Niagara and News

"But whosever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life." John 4:14

When you stand at the brink of Niagara Falls and see millions of gallons crash to the bottom, it's hard to comprehend the force and power at display.  To think that all that water pales in comparison with the eternal life Jesus has to offer is incredible!  And one step further, to think that He has the power to spring water up in our lives and give us His power, far greater than the roaring waters of Niagara, is amazing.  What an awesome God we serve!

This past weekend our family visited the small church of Kitchener, Ontario and made a stop at Niagara Falls on the way.  We left early Friday morning, arriving that evening and staying in the area until Saturday afternoon.  My last trip to Niagara was in 2000 when I was five years old and afraid to tears of the falls.  This time I viewed things a little differently :)  Not only did I have a different perception of the falls, but we stayed on the Canadian side this time and it left a better impression than the American side did 15 years ago.

Here's the crew, with Dad as photographer, standing in front of the American and Bridalveil falls.

 

Pictures don't capture the depth or sound, but I took lots so I'll share some :)

A sister pic with Horseshoe Falls in the background.

 

At night they light the falls and on Friday nights they do fireworks!

 

Saturday morning we enjoyed our Embassy breakfast with a view of the falls and fueled up for a big day of walking!  We got to the IMAX in plenty of time so we headed down to the Horseshoe Falls, getting sprayed by mist in the process.  The way the falls are shaped forms a big pillar of mist in the middle and as we walked by on the sidewalk it was as though it was raining on us!  It was only a taste of what was to come on the Hornblower, but that can wait.  Being by the brink of Horseshoe offered such a close-up view of where the peaceful Niagara River drops about 150 feet. Just incredible!

 

Here's a panoramic view I shot while walking between the two falls.

 

And another view of Horseshoe.

 

We hiked back up to the IMAX to watch' Miracles, Myths, and Magic', a presentation I'd recommend if you visit Niagara in the near future.  I rarely cry during movies but I was on the verge of tears during a true story of a seven-year-old who went over the falls in just a lifejacket and survived.  His sister was rescued at the brink just in time but their friend was killed in the incident.  Then there are those stories of the daredevils who have risked it all and taken a trip down the falls in barrels, kayaks, and a variety of contraptions.  Some live, some die, and we got to learn more about those stories in the daredevil exhibit after the IMAX.

 

From there we headed back down to the boardwalk along the falls for a ride on the Hornblower.  As we passed a long line of people waiting to buy tickets we thanked Mom again for taking time to plan out our trip and buy tickets online.  Huge time and money saver!!!

 

My experience on the Hornblower was more pleasant than my experience on the Maid of the Mist 15 years ago.  I could understand why Edie was a bit frightened at first but she ended up enjoying the ride.  We got a great view from the top deck although when we got close to Horseshoe falls it was hard to see clearly with all the spray!

 

 

After getting the close-up of the falls on the boat, most of us felt like we had adequately experienced Niagara Falls.  There are lots of look-out points we didn't get to and even an excursion that takes you behind the falls, but between the IMAX, boat tour, and boardwalk views we'd seen quite a bit!  We loaded up into the big white van, hit a game of putt-putt, and journeyed into Kitchener for the evening.

 

Part of being in Canada is paying big bucks for cellular data or getting by without phones while traveling which is synonymous with getting lost.  Mom printed off directions to our hotel but long story short we ended up at a gas station where Dad bought a map and received some directions from the locals.  The next morning we had an easier time finding the church and showed up so early that we gave ourselves a little tour of the town.

 

Worshipping with the believers in Kitchener was a blessing.  I really enjoyed being part of a small church during my time in Altadena and although Kitchener is even smaller than that, it's amazing how much energy can be amongst so few people.  We felt so welcomed and the fellowship was refreshing and when we left we were already talking about going back again!

 

Last night when we got home I knocked a package off the porch into the flowers as I was carrying my suitcase into the house...oh, more books arrived!  Today my online classes start and the end of an era has come.  After being out of school for three years (with the exception of two weeks back in 2012 and a semester of Spanish), I'm jumping back into college life.  This time I'm taking classes online from Dickinson State University out of North Dakota and am studying Equine Science.  Three weeks ago I didn't know for sure what I was doing this fall so I sort of laugh when people ask me what I'm going to do with my degree because there's no way I'm going to predict my life three years from now.  But my idea is to get my associates and work at a place that uses horses to reach people, specifically kids and teens.  Whether I'll do that in the area or be planted somewhere else is completely out of my knowledge but I do know that God has a plan.  Getting back into school is a little intimidating but I'm excited to know that it's all for His glory, so His plan in my life can be carried through and ultimately His name can be honored.

