Graduation

Last night was graduation. We had 5 grads this year and it was a joy to see them finish and walk the isle. Three are off to Canadian schools and two are staying here (one will even be a teacher next year).

One of my joys was to have some of the students (from all grades) come up to me and thank-me for being their teacher. Some almost had tears in their eyes. This is especially significant since I have had a somewhat challenging year and have often wondered if I was doing any good. I thought it was going to be many more years before they came to appreciate what I had done but last night one of the girls said, "I want to thank-you for teaching us this year. I know I have not always appreciated you the way I should..." Another student came up to me that night as well. He did not finish very well this year. On the last day he wrote on the wall "I hate school" and then took off. When I called him on his cell he told me that he wasn't coming back and was quitting. Last night after seeing the grads make it I saw him talking to the school board and then he came up to my truck as we were pulling out and said, "I know I haven't been that easy on you this year. I just wanted to thank-you and let you know that I will be going back next year." It's going to be another three years for that guy and he knows it but I am so glad he is going to try.

As we wrap up here I often think what kind of mark I would give myself. Honestly, I am not sure. I know I have tried hard and we God has used me to do so amazing things (including getting the students to lead chapels and memorize whole chapters of the Bible) but I also know I would do some things differently (like be more strict in the beginning and stuck to my guns more when the students opposed me and telling the students I love them more often). In the end I am glad God is the one who gives me my mark. I have had to learn this year to just be faithful and not to worry what my students or others think. I have been working on the discipline of finishing well. I have also learnt a very valuable lesson that I do not have to shine in every ministry but sometimes I just need to sludge through it and trust that God will do something with it in the end.

Half acre planted (all it took was a shovel, a string, gas and a lighter)

Last night it rained really hard. Our wheel barrow had 4" of rain in it just from one night. That is almost a week of good rain so I guess rainy season is upon us now. When I got to the nursery this morning our trees were flooded (some almost to the top of the bags). So Carl and I figured it is time to plant the little suckers.

So we loaded up the truck and headed out to the first plot. A nice 8 acres hill with some rich top soil at the bottom. It was this bottom piece we planted today.

We learnt a lesson last Saturday about how slow and silly it is to try to line up the border by eye (same location but we only planted 60 trees then). This time we brought some string and tied it to two poles on either side of the field. Then we marked off every 8 feet. Then we put the trees under the markings on the string and then moved the poles over another 8 feet. In so doing we have nice straight rows for the tractor and mower to keep it clean later on. Silly thing is we could not get the poles in a straight line so for now the trees are only straight one way.

During this time we found a line of leaf cutting ants. Those guys find plants, climb them and cut all the leaves off and carry them in long rows back to their home. It looks really cool to see them but they can take out 200 saplings in a day. I follewed their line and stuck a stick in it to deal with it. Funny thing, Carl moved the truck and parked right on top of it. So we looked and looked for their nest.

We unloaded all the rest of the plants (remember where the truck was) and headed out for lunch. The rain made the road a mud-bog so when we came back we had to hike it in (half mile). By the time we were back they had already started on the trees. This time we brought gas and a lighter. We poured the gas down their little holes, lit a stick on fire and threw it at them. It is so cool to watch the little puffs of fire come out of the holes as the fumes work their way underground.

It took us about 3-4 hours between the three of us to plant 200 mahogany saplings. So we had time to spare. I had heard that direct seedings works just as good as going to all the hassle of growing the plants in a nursery so we grabbed some seeds and plucked 3 down in between every tree. Wonder how those will turn out?

In the end, 200 saplings and 600 seeds. (Well I caught Carl dumping about 60 cedar seeds into one hole so maybe 6000 seeds). The funny thing is I kept wondering why Carl was saying, "Man, we are going to a have a lot of trees in a few weeks...."

Moving....

This summer will be full of a lot of moves for Cory and I. On June 4th we drive to Mexico then take a 5hr bus to Cancun then 8 hour flight to Seattle.

When we get home we need to set up our condo again. Second week of June I am taking a course from ACTS (only 2 more to go till graduation).

Then I'm back at TWU full-time for 2 weeks launching a new project and connecting with my team.

Starting first week of July, Cory and I are in Kelowna. My brother has released an online kid-safe chat this year called club penguin. He needs my help to build some backend stuff to make it run smoother. It should be a really awesome project and I am most of all looking forward to time with family (both Cory's brother and my brother live in that area). Kim (my brother's wife) will be having a baby during this time and we really want to be there to support them and greet this new member of our family.

We're still looking for a house for July but August and Sept we are house sitting. We even get a dog!

Then at the end of Sept we are returning back to Abbotsford to help TWU get the new school year kicked off. Then back to Belize. Cory will be continuing her awesome ministry with tutoring students. She has really found a gift there. I hope to plant trees, host authentic walk seminars in the local churches, write a book or two and help out my brother and TWU part-time over the internet.