Week One (and half of week 2) Recap
Hellooooo!!! Greetings from the sunny south-western shores of Vancouver Island! (Hee hee!) Okay, let’s see where I last left off… last Wednesday morning… Heather and I further explored West Coast Road, which is the main road in town, and not only found the Shopper’s Drugmart, but pretty much everything else that makes up the downtown core. Living just off West Coast Road, we live in perfect walking distance of everything we need! During our exploration we found a public pier and soon-to-be-ready boardwalk. I can’t believe how close we are to the water. It’s beautiful. Thursday was an adventure and a half as Heather and I ventured into Victoria on a double decker bus. Yes folks, that’s right! We have double decker buses! Woot! We wandered around, found the tourist centre and picked up tons of brochures, found the local mall (I had Chinese food from the food court), and pretty much just looked like tourists. Haha. It was great. On our way back to Sooke, we stopped at the mall in Langford to check out… WINNERS! Yes Mom, I found one out here! Hahaha. (Sidenote to my fam: I found that Hurley T but in an XL …). Justin, Heather’s boyfriend, drove up from the States that evening/morning. Hooray for our first houseguest!
Friday was spent hanging out at the house. Oh, up to this point, I had watched Pirates of the Caribbean 3, Spiderman 1-3, Robin Hood Men In Tights, and Anchorman. Did I happen to mention that we don’t have cable?
On Saturday we were supposed to travel to Vancouver but ended up not going. Although it was disappointing, I know that another opportunity will arise soon enough. It was a rainy, overcast day but we ended up exploring anyway. While on route to find Whiffin Spit [spit (noun): a narrow strip of land that juts out into the sea], we found Ed MacGregor Park. It’s just 10 minutes away from our house and connects to the public pier we found by a trail along the shore. The Princess Bride and Bruce Almighty provided some quality entertainment in the evening.
Sunday was definitely my most favourite day here so far. Heather, Justin, and I checked out Sooke Pentecostal Church. The congregation was extremely warm and welcoming. We’re not making any commitments until we’ve checked out the other churches but it’s now in the running. After church we piled into the car and drove to Whiffin Spit. It was so cool! The spit extends way out into the Juan de Fuca Strait (leads into the Pacific Ocean). We found lots of neat shells, rocks, and plants that had been washed up on shore from the tide. The walk out and back was freezing from the strong wind but it was worth it. From there we traveled to China Beach, which is halfway between Jordan River and Port Renfrew on the Western Coast (about 45 minutes away from Sooke). It was breathtaking. We had to walk through Canadian rainforest to get to the ocean. Oh my heck. I think it was love at first sight. It’s quite possibly my new favourite place in the whole world. We had a picnic and enjoyed the company of a dog named Daisy. Her mom was out surfing. Daisy was very photogenic. I walked up and down the beach, exploring and just taking everything in. God is so amazing. I was in such awe of Him. It pained me to leave that afternoon but I know I’ll be back there at least once more before I come back to Ontario. We watched Finding Neverland before heading to bed.
Monday was another lazy day. Justin headed back to the States in the afternoon. He left behind his DVD collection. Oh man. We could watch a different movie every night for a whole year without duplicating. We watched Hitch. Oh, happy one week anniversary to Heather and I. Haha.
On Tuesday we disciplined ourselves and started job hunting. We updated out resumes and started figuring out where to apply. The Sooke school board is only accepting applications for supply teachers with French, Special Education, Tech, and Home Ec. I’ll be visiting our local elementary schools anyway to see if I can volunteer. We stopped by a women’s gym and there’s an opening there so I’m waiting to see if that’s where God wants me. The woman I spoke to about the job just moved here from Australia a month ago. Oh, and she’s a Christian. Our evening started off with a viewing of The Bourne Identity and turned into an amazing conversation/prayer party about God and our lives and the people in them. I still can’t believe that Heather and I met just over a week ago. God has truly blessed me with another Christian whom I can go to for encouragement and support and fellowship.
That brings me to today. Heather and I went back to Ed MacGregor park and ended up at the pier for some God time. The afternoon was spent job hunting and a lovely visit from Judy, a rep from The Welcome Wagon. Hee hee! When we first arrived in Sooke, Heather and I came across The Welcome Wagon, a service that in essence… welcomes people (new residence, new baby, new job, etc). So we thought, what the heck, why not? And lo and behold, Judy called us yesterday to see if she could drop by. She was a lovely older lady with an English accent. She brought tons of info, free giveaways, and vouchers from local establishments. So good! We made her homemade chocolate chip cookies! Yum! Thanks Joy of Living cookbook for the recipe! Since then, I’ve been getting caught up on my correspondence.
