My Month of New Experiences

My month has been extremely busy. I have had something happening every weekend along with lots of work in between for the camps. Not only has this month been successful with work, but I have been seeing so many new things. The Lord has blessed me with new experiences almost every week this past month. 

At the beginning of this month, I got to go to New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York. I got to see Philadelphia, Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell and the beautiful countryside of PA and NJ. I got to go to New York City where I saw the Statue of Liberty, 9/11 Memorial, Times Square, The Met Museum, Carnegie Hall, Rockefeller Center, and Central Park. That week was indeed full of wonderful new sights for me to see, and I am sure I barely saw enough. But what made that week special wasn't all the sights, but the people I got to spend that time with.

The time I spent in PA and NJ was with some friends I had met last summer. I had only spent one week with these people, but had been able to connect with them last summer and connected again this month. I was truly blessed by their hospitality and how they encouraged me by showing how they lived their faith in their lives. I had a wonderful time with those dear people, I pray that the Lord will allow me to see them again soon. 

The rest of that week was spent in New York City with my family. My younger cousin was performing with her school choir at Carnegie Hall with other schools from around the country. So when she and my aunt where coming out with my grandparents for the performance, it was arranged so that I could meet them and spend the weekend with them. I had a wonderful time with them. It was great for me to see my extended family again. I was able to laugh freely again at old jokes my grandpa makes, to laugh and joke with my aunt about getting lost in the big city, to spend time with my cousin who is becoming a teenager and growing into a young woman. The whole week was a nice breather from the French language and it was great catching up with my family and a friend that I met up with there. 

The following weekend, I went to a Cabane à Sucre, or a Sugar Cabin where they make maple syrup. I went with my friend Edîth from my English Conversation group who had me over for Christmas this year. (I wrote about her here.) She invited me to go with her and her family and a few friends to this classic sugar cabin. It was truly a Québecois experience with a lunch of potatoes, baked beans, meat pie, sausage, ham, eggs, and crêpes with lots of syrup throughout it all! It was a nice warm day for it too. We watched a video on how the syrup was made, petted the animals at the farm, and had Tire d'Érable (It is a lot like a lollipop made of maple syrup). It was such a fun time and a blessing to spend with my dear friend and her family.

The following week, I went with some friends from Québec to Boston for a Christian conference. Technically we stayed in Dartmouth, Massachusetts, we didn't get to see much of Boston, though we did drive through it, twice. What struck me about this trip, was again the people. I met so many new and different people in less than 24 hours but I felt so welcomed. These people hosted us, fed us, and showed us their beach, which they have most likely seen enough of. Their Christian love was so warming, we laughed the night away with them and by the time we left, we had so offers for a place to stay the next time we come back. The Californian in me enjoyed watching the sunset over the water (don't ask me how that happened!) and I got my "beach fix" that will hold me over the next few months. I was greatly encouraged by the faith of these people and their promises to keep in touch and pray for me. I hope to make it back to Massachusetts, and not just so I can really see the city of Boston, but so that I can see these people again. 

The Lord has indeed blessed me with old friends and new friends here in Québec and now on the East Coast. Life is different for each person, especially when you live in big or small cities or in the mountains, but I have seen wonderful connections made because of our mutual connection in Christ. I am so thankful for His love for me and these people. I am so thankful for the people He has put into my life, to be with me at this moment in my life. I hope to never take friendships and relationships, old or new, for granted and that I will be always thanking Him for each one of them.

"And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,

 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some,

 but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near."

Hebrews 10:24-25