Home?

So we're in Steinbach, MB Canada...not sure how excited we are about that but we're here.  Trying to get settled into our small basement suite and getting jobs to fund our addictions (mostly clothes, skateboards and gas).  

Just wanted to update all of  you for now.  It's super late right now and we're doing more moving tomorrow...kind of seems like an on-going thing but the rest of our family is coming at the end of the week and we have to move out of the 'rents house.  

Please pray for us as we are trying to adjust to town life and trying not to forget our callings even in a place where we may not want to be sometimes.  (sorry, don't be offended all those that live close to us now)

More video

So we're cramming, quite literally, our things into our bags that we brought with us.  Unfortunately, we don't have enough room and have to now go shopping for a, hopefully, cheap luggage bag that will hold 50 lbs worth of junk - that we of course, treasure.  Right now we have 2 bags each but the one was my carry-on on the way here so its smaller and only holds about 30 lbs...we really need the extra 20 lbs of space.

Anyways, a bit of frustration has set in - we of course would love to shop more and take more things home and are finding it hard to even fit things for other people, in our bags...gosh, why is there such a fee for extra bags at the airport...

So yeah, that's what we are busy doing...on a better note, yesterday, I worked and earned some cash cleaning hotel rooms after renovation.  I'm hoping that they'll call me up for one more day before we leave because its a pretty good wage even if the work is super monotonous.  I'm thinking that this will pay for some extra things that we want to bring home and possibly for a new luggage bag...gosh, they're expensive.

So, we're coming home on the 30th --- in just a few days - I think our flight gets in at 12:09 on United 6755...if anyone wants to surprise us!!!

A day in the life of Austin Stephens

This has nothing to do with us, besides the fact that i just like it and one of my favorite skaters so enjoy!

Oh old things...they never kick the bucket...

So something strange.  Dustin's family came a couple weeks ago, we went to the beach and came home, emptied the bag and left his ipod in there - later, shaking it out over the railing and allowing the ipod to fall two floors.  Well, we brought it inside - Dustin's baby before we got the computer and his camera, and we tried to turn it on.  That didn't work so I plugged it into the computer...still didn't go on.  Dustin tried to reset it, that didn't work ... the ipod mini had had its day.

So we thought.

Well, the other day, I was thinking, I should use that new program of retrieving your tunes from your ipod and putting them on the new computer.  (Since our music was lost before we left for HI)  Anyways, I hooked mine up and it worked so well.  I thought, hmm, I should just try Dustin's - maybe it'll randomly start up again.  I started by pressing a whole bunch of buttons together - I mean, it was dead like the last minutes of "old yeller" dead.  Nothing happened.

Then all the sudden the battery light came on...it shows a battery on the screen and usually moves a dial across showing its charging but it wasn't moving.  I thought, hey, at least its showing something on the screen.  I pressed two buttons, it turned off.  I was like, what the heck - this old thing has like 20 lives.  So I plugged it into our external speaker - all the sudden it shows the apple...then it boots up to the main screen...I am like, God, you're crazy!

So it works!

I immediately took the music off of it and on to our computer - in case, it goes into a comatose state again...so strange though.  God was saving us some money and when we least expected it.

June 2...wishing it was June 25

Today started kind of reckless - I mean, that's how I felt.  I wasn't prepared for my class because things came up in worship that changed all plans I did have.  That continued throughout the day and I tried to keep a grip on it.  I got together what I could and it just kept falling apart - nothing was getting done and the day just seemed like a waste.  Then we went to be 'sent-off' by the staff in our staff meeting and that was encouraging.  (We actually met a couple that is working in France and their main goal is getting people down in morocco and other north african countries, which is great)  Anyways, after the meeting I was told that the rest of our week would be all fun and no studying - our test would be cancelled, I would have only 1 more hour this week to teach officially and I had to then drive a 15-passenger van around the island for 2 days.  Yeah, not that exciting, at least for me and my day.  Well, I cried a bit - I'm just a bit done....I don't want to quit but it feels like the work that I want to do, I can't and what I do do isn't worth much.  (This is mostly due to the leadership this quarter.)  So I got up and printed out one thing I really wanted to complete - on a working printer.  I got a bit more energy because of this and then spent some time by myself - who knew that singing with music bring so much relief.

So the day has ended well.  I got some new fonts for a little design I'm getting done, hopefully, and I'm more excited about it then I originally was.  So maybe this is a lesson - God brings a rainbow after the storm....ha...or maybe something not as harsh.  But thank you God...