wonderful weekend.

Canandian Fact of the Day- There are all kinds of crazy chips here, including "all-dressed chips" which are basically every kind of chip flavor mixed together, also ketchup chips!

So yesterday we were in the Canada Day parade. Our Kids Club float won first place! Probably a combination of the amazing hand painted signs we made and the fact that the had Olive the octopus leading the float. And maybe the cute kids in luau gear. We handed out water to the people watching the parade and they went crazy for it! All that candy not only gave the children a sugar rush, but also obviously dried out their mouths, because they were storming the the truck bed with the bottles in the back. Late that night we went to Gallatly Beach and watched fireworks with some of the kids, it was so fun!

In spirit of Canada Day, Sarah, Robin, Jamie, Eden and I got stick on Canada tatooes for our faces. They were really cute until I tried to get mine off. Jamie and I both ended up rubbing raw spots on our faces because the tats did not want to come off. We came to church with little red spots.

Today we jumped off the Ferry Docs with Eden. They were probably about 15 feet high, and very scary. When it was my turn to go, I decided to just jump instead of thinking about it too much, which turned out to be a mistake, because I totally belly-flopped. It was very painful, and there were so many people watching because it was really hot today, so I thoroughly embarassed myself. I'm pretty sure I'm also going to have a huge bruise on my leg. It was worth it though, just to say I've done it. Also we got some pretty funny video of it.

Now we are all just hanging out, spending some quality time, one of my favorite things.

one day till canada day!

Canadian Fact of the Day- When Canadians talk about car decals, they pronounce them "deckles" like freckles or speckles. They think it's crazy we say de-cal.



The last two days we've been preparing for our float in the Canada Day parade on Saturday. Eden and I have been working very hard on a paper mache octopus. This is a big deal for Eden because she is afraid of octopi, but we made ours very friendly looking.

Yesterday we cleaned off all the sound chords they use on Sunday mornings. They were covered with movie theater gunk. It was actually really fun for some reason and I can't really explain why. The Lysol wipees were nasty gray colored.

On Sunday Robin and I get to run the pre-school ministry, which will be so fun!

Rebars and Canned Mushrooms.

Random Canadian Fact of the Day- Canadians don't have have bills smaller than a five. Instead they have $1 and $2 coins, and they are called loonies and toonies. It's a nice surprise thinking you have no money and then looking in your change pouch and finding $5 worth of coins.

Yesterday was "We are Men" day. Basically we helped out the youth pastor, Joey, with some landscaping around the centre. It was very hard but very empowering. We had to pull up grass because we were building a little wall thingy around the garden island. After we pulled up the grass, we laid down huge beams of wood, and drove rebars as long as my arm into them so they would stay in the ground. So we got to use this huge hammer and pound on these metal bars with all our might. The first few times Joey would start them off for us and we would finish them, but after awhile we just did the whole thing by ourselves and ALL of us drove a couple of them in the ground, which we were very proud of. Now we get to see our handiwork every time we go to the centre (which is a lot). That night Joey and his wife, Maura, made us dinner. We had steak and potatoes to cap off being men for a day, because men love red meat.

Today we bleached a bunch of children's toys so that their germs from their grubby little hands won't spread to all their friends. It was fun because we got to put together all the puzzles after we finished and watch VeggieTales.

Tonight Robin, Sarah, Eden and I volunteered at the food bank. It was very fast-paced because people would write down their order and then we would box it all for them. Their would be a person at the front yelling different things from the order like "dry cereal!" or "eggs!(which were said "aygs!")." Each of us had our own section we were in charge of, and all you had to do was pass whatever was yelled at you. The problem was, that I had canned vegetables. The scary lady yelling at us (at the time, it was Eden's old baby-sitter, Vivien) screamed "nibblets!" Nibblets? What are nibblets? Luckily, Eden was standing next to me, and she grabbed the right can for me. What are nibblets you ask? Canned Corn. Who would've known? Well, I surely do now. Also in my section were wax beans. I have no idea what kind of plant they come from but it sounds gross.

That's about it. The Canada Day parade is Saturday, and we get to be in it! The church has a float for Kid's Club. I can't wait.

Love!

Womanly Pride.

Canadian Fact of the Day- Cash registers are called "tills." No explaination, I really have no idea why.

Today we re-organized the whole kitchen at the Potter's House Centre. I somehow got the cabinet with all the snow-cone equipment, which was disgusting. Sticky, sugary, cherry nastiness was coming out of a gallon container that was pasted to the bottom of the cabinet. It took awhile to get off, but it was very satisfying work because it looked so different when it was clean.

Also today was awesome because I got dropped off at the nut farm (which is where the picture is) and I just wandered around until I found a place I liked and read my Bible, journaled, and listened to music. It was so great, because even though I love my fellow interns, I NEED alone time. We all did actually, so we all just took about an hour and a half and chilled. It was really relaxing and beautiful.

