Where Am I From?

Today has been a shopping day today. I am officially cut off now, no more buying clothes for me for two more years! Well, It wasn't that bad, but pretty bad. Aunty Felicia took over for awhile too when I entered a baby clothes store. Ohhhh Katelyn, be excited. As I have perused streets and shops, I have gotten confused about where I'm from. Between over a dozen Israeli shop keepers telling me they could have sworn I was Israeli after I looked confused by their questions posed in Hebrew, too many Palestinian shop keepers saying, "I don't believe you are from Canada, you are American, too Spanish tourists asking me in spanish how to find Jaffa gate, I am getting really muddled in the head. And that my friends is the beauty of Jerusalem! The whole world is here and is one big mish mash, every culture blending and melding into a beautiful chaos. I love it. I am going up to Tel Aviv to see my Finnish friend Andreas in two more days. I did my DTS with him in New Zealand 5 years ago and haven't seen him since. Since my DTS I have actually only seen my fellow DTS'ers here in Israel, except my best DTS friend Clayton, I saw him for 10 minutes at Tim Hortons near the airport, Awwww, I miss Clayton. He has a great laugh, the throw your head back and put your whole body into it laugh. Everyone should meet him sometime. Maybe if I ever get married, him and his wife will be there and then you could be there and you will have to find the skinny Saskatchewan boy with the great laugh and introduce yourself. Bueno! Shalom to all.

They Are Everywhere!

They really are, YWAM'ers that is. I can't stop running into them over here. As we were leaving my brothers church last week, a group of hip young people came walking in. They stood out to me because they looked a little out of place amongst all the older ex-patriate types. As we walked down the street Ryan asked me if I had seen the YWAM'ers from Perth come in. This caused me to turn and go back as I had been trying to get in touch with anyone from Perth that was going to be involved in the city wide youth ralley that the Perth base was spearheading. Friends of mine were scheduled to speak at and participate in this event meant to get the local Christian young people fired up for Jesus. Very exciting stuff. Anyways, I got talking with them and sure enough a bunch of us had mutual friends so I was able to pass messages of greeting on to those I know that were on thier way.
Then again when I was wandering around the ancient ruins of Petra I spotted a young lady wearing a Mission Adventures backpack. We got talking and she told me that she was there with some other young couples who had all just moved to Jordan to learn Arabic and teach for 4 years. I later ran into the whole group at my hotel, we were staying in the same place. One of the guys happened to have staffed my best friends DTS in Orlando 6 years ago. It was so exciting to see so many coming to this part of the world that desperatly needs people that love Jesus and these nations. Praise god!

I Have Stooped

It's official, I have gone down to the depths of lowness that I never thought I would end up at. I am a tourist through and through. For some reason I have always had an intense aversion to becoming one of the tennis shoe wearing, camera carrying, loud voiced, awkward, out of place tourist types. This is the first time in my life that I have traveled for no other reason than to travel. I AM a big advocate of being in a place, learning the culture, language, knowing the people, knowing simple things such as where to get the best tacos, shwaerma or chai tea and how much to pay for it, how to get around town and where things are. I don't like to be a spectator, I want to be involved in my surroundings. Well today Matt informed me that I sound incredibly American. Apparently there have been a few times where Ryan said something to a local in a fairly clear and concise way only to have me back it up with a shouting voice accompanied by a southern drawl. 'Does this guy speak English?' How did this ever happen to me? I am absolutely mortified. So this week I am going to try and concentrate on becoming a little more Canadian again. I've noticed that no one here believes me when I say I am Canadian. Why is that? Just because I don't have a flag on my bag dosn't disqualify me.
In other news, we had a beautiful time in Petra the other day. I was blown away by the history, and craftsmanship of the place. If you have never heard of it look it up and read a bit. Here are a couple pictures from the day, the boys being goofy and suprise suprise, a camel kissing his boy. Despite my extreme aversion to camels I can't stop taking pictures of them. It's sickening! OK, sighing off for now. Felicia

Those Darn Camels!

