My Littlest Hero

While most of you may know this story, I thought I would write it anyways. It isn't truly my story, I haven't lived the fear and pain of it, so really I am just borrowing this story.
Last summer I was sitting, sipping tea with my Nana discussing why God allows pain in the world, and how false the idea is that, when you do good things, bad things wont happen to you. WE had started considering going out for dinner when the phone rang, my terribly upset mother on the other end. It seemed that my little niece, Taylor, had been taken to hospital. It was at that moment that the word "cancer" was introduced into my intimate vocabulary. Denying the possibility, Nana and I rushed to meet my sister, Morgan, and brother-in-law, Ryan. As we stepped into the little curtain-walled room, the doctor was explaining the situation. Morgan and Ryan's face's were blotchy from crying, and Taylor lay squealing in discomfort. When the doctor said it was almost certainly cancer... I went to the bathroom and hung my head over the toilet. This can't be happening, is all I kept thinking.



Less than an hour later Taylor and Ryan were on a plane headed to Children's Hospital. Morgan and I packed, and took the ferry to meet them. The next few days were strange, things seemed to fall together so well, and yet at the same time were so terrible.

It has been seven months that Taylor and her momma and papa have been fighting the leukemia that is trying to take my nieces life. And they are winning hands down! I am so proud of how all three of them have handled it. Taylor has developed so much mentally, and is definitely in the middle of her 'terrible twos'. Morgan and Ryan have been such an amazing example of trusting in God in the face of suffering.


But, mainly, I am thankful. Thankful Morgan took Taylor to the hospital that Sunday. Thankful for the staff at Children's Hospital. Thankful for the amazing couple that opened their home to Morgan, Ryan and Taylor for the months they have had to stay in Vancouver for treatment. Thankful for the abundant support churches and organizations have given. And thankful to God for his healing hands on the entire family. He has been so obviously in every step of this journey, and I am always so encouraged in hearing the reports from my sister.
Taylor will be finishing her treatment in June or July, and I am so excited to have my little niece back! She is such a beautiful child, both inside and out! God is so good!

Is it easy being green?

I just spent my entire 1.5 hour Sociology class watching "The Next Industrial Revolution". Although I can't say I agreed with everything in the film it was so incredibly thought provoking. It has made me want to be more eco-conscious, something I have always done a little bit, such as recycling and composting, but I certainly could be doing so much more!
I was so inspired by the number of blogs focused on 'green' living! The Zero Waste Home is probably one of my favorites, she just seems to be so passionate about it, and I love all her tips and hints on there. As some of you know, I am getting married this summer, and am really excited to have my own place and be able to make big decisions about where I get food, and how I run my home. Thankfully, I am marrying a farmer's boy who isn't afraid of getting his hands dirty, and is fantastically handy! He is always fixing this or that, or cutting this broken truck in half to make a trailer, or building a bike. He and I are in total agreement that we don't want to have too much "stuff", not wanting to buy into the North American idea that you need more! I really appreciate that about him.
One thing we want to be sure of is that we only have on vehicle. I know that might sound trivial to some, and ridiculous to others. To those finding it trivial, I don't think you can deny that we will be putting so much less pollution into the atmosphere by only having one car, not to mention will be more likely to walk or bike when the car isn't available, thus causing us to live a healthier lifestyle. To those who think it's ridiculous, yes, we know it will be tough at times, having to organize our schedules around one another, but seriously, it's only in the past decade that multiple-car-families have become common place, so I am sure taking a little step back in time wont kill us. That being said, Daniel (my loverly fiance) is slowly fixing up an old VW Jetta to run on veggie oil! I am so excited! While I definitely don't think veggie oil is the way to go for everyone, nor do I think it is the answer to the world's oil problem, I sure do think using old veggie oil from McDonalds to run your car is much better than having the oil be thrown out!
To end off this post, I would love if everyone could leave a comment with suggestions on creating a more eco-friendly home! Hopefully this fall I will be able to blog about each one as I set up my nest :) .

Wedding Colors!

