Sightseeting

Thursday we went to the Vancouver Public Library and the Police Museum with Matt and Christina. Here we are in our police hats!

The Library is 7 stories of books! We only spent an hour there but I could have spent many more (particularly because I'm ineligible for a library card at the moment). The architecture looks a bit like a coliseum!

We then went to the police museum, which had history back to the 1800's with weapons, confiscated items, evidence from old murders - you even got to go into the rooms which used to be the cold room and autopsy room. There were some preserved body bits on the wall (not for the squeamish). They also have a program where you try and recreate a face of a 'wanted' person, which is quite tricky.

We stopped at Chapters Bookstore on the way home, as I'd been given a voucher for Christmas, so it was a lovely day, despite the rainy weather.

White Christmas

Well, our dreaming of a White Christmas came true! As we were eating Christmas lunch today with a Melbourne family in our apartment block, the first snowflakes started to fall. Enough to give us a white dusting outside, probably not enough to make a snowman with. 

Theology and Music

I have been listening to Jeremy Begbie from Cambridge on Theology and the Arts...

Here's a 90sec clip on how a 3 note chord in music can help us conceive of the Trinity.

some of his books are on this web page
http://www.theolarts.org/publications.html

or you could try to get the audio cd from here
https://shop3.gospelcom.net/epages/RegentCollegeBookstore.storefront/476d6ef800b8b7d9271d45579e7b071e/Catalog/1523

Holidays at last!

Big sigh of relief, with the promise of sleep-ins to come. What a hectic week! At last I am on holidays. This week has been disrupted when trying to practice for the Christmas concerts when most of my class has been away sick. Not a lot of school work going on. The music teacher couldn't run through the acting part of the musical because 4 of the 5 students were away sick from Mon-Thurs, and dragged themselves to school Thurs morning to practice. They went home at lunch to rest before performing that night. They did so well, despite feeling awful. I'd been out every night Sun-Thurs, so I am very tired. Today was pajama day at school, nice and relaxing. Our friend Ziggy did some science experiments with my students. Only 4 sleeps til Christmas! I hope to do some shopping tomorrow. Our apartment is looking a little more Christmassy since we put our Christmas cards up, and I have a poinsettia in my kitchen which adds some nice colour. We're looking forward to Christmas Eve party with two families from England and Scotland, and Christmas lunch with an Aussie family downstairs. Less than 3 weeks til Nathan's folks come for a week. Time for bed!
Picture of Ziggy with a pupil looking at chemical reactions.

Last exam today

Nathan finishes his last exam today! He has had 3 already this week- he finishes off with a 3hr Hebrew exam. I know he is looking forward to his break. This weekend we have 2 Christmas parties and a birthday party. My Staff party is on Saturday night, and they play an interesting game where you 'steal' Christmas presents from each other....will be interesting to see how that pans out. We're both feeling pretty tired at the moment, and looking forward to some rest. Yesterday there was some more snow, but it was mixed with rain and didn't stay around, seems to be how its done here in Vancouver.
Tried decorating the apartment - got as far as putting some red beads around the living room, some coloured-paper snowflakes on the windows, and our little rosemary Christmas busy on the top shelf.

As quickly as it came

Well, the snow lasted til Sunday night....then the rain washed it all away. So by Monday morning the snow was gone. It was if it had never happened! We've had some sunny weather since then, although day temps are around 6 degrees.
Nathan has one week to go, including exams. He's been getting some results back and they are good! So we praise God for that, as it's been 5 or so years since Nathan was a student. I've finished my report cards and am now starting new units of work, 2 weeks to go. We have some Christmas events coming up which should be fun, and I'm going to attempt a pavlova from scratch for the staff Christmas dinner.
I hope all you Aussies are enjoying your steaming temps, bbq's and the beach!
PS Grovely cell group - listened to the audio tape the other night, thanks so much! Nathan's seeing what he can find on the Nephilim. It was great to hear familiar voices, what a brilliant idea :)

1 Dec SNOW!!

What do you do if you see snow in Vancouver?

ART

La Sainte-Chapelle 13th Century

We have looked at various art works and architecture in one of CTC lectures this week..

It was interesting to see how the artists created scenes that would help people to meditate on God...






















Giotto di Bondone (c. 1267 – January 8, 1337), The Mourning of Christ, Cappella degli Scrovegni.

As people thought about the art it would act as a 'gateway' into God's presence where they could contemplate and experience God....

