A statement that deserves to be shared to a wider audience

My job share partner and I had just finished our meeting.  We walked towards our parked cars where she made a statement and sparked a conversation between the two of that lead to flurry thoughts worthy of being shared.  It started with her asking about my plans for the evening.  I proceeded to inform her that I had Young Adults at my church every Monday evening and was planning on attending tonight, the last one before the summer season.  She replied with a bold statement that I was not expecting to her, “Providing an opportunity for the youth to be connect on a regular basis is something that I really admire about the Christian faith, your faith.” She was speaking on behalf of her Indo-Canadian culture and thought that drawing the Youth was a key component to strengthening and building a community. She expressed he wish to have something similar for her daughter to attend when she reaches that age.  Our conversation continued and eventually headed into the reasons perhaps why the Christian faith has many opportunities for the Youth to be involved and what allows for it to continue on with the same intensity over the generations.  It was discussed how, in order for a community to grow there has to be an interest led by passion both from the participants and leaders. There has to be a willingness to continue spreading the desires and passions onto the next generation by being involved, giving the church a chance widen its horizons.

This got me thinking about how blessed we are as a church community to have faithful and wonderful leaders who make sacrifices in order to be commented to the Youth and to Gods people.  It made me appreciate that community that I have been apart of for the past few years.   We have all made contributions, some very small and almost unnoticeable, that have allowed us to grow stronger.  It also made me realize that people see and recognize what is happening with the youth and it is something to be desired.  We are apart of something so much bigger and that is the GOOD NEWS.

The First ever, Grand Transit-Photo adventure

The morning commenced bright and early with not a cloud to be seen at 7:30, am that is, and one grand adventure in store.  The premiss...3 girls, 3 cameras (well..we had 7 photo capturing devices just to cover our bases), and 3 transit day passes! One grand adventure... the goal, see how far we get or just where we get... take pictures along the way and have a good time!  I can confidently say that we exceeded in all of these categories.

                      Direction unknown

Destination unknown

Duration unknown

Let the games begin.....

 

Caffeine and a snack to kick start our stamina for the day.

And a list of photo challenges to encourage spontaneity.

#13) Change modes of transportation... #21) Head north...

...okay we didn't venture to far north but we make it to Lonsdale Quay Market, via sea bus,  just in time to see the venders setting up their wares for the day.

#33) City scape

Looking back over the city scape into Vancouver framed by wavy mountainish sculpture.

At last the three of us together after a wee hick-up in the morning plans.  Nic what time did you say you wanted to meet in the morning? Who slept through their alarm clock? What ploy where you really planning? Yes it is true, Nichole decided to have a leisure morning and thought 10:20 would be a more decent hour to let the games begin.

#8) 3 back packs

 This day has been a long time in the works and finally we put it into action.  

Stay tuned for part II.

In the mean time check out Nic and Di's recap on the days adventure.  Hurry up ladies where are those posts... update those blogs.

Strawberries, cheerios and milk for breakfast

Spring Break Goodness

I am not ready to return to the grind of daily routines, where I have to focus my attention on course work, marking, and unit planning.  These short breaks spread throughout the school year keep my spirits moving forward even when they sometimes seem to never come soon enough.  

A group of friends and I escaped the raining weather and spent three days walking around sunny Victoria.  We enjoyed each others company as we window shopped, walked, stopped for impromptu photo shoots, squeeze through skinny alleys, cooked, watched movies, and relaxed in the hot tub. This week was filled with an abundance of laughter, friends, family, and all around goodness that makes me happy.  It was so much more than I cold have asked for and I am thankful that God has blessed me.

IamNatasha

Balance is the key

My Games Training

This is just the beginning.  I attended my first Olympic Volunteer responsibility also known as Team 2010 Orientation.  It was very organized and informative.  Exceeded my quota of learn one new thing each day. I could probably triple that amount if I watch the complementary 5 hour CD and read the binder package. In due time, I just might reach that point.

I just hope that the Volunteer schedule won't interfere whit my teaching schedule.  The nice thing about being a part time TOC is that I still have that flexibility of taking a day off without feeling guilty to my students.