Monday Update

You're reading this as we are wiping the sleepies from our eyes. We are somewhere between Vancouver and Charlotte in transit right now! Our 3 weeks in Canada have been fruitful and refreshing. We return to the land of the pines to get shots (so necessary but ouchie-especially because we have to have like 4-5 of them), spend time with family and continue to make the final preparations for Liberia. God is good and we know that all of it will come together with His guidance and timing. We will update several more times this week before taking a brief break to go to the beach with the Hoovers. We've instated a blogging ban for that week! The remainder of this week we will continue to update you on all that the Lord did while we were in Canada and all that we are waiting on Him to do in the coming weeks, months and year.

All Good Things Must Come to an End

Well, it seems that we have come to the end of our time at The Knoll. It has been encouraging, refreshing, challenging, FUN, and full of beautiful weather and a gorgeous backdrop to live life against for a couple of weeks. God is so good!

We are headed back to the mainland of Canada for a couple of days. We're going to hit the highlights of Vancouver that we missed on the journey out! We fly out on the red eye Sunday evening and will be back in Charlotte before lunch.

Gotta run for now-the shed must sparkle before we leave!

Look what we have been "DOing"

Delicious fish and chips from Red Fish, Blue Fish...oh, delish! Even Kyle, who is not a fish fan, said it was delicious!

Reflection in the scooter helmet


Entrance to Victoria's China Town as seen from our scooter


Creepy wax dwarf...


Gorgeous wildflowers along the road!


Me with the Anne girl (or at least the wax version)


All helmeted up for the scootering


Overlook on the way back from Victoria to Lake Shonigan


One of the many beautiful pictures of roses that we snapped

Pictures from the North

Enjoying some gelato in Victoria


Kyle didn't get to eat both cones...but he tried!


The famous Fairmont Empress hotel on the Inner Harbor in Victoria



Take a look at this pictures...notice the dog drinking from the water fountain?



Finally we were able to meet Dave and Audrey Waines! (Could we have met them in a more beautiful spot?)


The front of the Empress Hotel (no, we did not stay here)


The flowers in Victoria are a tourist attraction in and of themselves!


Colorful hanging baskets line the streets


There is a person inside of this...an old person...

Update

We're taking a break from class in beautiful Victoria, B.C.!
We will post a few pictures over the weekend so you can see for yourself! We will be heading back to The Knoll on Sunday but until then we will be soaking up everything that makes Victoria one of the best and most beautiful cities to visit in the world!

Wordless Wednesday

Meet Dead Ernest (Ernie for short) Ernie gets a lot of abuse around here...We have put NG tubes down his throat and would have done much more if it hadn't have been for actual human dummies...Ahhhhhh, MMI...

"TO DO" Tuesday!

Not much to say on this "TO DO" Tuesday! I think our biggest question at this point is what are we going "TO DO" with all this information floating in our overloaded brains? Yesterday we learned catheterization and today we will learn about suturing! I will try to take some pictures to prove that I am not making this up!

We hope to find out a lot more this weekend about the in's and out's of life in Liberia when we finally meet the Waines family! Otherwise we are just hanging on for the last few days of the MMI course! Anyone suspect that you have an issue of malnutrition or a crazy infectious, tropical disease? Well, after Thursday just ask us and we might have an answer-of course always consult with your physician- unless you are in Liberia!

We are off to Victoria, B.C. to enjoy the city life for a few days over the weekend! We are around our half way point in our stay! Wow! More pictures to come!

Monday Update from the Great White North

We are now entering into our 2nd full week in Canada. The Knoll is treating us well and we are feeling relaxed and refreshed in the midst of our training class. We had the weekend off from case studies and inserting feeding tubes to enjoy the area and some peace and quiet! So far we've seen ducks, a beaver, small cat tracks, and a muskrat. Ahhhhh, nature at our back door! We're hoping to see a family of otters! Keep your fingers crossed!

What did we learn last week? Well, we learned about a number of diseases from malaria and tuberculosis to leprosy and tetanus. We also learned how to insert feeding tubes and give each other shots. Friday was all about childbirth...Kyle held it together...I on the other hand was drinking it all in and loving it! This coming week we will learn all about infectious, flesh eating diseases from a microbiologist! Thursday is our wrap up for our MMI class and then we will be headed to Victoria for the weekend before beginning our CHE class.

We've packed so much knowledge into our heads that it would be easy to miss the voice of the Lord in the midst. God has been speaking powerfully through Barrie (Equip International's director) as he has shared with us each morning. Barrie and Tille Flitcroft were missionaries for many years on the fields of Vietnam, South Korea and the Philippines. Through his stories and the evidence of God's provision and power in Barrie (and Tillie's) lives we have been encouraged that God is providing for each and every need of our hearts, both physically and spiritually. What an amazing thing to look to folks who have walked this path before and in whom we find such sweet wisdom and evidence of God's faithfulness!

We are drinking in the mild days and cool evenings in anticipation of very different weather in the coming months! Liberia is the total opposite climate...sigh...Pray for us as we attempt to meet up with the Waines family during the remainder of our time in Canada!

Visceral Leischmoniasis

Yeah, don't ask...it's a nasty disease...be thankful you live in United States (or Canada)! But now since I've got your attention I would love to share some photos with you of our grand Canadian adventure. The Canucks have welcomed us with open arms and we are loving our time here at the Knoll on Vancouver Island, B.C.


Lounging on Granville Island drinking lemonade in the sun on a beautiful afternoon in Vancouver!


Accordion guy in the Granville Island Public Market. Anyone know how to polka?


These blackberries were so gigantic and juicy! B.C. is known for berry production! My kind of place! All I needed were some ball jars, sugar and canning supplies!


Ferry ride over from Vancouver to Vancouver Island


Flowers, Queen Victoria and Parliament building


All our gear with Parliament building in the background. Victoria is a truly pristine city!


We couldn't leave you without a taste of the classroom. This is one of the Dr. Patricks (yes, there have been two) teaching us about some flesh eating tropical disease, I am sure!

More to come in the near future! Enjoy these few for now!