GRADUATION!

It has been a great weekend of celebrating three years of hard work. I have so much to be thankful for today a supportive wife, family, parents, in-laws, and friends. As cliche as it sounds this degree would not have been possible without all of their support.

The school gave an honorary doctorate to Paul Brandt. He gave a great talk and even played a song. We celebrated afterward with a banquet for the Seminary. Again, it is so amazing how God works because he placed us at a table with people who have close ties to Kenya. One couple had lived there for 8 months while their parents make regular ministry trips to the country! God is constantly encouraging us in this journey! We had a great time at the banquet visiting with friends and faculty of Briercrest. The following day we went to church and then to a come and go for a friend and fellow grad who has been a huge encouragement to us through this year. Then to close off the night we celebrated with our own party with family at my sister's house. We had a great time together! Needless to say, today we are recovering from all the festivities and trying to get back to normal life...whatever that is!

I love this pic of Ian. This was at my sister's at the family graduation party. I was just taking some photo's of him and this one stood out!
This one was with my theology prof Dr. Guretzki and a fellow grad.Here is a pic with my youngest sister Joelle who made it out for the celebration. Thanks for coming Joelle!
With my parents as we enjoy a beautiful day outside the Hildebrand Chapel.

With Amie and baby Ian who was exhausted from such a long day of activity.

The BIG one

Just sitting here in my study carrel in the library and thought I should celebrate this momentous occasion with the blogosphere! I am finished my Ministry Related Research Project known affectionately around the campus as the MRRP which ends up being pronounced MERP .

I wrote my MRRP on the local church in mission and subtitled it "Getting out of Jerusalem without forgetting about it." I had to print a hardcopy of this paper as you see by the pic because I used my Mac to develop some charts for it. For some reason the charts wouldn't copy back into regular Microsoft Word formatting. In the end, it actually gave me a great sense of accomplishment holding that stack of papers in my hand! Three months of work! I did a pile of research interviewing mission leaders, creating an online survey for pastors in Southern Sask to fill out, and doing an extensive literature review. So happy to be done! And to top it all off I was able to use the coolest stapler hidden in the back offices of the library. It worked more like a press as I stepped on a pedal on the floor which powered the staple through my paper.

Well time to stop writing and actually go hand this thing in!

Almost Done!

Just received my textbooks in the mail for my last class which is coming up in mid-April. Then after class comes graduation! I am looking forward to my final class with Professor Culy on the book of Hebrews. I was extremely happy to have one elective left so I could finish my program off with a class that I know I will enjoy.

It's amazing to think about what has transpired over the past three years at Seminary. More than I would have ever have dreamed. Here are a few hi-lights.

1. To begin a chance to play volleyball again at a competitive level. To top off the volleyball experience a trip to CCAA Nationals which was a first for Briercrest in going through the difficult ACAC conference.

2. Also, learning in an incredible environment with great professors and fellow students has been a pleasure.

3. The opportunity to coach high school volleyball last year was a huge hi-light and finishing with a provincial bronze was very sweet.

4. Watching our two oldest kids grow from toddlers into school-aged kids. It is crazy how fast time flies. This year we are taking one to Kindergarten and the other to Pre-School.

5. Most exciting of all the addition of a new baby son who was born last August!

We have really enjoyed our Seminary experience. Without a doubt there was also some challenging times, living on a Student budget is never easy. But God has been incredibly faithful through the entire experience from providing for all our physical needs, to giving Amie the strength to care for the kids when I have been gone playing volleyball and studying, to giving me the time and clarity of mind to finish off all these courses that are required for my program. Also providing us with an incredible church family that we have come to appreciate so much.

Although, Seminary is ending and we have completed something significant. Our trust in God must continue to increase. The journey is not over. A new one is just beginning. And we know that He is faithful to His promises.