Blessings, Moving, Friends and Family

Well, well, well much to write about since I last wrote (as much has happened). I finally got to Alberta, we ended up being a day late due to the extended amount of time it took to pack up and clean my house in Melfort. Wanda-Marie, who helped me move and who loves to pack (actually not at all) just about killed me when she saw that I was far from being packed up when I was supposed to be (we ended up leaving not quite 24-hours from when we planned to... I don't know what she was claimplaining about :) Much thanks to her tough).
The people that I left behind are a good group to be sure! I'm sure I will miss them even as I seek to establish myself here in Edmonton (area). I very much enjoyed and appreciated the youth group I was able to be a part of there, what a great group of kids! They were sad to see me go and I was sad to leave them and yet I know it is the Lord's care that they are under and He will indeed take good care of them (unfourantly I don't have any pictures of them). I will also miss the people of the church (Lost River Church, a.k.a. Bethany Mennonite Church) I have found the people within the church to be so loving and giving! My dear friends from the Bible School (i.e. Tim G., Matthew T., etc.) and the McAurther gang show themselves to have been rich blessings in my life over the last couple of years especially. Last of all I realise what a blessing it was to have Pastor Jeff (my mentor, pastor, and friend) in my life to tell me things I didn't want to hear and to lead, direct, and pray for me and my ministry both present and future.
I'd like to let them all, and you all, know that I percieve the work/ministry I'm at now with the Group home to be rewarding, enjoyable and difficult. I realized a bit more of the reality of the whole situation and the boys lives as I went through the orientation and helped on a shift with the boys. For the most part the boys that are in the home fall under the categary of FASD (Fetal Alcohol Specterm Disorder) and there is much to learn in reguards to how to go about helping, displining, and shining forth hope and a future for these young boys (Group home #1 ages are 8-12; Group home #2 ages are 12+). For the first little while I'll be continuing to live in the second Group home until my cousin gets his place. It was interesting to have an electronic detector on my door so everyone in the house knew when I was going in and out of my room; we took care of that though, now I can go in and out without anyone knowing (oh the great freedom I now have!).
Switching from that I'd like to praise the Lord for the family that is up here now... I was able to vist with Susan, Mary-Jane (MJ) and John-Paul (Jay) along with their kids (Faith, Holly, Grace, and Joshua). Also a blessing is that my sister Shalom is down from Victora with her dauther Serenity; Hope is also coming down before Christmas (hopefully with Alisha)! Mom and Dad seem to continue to do well for the most part, it still takes some getting used to with my Mom doing so well these days, Praise God! Right now I'm enjoying all the "Uncle Paul" and laughing I get from the kids. I know that these kids don't have a lot of men in there lives (esp. Serenity) and I love to be a part of curbing that.

Thank you for your prayers, some things that you can pray specifically for are:
- That I would continue being a blessing to both of my families here
- That the Lord would grow within the Group home workers a passion and faith in the Lord for the boys in the home and that they would come to know and searve the Lord wholeheartedly
- I'd be able to get everything in for working in the home (i.e. Driver's lience and Abstract, Social Work Check, etc.). My "first" shift starts tomorrow 9-9
- That we would all enjoy the true meaning and reality of Christmas and not allow Satan to rip down the great blessing of the season (so often we can get sidetracked toward the urgent rather then the important)

I'd also like to praise the Lord that it seems car insurance won't be much more here then in Saskatchewan!

Moving West (this) Young Man!

Times are full of change these days... I feel like I'm always moving! It was nice to have had some kind of stability over the last little while though (being around the same general area). Now I'm preparing to move to Alberta again!! Back to my "home", the plan has come up quite quickly as I recieved a phone call from my Mom (Betty) telling me that Uncle Errol and the group home is very much in need of a full time "youth worker". So after some thinking and praying I feel as though that is what I need to do. Likely before Christmas I'll be at the group home for "troubled boys" (my definition) and my job will be basically to supervise, play, interact and impact these young boys as best I can. I believe it will be quite a streching time but also well worth it. To go from Melfort where a one bedroom apartment is about $360/month (including heat and water) to Edmonton area where I have found no one bedroom apartments for less then $1000+/month is going to be a strech in itself I'm sure. Not to meation the other high costs of living (i.e. car insurance)... You ever notice that despite the high cost of living it remains so popular? :)

Well I suppose that is all for now... I really should finish up the youth bible study for tomorrow and other inportant things.