I wonder if creation functions similarly to these artworks? If we slowed down to take in the scenery I think we would find it's beauty and is majestic in proportion. When I slow down enough to take in the beauty of the earth it communicates to me the greatness of the artist who painted it.

Nathan

A taste of snow

Yesterday morning there was a little bit of snow on the footpath - Nathan originally assumed it was just rain that had frozen on the ground during the night. So apparently we had a light dusting over Monday night. Suburbs south of us had 6cm or more. We may get a little more tonight.

Walking in a Slushy Wonderland

Today was my first experience of snow! It was kind of disappointing =( I could see some flakes as they wafted slowly down from the sky, but they turned to slush on the wet ground. So I just got really wet. We had no rain for a whole week which was fantastic...I think some of the higher areas around here got better snow that Vancouver. But at least I've seen it now (kinda)! I'm glad I rugged up today because I felt warm aside from my face. (3 shirts, a lightweight jumper, 2 jackets, beenie (aka tuque [rhymes with spook] in Canada), gloves, scarf, lined trackies (PE today)

Surprise Parcel from Home!

Today we received a surprise parcel from our Australian church Grovely! It conveniently arrived just before Nathan's birthday, and contained:
A box of Roses Chocolates,
Mint slice biscuits
Bushell's Teabags
tube of Vegemite
Australian flag stickers
Video footage from our bible study farewell in August
Audio cassette of our friends talking (hope to listen to that tomorrow)
Letters from our church friends

Thanks so much guys! The first thing we did was watch the video, and sample some Roses :)

FW: Vancouver Island

Photos from Vancouver Island last weekend.
1) Nathan in smallest street in the world (chinatown, Victoria)
2) Christmas lights on Parliament house.
3) House boats at Fisherman's Wharf
4) Harper seal at Fisherman's Wharf
5) Craigdarroch Castle, Victoria (c. 1890)
6) Mareesa, Ziggy and Sarah on the ferry at 7am
7) Nathan and Mareesa on the ferry
8) Sunrise over Galliano or Mayne Island

Sunny days make me smile

Two beautiful, sunny days in a row! Yesterday (Sunday) Nathan and I took the opportunity to get outside. We walked around UBC camps before church, and after church took a long walk to the supermarket.
Nathan is very busy studying Hebrew and trying to find time to do assignments. I'm creating and marking assessment since the end of November will be the end of first term. We head straight into term two in December before we break for Christmas.
So I'm sorry there isn't anymore exciting news, but we are pretty busy at the moment - I'm sure we'll have something more interesting in a week or two, we are hoping to visit Vancover Island.

Driving Lessons

Today I (Mareesa) had a driving lesson with a friend! I need to go for my licence soon, and she was kind enough to donate a car and her time to help me out :) I must admit, I did hit the kerb once...but driving on the RHS of the road wasn't as bad as I though, maybe I'm getting used to it due to walking/busing around.

Another week goes by...

We find ourselves as busy as ever! Thinking often about writing to people, but seldom finding the time to do it. I'm having today off because I'm losing my voice due to the cold I've had for a week or so. Tuesday and Wednesday I soldiered on, but my voice sounds ridiculous and I want to be able to speak properly! So hence today, I am warm inside, resting my vocal chords and drinking lotsa hot water.
Monday and Tuesday was the government evaluation at my school. The evaluators were lovely Christian people, and it actually went fine. The last month has been stressful, but they didn't tell us anything we didn't already know, we still are getting our funding, and they gave us a time extension to get our teacher certification finalised.
We've had some issues with our alarm clock (3 sleep-ins in 2 weeks!) and Nathan arrived half-way through a lecture on Tuesday morning, so I think I will be purchasing a new one this weekend, and possibly some gumboots so that I stop complaining about having wet toes =)
Fall the last week or so has been absolutely beautiful! There's a carpet of multicoloured leaf confetti everywhere. The maple outside our window is finally red, and about to lose the rest of its leaves - I'm going to miss it. We had about 5 days of sunshine and visited a local apple festival on Sunday (a much needed rest as I worked from 10am to 5.30pm on Saturday getting ready for the audit). We found out about a reasonably-priced 2-bed apartment near-by that is available, so we are considering that opportunity at the moment and need to make up our mind by the end of October. The Regent Spouses Network will be starting up soon also, which is a chance to get to know some other wives and feel a little connected to the Regent community.
Nathan and I have pretty much decided on a church to attend - U-town, on the university campus. A few families from my school attend, and some lecturers from Regent. It was a church plant that is pastored by an ex-Regent, Australian guy. It's different from the churches we've attended previously, and we're looking forward to the opportunities to get involved in this new church family.
That's all til next time,
M

