This is the third attempt at updating my blog in the last few months. (hence the title of this blog post) I tend to start them and never finish, and then all the information is oudated, but this time I am determined to finish within 36 hours...maybe 48...depends on how the proof reading goes
Anyway....things are moving forward as far as returning to the Philippines though I feel they should be moving faster... I am suddenly struck with how little time I have left. My plane ticket is booked for September 2cnd, so that made everything seem very final. I have started to raise support at different churches, so far I have made contact with three including my sending church Vavenby Christian Church (VCC). It has been a bit daunting I admit but each visit and presentation has gone very well, and often better than I expected. I shared at VCC just this last Sunday, this was the most meaningful presentation as it is my home church and Christian family. The result was quite extraordinary, a good portion of the little congregation was in tears or teary, I think the only reason I wasn't was because I had practiced what I wanted to say several times. I have been feeling guilty this last year about leaving the community of Vavenby to minsiter somewhere else, but this last Sunday I felt released. But as I said in my talk I am not leaving Vavenby I am going with them to another part of the world, and when I say I feel that I am being released, its not from the VCC fellowship because I feel that I will always be apart of that church; but rather released to go as an extension of Vavenby Christan C. in another country.
The next six week are jam packed with visiting churches, both local and some further away. There is still some unknowns about finances but I can feel God's hand in that department and have found that (at least 70% of the time) I am not as worried about it as I thought. If it truly is God's will that I go than I know he will provide just like He always has. So that's the update for the Philippine Mission, at least in a nutshell.
Meanwhile, I am so enjoying the beautiful Spring whether, Although I loved the long winter it was also very long and I was beginning to wonder if I would see anything but snow and ice again. But the Spring warmth has melted the white away and now there are colours of golds and greens. The creeks are running again and the song birds wake us with their morning performances once more. It feels good to be alive and I am reminded how much I love this little courner of the world. Especially this time of year, lambing season. We are at the tail end of it now with only 36 left lamb (we have 617 ewes) the busyness is one of the reasons I have not been able to blog until now, I still feel tired from the months toil but it is a good kind of tired. Although I am very much looking forward to being able to sleep in until 8 AM one of these mornings, though that probably won't happen until next week when my parents and I head to Calgary.
a long and beautiful winter...
and Spring wakes up....
This will be the second trip to Calgary this year, April (my older sister) and I went to Calgary at the end of March. We visited our grandparents, cousins, friends and aunts/uncles. I also spoke at a church and met with a mission board of another, it was a busy 5 days but also a lot of fun. I drove my little car (my younger brother Isaac and I share a car) all the way to Canmore and felt pretty good. As pathetic as it sounds I actually have never driven that far before, as I am almost alwasy a passenger. I even drove in Calgary which is a big deal for me as I am not a city driver due to the fact that I have had little experience. April had only ever driven in Kamloops so it was a stretch for us both. Honestly I was almost surprised when we returned from our trip with no accidents not even any real close calls! Although we we joked that we needed signs that said "Sorry, we're from the country" and "Thank you for understanding"
So I leave for another week to Calgary which I am looking forward to. One of the reasons being I don't have to get up early to feed lambs and sheep, not that I don't like doing that but its still nice to have a break after doing it constantly all month with no day off. It was worth it though, even though lambing tests the endurance of all family members involved it really is a wonderful time of year and it was a lot of fun, right now I can hear lambs calling for their mothers in the background. Tis a very comforting sound; one I never tire of.
I am looking forward to the summer ahead of me, I feel stressed about it as far as all the things I need to prepare for the journey that awaits me in September. But the other day I was at one of the creeks that flow through our land, I was listening to the soothing sound of bubbling water, could feel the warmth of the sun and smell the earth and ever green trees and decided right there I was going to enjoy every minute of this Spring and Summer and savor each day. Because there is just no other place like Aveley Ranch, this land has a way of soothing the soul, its something I miss dreadfully when I am not here. One of the things about going away is that you see your homeland with fresh eyes and you learn to enjoy the little things that you took for granted before.
well I suppose that's enough babbling for now...
I want to quickly cover some housekeeping before I sign off,
for anyone who wants to donate or support financially I just wanted to give you the different options to do so.
You can give through my Paypall account which you can get to here on the right side of the blog.
However the best way is probably to write a cheque for the Philippine Mission to Vavenby Christian church, if you go this route you will be able to get a charitable receipt. Just remember to be sure to make the cheque out to the Philippine Mission and not Vienna Moilliet, as I am a missionary for the Philippine Mission which is the Mission for VCC. If you wish to give through an e-transfer to the church that can also be done, through vavenbyccbusiness@gmail.com
I will leave you with one last picture of lambing....
Until next time....
thesheepishmidwife
