On to the next leg of the journey...

This morning is sadly my last morning in Ireland. :( I'm currently sitting killing time (and Euros) at the airport kiosk. We got up early and jetted down to Dublin to be sure I made it in time for my flight only to find out (an hour after checking in bags and all) that my flight was cancelled. I went back to the desk and was told that the flight was cancelled due to bad weather, however he could place me on the next flight which will leave an hour later. I'm not sure where the "bad weather" is supposed to be, but here in Dublin the sun is actually shining and there are very few clouds to be seen in the sky. Of course as my bag had already gone through it caused a few problems as he had to make sure that my bag was transferred to the next flight as well. I have to say I won't be at all surprised to arrive and find my bag never made it, although I'll be rather upset if that does happen.
So my long wait in Heathrow is cut shorter, but it means a longer wait here in Dublin. I think Heathrow might be a bit better place to be stuck as it's larger, more to see etc. Oh well. I guess I'll just have to deal with it. Praying there are no problems with picking up my stored luggage in Heathrow and catching my connecting flight!
Next blog from Sakeji, Lord willing!

In Ireland

Well, I've done it. I finally managed (with my mom's help) to get packed at to the airport. With only a few baggage handling problems things went rather smoothly. THe flight was rather bumpy but i had nice seat mates and made some new friends, so over all not so bad. I arrived in London and was able to pick up my bags and get through customs with no problems. i was hoping to be able to have a meal and a shower before catching my next flight, but they decided to bump me on to an earlier flight to Dublin giving me only enough time to store my extra bags and grab a coffee and biscuit before getting on the next plane. Unfortunatly due to the fog and other bad weather, we sat on the plane for 30 mins waiting for our turn to take off. Other then that the 2nd flight was ok and for the 2nd time I was able to get my luggage and through customs with no trouble. This time i bought a tea and a croissant and enjoyed them well waiting for the bus. The bus ride was a bit rough as I had to force myself to stay awake so as not to miss my stop. The driver was nice enough to make sure I got off at the right stop though. My friends picked me up and took me out for lunch then home for an amazing bath, and relaxing in front of a movie. I went to bed around 9:30 as i just couldn't keep my eyes open a second more and had a wonderful 12 hours of sleep. Today we're off to the movies to see the Voyage of the Dawn Treader (most likly my last one in theatre for the next 2 years!).

All my bags are packed... well not quite yet

I can't believe I leave Canada tomorrow! December has gone by SO quickly but I have thoroughly enjoyed my time spent with my family! It was so awesome to have the WHOLE family together for Christmas. Yesterday was sad, saying goodbye to my little nephews and sister, tomorrow will be just as sad as I say goodbye to the rest of my family; but at the same time I'm pretty excited!

Today I have to re-pack my suitcases. I attempted to pack them on my own yesterday, but missed half of the important stuff so my mom (the ultimate packer) is helping out today. :)

Please pray that my flights through Heathrow will all be ontime and not cancelled due to bad weather! My first flight is 6:30pm tomorrow from Toronto. If I can get to an internet cafe in Heathrow then I'll send out a quick "got here" message before I continue on. Otherwise the next message will be from Ireland (Lord willing).

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

I'm sitting here inside listening to Christmas music, while the snow glints off the fresh layer of snow outside, yup starting to look like Christmas to me!
I only have a few more days of work (finished on Friday) and then I'm on holidays! Wahoo! I'm quite excited to be finished my job but a little sad that time is flying by so quickly! Next week I'll be packing up my bags and then travelling around saying good-bye to my friends in variousl city/towns. The week leading up to Christmas I'll be at my parent's house in Sudbury enjoying time with family. I can't wait for CHristmas Day, not just for the presents, but because my WHOLE family will be in one house at the SAME time! This only happens about once a year and as I'll be gone for the next 2 years, who know when it'll happen again.

I probably won't be on here again before I leave, SO I just want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas. I hope everyone is able to spend some time with their friends and/or loved ones remembering the true Reason for the season, please don't forget Christ this Christmas!

life continues on...