Washington State

We enjoyed our weekend at Regent College Retreat which was in Washington. We got to know the college president Rod Wilson and his wife Bev a little better, and listened to talks on the life of Moses and how his relationship with God turned from fear to longing. It was a good chance for me to get more of a feel for Regent life, and meet some more of Nathan's friends and professors. There was a talent show which was MC'd by two Australian girls called Nerida (yes, they both have the same name). We enjoyed the Aussie humor, as well as the great show put on by students and faculty.
Last Thursday and Friday I was back in the states for a teacher conference. We picked the wrong border crossing the first day and arrived an hour late, but the workshops were great - I went to one on sacred dance (dance for worship), folk dancing (so I can teach it in PE), as well as some theoretical ones on how I teach.
Regent had an open day to celebrate the new library; Nathan wants to add some pictures soon so that you can see what it looks like!
We think we've decided on a church to go to...
This week is Reading Week for Nathan, no lectures, just study time. He has also started a minicourse at UBC for 6 Tuesday nights called Introduction to Sound Recording for some leisure time.
My school is having its audit next week. Planning has taken a lot of time, but I would really appreciate some prayer as I am still not certified, and this could be a problem. BC is very beaurocratic, and as all my paperwork has not been received we're trying to apply for an Independent Teaching Certificate. The audit is something that happens every few years, but we were not given much warning as their notification letter did not arrive at the school. We've had about a month to prepare, but our principal has been sick which hasn't helped.
On a lighter note, autumn in Vancouver is beautiful! I'm amazed by the variation in the colour of leaves: green, yellow, brown, orange, pink, red. We went to the Vancouver Aquarium and saw belugas (Arctic whales) and saw sea otters too - a teachers appreciation night (there are some perks around here!).
M

Movie Review

Thought I'd share a movie I have reviewed:

Movie: City Lights (1931; dir: Charlie Chaplain)

The movie "City Lights" is regarded by some as Charlie Chaplain's greatest silent film. It centres around a tramp (Chaplain) who falls in love with a blind woman (Virginia Cherrill). By accident the blind woman assumes the tramp is a "distinguished gentleman". Chaplain accepts this assumed role because of his longing to be longed for. Through a rich acquaintance Chaplain's comes across a large sum of money. Rather than use it for himself he uses the entire amount to heal his blind friend and is subsequently taken to prison. The movie culminates in the tramp and the healed blind woman meeting. In the closing scene the blind woman comes to know of the how much Chaplain gave up to heal her.

Chaplain's film adapts the biblical theme of love and sacrifice to his film. Explicit biblical references can be seen in the cinematography during the boxing scene (burial in the tomb) and more implicitly of theme of blindness. More impressively Chaplain is able to capture thought and emotion without words to speak deeply about the inner workings of the characters. We get a deep understanding of who these people are through his use of comedy. In "City Lights" Chaplain is able to portray humanity in its simplest but most profound form. In this sense I regard Chaplain as a philosopher.

Some things I think Chaplain communicates through the movie is:

* The longing of every human being for love and acceptance as seen through Chaplain (the tramp) and the blind woman.

* Real love will sacrfice everything: seen in the tramp willingness to go to prison to heal his friend.

* The response to real love is true thankfulness and love: seen in the moving final scene as the woman looks into Chaplain's eyes feeling overwhelming love combined with utter unworthiness.

In this way Chaplain communicates some truths which the bible centres on in the work of Jesus. Christ's willingness to give up the glories of heaven and become not only human (tramp like) but then also to descend to hell (prison) to reconcile us with God (healing) speaks of the depth of his sacrificial love for mankind. I think we'll be in disbelief and astoundment at the true cost of his sacrifice when we finally meet him - the Lion who became a Lamb for us.

N

Heading South

On Friday we head off to Warm Beach campsite in Washington state for Regent Retreat. All college students, lecturers and their families are invited. We're looking forward to the trip away - all except the long wait at the border that is. We have to pay 6US dollars each for fingerprinting (supplied by student association) and are expected to wait 1hr at the border, plus the trip (bout 2 hours I think)
We'll have lots more stories after the weekend.

