Time flies...

...when you're having fun, eh?! I can't believe how quickly June is going by. My mom and dad have already been with us for three weeks ~ today they are returning home to Swift Current, Saskatchewan. We really enjoyed our time together with them.

Dad and Mom by our roses

Grandma and Grandpa and the kids

For our anniversary Mom and Dad surprised us with a spectacular new barbecue ~ WOW, what a blessing!! Our old one does still work but it's not so great. We got it second-hand 11 years ago and we've had to fix it a few times.

OLD Barbecue...

...NEW Barbecue!

Last night the four of us went out together to Niagara Falls to celebrate our anniversary. We had a wonderful meal at an Indian restaurant called The Guru. Then we saw a movie about Niagara Falls at the IMAX theatre and took a walk by the falls ~ it was a perfect evening with great weather. Niagara Falls are still so beautiful and awesome. It's too bad how people have commercialized that whole area, but no matter what they do to try to attract more tourists (and their $$), the Falls are still God's magnificent creation and nothing or no one can ever change that!

Niagara Falls, Canada

Mom and Dad at Niagara Falls ~ June 23, 2008

Not only are Mom and Dad flying home today but it also happens to be the last day of school for Jordan and Melissa. This morning they had an awards assembly at school which we all went to. Jordan received the proficiency award again for his class (his third year in a row). The proficiency award is given to the student with the highest mark in his/her class. Both Jordan and Melissa are in the Extended French program at their school. Melissa is going into grade 6 and Jordan into grade 8. Next year we will have two graduates ~ Rachelle from grade 12 and Jordan from grade 8!

Jordan and his teacher, Mlle Kitchen ~ June 24, 2008

After school we are heading to the Hamilton Airport to send off Mom and Dad ("Grandma and Grandpa"). The next few days will be a bit of an adjustment for us without them here. We will miss them. As far as no school though, I do look forward to not making lunches and being able to "sleep in" (whatever that means). Anyway ... Happy Summer Holidays!

18 Years of Marital Bliss! :)

Who are these people??

A little bit of history ... Harv and I met at Winnipeg Bible College (now called Providence College) in September 1988. He had just come back to Canada after serving overseas for four years with OM on the ship, M.V. Doulos. Harv is from Winkler, Manitoba. I had just graduated from High School in Swift Current, Saskatchewan. We were both involved in the Missions Committee at WBC so that is how we first met. January 1st, 1990 we were engaged in Winkler and our wedding ceremony was June 23rd, 1990 in Wymark, Saskatchewan. One little interesting piece of trivia is that our birthdays added together equal our anniversary. Harv's birthday is May 3 (5/3), my birthday is January 20 (1/20) and our anniversary is June 23 (6/23). Isn't that cool? That was not planned by the way. Anyway ...

Today Harv and I celebrate our 18th wedding anniversary! The title isn't meant to be facetious ... I guess I'm sort of being silly, yet it has been blissful at least a good percentage of the time. I mean, let's be honest, no marriage is perfect. The reality is that every marriage has its ups and downs and it certainly takes two to tango. That goes without saying. As time goes by the honeymoon phase kind of fades, or at least fades in and out. The flip-side to that is that time has made us stronger and wiser and our relationship has actually become even more beautiful. There's always opportunity for being irritated but those things are always so trivial and insignificant it seems. The bottomline is that we look to God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit as the Head over our marriage (and family) and this would definitely be the "secret of our success," if you want to put it that way. God gives us the strength and wisdom through His Word to live in a way that honors Him and helps us with all of our relationships. That doesn't mean it's always easy and that we never fail (we are human after all), but we know that we have God's help every step of the way ... life is a journey through changing seasons.

I just want to say that Harv is the best husband I could have ever dreamed of having. He is loving and devoted as a husband and a father. God truly blessed me when He brought Harv into my life nearly 20 years ago. I love you Harv! Happy Anniversary!

Love Brenda

Off to Camp!

This morning Rachelle left for Camp Kahquah. This past week suddenly everything came together with the packing and figuring out transportation. Fortunately there were others from here going up to camp so we didn't have to make the trip ... I think there were five girls including Rachelle (and all their stuff!) ~ two counsellors and three LIT's. Camp Kahquah is about a 5-hour drive north of Port.

It's hard to believe, the time came so fast! Final exams just finished on Friday and right away she's off to camp. I'm sure it will be a great time for all of them, probably exhausting at times, but also very rewarding. Thank you for your prayers for Rachelle as she's working at camp this summer!

THANK YOU!

Thank you everyone for the comments and Birthday wishes ~ the kids really appreciated it! In the busyness I had forgotten that Mackenzie's birthday is the same day as Jordan's. Happy Birthday Mack!! Hope you had an AWESOME day!

Love & Blessings,
Brenda, for all of us

Happy Birthday, Jordan ~ THIRTEEN, Wow!!!

Jordan juggling at Marshville Heritage Festival, September 2007

Jordan ~ Hebrew, meaning "Flowing down"

Matthew ~ Hebrew, meaning "Gift of God"

Jordan, 10 months old

(on the Doulos in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia)

Today we celebrate Jordan becoming a teenager! Jordan was born on June 16th, 1995 ~ a baby brother for 4-year-old Rachelle and 3-year-old Sonja. He was born in the Seychelles Islands ~ Port Victoria, Mahé Island ~ which is in the Indian Ocean between India and Africa. (See the pictures below.)

Port Victoria, Mahé Island

When Jordan came along we as a family were still serving on OM's ship, M.V. Doulos. We spent about four weeks in Port Victoria staying in a vacant house owned by FEBA Radio. Jordan doesn't remember anything about the Doulos because he was only 18 months old when we came back to live in Canada.

