Oct 31

i am so happy that its Sabbath!!! last night after i got back from Kamloops Craig let me go to bed early. so i got like 9 hours of sleep. it was so glorious. i am glad i work with such wonderful people :) right after lunch i subbed grade 9 english. all they had to do was read a story, so i got to sleep for a bit of it :) it was nice.
when i was in Kamloops i got a spoon gouge! i am very happy with it. i have been doing a fair bit of carving and needed some new tools. so thats some fun stuff.
for vespers tonight Craig talked about the foot washing ceremony. i got a new appreciation for this reminder that God has given us. i have some people i need to talk to before church tomorrow.
i just have to praise the Lord for this week. i have never been so tired and yet kept such a good attitude. and that is only by the grace of God. and i have never been a morning person (Andrew, you can attest to that :) but i have consistently been getting up around 5:15 and having at least and hour of reading and prayer most mornings!! most of the time i cant even sleep after that. its been so wonderful. i just have to praise God for His love and goodness.

Oct 29

its 10:30 pm and i just finished my day :) a very long day. i didnt get to bed until midnight, then had to get up at 2:15 to unalarm the doors so because two of the guys had to go to Vancouver today. i went right to bed after that, but was reawaken by David C. who had gone out to get in the car but had forgotten the food on the couch behind the locked front door. so i had to get up to let him back in. my alarm went off and 5:15 so i could get a shower before plugging in the computers at 5:30 so some of the guys could do their home work. so my day was already half over by the time i got to breakfast. and on top of all that i had to teach class! thankfully i got to rest a bit this afternoon. but i just found out tonight that i have to go to Kamlooops tomorrow with the students :) joy of joys. i enjoy going, but it means that i am not going to be getting much rest. even this summer when i was working the 9 pm to 3 am shift at camp meeting i was able to get more sleep then i have this week. but you know what, God has given me the strength to continue through it all. and i praise Him mightily for that!
i got an awesome new toy today. my mom sent it to me. its called a fire piston. it works the same as a diesel engine. its a small, wooden cylinder with a piston. you put a little tender in it and hit the piston really hard. the compression causes a coal to form from which you light a fire. its very neat ;)

Oct 27

i cant remember the last time i was this tired :) it all started on Sabbath evening. we had a wonderful worship to close the Sabbath. it was a video called "how great is our God." it was about how large the stars are and yet how God cares so deeply for each of us individually. very powerful. but right after that is when the fun began ;) we were all preparing for international supper. so fist we divided up all the fun to the respective booths. that took almost an hour to get it all done. then every one was cooking and i was organizing till really late. i didn't get to bed until after 12. then i was up at 7:30 for breakfast. didn't even get a shower! i had about an hour before the program stared to get a little rest, but it wasn't much. but by the time the program started it was all worth it. every thing went very smoothly. the guests filed in, got their food in an orderly fashion, and ate in the assembly room. it was a lot nicer then last year. i am super glad it all went so well. and at the end the students really got in there and cleaned up fast and we all got to bed at a decent hour. then today i had to teach our dorm cleaner how to clean. (that is an on going proses.) and then i had class this after noon, after which i help Mrs. Roque clean the student life storage closet. so i have had a full weekend :) tomorrow i am so posed to have off but i have at least two meetings and who knows what else. so o well. at least i can sleep in a little.
a real burden that i have felt the last few days is how to make my Christianity super real. because if i truly believe that God is so posed to be the center of my life, then that means that i need to be spending a whole lot more time with Him then i have been (among other things i should change). so how much of my day needs to be focus wholly to Christ? i am not sure exactly what the ideal is. i mean, i still have a life to live. and with my schedule i would like a little down time. plus i have some fun hobbies i very much enjoy doing. but i have come to the realization that even though i my not see exactly where i need to be, i know i am not there yet. so i am going to be giving more and more of my time to Him. where ever i can find the time, or where i need to make it. i just want a tight relationship with Jesus. i know He has been working in my life in amazing ways. this whole weekend, even though i was stressed and tired, the Lord helped me keep my cool even during the trying times (and there were a few). Phl. 3:14 "I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." thats all i can do, so thats what i am giong to do :)

Oct 23

God is good. He has consistently gotten me up before 5:15 for the past week, which has given me a full hour of study and prayer before i even start my day! i have never liked getting up early, but has been so nice to spend that extra time with God. i really enjoy my sleep, but even though i go to bed later then i would like, God has kept me going through the day. Seth was so nice to night for doing lock up for me. i usually get to do it, which some times makes for very late nights.
on tuesday, my day off, i went up to rough creek (an hour and a half hike) and got some birch bark. its not as high quality as i would like, but it works. i have been having some fun with it the last couple of days. i will post some pics when i make something good. i have never worked with it before, so its all new to me.
i went over to Ewa's after lunch for a little bit today. she gave me some Polish tea that was made form dried flowers and dried fruit chuncks. you kind of have to eat it as you go. its quite good, but different.
we have intertaional supper comming up. that has been a bear to put together. i hope every thing goes well. i am not doing this agian next year. i dont mind helping, but i wont head it up. not my type of project :)
i have been readin in the new testiment for my devotions in the morning. there is a lot in there about devoting your life to God. things like "run the race" and "fight the good fight." when you fight you put every thing you have into it. messages to young people says " cultivate every faculty." (p. 34) thats somthing i can deffinatly work on. i have to ask my self "am i diong all that i can?" all i can do is ask for the Lord's help and "stive for the mastery." powerful stuff.
i think thats about it. God bless.