Meet the Teacher night went well yesterday, but it was a long night. Got to meet most parents, go through the year's plan, so it was helpful.

M

Regent

I am extremely thankful for God bringing me to Regent College. The atmosphere is wonderful. There is a huge focus on community. I don't think I would be exagerating by saying that there isn't a bible college in the world similar. Regent has a very big push on incorprating christianity back into culture. A huge part of culture (the literature, painting, music) etc is the way a community expresses its history and ideas which reveals its identity. Christianity really led this area from 300-1500 AD, but has been neglected particularly in the past couple of hundred years. They encourage students with talents in these areas to share them with the world. Intellectually they are doing are great job also... Some of the proffessors missed the Wed class as they went to accept an award from Yale for the Regent course I am doing called Christian Thought and Culture. This course has a different Lecturer each week as we look at the evolution of christian doctrine. The cool thing is that the the other professors join in the lecture and will share there own views and questions in question time at the end of each lecture.. Mareesa is enjoying her Job at Westside Christian School. She has a few challenging subjects like maths composite class - Yr7,8,9 &10, as well as PE and Home Ec/Business/Technology combined subject and Science. We are missing home, but really enjoying our time... N

Another Beautiful Day in Vancouver

8.40am, Tuesday September 11.
I must say, that yesterday was absolutely beautiful! The wind wasn't cold for a change, and the sun was out. I was glad I had the opportunity to be outside for parts of the day. I taught PE for the first time - maybe it wasn't such a good sign that a girl threw up afterward??? We're looking at fitness & exercise, so that will help me stay motivated to jog with Nathan of a morning, so that I'm not hypocritical. Today I teach one 40 minute class, but I am also starting teacher aide work with Grade 4-6, as one of the students needs individual attention. We also (finally) are having a staff meeting, which is very much needed. And Wednesday, our new Office Administrator is starting (we haven't had one for 2 weeks). Basically it means the school will run a lot smoother =)
Nathan has gone off to his first lecture in Hebrew, he has 3 subjects today plus chapel (I joked about taking his picture on the first day of 'school'). I am about to go over to Regent and sign up to audit Intro to Christian Counselling, which runs on a Tuesday night. It wasn't my first choice, but it fits in with our schedule, and I know that it will be helpful! Christina, another international spouse I know, is also auditing that class.
Tonight there is a 'soup night' here at St Andrews, and Thursay we are having people over for dinner for the first time - thankfully I bought another 2 plates at a garage sale on Saturday hehe (also some other useful things - sleeping bag, thermos, canisters etc).
Even though I am teaching, I am still waiting to hear back from the BC Teachers College for my certification, so I'd appreciate some prayer about that.
M
Nathan now has a facebook for those who also have one.

First day of school

Today was the first day of Fall Term, so I got to meet my new students, some other middle school teachers, and find out a bit more about my role. I also met my "sister", the school's first teacher Melissa who was from Townsville. It rained this morning, so I got out my second-hand brollie and walked the 20mins to school.

There are 9 kids in Yr 7-9, and 4 kids 10-12. Today was mostly administration, getting to know you activities and some introductory lessons. I do a little bit of mentoring with the seniors, which is helping them to plan their day for when they do online lessons, and help encourage/motivate them, particularly with math/science as they seem to lean more to the art/humanities side of the curriculum.

Orientation 31/8/07

Mareesa and I attended the International students orientation at Regent on Friday. It was good to meet people finally. In the afternoon I also met some 2nd and 3rd year Regent students playing soccer. One of the existing students invited us to their church on Sunday morning and for breakfast which was nice. We have noticed that Canadians are getting up pretty late (maybe its because we are staying on the uni campus), and often they don't have evening church services. Saturday we went with a bunch of international students to tour Vancouver. It was interesting to meet each other and find out how we have arrived at Regent. Among the highlights was visiting the Vancouver lighthouse, Canada Place where the Alaskan cruise ships leave from and coffee in downtown Vancouver. The next week will be more orientation with the Americans and Canadians. All up there are about 120 newbies doing Master Christians Studies and Master of Divinity. Highschool students begin this Tuesday so it won't be long before we are both in routine.