I had almost forgotten how much I HATE Camels until last night when I was climbing Mt.Sianai for the second time. I believe my distaste for these poor miserable beasts began the last time I climbed Mt. Sianai and had them breathing down my neck in the desert darkness for 2 hours. It was the same thing again this time, coming around a corner only to stumble upon one of the silent creatures eerily staring me down. The only warning of them was the stench of their manure coated hides. And then the worst part of course is the Bedouin men whispering in low startling voices, "want to ride a camel? want to ride a camel?" I will dream those voices in my head for awhile. I really don't like those camels very much at all.
Besides that Matt and I had a very enjoyable hike up the mountian with our new traveling buddies Alex from Baltimore and Peter from Hungary. Ryan didn't come as he was having some slight bowel problems. Speaking of my cutie brother, he got some swimming lessons in the Red Sea today from Mr. Matt. He even made it out to where his feet couldn't touch bottom anymore without panicking. Such a good little swimmer. I had my camera ready to take pictures in case he started stuffing empty water bottles into his swim trunks to help him float after the example of Ahmed, the kid that was having alot of fun swimming by himself for a very long time. I got to lay out in a bathing suit today which made me extremely happy.
In other news we should be heading to Jordan tomorrow by boat where we will see some sights and then off to Israel!
Love to all who read this!

Back In Egypt

Yay! I'm here again and boy is it hot! I had a great trip, flying through Amsterdam where I had a 9 hour layover. I took advantage of such a chunk of time and got out of the airport to tour the city a little. I got to see Anne, Frank's hiding place, see how wooden clogs are made and even clunk around in a pair among other things. It was a very beautiful city and the tour made me want to go back for a real visit. I arrived in Cairo at 4am where my poor brother was waiting for me. We have been going going going since I got here and my jet lag is worsening over time. Hopefully I will get some sleep tomorrow. Today Matt(my brothers friend and now my friend) and I went downtown to get re-entry visa's and then hit the Cairo museum. I could not believe the amount of ancient artifacts that were in there. So mnay that some stuff was just propped up in corners and other random places. I found my favorite Shwarma stand today and ate up. Shwarma is this seriously delicious grilled beef with grilled tomatoe and onion and tahini sauce to top it off. mmmm. Tonight at church we had some lively African worship which I didn't get to fully participate in because I am wearing a very full skirt that was picking up all the airflow of the 89 ceilling fans whirring above me. Needless to say I had to keep my hands at my side to prevent my skirt from going over my head in the middle of the service. What a disaster that would have been. Tomorrow morning I will be sure to wear pants so I can groove to the music. Sorry this isn't very funny or entertaining right now as I am still in a bit of a sleepless daze! Peace ya'll!

Iced Tea Anyone?

Ok, so first I want everyone to go to www.hollhil.blogspot.com to see all the beautiful pictures of my new neice that I posted on Holly's blog. Now for the subject at hand. I am officially a freak. When I came home to canada I realized that all I ever drink at any resteraunt I go to is delicious, American unsweetened iced tea. But all you can get in Canada is that sickingly sweet syrup junk. Yech! I just can't handle it and I missed my unsweetened iced tea so badly that I developed my own way of getting what I want. When I go to a resteraunt or coffee shop now, I order two glasses filled to the top with ice and nothing else. Then I order a regular tea with only half the normal amount of hot water. I let the tea get really strong and then pour it over the ice to create my beloved unsweetened iced tea. ohhhh so good. But I can't tell you how many waiters and waitresses i have absolutley confused and befuddled by this process. None of them can ever figure out what in earth I am trying to do or even why I would do that. Ahhh, the pain of being misunderstood. I will do anything for that blessed tea though. And that's about all I have on my mind right now.

I'm An Aunty!

I don't have time to write but here are a few pics of Katelyn June Hildebrant. She was born at 12:51pm on June 14th. Weighed 6 lbs, 6oz and was 19 1/2" long. We love her!

