Big news

No, Rachel is not pregnant.

We are moving to Australia!!! We will be moving to Ballarat, a city just outside of Melbourne near the southern coast of Australia. Please locate it on the map below (just click on the map to enlarge it), as we are already sending out an open invitation to you to come and visit us!




Here's the story of how it all happened (in a matter of about 3 weeks, believe it or not)...

Many of you know that I was really struggling as a chiropractor here in Hull and had not made the transition from student to doctor very well. I just couldn't get my head into it. As the job I'm currently in was coming to a close I started to really search as to if I was even in the right profession. I started to look for some inspiration and confirmation that I was in the right line of work. I decided that I would find the person that I knew that was the most enthusiastic about chiropractic and see if I could get some insight from them. Immediately, my friend Neil Cox came to mind. I had run into Neil at a conference back in Oct and knew that he was practicing up in Newcastle. I phoned him up out of the blue and asked if I could come up and observe him and talk about things. He was all for it and it wasn't until I got up there that he remembered who I was! If I had said 'Canadian Mark from College' he would have known. Anyway, we went for lunch and during the course of lunch I discovered that Neil had recently become a Christian. I was quite surprised by this and asked how it all came about and he told me about how he'd been over in Australia with possibly the world's top paediatric chiropractor, Neil Davies, and how a number of things had come together and he realized that he had to make a decision about God. The rest of the afternoon I watched as Neil treated patients with a different kind of Chiropratic called Neuro Impusle Protocol, a technique developed by Neil Davies. I was really impressed. It involves checking a patients neurology, applying a specific adjustment, and rechecking the neurological involvement for changes. I determined that I would learn this protocol. As Neil and I talked over dinner that evening he told me more about this Neil Davies guy and how he was going into northern Thailand and working with a displaced people group called the Akha. They basically have had their land taken and are living in Thailand as refugees but have no rights there or even access to medical care. Check out www.childrengoldentriangle.org. This really sparked with me as I remembered that before I even went to chiropractic college I had a vision for working in the developing world and working with kids. My intention was that in developing countries not being able to do manual labour means that the majority of job options are unavailable to you. By helping people to move more freely, I could help them to have a better chance at a sustainable living. I went home and was encouraged. I felt that in the rush of looking for a job after graduation and the need to pay back my student loans that I had forgotten my purpose for being a chiropractor but that I had been reminded and that this was going to lead to bigger things. I have no regrets about making the decision to come to Hull, I always knew that it would only be for a season. I began to think about the Thailand thing non-stop and tried to find out all I could about this Neil Davies and the work that they were doing. In my searching I discovered that Neil was going to be in the UK in March to do a series of conferences. I emailed Neil Cox and asked if he thought I could meet up with Neil Davies to pick his brain about working in the third world. Neil (Cox) thought that if his schedule allowed, then he probably would want to meet me. I emailed Neil (Davies) and told him my story, about feeling a bit lost with chiropractic, about my vision for working with kids and the third world and told him that I had Wednesday and Saturday afternoons available and would meet him anywhere in the UK if he had the free time. Neil Cox also sent him an email to let him know who I was. Neil Davies emailed me back and said that he was arriving on the Tuesday and that Wednesday was a recovery day and probably the only free day that he would have on this trip. We set up a meeting for Wednesday, March 7, and that was it.

I need to tell you about some things from Neil Davies point of view so that the whole background meshes together. Neil has five clinics in Victoria, all basically west of Melbourne in a line. Right now they are at capacity. There is a three-week waiting list for new patients. To make matters worse, Adam, one of the chiropractors who is my age has been diagnosed with terminal bowel cancer and has had to stop working (please pray for him). See Adam's profile here http://www.kirokids.com.au/professionals.html. Before Neil left for the trip to England, his daughter, who is one of the Chiropractors at the Ballarat clinic where I'll be working, told him "Dad, you really need to find another chiropractor, and soon! I'll pray for the Lord to provide you with one." Neil's wife said the same thing, without knowing her daughter had. The thought of going through the whole recruiting process again was not that appealing to Neil but he knew that they needed at least one new doctor soon. When Neil arrived in Oxford he went down to the Thames which was in flood to take some time to pray. He told me that he was talking to God and said, "I need a male (to keep the gender balance in the clinic), with a heart for the poor and he needs to be available at the end of the year and I want him to come and ask me for a job" At this point he had forgotten that I was coming... the guy has five clinics, a seminar series and was suffering from jetlag so when I phoned his room that afternoon it took him a few minutes to remember who I was. We got to talking and right away it became apparent that this was a God moment. Everything just fell in place. Rachel and I had previously talked and prayed about the possiblity and what if's of moving to Australia and she could tell that I was really gung-ho about this whole thing but neither of us had expected it to all fall into place like that. During my dinner Neil on the Wednesday he asked me why my wife wasn't here in the blunt sort of way that Australians do and I told him that she was working today. He asked if we could come back on Sunday afternoon and meet with him again. He asked me to go and talk to Rachel about everything and to start to pray about what we should do. I told him that we already were, about Thailand, NIP, moving to Australia and everything. I hadn't thought that when I went down there that I would be asking him for a job but when he asked me point-blank what I wanted out of this meeting it just came out. There was a little umm-ing and ahh-ing but then I just came out and said I'm here to push on doors and to see if there is any possibility of working with you in the future, either just in Thailand or even in one of your clinics.