My mom told me I'm past due for an update, to which I replied, "about what?" Things have been pretty "normal" for the past few weeks, just doing the usual day-to-day stuff of work etc. I have purchased my plane tickets now, so there's no backing out now! I've been asked several times "when are you leaving?" it's beginning to make me wonder why people seem so eager to have me go! ANyhow, to answer the question: I fly from Toronto on Dec 28th, 2010. I will be visiting friends in Ireland for about a week and then continue on to Zambia on Jan 5th. Originally I wasn't going to be able to get to Sakeji until Jan 8th, b/c of the internal flight bookings. However, I am happy (and very thankful) that I will now be arriving at Sakeji the same day I arrive in Lusaka (Jan 6th) This gives me about 6 days to get my classroom and house in order before school begins.

I have just recently been put in touch with a part timer (Rachel Buckley) who will be working at Sakeji for 2 terms (if all works out). Rachel and I are going to be on the same flights into Zambia and Sakeji so it will be nice to have someone to talk to on the planes. This is Rachel's first time to Zambia, so I'm sure she'd appreciate your prayers! They are still working to get her a work permit so she can stay the full 2 terms.

This past weekend I started going through more of my "stuff". I am still in awe as to how much junk I've accumulated in my life! I'm starting to pack up my "summer" (aka Africa) clothes as it seems I won't be needing them here anymore. (I'm really looking forward to warm weather again!)It's hard to decide now much I'll need. Although the clothes are no longer "washed" on the rocks at the river; it seems they still wear out a lot faster then here in Canada (I'm not sure why this is). Do I pack everything now or have my parents send some out in April on the next container so it'll be like getting a whole new wardrobe then? Hmm... these the the "big" descisions i'm making these days. :P Not quite as "life changing" as some of the other descisions I've made in the past 4 months, but sadly just as annoying.

Oh, the other thing people have been asking me about is funding for my trip. I'll try and explain. My trip is what some would consider "volunteer" although I am teaching full time I am not getting paid, in fact I actually have to pay room and board to be there (this keeps tuition costs down, making it the schooling available to more children). My church is commending me and has agreed to pay a portion of my costs, so some of my funds will come from them. Where does the rest come from? Donors. I don't do "fundraising". I am associated with MSC Canada (www.msccanda.org). What does this mean? Basically, if someone wants to make a donation to me for my missions trip they can send it to MSC who will directly deposit it into my bank account (if you tell them it's designated for me). As they are a registered Canadian charity, they can then send you a tax receipt for your donation. Check out their site for a full explanation. Donations can be made by cash/check/money order or they now have a online (PayPal) option. All that being said, I don't want anyone to think this is a plea for money, just trying to answer questions.

Boxes are gone!

Yay! the boxes are all out of the house and in the warehouse in Toronto. My grandma is happy to have her livingroom back and I'm glad it's all over! I guess that's not entirely true, I have a few more items to be shipped at a later date, but I don't have to worry about that as I'll be in Zambia by then :). All i have to do is clearly label the stuff and hope my parents can follow directions ;).

I had a great extra-long weekend (Fri - Mon) with my sister and her family. I'm trying to spend as much time with my family as I can, storing up memories for while I'm away. It will be hard being away from them for so long (especially my nephews!) but I'm hoping they can come out to visit me at Sakeji.

Not much else to report on for right now. For those who know my brother CHris, I'd like to ask you to pray for him and his wife Laura, as they are "in limbo" waiting for his American work visa to come through. Please pray this will come through quickly and things (finding an apartment/moving) will proceed smoothly.

green to go!

So it is official now. I've got my green light to go, I'm in the 2011 Missionary Handbook and I'm working on getting my plane tickets! The Lord is good! :) also thanks to all who prayed and send encouraging notes etc.

I am still working on packing up the final things to send on the container, but that's nearly done. Friday I take it all down to Toronto and send it on it's merry way (hopefully I'll see it all again in 6 mths!). Once that is done I think I'll breathe a big sigh of relief. Thankfully I only have to do a big shipment like this once, it really does a number on my nerves and bank account!