Wednesday 30 November 2016

Wedding dress shopping!


You should have felt the energy in “David’s Bridal shop” the day Amanda and I went wedding dress shopping.  We stood there with other brides-to-be, bridesmaids, mothers, and grandmothers all buzzing around, picking out dresses, trying them on, giving input, ideas, choosing matching accessories … but really the main focus  was to please  and honor the “lady of the day”. … the future bride.

Amidst the laughter, smiles, encouraging comments, dreamy eyes, and lots and lots of female excitement in the air, the most amazing time was the moment a future bride … and in this case it was my daughter… walked shyly onto the platform full of mirrors with …. “the dress.”  She had already tried on several before, which were also beautiful, but somehow they weren’t right. All of a sudden, with this one, things were different.  People stopped what they were doing, heads turned, I caught my breath, others gave nods of approval….as the bride-to-be stood there with all eyes on her and broke into the most beautiful smile. She found THE DRESS.  Ok, this is sounding a little like a Walt Disney princess movie, but I promise you, it’s true.


It is amazing what seems to happen in a girl’s heart after she says “yes”,.. but before the wedding day.  “Yes” to the man she has hoped, dreamed, prayed for and visualized spending the rest of her life with.  Her face radiates, there is a non-stop smile on her face. Her nice character becomes even nicer J.  People and things that used to annoy just don’t seem as annoying. A very generous amount of time is  dedicated to communicating with this special man that she is in love with. Unity, things you have in common, future plans, and love is what matters! What a lovely time to be alive and enjoy!



Standing in that bridal shop on that morning I couldn’t help think of how we Christians as the body of believers represent the bride of Christ. As a follower of Christ I have given my “yes” to Him. I am actually living in anticipation of being united with him and celebrating the wedding feast with Christ as our groom who loves his bride the church more than we can even imagine. We as a church of believers are actually living in an  “engagement” period.  We are betrothed to him.  Wow!  How exciting! But is that how we feel? Are we as excited as my daughter Amanda is about her fiancé David?  Or have we been “engaged” so long that the anticipation and excitement of our first love has died away?



 As we start into this Advent season, which is a time of “anticipation”, anticipating the both the birth of Christ but also his second coming, the BIG wedding day,

I sure hope we don’t lose the “twinkle in our eyes”!


PS.  Sorry, won’t be posting any pictures of the Amanda in her dress until the big day - June 24th!




Thursday 27 October 2016

Lessons learned from a marathon..



I'm still feeling a bit stiff and sore from the "Cotes du Rhone" marathon I just ran last Sunday, but I am also basking in the memories and the thoughts related to ones life that goes on the days after such a run. I have been running marathons off and on over the last 13  years and one of the benefits I have had is to been able to draw so many life lessons and parallels out of the running and training for them. For me the lessons have always had a spiritual dimension. They have strengthened my walk with God and with others.
Here are a few that I was reminded of this time.



 1.     Prepare

Running a marathon without any preparation is just down right stupid. Even though I had trained for and ran 9 of them before, I couldn’t just run “out of experience” I still needed to prepared for this specific one.  The more you prepare the better you do on Marathon day. Mental and physical preparation is crucial to success! 



2.     Be ready for the unexpected

The unexpected is, ….well, to be expected. No matter how much you prepare there are things that will most likely happen on that day that you had not anticipated:  rain storms, stomach "issues", leg cramps, a bad attitude or even asthma attacks. The unexpected can also be something surprisingly wonderful and can give you great source of joy…. I hadn't expected the beauty of the "Valley of Rhone" in  Provence, France nor when a women, whom I didn't know yelled out; “ You are running this for me!” This unexpected request energized and motivated me as I symbolically took on "running for those who could not!"

3.     Don’t do it alone!

You don’t have to be alone, and believe me having one or two people that are running along side you whether in body or spirit is key to success!  This time I had my sister and mom along. Two of my most favorite people!  My sister Tracy trained with me. We met regularly for 8 weeks prior to the marathon. We encouraged each other during the race, especially those last 10 kilometers when we felt like quitting and pushed each other to do "just a little more". Having someone you are accountable to just helps you stick to your goal. On the marathon weekend my mom came along. She woke us up, made us coffee,  carried our bags, was there at the start and finished and lent us a supportive arm as we hobbled our way back home. Thanks mom and Tracy. We were a team!







4.     Live in the moment

Enjoy the view, breathe in the moment, you are alive….Don’t wish it away!




 
  
  5. Draw strength from your training

There comes a time in most “races” when you go beyond what you did in your training……well that is exactly why you were training.  It was for those moments.   Don’t quit. This is what you were training for!...Tracy  and I hit that moment at km 32.  Those last 10 km were just killers. Every kilometer was endless. The scenery was grayer, peoples cheers became annoying, but we knew we had it in us because we had trained!…and boy were we glad for every kilometer we had put in over the last 8 weeks.

 


6.     Take time to Celebrate!!

Isn’t it crazy that we often skip this part! We tend to underplay what we have spent so much time preparing for.  Celebrate by telling your story, taking time to process….or write a blog like I am doing. And yes we did celebrate with a nice glass of “Cotes du Rhone!”.  