Sunday came and we drove the 3 1/2 hours down to Oxford. In an email during the week Neil asked if there was somewhere we could go to church that evening so I found St Aldates http://www.staldates.org.uk/. It was a great church with a HUGE emphasis on missions, and it just so happened that they had information flyers on everyone's seats about Burma/Myanmar and the troubles going on there. The Akha that Neil works with in Thailand are from Burma/Myanmar. It was good to learn more specifics. Additioanlly, worship was great. The worship leader there is Martyn Layzell, a big name worship song writer these days. We bought his new album afterwards. Anyway, at dinner Neil asked what we had felt about the whole situation. We said that we felt peace and excitement, and it seemed to be exactly in line with my passions and visions. He then offered me a job right there at dinner! He said that he was convinced that this was of God and we felt it in our spirits too.

Steps forward now include me having to learn the NIP basic and advanced protocol which will get me ready to be able to work the way that Neil and his chiropractors do as soon as I get there. They are also paying for me to get my MSc Paediatrics which is a three year mixed mode programme that I am already starting on here. This will require 8-10 hours of studying a week. Woohoo! Actually, since studying for the american board exams I have found a new vigour for study. I am still taking the American boards this weekend because they will count towards my Australian boards. Australian board are in November and we are going two weeks before so that they can prep me for it. The local radiologist will assist me with the positioning and diagnosis exam and the rest of the staff will get me ready for the rest of it.

Logistically speaking, we will leave England at the very beginning of November, and be in Australia for all of November. I'll be taking the Australian Board Exams, and Rachel will be checking the place out, and finding a place for us to rent. Then we will fly back to North America for all of December and half of January. We plan on spending a good chunk of time with both of our families, and of course our friends! Let us know when you're free for a visit from the Colvins! We will then officially move to Ballarat mid-January, just in time for me to start work for February.

Are you suprised by this? We still are!! I'm sure that many of you will have loads of questions, so feel free to leave comments or email us directly. I have to stop now, as my eyes are bugging out. Thanks to all who have been praying for us in this time of transition.

New Beginnings?

Today I am expectant that God is working a miracle in our lives in regards to Mark's career. Maybe this is in reference to chiropractic work, maybe not, but I have faith that everything will be OK. In case you didn't already know, Mark has told his current boss/business partner that he will let him know by the end of this month when he will be leaving that chiropractic practice. As the end of the month is only two days away... please keep us in your prayers!!! There are not any local chiropractic work opportunities available for Mark at the moment, but nonetheless we are trying to stay in the area for the time being to continue being a part of the Hull Jubilee church-plant (a New Frontiers International church). Most people in Hull think we're crazy to consider staying since Hull is thought of as such a dreary, dull place. I'm finding, however, that this place is growing on me! I think my deepening friendships, being a part of the Hull University's Women's Basketball team, and volunteering with Hull One World Shop (Fair Trade Shop) have caused my change of heart. Moving to the States is still a possibility, but Mark is not qualified to work there until he passes the American Board Exams. He receives those results in January 2008. We also do not have a confirmed job offer in the States and are waiting on the Lord's timing for that. To throw a wrench in things, at church yesterday a visiting speaker/prophet prayed for us, and said that we were being 'woven into the tapestry of the church.' He basically implied that our work with the church wasn't finished yet. He also said that Mark would receive closure soon (in regards to his current job?) and join the race again, not behind the others but caught up with them (a new job?). Hmmm. In any case, it's the season of lent and we're trying to pray more. We sure do have a lot of things to pray about!

OK, some photos for you...


Me and Grace in Amsterdam.




Amsterdam




Shaking Vincent Van Gogh's hand in Amsterdam.




Valentine's Day. I took the afternoon off and Mark and I drove up north to Harrowgate and beyond. The forcast said rain, but all we had was sunshine which made for a lovely drive through the countryside!




Near an attraction in Harrowgate called Mother Shipton's Cave.

Ros and Rob

These are our friends Ros and Rob. They are getting married this summer. Awww. This photo was taken at a charity event that our friends Keith and Anna held just before chirstmas for a charity called Wellchild. It was an auction evening and it went pretty well. The room was really crowded. Rob lives in Leeds and Ros lives here. We had them over for dinner this past sunday night, or should I say Rachel had them over for dinner. I decided to take a nap at about 5 or 6 and slept right through dinner until my alarm the next morning. I guess I needed the sleep. We are still not sure what is making me so tired and lethargic. I got my blood tests back today and they all came up within the 'normal' range. All I know is that I don't feel normal! Anyway, I guess I needed the sleep and Rob and Ros played Settlers with Rachel late into the evening.
This is a random picture of us in Brekenridge over christmas. Why? I don't know, Rachel must have had it on the camera. I've just noticed how much that touque looks like a tea cozy. If you don't know what that is, ask someone british. It also makes me look like I have a massive brain.
This is us in what I think is Salt river canyon in the middle of AZ on our way up to Pinetop, AZ during Christmas. I think this is where there are some ancient indian drawings on the rocks. Unfortunately, some of them have been vandalized by some mindless thugs.

Pictures aside, it's been another long pause between posts. I guess it's difficult to know what to put down. I don't really know what to expect out of this year. Looking back on last year I can see where my lack of initiative in certain areas has cost me and others around me. I'm still trying to figure out how to really start living. For too long, I've been coasting. Just surviving and all reaction, no proactivity. I don't know why I find it so difficult to do things. I know that it's not any easier for anybody else, but I am trying, Rachel is helping me and we are making progress.

