Bits and Bites....

Wishing you all a blessed New Year! May you continue to find joy in God's presence each and every day!
We are settling in here. There's no real routine yet however, as school has yet to begin. It feels as though each day has involved at least one sort of shopping trip.... However, there is a light appearing at the end of the proverbial tunnel. We are all clothed in season-appropriate clothing and managing to keep warm.
The cooler temperatures have definitely curbed the children's desire to play in the outdoors. This morning however, in anticipation of the arrival of cousins to play with, they are requesting to go to the park. Progress is being made. We'll have to see how long we last at the park though...
We are enjoying reconnecting with family and friends and eating foods that we haven't had for the past 3.5 years. Like sausage and waffles for breakfast.... strawberry yogurt.... sour cream and nacho chips... waffle cones... bbq'ed pork chops... fresh milk... etc... etc...
One thing I have observed about Canada and maybe more specifically this area of Canada, is that there is such a diverse mix of people calling this beautiful country home. In Value Village I met a young woman from the Philipines who has lived here for one year. In front of me at the Sears check-out was a family from South America. The majority of the cashiers at the local Superstore are from Pakistan or India. The woman in the men's clothing store is of Japanese background. I'm not sure where the girl working in Mark's Workwearhouse was from but I think her name sounded Greek and she had a unique accent. A nearby church just sponsored a family from Ethiopia. The wonderful effect this melting pot has is that no one need feel different. We're all different! In Papua we are the minority, and are often stared at and watched. I love that I can go to the store here and no one looks at me twice. No one's looking in my cart to see what I'm purchasing or watching the cashier punch it all in to see how high the total will be.
We miss Papua. We miss our friends, we miss eating fresh pineapple; I even miss the smallness. In just a week and a half we have already driven over 400 kilometers! I miss feeling really really warm. I don't really miss all the people coming to the door yet. In the week and a half that we've been here, we've had people come to the door maybe 4 times and they were all expected. That would be one morning in Papua!
I miss being able to walk to church and passing by the locals in their colourful dress on their way to church and greeting the folks I know. I am enjoying sitting on comfortable benches and listening to sermons in my mother tongue along with singing and actually knowing what I am singing. The language of song is often quite different than the spoken language.