So, where to now? I'm listening and waiting for God to reveal what's in store for me next here in Sooke. I'm spending so much time with Him, enjoying where He has brought me and praising Him for His faithfulness. For the first time in a long time, I’m at peace. I don't think I've ever quite felt like this before. Even though I have no idea what the next 3 months have in store for me, I'm not worried. I don't have a plan but I don't feel like I need one. I’m doing things in His time, not mine, or anyone else’s. After all, who am I to tell the maker of Heaven and Earth, that He has a deadline to abide by? God is going to use me and I'm going to do whatever He asks of me. It may seem crazy but I’m putting my trust in God. He’s going to lift me up, not let me down. I'm slowly remembering what it's like to fall in love with God everyday.
Peace out.
Much love.
On Saturday we were supposed to travel to Vancouver but ended up not going. Although it was disappointing, I know that another opportunity will arise soon enough. It was a rainy, overcast day but we ended up exploring anyway. While on route to find Whiffin Spit [spit (noun): a narrow strip of land that juts out into the sea], we found Ed MacGregor Park. It’s just 10 minutes away from our house and connects to the public pier we found by a trail along the shore. The Princess Bride and Bruce Almighty provided some quality entertainment in the evening.
Sunday was definitely my most favourite day here so far. Heather, Justin, and I checked out Sooke Pentecostal Church. The congregation was extremely warm and welcoming. We’re not making any commitments until we’ve checked out the other churches but it’s now in the running. After church we piled into the car and drove to Whiffin Spit. It was so cool! The spit extends way out into the Juan de Fuca Strait (leads into the Pacific Ocean). We found lots of neat shells, rocks, and plants that had been washed up on shore from the tide. The walk out and back was freezing from the strong wind but it was worth it. From there we traveled to China Beach, which is halfway between Jordan River and Port Renfrew on the Western Coast (about 45 minutes away from Sooke). It was breathtaking. We had to walk through Canadian rainforest to get to the ocean. Oh my heck. I think it was love at first sight. It’s quite possibly my new favourite place in the whole world. We had a picnic and enjoyed the company of a dog named Daisy. Her mom was out surfing. Daisy was very photogenic. I walked up and down the beach, exploring and just taking everything in. God is so amazing. I was in such awe of Him. It pained me to leave that afternoon but I know I’ll be back there at least once more before I come back to Ontario. We watched Finding Neverland before heading to bed.
Monday was another lazy day. Justin headed back to the States in the afternoon. He left behind his DVD collection. Oh man. We could watch a different movie every night for a whole year without duplicating. We watched Hitch. Oh, happy one week anniversary to Heather and I. Haha.
On Tuesday we disciplined ourselves and started job hunting. We updated out resumes and started figuring out where to apply. The Sooke school board is only accepting applications for supply teachers with French, Special Education, Tech, and Home Ec. I’ll be visiting our local elementary schools anyway to see if I can volunteer. We stopped by a women’s gym and there’s an opening there so I’m waiting to see if that’s where God wants me. The woman I spoke to about the job just moved here from Australia a month ago. Oh, and she’s a Christian. Our evening started off with a viewing of The Bourne Identity and turned into an amazing conversation/prayer party about God and our lives and the people in them. I still can’t believe that Heather and I met just over a week ago. God has truly blessed me with another Christian whom I can go to for encouragement and support and fellowship.
That brings me to today. Heather and I went back to Ed MacGregor park and ended up at the pier for some God time. The afternoon was spent job hunting and a lovely visit from Judy, a rep from The Welcome Wagon. Hee hee! When we first arrived in Sooke, Heather and I came across The Welcome Wagon, a service that in essence… welcomes people (new residence, new baby, new job, etc). So we thought, what the heck, why not? And lo and behold, Judy called us yesterday to see if she could drop by. She was a lovely older lady with an English accent. She brought tons of info, free giveaways, and vouchers from local establishments. So good! We made her homemade chocolate chip cookies! Yum! Thanks Joy of Living cookbook for the recipe! Since then, I’ve been getting caught up on my correspondence.
So, where to now? I'm listening and waiting for God to reveal what's in store for me next here in Sooke. I'm spending so much time with Him, enjoying where He has brought me and praising Him for His faithfulness. For the first time in a long time, I’m at peace. I don't think I've ever quite felt like this before. Even though I have no idea what the next 3 months have in store for me, I'm not worried. I don't have a plan but I don't feel like I need one. I’m doing things in His time, not mine, or anyone else’s. After all, who am I to tell the maker of Heaven and Earth, that He has a deadline to abide by? God is going to use me and I'm going to do whatever He asks of me. It may seem crazy but I’m putting my trust in God. He’s going to lift me up, not let me down. I'm slowly remembering what it's like to fall in love with God everyday.
Peace out.
Much love.
posted by manda panda at 6:49 p.m.
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