I am writing my American board exams this year in preparation for the possibility of going back. I write my first one on March 16-18. So far, studying is going well. There is just sooo much information to know. I know that lots of things that are in the review books are things that I am learning for the first time. You just have to jump through the hoops and do it.

Tonight is also the first night of our Alpha course at church. It will be interesting to see who shows up and how the whole thing goes. I'm hoping that it will spark some great discussions and that people will want to come back for more next week. If you have never been on an Alpha check out www.alpha.org to see what it is all about.

Another Birthday

Today is my Aunt Jean's birthday. Happy Birthday Jean! This photo of the two of us was taken last August.

We are currently training for an Alpha Course at our church. It will start in three weeks time. I'm looking forward to it! I helped out with one at the Vineyard Church last year. This Alpha Course will be meeting at a pub called, "The Mission." A bar is an ideal place for church outreach, don't you think? It will make people feel comfortable. Here, as well, most pubs have the feeling of american coffee houses. I'm not sure what they're like in the States these days.

Tonight we're having some of our friends over to discuss our life predicament, brainstorm with us, and pray for us! Please pray that this time would be fruitful. We have 8 friends coming over at the moment. We can praise the Lord that Mark has done well financially this week. At this point, we just have to take it a week at a time. We're saving pences every way we can, preparing for the time when he might have few patients = very little income. Our greatest sacrifice has been vegetables. We still eat them... just less of them because we now have to eat starchy foods as well because they are cheaper. Beans are also cheap, so I've been cooking a lots of those up which has been good.

Otherwise, things are fine. I've been selling my books on amazon.co.uk (for extra income) which has been fun... I like it when they sell! And I'm not too heartbroken when they go because I know they are going to people that want them. My job is going better than I expected it to this year. I am so thankful for this, because I sort of thought I would be coming back to the chaotic environment I left. I have good co-workers, and we've been able to get things more and more organized every day, even if we have to do it the long way around. Our Malawian friend Henderson (living in Leeds) is visiting us this weekend which will be nice. I love being able to stay connected with my African roots! Maybe I'll have him cook us some ugali and sukumawiki for lunch tomorrow...Mmmm

Again, thanks for your prayers.

Love,

Rachel

Some familiar faces

p.s. For some reason the blog man wouldn't allow me to put exclamation points or question marks in this entry. Please add them in where appropriate as you read this yourself.


It was my good friend Casey Bailey's birthday yesterday... I thought I'd put a photo of him up on my blog to celebrate. Happy Birthday Casey. This photo was taken at Eric and Carolyn Meyer's wedding this past August.

This is a photo of me and Mark on the train in Munich on New Year's Eve.

Now to show you some of the people I work with. This is Caroline Flood, a lovely Christian young lady, a year or two younger than myself. She's great... can't you tell by that smile. She's also single guys... plan a trip out here to visit me (and meet her). Caroline and I work most closely together.

These are the other ladies in my office. From the left, the pregnant one is Joanne. She actually just had her baby... a little girl, on Jan 7th. Next is me, of course. Then we have Justine and Joanne (#2). They both moved here to help out with the church plant, and I was able to give them jobs with me. It makes for a nice office atmosphere. Then Caroline. Then Ginny (Virginia) our amazing administrator/receptionist. She does and excellent job.

Mark made it safely to and from Bournemouth, and as a couple madly in love, we are happy to be in each other's arms once again. Thanks for your prayers.

-Rachel

Up-and-Down

Apart from sleeping on a boat the last two nights, things in general have been up and down.

I would have never guessed at this time last year, that at this moment we'd be where we are, in the situation we're in. At times I'm excited at the challenges and possibilities (both to stay here and to go), at times I feel sick to my stomach... like today. Mark discovered that calling to register for the American Chiropractic Board Exams (the exams he needs to take and pass in order to practice in America) wasn't quite enough. He needs to sign up in person so someone can notarize his forms. The deadline: tomorrow. The place to show up in person: Bournemouth (a mere 5 hour drive to the south coast of England). So, I'm home alone and Mark is making the trek by himself, after finishing his workday at 7pm. He returns tomorrow in time to see his afternoon patients. Ugh.

On a brighter note we met up with our dear friend Grace Chisholm this past weekend, in Amsterdam of all places. It just happened to be the most convenient spot where our paths could connect. We took a glorified ferry over, hence the nights on the boat. We didn't do much sightseeing. We just talked and drank beer for breakfast and had pancakes for lunch and falafel for dinner. We walked around and eventually toured the 'Bodies' exhibit. VERY cool... where they plasterize cadavers (?? I think that's what they do). It completely blew away those abstruse drawings of the human body from elementary school by making learning about the body so accessible and understandable. It also wasn't gross. I had never seen a cadaver, so I wasn't sure what to expect.

