We're Leaving on a Jetplane

Though we got our un-official approval yesterday (to which there was much jubilation expressed in the forms of hugging, screaming and jumping around), it was made official today.

We've been given the green light to go ahead with our transition to Slovakia!

All missionaries with our organization need to raise at least 75% of their total budget before being sent overseas. We were worried since we are still shy of this mark. Hooray for special permission!

On January 22nd we will depart British Columbia to spend some time with friends and family in Ontario before leaving for Slovakia on the 29th. Until then, we have a lot of work to do. In so many ways we are ready to go and it feels as though life has been waiting for this moment of release. We are finally going. We are actually doing this. Years in the making; what an honour to be going.

"2007: The Year of Britney Spears"

I saw this headline on MSN news. Upon reading it my stomach convulsed, skin crawled, hair stood on end and my body displayed other such signs of nausea and revulsion. To me, there is no way the year 2007 is synonymous with the antics of Miss Spears. For me, 2007 is the year of my marriage. 2008 will be the year we move around the world.

Now that's a headline: "Large foreign man takes up residence in unsuspecting Slovak town".

Merry Tuesday

Last night Matthew convinced a 7 year old girl that he was excited for December 25th because he loves Tuesdays...

We trust that this Tuesday has been one worth remembering.

Merry Christmas!

If you Cut me, do I not say "Ouch - Why did you do That?"

As we travelled, spoke and met new people over these past few weeks, we noticed that people engage us differently when we are introduced as a visiting missionary couple. As young adults, while out visiting, we are accustomed to sleeping bags and floor mats, yet we were received with such warmth and hospitality that we felt somewhat undeserving. It is amazing what the title of "missionary" will do for one's interpersonal relationships. Regardless of title, we are still ordinary people. As such, here's a little tale to prove how common we are:

This past Sunday we had returned to our home church in Fort Langley. We were so excited to be back. Conveniently enough, Matthew was on the schedule to greet people as they came in. After Matthew had been at church greeting for fifteen minutes, Amber arrived. From where he stood he watched her approach from across the parking lot - a true vision of beauty.

As Amber got closer, someone held the door open and Matthew, overcome by Amber's radiance, called out "good looking woman comin' in"! What Matthew had not seen was another young couple walking to the front door from the other side of the parking lot. As Matthew's words rang out, a woman (yes, completely unknown to him), stepped through the door wearing a shocked expression. Her husband, entering just after her, seemed even less impressed. Matthew, now glowing red, stammered to explain that he had not seen them and had been addressing his wife.

The couple, demonstrating grace, laughed at the situation, but still quickly took their seats.

Thus, we end today's lesson with two conclusions. One: missionaries are still very human. Two: always survey the landscape when exuberantly complimenting one's wife.

Seeing Slovakia

Much overdue we admit, but here is a glimpse of our time in Slovakia. We travelled to Slovakia by car from Austria. The feeling we had as we crossed the nearly non-existent border was a combination of pure excitement and a little bit of wonder as the countryside gave way to the cityscape of Bratislava in a place we will soon call home. We both avoided blinking as we arrived in Nitra as to not miss one aspect of the city where we will live. In some sense it already felt like we were coming home.

Our time in Slovakia was short and so it was busy! On a very practical level our time was well invested. We would go into stores and little markets to gain an understanding of the cost of living. We now know that Canadians will find food inexpensive (though the cost has increased 6% this past year in preparation for the Euro's 2009 debut), rent is comparable to what we paid in British Columbia and electronics is nearly double. Also, we were able to see what is available in stores. Moreover, we got lost while out and about and now have an understanding of the city and where we want to live. Imagine moving to Vancouver and not knowing the difference between Gastown and the North Shore, or arriving in Toronto and having to choose between the Danforth and the Jane-Finch Corridor with no insight at all.

There was a whole other dimension to our experience in Slovakia. We got to visit the church plant in Nitra, meet with national pastors and listen to the stories of people who have grown up in a country that we have researched, but only lightly understand. Yes we have read about communism, but we never fully shared in the life it created. We listened to the stories of Slovak Christians who had to wait for weddings or funerals to hold church in order not to draw government suspicions. We had no idea that students were made to denounce their faith in writing to gain access to a university education. Even as recent graduates and newlyweds we cannot grasp what that must have been like. Being in Slovakia helped us connect to Slovak people. Our thoughts, prayers and preparations for our time there are more focused than ever before.


