Life lessons

On this trip, we've driven an estimated 20,000-25,000 kilometres, flown 8595 kilometres, been in nine provinces, performed about 90 times in front of 8000 people, Jonathan ate 190 Nutri-Grain bars, we drank hundreds of cups of coffee (mainly Tim Horton's), stayed at ~150 houses (between the five of us), saw the Parliament, Niagara Falls, Montreal's bascilica, the Green Gables house, Cavendish Beach, Hopewell Rocks and the Bay of Fundy, the Red River, Frank Slide, the world's biggest truck, Eaton Centre, Yonge Street, the Much Music Studio, copious amounts of farmland, and the Rocky Mountains. We've eaten Atlantic fish in a fishing town in New Brunswick, poutine and tortillere in Montreal, Beaver Tails and maple taffy in Ottawa, Mennonite cooking in Steinbach, and fresh cherries in the Okanagan. We've been in schools and Bible colleges, Christian Reformed, Pentecostal, Mennonite, Alliance, Mennonite Alliance, Missionary Alliance, Evangelical Friends, Evangelical Free, Baptist, Gospel, Church of God and non-denominational churches. Many things happened that didn't make it to this blog, but I hope you appreciate that which did. And through all this, here is some of what I've learned:

• I will not live forever. Sarah's death was totally unexpected and really made me think. Not just that, but staying with elderly couples who have lived most of their life, are in their fiftieth year of marriage, and have volumes of stories and pictures of grandchildren has been a glimpse into my future. I won't stay young forever, either. I refuse to waste my twenties thinking that I'm old, because if I do I'll regret it when I'm fifty.
• There are no trees in Southern Alberta.
• How to roll up the rim "Atlantic style."
• Really fresh fish tastes really good.
• I will work in missions for at least part of my life, if not all of it.
• Fear has no place in me. I've held on to certain fears for a long, long time, even fifteen years. God has released me from them all and given me amazing joy! He used Reneyah to help me realize that his perfect love drives out all fear.
• To quote an Ontario Wycliffe rep; "Don't go for a guy. Hold out for a man."
• Canada is stunningly beautiful.
• I can learn so much from those older than me. Never having developed strong relationships with anyone outside my generation (excluding my parents), I never realized how true this is. I can't say I've developed strong relationships with my billets, but my eyes have been open to the untapped wisdom of those in my parents' and grandparents' generation.
• How to make small talk. And how to turn that into something more meaningful, beyond "where are you from?" "where do you go next?" etc.
• How to knit. Between Rhonda, Jonathan and I, this trip has produced four pairs of mittens, five dolls, a finger puppet, a teddy bear, two hats, two afghans, a belt, a bag and two pairs of slippers.

So here I go back to Edmonton, six months older and wiser. After some deliberation, I've decided to continue blogging; check out my new blog here.
And that's all, kids.
Ciao.