Back to real life... At this point almost everyone knows about our possible move. I say 'possible' because it's not for sure. We do believe if we work hard Mark will generate the patient base we would need to survive. The catch is, I think the time we need is less than the time we have to work with. It isn't impossible, but it will be extremely difficult for us to stay. Despite our confusion, as we were planning on staying here longer, we are reminded that God's plans will prevail. If He wants us here, He will provide for us to be here. I have a little card I've put up in our room stating, "Expect a Miracle." We're torn because we generally don't like life in England, yet we will grieve if we have to leave our church. We desire to stay a part of it and continue to help it grow. The tug is for Mark to work with Dr. Roberts, my former chiropractor in Arizona. Dr. Roberts is a great Christian man with a similar heart to Mark's. I think Mark would flourish with him, and I want to see him flourish. The catch is that the practice is in my home-town... a place I didn't expect to move back to so soon. It's filled with pro-war Republicans (nothing against you personally if you are one) and small-town politics. I'd look forward to returning as the different person I am from who I was when I lived there. I'd look forward to befriending those I previously turned my nose up to, and to serving those I didn't have enough time for, but it wouldn't come without much difficulty. Have you gone from 'the world' back to a small small town before that seems so out of the rest of the world? Can I do it? We've thought about living in Tucson (for my work possibilites) and then having Mark communte to Sierra Vista (a 1 hour commute each way). He's up for it. We'll see.

So the POA is to have a meeting with our closest friends here, on Thursday evening, to help us brainstorm our situation and pray about what to do. At the moment, some people from church feel like we are considereing abandoning them. They reminded us that they don't yet have jobs, and still they are committed to the church. ouch. It's true, but I do know that we have many responsibilities to consider, such as: We currently pay £900/month for just Mark's student loans. If we fail to make payment, his parents' farm (they co-signed for the loan) will be re-possessed. I don't feel we can, in any way, put their farm in jeopardy. If God wants us to stay here, I sure hope He does it without us having to risk their farm or us having to rack up any more credit card debt. If we do leave, we hope to leave with our church's and Guy's (Mark's current boss) blessing.

In the meantime, we're asking my co-workers and everyone at church to help pass out Mark's business cards! Please pray for their willingness, enthusiasm, and success in doing this.

And please keep us in your prayers in general during this up-and-down time. We welcome any words of wisdom and encouragement.

Colorado and Arizona SNOW!

The first destination on our Christmas vacation was Colorado! We visited Jess and Tim Dunbar.


Here is the happy clan (Jess, Tim, Mark, Rachel) at Jess's aunt's house in Winter Park. The house was really nice and we were all blessed to stay there for free! I would describe it as knick knack heaven. Every possible form of stuffed moose, moose wall hanging, moose themed thing you can imagine was there. It was also supposed to look like a ski lodge with old ski lift signs and stuff. Kinda cool. Kinda. We were really thankful to have such a great place to stay at while we were up there.

Jess and Tim took us snowshoeing while we were there. It's basically hiking, but with snow. It was great fun but it really highlighted how out of shape I am now. The elevation change from sea level to 12,000 ft really had me sucking wind every 30ft or so. I'm sure I could acclimatize but it was slightly embarassing how exausted I was.

Rest. Very important when hiking.

These tracks are where we tried to slide down the hill on our bellies once we had reached as far as we were going. I think Tim ended up going the furthest. I'm sure he sprayed teflon on his jacket before we left. I mostly dragged myself across the snow.

Then... we went snowboarding in Breckenridge, Colorado. Leigh came up from San Diego on her way to her grandparents in Colorado Springs. We stayed with her uncle Rick who drives snow cats for the Breckenridge Ski Resort. We even got to go up in one of them at night. The ride was amazing! It's a pretty complicated machine. Just the joystick had 36 different functions and there was a whole other panel of switches and gauges. We had a great time snowboarding. Check out Rachel's new helmet and goggles, hot stuff! We were caught in Breckenridge by the Denver blizzard. Our flight was cancelled and we had rescheduled for the next day but that got cancelled as well. The next flight they could offer us was christmas day. No good. We ended up driving with Leigh to Colorado springs to see if we could catch a flight there. We could, for a mere $1500. We ended up renting a car and driving from Denver to Phoenix where Chuck picked us up and drove us the rest of the way. The was long, but oh sooo beautiful!

Rachel and her cousin Melissa in Pinetop, AZ. That's right, it snows in AZ!!!

The next blog down is a continuation of our trip but we had to post the pictures in two goes.

Here's a little more about what is going on with us in the next year. I had my review just before we left and it didn't go well. My boss was happy with my improved management of patients but said that I am just not generating enough patients. He brought me on to grow a practice and I haven't managed to do that. So, he is phasing out my new patients that he gives me from the practice over the next three months in an attempt to try and get me to get my own patient base. Realistically, this is not going to happen. If it does, it will be an intervention of God and I believe that it still could happen but we have to make contingencies. While we were home I had a meeting with Rachel's former chiropractor, Dr Roberts, who is coincidentally looking to take on another doctor this year. It seems that we could work very well together, and so we are pursuing the reality of me working with him. I have decided to write my American board exams in March and May leading to the possibility of us moving back to Arizona.

Please pray for us in this area as we try to honour everyone involved. We want to be used by God where ever we are and we also believe that God wants us to flourish and use the gifts and talents that He has given us. Rachel would be moving again for the sake of my job. Please pray that God would give her meaningful work that she would be excited and passionate about. You all know how organized and amazing she is, it would be a shame to not see her used to her full potential. We would be excited to live near family and within driving distance again of many of our friends. You can come visit us too as soon as we are settled.

Let us know how we can bless you too! As we prepare to potentially leave England (yay!) we will be selling and giving away lots of our stuff that we won't or can't take with us. Let us know if we have something you want. Does anybody need a loft bed?

AZ, then to Munich for New Year's!

