Trip to Langley and First Club

Liz and I are very blessed that the immigration paperwork was processed as quickly as it was, thanks to Grant (regional director for Fraser Valley) and the Canadian government. My LMO (paperwork that shows I am the best fit for the job) was approved by Immigration Canada the week just before the dessert fundraiser. So, from the date that I was offered the job in August, to the day that we were accepted, it was only two and half months! Nothing compared to a Scotsman hired by Young Life that has been attempting to immigrate for a couple of years.

After hearing that Liz and I are cool enough to become Canucks, the committee chair and his wife (Jonathan and Carmen) rushed to get me to Langley for the fundraiser. The search for the cheapest possible flights began only a few days beforel I needed to depart. Airfare from Detroit to Vancouver at the lowest hovered just below $1,000-- definitely a bummer, but after some more research I was able to find flights from Detroit to Seattle that were half the cost! And luckily, Seattle is only a few hours from Langley, which meant that I could hop on a bus, enjoy a view of the Sky Needle, and arrive in Canada, saving a solid chunk of money in the process.

I was so excited that I was about to be back in Langley, hanging out with the YL kids and leaders, as well as meeting many of the donors at the fundraiser. There was one exception to my enthusiasm.. Liz was stuck in Kalamazoo working at the library. Since getting married we haven't been split up for more than a night. I was crazy busy during my trip, which kept me distracted, and if you want to hear how Liz reacted you can check out her blog post at the "His, Hers & Ours" link to the right.

After my journey from Detroit, to Phoenix, to Seattle, to Langley, I arrived at Young Life club Monday night. You know you're at club when you pull up to find teenagers chasing/attacking each other (of course mostly boys) and others hanging out in the standard cluster of friends. I was so thankful that I could start meeting the club guys and girls, and see what YL club in Langley was all about. The kids were great, immediately I was invited into a game of Ninja with the guys.

The music was incredible! Brendan, Whitney, and Connor jammed as the rest of us sang ridiculously loud and danced around the room. Man was I relieved to see that there were guys and girls who were able to help out with music because I'm not sure if I have a musical bone in my body. Singing and dancing are no problem, especially at club where every shape and form of either is perfect, but playing an instrument is something different. I couldn't even play the recorder in 4th grade all that well.

After some music, games and introductions, Darryl stood up to give a talk on an intro to faith. He reminded everyone that every day you live a life of faith, regardless of whether or not you label yourself as a Christian. People have faith that their cars are going to start in their morning, or the apple they eat for lunch will taste like an apple. He dubbed it the 'fapple' or faith-apple. Luckily I eat a 'fapple' (gala are the best) everyday, reminding me what it means to have faith. I'm looking forward to January when I can be at club every week!