Goodbye Maine, Hello Canada!!

So it is probably not a secret to anyone that we LOVE Maine!!  And with a climate so similar to Ontario, who knew that God would allow me to have so much love for a place we lived in primarily through the cold winter months!  Amazing!!  Prepare for a very mushy sappy blog, it is necessary!  God has poured out so many blessings for Andee and I this semester, and I just want to praise him and thank him!  If you are not interested in reading a novel, I would stop here, but if you are up for the challenge, here we go!!

Firstly, lets talk about the major blessing of our apartment!  Since fully furnished was ideal seeing as we have no stuff, this beautiful, fully furnished apartment was perfect for us!  Normally an incredibly pricey weekly rental beach condo in the summer months, we got a sweet deal for monthly rent in the winter!  And we got that same monthly rate for the month of May, which included many "summer" like days on the beach!  Beautiful and perfect kitchen, Granite counter tops, King-sized bed, comfy couches, flat screen TV....I think it is safe to say that this is the nicest place we will ever live!  And compared to the Crackhouses of St. Kitts, well, it is quite the improvement!!  And no cockroaches!!  Not to mention that we live on the beach and beside the Palace Playland arcade, which have provided us with so much entertainment!  Claw machines, skee ball, and numerous jackpots, as well as long walks down the beach and laying out catching the sun in May!  Perfect!!

Initially I was a little disappointed at the fact that we would be living in the most Northern State, Maine, during the coldest months of the year, but it turns out that this was truly a blessing in disguise!  Winter rentals are significantly cheaper than any other semester, and our beautiful condo would not have been available for the summer or fall semesters.  Also, by being part of the September start semester, we should be able to make the 2014 Match, meaning that Andee would start his residency in 2014.  Had we have started in January like we had originally planned, it would have been a lot more difficult to make the 2014 Match, and we may have had to wait until the following year!  So many little blessings that God had planned for us that we had no idea he was planning this whole time!  What a wonderful God we serve!!

Secondly, and this is the biggest blessing, is The Rock Church of South Portland that we have been attending now for almost 5 months.  While researching Maine churches online in St. Kitts, something drew me to click on The Rock Church website, and upon reading the mission statements, core beliefs, and the many many opportunities to serve and connect, I knew that this would be the church for us!  The second week we attended we were scoped out by Pastor Eric, who just the night before had found out that his best friend and Worship Team leader had suddenly passed away.  Even through such a tragedy he still made sure that we felt welcome at the church, and we were introduced to many amazing people that morning.  We were so amazed of the love of Jesus being shown through these amazing believers that we just could not get enough of the church!!  While Andee was busy at school, I quickly volunteered for everything ever, including Bible studies, craft projects, Preble Street soup kitchen, wholehearted classes, and the most exciting, Worship Team!  Let's dwell on this for a second, I got to be a part of such an amazing Worship Team here in Maine!!  We were loud, with tons of bass and drums, sang amazing songs to the Lord, and it has seriously been one of my favorite experiences since our journey began!  God has gifted me with musical talent, and using our gifts for God is one of the most satisfying and joyful things that we as believers can do!  What a blessing it has been to be a part of such a wonderful team, and blessing others with my contributions!  A win-win!!  God is so good!!  Not having a job has also turned out to be a blessing for both myself and the church, as I was able to use my time serving the Lord and furthering his Kingdom, as well as increasing my faith substantially!  Andee and I also participated in a small group of wonderful people, and we developed many great friendships and relationships!

Thirdly, the quality of people in Maine is amazing, ranging from the wonderful friends we made at The Rock, to the friendly grocery clerks at the stores - Maine is just so friendly!  And dare I say it, even more friendly than Ontario!  Apparently all the nice people live up North, so it looks like I am just going to have to get used to the cold!!

Finally, Maine is just beautiful!  So close to the ocean, and very outdoorsy, with beautiful touristy attractions and fun things to do, as well as fantastic seafood all the time!!  When we were arriving in Maine at the beginning of January, we noticed that the slogan for the State of Maine is "The Way Life Should Be", and, similar to Canada, other than the cold winters this slogan is pretty accurate!  Maine really is wonderful!

It seems that every time we arrive in a new location, I am sad because I am afraid of change and the unknown, and I have to start from square one in terms of making friends, learning directions, and understanding and learning about the cultures and people in the area we have moved to.  Conversely, it seems that every time we are about to leave a location, I am equally if not more sad to be leaving somewhere that I have grown to love, and all the people that I have formed such strong relationships with, and have helped me grow spiritually.  This is such a great testimony to the love of Christ, aligning our desires with His and allowing us to grow in faith if we just ask for His will and not ours.  And when we are completing His will with our specific designs and gifts, there is no greater joy!!

Even though we are quite sad to leave Maine, we still haven't lost sight of the wonderful greatness of Ontario!!  We are SOOOOO excited to finally be home in Canada for a few months, enjoying the best part of the year with the best people in the world in the best country in the world!!  Okay, so I'm getting a little carried away, but we really miss Canada and everything and everyone in it, (except the winter of course), and although it is really sad to leave our current home in Maine, we will be enjoying our original home for the summer!  And for that, we couldn't be happier!  God is Good!!

Goodbye Maine...

Hello Canada!!!

So most of you probably didn't get through all of this, probably because of the lack of pictures, so if you did, Congratulations!  You now know everything I have been thinking, feeling, praying, and praising concerning our next move!  Yay!  See you tomorrow, Canada!!!