This is a picture of Salt river canyon on our way up to Pine top. There was no snow when we got there but on the first morning we had about 4 inches. Katie (Melissa's friend) had never seen snow before and they went out and made snow angels at 3 in the morning. It was great spending time with family just playing games and going to movies.

This is the front gate at Dachau concentration camp. Arbeit macht frei means 'work brings freedom' but sadly it did not for the tens of thousands who passed through this gate between 1937 and 1944. We went there on our first morning while the others slept in. I felt it was important to go. I went to Auschwitz (in Poland) when I lived in Lemgo, Germany which had more of an impact for me than this one because it is more intact but it was still harrowing to see. I firmly believe that the propensity to commit this kind of evil lies just below the surface of everyone. It made me thankful that I have been saved, that had it been me who had done these things that God's grace could still reach out to me, and it made me thankful that so far in my life I have never had to experience war or the breakdown of society.

On to happier things, this is one of the many squares in Munich and the tree was pretty. Enjoy.

This is us on the subway on our way to the insane fireworks. Note the dixie cups of champagne. In Europe you can drink alcohol in public. It is still a little weird to see teenagers chugging beer on the subway, but there you have it. There is no central firework display in Munich, instead, everyone brings their own and they just light them off in the street for about an hour around the midnight countdown. They were going off everywhere, I got hit in the leg with a rocket that fell over before going off, there were bits of firecrackers fall from the sky everywhere. It was a health and safety nightmare but really quite fun. Definately not one for the kids.

Here you can see a few rockets going off, the amount of smoke in the picture should give you more of an idea about how many there were.

Forever and a day....

That's how long it's been since we last posted! Sorry about that, I used to blog at work on my lunch breaks but computers are now for 'work related' things only. That's okay, but it means that when I get home I rarely feel like getting on the computer. We have somehow lost the cable that connects the camera to the computer. I was looking forward to putting a whole bunch of pictures on but I'm going to have to make do with the ones from my phone's camera. Here are a few and I'll talk you through what's happening.

Okay, scratch that. I just tried numerous times to upload my picture onto blogger but it was having none of it. Sorry! I know some of you have been waiting with baited breath for new pictures for ages.

Here's what I was going to put up: A picture of us at a deleriou5? concert, my sign on the boards at the hockey arena, us at Rachel's work christmas dinner from last night and a funny one of the so-called large pumpkins that they have here that I mentioned in blog back at halloween.


Oh! We got one photo up. You can guess which one it is...





As Rachel mentioned below, we'll be on our way to America in 5 days and I can't wait to hit the slopes, see friends and family, and generally relax and eat too much. I'm sure we'll have time to blog then. Till then, we love you all.
Mark

From Rachel:

Month in reflection- work work work! And a few fun things. I've been working a lot because, well, there's lots to do. Occasionally (today, for instance) I think about finding a different job. Ironically I was talking to my co-workers at our team meeting this past Monday about the rewards of commitment. Ha. I'll stay with the company at least through next July. I've also been working a lot because I find I get more done when everyone else has left the office and the phones have stopped ringing. Most importantly, I have been working a lot because I am taking off work next week! We leave next Friday for the States! Woohoo! School doesn't actually get out here until Wednesday the 20th, but my last day will be Thursday the 14th. Yyeeessss! I can't wait. I generally don't mind/semi-enjoy my job, we're both just really looking forward to a break =) Now for the fun things... a baby shower for a co-worker who is due in January! A Black-Tie Chamber of Commerce dinner (Mark looks HOT in a tux!). A few ice hockey games. A visit from our Malawian friend Henderson who is now living in Leeds. Thanksgiving dinner with some Canadian friends. **My brother Reid and his wife Laura making a whirlwind visit!** And... basketball practice! That's right. I am now practicing with the Hull University Women's team twice a week! Don't be too impressed. They haven't grown up with b-ball, and it's only the university's second year of having a ladies team. I don't mind rockin' the court though =) It's a fun way for me to get exercise, and I anticipate it to be a good area of ministry. I hope to help coach the team at some point, but I'm also happy just practicing with them.

Pumpkin Scooping And More!

The final products. Pumpkin carving (scooping, as they say here) is quite a no-no here amongst Christian circles. Little did I know... I invited a bunch of church friends over for the event! They came, and happily carved away, but they didn't take the pumpkins home. Guilt by association I imagine.




Oh, the fun. We then watched a not-too-scary movie afterwards: Shawn of the Dead. Seen it?




This is from Liverpool. I went to a little club/pub three stories undergrounf called "The Cavern Club." It's apparently where the Beatles got their start! I had a really nice evening there. The bands performing were doing a benefit for Oxfam (calling the evening 'OxJam') to help fight poverty. Yah!




This is a photo of me and my former Starbucks boss, Mark. We got on really well. He's the manager of the second store I was at here. Mark and I are working on developing a good friendship with he and his boyfriend.




And finally... this is a photo of our church plant! This was taken on the first Sunday we met together. We had a big lunch together afterwards. The church plant is going well, but please keep praying for us. You know the devil will always try to work his way in somehow.



