Bubble Note # 29

It is about time for me to send out an update. My apologies for the lack of communication in the last 2 weeks.

We are in the new house! And all unpacked, the Christmas tree has been up, and taken down, the cookies, pies, cakes, turkey's, hams etc have been cooked, and ate (and still eating...) and gifts have been wrapped and torn apart. Christmas was really very good for me. Of course there was a little homesickness but most of that was cured when I was able to video skype with my family and watch them open gifts on Christmas morning. I received some pretty amazing gifts from some pretty amazing people. We had about 12 people over for Christmas dinner and the party continued for a couple days afterwards. But, the next event....

We are flying out tonight for Thailand! To say I'm stoked is an understatement. I'm not sure if it is about getting another stamp in my passport, going to another country or the fact that we have a whole bunch of wicked events planned (for Christmas Stephen and Tricia are giving me a 2-hour spa treatment! We are going on a night safari, hopefully treetop zip lining, and of course...getting my wisdom teeth pulled).

What about the visa situation? Well nothing has really been stated otherwise (but it made BBC headlines a while ago - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8427798.stm ) so when we fly out, we may, or may not be "stamped" (ie. told we have to stay out of the country for 2 months). If this is the case, we will have to find housing somewhere for cheap, or free. Please yarp that we will accept Dad's will with joyful hearts.

Besides that, we have just been hanging out. Really not much has been happening, no death-defying acts, no embarrassing situations (I take that back. None that I'm going to speak of in a general update ;-) ), no huge struggles. But hey, maybe they're on their way ;-)

Just some pictures below of my Christmas celebrations. Enjoy!


My new crochetted slippers from Lizzie


Helping Josiah with his new guitar

In Him,

Beth

Bubble Note #29 -- Merry Christmas!

Dear all,

MERRY CHRISTMAS! We are all settled into our new house, well, almost all settled. But Christmas is just around the corner, or not even. The tree is up (for the second time), the gifts are wrapped (some), the food is being prepped (or at least we're thinking in that direction) and the cold weather is here (socks? Hm, maybe). Honestly, I forgot all about Christmas cards this year, there were a few things going on ;-)  Instead, I bring you...myself-- in elf form.

For Beth's Awesome Christmas Greeting click here (betcha never had a card like that before!)

My thoughts are with you all during this season, and even though I am far from home my heart is with you (whatever that means, I think it means I love you even though I'm not tearing up gifts in your living room).

Take care, enjoy your family and remember why we celebrate in the first place.

Beth

Bubble Note #28

We are moving across the city tomorrow. My room is all packed, well, as much as it could be. The new house is about a 1 1/2 hour drive from this current one, far enough away to not see my friends as often as I'd like, but not far enough away to actually call it "leaving".

I'm trying to remember what all has happened since I wrote to you all last. We had our Christmas program with the slum children and it went wonderfully. They performed beautifully and remembered all of the words. Steph and I were very proud teachers. To top the night off, they asked all of the American's to come on stage ("I'm Canadian!" I yelled out while trying to dash off stage. It didn't work.) and what was their request? Dance! haha oh gosh, no warning at all. They turned on "Merry Christmas Polka" and had all of us dancing in front of an audience of about 500. I have never felt so appreciated for making a fool of myself. I wish I had gotten a picture of our little ones performing but I was beside them by the stage. The pre-performance was quite hysterical as girls were frantically running to both Steph and I complaining "Auntie, no socks Auntie". They were very concerned about missing articles of clothing, we assured them that it was okay to not have socks. One thing that did impress us was the every single girl came with a colour matching hair band, apparently they met the day before and decided to bring them (they also practised together at this time). Impressive 2nd graders.

Besides that, I finished my Hindi because of the move, have said good-bye to most of the people I know in this area and as of tomorrow morning will be transitioning.

If you remember the visa situation I informed you about recently, well, it's being put into effect very sporadically, so when we leave the country in three weeks we are preparing to be gone for 2 months. With the move, I am not sure how soon we will be getting internet access, hopefully before Christmas. I will try to inform you all on what is happening over the next month.

Please continue to yarp for us, the past 2 weeks have been semi-stressful as far as getting things packed, the other house ready and this house packed up (to add on the visa situation). I'm almost wishing for a schedule or routine. Almost ;-)  Haven't become that crazy yet.

I'm off to a Christmas cookie decorating party. Christmas still happens in 25+ degree weather :-)

In Him,

Beth

Bubble Note #27

Quote of the day (by Lizzie) "So if we get deported..."

You know when someone asks you about a very confusing situation and your response is kind of like, "ah, hmm, well..." and then as your brain is frantically trying to summarize something logical you just blurt out, "It's confusing".

Well..."It's confusing", but also adventurous and slightly funny.

A couple of days ago we heard about a slight visa scare where anyone on a tourist visa leaving the country has to stay out for at least 2 months. Although we currently have to leave every 6 months to stay in the country (long term) we can run across the border and back in. At the time we heard about it, we could find no real information online nor anywhere else. In short, this has progressed the last couple of days until now it is online and being enforced in some airports (they stamp your passport at the airport and do not allow you to come back in until those 2 months have passed). The  family and I  had planned on  flying out of the country in three weeks, a week or two after our already big move. If this rule continues to be enforced, this will mean that we will be moving in one week, unpacking for one week (with Christmas during that time), repacking and organizing the house so that it is ready to be left for 2 months, travelling out of the country and staying "there" for 2 months and depending on visa "stuff" possibly travelling to get a different type of visa in the States. Now this is all tentative, and the interesting fact is that, since I only have a one year tourist visa none of this applies to me (it is only being enforced for foreigners with 5-10 year visa's). If that left you all terribly confused, let me sum it up briefly. Since my role here is to support Stephen and Tricia and the kids (mainly in schooling, but perhaps Dad had this in mind too ;-) ) I will be following them in travels until He tells me otherwise. That could mean I will be leaving the country for good in 3 weeks (and country hoping until my time to go back to Canada comes), I could be leaving the country in 3 weeks for 1 week and there are no issues at all, or I could be leaving the country in 3 weeks and coming back in 2 months. Only Dad knows. Although the issue is not that big for me, it is a very big problem for almost all of the 'workers' here. Monday is a day set aside by my company to fast and yarp about it. If you would like too, please join in this time with us. I figure, we must be doing something right because the enemy is hitting hard.

Still...I've never been deported before. I could add it to my list of "Things I Never Thought I'd Do". That and the nose ring. Ohh the t-shirts I could have made.

Blessings!

Beth

Bubble Note #26

Exciting Bubble note because it contains the answers and information to the long decision making!

The first news is that we (the family and I...I'm really just the tag along ;-) ) are moving! My record for staying in one place for 3 months (max) consistently seems to be improving. We are not moving outside of the city, but the new house is still a 2 hour drive away (on a good day, I've heard of it taking up to 4 hours, one way). My feelings about moving? Sad to be leaving blossoming friendships but excited for what Dad will do in a new place. Please please yarp for us during this time, we are moving in 1 1/2 weeks and plans never work here like they might in the West. This could be an incredibly stressful time and the perfect timing for the enemy to attack, so please keep us in your thoughts, especially around the 13th of December (and that week).

The other news is that I have decided to apply for the Explore internship. This past year (08-09 school year) I attended the first year of Explore, an Outdoor and Leadership Wilderness program with Prairie Bible Institute. It was a year full of growth, encouragement, challenge and experience. It is hard to sum up the most intense year of my life in a paragraph, but intense in the most positive sense of the word. After much discussion with Dad, research and..hm, testing, I have felt led to apply for this internship. Whether I get it or not is up to Him. If I were to get the internship I would be returning to Three Hills, Alberta for the next 3 years to complete a bachelors in Outdoor Leadership. Please yarp that I seek His will beyond anything else.

On a lighter note, I have started to take notes of daily events that give me giggles. Starting the count down from #10...