"Allez, Allez!"


Wednesday 31 August 2016

Hurdles





I have never liked hurdles. 

 In eighth grade I used to run track and once during a hurdle race I had a bad fall that tore up one side of my face and knocked 2 of my front teeth out. I still have some scars from it today. Not a good memory! 

A Hurdle race is tricky to run. I watched a couple of races during the Olympics, and cringed every time someone jumped, hoping no one would fall. You either confidently jump over them, or you hesitate ...and most likely will trip and fall. I usually just rather avoid them.

Coming to Congo this time has felt like a "hurdle run".  Hurdles are pretty much a norm for Africa. Some of them these past days were very concrete…like having no electricity last night or internet when I wanted to connect with my family or driving down the streets of Kinshasa dodging pot holes, broken down cars or piles of trash in the middle of the road on our way to taking my African colleague’s wife to the hospital to get a malaria treatment. Other hurdles are more mental and emotional. Mine these days were finding out that two of my colleagues were refused entry in to Congo and that I am now here alone and responsible for doing the teacher training we had planned to do together.  My initial reaction was ..and  I did, to call Phil, cry a little and tell him I want to come home. I really didn't want to be here and do this alone.

That is what I felt like doing! But a strange thing is happening tonight and I can only explain it as “Christ living in me”. I  all of a sudden have peace….yes, the one that passes all understanding that we we about in the Bible. And after reading dozens of emails, What’sApp and facebook message that came in from good friends encouraging me and saying they were praying for me. Tonight I don’t feel alone.

So I’ve decided and I am going to take those hurdles straight on with confidence and courage….because…,

“He that is in me is greater than he that is in the world”

 Yesterday morning while sitting in the Addis Ababa airport on my way to Congo. I read these verses. They came just at the right time. I Just wanted to share them with you. Maybe some of you are running a kind of hurdle race right now. Go for it!

“The Lord you God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing-
Zephaniah 3:17

Friday 12 August 2016

Things I love about the prairies of Canada and the people who live there…




Enjoying one of the 100,000 lakes in Manitoba



Ok, so this is coming as seen through my mixed up American/European glasses, but being  immersed once again back in my Canadian "Mennonite" home has reminded me of differences and aspects that I find refreshing and very much love about Canada and Canadians. 


So here are a few of them:



Lo……ng summer days…well, it is way up there in the north.



No mountains here, but just look at the contours of those amazing prairie skies…





They value the importance of connection and belonging to a family. 
In Phil's Mennonite heritage background, everyone seems related to everyone. You just have to find the connection.

Phil and his brothers


Cousins


Jesus, church, and fellowship are important (All you Steinbach EMCers, we love you!)















Tuning into CBC while on the road
They can laugh at themselves… If you gets a chance, listen to This is That” on Canadian CBC radio, and you will know what I am talking about.






They take their shoes off at the front door... ( so all that snow stays out).
Sorry, no picture of this one.



Can't miss going to the MCC thrift store in Steinbach!
 
They have great thrift- and used- book stores!



My favorite!
Wholesome, healthy, homemade food around the table: farmer sausage, vrenike, and rhubarb desserts and pies! (Well, not everything can be healthy J

















 
 Summer outdoor festivals
Ballet in the park (Winnipeg)











 







They apologize even when there is no reason to.... just because they are nice… I’ve even seen buses  say “SORRY” because they were out of service.



Ev's beautiful garden

Their gardens and their lawns are beautiful and keep them busy all summer long (which is only 3 months).








We very much enjoyed visiting the new Museum of Human Rights in Winnipeg





They are very politically correct…unlike us Americans.




They welcome foreigners, without building walls ;-)




They think that their US neighbors down south have really gone nuts this last little while.




And I think most of all I love that they have “welcomed me home”...me, the sometimes outspoken, blunt, mixed up Euro-American with a first-nations background,  when I show up every other year for a much too briefvisit.



Thank you Canada.  I can’t wait to be back! .....in the summer!

Monday 25 July 2016

Cheering each other on!


The reformers wall in Geneva, Switzerland

I stood in front of the Reformers’ Wall in Geneva and tears started rolling down my face. I was somewhat surprised by my emotional reaction while facing these imposing five-meter tall, stern-faced stone men who looked as if they were guarding the city of Geneva: Theodore Beza, Willam Farel, John Knox and of course John Calvin .  

Standing there I had a mix of feelings, but mostly ones of awe, respect and great gratitude towards these “saints of old” and the sacrifice and determination they showed hundreds of years ago. They lived out their conviction and provided freedom for their religious beliefs.

 Perhaps it is because of growing up in France as a child of missionaries, where I so often felt skepticism from others towards my “American, protestant” identity.  I remember one day, in my 7th grade French history class, being asked to get up from my desk, while the teacher pointed me out as a “live example” of a heretic. Or the feeling of being looked at funny when asked what my father’s job was, and I had to answer that he was a pastor, and upon seeing their perplexed faces had to explain that a pastor was a kind of priest, but for the protestants. This of course made no sense to them, since priest were not allowed to get married nor have children, so imagine the category that put me in as a child of a protestant priest. 


