Okay, We Are "Practise Camping"

Or should I say "glamping".  That word is apparently for people that like camping but with extras like lights in the tent and a fan, and laptop, and a mini George Foreman, and coffee maker, and ... :-)

Anyway, in the middle of August we are going camping/tenting, something I haven't done many years, but have decided it is the kind of travel I can afford for the time being.  SO...I have collected, and others have collected for me, some equipment.  Some from secondhand stores, and some from the back of dark garages, etc., and now I have this cool little campsite organized.  I thought I would set up early so I could make any tweaks before we actually hit the road...AND Harvey and Pearl have never slept in a tent before so I thought we could sleep in it a few nights over the next couple weeks so they will be comfortable and hopefully won't bark all night in the real campground. 

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

love to all,
d  :-)

A Few Pics of Life This Week

Hey hi everyone,

Here is a little bit of life in pics. :-)

1) We've had hot sunny weather lately so I thought it would be safe to have a bbq.  Well!  We got a great thunder lightening storm so we all crunched under my 10ft awning and watched.  It was like being back in the tropics and everyone shared their worst storm stories.

2) Pearl is always so cute.  Here she is napping on the deck, just loving life.

3)  Harvey cracks me up all the time.  I decided to wash the bed mat and then dry it in the sun over the picnic table.  Harvey obviously got tired, and decided to take his nap on the bed mat, regardless of where it was on the bed or not.

Hope everyone had a good week too!  Love to all,
d  :-)

I Feel So Inspired!

I just arrived at school after riding the entire 25 kilometers.  And surprisingly I did it in exactly one hour.  Google Maps said that it would take 1.25 hours so I gave myself 1.5 hours just to be safe, so I was really shocked when I rolled in early.  However, I kind felt a bit odd at the half way mark.  My left leg started going numb.  There were a few different thoughts going through my mind, like "maybe the lower half of my body is having a heart-ache, or maybe this is how a stroke starts but no one talks about it", but then I realized as I was bearing down on the stretches I was leaning my left butt cheek against the inside of the cheek and cutting off the blood supply.  As soon as I stood up for a sec, walah! I was healthy again. :-)  Anyway, the day is off to a great start now.  This riding is great for working out daily, and I am seeing that it helping me economize too.  Less gas and use of the vehicles.  So a double whammy in a good way. :-)

Everyone have a great day.  Love to all,
d  :-)

A Couple Details I Forgot to Share

Someone told me I forgot to share a couple details about the Bible Study since the first time I wrote about it.  What happened is that before the study in China, the lady wrote back and asked if she could invite some of her friends to sit in.  I saw the message she sent to everyone, it said:"I have found someone to study the Bible with.  She says I can invite some friends.  If you want you can join too."  So on Bible Study night I logged on, and was surprised when people kept on joining...and joining...and joining, until 65 were logged on.  They were all very excited.  I just put the book on the screen and everyone followed along and answered the questions.  The man from the Middle East was even more wonderful.  He was just so thankful to find someone to study the Bible with him, and kept saying thank you over and over.  ...I am extremely thankful that Jehovah God is giving me the opportunity to do this, because it is adding so much to my life in the way of service. :-)

I Am Surviving Riding The Bike

Hey hi everyone! :-)

Hope all is going good.  Some days I feel like my tongue is hanging out so far that it will get caught in my spokes, but I have slowly built up my riding and now going back and forth from UBC (this is where the bus stops at the university.).  I am not really keen on riding the whole 15 miles, but with time maybe that will happen.  At this time 9 miles from the uni seems to work.  It is the climb coming home that is a bit of a killer at this moment.  I can only average about 12 miles per hour due to the climb to the airport.  And I quickly figured out that I have to take a jug of water twice the size that I started out with.  The heat is about 95 degrees right now so as it cools down in the Fall, that part of the ride will probably be more comfortable.  When I lived in Palm Springs and rode, it would get to about 105 or 110.  It is just a matter of building up a tolerance.

The assembly in Vancouver was great.  Got to see lots of friends and touch base with what everyone is up to.  They had the same weather as Kelowna at that time - rainy and cool, but now since the first week of July summer weather has come to both places. 

Harvey and Pearl are doing fab.  We walk the trails in the field a few times a week.  Early on the weekends and later in the evenings.  It is too hot for their little bodies earlier than 7:30 at night.  I just take lots of water and we take pit stops under the shade of the big trees.  But they also just love laying on the couch in the RV too, lapping up the cool air from the ac.

Work is going great.  I am teaching my regular classes, but also the sports program in the afternoon.  That means I get to wear shorts and play football, soccer, basketball or some other game with the students in the park in the afternoon.  Some of the girls are so funny - especially from Korea.  Two of them dropped the class at the end of the first week.  I asked them why.  They said they didn't realize they actually had to exercise.  They thought SPORTS PROGRAM, meant that we read sports articles everyday together. :-/  But several more took their place so it all worked out fine in the end.

My Friday night Bible Studies are going good.  The first class 65 families logged on for the class.  But it was so overwhelming with all their voices, that I suggested that we limit to a smaller group of friends the next week, so then only 18 families joined.  Now I have convinced the families that I will study with six at a time, and give them all 30 minutes lessons back to back so that everyone can have a fair chance to talk.  They like that idea.  As long as everyone is learning and enjoying, then that is what is important. :-)

Okay, gotta go.  Time to teach.  Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Love to all,
d  :-)