Top 10 Things that I Enjoy about Daily Life "Here"
(in no particular order)

10. Sun/warmth/lack of snow
9. Having Josiah yell "BESSS" anytime I arrive home
8. Long car/auto-rickshaw rides that end up in complete ridiculousness including the kids and I waving frantically at our car neighbours, kissing a bus, singing veggie tales with grown women and near decapitations.
7. Chai (and ignoring my lactose intolerance)
6. Sitting on the porch with the kids reading while Luc whittles and Lizzy crochets.
5. Old men in skirts (or lungi)
4. Outdoor flower shops (everywhere, and cheap)
3. Fellowshipping with really strong believers
2. Good food, like really good food
1. Grown Men, in full suits running after a moving bus. Who, with the help of a swing of the brief case and a leap of the newly polished shoe, land safely in the doorless bus (I'm hoping to record many of these occurrences and become Youtube famous)

In Him,

Beth

Bubble Note #25

Newest update: I have a new hole in my face! Well, I decided to take the leap and get my nose pierced. Never would have done it if it wasn't cultural. So what is the significance of a nose ring here? Well, in some areas it symbolized marriage, but in the city a girl will get her nose pierced once she is of age. Each sides mean different things according to where you live. On the web this is what I generally found, "In India, a common belief is that a woman should have her left nostril pierced. According to Ayuvedra, Indian Medicine, the left nostril is the spot associated with child bearing. Wearing a nose ring here eases the pain and makes child birth more manageable." (http://www.ehow.com/facts_5526960_meaning-nose-rings.html) Though when I have talked to nationals, they view it more of a sign of beauty and grace than anything else (the same reason we have our ears pierced).


My friend Steph and I had it done at the same time. Though...I made her go first and had to be coaxed to actually do it ;-)

Besides that life has been good. Christmas is coming up, woot woot. We have not yet decorated but it is on the agenda of things to do this weekend. Thanksgiving was yesterday (American) and we had a blast making pies, casseroles and then eating everything together in a large get-together.

Tomorrow I am heading out with some friends to another town to check out some Palaces, gardens and touring type stuff. This will be the first time I'm going far outside the city, so I'm kind of excited :-D  :-D 

Sorry there isn't much to update about. Let me know what ya'll want to hear about, sometimes after one has been overseas for a while, they start to forget what is interesting to those of another culture. Like, I could describe the whole shopping trip today? Or that I rode in the smoothest, quietest, nicest auto today, I felt so spoiled :-[ . Or that I figure driving here is like a live tetris game, you just have to go with the flow and fit wherever it works. Shoulder checking is a foreign concept. Some bangle shops looks like glistening rivers of  sun-spotted colour. Perhaps you would like to know that I have possibly the lowest texting rates in the world (I put $20 on my phone as soon as I got here, and have only used about $5 of it). Or that my noses hurts slightly and I am scared to death to sneeze as I might shoot this earing across the room. In any case, let me know what is up in your lives, what you would like to know about mine and what your Christmas plans are!

Stay safe, eat well, exercise more and get dirty.

Beth

Bubble Note #24

I am in the mood for spicing things up a little, so instead of writing I recorded a video. It doesn't give a whole lot of detail, and is really meant for the people who haven't been paying attention to what the detailed notes say ;-)  But since it is 16MB big, and I figured some of you may not have the highspeed connection that is so envied world-wide, I would post it on my blog and on facebook so that you can view to your hearts content, without spending hours waiting for that lone massive email to finally download. Therefore, please click here Bubble Notes or Facebook (if you are a friend on facebook).

This week was uneventful. The general population is getting the winter cold and sinus virus'. But, because of my proper upbringing in hyper-hydration and the usefulness of vitamin C (the irresistible orange flavour helps a little too) I have avoiding getting any more than a sniffly nose. It was also decided that only Stephen will be going to do the training, thus, no train. Bummer for the adventurous side of me, good for the sanity side. Together I'm normally pretty balanced (haha, others would disagree). Oh also, our Christmas play that we were going to put in action got cancelled and we will only be doing songs. Flexibility is the organizers best friend. I can't wait for the Christmas program, the other day when Steph and I went to go tutor the dudes/dudettes they were in the classroom watching a video and learning choreography from it. Nothing cuter than a whole bunch of lanky 7th grade boys doing Bollywood (Bollywood is the Indian version of Hollywood; feel free to youtube it if you want a taste of culture) moves.

In any case, the mosquito's will be coming out soon. Oh, but I found out that elephant dung repels mosquito's (check out the story here)..maybe...just maybe...

Beth

Bubble Note #24- Video

Hammock at Dusk. Visits available for purchase.


Please do not distribute this information without consent from the author.

Bubble Note #23

Super Praise: I have a scheduled appointment in Thailand for the extraction of all four of my wisdom teeth on January 6th! If you have been with me since Bubble Note numero one, you will know that my appointment to have my wisdom teeth removed this last summer was cancelled because they were afraid of me passing out while in their care (in a dentists office in downtown Calgary- is it considered "a history of it" if it has happened once? I mean, we could at least test the theory...). Thus, they recommended me to a specialist (ie: doing it under general anaesthesia vs the original local. ie: a lot more money). After several discussions, phone calls, breakdowns and feeling my teeth with my tongue trying to decide if I was ever going to proceed, I decided that I would.......just not in Canada (college student going overseas, I don't really have $1500 just laying around). Thus, after hearing that Thailand has some of the best and cheapest health care in the world, I checked it out, and sure enough, after much communication I received the final cost: $283.92. Sure I won't be put completely under, but really, laughing gas? Who could pass that up. If anything could trump Christmas morning (ps, I was informed that Santa is increasing his on-sleigh-elf capacity this year, so more cookies and milk is required to be left out; or for this lactose-free elf, cookies and Dr. Pepper), laughing gas would be it. But, since nothing can trump Christmas, surgery will just have to come in second. On a more semi-serious note, please do yarp that this goes well. I have not yet gone through a surgery without my mum (though we came close one time...haha), and loosing body parts without a motherly hand can be tough sometimes, so perhaps yarp that I would not be to loopy, and if I am, that our Father would control my loopiness with wisdom (no pun intended). Oh, just received a confirmation email from the DentalDudes, "We are looking forward to welcome you soon." I bet they are.

On another note, we are travelling to another city in two weeks. In a train. Hm, not quite sure what to expect. But from what I've heard, the train stations are the New York Subway system x20. I let you know what real claustrophobia feels like after that trip. It will take us approx 22 hours to get there. What happens when you put 6 people in an enclosed box for 22 hours with little to do and an 18 month old going stir crazy? Stay tuned for the answer.

Hope your day has started off well. Yes, I know, it is Thursday. The wanna-be weekend. Stay strong, Friday is just around the corner (but I can say that because it is already Friday for me. ha.).

Love in Him,

Beth

Bubble Note #22

Dear Friends,

I have hit a mile stone. My first red pen has run out of ink! Ah, the feelings of accomplishment as a teacher.

This past week has been really good, full of learning and experiencing, joys and complications and "going-with-the-flow". Which isn't all that bad for me since my schedules consist of "whatever happens to come up". Hindi is going well, I'm enjoying getting to know my teacher, learning how to make real chai and riding my bike on these crazy roads (which is quite different than what I did this last summer. I am riding Elisabeth's pink 'ladies bike' as they call it here. Fully equipped with a basket and bell. I adapt to my surroundings out of necessity, haha). Tutoring is also going well, and I enjoyed showing the 6th grade boys pictures of Canada in Canadian Geographic the other day. Of course, the concept of snow is foreign. And pretty much uninhabited hills looks impossible to them. And I was asked quite a few times if that was me in an advertisement (blush blush, what can I say...), but we had a blast. Yarp for these kids, it is sometimes hard to teach because their classes are so big and they are taught to memorize, not to learn. For example, when I ask how to spell Tiger, they will recite together, "T-I-G-E-R", but when I ask them, how to you spell girl, they have no ideas. Simply because they have learnt that tiger is t-i-g-e-r, not the reason why (t says "tuh", i says "aye" etc). Anywhoo..