Up Up And Away

Time to travel again. That's right, I bought a plane ticket to Egypt a few days ago and will soon be off on another adventure, this time with my brother. I'm not sure about you, but I find that there is something so wonderfully euphoric about the thought of getting on an airplane to fly half way around the world to another land. You never know what will happen along the way let alone once you get there. Just think of all the fascinating people there are to meet between here and there. The stories, the conversation, the crazy outfits, the people in love, the people running for who knows what reason. I find that airports are a veritable people watching paradise. Much the same way my mom could sit on the front porch watching birds and their habits for hours, I could sit in an airport and observe people for hours. How they move, the way they look around, their little fidgety habits, how their demeanor completely changes on the phone. It is all very fascinating to me.
Then there is the simple act of flying. Oh I love it so much. I always say, "the more layovers the better". That feeling of picking up speed on the runway until you are going so crazy fast that your body is being pressed back into your seat and then the feeling of weightlessness in the pit of your stomach at the moment the plane leaves the ground. There's nothing like it. Except for maybe diving off a cliff. That's also a spectacular feeling.
Just thinking about the Middle East already has me drooling as I remember the taste of fresh pita, roasted lamb, hummus, the biggest, juciest Israeli peaches imaginable and so on. Everything about the ME is delicious, not just the food, but the sounds, the smells, the language, markets, insane driving, history that blows your mind. What a culture, what a place!

Oh Where To Go?

Well my friends, I have once again come to another cross roads in my life where I am left wondering where I am going on this magnificent journey with the Lord. In leaving Idaho God showed me very clearly that that season of my life was over, He had done completed His purpose in me for that time and wanted me to move on. As I have spent time in prayer and constantly thinking about where to move on to I have learned more than ever the importance of just being content in God's presence. It's so much more important to be happy in relationship with Jesus than to have a plan or be "doing". All God really wants from us is our friendship, our closeness. I think that He brings us to places in our lives where we may feel like the vehicle of life has stalled and we can't get it restarted. Those times of stalling are times that God wants us to look at Him and realize we've been overlooking nurturing the most important relationship we can or ever will have. Life with Jesus is too sweet to miss out on. I don't even want to waste a single day with my Jesus. So in this time of waiting on the Lord for what's next, I pray that I will grab and cling to every beautiful moment with God that I get, that I won't just wait for those moments but seek them out as precious silver. In the meantime, please pray that I will hear very clearly from the Lord concerning His will for me in the next season of my life wherever it may be and however long it may be. Enjoy seeking the Lord.

My Phone Is My Friend!

The best news of my life just came to me. My little Roxanne still loves me. She still wants to be my friend. Oh glory hallelujah! I just called Verizon(my cell phone provider) to have my service put on hold for the few months that I will be in Canadia. It was my understanding that if I used my phone in Canadia I would have to pay like 60 cents a minute. Well my angel of good news, Juan the Verizon guy, informed me that I was dead wrong! So Roxanne is back in action ya'll! Call away, I want to talk my face off!
In other news, I took my little mama for a walk yesterday. We had a gloriously sunny day to celebrate mothers day. Halfway down the driveway we actually turned around to get sunscreen and tank tops. Can't waste good tanning time. We eventually headed off for the good old Priddis View & Brew. The PV&B is a wonderful little cafe/ice cream shop/video rental/deli/local arts & crafts place. I actually worked there for a short time waaaaay back in the day. As I entered the PV&B yesterday, I had this overwhelming sense of nostalgia and community as the place was packed with local Priddisites and a few townies on their way back to the city from some jaunt out to Elbow Falls or Allen Bill Pond. I felt a starnge sensation of wanting to spend some time working there over the next couple months. Actually, it would be more like relaxing and hanging out. Well, sure enough, the owner Larry came on in and first words out of his mouth were, "are you going to work for me while your home?" Heck yes I am. PV&B here I come!
And I forgot to mention, I got another job offer on that walk. Looks like I'll be helping out around a flower nursery at the end of our road. The lady that owns the nursery even has a big old Golden Retriever named Raymond. Life couldn't get more perfect than that! the Lord is so good to provide above and beyond! Praise His name.