With the developing country of Ukraine to the east and modernized Austria to the west we were unclear as to what we expected from Slovakia, sandwiched in the middle. From our perspective, the architecture seems to be a blend of it's neighbours. Nitra is a historic city with the old town serving as the city centre. Surrounding this centre are the communist era buildings with more modern homes flanking either end of the city. There is a great mix of old buildings designed with character, intrusive communist built housing blocks and factories, and modern looking shops and restaurants. The city, being quite compact, is bustling with people on foot, creatively parked cars and music slipping out of cafe's.

As we made our way back to Austria and onward to Canada, we departed with a sigh. Not a sad sigh, but one that wished we could have just stayed. This Christmas season will be enriching as we are with friends and family, and our move in January will come soon, but in so many ways we are ready to call Nitra home.

Promises, Promises

We have been on a little tour-de-force in central British Columbia. It is by far the most scenic part of the entire province. While in Burns Lake we met a super fantastic group of youth. Stuart is one of those youth. Regailing Matthew with stories of all things gross and vomit based, Matthew felt that it was time he threw his hat into the arena and share with Stuart a story of his own. After hearing the story, Stuart, in a suprising turn of events, got Matthew to promise to blog the story. The following is a lesson in why one should not make idle promises as they will have to be kept, even to the detriment of one's pride (and by that we mean Matthew's). This story is dedicated to Stuart:

This past summer Amber and I went on a road trip down the west coast to San Francisco. While in California we stopped to visit my Grandpa Tom. GT is a strong man, a man who used to be in the American airforce. I am not a military type. When we got to his home he decided to take us flying around in his 4 seater, not to large, stays in the air using faith and duct tape kinda plane. I WAS SO EXCITED. That excitement faded after half an hour when I started to feel sick...when it was 96 degrees farenheit on the gorund, we were roasting in the sky and I was sweating in un-pretty ways! He noticed and tried to give me some air, but it was too little too late. The heat, the bouncing, the small dives as GT tried to show us all of the surrounding towns all led to one unavoidable end...with a twist.

Yes, I did throw up. But I caught every last drop in my mouth. From the outisde perspective it looked like a few dry heaves. So there I sat, shoulder to shoulder with GT, and I had a choice to make. Do I spew into a bag, releasing my breakfast but swallowing my pride - or do I swallow my breakfast and cling to my pride like I'm paid to do it.

I'd like you all to know that I am a very proud man.

Stereotypes - Never What you Wanted to Be

Growing up it seemed as though missionaries were always just getting back from somewhere or just about to leave for somewhere else (if not both). We would smirk to ourselves and say "we will never be that kind of missionary". Yet, here we are, off a plane and into a car! Thus proving some stereotypes are based in cold, hard facts. Fact: missionaries are extreme schedulers and want to make the most of their time (especially while in their home country).

We arrived back in Canada last Friday and in the battle against jet lag we were losing badly. After one night at home, we were off to Sidney, which has to be one of the friendliest and most welcoming churches in the history of friendly and welcoming churches. We are on the road right now and are currently enjoying our exploration of Prince George. We are making the most of our life on the run.

Our time in Turkey and Slovakia was enriching, minus Matthew's unfortunate contraction of what has now lovingly been deemed "The Rixos Plague" (there is just something intangible, yet special, about laying on a tile bathroom floor for 20 hours trying to determine if the swelling in your tongue has gone down enough for you to fit it in your mouth). Turkey was refreshing as we reconnected with friends and met new people who are all walking out similar life journeys.

And Slovakia, oh Slovakia! There will have to be a later post to touch on some of our shiny moments there. We learned a lot while there including these fine lessons:

1) we got lost in Nitra several times, but now know our way around
2) Slovakia is cold in the winter and BC's lower mainland has made us heat-loving wimps when it comes to snow
3) Matthew needs to work on his language skills...especially while trying to locate a washroom
4) the Foreign Police do not know what to do with us
5) we will easily have all the necessities of life there