I can't begin to tell you how sleepy I am! The last few days have been full of tests and assignments, and the worst is yet to come. This month is apparently the busiest month in college/university, since it is after midterms and right before finals, all the professors seem make the major assignments due within March. How nice.
Anyways, I am not talking about that! The purpose of this post is to let you in on the color scheme for the wedding. I am so excited! I spent Wednesday night frantically planning with my sister (who is also one of my bridesmaids) and my nana (whom I live with and therefore can't hide from the wedding chaos). I don't want to put all the details on here (I like surprises) but I will show you our three wedding colors!



So excited!

Beautiful Lyrics

Fewer and fewer songs seem to be coming out with beautiful lyrics, or at least the ones making their debuts in the public eye... I mean really... "I flip my hair back and forth"? Anyways, I have been listening to this song and can't seem to get enough of it! It truly is beautiful.

Pretty Things...

I love finding pretty things on the internet.
This picture makes me want to build forts in the forest like I did as a little girl. The crown she is wearing makes me thing of "Where the Wild Things Are"... which makes me think of Dan...



I found this dress some time ago and think it is just lovely and begging to be taken to a backyard tea party or to be worn on a winter walk with wooly tights and boots. I know I am a poor student, but I can dream, can't I?

The Engagement Story

It really happened! On February 23rd 2011 Daniel John asked me to be his wife. Oh dear, even writing the word 'wife' in reference to myself feels foreign to me. For those of you who don't know some of the background details, Daniel and I started dating on January 2nd 2010. We had met in 2008, but hadn't become close friends until the late summer of 2009.

Our relationship has been like learning to ride a pesky horse; constantly being knocked to the ground, lots of bruises and bumps, but all entirely worth it for that first few moments of cantering. I suppose comparing our relationship to falling on my face isn't the most romantic metaphor, but to me it is beautiful. So much of that beauty is being able to look back and see how many times I felt like giving up and heading and retreating into myself. But Daniel always made me change my mind. He is so steadfast and devoted that I just knew our bruises would heal, and that all we needed to worry about right now was getting back on that horse.
Now, I wont go into any more background detail (sorry to those feeling sick from the sappiness of all this love talk), but I would like to share with you my engagement story, and some photos of that very special day.


My Engagement
It was a Wednesday afternoon, and I was having such a good day! I had met with an old friend for coffee in the morning and had spent a good two hours catching up, reminiscing our high school days, and talking about plans for the future. We both have boyfriends, and after seeing a number of our old classmates tie the knot, the topic of marriage was inevitable. I couldn't help feeling a little burst of joy talking about it, and confided in her that I thought Daniel might propose that very day! As I said it out loud, though, I almost wanted to take it back. What if he doesn't ask today? I thought to myself I don't want to get my hopes up and ruin a perfectly good date when he doesn't ask. But I didn't need to worry.
Daniel had been caught in traffic, so our 'date' was a good hour and a half behind schedule. As I drove out to his house, snow was falling in puffy white flakes and I wondered if we would really be doing something outside. He had told me a few days earlier that our surprise date would be outside, and that I should wear a warm jacket and a hat. I'd decided to bring some gloves and boots along too.
As I drove into the house, Daniel's dad came jogging in from the barn saying that Daniel wasn't there, and had in fact just left. Odd. Moments later when Daniel did arrive, we both climbed into his noisy gold car and headed towards town. He pulled into the Miracle Beach parking lot, and we spent some time wandering through the beautiful big trees. Miracle Beach has always had a very special place in my memory. Growing up we would come to Campbell River to visit my grandparents, and would often go to Miracle Beach for picnics.

That day was different though, the skies were gray and the ground was covered with a layer of pebbly white snow that crunched under our feet. We walked and talked and laughed, and I called Daniel a girl for not wanting to go through some trees to get the the beach. Eventually we found a way that suited him, and came out into the open to be greeted by the empty beach. A few steps more and I saw three white balloons tied down next to the path. Daniel had written the words "Jordan", "Plus", "Daniel" on them, and tied them with green ribbon. We stopped and both pretended to be mystified at where the balloons had come from. He tied them to my wrist (I was sure I would accidentally loose grip and let them fly away) and on we went.

