Another very warm day.  I was feeling pretty bad because of the cold still in my body, but hopefully recovery isn’t too far away.  The VBS program began in the evening, and went very well.  Afterwards we went swimming in a nearby pool.

Day Eleven:  July 6

Again, it was a hot day.  In the afternoon we went with some new friends (who are helping out at the VBS), Miranda and Alanna, to Fredericton to see Toy Story 3 in 3D.  It was really good, and the indoor air conditioning was relieving too.  The VBS program went very well in the evening.

Day Twelve:  July 7

The summer heat continued.  In the afternoon we went to swim in Miranda’s pool to cool off.  The VBS program went well in the evening!  There are only two more nights to go in Keswick, and we will miss it a lot.  The kids are great and the people are, too!

Day Thirteen:  July 8

The weather forecast’s UV index was 10 today (the highest possible value).  With fair skin, we were timid about going outside under the hot sun, but I went swimming with Miranda and Alanna again.  In the evening, the VBS program went very well, and afterwards Alec and I took a quick drive to see the nearby location of our ancestors’ homestead in Douglas.  It was really awesome to find out that our billets Ethel and Freddie knew some of our relatives from 50 and 60 years ago.  They even have a photo of our great-great grandfather!

Day Fourteen:  July 9

Our last day in Keswick.  We spent the first part of the day resting up.  In the evening we had the final VBS program at Keswick Baptist, and it was great.  Afterwards, I went swimming to cool off in the Mactaquac Dam headpond with Miranda and Alanna.

Day Fifteen:  July 10

We packed up and headed to Fredericton for the afternoon.  It was originally thought that we could meet up with our cousins who live in the city, but Alec had lost his voice and it didn’t work out.  We ate at Swiss Chalet and drove north-west to Meductic, where we met Pastor Charles Yerxa, and his wife Shirley.  They are the main organizers of the VBS at Meductic, and they showed us to our billets’ house once we arrived, around mid-evening.

Day Sixteen: July 11

It was sunny in the morning, then turned warm and rainy.  We attended church at Meductic Baptist Church in the morning, then went to the Yerxas for lunch.  In the evening we traveled with Pastor Charles to the nearby village of Canterbury, where we ate supper and set up for VBS at the Canterbury community center.

Day Seventeen: July 12

We began the VBS at Meductic in the morning.  Alec’s voice continued to worsen until it was completely gone.  We did Canterbury’s first VBS in the evening as well.

Day Eighteen:  July 13

It was favorable weather again.  The struggle with Alec’s voice continued, but seeing how the routine was improved, the VBS programs at Meductic and Canterbury went well.  I went for a long drive to Keswick in the afternoon.

Day Nineteen:  July 14

Alec’s voice finally began to improve today, which was an encouragement because I was finding it a little difficult to be emcee-ing every assembly and teaching the bible lesson as well.  We rested in the afternoon, ate a delicious supper at a church member’s house, then went to do the Canterbury VBS in the evening.

Day Twenty:  July 15

The Thursday’s VBS went well at both Meductic and Canterbury.  In the afternoon Alec and I traveled to Woodstock to put an item in the mail and do some necessary shopping.  It was very hot in the river valley.

Day Twenty-One:  July 16

The last VBS at Meductic was fun!  A large amount of parents came to see their children in the last assembly, and the girls poured a freezing-cold garbage can full of water over me as a reward for raising money for Bolivia.  All together the amount was nearly $375!  In the evening the Canterbury kids did the same to me again.  In the late evening Alec and I drove north to my grandmother’s old homestead near Grand Falls, NB, where our parents were staying on vacation.

Day Twenty-Two:  July 17

We spent the day with our parents, doing laundry, and traveling to the nearby town of Perth to see our grandmother in the hospital.  We had cake to celebrate Alec’s 20th birthday at supper.  In the evening, our cousin Caroline Mclaughlin dropped in for a visit.

Day Twenty-Three:  July 18

In the early morning Alec and I left to travel down to our next churches in Bath and Wicklow.  Caroline accompanied us for the morning, as well.  Both churches had morning services (one at 9:15 and another at 11:15) so by the time they were over and we had lunch, we were tired.  We rested at our billets’ (Bert and Martha) house, then went to decorate the churches for VBS.

I must add at this point that we firmly believe that in order to have the best traveling experience in this part of the province, you have to take the old Trans-Canada highway instead of the new four-lane wherever possible.  The views you get from the older road are much more interesting because it’s closer to the river.  The speed limit on the old route is usually still 100 km/h, and the road is straight, extra-wide, and has very little traffic.  The perfect combination!  I highly recomment the route through Nackawic and up as far as Grand Falls.  You will pass by old rest stops, motels, and restaurants from a by-gone era of slower, scenic travel - a journey worth photographing at every chance.

Third day of VBS was awesome!  The kids are really getting the hang of the songs.  In the afternoon we rested, and in the evening we traveled into Moncton so Alec could play floor hockey in the gymnasium of Hillside Wesleyan Church with his college friends.