Mark and I are off to Bournemouth this weekend to visit Earl (his best man) and Sarah, and their 10 month old daughter! We can't wait to see them.

pumkins and crossed paths

Hello out there, I've got a bit of a slow morning so I thought I'd do a bit of blogging in between patients. We have some pictures but they are all on Rachel's phone and she is in Liverpool for the next few days so we'll have to try and get them on when we can. Last friday we had some people over for a bit of pre-halloween fun. We carved pumpkins. Most of them had never carved a pumpkin before! What do they teach these kids here?! We also made pumpkin pie, which I luuve. I always forget that when comparing Uk sizes and Canadian sizes that there are major differences. We'll post a picture later of the pumpkins that we saw in the local grocery store. The label says 'large pumpkin', in reality it is about 6 inches around. An extra large, would possibly qualify for a medium back home.
Sometimes the strangest things happen, this week I had contact again with someone that I thought that I may never see again. Isn't it strange how God allows different people to cross our paths at the most seemingly random moments in our lives? It made me realize that I still miss Canada and the friends I had there. After being away for 6 years I guess I had pushed those friendships deep down because I found it difficult to maintain a real friendship without those shared experiences. There is a good lesson to be learned there, I need to spend quality time with my wife, our future kids, our current families and most of all God. Without going through the experiences that form memories together it is difficult to say that you have a relationship. We can't live in the past and our actions speak louder than words. Thanks to the miracle of modern technology we can all keep a glimpse of what it going on in each others lives.

Off to Liverpool...

Hello everyone! Just a quick blog to let you know that we are doing really well despite working hard and long hours, and therefore not having much free time. We travelled together to Birmingham two weekends ago for a conference of Mark's, and then to Manchester this past weekend for another conference of his, and now today I'm off to Liverpool for my job. My company has a branch in Liverpool they want me to help with the next two days. It's been fun for us to do a bit of travelling!

A few weeks ago I heard a stirring talk-show on the BBC discuss 'aid' to poor countries. At the end they concluded it definitely isn't a long term solution, but it's been ongoing for over half a century in some places. Aid actually debilitates people. What they(the poor countries) want (they had representatives from many poor countries) is to work, to feel pride and accomplishment in what they do, and to get paid appropraitely for their work. They suggested that through trade (not aid), through paying a fair price for what we're getting... we can help bring people out of poverty and give them that sense of accomplishment in their lives.

Then I was blessed in Birmingham to step into a shop that promoted fair-trade items. In this shop I picked up a "New Consumer" magazine and in that magazine I was challenged by my lifestyle/consumerist ways, but then I was actually given ways to live a more God-glorifying life... a life that helps fight poverty through what I buy/don't buy. I've always tried to be somewhat 'fair-trade', but I never felt as though I had all the equipment I needed. I never knew where to look, or what sources to trust. This magazine didn't give me all the answers, but it has put me on the right track. It's given me a place to start and some leads to follow. It also had an article on organic cotton... something I didn't think twice about before. I figured, "I'm not eating it, so I don't care if it's organic or not." Organic cotton is about saving the lives of the cotton pickers in third-world countries (from the chemicals used on not-organic cotton), about taking them out of poverty through trade, not aid, and about preserving the earth. I'll tell you more about this later.

Since then my mind has been reeling about real ways to fight poverty. I think I'd like to go on to get my MBA and use it to assist businesses to be fair-trade.

I'm excited about this, and if you are too, let's talk! Again, I'll tell you all more about this soon.

I'm off to Liverpool now...

Love,

Rachel

p.s. Please email me with your current detaills, including a mailing address for your Christmas card, and your current phone numbers. Thanks!

Better than nothing

I have been intending to blog for DAYS, but what was holding me back was my lack of success in downloading the photos off of my new mobile phone onto the computer. It's so much more fun to post blogs with photos, and I was looking forward to sharing photos of an ice hockey game that Mark and I went to a couple weekends ago. Mark is the newly appointed team chiropractor of the Stingrays, Hull's professional ice hockey team. The game was great fun, and the Stingrays won! We have free season tickets, and I'm looking forward to going again.

Since I couldn't get the ice hockey photos, I hope the ones below will do.



This was taken in Canada at Mark's grandfather's funeral this past August. Despite the circumstances, we had a great weekend being together with Mark's whole family. We also got to see/meet our neice for the first time! She's beautiful =)



This was taken in Arizona. That's right, it's the whole Carlson clan! Reid, Laura, Charlie, Elaine, Rachel and Mark. Notice how tan Mark looks in comparison to the rest of us... I hope he shares that with our kids! My mom spoiled us rotten in Arizona - we were really blessed =)



This was taken at my birthday party in our back garden this past July 28th. Sorry you couldn't make it! We had champagne and a delicious coconut cake that I made. Mom and Dad Colvin-- notice the champagne glasses we're using (an heirloom from grandma Colvin).



In case you haven't seen it yet, this is the impressive double-loft bed that Mark built us with his own two hands. He even designed it himself. So far it's holding strong! We use a step ladder to get up in to it.


I have finally started to feel settled here. I think it's a combination of a steady job and being a part of the church plant. Whatever it is, I'm thankful. My job is going well. It keeps me busy and challenged, and I especially respect one of my bosses, Sue. I also managed to hire two of my fellow church-planters, so it's nice being with them on a regular basis. The church plant is also going well. It's not perfect, and just the other day Mark questioned me about how critical I was being of the church. I just want the best, and I've been at some great churches. I have mellowed out about it. I've started a married women's prayer group on Tuesdays at dinner-time (lunch) (and they call dinner, "tea"). That's going well.

