Late Christmas, Late Spring

Christmas, for most rural Mozambicans, isn’t any more special than any other time of year. So when these Unique Christmas Gifts were handed out in March to orphan children in a local church orphan program, they weren’t disappointed at the timing at all…they were thrilled! Heather and Rick took on the job of purchasing, preparing and delivering the gifts. Click here to read her blog post about the event. Nat and Salena, who both served and met each other at the mission a few years back, returned for a visit and short term of service last month. They got involved in this project (as well as others) and did a post related to the Orphan Gift Pack distribution as well. You can check their blog by clicking here.

A warm, heart-felt thanks to all you who contributed to this Unique Christmas Gift item to make this possible!

Back to our current Canada experience:

Roger's Pass, Canadian Rockies

Somehow I expected to see more green grass and flowers when we got to B.C., since it’s the end of March, but it's been a long, cold winter and the scene most everywhere was either snow white, mud brown, or a combination of the two. Except of course for the mountain peaks, which are stunning year round.

Here’s a shot of the mounds of snow at Roger’s Pass. This has been melting for awhile so I’m sure it was much higher than this. When there is no snow, you can walk straight across flat pavement from this parking lot into the lodge beyond.

A top priority whenever we come home is to find a vehicle to use, and this time a very kind uncle of mine gave us his 1992 Acura. Here, Dwight and dad are doing a few last minute under-the-hood checks before we head out on our 10 hour trip (through the Rocky Mountains and across some prairie) to Edmonton.

We got a late start on our trip so ended up only arriving home at 1:30 a.m. We were very tired but very glad to see our kids again! Dwight's folks worked hard to set up a bedroom (by hanging a dividing curtain) for us in the small front room in the basement since our old bedroom is now occupied by our son. It's very comfy and I can't help but joke that it feels like we sleep in the "holy of holies". 

An unexpected perk of being home was that we got to attend an engineering project presentation event that our son, Russell, participated in today at the University of Alberta. His group engineered a Curling Stone Speedometer and there's a good chance the unit may go into production for retail. I was a very proud mom as I sat and watched the presentation. Most of it was electrical engineering mumbo jumbo to me, but what was crystal clear in my mind as I watched was the fact that no matter how small your steps may be--even if the resources for your task are scarce indeed--if you consistently work toward a goal, you can reach it. Crystal clear also were the memories of coaxing said son to stay focused on his studies (instead of playing on computer or making back-yard fireworks displays) while homeschooling in the Mozambican bush so he could one day attend university.

Russell and his group doing the presentation of their project and fielding questions.

Russ and Dwight by the poster Russ created for the project. I guess sometimes all that computer-play can be put to good use.

I should close for this time. We will be in and out quite a bit during our few months here and our schedule is filling up quickly, but if you'd like to get together with us give us a call, we'd love to too. You can reach us at 780-966-2034.


I will leave you with this teensy reminder that spring is, in fact, on its way regardless of how slow it is in coming.

Crocuses in mom's flower bed in B.C.