Well, for anyone still reading this... I am very sorry! I have no updated for about a week! You guys don't even know that I'm back in Canada! Haha! So I am sorry, and I will attempt to keep this thing moving with at least some sort of recognizable pace! Well, as I've already said, I'm back in Canada (arrived on Thursday night after over 25 hours of flight time!) and I must say... mixed emotions. Life is getting a little shook around. Aside from the inevitable 9 hour time zone adjustment and the ensuing jetlag that followed! life is at a normal Canadian pace! (Running as fast as you can only to realize you never got off the treadmill!) Many of you don't know, about 2 1/2 months ago our landlady called Todd to inform him that she was planning on blessing her daughter with a house as her wedding gift... our house! So trying to find a home big enough for all of us guys... has proved to be impossible... literally! I have spent ever day that I've been back calling countless landlords, business owners, friends... anyone! The Regina market is INSANE! There just isn't houses! I was talking to my friend Wade (part of city council) and he said it's becoming a huge problem. So the long and the short of it is... we don't really have a house, and we must find one before wed! FUN!
As for other news, Steven and Tara put on a steak-night fund raiser for me! Complete with door prizes, a 50/50 draw (that my grandmother won!) and of course, steak! I was amazed at how many and who showed up! There were tons of people I barely or did not know! It was such a huge blessing! (and especially since I did my taxes to find out that I owe this year, it was huge!) I'm going to have to make a sincere request that if any of you see Steven, give him a hug! Squeeze the living daylights out of him!
Umm, other news, for anyone who knows Jordan (father passed away just before I left) well his grandfather just passed away on Friday morning at 4:00. Man, Jordan has been really heavy on my heart and so I ask everyone, please pray for that guy... He has a lot of the family responsibilities on his shoulders and I know that this loss, in particular, is going to reach deep... Please pray for him, pray for his grandmother (who has lost both her son and husband, almost exactly three months apart)... God will bring comfort to him and his family because he promises it... but we pray because it pushes aside all the clutter that sometimes interrupts or distracts.
On a lighter note, had a cool experience on the plane leaving Capetown on Wednesday night. I ended up sitting next to this one woman (I can't for the life of me remember her name) but she was all dolled up, nice jewelry and the works. I had the window seat and she was in the middle, which it only took moments for me to discover that this was not a positive situation for her. She made such a seen and was one small step away from being kicked off the plane! Apparently somebody screwed up and promised her an isle seat. She booked it in January and came in a couple days prior to insure that she would be sitting closest to the isle (apparently because she was really tall and a few other reasons). Well she wasn't, and was not impressed. I stayed quiet because I really didn't feel like being in the way of the wrath and fury! I distinctly remember saying to myself after noticing that she was married, "man, what an unbearable woman, must be a very special man!" (as she is currently hitting the headrest of the woman ahead of her, swearing up a storm, and demanding alcohol!) But the really cool thing is a few hours later we started chatting, I don't know who started it... I think I asked her how her legs where doing. It was quite humbling as to just how calm and pleasurable this woman became. Found out that she runs her own company, that she has travelled all over the world and been to many African countries. Her company basically provides security for rich people! But yeah, it's really nice when God does that... most of the people who I know best are people who I got a horrible first impression from (maybe one of these days I'll actually take hold of the lesson! Don't judge!)
So I'm sure I could go one for quite some time, I have many thoughts and things on my heart now that I'm home and getting back onto my feet. I'm going to try to keep this Blog updated (probably not quite as often as before) but I know that there is going to be many updates on the progress of 'the dream' and how everything is all materializing for the future. I also want to develop a detailed part of the Jortosh Blog/site that goes into the details of what we are planning on doing in Rwanda (because I don't believe many of the people reading this Blog would know except for the people who know me well... all in the works my friends...
As always, God Bless everyone, you have no idea how much I covet your prayers... how dramatic they are at impacting my life... don't ever, for a moment, think that your prayers have no made a HUGE difference in my life and ultimately the kingdom of God! Take care, love you all....
Joshua