I'm off to bed, but to all of you fellow bloggers, thanks so much for helping us to stay connected! I love reading all of your blogs, and I check them faster than you add in new ones. Keep 'em coming =)

Love,

Rachel

Once again I have been neglecting my writing duties... It always goes like this when I start a journal too, Gung ho for the first little while and then it peters out. So, anyway, life has been going better for the last two weeks. Rachel mentioned in the last blog that my job was not looking so secure so I thought I would update and expand on that. At Chiropractic college we learned a great deal about the body, and about how to identify what goes wrong and about how to adjust body parts etc. What we didn't learn was how to put together a management plan and how to communicate that to a patient. There was no correlation between how many times do you have to do A for this condition before moving on to B and so on. This partially because chiropractor disagree widely on these subjects but we ended up with no guide. I had been treating my patients based on whether they were feeling better or not, rather than taking control of the situation and saying 'you need X treatments to get better over this period of time for this condition to get better and stay better.' When my boss sat me down and we looked at my stats for that last year I could see that instead of treating the condition was purely using if they 'felt okay' as a marker for stopping treatment. We've talked about different strategies, more about what to do and when. I think it's going okay right now. The last two weeks have also been my two busiest ever, which also helps. I'm not out of the woods yet but it's certainly a step in the right direction. In all jobs we make mistakes and there are periods where we do little and everything happens for us while at other times we work very hard for little reward. Learning a profession involves identifying what works and what doesn't for a business as well as for a patient. I appreciate everyone that has been praying for us during this time. My relationship with my boss is still good, he's pleased with some of the other things that I've been working on that have just come about, like I'm now the official chiropractor to the Hull Stingrays, who are a hockey team that is in the top league in England. I just have to make sure that I see some sustainable results over the next few months.
On another note, our first service as a church plant is tomorrow so we'd appreciate some pray for that. I am really starting to get excited about the whole thing.

Where we live

These photos were taken on the day we left for America. It was a grey day, and I was in a rush, but you get the idea...


This is the street we live on, St. Mary's Terrace. Our house is up on the left.


Sorry the photo is sideways. This is our house (just the middle window and blue door)! We rent the bottom floor. The window you see on the bottom is our living room.


Around the corner and up the street you will find the Westwoods, a pasture for cows and a nature preserve/forest area. This is what it looks like inside the Westwoods. It's never crowded with people. I always manage to find a little hole where I can enjoy the trees and meadows in quiet and peace.

-Rachel

The Rust/Meyer Wedding

These are photos, in no particular order (because, despite my efforts to put them in an order, the computer uploads them any which way it wants to) from the recent wedding of my dear friend Eric Meyer. The wedding was held in the Inyo National Forest, just outside of Yosemite, near Mammoth Springs, California. At the end of the wedding Eric and his new bride left for their honeymoon...walking in to the forest. They went backing through Yosemite for 9 days! Notice their appropriately decorated backpacking backpacks.

Mark and I had a wonderful time. It was even just like old times, for a few carefree moments. Our highlight, besides simply being with cherished friends, and being witness to the covenant of marriage, and spending time with some of my best friends' son, and being in the great outdoors, was slipping out into the night to relax in a natural hot spring with our good friends Jess and Tim. It was located in the middle of a big field. Around us was a bowl of darkness, lined with a mountainous rim. Above us, a million stars twinkled and sang and dazzled us by shooting here and there. We sat in silence and soaked up the beauty and wonder. *sigh, smile* After California we then headed to Arizona and spent a lovely time with my family (photos to come). My mom spoiled us! Now we're back in England, back to reality. Sorry it's taken me so long to blog. We both started work the next day, and have worked every day since. It's now Friday night and I have forfeited hanging out with some girlfriends just so I can write to you! I actually wasn't dreading coming back. I was even looking forward to it, which suprised me, considering the difficult time I've had here. This time, I had something to look forward to. The church plant has officially started, and so has my new job! The church plant has brought renewed purpose for being here, as well as a load of much needed and wanted friends. The job has brought fulfillment and worth, and I actually am really enjoying it, and it pays well! My official job now is: Secondary Recruiting Consultant/Business Development Executive/Office Manager. Basically, I work for the substitute teaching agency I was teaching for. I now interview and hire teachers to work for us, as well as liase between our teachers and all of the secondary schools in the area, as well as provide training and development for our teachers, as well as support schools in any worthwhile projects they are undertaking, and as well as wine and dine our clients and teachers. The 'managing the office' part will come in due time (a lot of changes within the office just occured). So, there you have it. Scratch off all of those other jobs I told you about. None of them really worked out. This has come at a good time, as there are now issues with Mark's job. He hasn't been seeing enough patients as his boss would like him to, and his boss told him nicely (honestly) that his patient numbers have to increase or Mark is basically out of a job! Mark has three months to improve, so we would really appreciate your prayers in this area. Mark is an excellent chiropractor, he is just struggling with the management side of things (as he wasn't really taught how to properly manage his patients). His boss is now taking the time to go over manangement issues with Mark, and we hope that that solves the problem.

random update

Okay, so Rachel was worried that if she started blogging on my site that I would stop blogging and since it's been nearly a month since my last entry I decided that I wouldn't prove her right.
Life is an interesting series of ebbs and flows. A week ago we buried my grandfather. A slightly strange and somewhat surreal journey back to where I grew up. On the one hand I wanted to spend as much time with family as possible, on the other I wanted to show Rachel every detail about where I grew up and what I did and with who. I was weird to run into people that hadn't see me in 15 years, or not consistantly at least. I tried to think about what I was like at that time and what they would remember me for. These people were still intimately connected to my family but I had no connection to them.
It was great to finally see my beautiful little niece, a million pictures can be viewed on other links to this blog. It was good to be with family and I was surprised at the little pang of homesickness that I felt for Canada. I guess most of the time I just stuff it down inside since there is nothing that I can do about it. I'm pretty sure that we will end up in either Canada or America at some point in the future but I'm not exactly sure when. It will take a bit of financial security and the right open door for it to happen.
Last night we went to our favourite restaurant with Keith and Anna, and Jon and Abby. We were able to have some great discussions and I realized that I need to pick Keith's brain more on theology. He has some great things going on in his mind. More later on, we are really looking forward to our vacation in Cali/Arizona this week.