We went to a doggy birthday yesterday. Scooby turned 2, and Cindy throws the best parties. We had doggy cake and human cake. Luckily Spencer didn't eat too much sugar again, because last time Cindy made him go out in the yard and pick 15 weeds so he would calm down.

This week we're going to be working a lot at the centre and making a float for Canada Day which is NEXT WEEK. I've never been apart of any kind of Canada Day festivities, but I love Fourth of July, so surely this will have similar elements.

Right now we're watching White Chicks. "Yo hold my poodle dawg!" baha. Love it.

Love Westside.

Random Canadian Fact of the Day- They have these grocery stores that you can buy things in bulk, but they aren't like a Sam's Club or Cosco's, they just have these random aisles that have huge plastic containers that pour out things like flour, cereal, and even CANDY. I was absolutely fascinated by them.

So today we got to go around to businesses and hand out plants. It turned out to be a lot of fun, number one because everyone really likes pretty flowers (even McDonalds, we called that one "beauty among the grease"), and number two because Eden and I listened to Spice Girls and counted how many different boys Taylor Swift sings about. Who knew a 16 year old could have so many interesting love stories? Also, Sarah and Robin got to go to the Mary Jane headquarters to give them a geranium. If you are wondering if that is what it sounds like, you are most likely right. :) The rest of the day we hung out with Jamie and Eden just watching tv, even though Eden asked us about every 2 minutes if we could stop watching Zenon and go play somewhere. That never happened.

I made some new friends last night. They made up a charming nickname for me- "Morganne-toot." Being that they were six years old, Spencer and Taylor were obsessed with bodily functions and decided to tell everyone at dinner that I had farted. This was not true, however the fact that it wasn't made it even more fun for them to tell everyone. Baha. We were also going to go play on the playground but we didn't have time.

I found an awesome place to do my quiet time. It's the back porch of the house we are staying in and it has this incredible view of mountains and the lake.

Well, that's about all for now. Oh, but if you want to send me something, just keep in mind that it takes about 2 weeks to get here. :)

Pray for me and for Canada!

ps- British Columbia has the BIGGEST dandelions in the world! They are the size of baseballs.

Nutty

Today we went to the nut farm to finish up orientation. It was really beautiful and we had lots of fun talking and walking around. We also potted plants for "Love Westside" which is a sweet name. Basically all of the churches in the area are just loving on their community. We are all still so tired and not really used to the time difference, so it's pretty funny once it gets past about 7 at night, because all three of us are loopy.

Tomorrow we get to hand out plants and then hang out with our family for six weeks, the Kindrets. They have a beautiful home with an incredible view. Also there's Spencer who is almost 7, who likes to put chocolates on our pillows, and Scooby, their precious dog. Lasagna and movie night with the fam. Wonderful.

HOORAY FOR CANADA.

So today was my second day, and for the most part Canada has already been been filled with beautiful people and places. Which was a huge relief, because my trip here was just a little bit stressful. The first leg of my trip was running late, but that wasn't too bad, because while I was sitting in the airport I saw a woman in a shirt that read "You're not the boss of me, MY DOG IS." Awesome. Anyway, I finally get on the plane, and it was a good thing that I was sitting by myself, because I got all emotional as we were taking off. This came from a combination of lack of sleep, a heartwarming playlist, and the realization that six weeks really is a long time. So I prayed.
Actually, prayer was literally how I got through the day. I was really freaked out about going through customs (which ended up being a breeze), and BOTH of my first two flights were delayed. My second flight in particular made me nervous, because I was supposed to land at 4:15 and take off on my next and last leg (with Sarah) at 4:50. We sat on the runway for 45 minutes before taking off, and so thinking about it practically, I was going to miss my next flight. This, of course, stressed me out. A lot. So I prayed one of those prayers where you're like "Alright God, I don't know how you're going to do this, but I need you to fix it." And then five minutes later the pilot comes over the intercom and starts talking about headwind or some other kind of technical airplane talk, but says that because of how this wind works, we were going to get there only five minutes later than originally planned! So cool. And when we landed in Calgary I got off the plane and got to see a familiar face, which was so wonderful. Sarah and I got to sit and catch up on our days so far and vent and eat candy. The rest of the trip went smoothly, Jamie picked us up at the Kelowna airport and she and her incredible roommate Eden cooked us a tasty dinner.

Today we had orientation and got to hear the pastor and his wife (Kevin and Alicia) tell their story and how the church was started. They are so amazing and have such a heart for their community as well as the rest of Canada. Tonight we played man-hunt and I got to hang out with Eden while we marked the kids' hands. She taught me how to long board and I am awesome. baha. Not really, but I can make it go.

So anyway, if you want to mail me anything, feel free, because I love mail. Here's the address:

Morganne Lee
c/o Jamie Daughtry
3711 Salloum Road
West Bank, BC
V4T 1E5

Love!!