Eroding

Lakeshore Road is quite an interesting place. Before coming in late-April, part of the road eroded and collapsed. Here is a picture of the "Abyss". It was a gradual build up of water underneath the road and one day it just collapsed. It reminds me how the life is eroding and changing beneath us and how I need to root myself in God who is my constancy in the world that is changing.

This week amidst the work, I needed to fix my glasses. After a mild bump and having them fall off, I was under the assumption that my glasses needed one screw tightened and an adjustment. Instead, I found out that they needed a whole new arm. Luckily, I had super-Mom get on the case and tomorrow I will have the new frames.

Yesterday, the asparagus season ended after the busiest two weeks of packing in the barn. In the season approximately 2.4 million pounds of asparagus was packed, just to give you a magnitude of the operation. Boy was I happy when I pulled out the final skid of asparagus!

On Thursday, the team will be flying to El Tizate for the next two months.

Time in Port Burwell is eroding.

A few more days to enjoy the beauty of Lake Erie.

Life is going to change - surroundings, language, activities, friendships.

I look forward to my return - to build upon existing friendships, to receive a deeper glimpse into the culture of El Tizate (a rural Guatemalan village).

I will be living with Mariana and Factor - the family that hosted me last summer.

I will also be involved in the construction of the current housing projects as well as teaching an evening adult ESL class.

I will be posting a photo blog before leaving in the next few days.

Andrew

Unpredictable

Have you ever stood in a moment and thought about how you arrived there?

Have you ever thought about the pieces of your life's puzzle that needed to fall into place to make "that" happen?

Seemingly unrelated pieces of a puzzle fit together to craft our life's journey. Looking forward at a bunch of scattered puzzle pieces, we realize that life is unpredictable in the way it is pieced together. Yet, when looking back on how we arrived to various moments, stages and events we can see how the pieces "make sense".

Or perhaps we are in moments right now that we do not understand the purpose or God's plan for them, but they will make sense in their time. Perhaps we are discouraged and need to re-piece the puzzle back together again.

In the asparagus barn, I've had many opportunities to reflect on my journey in life so far and where I have arrived, and events that have brought me there. But I tend to lean toward the future, thinking about all of the possibilities for my life. But, I am constantly reminded that the opportunities are endless (Teaching locally, abroad, pursuing my Masters), but God has specific puzzle pieces for my life that fit into his grand puzzle for humanity.

If I saw the whole picture to my life, it might feel scary, daunting or lacking adventure. It wouldn't require the trust or relationship that God designed for us to live out with him.

Therefore, I could speculate about my future or I can trust that the plans God has for me are to prosper, to not harm me and to give me hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11). I just need to trust and listen to him, seeking God's heart in the moments he has given me, by not speculating and worrying about tomorrow but to be concerned for the moments I am in now (Matthew 6:34).

I've surrounded this blog with a picture of a sunrise and sunset, the start and closure to everyday - we cannot predict what will happen after that sunrise (how our day will unfold) or the sunset (what the future holds), but we need to embrace the opportunities Jesus has given us in the present, where he is challenging us to abide with him.

I am thankful for the silence or "thinking space" I am given in the barn to reflect upon life.

Take care,
Andrew

P.S. The Sunrise I watched in Port Burwell with Fiddy, while the sunset is just one of many in this beautiful area of Southern Ontario on Lake Erie.

Busy and Mischevious

Dear loyal blog fans,

The theme to my titles with explore "La vida es..." (a neat phrase sketched into a rock in Antigua). Each title will answer this deep yet light-hearted question of what life can be.

I have been here living in the hamlet of Houghton Centre - in between Port Burwell and Port Rowan for the past month now. The asparagus season started early due to the warm weather in April, but the cold weather in May has slowed asparagus production down. The hours haven't been too long (9-10 hours a day) and my job is the same as last year (dragging skids of asparagus from the cooler and plopping the lugs onto the line to be bunched and packed). I have also been the "hoser" of Spearktek 6 - ensuring that the machine sprayed down clean. This job has been a welcome break from the University academia and has given me time to reflect and think.

Living out in the country has resulted in a few mischevious adventures for me at "The Ark" (where the 12 summer students reside).

Ironically, we had a flood in the basement of the Ark.

Kris, Dale and I are enjoying the upstairs loft (we call it the penthouse).

One day at the beginning of May, Dale and I were working on watering new trees and saw a dead hawk laying on the side of the road. We placed it in Mary's window with a note that said "I'm watching you with my hawk eyes". We hoped that the hawk would become the team mascot, but alas - it was decomposing and attracting unwanted flies.

While driving home from a team trip to St Jacobs, the group of people in the truck I was in, stopped at the side of the road to see if we could join the volleyball game occurring in a backyard we saw (thinking it would be fun and random). They shouted "No!" This is our first team shot in St Jacobs (less photographer Julianne).
Here's one more 'near' St Jacobs (Mom - look real hard haha) Here is Rachel (Yo-Yo), me, Dale and Mary.
One weekend ago, I was able to go see Dale get baptized in Leamington. It was great to attend and be there to support him on that day and visit with his family. That Sunday afternoon, we went to Point Pelee to stand at the most southern tip of Canada. Here we are sitting at the 42nd parallel in Canada.

Then here are Karla and I determining to reach the absolutely tip (with my life philosophy of "Go Big or Go Home"). Visit it someday if you haven't got the chance yet.
My apologies for my inability to post - from this point forward I'll update it weekly (perhaps on the Sunday or Monday).

Talk with you next time, with some ideas and thoughts God has been stirring in me.
Andrew