The End...Or Is It?

I have finally landed back home for good...well for the fall anyway. I seem to have this pattern of not staying in one place for very long...and I'm okay with that...for now.
I arrived back home from Canada on Sunday night, which technically now is two days ago but since it is 0400 hours on Tuesday morning and I haven't gone to bed yet it feels like yesterday. I'm sipping a cup of Irish Breakfast tea and thought this would be a good time to reflect on the last 10 weeks and catch all two of my followers up on the last two and a half weeks. On my way back from Dublin my connecting flight from Philadelphia to Boston was delayed due to weather. People were not happy and making a huge fuss. My brother was going to be late picking me up in Boston so it didn't matter to me. It was kind of a fiasco as they boarded us, deboarded us, told us we were leaving several times and then told us it wouldn't be possible so to sit tight. Someone came and sat next to me. I asked her what she was planning on doing in Boston and she shyly said she was going on a missions trip to Boston. I exclaimed that I was very excited for her and shared my recent travels with her. Then she told me about what was going on in her life and I she let me pray for her. Except for a couple instances on this trip most of the people I have prayed with have been Christians, but it is always exciting to get a chance to pray with someone no matter who they are. She told me that she was having some anxiety about this trip for several reasons and that meeting me was just what she needed at that moment. I was excited for her.

These clouds were what caused the bad weather causing our delay.

When we finally got to Boston (two hours later than originally scheduled) I found out where she was staying and my awesome brother graciously agreed to drive her to meet the group of people she was to meet up with on our way out of town. She kept telling me that if she was inconveniencing me she could get a shuttle later. After all the hospitality I had received over the last 8 weeks I couldn't leave her alone at the airport for two more hours. We dropped her off and headed home. I stayed at my sister's house Tuesday night.

This was the sunset that greeted me after we landed in Boston.
You can't have a sunset as pretty as this without a good storm.

On Wednesday my baby sister and I drove up to my parents arriving late in the evening.
Thursday I tried to pack but just couldn't get my head around it as I was tired and a bit overwhelmed at having to pack right after getting home so we went horseback riding instead.

Jordann and me horseback riding.

Friday I drove over to Vermont where I shared lunch with my "Other Mum" and best friend, got a much needed haircut and filled our paperwork for a place that had employed me over 3 years ago and drove home noticing that my brakes were making a funny noise. My brother said that were desperately in need of repair and that he could do it if he got the part first thing in the morning. I got the bulk of my packing done late into the evening and went to bed.
Saturday, after my awesome brother saved the day and replaced my break pads, my baby sister and I embarked on our 10 hour drive to Canada to be counselors at a Christian hockey camp for the week.

My final passport stamp for this adventure. I didn't have a Canadian stamp in my passport after all these years of going to camp so I figured since I was on a roll collecting stamps I'd add this one to my collection. After passing through customs Jordann and I had to go inside the customs station and "ask nicely" for a stamp. I think I was just as excited to get this stamp as I was European ones. I'm easily excitable.

So many good things happened at camp to tell you everything would be rather laborious to read so I'll give the overview of the week.

Trying to catch some sleep on the bus to the rink...it wasn't enough.

Drew Macintyre's first official signing. He signed the page of our hockey new testaments that featured him sharing his journey with Christ.

 My sister and I were co-counselors of twelve 10-11 year old girls. The week had its challenges because half of our group was homesick one night (turns out homesickness is highly contagious) and I also spent the better part of my birthday in the emergency room of a French speaking hospital in New Brunswick with one of my campers who had a sprained hand turns out. That was an adventure to say the least.

Our group of 12 girls for the week.

But the week also had many great moments, like when three of our campers stayed behind in chapel to accept Christ. And the many moments that involved a well-timed joke resulting an roaring laughter.

The camp trainer getting in her workout in between treating blisters.

Everyone bowing their heads in prayer after our final scrimmage.

 I also cherished the moments that my campers would come up to me for their morning or bedtime hugs. God showed me a couple things personally over the week and although someone had mentioned in the beginning of the trip that I should stay in Europe until August I felt like I was supposed to come back in time to for hockey camp. And while I was there I felt confirmation that God wanted me there for such a time as this. I am constantly amazed at how God uses even the little things to touch someone. On the way home my sister and I stayed with a friend from previous camps who had not attended this year because she had a new baby. We didn't really do anything spectacular the day we were with her. We did a tiny bit of shopping and watched Anne Of Green Gables.

Jordann, Rebecca and I trying a beaver tail for the first time. Miles declined on account of him waiting on teeth.

Then we left the next day for our 10 hours journey home. She emailed me that night and said "It was so good to spend time with you. I love how your love for God is so apparent when you speak. It was encouraging to me!" I was really surprised because the day we spent with her I was exhausted, I had a bad cold coming on with a sore throat, felt miserable in general and didn't feel like we had any deep spiritual conversations in the 36 hours we were there. My prayer has always been that I would be a blessing to others and share the love that I have so graciously received and He constantly answers that longing for me. On the way home we were able to stop and share lunch with my baby brother which was really nice. We rolled in to my parents later that evening and I was full on feeling miserable and found it hard to breath due to the cold. It got worse the following day. But even in the midst of one of the worse colds I've had in years I looked back on the craziness of a week at camp only a few days after returning home from such an adventure abroad and really felt that it was worth catching a cold (mostly due to lack of being able to sleep especially since my best sleeping hours are between 0600 and 1000 hours every day and our camp schedule had us up at 0545 most mornings). All day today I was just so thankful that I didn't have this type of illness while I was overseas. I did have my bouts of other things while I was gone but at least with this I was home, with my family, the required vitamins and my own bed.

In short I am so blessed to have had the past 10 weeks experience with its many lessons learned and those I'm still processing. I learned that even if you don't have a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night to lead the way God is always at work, He is still guiding your steps and weaving the fabric that is your life with every seemingly insignificant thread.