Besides that, life is good. I'm getting used to being called by many different names, and I respond to almost anything theses days. Milady (Lizzy sometimes calls me in school), Teacher, sister (by the nationals), miss, mam, Bes (Josiah -the 18month old, can't say Beth), auntie, Betney, you name it, I've probably been called it.

In any case, I need to go read with Elisabeth. Sorry, no pictures this time around, my camera hasn't been working.

In Love,

Beth

Bubble Note #21

I think emotional highs are like being on a roller coaster. Oh so I know you've heard that comparison before, but really, if it is a new ride, you start at the top. And it so so much fun and you can't wait to see what Dad does with you, and then all of a sudden you realize there is a down. Oh shoot. So you are peering down the track, and it's a long way down, like a long way. So you attempt to back peddle, but, your frantic attempts to get out of the seat prove futile (thank goodness.) and soon you are rushing downhill, screaming the whole way, wishing it were over. But then you hit the low, and oh, there's an up? Swweeeeett, bring it on. Oh the up feels so good, a little slower, I can handle this. The top? Never thought I'd get here. Bliss, I can do anything, I can see everything, I can't wait for another plunge, I can conquer anything. Down? Already? Wait, I wasn't quite ready...let me enjoy this point of view. And the backpedaling begins again. And so continues the ride, with a couple loops and spins just when you get bored with the up-down. But once the ride is over, even though you are completely exhausted, the first thing you say is, "Let's do it again!"

If I were to give you a glimpse at where I have been at this last week, it would be peering down, and then plunging. Oh, I have no regrets, and I'm learning to be okay and enjoy with this ride called life, but that doesn't mean I can simply wish away the downhills ;-)

There are some decisions in the making that are...stressing? And not even me directly, it is more of, how can I be so willing to learn through something that hurts so bad? Am I willing? Dad is teaching me so much these days, I cannot tell you how blessed I am and continue to be. Please yarp that in these times of tension I will be willing to glorify His name and will accept challenge. I long for the growth, but cringe when it comes in the form of change ;-)  Don't you love it how when we ask to be transformed to become more like Him, He does it! I will update you all once there are solutions to these decisions.

I have also been quite tired recently, and I'm not sure why, but if you could yarp for strength, and the wisdom to deal with all situations. I recently realized that I have been studying the Word more now than ever, not only by myself but with other Believers. The other night I counted that I am going to four different Book studies. Oh the encouragement that comes from those, is amazing. I really do love our Dad's family.

As promised, here are the pictures that prove (as my mum claimed), "My daughter can do ANYTHING with bare feet!"

Nice Rear view...

On the "what random events has happened to Beth recently" note, this past week I have: been asked to be in a movie (but a women who came up to us on the street, she was serious.), ridden 5 people in an auto, seen a friend baptized, waited 2 hours for an outfit to be done (2 hours after they said it would be ready), and drunk blissful amounts of coffee and chai. Oh, and I taught a little too.

Hope you are all doing marvellously. Blessings from the future.

Beth

Bubble Note #20

Elisabeth just started week 9, which means we are 1/4 through the school curriculum. I haven't even been here 2 months and we are a quarter through! AHH! Maybe we'll take an extra long Christmas break....orrr if any of ya'll (I live in a Texan home, I'm entitles to one 'ya'll' a month. Though having a Canadian say 'ya'll' is kind of like taking your chances with a bubble gum machine, you aren't really sure what will come out and what will be the reaction.) have this uncontrollable desire to come and visit another part of the world, since we ARE 2 weeks ahead, I betcha I could take some time off to show you around (oldest gold mines in the world? Driving 3 feet from wild tigers? Bouldering and exploring the rugged countryside of Asia? I should write tourist brochures. Oh ya, and a free unpredictable unplanned totally 'safe' adventure with me to be sure ;-) ) .

I also started a new saga in my life yesterday - Hindi. Only conversational, I'm not quite ready to learn a whole new alphabet and script, I have enough trouble with 26 letters (and according to all of the American's here, I can't talk right either. pfft. 'Shone' is said 'shawn' not 'shooouwn'). It was fun, and I will be doing it 2 times a week. I can say, "hello, my name is Beth". And "I am Canadian. Boo yah." Okay, so, maybe we through a little English in there for the "boo yah."

As far as one of the decisions, I have come to a conclusion. And since I know you are incredibly anxious to know what it is, I will ease your curiosity. A while back when I was helping at the VBS, I told the woman director (it is a couple that runs the facility), I will call her Mary, about my desire and passion for the unborn (if you do not know the history about this, I would highly encourage you to read about it on my Blog http://blazingdawn.blogspot.com/2009/04/tattoo.html). She instantly became excited about this and mentioned that perhaps I could come sometime and talk to the mothers of the slum children about the sanctity of life, and female infanticide. Although I was honoured, and felt incredibly unprepared I  said I would 'think' about it. After talking it over with some very wise women, and asking Dad about it, I have decide to move forward in that direction. I have yet to talk to Mary (since they have been out of town) about how to approach this best, but I am hoping to talk to her sometime this next week. I have been doing research on female infanticide and women's roles here, and the statistics are heart-wrenching. According to this book that I am reading (Disappearing Daughters by Gita Aravamudan) women here will kill their daughters because of three main reasons. #1 If the family cannot afford to pay the dowry (technically illegal) then she will be a life long burden to the family and an unneeded mouth to feed. #2 It is either the mother or the child who will be beaten and/or killed by the husband/father, a risk the mother is not willing to take (simply for the child being a female). And #3 the mothers would rather send the child back to 'their Maker than live this awful life'. With the limited knowledge I have recived on the subject, it is clear that the mothers do not take such action because of their own choices, it is out of force and fear that they do this. My desire is to hopefully start a story set with them (telling them the Good News verbally through retelling of the stories of the Book) that shows their value as women of Dad. Perhaps if they are able to see the value of life they will be willing to take the chance at saving their daughters. I still need to find out from Mary what can be done if they choose to not kill their daughters and how to go about doing that. So please yarp that I will know which questions to ask and how to proceed. I know I am useless without Dad, and that I myself cannot save anyone. But perhaps He can use me to...well, I'm not going to limit what He can do, just perhaps He can use me. I am also hoping to do some interviews with some random people to see what the general view is on infanticide. Maybe if I can find out what is valued, not valued, believed and applied I can know how to best love and teach these women.  Friends, I need your help in this, it seems like a huge undertaking but the more I walk in that direction the harder I feel Dad is assuring me that it is the right decision.  I will need your 'thoughts' as hard as ever, I have no idea what I am getting into, but doesn't Dad use our weaknesses to demonstrate His strength?

On a different note, the zoo was amazing, and I will send you a picture of me riding an elephant as soon as I get them. It kind of felt like we were on the top of a very large, heavy...well, not much to compare it to other than an elephant. Sure it was just a little jaunt around a tree, but when you are sitting on top of an animal 25x bigger than yourself, and the size of their tail is the same as your thigh, well the journey seems much more exciting (I was imagining what kind of Jackie Chan jumps I could do to get off if Mr. Dumbo decided to roll over, thankfully that plan never got put into action). Here is a picture of me with Mrs. Dumbo, the Mr we rode was much bigger.


That is all for now. I'm off to read with Luc. Hope your day is enjoyable and filled with blessings. Love to you all.

Beth

Bubble Note #19

Tomorrow is Dawali (like Western Christmas), pretty much the biggest celebration in the entire country. And how am I celebrating? Well, getting up early (for a Saturday) and heading with 13 friends to a Zoo/National Park about 2 hours away. I am stoked! I haven't been outside the city yet, so this news makes me feel like



The week has been good, not very busy. Which is okay, I have a feeling that once it does get busy I'll regret not taking advantage of the down times.