N

Canadians for a week

We've been here for a week already, and starting to feel more settled. I've started work, which is keeping me busyish as I start to plan for the year ahead with composite classes and new subjects. Working with different curriculum documents means the planning is taking some time, but I hope I will speed up as the week goes by. (More on work later)

Tonight Nath and I spent a few hours enjoying two conversations - firstly with Ross (N's brother) as we had fun getting video calls up and running with windows live messenger. Secondly we a great encouraging conversation whilst trying out a skype video call with our Australian friend Andrew in Houston, Texas.

Nath is getting into pre-reading of the Old Testament before orientation on Friday, which keeps him occupied whilst I'm at work - hopefully he'll jump on and add his two bobs worth sooner or later, until then, you've got me for company! I'm still not 100% certain of all that I am teaching, or how it will work, but I hope to have a timetable by tomorrow, and the students start back on Tuesday (Monday is Labour Day) . There's a link to the school's website on the right of this page. At the moment the definites are 7-9 Maths, 7-9 Science, 10 Maths. Then there will be some subjects which aren't a full subject like PE (Gym), Health & Careers, Business / Technology Studies - I may even be teaching cooking once a week yet!

From what I can tell the school community seems lovely, and I'll find out soon enough I guess. The school is having a BBQ at the end of the first week with all the families. There are 3 yr 7's, 4 yr 8's, 2 yr 9's, 3 yr 10's and 1 yr 12. The seniors do most of their subjects online. There are 17 kids from Kindergarten (Prep) to Yr 3, and 17 from Yr 4-6.

I hear its been raining in Australia - the weather here is mostly okay, the wind is starting to have a chill in it and we need to wear jumpers outside sometimes. But since this is all the summer we are going to get until next June, I'm trying not to be too negative!

On Sunday we visited University Chapel, a church of about 300 ppl, and also the location of my school. The next two Sundays we hope to visit two other churches, 10th Ave Alliance, and University-Town Church, a church plant on campus.

We haven't really met a lot of people yet - besides the ladies that I work with, a few others at a school prayer meeting on Monday night, and Nath met a few Aussies at Regent yesterday (not first yrs), but we have only been here a week. We've appreciate your comments and prayers,

M

Sightseeing in a Pontiac

Well, we hired a car to help us get around, especially as we were going to make a few purchases and didn't want to navigate with much lugguge on buses! The student travel agent got us a good deal, and then we were upgraded as there were no small cars left, so we got to drive around in a Pontiac G6 for 3 1/2 days.
Our apartment is looking much more lived in now that the bookcase is near full - partly with farewell cards and photos.
Wednesday night we took advantage of the late sunset (9pm) to check out a local beach.



Thursday, after having a tour of my new school (Westside Christian School), we drove to Grouse Mt. We caught a SkyTram up to the top of the mountain (4100 feet above Vancouver), and saw grizzly bears, an eagle/hawk demonstration, an amusing lumberjack show and a chairlift ride.
Later that night we drove through peak traffic to find IKEA as Mareesa wanted to buy some house stuff. Today (Friday), we went for a wander around Granville Island in the city, which is known for its public markets with fresh produce, deli's and seafood.
Mareesa starts work on Monday, getting ready for the school year, and I am going to start my readings early for college (orientation starts 31 Aug).

We're here!!

We're in Vancouver, pretty tired, but we are here with all luggage. We are going to try and hire a car as we need to do some shopping and we have a lot to buy, might be too difficult on a bus!
A summary so far!

My carry-on suitcase was 14kg - 2x the recommended weight! Customs pulled me up, and wrote the weight on my ticket, but the air hostess didn't seem to care and we were sent straight through.
10 hrs to Taipei - good aeroplane food, good service, airbus330 has great inflight entertainment!
Plane was a little late, found the hotel transfer easier than expected as we wore a big sticker saying 'mirimar golf country club' or something like that, and were found once we got through customs. After 30 min drive (Taiwan is like a sauna!) we were at a 4 star hotel, very nice, but only had 30mins til the buffet dinner closed.
Could have taken a taxi in to have a look around, but chose to take it easy, with a 40min walk around the 36 hole golf course. A fellow passenger said that it cost about 60 dollars for a taxi to drive her around, show her the town, and take her to the airport (about 3 hrs). Rearranged my suitcase (just in case!) Only had to pay for lunch at airport, as other meals provided.
10 hr flight to Vancouver - old 747 without luxury of the entertainment consoles, but had 3 movies. I didn't really sleep during either flight, but Nathan got an hour or two.
Security in Canada a little more intimidating than Taiwan, with several passport checks. Baggage took a while to come through, and we praise God that immigration wasn't any hassle, not even needing bank details that had caused us some stress on Friday!
Were picked up at the airport by a Regent student called Beth, driven to St Andrew's Hall (receptionist was a bit flustered) but we finally got all 9 pieces of luggage up the elevator to our room - the same as the pictures on their website, maybe a little smaller than I thought. (We have a shower, not a bath). The last tennant left some disposable bowls and a toaster. We purchased some necessities from local shops, walked a little around UBC/Regent, still getting our bearings.
I can't wait to sleep! Even without pillows or a blanket (just sheets). Weather is about 18 degrees, a little humid, but the sun comes out occasionally.
We love you all, and are missing you -although it's easy not to think about that with all the things to do to keep us busy at the moment.