Even You Can Comment

So I was recently informed that I had my blog set up so that only people who had other blogs could comment. That is no longer the case! Anyone can comment now. So comment away my friends. It's what will keep me going and encourage me to write more. Awesome! Hip hip horray for sunny days in Calgary!

I Want To Ride My Bicycle

this is in Boise-notice the nice little geese, the sunny blue skies and the green trees.


So I started a love affair with biking two weeks before I left Boise. Ah haa! I left Boise. It makes me sad to say it. I decided as gas prices soared that it would be better to let Deirdrie rest and use my own two legs to get me around town for awhile.So I borrowed a bike and started riding. Over those glorious two weeks my legs gradually became stronger and leaner as I explored nooks and cranny's of Boise that I never knew exsisted. I found magical bridges and pathways along the green belt and even went out on 5:30am forays to Meridian for breakfast with friends. My bike riding feats became legendary as friends started to call me the crazy one. My bike truly did become my best friend. Then I came home to Calgary, the home of long rolling hills and incredibly unpredictable weather. Boy oh boy. The first day that I made the trip from south west Calgary home to my parents house was gruelling. I was riding an old school white, purple and aqua marine blue mountain bike with fatty tires and a stuck break pad. I didn't even have a helmet with me that day and got a killer look from one of those super profesional road bkier types as he came towrads me on the highway. The second day was much better as I rode my dad's tricked out road bike. Please imagine this bike with me. The silver frame was found leaning up against a dumpster ready for the dump. This frame was then fitted with old mountain bike handles, new roadster aloy wheels, a saddle pack on the back and the extended arm rest pads and middle hand grips that professional bikers use. Attached to the top of the hand grips with hockey tape is an old gold wrist watch face. I am actually growing quite fond of this crazy hodge podge of a bike and would probably want to steal it from my dad if the frame wasn't too big for me. Oh! the toe clips, I forgot about the toe clips! Because the frame is a little big for me, I sometimes have a hard time with getting going and getting my toes in to the toe clips at the same time. This is a delightful thing to see as I wobble my way across intersections in front of amused drivers. Let me also comment on the difference in weather from Boise to Calgary. In Boise, it seems that every day was heaven sent. Spring has been delighting Boisians for a couple months now. There is nary a cloud in the sky, well, sometimes. But for the most time everything is fine and dandy. Calgary on the other hand is a big city with big weather. We sit at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. those Rocky's like to mix things up as weather patterns come over the mountains. Yesterday as I began my ride home, a sudden torrent of rain drenched me within 1 minute flat. With that driving, stinging rain came 60 mile an hour winds straight at my face. The wind was so strong that I couldn't get any air in my lungs, or it could have been that I was pushing uphill straight into it and was pushing my body to it's physical limit. One or the other. Rush hour traffic on the highway started to back up as people slowed down to stare in disbelief at the psycho biker that was being pumled by the elements. Oh how glorious. I ended up back tracking to the nearest 7-11 to wait out the storm. Don't like the weather in Calgary, wait 5 minutes. Sure enough, 5 minutes later I pushed through a milder wind to make my way home. In the following picture please notice the retreating storm clouds in the distance. I only wish you could see all the mud on my legs that passing vehicles spit all over me! Oh the glory of it all. I was made for the Olympics. Wait for it! You WILL see me there one day.

No More Coffee!