As far as the decisions go that I was yarping about, if there was a yarp progress chart, I would be a +8 on one, a +5 on the other and a -3 on the last decision. But then again Dad may see the "progress" on a completely different chart. We'll just say I'm continuing.

A Praise! I have contacted some Dental Care places in Thailand and they can remove my wisdom teeth for about a tenth of the price it would have cost me in Canada! Well, I haven't gotten all the details and whether or not it would be under general or local anaesthesia, but psshhh, you would think for something like that, they would pay me. Really, it brings them pleasure and me pain, and I'm paying them? Dentists have the best occupation.

Another praise from this last week. I was slacklining up on the terrace with the kids and some of their friends, and Tricia had gone across the street to talk to the neighbours. After they were done talking, she invited one of the young ladies to come up and try it, so, she agreed. This lady is about 25 years old and seems to have a lot of "questions". So after we did some slacklining we both headed downstairs and Tricia served us apple crisp (I know. I'm spoiled.) and we kept talking. After about 5 minutes she asked me about some of our Canadian Festivals that we had, so I began to list them, Christmas, Easter, Canada Day....(I felt really dumb here...what else  IS there? Labour Day? So what do Canadians do on this day? Hm, lay around and watch TV?) Randomly she asked me, "What is Good Friday?" Wow. Such a specific question. Tricia looked at me ;-) , I responded with :-! . Tricia is the storyteller, so I expected her to pick up and tell it. But, as we have recently started a B study together, and she is teaching me how to Story (a form of spreading good news orally through retelling of the Book's stories), she pointed to me and said, "Go ahead." So, I did. And she continued to ask "But why do you call it GOOD Friday?", at this point I was grinning like a fool. After the story was done I asked her if she believed they were true, "Yes, I think they are true," she said. Praise Dad! Not only did He graciously give me the courage and words to tell her about THE story, but she believes they are true! Yarp that she will continue to seek and I will know how to respond when more questions are presented.

So I should go. I get to ride an elephant tomorrow (hopefully). That takes emotional and mental preparation (Pride and Prejudice relaxing I'm thinking....).

Beth

Bubble Note #18

Dear Friends,

It has been a very busy, tiring week, but oh so good. As you know from my last Bubble Note, I spent about 2 hours every afternoon this week doing a VBS for 200 slum kids. They were precious. Never in my life have I seen such well behaved, smiley, eager to learn children. I kind of wish I would have written an update mid-week, because now that it is over it seems more of a blur than specifics (sorry about that). I'll just give you a little background on these kids to you know where they are coming from. This home for these kids is a place where they can go 5 days a week to receive tutoring for school and activities to do so that they are not on the streets. Their houses are about the size of your walk-in closet or bathroom, if you would like more detail about what the slums are actually like, I encourage you to visit my blog (The Blazing Dawn).

My role with the kids (they were split into 3 groups of about 60 each) was to play games with them. Role? Well it was more like my pleasure! As the kids got to know me a little better through-out the week they became a little more disobedient, but kids should be kids. And when has a dirt/mud fight not occurred when 50 of your friends got together in a field? I figured after the first day, are they going to remember the organized games? Or the random red-headed girl who thought it was so funny to chase sixty 5 year olds around and watch them giggle? Oh the delight that little ones can bring, and the fact that they are still willing to laugh despite their desperate home situation. You see, these families have about 5 or 6 people living in one "house" again, sleeping in your bathroom with all of your possessions stuffed around you with no window for air, and these kids have lived such hard lives. And yet they still manage to laugh. Oh what we worried adults could learn from them.

But I'll stop babbling. Below is a picture of me with the younger kids (2 groups together). We gave them ice cream the last day, which they only have at Christmas time (about 1/2 a cup/kid...with which they were thrilled), so they were extra smiley for these pictures.



Some of them only get one meal a day, which is provided by this specific place. I will send more details later.


Please continue to yarp for me, I have some decisions that I need to make, but I'm waiting on Dad to let me know if I should proceed or not. Either way I will keep you informed :)
Thanks for upholding me this last week, the effectiveness is now up to Him (but I'm considering going back on Tuesday and Thursday evenings to help tutor the kids in their English, that is just one of the decisions I am considering).

Much love to your all...it's lunch time!

Beth

Bubble Note #17

         



So I heard some of you on the west coast of Canada got snow. It's sunny here, a balmy 22 degrees Celsius and climbing higher. A slight breeze, making the coconut trees sway and the birds chirp high above the houses. Okay, so it's not all so tropical paradise. Take for example the slooshing of the sewer not 6 feet from my desk where Stephen is cleaning...who knows what out. Hm, yes, tropical paradise. Still, I prefer it over snow ;-)

The kids are quite happy and spry for a Monday morning. Luc even agreed to completing 2 lessons of math in one day without a word of complaint! Oh I am a spoiled teacher.

Sorry this note isn't any longer, but I wanted to let you know what I will be doing this next week, and ask for your continued thoughts. I will be helping in a slum ministry doing a type of VBS with 200 kids. No, that is not an extra zero, 200. We will be splitting them into 3 separate groups with various activities to go around too. I will be running the games (anybody have any sane games that can be played with 60 3-6 year olds? By sane I mean keeping my sanity haha). So even though I'm not too worried about controlling them, I am slightly concerned about the language barrier (even though English is the national language, all these little ones aren't guaranteed to understand me....especially with my foreign English ;-) ). This will be going on Monday-Friday from about 430 till 630pm (which is approx 5am-7am for most of you), so if you are awake during that time, please yarp that I will be able to have wisdom with these children and demonstrate the love of Dad to them. Cause gosh...without His help, well, we won't go there.

Thank you all, I will be sure to send pictures and another update once this crazy week is over :-)

Blessings,

Beth

Bubble Note #16

Well friends. Goal #1 complete. Yes, I did.


I kissed a moving bus while in another moving vehicle. Even the auto driver laughed. Just spreading some Canadian love around the county.


Photo proof will come when I build up the courage to do it again.


Going to disinfect my lips now. :-!

Beth

Bubble Note #15

"Beauty is pain." Don't believe that? Trying wearing toe rings.

 
My blinged out foot. And this was only the beginning. Perhaps I should start at the beginning....

This week is Dasara, a celebration/festival thanking the gods and celebrating their sacrifice and victory. If you would like information, you can check out wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dasara .

In short, I was invited with the family to attend a celebration at our neighbour's husbands factory, where they would be performing a pooja as well as giving out bonuses' to the employee's (this has the same significance to our Christmas, well, the level at which it is anticipated is). So, after being invited, I said I would love to go, as it is very cultural and all ;-)  To be appropriate, well, I should wear a saree. I've been here a month, but I haven't yet bought one (the fabric, for the nice ones are a minimum of $20, which seems like a lot over here). So Tricia agreed to let me wear one of her's. After spending the night with one of my friends, I headed back home and we began the process of dressing me in the saree. Now I've heard that the national women can dress in 5 minutes, it took me that long to figure out what was what! I had Tricia and one of her friends both working around me, attempting to dress me in the "right" way. They say there are 32+ ways to wrap a saree. haha, we had trouble accomplishing one! A saree consists of a blouse (the tighter the better they believe, and not much longer than needed), a petticoat (a solid colour skirt bought to match the colour of your saree) and then the 6+ yards of fabric which wraps around one's body way to many times. All of the fabric is tucked into the petticoat to stay on. Now, the trick is that there has to be pleats. Yes, pleats, like a curtain, or a kilt. But enough of me trying to explain, maybe the following pictures will help you understand a little better....















AND the final result!











Lizzy and I (not really fair that my 8th grade student should be taller than I.)


And my charming 4th grader.

Even though I could probably write for ages more, I'm afraid you would get bored with my ramblings. The day was wonderful and full of food. Lots and lots of food.

