A rose in the yard and Mission Hill Winery.
Lavender field and a pretty sunset.
More Mission Hill Winery.
I know, it's been forever. I apologize. I've been so busy and so tired.
The time is flying by. I cannot believe it! I will be home in 18 days! 18!! I am excited to get home. I am so blessed that I have not been homesick except for one or two days when I felt really sick.
I've become more and more aware of my calling, and it is thrilling and frightening. I know that I am meant to share my story with people; I just don't know how. There have been several thing that have happened during my stay here that have signaled that I am to use the spiritual gifts God has given me to share my story. I do not think I am gifted with evangelism, but God may have someone for me who is who needs someone like me to balance out our gifts.
God and I have been talking a lot. It's amazing. I was going through a particularly hard spiritual time. I had asked God to show me some things a few weeks ago, and he showed them to me very recently. I didn't realize what was going on until someone pointed it out to me. Anyway, I woke up really ill on Sunday. I took a shower hoping that would shake it, but it did not. So, I had to skip church. :-( I could sense God telling me to go back to bed, so I did. I woke up several times throughout the day, and I finally got up around 5. I was thirsty and a little hungry, so I made some tea hoping that would help with the headache, and I ate a nectarine. The tea didn't help, and the nectarine helped settle my stomach. God showed me a few things while I was up, but he told me to go back to bed. So, at 5:30, I went back to bed. I woke back up at 7:30, and my headache was gone, and I was finally hungry! I got something to eat, and I popped in a movie. God truly helped me work through what I was going through. It reminded me of what he did with Elijah when he prayed for death under the tree. I wasn't praying for death, but I felt like I was falling into a really dark and evil place.
God helped me see that I had not forgiven someone, and I was displacing those feelings onto someone innocent. But, that was supposed to happen so I would turn to God so he could fix me.
Before all of that, I did some exploring around town. I went to a lavender and herb field. It is so pretty, and it smells heavenly! I tasted some lavender lemonade... yum!! Then, I talked to the girl in the gift shop, and she told me about a Goat Cheese Artisan. I went there, too, and I tried some goat cheese. Some of it was really good and some was not. I wanted to tour the goat farm, but you had to pre-schedule your tour. Oh well.
What else have I done? I've traveled to Penticton, Peachland, Summerland, and Okanagan Falls. All of those towns are on the lake, and Penticton is at the southernmost point on the lake. I've seen all 90 miles of Lake Okanagan! Woo-hoo!
The church participated in a weekend long event called Love Westside. Potter's House hands out potted plants to 300 businesses around the west side. We all gathered together the night before and potted the plants. That morning, all the churches participating in Love Westside gathered at a central church and had a pancake breakfast. I guess I should explain what Love Westside is. Churches on the west side (of the lake) gather together and perform random acts of kindness to show God's love in a practical way. Some churches handed out water on the streets, some cleaned graffiti off of everything, some had cookouts, and some set up free stores. It was so cool. Everyone had the same t-shirt, and no one identified the church they were with. We were all one! It was so cool!!
What else have I done? Oh yes! The Canada Day parade! On Saturday, Westbank had a parade to celebrate Canada Day. Potter's House had a float to advertise their Kid's Club (VBS), and we handed out water bottles to the crowd. It was SO much fun! It was HOT. Even though there is no humidity, it is still hot. Phew! That evening, we went to the lake shore to watch fireworks. It was fun! They were shot off from a boat in the lake. At the end, the guy lighting the fuse fell into the lake, but he's OK. The water is SO cold.
Today is Canada Day! I hope to be heading to the beach with the other interns!
Thanks for reading!
Love,
Jennifer
2 comments:
I am so glad you finally blogged and no longer froaked.
All the pictures are beautiful. I used one of the pictures of the lake as my background on my work computer and the beautiful rose as my laptop background.
Thank you for the update and pictures. I love you and I miss you.
Please continue to pray for that thing we talked about.
Loved reading your blog. It sounds like God is really working in your life and what an incredibly gorgeous place to be in while that is happening! I miss seeing you around KSU. Hope your last couple of weeks are amazing.
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