I must admit to having nothing short of a love affair with that earthy dark force of life called coffee. He held me strong indeed but I have once again wrenched myself from his grasp in an attempt to be independent. For those of you who have never tried to quit drinking coffee, let me attempt to explain the sheer agony of such an endeavor. The first day you wake up and go about your day as normal, ignoring that nagging in the back of your mind that you are overlooking something of infinite importance. You shake it off knowing full well what you are missing but choosing to shove it to the innermost recesses of your memory. Very soon your actions, and words begin to slow down. The inspiration of your life is not there to spur you on and things just get tough. Towards the end of the day you begin to feel a dull aching behind your eyes. This very well could be a result of fighting back tears of loss all day long. Who really knows? You end up going to bed early in an effort to shut the loss out of your memory. Sleep sweet sleep. It doesn't help. Instead you dream of Coffee all night, the café’s you’ve sat in together, the road trips you have taken together, the beautiful times of communion with Jesus that you spent together morning after morning. The love of Coffee torments the soul. But wait! Day two begins.....I feel like I am dying, for real. It's as if somehow in the night my whole pillow got stuffed through my ears into my head. The dull throb of little men with jack hammers in my head won't stop and my whole body is shaking. I drag myself out of bed only to drive an hour and a half to a staff meeting in the dreary land of Cascade. The whole meeting seems to be conducted in monotone, the small amount of sunlight that exists in Cascade is glaring in my eyes and the normally adorable Sadie won't stay off me. I eventually tell my leader that I just can't find a reason to care about anything he is saying to me. I head home and sleep the rest of the day away to escape the agony. Well people, let me tell you, I am very thankful that I am now on day 4 of "No More Coffee". Life is looking up again, the sun is shining in Boise and the birds sing to me, yes, to ME! One day I may meet Coffee again, but for now, he is a pleasantly distant memory......except when I wake up in the morning and my roomate has just brewed a fresh pot of smooth Goldcoast and has French Vanilla creamer. AAAHHHHHHHGGGGGGGGGGGG!

The Hines

Look at this cutie face! No, not mine, Tristan's. i just spent some days in Salem, OR with my mom's cousin Gary and his wife Susan and their little cutie patutie. Do you have people in your life that you rarely see but when you do it is as if no time has passed? Not only that, but the second you see them you have your hearts layed out on your sleeve with no reservations whatsoever. This is Gary and Susan Hines. I don't think they posses the ability to have surface level conversations. There is no holding back, just dive into the murky, muddy mess of lives and get to the root of it all. I was blessed by them in so many ways as I spent time with them. Even just ears that wanted to hear my struggles and confusion that can sometimes come with a life of serving God. So Gary and Susan, thanks for the love, the talks, the coffee, the baby love, the realness, the comfy bed, THE CAMERA! and so much more.

at the conference

Hey there. If your reading this, please take a minute and pray for me right now! I am at a fundraising seminar in Salem Oregon and it is going great. God is teaching me all kinds of wonderful new things. But I just keep feeling attack after attack from the enemy. Everything from body things to emotional things to questioning God's call on my life. So pray that I will really hear everything the Lord wants to share with me this week, that I will be like a spunge just soaking it all up and that I will be able to enjoy the beauty around me and the old friends who are here. Pray for protection for me and the others doing the seminar. Love you all! Blessings, Felicia

Fund Raising is Fun!

Do you ever find that you begin something with such dreading and reluctance only to find that very thing turn into such a wonderful journey of blessing and joy? Well, that is where I find myself at now. 2 weeks ago I was telling people that I HAVE to go to a dreadfully boring support raising conference in Salem, OR. Now I am telling people with great excitement about the incredible conference I have the PRIVILEGE of attending in Salem. I am part way through the book that I need to read as part of my preliminary homework for the conference. The book is called "Funding Your Ministry" by Scott Morton. Every sentance seems to be an enlightening gem of truth that I only wish I had known before I became a full time missionary. Scott talks about how I am not asking people to support me but I am asking people to give to what God is doing through me. He talks about the importance of praying on a daily basis for the people that make up my support team because they are just as much a part of what I do as I am. We all work together for God's glory. There is so much good truth in this book it's incredible. I am working through the bible study in the appendix about biblical support raising. The first section of the study is about "calling", how different people in the bible were called into ministry by the Lord and taking a look back at how I was called and what I was called too. I was asked to write down the scriptures that guide me, the ones that the Lord has used to call me out into His service. As I look back at God's leading and direction in my life I am so excited to go forward on this amazing adventure with Him! So check out my life scriptures and be blessed to be used of the Lord no matter who you are and what you do. Gen 1:27, Isa 61:1-3 & Rev 7:9

El Salvador

Oh man, I am terrible at updating ya'll on what is going on in my life.
EL SALVADOR! It was wonderful. I had such a fun time with my dad and the team. There were 8 of us ranging from 27 to 55ish years old. the team built 2 houses while we were there as well as installing water filter's on 5 huge water tanks that are for use by the community. I didn't do alot of the physical work on the house but spent alot of time just talking to the local people in the village and translating for the other team members. My brain was so full of spanish by the time the trip was over! Ok, that was just a very quick update for now. More soon. Peace my friends!