We have done recon for Nathan's family on China airlines as they are making the same trip in January to visit....hence lots of photos of the accomodation stop over

Answers to prayer

With only 1 sleep to go, and Nathan's 10 yr high school reunion tonight, we are getting very excited. This morning I received a phone call from Canada and was offered a part-time job at a Christian school around the corner from our apartment, which I gratefully accepted! Details will be worked out next week when I am there, and I will be teaching middle school Maths/Science/IT to a composite class of 10 students. We also caught up with Nathan's Granny and Grandad in NZ on the phone.
Last night we had a combined Dibben/Cunneen BBQ and family photos, and my Nanna J from Toowoomba came to stay the weekend and see us off at the airport tomorrow morning. We will be arriving at the airport at 7am for an early baggage checkin (we are praying that our suitcases won't be thought too big), for a 10am flight.
Next post: Taipei Airport, Taiwan after a 9hr flight!

1 week to go!

Here is a picture of the front of our house - notice the neat gardens!
Today Grovely Gospel Chapel had a farewell lunch for us. We appreciated the chance to catch up with the people who could make it, share our plans and thank them for their support and fellowship. Grovely has been very generous in their support of Nathan's ministry in particular, and we thank God for them!
Tonight we are having dinner with my sister Beth, her husband Reuben and their daughter Samantha, catching up before next Sunday.
I've also had the chance to talk over the phone to my brother Tim who's at Kapooka in the army, it's been great to catch up with each other's plans.
Tomorrow we will finish getting the house ready for viewing, only needing a little more cleaning work to do. The real estate agent in coming on Tuesday to take some pics of the inside, and take some prospective tenants through. We are fairly confident we have some applications for tenancy be the end of the week. =)

Latest update

Well we did find our camera...I'll try to add some pics soon. Less than 2 wks left and while the organisational things seem to be finishing, we are aiming to have everything packed and moved up to mum and dad's at Caboolture this weekend. Tomorrow (Wed) is my last day at Mueller - I'm very thankful for the couple of days work I've had these past few weeks. Nathan finishes up on Friday, and is being taken out for lunch which is pretty nice.
A snapshot of the last week:

• Sunday we moved to Nath's parents' house at Albany Creek.
• Tuesday I permanently deleted most of the files from our computer (Yes, I know that as a Computing teacher I should know better).
• Finished painting our new 4th bedroom.
• Packed our 4 suitcases with clothes, some books, 1 set of sheets and 2 towels. It's a tight squeeze!

12 sleeps to go! We look forward to catching up with you at our open day next Wednesday 15th.

Packing, Painting, and Counting Down

If I could find our camera (it hasn't surfaced amidst the packing), I would love to show you the work that is taking place! Our 4th bedroom actually looks like a room, now that it has an undercoat and most of the architraves. Good progress was made this weekend, and 3 bedrooms are ready for carpeting, with most of our energies going on the new bedroom. I've finished packing most of the bedrooms, with the kitchen/bathroom/laundry to go (not including clothes). I've had 3-4 days work the past few weeks, and Nathan is still working full-time at Yatala.
On Saturday night we had a great get together with friends from my staffroom in D4, and I'm very thankful for a beautiful chocolate-brown full-length suede coat from Margaret K, who used to live in chilly Canberra. My Nana J in Toowoomba also found a snow jacket for Nathan - it's like a doona! We thank God for His provision in the big things, and the small things.
Last night was the Boys Brigade Leadership Reunion at Southpine Church, which has started the "goodbye"s, making the move seem imminent.
Our finances are looking more positive at this stage, thanks to Nathan's great tax return and the sale of our car at the end of this week. We had a bit of a mix-up with the visas - last Tuesday, Nathan received letters of introduction for a Study permit AND a Work permit! An urgent email sent to the consulate found that the wrong name had been typed, and a new letter was emailed with my name on it (the original is apparently in the mail). We are relieved to have those letters in our possession.
This week we will list the house with an agent, with the estimated wait being 2-3 weeks to find a tenant, which is about how long we have! Check out our departure countdown timer on the right-hand side of the page - not long to go, and we are getting excited.
Please pray that we can complete the renovations on our house with little drama or stress. Nathan in particular is feeling the pressure of the things that need completing. We hope that many of you can drop in to our Open House day on the 15th of August to say farewell!