So there I stood in June of 2016,…..well aware of today’s current events themes:  refugees fleeing dysfunctional economic systems, people being killed because of their different status or color, others choosing to exit systems that seems imposed on them.  I realized, to a small extent, the importance such people played in making way for the freedoms of today. I also stood there feeling a degree of shame at how today I take the freedom they worked so hard for for granted.


These men stood there like the “great cloud of witnesses” mentioned in Heb.12:1,  and we could add to them so many others who have gone before us and paved the way for the work that we do today.  Of course I couldn’t help but think of the reason I was in Geneva on that very day - to take part in the board meetings of the Leman International Academy, a small Christian bilingual school I had helped “birth” five years ago.  It occurred to me that even in 2016 in Europe, we have to keep fighting hard to keep a school with Christian value-based education an option for families in the Geneva area.  This also applies to other projects that have not been birthed without a struggle.

Alex raised over $1000 running  in the Freiheitslauf, 2016

Those who know me know that I love to run.  Running for a purpose and a goal is something that motivates me, but I have learned that it can’t be done without a price, effort, time and perseverance, nor without people who encourage and believe in what you are doing…..kind of like the “great cloud of witnesses”. 

Some of you are those people for me and it has been great to reconnect with many of you this summer.
 

The city of Geneva doubled in population during the days the protestants were persecuted for their faith. It was known as a “city of refuge”. It kept this “refuge” status and extended it to all sorts of people being persecuted for their differences in 1951, through the Geneva convention on political asylum.

Tammy and Tracy running the race!
So, standing before the Reformers’ Wall on that day, I was encouraged  and motivated to keep running the races set before me: there in Geneva with the little Leman International Academy, but also in my personal walk with God, in my marriage with Phil, my relationships with my kids and family, with my dear friends and the many other “races” set before me. 

Most of us hardly have a day that goes by when we are not on either side of the race: either as the runner who needs encouragement, or as the one who is doing the cheering on. sometimes we might even have to do both at the same time. 

Keep it up! We need each other!



Hebrews 12:1 says, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders … and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”
Local refugees ran in the Freiheitslauf with us!


Thursday 7 April 2016

Puppies and Puddles






April 2016

1 week ago we picked up our new little family member - a dog … well, a puppy. Often folks in western “first world” countries think a family is incomplete without a pet. So we think about it, imagine, consider the pros and cons, and deliberate over the decision of adding a “big pet” to our lives.

We actually thought that we had made it through this phase, but no, the Peters finally gave in. I could blame it on our kids who recently used phrases like “Our childhood will never be complete without a dog”, or “Families with dogs are just happier families”, or the latest “You can still save our childhood if you get a dog” – Yes, Michael said this, but in reality I wanted one too. My outdoor, romantic, dreamy images of me running through the woods with my dog got the better of me. So we broke down and took the plunge, and the outcome is that today, on a Sunday morning, I am sitting at home, trying to live-stream our church service (which of course is not working L) while I am “puppy sitting”J because he can’t be left alone yet. Yes, we were warned. We went into it with “eyes somewhat open”.

Try saying no to those eyes
We have quickly discovered that training a puppy is all-consuming.  It is actually ridiculously consuming. I can’t even leave the kitchen/dining area, to which for the moment the puppy is restricted, and our house has been transformed into puppy kindergarten. We took out the carpets, put in safety gates, blocked off all areas we don’t want to “puppy proof”, and now, instead of decorative flowers, baskets with books, and nice cozy rugs I have: boxes, empty plastic bottles, balls, rags, ropes, and old shoes strewn all over the floor. Our vocabulary has changed to “Good, Rocky, peepee”, ”goooood boy”, or an attempt at a deep “NO Rocky”, ”No bite”, “no, no, no, NO…” (to which Phil usually laughs, because of course I can’t compete with the Peters’ deep low voice). Phil and I have even moved into separate bedrooms so that one of us can sleep downstairs next to the kennel during his “potty-training stage”, and the other can get some precious SLEEP!

Up the Blauen, our local mountain, on Phil's Bday
But you know, all in all, we love it! Here is this totally dependent, fun, excited, loving, the cutest of cuties, little being who wants to be with us at all times, who makes a mess, disrupts, adds some grief, but we love him anyways.

Disruptive nights (I thought we were long out of that stage) and wiping up pee puddles on the kitchen floor (Alex claims he is “a real PEEters”), have awoken my “reflective self” and given me something to think about.  I usually like to find a lesson of opportunity in every thing, and because I believe God uses His creation to teach us, I figure he is also teaching me through this silly, first world “puppy challenge”. 

What a life!

Are we a little like a puppy?  And is God the ideal “trainer?”  I’m not going to get theological - I would probably get into trouble. But I am sure thankful that He encounters me with joy and love, not giving up on what He knows I am created to be, …and that He likely often wipes up my pee puddles.