Just a few paces past the balloon spot, we turned a corner and came upon a little table and chairs set with a teapot, cups, honey and milk. I began saying something to Daniel but completely froze when I noticed his slate board sitting on one of the chairs. It read: I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?



Everything after that was a flurry of emotions and smiles and laughter. He got me to sit in one of the chairs, and then knelt down in front of me. He asked me to marry him, and I told him I would, and he slipped the ring on my finger. We laughed at how big the ring was compared to my little finger (apparently I do NOT know my ring size), and I stood up and we had a good long hug. While we stood there embraced, he told me how he wanted to live through everything with me, through the good time and the bad, and how he most importantly wanted to learn about the love of our Father through our love for each other. I don't think I have ever been as happy, joy filled, peaceful, and completely content as I was in that moment.



So, this is where our new story begins.

I miss the rains down in Africa... and everything else.

I thought I would bring over some bits of my blog entries from the blog I kept while I was in Kenya last fall. It was a true adventure, and I was so blessed to be able to be there with my dear friend Kaila.


Thursday, October 28th, 2010

I don’t think I will ever feel justified in complaining about laundry ever again. I know so many people who complain about getting laundry done, or how the laundry piles up from their kids and husband. However, in Kenya laundry is an entirely different concept than it is in North America. First you fill three buckets with water. The first will be for the primary wash, the second is also a wash, and the third is for rinsing. Most people use bar soap for washing the clothes, as detergent is a fair bit more expensive and runs out quickly. Then you scrub each piece of clothing, and in a home with 29 kids, that’s a lot. Most of the older children wash for themselves, every day in fact. They each only have one uniform, and so after school they wash their uniforms and hang them to dry for the next day. However, Mama Linnet, the woman who helps run the home, washes the clothes for all the small kids, 8 and under I believe. But, really, that’s still a lot of clothes to wash. Anyways, all of that to say, I don’t think I will be complaining about doing laundry in Canada for a long time.

There’s a lot of banging going on outside. They are removing the roof of the big water tank that stores all the rainwater. The water that falls on the roof of the dorm is fed down a pipe and then into the big round brick tank. Apparently the tank is beginning to leak, and so they must climb inside and reseal it with a cement/sand mixture. I was told that same mixture will also be making a cement-like platform under the facet for the tank that catches the water from the kitchen and dining hall. I don’t know if you know what it’s like to have to step in deep, sloppy mud --while wearing flip-flops-- every time you want to use some water, but it is VERY exciting to know everyone here will not need to do that for much longer.

There has been a new addition to the home today. A handful of government workers came to check the place out and help start the registration process for the home. They brought a little boy of about 4. The thing about him is that ha can’t walk. He just crawls around on his hands and knees. The government workers claim he was walking fine at the office, so either they are lying (a high possibility) of he was hurt at the office (also a pretty good possibility). He wont talk. Well, wont or can’t, we are all unsure of that. But either way, he has not communicated how his legs were hurt so Kaila and I have given Reah 1000 shillings to take him to the hospital and have him checked by the doctor. He doesn’t seem to be in any pain, so I think the injury is older than just this afternoon, and I am curious to hear what the doctor says.

I realized how different this place is when I wasn’t surprised or really even strongly affected by the state of this little boy. It was almost as if it was normal. And I suppose it is normal here, or at least not abnormal. Poor little guy, he was so scared when he first got here, I hope he will manage to settle in as well as all the other kids have.

The last few days Kaila and I have been praying individually with any of the kids who want us to pray with them. They are so sweet and usually have more prayer requests for other people than themselves. But I can’t shake the final thing Faith asked me to pray for. Healing. I am not sure when Faith was diagnosed as being HIV positive, but I think Mathea had told me about 8 or 9 last time I was here. She is 13 now and is such a lovely girl with the sweetest disposition and an even sweeter singing voice. I had prayed for her when I was here last, two years ago, and to have her ask again for prayer broke my heart. I don’t understand why a 13-year-old girl should have a disease like this, and why God wont just remove it when he is asked. I don’t have a conclusion.



May God give you grace in everything you do today,

Jordan