Now that is something that even the most basic guide to how a christian should spend there time will have in big red letters on the “What not to do” section. And it hasn’t recovered.
So how did going away point this out to me?? Well, when I was packing I obviously included my Bible. And so when I arrived and got things all settled in my room at the Lazda’s house, I put the Bible on the bedside table and then when I was jetlagged and not sleeping properly I would read it. This is all well and good to the onlooker, but to me I was floundering. I wasn’t focussing on what I was reading, I had no structure to learn from, nothing to guide me. My thoughts wandered as often as my eyes left the page and I couldn’t settle to read God’s word. The reason is, I am sure, obvious to those of you reading this who have found yourself in a similar situation. I was out of practice, I had lost the engrossment that comes with knowing that you are reading the breathing living word of God and that knowledge comes from experiencing it’s working in your life everyday, something which I have been lacking for some months now.

So what am I going to do? Well first up I’m going to get to reading. Also I am going to get a yearly-read-study-bible (like Mel’s MacArther (I think) one) and start into it. I mean I am going to be in Japan for a year pretty much exactly, so if I start now I can aim to have been through it by the time I’m coming home. I am also going to get a few people to be accountible to (if you want to be one, feel free! Just tell me off when you see me online or in person, remind me to read some scripture that day).

So yeah, plane trips are good for thinking about things. Your legs might cramp and you might be busting for a whiz, but can’t go cos the little old dear in the aisle seat has fallen asleep and is drooling on her daughter and the food might suck (it was terrible coming home), but it certainly gives you some time to reflect on things.

I’ll do a rundown of my trip and post up photos soon enough.

Time flies…

…when your having fun eh? (ok so the “eh” was forced, but I think I’m turning just slightly canadian…)

Still no more pictures, but not for lack of snapping… Kevin could help me put them on here via his Mac but I think I will just leave it til I get home. I can arrange them and stuff and get them all up at once for browsing at your leisure.

So we have done loads of stuff since the last update. Karaoke, went to the movies, ikea, went to the movies, saw kevins band practise, went to the movies…
I think I have seen more movies in the past two weeks than in the past 6 months at home! So far I have seen Mr & Mrs Smith, Madagascar, Batman Begins and Kicking and Screaming… Also watched Mr 3000 on dvd and some other random movies and movie snippets…

I’ve also eaten out lots, which is nice! Especially as it is so inexpensive here (at least compared to home!) We’ve had all kinds of food from North American to East Asian!

I don’t really have much time to spend typing as we are going to a thingy at a local highschool to tutor kids and play basketball (or watch basketball as the case my be ;)) So I will expand more on my trip when I get home.

Oh yeah, I got my results… 69% average overall and awarded a 1st class hons

Ok…

A lot of things have happened since my last post… This time I’m using kevins computer, a mac.. It has eaten my editing bar so I cant use my nice smilies and rich text!!! I also don’t yet know if I can find an ftp program to upload stuff (before and Mac geeks say anything I know its there, but I might not be able to find it, perhaps I can get down to the unix-esque core of this bad-boy and do something useful with ftp commands…)

So yeah! Long time since the last post! Since then I have been downtown in Toronto, eaten lots of fantastic maltese food (thanks to Charlie and Anna - masterchefs (and lots more!)), played softball, been to kevin’s church, had a barbecue and most important of all, been to Ryan and Mel’s wedding last night!

The wedding was awesome, lots of fun and good times. Many poignant speeches and so on, although I’m surprised someone didn’t faint during the sermon… it was quite long!

So i’ve done lots of stuff! If there are no more photos up, blame Apple for making such an unweildly device!

River trip

Yesterday morning we went to church at mel’s home church, Bramalea Baptist. Its a big place, like a large auditorium, kinda like the Meteropolitain Tbernacle only with more involving songs, less hands waving and no altar calls… (phew)

Then yesterday afternoon we went down a river… Not in a canoe… We just walked down a river… If it was more organised it would have been bouldering, but yeah. It was great though, Mel, Ryan (mel’s fiancé), Scott (a guy from mel and ryan’s church) and I began under a waterfall (almost) and worked ourway downstream from rock to rock until we had all kinda fallen in at some point and decided it was easier to wade through bits now that we were already wet! We ended up climbing up the bank to the railway tracks and walking back. Great craic! If it was warmer I’d do it at home!

I’ve uploaded some photos in the photo gallery.

Canada eh?

I’m in Canada!
My flight got in an hour early, so that meant less time on a plane which is nice! I met kevin at about 10:20am (toronto time) and then we went about and looked for mel for a while… eventually she turned up, she had got lost between the carpark and the terminal!

So now I’m at the Lazda’s house, everyone is being really nice etc so its nice to be here, but so warm! Its over 35 degrees today, which isn’t normal (I’m told…) and it kinda feels like being back in Japan, with Mel and Kevin and heat etc.

The week is filling fast, I’m kinda worried I’m getting in the way a little, although I think kevin and I are going to clear out Thursday to give mel more space and time to organise, but I’m not really too sure what is going on! My head is pretty cloudy from sheer tiredness, its not so much jetlag as it shouldn’t have kicked in yet, more the fact that I have been up for 17 hours and only had 3 hours or so sleep last night. Jetlag will be coming soon though, but my plan is to stay up and then sleep well tonight and hopefully be over it tomorrow.

Photos may be coming soon, if I take any that is…