 

In addition to online classes I'm also working part time at Freedom Foods which is a produce company that family friends recently started.  Also, last week I took Edie to piano lessons and asked if there was room for one more student.  Yes, Dr. Egan took me back so I'm excited to be back in lessons and have a motivator to practice and push myself more!

 

Looking back on the adventures of the past three years, I can see that God has had a purpose in every task He called me to.  Thanks to all of you who have supported me in various and beautiful ways through this journey of life.  One of my biggest struggles with blogging is that it's a one way conversation and I know all of you have your own amazing stories of how God is working in your lives.  I hope that He continues to guide each of you and fill you with His everlasting peace!!!

 

Have a blessed day!









Tecumseh

Tecumseh...where the stars shine bright,

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And the leaves are green,

And I am third,

Tecumseh...it's a special place where I understand the meaning of the word...LOVE.

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God is all around, and I know that He cares,

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He is most important to me...

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And all of the other people are second only to Him,

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It's great to be third and feel so free.

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With a smile on your face,

And not a worry in the world,

 
And a rainbow of colors in the sky.

 
You can be who you want to be,

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This is where you can live your dream,

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It doesn't matter if you laugh or cry.

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But the greatest treasure of all is the glow that we feel,

 
When a child reflects our love in his face.

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A family we are, in the hands of the Lord,

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We all feel His presence in this place.

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Tecumseh...where the stars shine bright and the leaves are green,

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And I am third.

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Tecumseh...it's a special place where I understand the meaning of the word...LOVE

***

Oh, Tecumseh.  Land of unit cheers, zip-lines, friendship bracelets, candlelight devotions, Crow cabin, level two skills, lunch loudness, being THIRD, wobbling across the suspension bridge, Songfest, chapel, extra blob time, REST HOUR!!!, sleeping in hammocks, gaga and carpet-ball, trading post, opening and closing campfire, costumes, hobo dinners, bareback clinic, relationships...I can't sum it up.  Not with pictures, not with descriptions.  But the 'Tecumseh Song' which just captioned the pictures above does a good job of capturing what Camp Tecumseh means to a lot of people.  For me, growing up in a community of loving Christians, I've always had support and been surrounded by love.  But I'm one of the few who is given such a nurturing environment year round.  Camp Tecumseh is where many people feel closest to God because He's the center there and that's not the case with very many places in the real world.  While this summer made me realize I'm a lot more selfish than I'd like to admit, my hope and prayer is that God can use my weaknesses to His glory and continue to work in the lives of children I came in contact with so that they too can take the Camp Tecumseh's 'I'm Third' motto of God, others, then myself, into the world with them.

'Being third' and sharing God's love with those around me wasn't always easy and many times my motives were so off.  By the time we reached the end of the summer I felt like a complete failure and thought of how I could've been a better counselor and friend.  Sometimes I still look back with regret that I let selfishness take over so often and that I got in the way of myself.  Yet in all my mistakes, God is able to do beautiful things.  No, it's not an excuse to mess up and do things my way, but there is consolation in trusting that God is the one who will continue to work in the hearts of the people I interacted with.  So trust Him I must and trust Him I will.

At the beginning of the summer during staff training we slept under the stars in hammocks and did some star gazing as well as my first bead devotion.  The bead devotion took place every Friday night of summer camp in the individual cabins and consisted of reading the Sagamore Creed which describes several traits of a respectable person: initiative, friendship, trust, responsibility, faith, and joy.  Each person would have the opportunity to pick an attribute he/she'd like to work on in the coming year and then receive a bead as a reminder to be intentional about growing in that area.  During staff training I chose the trust bead and pinned it to my backpack.  This summer I had many opportunities to trust God and others as there was a lot of NEW happening.  And since that pretty much sums up our whole life--ever changing and full of questions--I'm sure it's an area that I'll be working on until the day I die. 

The 2015 Summer Camp has officially ended at Camp Tecumseh, but the memories will live on.  There were times I felt insecure or frustrated at camp but I have no doubt that it's where God placed me for the summer.  He taught me so many lessons...about trust like I mentioned above, about how He has made so many unique individuals that are all precious in His sight, about the complex world He created.  I'm thankful for the wonderful young ladies that stayed in Crow cabin and the talented kiddos who improved their riding skills at the Equestrian Center.  I was blessed to work with an incredible team of counselors, directors, and barn friends who were a great example to me during my first year ever at camp.  People have asked if I'll go back and while I don't think I'll return for a full 9 weeks next year, I hope to go at least for a few.  After all, it's Tecumseh.

A special place where I understand the meaning of the word...LOVE.

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***-pictures that I downloaded from Facebook or the Camp Tecumseh photo gallery on their website.