A New Home

God is the coolest all the time! Last week as I drove to college group at my church in Boise I told my mom over the phone that she needed to pray for a place for me to live up in Cascade because I would be heading back up there 2 days later and still had no where to go. I got to college group which is held in the house across the street from the church. This house is the parsonage of Boise Valley Christian Communion (BVCC), my church. As people were milling around in the living room, pastor Montie came in and made an announcment that they needed someone to come live in that house free of rent for the next couple months. My heart lept at the thought of living in Boise with all my dear friends and everyone else seemed to think it was a good idea as all eyes turned on me. To make a long story short, I checked with my leadership and everything has worked out perfectly for me to remain in Boise for the time being. I am able to do the work I need to through phone and email and driving up to Cascade once a week for staff meetings. Being able to live in Boise is freeing me up to get involved in a few things I have had on my heart since I first moved to Idaho, one is the Boise rescue Mission, and the other is my church here in Boise. I have already been able to help out at the church a bunch and am looking forward to getting even more involved. I have also talked with one of the men that runs the Boise Rescue Mission and it seems there will be alot of opportunity for me to serve them during my time down here. For more information on them and their ministry, check out www.boiserescuemission.org . Other than that I am busy working on the next YWAM Idaho newsletter as well as following up with prospective DTS students for our fall school. It has been so nice to have alot of tie on my hands to be in the word and read, read, read. I love it! So praise God for once again taking care of all the details better than I could ever hope to do.

New Life

New season, new look. I decided I needed to change the look of my blog from the dark deathy feel to something new and fresh and full of life. It's a bit of a reflection on where I came from to where I am now. It's just how I feel in my spirit. As much as I love the nation of India, there is the penetrating darkness that gets in everything, especially your heart. I have spent the past week in Boise with some dear friends relaxing and basically having no agenda whatesoever. It's been beautiful. I feel like I can breathe again and like something new is growing in my heart. I'm not quite sure what is growing, but it's likely to be something amazing. I have been reading "Hinds Feet On High Places" this past week. it is the story of a girl named "Much Afraid". She sets out on a journey to the high places with her constant companions Sorrow and Suffering. They help her along the way as well as the Shepard who she can call for at any time. I have seen many times through out the book that God has so faithfully brought me through many of the trials that Much Afraid must go through to reach the high places of glory with the kind Shepard. God is so faithful to provide what we need when we need it. Even though it is just a book, I have been able to cling to the lessons God has taught me as he has taken me through both low and high places . This is what I need when I am in yet another transition phase where I so easily tend to start doubting God's call on my life to take people to the nations and GO to the nations. I look forward to what God is growing in my heart next.

Pad Thai Please!

Let's talk about food for a moment, let's talk specifically about Thai food shall we? I've just spent 4 of the most gloriously culinary fulfilling days in the great city of Bangkok. As I write I appear to be pregnant from the amount of delicious Pad Thai and Thai tea that is filling my belly. Earlier today I feasted on the most incredibly delicious sushi, the freshest I have ever had. I somehow feel sorry for the poor shmucks in my team that have wasted precious cultural meals by giving into the lust of McDonalds, Pizza Hut and the like. Why waste your money? Not much else has happened while here in Bangkok other than the customary market visits and pool time. I feel like I have barely even touched the surface of this amazing culture and I certainly have not even attempted to figure out anything about the people of Thailand in the short time I have been here. But I am left yet again in awe at another beautiful people and culture that God has created. I am thirsting for more. God bless Thailand, she has been good to me.