renovations continue

The plasterer is coming on Friday, so Nath and his dad are spending Tues-Thurs night getting up the frame on the brick wall. I've been unwell, with an infected throat, so I'm not feeling that great and am hoping that an early night will help my recovery.

My brother Tim could not come home for a week, which is disappointing, but then I guess that's life in the army!

Last night was my last dancing lesson in Australia, although I hope to drop by before we leave to say a final farewell. Since Nathan had to give up soccer to finish the house, it wasn't fair for me to still be doing my hobby. The Scotia dancing competition is on this Saturday, and I will be scrutineering all day.

We are having an Open House day on 15th August (Ekka Wednesday) at Nathan's parent's house, where people can drop in during the day and say "Adieu". I will do a group email soonish, or contact me for an address.

Yours in busyness. Mareesa

Changes are happening...

Nathan is back from Boys Brigade Leadership Development Course and back to work at Yatala. Today I started a 6 day contract at Dakabin primary in learning support...Mostly organisational stuff today, into the real deal tomorrow! I am doing group work mainly with yr 5 and 7 students ready for national testing. It'll be a new experience for me! I also have some supply lined up at Mueller after my work at Dakabin finishes.

Praise God that we have sold our bar. It will remain in our carport until we move out, but it's good to know that someone is willing to pay to take it away! One more thing to cross off our loooooooong list of house improvements and 'to do' items.

Another item of good news is that my brother Tim returns home for a week next week, so we'll get to see him again before he returns to the army.

Our address in Canada

Hello!
Nathan is on Boys Brigade leadership course this week, and I am doing things around the house - like painting the bathroom (which is difficult when you buy the wrong colour base paint!). I've felt a bit like Santa this week, as we were able to pass on quite a few household items to our brothers and sisters. It's nice to be able to be generous. Last week we were also able to pay off our flights.

6 1/2 weeks to go - it's coming up very quickly. I'm starting to notice more the things we will be missing out on - local festivals, my cousin's wedding, birthdays...

Here is our address in Canada until April 08:

N & M Cunneen
#324-6040 Iona Drive
Vancouver
BC V6T 2E8
CANADA

Our email address will stay the same:
nathanandmareesa@hotmail.com

Goodbye to Mueller...for now

Yesterday I finished my full-time teaching at Mueller. It was sad to pack up my desk, and hug lots of staff and students goodbye! But I will be around next term teaching occasionally, so it's not goodbye forever just yet. I received many well wishes, warm scarf/gloves and beenie for the cold Canadian climate, and a lovely daily journal. Of course I was also presented with the prestigious Mueller mug and pen. I know I'm going to miss the welcoming Mueller environment, and the people that I have known for 3 1/2 years.

Next week I plan to be busily sorting through rooms at home, and storing items while we are away - that, and finish marking and reporting :-S

Mareesa

Speeding up & slowing down

Only nine weeks to go - we know that August 19 will be here sooner than we think! But at the same time, our life in Brisbane is slowing down. I'm finishing full-time work next Friday, and Nathan has dropped down to part-time at CLM as they don't have a lot for him to do at the moment. Nathan is looking forward to finishing, but I know I'm going to miss Mueller a lot. So I'll enjoy doing some relief work, as it will mean I'll get to leave gradually. Holidays will be my chance to sift through our possessions, deciding what to store, take, sell or give away.
Mareesa

upcoming medical...

On Wednesday, Mareesa will be going for a medical examination in the city. This is required by the Canadian Consulate in order for her to teach in Canada. There is a specific doctor to see (only 1 in the whole of South Queensland), and it will take 2-3 hours, involving all kinds of lovely things like blood tests and x-rays! Sounds thorough.