One thing that was bittersweet for me was when, at the end of the celebrations they handed out sweets to the families (boxes of goodies). Each family got one. I got my own each time we went to a different function (we went to a doll viewing as well as a the factory, check the wiki site if you are confused about that ;-) ). For the first time in my life I was counted as my own family. Even though if gave me a little pride in being independent, it made me miss my family. But, hm, more sweets for me. ;-)

Much love to you all, please write and let me know how your days are going. Even if I don't reply to your emails, I love getting them!

Blessings,

Beth

Bubble Note #14

I remember after being in Montana for several months some of my classmates commenting on how they felt claustrophobic since they were used to the open skies of the prairie. Well, being here has a whole 'nother definition of claustrophobia.

I'm not really a city girl. But then again, I'm not really a town girl. Nope, not a country gal. Perhaps just a nomadic gal.

But back to the claustrophobia. I've never really been claustrophobic. I mean, I've climbed inside snow shelters that could cave in on your head, and carved out a living area with only a headlamp. If I see an empty coal or gold mine, I will be the first to rush in. And having people touch me isn't really an issue either, you can imagine I have had hundreds of hands touch the weird 'orange' hair, just to see if it is real (believe me people, it ain't going no-where, no matter how hard you pull). But this past week was the first time I ever really felt claustrophobic. Imagine this, you are sitting in an autorickshaw. So I'll stop there for a more accurate description. You are seated on a semi-padded bench. Three walls around you, two people on either side (and even though you are good friends, closeness in this context is an understatement). Yellow are the walls and there is a driver not 4 feet from your face, seated on a similar bench holding the "wheel". This wheel is the same as a motor-cycle, and controls the entire cage-like vehicle. The motor, well, although I don't have the specifics of it, sounds like, well...a scooter without a muffler, and goes about the speed of a go-kart. Now, you are seated in this yellow cage, and everything is close. And I mean everything. Exhaust is puffing 3 feet to your left, out of a dump truck filled with sacks of potatoes, a cow is standing 10 feet to your right, staring right at you, people weave in between the stopped cars (and by stopped I mean turned off...save the gas!), beggars tap your knee asking for money while you try not to make eye contact and every car begins to honk their horn the second the light turns green (though you know...I never actually see the lights we are stopped at for some reason, I'm not sure where they are hidden). Now, this normally does not bother me, really, I don't mind it. I might even prefer it over the air-conditioned van in North America where the greatest interaction you have with anyone is waiting for them to finish with the hand-dryer at the rest-stop. But for some reason, that day, I felt very crowded. I wonder why.... ;-)

I am beginning to love life here. I'm not sure what exactly has taken me this long to "adjust" but I've decided I'm not the typical foreigner. I don't arrive and love everything instantly, on the contrary, I notice it, but don't appreciate it until I've been here for a while and begin to love the people, and then appreciate the culture and then "things". We have almost finished our 3rd week of school, wootwoot. My two two students have been wonderful to me, and very gracious. They smile as they play my lame math games, and point things out to me when I'm marking something completely wrong. They even teach me how to do long division (my multiplication tables are better now than ever before!).

One thing to please 'keep in mind' is that I have recently been getting sick off of certain foods that we either order in, or go out to eat. Problem is, we don't know which foods are making me sick (this isn't just the rumbly tummy sick, it's the...well, the detailed sick. :-P ). Besides that, ask Dad to allow me to be willing to love honestly and openly, without shame and without pride. Blessings have been showered upon me that I am so unworthy of, so thank you for those as well.

I'm going to bed, it is 2313h, but hey, you are starting your day. So I hope your day is just as good as mine was. If you want to know what happens in the future, just gimme a call!

Beth

ps. Now that you have a mental scene of what claustrophobic is like, I guess I can give you peak at the limited view a picture can provide (and this is quite calm! My objective this year, kiss a bus while sitting in an auto....maybe not sanitary, but have YOU done it?).

Bubble Note #13

It feels like just yesterday that I wrote, telling you that I had just arrived. Although I still feel rather "fresh" to this country, I'm not feeling as uncertain as I did at the beginning. The days are fairly routine, which is nice long term. And the kids are so easy to teach, it hardly feels like a task!

I am currently taking off my bangles. Bangles you ask? What the heck are bangles? Don't worry, two weeks ago I would have looked at you like :-\   too if you had asked me what bangles are. Perhaps I should show you...Well then, my webcam has decided not to work. Since the majority of people that won't know what a bangle is will be male, I will try and describe them in your lingo. Imagine a very large nut  (the tool, not the food :P) that is shiny and goes on the wrist. Yes a bracelet, but you wear lots of them, and they jingle and cling and come in every colour imaginable. I'm like a walking wind chime! Except for once it's not out of the ordinary.

I'm trying to think of any interesting stories I could tell you that would be interesting. I took an auto (google auto-rickshaw if you are interested in what they look like) yesterday in the rain, and giggled a couple times while the driver dodge between pot-holes and streams of water running off of roofs. Or I could tell you how I'm getting several more outfits made (let me tell you, between these shiny jingly bangles and clothes that you can buy and have made for under 10 dollars, any girl would feel like she is in fashion heaven. I may come back a diva). Or how Luc and Elisabeth are in a constant battle with me for the top scores in Wii Fit (I'm the teacher...is competition bad in PE? ;-) ). Or perhaps I should write about how blessed I am...

The last week or so Dad has been talking to me a lot. Through others and through His Word. Some of you know I have been really struggling for the past couple months by not planning the future. Ya, not planning. It seems I have a trust issue with Dad as I don't like for Him to have too much control over my plans, to an extent sure, but not all of it; that's just too...risky. I knew before I left that it was something that He really wanted me to work on, allowing Him to plan my life, and not me. Sometimes I feel as if I am drawing my own sketch, I created the boarders and picture and then give God the paint brush. But oh, don't colour outside the lines....here is my life Dad....a paint-by-number that I drew and now you can fill in with the colours I choose. Thank goodness we have a gracious Father that has been gently removing that picture from my hands and showing me what brilliance He can do (honestly, what is a paint-by-number compared to Michelangelo. But I guess He created Michelangelo, so that's hardly even a comparison!).

He also has a sense of humour though. Because He goes to the smallest details to make sure I am paying attention to Him...take for example, the other day I was getting a tad excited because I wanted to look for Universities with a certain degree. Well, what do you know, He froze my computer from going to any web page....except facebook. Now why would that happen? Well...maybe because He knows I would restart my computer and keep trying if I couldn't get on at all, but as I could get on Facebook, I wasn't going to risk not being able to get on even that! I got the clue pretty fast. Shrewd. Fine Dad, I'll stop looking, go ahead and plan. I suck at waiting ;-)

But oh gosh, if you actually got through that good for you.

People keeps on asking me if I am still culture shocking. And to be honest, I have no idea. Either I am in shock....or I'm finally out of Canadian culture shock and feeling normal again. I'll let you know when I figure it out (or I'm doomed as a TCK to be confused for the rest of my life).

Thank you all for your p'ing. It is helping tremendously. Please continue to think of me as the days go on. It is hard to branch out without the help of my family right here. Ok, have to work on Biology. Woot. Grade 4 math at 10, autonomic nerves at 5. Bring it on.

Beth

Bubble Note #12

The sun is shining. I'm sitting in a garage with two very seriously studying students in the near area. Yes, I teach out of a garage. But a very cool garage. The first day of school we decided to come up with a school name, and concluded upon GIL. The Garage Institute of Learning.



This is just a quick snapshot with my webcam, Luc (in grade 4) working hard. Both Luc and Elisabeth are avid readers, so that makes my job pretty easy (read these pages, and do this. Now read this, and do this. hehe, not always, but I think they are much easier to work with than I was in either 4th or 7th grade!).

