We Are Here!

I can't believe it's been so long since  I have written anything. This past month has been a little hectic. With moving around from parents houses to siblings houses, Jer working nights and me looking for work there really hasn't been much time to do anything at all. We have been trying to spend time with family and friends whenever we get a chance but we still haven't gotten around to seeing everyone we would like to see. Just to let everyone know what we are up to, we are living with Jason and Kristin (Jer's brother and sister-in-law) and Jer is also working for Jason. I have yet to find work. I have applied all over but now is really a hard time to be looking for a job. We are so blessed to be able to stay with family so that I don't have to worry too much about finding work right away.

Jeremy and I have been visiting different churches in the area every Sunday and haven't settled anywhere yet. Since Jeremy wants to work at a church I think we will just keep looking around until he finds somewhere that he can serve. I am so excited to see where God will place us. I can hardly wait to be apart of a church again and serve. Being in Perth really showed me how amazing it can be to be involved in a really great church and I miss it. We have visited some pretty great churches though. One that really sticks out for me is Pacific Community in Cloverdale. We went there with a friend a couple weeks ago and all I can say is WOW, the sermon rocked, the senior pastor was amazing, and the people were so friendly. 

It is really nice being home. Nothing is like better then being home. But sometimes when I look at photos of Perth and all of our friends there I get a bit sad and really miss it. It was definitely one of the best experiences I think we both have and will ever have.

Saying Goodbye to a Year in Perth

We are leaving tomorrow night. I can hardly believe the year is over already. It has been hard saying goodbye. We have made some amazing friends over here and we are going to miss Perth a lot. We are happy to be coming home though so that we can see all of our family and friends. We aren't to sure what this year is going to look like for us yet so we are a bit anxious about going back to Langley and starting all over again. We hope that Jeremy will be able to find a job at a church working in worship ministry sometime this year. As for me I really have no idea what I will do when we get back. There is so much to figure out still but we are just looking at it as the next big adventure that God has planned for us. This last adventure in Perth has been so amazing I am confident that this next one will be good too. We know that He will take care of us no matter what but at times it can still be scary! We have been so blessed to spend this year in Perth at Subi church. We will always treasure it and never forget the things we have learned here.

Albany Trip

I took so many photos this trip. Here are just a few of the highlights. I wish I could share more!

Ronnie and Jayden walking in Pemberton
Christa and her walking stick
The tree we climbed in Pemberton. We went to the very top of the tree.
The view from the top
Fungs and Pues on New Years Eve
Princesses Christa and Shari
Little Beach at Two Peoples Bay in Albnany

One of my two favorite little boys (the other being my nephew Landon). His smile makes me melt
I just love this photo of Ronnie and Jayden
More of Two People Bay
Jer took this picture from the top of a big rock he climbed

All 5 of us at the beach
The boys at the natural bridge
The girls at the natural bridge
All 5 of us at Whale World

Okay so a few days ago we got back from an amazing trip with the Fung family. We drove about 5 hours south to Albany and spent 4 nights there. Ronnie and Christa are incredible people and great friends and we are so happy that we got to spend sometime with them and there son Jayden (Jer and I both love Jayden like he was our own nephew, he is a very special little boy) before we left. Ronnie and Christa are from New York but have been living in Perth for 3 years. They are also moving back to North America this year so hopefully this trip wont be the end of us spending time together! Well The trip was so fun. We got to see some great beaches, my favorite being Two Peoples Bay, it was one of the best beaches I have been to in Australia. We had a great day lounging in the sun there. We also went to Whale World and it's kind of a joke between the four of us know because it sounds a lot more exciting then it is. We also got to go see the natural bridge which is a huge rock formation that makes a bridge over the ocean.  On the drive back to Perth we stopped in Pemberton where they have all these beautiful forests. They have this one huge tree that they stuck a bunch of metal pole into and you can climb up them to the top and check out the view. It was really cool. This trip was a great end to our year here. We couldn't have made it any better. Thanks for the wonderful memories Ronnie, Christa and Jayden!

Christmas in Perth

Jer and Timon wrapped Ronnie desk and everything on it (if you watch the office you will think this is funny)
Christa, Mez and I
Our Christmas play

The trees The angles





Well I finally have time to blog about Christmas. We were so busy planning the services I didn't really have much time to do anything else. Jeremy and I were both in a play along with a few other people. It was really fun. Jer was a Christmas tree and I was the narrator. On Christmas morning we went to church again and then spent the rest of the day calling our families back home. Later in the afternoon we went to Timon and Tegan's house for Christmas dinner. Ronnie, Christa and Jayden came shortly after we did and then later in the evening Lisa joined us. We had a great meal and so much fun just spending time with our friends. It was strange to be away for Christmas especially somewhere as warm as Perth but it was good none the less. I hope you all had a Merry Christmas as well!

We just got back from an amazing trip to Albany with our friends the Fungs I will post about that soon!

Nursing Home Visit

Giving out cards and gifts
Hanna, Micca and Yonah talking with one of the residents
Lisa sharing a gift. I later saw this lady crying and saying thank you to one of our leaders.
Melvin sharing a gift
This lady was so sweet, she was just smiling the whole time
One of the nurses came over and said merry christmas and gave this man a puppy. He started tearing up and was speechless.
Christa and Jayden saying hello
Part of the wonderful choir
All the children singing

Today during church we took the children to a nursing home near by to sing the residents some songs and give them cards and a small gift. It was amazing. The kids sang wonderfully and they were so good at talking to the people who lived there. I loved watching the residents eyes light up when they saw the children so many of them just kept saying "thank you, thank you" and I even saw a few tears. It was so great to see how the children blessed those people. I was a bit nervous about some of the children who had not enjoyed singing in the practices and had been saying that they didn't even want to go. Once we got there though they really suprised me. I think once they saw the residents they realized that this had nothing to do with them and everything to do with blessing those people. You can really see God through these children and it amazes me every time I am with them. So far this has been the highlight of my Christmas experience in Perth.

Christmas Time

Jayden and Aleesa sharing a candle
Jer and I
Mez and I
The group and our picnic (minus Jer and I)

Well it sure doesn't feel like Christmas here in Perth. It's 30c + sunny almost everyday. Really nice but so weird to have a Christmas. I have been trying to do some Christmasy things like making cookies and such but it's not really helping. We went to a carols night at a park here in Perth. It's something that they do a lot here. They have bands and choirs set up at a park and you go for the evening and listen. We set up a picnic and had a great time with our friends. Jeremy and I are also apart of our church's Christmas Eve production. We are both in a short play. I am the narrator and Jeremy plays a christmas tree. It's pretty funny. I have worked everyday this week because Meredith and I are making the set and costumes for the play as well. So it's been a busy week. Well that's all that's going on with us here. It's a busy season even when you aren't buying gifts and seeing family, but it's fun!

Skating

We had our friends Kyle visiting with us for 2 weeks. He and Jer spent a lot of time surfing and skating. They asked me to take some photos of them one day. It was lots of fun. Here are a few of them.