Living in the Moment

Our year on the prairies is quickly coming to an end. Friends we meet are starting to ask, “How much longer are you here?  When do you return to Europe?” Our answer is a reminder to us of how little time is left.

When I take time to reflect on this year of life on the prairies, these are some phrases that come to mind:

Lots of travels, busy, new opportunities, the coldest winter in 120 years, lots of new friends, a long winter, Mennonite and Canadian heritage, enjoying my kids, Canadian generosity, a growing burden for those in need, no spring, not enough time to spend time with every one…

If I had to tell you what my favorite moments were, moments that made my heart and soul glad, it would definitely not be the times I finished my to-do lists, or rushed from one “important” meeting or event to another, or even days I felt that I accomplished a lot.  It would clearly be the time and space I took to “be” and live in the moment, the moments I took “breathing in” what I was doing, taking in what was around me, and the people I was with.

Moments such as the following:

Just this morning….  sitting in my “princess chair”, before everyone else is up, starting my day off with my Heavenly Father, taking in the unconditional love He continually pours out on my life. Bowing and submitting to His purpose and His plan, which might seem like a bumpy road, but knowing that He is right there on the road with me.

Making scones with my friend Valrae for our open house

Special friends: usually it is just “being with them”. Baking, planting, painting, crocheting, singing, running, celebrating, eating, singing, planning, strategizing, dreaming…. I have been amazed this year at how much I have been blessed with good friends …friends with whom I can just be myself.

Times like yesterday at the Open House we had here in Steinbach, listening to my husband, this man I love, share his passion and burden for the far too many 
marginalized and desperate children in the world and the role we can play to help make a difference.

Our crazy teenager!

Lots of evenings spent with our teenager Alex, talking, listening, encouraging as he navigates his way through transitions with lots of life questions, or watching him perform one of his dances and seeing his face light up with joy.

Digging my fingers and feet in this rich Canadian soil while planting flowers and tomato plants….

I wonder how many of these moments I miss … how many you miss. They are there all around us, waiting to be “breathed in”, to be noticed.  

It is those moments that we live life at its fullest, that we give meaning to the person we are made to be, that we connect with ourselves, others, and our Maker. I don’t want to miss those moments. 

Maybe it is the width and vastness of the prairie skies, that pulls me in to want to stop and look for the little things, the beauty in the here and now, the moments that might tend to get lost in the never ending horizon of the prairies…

A Week of Planned and Unplanned Events

Enjoying my first ever Slurpee

Well, winter has abruptly ended here on the prairies of Canada.  

A little over a week ago we were still having what I would call end-of-winter temperatures, but now it seems that here in Manitoba, mother nature is skipping spring and going straight into summer. 

I am not complaining about the warmth, although it does seem funny to have to get up extra early to run in order to avoid the heat, when a little over a month ago I was still debating whether or not to run because of the cold.  

First summer hot dog roast

This week has been quite a week.  Just when Phil and I thought life would be a little more “normal” with less travel, time to catch up on routine work-related items, time to connect with local friends and maybe even a summer barbeque with the extended family, it seems that God had other plans.

Poverty, Praise, and Pie Fundraiser:

The singer, pie bakers!

Tammy put her laptop (which is basically her office this year) aside and spent 2 days with a great team of women from our Steinbach church baking pies to raise awareness and funds for OSWW (Open Schools World Wide).  It was so much fun, working along side of others, listening to their life stories, and singing while we worked. I also became an expert in “pie fluting”, as my job was to put the finishing touch on the 200 pies by fluting the edges.  The fundraiser enabled us to raise over $7000 for the education of marginalized children in southern Africa!

Made over 200 pies..

Just whistle while you work..

Unexpected hospital visit!

We had just returned from the Pie fundraiser, and Michael (who is with us for the summer) told us his stomach didn’t feel so good. Well, a couple of hours later he was in so much pain that we had to rush him to the hospital, where he was operated for acute appendicitis and a hernia...which they found in the process.  This was definitely not part of his plan, but he is so thankful that it happened while he was at home and not at college, or in a couple weeks when he is planning to be in Brazil leading a soccer camp with street kids.  He just came home today, still quite sore, but glad to be out of the hospital.

I could go on and tell you about other unexpected events, news items, jumping in and helping others, decisions to make, and burdens of others which we carry in our hearts.  They are all part of our lives. 

Today as I take a minute to reflect on this week a verse from the Psalms comes to mind. Psalms 19:21 “Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails” - I am humbled and comforted by this reminder today.