I have been here for almost a week now, tomorrow it'll be a week. A lot has happened in that week, at least it feels like it. Since I have arrived I have gone shopping, been to the tailor to begin getting my outfits made, eaten several ethnic dishes, been in an auto-rickshaw, gone to a birthday party, met for the first time a high-school friend from my online school, experienced jet-lag like never before and gotten sick. Well, sort of sick. We're not sure if it is delayed jet-lag or the flu, but the last day and a half hasn't been the most fun. I am a lot better now, and had a 4 hour "nap" yesterday. I am loving the weather, culture, smells and sounds, and of course, the kids and Tricia. I haven't yet ventured out on my own, because, even though there isn't a language barrier, I still feel very....new.

I wish I had more to write, but my mind still feels like it's a broken puzzle being put back together on a new table- and a slippery one at that so the pieces keep falling off. As my mum said recently, coming into a new culture makes on humbled many times over. And as Tricia said recently, Dad tends to use our weakest points to grow on when we go overseas. I betcha the two work together very well.

Perhaps ask Dad that I will be humbled and grow at my weakest points in a way that is glorifying to Him.

Now the sun is really shining....and since I'm the teacher...maybe it's time for a recess ;-)

Beth

Bubble Note #11

Figured I should finished off the story. Well, I am "here", arrived at 4am this morning, got through immigration and customs fine, went outside (to a welcoming heat. And that isn't even sarcastic. So far, I love this weather!) and was greeted by Steve, Elisabeth and Luc (I will be teaching Lizzy and Luc). First impressions? Sticky, much more humid than Togo (and for sure than Calgary! But pretty much anything is more humid than Calgary). Reallllly nice tile/marble like stuff in the airport floors, surprise at the fact that both of my bags actually came through (despite short layovers; thanks Dad.), and peace, that I had finally made it to the place I had been waiting for for so long.

I slept for about 2 more hours this morning, but wanted to start off right right away (as in bodily schedule) so I was up at 8, to the pleasant sounds of...well...life. I had forgotten how comforting it is to wake up to cars, or wind, or people...I MUCH prefer this over a beeping over an alarm clock (Canada is to quiet for me ;-) ). The room I am in is very nice, as Elisabeth graciously moved in with her brother to make this possible for me to stay at their place. And spent the rest of the day unpacking and organizing the room to make it home. It may take a while to feel like my own room, but it is very nice and spacious, and well lit. I brought an armload of stuff to the schoolroom (/garage) and was given a tour of the house. I will be decorating the school room soon, and hopefully making it a fun and enjoyable atmosphere. Even though I've only been here for less than 12 hours, I have loved being around the kids (Josiah, the 1 year old, is just toddling around, gabbing away to himself, and thought he would be very useful in helping me upack, hehe), but am starting to get a little nervous about how I'm going to make this fun. I mean, school is school...but, I want to make it as little school like as I can. That may mean sporadic walks, just because their teacher is slightly ADD (haha, not really....but sometimes I wonder....).

I will hopefully update you on what is going on, in my mind and around, very soon. I'm sorry if this email seems kind of random and not well written, my body is trying to catch up with me. 12 hour time difference is kind of like turning your body inside out.

Much love to you all. And thanks for your thoughts...they are the only way I got through this (or am currently coping).

Beth

p.s. I think I've found the most beautiful scene in the world. It's descending through an infinite plateau of luscious clouds with the full moons rays creating tiny spotlights splattered atop the grey rolling puffs.

Bubble Note #10 - Arrival!

  Funny the subject...because I'm writing this 2/3rd's through my trip, not when I am actually there. Good trip so far, angels have been placed strategically all over the international airports just for me. If I have more brain power I will write more about it later. I only slept about an hour on this last flight (about 9 hours long, longest flight I've ever been on...well, until this next one that is). I like London, so much diversity. Except they don't have free internet in their airport like they do in Canada, bummer. I have seen 2 celebrity sightings even in this short trip! Well, I think it's 2. I had no idea who the first guy was, but random people were coming up to him and shaking his hand, so I'm assuming he was famous. Or was just very personal and random strangers liked him. And the other was Pierce Brosnan. I actually noticed his suit before him. My train of thought went something along this line "oh, very nice suit. I like white suits....hm, familiar face. Oh gosh familiar face! Pierce Brosnan! Nice suit....."

Back to the purpose of this journey. Upon arrival at the airport in Calgary, the woman at the Air Canada counter, after looking at my itinerary said that even though my bags would be checked in all the way, I would have to get my boarding passes from British Air directly. Which would mean exiting and re-entering the Vancouver airport in the short hour I had there. What a send she was from above, because so casually she was like "How about I move you up to an earlier flight, so that you don't miss that flight in Vancouver. And if you go down to the UPS store, you could do online check-in for BA and just print it off and then you wouldn't have to go out at all." What a brilliant idea! So, Mum, Dad and I proceeded to do so (the guys are at school, so I had to say good-bye to them this morning, or rather, yesterday morning. What day is it?!). It worked! Thanks to Dad (I could thank both of them eternally, but this kudos goes to the Higher Dad ;-) ). As always, I got patted down at security (I figure I just look too innocent, and in airports innocent means deception...so naturally, I'm always the most checked). But went through and was on my flight an hour earlier than anticipated! Much appreciated. I had some time in Vancouver but it was needed as we (I was chatting with mum) forgot my yellow fever card back in our filing cabinet! Dad was frantically scanning them and sending it to me via email, and I was searching high and low for a printer. I finally asked a lady in one of the "other" (not BA, though the BA lounge proved to be quite...well...exclusive) elite lounges if she had a printer, yes, she said, but it is $ 1/page. I was fine with that. I emailed her the doc to be printed, and within 10 minutes I had the copy in my hands (I don't even know yet if I will need it, but, good just in case). The lady at the desk, when I was about to hand her the money just shook her head and smiled. Another angel.

Well, I believe my gate is open now. I should go and find it instead of sitting. As that is what I will be doing for the next 10 hours. Almost there! And it hardly feels like a trip at all....Though I think my body is skipping Wednesday...that's today. I think.

Beth

Bubble Note #9

Different background. Long story. But of course I will condense it for you!

• Old computer died. After a long and fruitful life. We put him to rest sometime in June (Methuselah was his name).
  
• God blessed me with a new computer. We named her Scarlett.
  
• Scarlett decided that she didn't want to remember anything I asked of her (kids these days.), and upon consultation with experts in this area (Geek Squad!), they suggested, well, a replacement.
  
• Scarlett was replaced by Scarlett (Gen X) this morning.
  
• No worries.
  
• Scarlett Sr. is in a much better place.
  

So I have spent a couple hours today trying to re-set up Scarlett (Gen X), and haven't had time to transfer all of my files, including my cool Bubble Note background.

I leave in 17 hrs, 48 mins, 25 secs, according to my facebook countdown. I head to the airport in 12 hours. I say good-bye to my dear brothers in 9 hours. And I freak out in approximatly 18 hours.

But honestly, the only reason I am sane, peaceful and content right now (in that order) is because of your prayers. Mum and I have said repeatedly over the past 24 hours, neither of us would have this much peace or assurance if it wasn't for you. Thank you for making this possible, and allowing me to (or attempt too) demonstrate Christ's love to others.

As for the Beth Code, as of now, it is enforced (by my heavenly body guards. Watch it, they broke a guys hip once). Please be aware of what you are writing, and/or saying to me (and if you have no idea what I am talking about, follow this link for one of my previous bubble notes - #6).

I will see you all in the future, behave ;-)

Beth Friesen

Bubble Note #8

Praise Note #1: I remember which number Bubble note I was on!
Praise Note #2: I now have a new computer, thanks to one of my very good friends. It is a red dell and I have named her Scarlett ("things" always work better when named....or maybe it's because we are softer with objects that have a name )
Praise Note #3: I successfully completed my summer job (working as an office assistant for NorthStar Academy)
Praise Note #4: I get to eat my mothers amazing food for four consecutive days.