From the time Jordan was born until we left the ship in Manila, Philippines ~ June 1995 to April 1997 ~ Jordan had visited 15 countries and 33 ports. After Jordan's birth Harvey scrambled to get his travel documents so that we could return to the Doulos which was in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. We actually had some trouble getting through immigration because of a misunderstanding (or misinformation?) about needing visas. Thankfully the Purser from the Doulos came to meet us and help us get into the country and back onto the ship which was sailing the next day for Mozambique.

Jordan's 3rd Birthday (Canada)

Jordan, October 2007, age 12

Jordan is a smart, talented, kind and all-around great kid and we are so blessed to have him as part of our family. Best of all his love for Jesus really shines through and there's so much potential in his young life for what God can do.

Jordan, you are an awesome son and we love you so much! Happy 13th Birthday!!

Love,

Dad & Mom, Rachelle, Sonja & Melissa

Happy 11th Birthday, Honey-Bee!

"Who is Honey-bee?" you might be wondering. Melissa is our "Honey-bee" ~ the name Melissa comes from the Greek meaning "Honey-bee" ... and Melissa's second name, "Anne" originates from the Hebrew name Hannah meaning "Grace" or "Favor." One definition I found and like the best says "Favored by God."

Melissa, 3 months old

Melissa (age 3) and Flopsy, our pet rabbit that we had.

Today we honor and celebrate Melissa who was born on June 14, 1997 in Winkler, Manitoba. Melissa is our "baby" and is a joy to have in our family. Her tender heart and gentle spirit are so evident in her character. She's always positive and cheerful and pleasant to be around. One gift that Melissa has is that of helping so wonderfully with young children, toddlers and babies, especially at church and in our small group. It's such a blessing to see the Lord working in and through her life at such a young age.

Melissa, age 10 ~ Grade 5

Melissa, you are a precious treasure to us and and a wonderful daughter ~ we thank the Lord for you!! Happy 11th Birthday, sweetie!



Love,
Dad & Mom,
Rachelle, Sonja & Jordan

June Birthday Celebration

Today after school we celebrated Sonja, Jordan and Melissa's birthdays and we even had Grandpa and Grandma Dyck (my parents) here to celebrate with us ~ all the way from Swift Current, Saskatchewan! They are visiting us for three weeks (June 3- 24).

As for the Birthdays ... somehow we managed to have three of our kids born in the month of June ~ the 12th, 14th and 16th! As you know Sonja turned 16 yesterday. Tomorrow (the 14th) is Melissa's 11th birthday and on Monday, the 16th Jordan will turn 13. I want to do a post for each of them but just thought I'd squeeze this one in between.

Today was very good, but also partly not so good. We had plans to do a lot of stuff outside, weather permitting, and for the most part it worked out well. All day it was really hot and great for swimming so that was a highlight for the kids. They invited friends too. The weather was wonderful all through supper. We ate KFC out on the deck ~ it was great! A few of them played a game of croquet after supper. Later we planned to watch a movie outside using OM's powerpoint projector and a big screen, but then it ended up raining so instead we watched it inside. That was fine.

The down-side of the evening was Harv having to take Jordan to Emergency because of a bad infection on his leg from an insect bite (it had been slowly developing over the past couple of days). Jordan also has hives all over his arms but that's not as bad as his leg. So he has to take antibiotics and apply two different types of creams, one for his leg and one for his arms. The evening was a bit disappointing for him I think. For the sake of the party I was going to take him to Emergency tomorrow but Harv was wise to take him tonight. His leg (just an area above his foot) looks terrible ~ it's very swollen and red.

When Harv and Jordan came back from the hospital and pharmacy we had DQ icecream cake, opened cards/gifts and watched the movie ~ SUPERMAN (the original one that was made 30 years ago). Jordan was actually having a good time and enjoying himself but half way through the movie he suddenly had to go to bed as he was feeling quite sick and was extremely pale. He was probably also exhausted from all the activity of the day. I hope and pray he'll be okay.

We had also set up the tent as Jordan and his friend, Cody were going to sleep in it, but Jordan was just feeling too sick, plus it was thundering and lightning. Besides I later checked inside the tent and water had leaked in. I had to take out all the bedding and foam mattress as they were getting soaked.

Anyway ... all-in-all it was still a fun time and very special to have my parents here, especially since they haven't had many opportunities to celebrate any special occasions with us.

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~Posted by Brenda

Happy Sweet Sixteen, Sonja!!!

Brenda and one-month-old Sonja (on the Doulos, South Korea)

Harv and Sonja (10 months old) ~ East London, South Africa

SONJA ~ Greek origin, meaning "Wisdom"

LOUISE ~ Germanic origin, meaning "Fame & War"

Today is Sonja's 16th Birthday ~ Wow! Sonja was born on June 12, 1992 ~ a baby sister for 15-month-old Rachelle. At the time, we as a family were serving on board OM's ship, M.V. Doulos. The ship was in South Korea so we made arrangements for Sonja to be born in the capital city of Seoul. Seoul is inland, not far from Incheon where the Doulos was visiting. We spent about one month staying in a flat in Seoul, a very interesting and unique experience to say the least, especially since English is hardly spoken there.

Sonja has always been a bubbly person. When she was little we called her "Sunny Girl" because she was always smiling and cheerful ~ also the first part of her name sounds like "sun" ~ she's like a ray of sunshine! :)

We are so thankful to have Sonja as our daughter ~ she is a blessing from our Heavenly Father and Creator.

Sonja, we pray that you will always look to Jesus all the days of your life. Happy 16th Birthday ~ we love you!!

Love,

Dad and Mom,

Rachelle, Jordan and Melissa