Humbled, because it reminds me of my rightful place - not as the center of a plan, but as a part of a bigger one. Comforted, because I don’t have to know and understand it all.  I can trust, hope, and accept that a God who loves me and those I love has a higher purpose than what I can see.  I can therefore let go, and let Him.

Construction

There is a ton of construction going on where we live. 

Manitobans say there are 2 seasons here: winter and construction. So driving back from the hospital with Michael today meant I couldn’t take the road I normally do. This alternate route forced me to slow down, take a new road, take a little more time, work on my sense of direction (which is really challenged), and avoid getting tar on the car. Yes… some minor inconveniences, but the bigger picture is that in a week or so we get to enjoy a nice new road, with no pot holes and cracks caused by the long prairie winter.

Our Kids and You

Wheaton College graduation

We just returned from spending a couple days at Amanda’s Wheaton College graduation in Wheaton, Illinois.  Alex stayed here with some good friends and his aunt and uncle from Steinbach, while Phil set off on the long 14-hour drive to Illinois.  On the way he picked up Michael, who had just completed his first year at Lake Forest College. 

Michael finished a great year at Lake Forest

Then Phil and Michael picked me up at O’Hare airport, as I was returning from a leadership conference in NY city.  From there we arrived just in time to attend the beginning of the graduation festivities that Friday evening. I know this all sounds a little complicated and crazy, but those of you who know us usually smile and say “That’s the Peters!”

Being together with our grown-up kids over the weekend was wonderful! We couldn’t help but feel so proud of them!

Amanda's Wheaton College grad

 This year has been a year of transition for all of us, especially our kids.  Going from the little village of Holzen, Germany to the big city of Chicago, from high school to college, from graduating from college to looking for a job in Washington DC, from attending a small Christian private school to a big public school. This hasn’t all been easy, but they have done so well!

Alex with his Hip Hop instructor  in Winnipeg ( one of the things he has loved doing even here on the prairies!)

Alex in one of his dance recitals 

When I pause to stand back and observe with my mother heart, and see how my children, our children, are growing, maturing, and sinking their own roots into the lives that God is leading them to live, I can’t help but have strong feelings of joy, love, anticipation, excitement, and a mother’s sort of pride. All those feelings of course are mixed in with other emotions such as anxieties and trust issues that come with the unknowns of the future. But my heart is so thankful!!

“It takes a village to raise a child.” (African proverb)

I have to stop here and say:

It’s all grace!....it’s all gifts which we haven’t earned and don’t deserve.  I can’t be grateful enough for these gifts that God has allowed our family to experience.

•         The grace of having a rich and stable family heritage, with parents who love each other and are still committed to the “yes” they gave each other on their wedding day.
•         The grace of growing up in a healthy loving church fellowship, which has reflected, not perfectly, but as a “mere reflection” of what the body of Christ is.
•         The grace of global experiences, which have started giving their eyes lenses to a world full of needs and the role and responsibilities they have to be agents of change.
•        The grace of learning and not giving up through hurts and disappointments.
•         The grace of friends and family who have just loved on our kids over and over again by giving of their time, sharing laughter and fun with them, sometimes giving of their money, speaking into their lives, and authentically seeing and encouraging them in who they are. 

These people, the hands and feet of those “graces”, are YOU. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Do we ever lose by giving?  No we don’t, we are the richer for it. You, I, my children, your children; we have all been blessed by these graces. Let’s keep passing them on to those around us. What a difference it makes, not just for this generation.  The benefits will carry over for generations to come!

 Michael going to Brazil

Eric, Stefan and Michael, all 3 going to Brazil!

Michael and some of his BFA buddies have planned an outreach to Sao Paulo, Brazil during the soccer world cup next month. They are running a soccer camp for street kids, whose homes have been displaced because of the construction of the stadiums. If you have been listening to world news you will know about this. We think it is a great thing.  He is working hard at Canadian Tire this summer to earn money towards this as well as college. He'd happily accept any contributions towards this project.(afro.mike@gmail.com)

May Day!

May flower blooming in my garden in Germany

It is May 1^st today.  Just sent my son Alex out the door to school this morning.  This is probably the first time in his life he has ever gone to school on this day since May Day (May 1^st) is an official holiday in Europe.  Just sat down with my cup of tea to think about the day and let my mind wander to other years and places where I have spent the first of May.