Oct 19

wow, the has been a very busy weekend. Sabbath was a little busy, but not too bad. we had a wonderful baptism in the after noon. one of our freshman chose to publicly show his commitment to God. the water was cold, but that didn't stop him from doing what the Lord has asked him to do. the for the rest of the afternoon the students practiced for the Festival of Rejoicing. its a wonderful time where anybody can get up and praise the Lord how ever they feel. it was a very spiritual evening.
today was quite a bit busier. craig had to go pick up a student so i was the main dean on duty. we went ice skating this morning, so i didn't get the morning off like i usually do. then after lunch we had an etiquette meeting. (you have no idea how long it took me to find how to spell that) it went very well. but it took most of the afternoon. then, after we got back to the dorm, our little, black, homeless child came to visit us. he climbed the tree thats right next to the porch. so there were about ten guys taking pictures from about four or five feet away. quite an experience.
check this out. i was reading this morning in Philipians. ch. 4:13 is probably the most famous verse from that book. "i can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." i know you have heard this a million times. but look at the context. verse 11 says "...for i have learned, in whatsover state i am in, therewith to be content." i think contentment is one of the hardest things to learn, but here paul is saying that no matter where he is he will be content through Christ. that just really spoke to my heart this morning. (and then the devil hit full force for the whole rest of the day. but i was talking with one of the students this evening and he brought out that satan is always going to be attacking. its a promise that he will. but its also a promise that "i can do all things through Christ." so even though i felt pretty down for most of the day, i know that i can accept Christ's forgiveness and move on :)

Oct 17

God has been so good to me these last 22 years! i look back on my life and i can see God's tender hand guiding me all the way. i would not be that man that i am if any piece of my life had been lift out. praise the Lord!
for the last two mornings (and i pray it continues) God has awakened me early to spend time with Him. i am not much of a morning person, but He didn't take that into consideration. He got me up any way. and i am glad He has.
instead of a cake the cafe made cookies today. and they spent the time to make this one (or two i guess) special for me :) i feel very special.
p.s. this is the first time i put a picture in my posts :) i hope you are all proud of me. i just ordered a new camera, so i will be taking more pictures, which will mean more photos on here :)

Oct 13

its thanksgiving break now so most of the students have gone home. i only have seven guys in the dorm right now :) for the weekend i took six of them camping up the the Stryen cabin. it was very beautiful up there. the weather was really nice, just a bit chilly. it was a very relaxing trip.
and today was thanksgiving! the ladies working in the kitchen made a most wonderful meal for everyone. the gluten was good, but my mom's is still better :)
all and all it has been a very quiet and relaxing time while everyone is gone. but it will be nice when the students do get back. but until then, i will enjoy the peace and quiet while i can ;)

Oct 7

well, i had today off, so that was nice. i watched some unicycling videos and decided that i want to learn a few more tricks. i also want to get a 20" trials uni. i am looking at the torker DX. its a good uni for a good price. then all the shorter kids could learn on it too. i tried doing a couple of things on my uni but i fell and hit my shin. it would be a lot easer with a 20".
other then that not much is happening. break is comming up, for which i am most thankful. every is really looking foward to it.
winter is surly coming. the weather is getting colder and the days shorter. but that is what you have to expect when you live up north.
class is gong well. we just finished talking about the alter of burnt offering. now we are looking at the laver.
here is something cool. the wood that was prefered to burn on the alter was fig wood. check this out: the two places in the Bible were figs stand out are Adam and Eve and the tree that Jesus cursed when it didnt have any fruit. first, Adam and Eve: clothes represent rightousness. they tried to cover them selves up, which we call self-rightousness. second, the cursed tree: the leaves were there meaning it looked good on the out side. but it had no fruit, meaning it lacked the spirit of God. once again, doing it on its own and not allowing God to chainge it. this shows us that when we try to save our selves we litterly "burn" Jesus. another part of the sanctuary that points to the plan of salvation.

Oct 3

man, the last couple of days have been full! Wednesday i had to do wake up, teach class, and do lock up. then yesterday i went to Kamloops so i had to wake up at 5:30. it was nice, because i did a fair bit of shopping. we got back around 6:30, then had to work in the dorm and did lock up again. so i am a little tired right now. and this afternoon we leave for our first tour. should be lots of fun :) its a short one, so that's nice. we will be back Sabbath evening.
i think that's about it.

Oct 1

well, it was the first day of October. this is one of a favorite months, mostly because in this month 22 years ago i was born.
this is also the longest day in the week for me. both craig and seth have off today, so i did wake up this morning, which means my day started at 5:50 am. i dont usually do mornings, so it takes a little for me to get going that early. then i have class prep followed closly by the class its self, which combined takes up pretty much my whole morning. the after noon is generaly not to bad, which is a nice time for me to do a little relaxing. but then the evening comes and its full throttle again. i spend most of my time trying to keeps the guys from bouncing off the walls and chasing eachother all over the dorm. then to top it off i do lock up as well. so ya, a full day. and this week i am going to Kamloops wich means i have to get up at 5:30am tomarrow.
today i did a fair bit of unicycleing. i am really happy Ceri decided to start riding hers, which ment that i had to get my fixed and start riding too. i forgot how much i really enjoy it. i am glad there are quite a few students that are interested in learning, it makes for a more balenced characture :)