Visa's going ok

Yesterday I (Mareesa) received a call from the Canadian Consulate in Sydney about my visa application, to double check a few things. I asked him if I was likely to be asked for an interview in Sydney, to which he replied "this is it"! So no extra flights to Sydney are needed. I have to have a medical check-up, in order to teach in Canada. But the guy was very positive and said he would be recommending that our request for visas (Study Permit for Nathan, Work Permit for Mareesa) be accepted! Yeah! It was very relieving to hear that although the paperwork will not be complete for 6-8 weeks, that there won't be any hassles in that department.
I am currently applying for my teacher registration in British Columbia, which I hope to mail off this week. 11 weeks to go!

Visa submitted - finally!

Last Friday our visas were posted off. We were leaving it a bit late, and just when we thought we had everything together, we couldn't find our photos. We pray that they will be accepted and processed quickly. Mareesa has only 4 weeks left of full-time work. After the June/July holidays, she will do some supply as she is packing up the house.

Nothing big happening at the moment, trying hard to post of the visa applications (lost the photos =( ).
Thank you for those who have posted comments of our blog.

Flights booked

Our flights are now booked!
We'll be leaving Brisbane on Sunday 19th August at 10am, with a stopover in Taipei from 5pm til 2pm on Monday, arriving in Vancouver about 9.30 Monday morning.

renovation pics

Pic of 'new' bathroom and dining room!

a minor update

Well, things are better at the home front, with the tiling almost complete! (To be finished this weekend)
On Good Friday, I (Mareesa) sent numerous emails to the friendly Housing Supervisor trying to get our credit card number right...but a couple of mins before 5pm Vancouver time (which was Thursday for them) we got an email back saying that our deposit went through satisfactorily, so we definitely have a place from 1st September!
Next is a BC teaching certificate, plane tickets, and visa applications =)

Accommodation by exclusion

Well, the self-imposed deadline came and went, and St Andrew's has been decided on.
I (Mareesa) will be faxing off our application today or tomorrow. The tenancy goes from 1 September to 30 April, and hopefully we'll learn lots from our cosy living quarters =)
The bathroom now has walls!!! (This is really important - no more 360 degree views)
Nathan is taking off Thursday to do as much as he can.
We're spending the weekend away from the mess/house - going to AGMF in toowoomba on Saturday with Nathan's sister Ellen, and then camping in the Bunya mountains Sunday - Tuesday (another day off work for Nathan and holidays for Mareesa).

Accommodation undecided

We've decided to wait until the 3rd of April to hear from VST...if we hear nothing, we'll fax our acceptance to St Andrews Hall and have somewhere to stay!

Renovations have been in full swing this past week ... Grandad from New Zealand has spent a lot of time helping out with the bathroom, had to swap the new bath because it had a fault/crack, and this weekend thankful for help from Mum and Dad (Cunneen) for their help painting and finishing off the bathroom walls.

Tiler is coming next weekend (Easter) - I (Mareesa) can't wait to have proper floors and my own shower!

Stay tuned for more news and possibly photos.

Somewhere to live...

We got an email this week saying that we have been accepted to stay at St Andrew's Hall on campus! So now we have somewhere to live =) Nathan would still really like to get into residence at Vancouver School of Theology - cost is only slightly more, but double the size. So he emailed them to see if we can find out what chance we have of getting in there before we need to mail off our deposit to St Andrew's Hall. The two residences are actually next to each other, so neither is really preferable location wise.

Passports and Renovations

Today I received my new passport, the new type with an electronic chip inside. (Looks exactly the same)
Our renations are slowly happening - the tiles are ripped up, and the floors are uneven and incredibly different. We're looking for a tiler at the moment that suits our budget, but that might take a bit of looking! Can't wait to see our place when it's done though.
Today is my dad's birthday (Happy Birthday Dad!)...this will be a busy birthday month - still got me, Tim, Ross, Lyn and baby Mitchell to go!
Next step: Visas

Living arrangements

Yesterday we posted our application to St Andrew's Hall (http://www.standrews.edu/). We're hoping to stay on campus (about 10 mins from Regent) in a 1 bedroom apartment. There are 38 1 bedroom apartments available, but their students have priority.
We've heard that living in community with other people from bible college plays a big part in learning and experience. It will be interesting to hear what students from other colleges are learning too!

Moving to Canada

Well, Nathan has been accepted into Regent College, Vancouver, Canada to do a Masters of Divinity!