France:  As most of you know I grew up in France, spending 10 years of my life there (between the ages of 6-16).  In France on May 1 we were allowed to pick the little white flower, lily of the valley, in our local forest. We then bunched them into little bouquets and gave them to our friends and neighbors. It symbolized a “good wish”, a “blessing” for their future.  To me it was a friendly way of telling our friends we cared about them and hoped to get to know them better in the future.

The Peters in their Austria "Tracht"

Austria: Phil and I moved there in 1989 and lived in the beautiful little town of Schladming for 14 years. May Day was a day the May Pole went up in the middle of town.  If I remember correctly the custom there was as follows:  the young men in town erected a 10-meter pole with a “Tannenbaum” attached to the top.  The bottom of the pole was usually surrounded by iron rods so that the neighboring towns’ young men could not come and cut the May Pole down in the middle of the night. Our local boys would stand watch somewhere near the pole on the first night.  I was always glad to wake up and see our little town’s May Pole with its beautiful Tannenbaum still standing tall the next morning.

The German youth on their way to a "Mai-Hock"

May 1st walk with the Canadian cousins

Germany:  In our little area of the Black Forest, where we have spent the last 10 years of our lives, May 1^st was a “walking-hiking-biking day”. Families and friends of all ages would head out sometime in the morning and walk or bike from one little village to another stopping at one of the many “Mai-Hock”s (an outdoor local community food/ beer “fest”) on the way.  A time to get outdoors, enjoy nature and meet up with the neighbors whom you might not have seen all winter.

Phil and I biking up the Blauen

All great memories that bring a big warm smile to my face…

A May visit with friends

So yes, I’m sitting here a little home sick for Europe, for some of you, my dear friends, and those customs that have been part of my life. 

On the other hand I realize how rich and privileged I have been to experience such diversity and different ways cultures choose to celebrate life, friendship, new beginnings, creation… There seems to be in all of us, no matter which country and culture we are from, a desire for traditions that connect our lives with others around us and the creation that God has put us in. I want to embrace this connecting, to see God’s imprints in it and enjoy it to its fullest.  I am also enjoying experiencing new customs, here on the Canadian prairies, in Congo, hopefully some day in South Africa, and who knows where else … ! 

The Return of the Canada Geese

Spring Melt

Phil and I were taking a walk yesterday…the first in a while. The temperature was a balmy +2 Celsius and we were enjoying the exercise, fresh air and the many signs of the onset of spring here in Manitoba (big puddles, water running in the side ditches, a few birds singing and lots of shining sun).

Family visit in France!

I actually haven’t blogged in the past few weeks, the main reason being that Phil and I have been traveling a lot (Phil returned from Zimbabwe, we then met up in Europe and ended up in Turkey attending a global TeachBeyond conference). It is not that I wouldn’t have had a lot to write about, but my mind was struggling to process all the impressions and the experiences we were having.

The Bulawayo Dump (Zimbabwe) with OSWW 

Phil went from an intense 2 weeks in Zimbabwe with his team from “Open Schools Worldwide”, connecting with the immense and overwhelming needs of the marginalized children of Africa, to us meeting up in Europe and being refreshed and spoiled in the beautiful Swiss alps with great friends, spending some time with my family in France, sharing a Sunday service at our church G5, then going to a TeachBeyond conference in Turkey…..so many places, friends, needs, hurts, joys, disparity, challenges, …

You can imagine when Phil, Alex and I boarded 2 different planes out of Turkey to make the long trip home to Manitoba our minds and hearts felt like they were running to catch up with us.  Is this good?  In many ways probably not, but I do believe that God has given Phil and I a role to be bridges, connecting people from one culture to another and one kind of world to another. Phil has felt strongly lately that he is to be “a voice for the voiceless”. 

These verses in Proverbs 31: 8,9 have particularly challenged him.

“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves;
ensure justice for those being crushed. Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless,
and see that they get justice”

This has got to involve some culture shock, and at times extreme almost paradoxical situations.

The Canada geese have been returning here to Manitoba. Watching them fly up above to settle for the summer brings a smile to my face. These strong, majestic birds are meant for a life of migration.  They adapt easily to new environments by settling somewhere for a couple of months, then picking up, flying up to 2000 km a day and returning to their “other home”.  I can somehow relate, and what brings me peace is knowing that for some of us this is what is meant to be, what God created us for.  No matter what we have experienced along the way there is always a coming back home…..wherever that home might be for the moment.