Day Six:  July 1

Day four of VBS was excellent, however in the afternoon I began to feel sick with a head cold.  A local family took us to the Hopewell Rocks, where one of them worked as a guide.  I would have enjoyed them more if I wasn’t feeling so bad, but they were still really nice.  In the evening we spent some time at the Salisbury Big Stop to catch up on email and Facebook, then we went to Petitcodiac with some teens from the church to see the Canada Day fireworks.

Day Seven:  July 2

Alec was sick as well today.  However, It was the last day for the Lewis Mountain VBS program so we still had to “go to work”.  It went very well!  Stephanie (a teen volunteer) and I were soaked with water and covered in whipped cream afterwards, as a reward for the kids who raised over $150 for missions.  In the afternoon we took down all the decorations and made an attempt to put the church back to normal, then rested at the house.

Day Eight:  July 3

We woke up feeling somewhat better, but still full of cold.  We spent the morning packing up, doing laundry, and making necessary phone calls.  After lunch we said goodbye to the Burgess’s and left for Keswick.  We met Pastor Jon and his wife in Fredericton and went to their house for the night - it was definitely a highlight to be playing XBox with them.

Day Nine:  July 4

We attended church in the morning at Keswick Baptist, then went to our next billet’s house, on a farm just a mile or two from the church.  Our hosts, Freddie and Ethel, are pretty cool people.  I got put in a room with a bunch of awesome stuffed animals, including Fozzie from the Muppets.  Very cool beans.   The temperature was in the 30’s celsius today, which wasn’t fun, but thankfully there’s a pool next door.  Awesomesauce.

We left Parrsboro at approximately 4PM.  It was fairly warm and humid outside, but the breeze in the car windows kept it comfortable.

We arrived in Moncton and headed to Champlain Place for supper and essential shopping.  I had the brilliant idea to buy seafood, apples, and cinnamon rolls.  This is way too much information, but that combination of food had a remarkable aftertaste.

After three quarters of an hour’s worth of figuring out how to kill 45 minutes, we headed to our billets’ house in Lewis Mountain.  Vince and Rosie Burgess are great people.  By the time we were settled in, it was 11:30PM.

Day Two:  June 27

Today being Sunday, we got up fairly early and attended church at Lewis Mountain Baptist Church.  Afterwards, we were taken to the Salisbury Big Stop (just a few miles away) for lunch.  There we discovered an older couple in the church had lived in Southampton, the community where our home church is located.  Small world!

At 2 o’clock we gathered at the church again to set up for the VBS.  Afterwards, we were taken to a local backyard pool, where most of the neighborhood’s children and teens were swimming.  I felt completely exhausted from the effort of swimming, but was revitalized by a great spaghetti supper from Rosie.  In the evening I was occupied with making t-shirts and trying to memorize the songs to teach the kids.  As the evening wound down I was filled with a great sense of nervousness.  It’s been over 10 months since I have done this with campers.

Day Three:  June 28

Monday morning.  The first VBS session of the year began with a few technical difficulties at the church.  The music, video, and powerpoint were originally going to be from one laptop, but we had to employ both of our computers to get the job done.  However, it still went pretty good, and the kids were great!  As soon as we had lunch afterwards, Alec and I took off for Parrsboro.  For the entire 2 hour journey, the rain poured down so hard that I had to use the fastest windshield wiper setting for most of the trip.

In the evening I graduated high school.

We left at 10PM to come back to the Burgess’s house.

Day Four:  June 29

The second day of VBS went very well.  Afterwards, we settled in and rested for the afternoon - Monday was very tiring.

Just a thought.

This summer will be one of the most engaging I’ve ever had.  For the past three years I spent July and August working at bible camp.  This summer, I will be doing something slightly different.  My brother and I have been hired to travel to 9 different churches around Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and PEI as Vacation Bible School (VBS) leaders.  It’s a job that I expect will challenge me to do things I’ve never done before - and it’s exciting.  I absolutely love working with kids, and am looking forward to meeting a new “batch” of them each week, in a new place.  Throughout the summer I hope to update this blog as much as possible - a habit I’ve struggled with in the last year, as you can see from the frequency of my posts.

I think the biggest challenge with regard to my online activity this summer will be the upkeep of my Project 365.  This past Monday I logged out of my Facebook account until after my exams are over, which means on June 22 I will be uploading around 15 photos to make up for the days of the 365 which were “skipped”.  I really hope I can get on at least once a week in the summer to upload the daily photos.  I’m quickly approaching the halfway mark (July 7), which is very exciting.

June 28th, here I come.

Keep in mind you can always visit my flickr photostream for an ever-expanding portfolio.

Allow me to share some music I’ve been listening to recently.

Paramore (their new album, Brand New Eyes), Switchfoot (also their new album, Hello Hurricane), Tegan and Sara, A Rotterdam November, The Rocket Summer, Nick Drake, Newsboys, U2, The Raconteurs, needtoBreathe.

It’s made in Mexico, either late 2008 or early 2009.  I am very pleased with it so far.  The pickups are great, and Fender’s construction standards are second to none.  At $500CAD I think I snagged a good deal.