the Dave and Shawn show: Christmas in Canada

This morning I woke up in my bed at the base, the plastic store across the street was blaring thier music and I could hear the lyrics of " this is going to be the best day of my life". I smiled to myself and though, yes, it probably is. Then I got up and took the first cool shower I have had in a month... Which was a reminder that we ain't in Canada anymore.

For the past six weeks we have been travelling and visiting many of our friends and family in the States and Canada, including at the YWAM base in California, friends on Quadra Island, and a couple churches near our families homes in BC. We spent more than 96 hours travelling in cars, airplains, trains, ferries, buses and sky trains, and logged many hours on foot as well, including walks, skating, and even scootering (thanks Caleb!). It was good that we did so much walking though because we also spent a lot of time eating! Christmas meals with family were such a joy, and very delicious!

We were so encouraged by the response people gave when they heard about our ministry and future dreams. We were prayed for in front of three churches, and met with many friends and family. We had such a wonderful time with our families, living for about three weeks with each of them. It's hard to even describe how much fun we had with them all, spending time doing everything as meaningful as praying together to just hanging out and watching Dragons Den on YouTube. Somehow though, it all felt pretty meaningful, just to be together and make memories. I got to be with my nephew and got lots of chances to cuddle and feed and care for him in the morning when my sister was sleeping. Z was so thrilled to meet his nephew and kept telling people that baby Jude was our baby. It was adorable to see the two cousins together.

My greatest joy was spending time with family in the evenings. We had fun movie nights, games nights, dates with dad at the movies and Tim Hortons, lots of conversation, and some pretty intense prayer times. After the business of the days, with visits to churches and with friends (which was all amazing too! We just had such a great trip, there wasn't really any bad times at...), it was great to come home every night to hang out with our families and connect with them.

We have such loving and supportive families, and seeing them was like a glimpse of Heaven. One day we will all be with Jesus forever and all of the work we did in the Name of sharing the gospel that took us apart from each other on earth will be nothing but a memory. I love my family so much and although it was hard to leave them all at the end of our visit, we came back to Guatemala full of joy to continue working and living here.

Thank you to all who have supported us through your prayers, finances, and the encouraging words you had for us during our time in Canada. We can't wait to see what God is going to do this year! Happy 2015 everybody!!!