Summer Job

I've gotten a summer job, working for the supply (substitute) teaching agency I work for during the school year. My official job title is, "Recruitment Consultant." If I'd like it to, it will turn into a full-time, well-paying job starting in Septemeber. I'm just waiting to see if I get the internship I'm applying for, but in the meantime... I'm enjoying myself.

Last night we went with three other couples and Guy's wife Louise to see a movie. The movie wasn't good, but the chemistry with all of the people, christians and non-christians, was great! Last night was the first night in a long while I felt like I was surrounded by a decent sized group of people that both Mark and I really get along with. Two of the couples are here for the church plant, one is coming over tomorrow night for dinner (I've been impressing a lot of people with my cooking lately). Another couple who we just really like, non-christians, is having us over for a BBQ and Settlers on Friday (and we've let them borrow Carcasonne so they can teach themselves and play that with us soon!). And we're continually thankful for how well we get along with Guy and Louise... Louise in particular, for me, is a joy to have around. I love her personality. Thank you for your prayers for friendships for us.

Chris, our thoughts and prayers are with you. Thank you for caring for Grandpa so well.

-Rachel

Ugly Duckling

This past Sunday we were in the mood for something a little bit different. We decided to drive an hour and a half away to a city just outside of Leeds and attend an Abundant Life Church. This church has it going on! They are so with contemporary society and culture here, and so with the times... yet sadly they're an anomaly amongst churches in England. Hey, but I'm praising the Lord they exist in this country and I only hope the Vineyard continues to pursue cultural relativity, as well as our new church plant. Martin Smith, the lead guy in the Christian band Delirious, was there and he played a worship song for us, "Lord, You have my heart." It was the first worship song he ever wrote, and he said he sings it every day still. It's the prayer of his heart. It was touching to have him play it for us, and to be able to meditate to it as he played. It was my first time even seeing Martin (we're already on a first-name basis), so I was excited. The pastor had a great sermon as well. The topic was 'Identity.' Where do we find our identity? In our career? Our money? Our looks? Our friends? Our family? I had been struggling with an identity crises for a while, so the sermon struck chords in my heart. Though knowing my identity should be in Christ, as His child, etc etc, I slipped into finding my identity in my job and my friends and my education. Then England came, with no job, no friends, and no education. Who am I??? I asked. He told the old story of The Ugly Duckling, how the little 'duck' found his identity in his nest, but couldn't reconcile his differences with the other ducks, and so decided that he must not be very good. You all know the story... he was actually a swan! It was only when he was drawn into the still water to follow some unforseen force drawing him to some beautiful creatures that he was able to see his reflection, to see himself for who he truly was. The pastor said we're all drawn to others that are like ourselves... spiritually, and it's important that we find them. He said even as Christians, we're not all going to be alike (which we all know but it's nice to hear it from a pastor). We need to find and worship with our soul-mates, basically.

I was encouraged on the identity side of things. My job slinging espresso and nervously awaiting substitute/supply teaching calls in the morning does not define who I am. I am an instrument of the most high God! I was also somewhat discouraged though... I've known all along the importance of Christian community. I've longed for it especially since I've been to England... so has Mark. The pastor confirmed our need to be around other Christians like ourselves, yet we ask, "Where are they?" We continue to hope and pray we will connect with people in the church plant. In the end however, this world is not our nest, it is not our home. Our home is in heaven and there reside our soul-mates who have gone before us. We will one day be with our true family. That's something to be excited about! It's a reason for me to hold my head up.

-Rachel

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pseudo-carpenter

Rachel is worried that I will stop using this as a creative output if she starts using it too. I recognize that it is good for us to have some separate things but I figure that I share my life with her so sharing my blog shouldn't be that difficult. We had a nice weekend. Saturday we both worked but I was finished much earlier than Rachel so I installed a set of shelves that I modified to fit in the closet at work that I've been meaning to do for the last week or so. Yesterday we went to Abundant Life in Bradford for church. Martin Smith from delerious was there and it was a great service, it really felt like home.
I really love working with my hands. If I had been a cabinet maker I would have been fine with that too. I'm planning on one day building a dinning room set for us. My old pastor Greg built one with a skil saw, a jigsaw and a drill. It was really impressive. I like his idea and I've already got the picture in my head of how I'd like it to look. I built the bed that Rach and I have now, I'm sure I could do a table. Like all things, it would require a few tools that I don't have but I'm sure that I could arrange it. I'm going to wait until we are back in North America so that we don't have to try and ship it when we eventually move back.
I've been dreaming of the Okanagan again recently. I'm sure that I have rose-tinted memories of the place due to the fact that I worked there at camp for so long. Recently I saw a picture on a blog of my sisters friend andrew of his dock that goes out onto Lake Okanagan and it made me jealous but content to know that I had my time there too and someday I may return.