Well friends. How have you been doing? I am now at "home" (funny word, whomever defined it must have been a very secure and permanent person) until I leave, Tuesday afternoon. My sister and brother in law are heading down here tomorrow, and my Dad took both Monday and Tuesday off of work, just so that these last 4 days can be spent as a family (do I have an amazing support system or what!). Please continue to talk to Dad about me, as these last days will be full of hecticness (you do not want to see my room, actually...even if you wanted to you wouldn't be able to.) and transition. As I am not planning on writing again before I touch down, I have included my itinerary below, if you happen to think of me during this time, please yarp (for those of you who were not included on my Bubble notes when I explained my weird terminology- yarp = pray).

Keep in mind this is all in local time.

Flight: 1

From:	Calgary
To:	Vancouver Terminal M
Depart:	Tue 1 Sep 2009, 16:20
Arrive:	Tue 1 Sep 2009, 16:47
Duration:	1hr 23mins

Flight: 2

From:	Vancouver Terminal M
To:	Heathrow (London) Terminal 5
Depart:	Tue 1 Sep 2009, 17:55
Arrive:	Wed 2 Sep 2009, 11:00
Duration:	9hrs 5mins

Flight: 3

From:	Heathrow (London) Terminal 5
To:	(it's a secret ;))
Depart:	Wed 2 Sep 2009, 13:40
Arrive:	Thu 3 Sep 2009, 03:45
Duration:	9hrs 35mins

   As I may have to recheck my luggage either in Vancouver or in London, I may be cutting it rather close. Ask Dad that I am a speedy traveler....efficient may be important

I will talk to you all when I reach the other side of the world.

Much love,

Beth

Bubble Note #7

 

 

 

 

 

My Dearest Friends,

 

Most recently I have realized how much I love and miss all of you. The closer my departure comes (and the more in depth I come in the "transition fog") the more I value your prayers and encouraging words.

 

As some of you may have seen on Facebook, I am travelling quite a bit during the weekends. As I stated 2 weekends ago, "I will be in 5 different cities for the next 5 weekends". I have completed 2 out of the 5. It all started at Carstairs Alberta, then moved a little east to Three Hills Alberta, this weekend, I'm heading south to Camp Bighorn (where I spent 1/2 of this last year with Explore) in Montana, next back at my parents place in Calgary, and then the next weekend, quite a bit east, or west. Either way I'll be half way across the world

 

This past weekend in Three Hills was amazing. Hard. But amazing. I hate realizing that no matter how many times I do it, transition is always just as hard. Perhaps my practice will make perfect  You may call me "The Transitionee Guru."

 

I fly out 2 weeks from tomorrow. That's only...336 hours! Or 20 160 minutes. Oh no counting down...I'm almost hoping it goes by fast, and yet not. Those of you who are anticipating a big change can understand this.

 

Please "talk to Dad" about the travel, the leaving and the arriving. And more so, about 2 weeks after I arrive which is generally when the excitement fades off and reality jumps in. I have decided that my purpose in going is to demonstrate Dad's love. Please continue to ask that I will be filled with humility, patience, love and will be able to grow gracefully.

 

My last day at work will be the 28th, after which I will be heading 'home' for 4 days before flying out. I'm almost anticipating the last minute details. Never done this by myself! We'll see how I hold out as an adult (is Neverland still an option Peter...Peter?...)

 

Love to you all with heavenly blessings.

 

Beth Friesen

 

 

111 Huntcroft Way NE

Calgary, AB

T2K 4E4

403 337 8050 (until the 28th)

Bubble Note #6

Dearest Friends,

I cannot apologize enough for the lack of updates I have been writing. About a month ago I was sitting, surfing the net on my computer when all of a sudden I smelt something. A burning something. An electrical burning something...nearby. Yes, it did not take me long to realize that my power cord was frying right in front of my face! Thankfully I was able to back up anything important while my computer used up the remaining batter power. After talking with my dad, we decided not to buy another power cord since, this was after all the 2nd one that had fried, we had replaced almost every part of the computer except the hard drive, the speakers made a sizzling sound every time it was on, the fan, since not placed right, would roar and sound like a motorcycle (the reason why I would not bring it to class...classmates aren't to appreciative when a laptop overpowers the prof.) and the CD drive no longer worked. Perhaps not investing was a worthy investment

This past month has been, well, eventful and yet not. Work has been going good. Tomorrow I will have another lady in the office! I am so excited to have another human being in the office (I was alone for the entire month of July! I know. And I'm alive). And the final preparations before heading off are falling into place. 23 days from right now, I will be in an airplane...flying to London (12+ hour flight...and only 1/3. Crazy.)

Since it is pretty much impossible for me to recap an entire months events in one Bubble Note, I may simply say that it has been good, a blessed month, exciting at times (riding upon a horse who's main pleasure if freaking out it's rider. Note: Trees are not meant to act as human leg rubbers.), confusing at others (banks?), but overall really good.

Below I have included a letter I recently sent out with my prayer card (which I have attached to this email). Please take time to read the following as it is crucial to future communication overseas.

I'm sitting here drinking hot water, yes, hot water. My healthy alternative to coffee (just an excuse to eat more chocolate in its place).

Thank you, thank you, thank you for all you have done, both financially and spiritually. As this is my first trip overseas alone, you cannot imagine the encouragement that I have knowing that I have such awesome prayer partners/friends.

(We'll have some practice trying the Beth code). If Dad wants it, I will be sending out my "Bubble Notes" at least monthly while overseas. If you are not on this update list, and would like to be, email me at ****. I promise I won't be boring.

Please write. I love to hear about how you are doing, really, besides sleeping and eating, it's next on the list. 

Also, please please please keep me in your prayers. I cannot do this without you. I have been warned that I am moving to a very dark country, and spiritual attacks will be present in every form. If you are part of a prayer group, if you wouldn't mind adding me to your list of desperate prayeree's, I would be incredibly grateful. I believe more than anything that you are in this just as much as I am, so if God is ever tugging at your heart to send up a little prayer for me, there is probably a reason, so feel free to write to me and find out the reason why

Love to you all, and would love to hear back from you,

Beth

Bubble Notes #5

 

 

 

 

Work truly is a blessing. And so far, it has been a blast. Let's just say I never realized how much really goes on behind the scenes, which is...everything. So if you are one of those people that work behind the scenes and doesn't get much credit, on behalf for everyone that you do anything for, THANK YOU. I appreciate your effort and work. Maybe when I have some free time I'll force the benifitee's to thank the providers (forceful thanking...don't tell me it doesn't work...mothers use it all the time).

 

Besides that, it is 68 days till my 'departure day' (now reread that sentence, but with the large national geographic voice at the end....eh? Much better emphasis.) I'm getting stoked. Well, besides the fact that we went to the infectious disease doctor today and have to get several more shots before I head over. No worries, I will avoid as many as possible and still have full property rights to my blood (copyrighted too...see God for details), so hopefully that won't be sold off either. But as I was thinking of going over, I came up with an idea. Perhaps you have thought, "Oh, Beth is doing something super cool, and I wish I could support her but I only have *peers into cow shaped piggy bank* $12. To bad." Well, fear no longer, because I have come up with a solution to your dilemma!

 

As you know, I will be going and tutoring a family with 3 children ages 12 (female; grade 7), 8 (male; grade 4), and 1 1/2 (male; pre-pre-pre-school...ie: ultimate cuteness); and as I was thinking of supplies that I may need to bring over, I thought of you. If you would like to help out, but don't have much money, perhaps you could help me out by buying some of the supplies I would like to bring over to help this family through-out the school year. I have some ideas below, but if you can think of something that would be helpful or appreciate, then I would be more than willing to accept your giving gift (also, if you think something would be cool to send to this special family, send that as well). Some needed supplies are listed below:

 

-Daytimer (Sept 2009-2010...or somewhere around there...the months aren't that real important as long as it will cover the majority of the time I'm there)

- Wall Calendar (there are some cool ones with awesome pictures or cool facts, which would be nice for a classroom)

- Paint-by-numbers (I know I loved that at that age....)

