Today’s feature photo shows a hardanger doily that I stitched, years ago, for friends. I didn’t take a picture of it at the time, but we were recently there for a visit so….

A lot of work went into that piece; many hours of patiently stitching thread upon thread, and it makes me think of the extent to which life is built in a similar fashion… We invest a little time in this relationship and a little time in that one over there and when all of those “littles” get added together, something beautiful is seen in the whole. It’s a perfect metaphor for our time home this summer. We’ve seen, once again, the result of a lifetime of littles as we’ve reconnected with many, many people.

We weren’t very good at getting photos of everyone that we reconnected with, so the ones featured here don’t come anywhere close to covering it, but young and old alike… many people have put something into us and hopefully we are putting something into the lives of others as well.

 

One Special Pair

… deserves a special “honourable mention” so to speak. They shy away from the social-media / online space so they may or may not even see this.

Martha & Stuart Jamieson hosted us for the 7 weeks or so that we were in Saint John. What an incredible sacrifice! It’s not easy to invite 5 other people into your home, but we never felt like an imposition!

They are the couple of magical small touches and one such touch can be seen here… they got their hands on our old bed and had it set up for our arrival in early June. So even though we were at their place, we got to sleep in our own bed!

Missionary to Switzerland

Last Sunday we were treated to the ministry of missionary Nathan Hulsman who, along with his wife, are missionaries in Zurich, Switzerland.

Although we serve in the same region (Europe & Middle East), we’d never met… I’d only heard great things from folks in Global Missions.

Do you have a heart for German-speaking countries in Europe? They are always recruiting folks interested in teaching in their AMTC training schools.

Two other highlights…

of our final week in New Brunswick came exploring the nearby countryside:

1. Kent County: we took a drive out to McKee’s Mills & Bouctouche one evening. This is the area covered in my grandfather’s book that I mentioned last week. We got to peruse the beautiful countryside, stop at the little graveyard where my dad is buried along with many other family members and even come close to Châtellerault. “HOW?” you might ask. Because Kent County is twinned with the city of Châtellerault in France (where we live) so there is a Châtellerault Square / Place Châtellerault in the seaside town of Bouctouche.

2. Hopewell Rocks: The flowerpot rocks in southeastern New Brunswick are the result of many years of 20-27′ Bay of Fundy tides carving out the base of the cliffs along Hopewell Cape. Trees continue to grow atop the structures – perhaps unaware of their notoriety – hence the name “flowerpot”. This is how Liz & I celebrated our 21st anniversary as she’d never seen them in all our years living in New Brunswick.

I’m thankful for 21 years beside this incredible lady.

Good-bye New Brunswick,
Hello Montreal!

Yesterday it took two cars to get us to the airport with all of our luggage and after a short wait, we said good-bye to grandma!

It wasn’t long, however, before a little hiccup marred the first leg of our travel journey. A mechanical problem grounded our plane in Montreal for an extra 4 hours or so, meaning that we could add about 4h to our wait at the airport.

All’s well that ends well however and we had a gorgeous approach to the city over the glistening waters of the St. Lawrence river under scattered clouds.

Today we’ll lay-low to some degree before joining the local church for their weekly prayer meeting tonight. Tomorrow it’s church followed by our departure for France in the evening.

Please keep our travel in prayer as we’re closer… but we’re still not home just yet!

Thank you for your love and support…. remember… a lifetime of littles makes something beautiful in the end!