- Earnings or clothing (good quality stylish stuff it always nice to receive as an ex-patriot, there are some neat clothes at www.c28.com)

- Oh ya, Canada t-shirts (they are a Texan Family...let's spread the Canadian love around...or Canadian anything really...)

- Binders (good quality, so that they can last a long time)

-Pens (ball point, or something that won't dry up right away so I can do my teacheringly marking, and yes, since I will be a teacher, I can make up words...like teacheringly....it's in the teacherhandbook )

- Cool books (science books that have awesome graphics, or those random information books, or the cookie books [the ones that have hundred of cookie recipes], that type of stuff)

- And anything else that you can think that a teacher and students would need to keep school interesting and fun.

 

If you think that you are able to help out in any of these areas (you could even order online and send them! Oh isn't technology cool), please send the supplies to:

 

Beth Friesen

111 Huntcroft Way NE,

Calgary AB

T2K 4E4

Canada

 

If you can't afford this, no worries, I appreciate your little giggles in response to my emails, even that makes my days (but if you don't find them funny, well then yes, you should feel guilty, very guilty. I'll let you know in the next bubble note just how guilty you should feel, hehe).

 

I love you all, and thanks for reading these and hope they keep you entertained at least for a little while.

 

Blessings,

 

Beth

 

(403) 457-5907 (Friesen House - most weekends)

(403) 337-8050 (Baker House - weekdays)

Bubble Note #4

 

 

 

 

'Bout time for another one. I am sitting in the living room of my new house, not yet home, but give me 48 hours and it probably will be. So I moved again. Figured out last night that this is #6 in the past 12 months, and that just means moving from city to city (no repeats, oh, just because there isn't a whole lot to talk about, I will give you the whole list....Togo to St. Catharines, St. Kits to Virgil, to Calgary, to Three Hills, To Montana (then backtracked for Christmas and 2nd semester) and now to Carstairs. So, I am living in a friend's house for the next 2 months while I work in Didsbury. But this couple is actually away for the next 2 days, so I'm settling in alone, and, well, I'm not sure I like living alone. Besides the fact that I have only actually been alone for 6 hours (I pretty much failed my solo in Explore), I am enjoying "relaxing"...whatever might mean.

 

 Progress on the upcoming trip, I received my visa! I sent it in last Monday morning, praying that I had filled everything out accordingly, and since the information online said it would take 10-14 days to process the paperwork, I expected it back in a couple weeks. So, needless to say, when it arrived back in my mailbox on Wednesday morning, I was shocked. I either expected it to be refused and sent back, or I hadn't sent enough money and they sent it back, but, thanks be to God, it was there, stamped, official and all! Thanks for the prayers, this is a huge blessing.

 

Also, thank you to all of those who have already supported me financially, you cannot imagine how big of a blessing you are.  72 days till I fly out, you cannot imagine how long it took me to calculate that...oh gosh. I would revisit high school, as long as I don't have to do any tests, which I kind of am, just from the other side (working as the admin person for NSA this summer). SO my job starts this Wednesday, which I am excited about. The Lord has provided in an abundance of ways, and I will be biking back and forth (12 km one way) every day, rain or shine. So if you are thinking of me during those times, please pray for strength, physical strength...prairie winds can be killer on the legs ;)

 

Much love,

 

Beth

 

(403) 457-5907 (Friesen House - most weekends)

(403) 337-8050 (Baker House - weekdays)

111 Huntcroft Way NE,

Calgary, AB

T2K 4E4 

Bubble Notes #3

 

 

 

 

Snow in June should be illegal. As should hail. Oh how I miss the tropics.

 

The past week has been fairly uneventful. Tyler received two awards at his school (one for PE and the only award that is given to a grade 11 for leadership and sportsmanship) this past week, so we went to that. It made me very proud to see him receiving two of the possible 30 in a school of 1400, and in his very first year. All of the boys have adjusted really well and made lots of friends, which is really nice to see considering transitioning back can be very hard.

 

My teeth procedures have also started. I have, well had, 2 cavities (one was filled yesterday) and then 4 wisdom teeth to be pulled. Unfortunately they are each being done individually, so many of my Fridays will be taken up at the dentist. I'm just so thankful to have a good dentist who is compassionate and gentle.

 

One other exciting thing is that I also purchased my ticket this last week! I will be leaving September 1st from Calgary, and skipping around quite a bit, taking 3 different planes and travelling for almost 48 hours. I will be sending out my application for my visa on Monday, so please pray that it will go through without any hitches and will be granted quickly.

 

Thanks for your prayers, and I ask that you continue to pray for strength and trust. Pray that my heart will be prepared for going overseas and I will be willing to accept 'interruptions' to my plans (as nothing ever goes the way we think or expect them too).

 

Blessings,

 

Beth

 

(403) 457-5908

111 Huntcroft Way NE,

Calgary, AB

T2K 4E4 

 

Bubble Notes #2

 

 

 

 

It started off sunny, but just like Calgary, the weather soon changed and it is now overcast. But the last week has had some rather beautiful weather! My freckles are now merging into the commonly known "tan", except, mine looks a little different because it is spotted.

 

This past week has been amazing and eventful. First, my 19th birthday was on Thursday, so as a treat my mum took me out to Mount Yamnuska (everyone who does not live within an hour of the Rockies should be jealous) and we went hiking. Now, before I moved to Alberta, I used to call an hour walk a hike, but really, this is hiking. The past year with Explore has imbedded in me a love for the mountains, and sometimes snow. Well, we were not prepared for snow but we managed to summit in good time.

 

 

 

Also this last weekend, my brothers and I headed up to Edmonton for the annual Youth Conference, the largest one held in all of Canada. There were approximately 16,000 teenagers from all around Canada and the US. It was a truly spectacular event and I loved every minute of it. I stayed with my roommate from this last year and her gracious family, which was a huge bonus for me.

 

In about 2 weeks I will be moving to Carstairs (45 minutes away from home) and soon after will be beginning work in the Northstar office (until I leave come September). I'm looking forward to these next 2 weeks at home, and enjoying the break while I have it.

 

Thank you for all of your prayers and support. I sent out my support letters this last week, so Lord willing there will be some kind of response. One way I would appreciate prayer for is for a new computer. Although this baby has lasted me a long while (I named her Methuselah), I'm not sure she will be able to make it overseas again (I think she has arthritis, because she groans every which way I move her). She also tends to be a little moody at times, and she decides when she want to write forwards, and when she wants to write backwards (haha, I'm dead serious, she randomly starts typing sdrawkcab <-- as such )

 

Much love,

 

Beth

(403) 457-5908

111 Huntcroft Way NE,

Calgary, AB

T2K 4E4

 

Beth's Bubble Notes #1

 

 

 

 

Bubble Notes? You are probably wondering, what in the world are bubble notes? Well, even though it may not be a Merriam-Webster Dictionary definition I like to think of bubble notes as 'heavenbound sticky notes'. So plans, that aren't really plans but ideas, that are in point form on a random piece of paper floating in the vast sky of 'flexibility'. Hopefully, I will be able to take these little floaty notes and bring them down to earth enough that you will be able to get a glimpse of my adventurous life.

 

So what's spurred this on now? You're thinking (or maybe not, but I will answer the question whether you were really thinking about it or not; the privilege of being the writer). Well, I am heading to Asia this next school year to tutor the children of some family friends. As you may like to know a little more, I invite you to read my attached letter of information. Do not feel as if I am writing to you only for your money, as I would much rather have your prayers than your money. So, if you can spare a moment to lift me up in prayer on a regular basis, I would be ever grateful. If you are getting this email, you are on my Bubble Note update list, and will be getting regular updates. If you do not wish to be on this list, write me back and I will take you off (no worries, I won't be offended ;))

 

Thank you so much for being my friend, and joining me as I embark on this new adventure (guaranteed to be that).

 

In Him,

 

Beth Friesen