faith is spelled: R-I-S-K

"For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead too." (James 2:26) This verse has pretty much been the theme of these past few weeks. Faith: "The substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1) For me, faith is stepping out; getting to that point where you could turn back in fear and not step out, or you step over the line that holds you in your comfort zone and feel the freedom that comes with it! I got to face this situation head on this past week. Every Friday there is an opportunity to do street evangelism, Friday Night Strikes. So this Friday, me and Jeff decided we'd go! We met everyone up at the church at 9, made ourselves into 2 teams, then headed downtown to tell people about the amazing love of Jesus! This was only my second time doing FNS, so i was a little nervous but mostly excited! When we go out and meet somebody here's an example of how it would go: "Hi, how are you doing tonight? We're going around giving people spiritual readings, would you like one?" Ok, so i'll pause here. Many people are uneasy with the word "spiritual reading", i totally understand, it took me a while to be ok with it. But now i understand that this makes it a really easy open door to tell non-Christians about Jesus! (Cause they're usually super interested in a spiritual reading) So lets say they said "Sure! What kind of spiritual reading?" we would say "We're learning to hear the voice of God, so we'll just ask Him for an encouraging word for you, or anything else He would like us to say! Feel free to tell us if it's correct or if its way off!" By now, they're either really interested or they choose to say no thanks. (either way, i would count this as a success because i stepped out and approached someone!) If they said it was alright then everyone on the team would pray and ask Jesus what He wants to say to this person. You could get it as a word, a picture in your mind, a phrase, a line of a song, anything! Something i've been learning is that you need to keep the first thing that pops into your head, because even if it seems totally insignificant to you, it could mean a lot to the person! For example, on Friday we approached 2 girls coming out of Earls; they were a little uneasy, but still intrigued none the less. So we all asked God for something and i got a little picture of a boomerang, first thought. So i asked one of the girls "Do you like to travel?" she said yes, she does. Then i asked "Do you want to go to Australia anytime soon?" (just putting together the pieces regarding the boomerang) And her and her friend started freaking out and were like "How did you KNOW?!" Apparently, during their dinner, they had been planning a trip to Australia! Coincidence? Perhaps. God?? Definitely. After that they kept saying "Give me another one!" It was such a Jesus moment! We got to bless them and reveal the treasure inside that He wanted to point out to them! Plus, in the end we got to pray for healing for one of the girl's friends baby who had a tumour! In conclusion, stepping out might seem super intimidating and frightening, but once you choose to step out God is gonna reward you!!

Until next time! 
Al. 


"Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all the demons, and to cure diseases. He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick."(Luke 9:1-2) 

birthdays, retreat, adventures- oh my!

Hello, once again! This month has been quite the crazy one! In the beginning of the month we had the True North Conference up here hosted by my church, New Life! The conference went through both mine and Jeff's birthdays! It was really sweet cause my mom got to be up here to wish me a happy 18th and go to the conference as well! Thanks to some awesome friends, my birthday party turned out awesome! A bunch of us went down to Kelly O' Brian's and had a nice late supper then we just walked around down town and had a hilarious, good time! After getting a parking ticket, climbing a mountain in the dark, and deer watching, it concluded to be a great day when i came home and (thanks to my dear sister) my room was all nice and birthday spiffy for me! For Jeff's birthday, in the evening, Jeff, myself, and our friend Dan went and did a late evening swim/zip-line into the lake then we all went back to Jeff's and watched a movie! It was an amazing couple of days! ALSO, On October 17th, my school went on a retreat! It was so great! We drove down to Gardom Lake Bible Camp (which is about an hour and a half from here) and got to spend Wednesday till Friday out enjoying each others company, God's beautiful outdoor creation, and a sauna! It was such a good time! The 17th was also mine and Jeff's "2 years" dating anniversary! Best 2 years of my life <3. Life is good! Lately however, not too much exciting has been going on! Other than lots of rain and lots of homework, nothings really been happening! The other day, though, me and Jeff took quite a little journey up a mountain to see some snow!! It was a beautiful adventure! Every time i get out into nature i just get overwhelmed by God's goodness and love! He is so good! OH! On Thursday's after school we're going to start having outreach and instead of doing supernatural street evangelism stuff (like i had previously thought) i'm going to be going with a little group of girls to a Christian high school to start a mentorship program! I'm really excited! Sadly i'll be missing it this Thursday though, because tomorrow i'm leaving to go to... LA CRETE!!! Suuuuper excited!! Jeff's sister is getting married on Saturday!! So tomorrow after school we start the long trek down to the great white north! Its going to be so neat to see some people again! It'll be like a mini taste of what my Christmas is going to be looking like!! So Good. Hopefully once i get back from this chilly trip i'll write about it all! Goodnight!

Time to drag out my parka, 
Al. 

The Past Month...

Growing Season

HAPPY OCTOBER 1ST! I really can't believe that it's already October! It feels like so much has been happening, but at the same time it feels like nothings going on. Crazy how that works out! The weather has slowly been getting more 'fall-like', but its certainly been taking a while! I love summer, but for some reason fall keeps calling my name! However, me and Jeff, in the beginning when the weather was crazy hot, would go to the beach like EVERYDAY! It was so much fun! The Krahn's (whose home i'm staying at) are so awesome! I've loved every second of getting to know these awesome people! I feel 100% like part of the family! What with going to Shea's volleyball games, and going grocery shopping and window shopping with Kristine! School has been going great so far! We only have school Tuesday-Friday from 8:30-1. I really enjoy it! Most days we learn so much that it feels like my head is going to explode from all the wisdom we're gathering!! I think, so far, my favourite class is Prophecy. It intrigues me a lot! Plus, its something i need lots of practice with, but i'm very excited for once i'm good!! Last Friday, we went out for Friday Night Strikes (which is downtown outreach), it was really intense! It was my second time ever doing outreach! It was really a neat experience! (Friday night, in downtown Kelowna. It's pretty self-explanatory.) I think for Thanksgiving me, Jeff, and possibly Tiff will be going down to Kamloops and stay with my parents Sunday to Monday! It's so bizarre to think that its October already. OH!! October 11th is MY BIRTHDAY!!! (I'm a tad bit excited!) The big "18" this year! Life goes by oh so fast. Whats really unbelievable is that Jeffry is turning 19!! Gosh, that seems so surreal to me!! Anyways, now i'm just rambling! Time for this gal to get ready for school tomorrow! 

Until i type again,
Al. 

Super, Natural British Columbia

Greetings! Once again, i apologize for being so far behind in this blogging business, but i'm afraid life has kept me quite preoccupied! 'What's new?' you may ask? Well let me tell you! SO, as you know i was in Kamloops with my mom for a week! It was great! It gave me and mom some time to hang out and just chill before school came around! It's pretty weird being here without her, thats been a pretty huge change for me! Also, Jeff bravely made the 16 hour trek up as well! So it was a really fun time just exploring Kamloops, and getting to know BC! But with fall approaching, it was time to head out! Approximately 5 days 7 hours and 4 minutes ago i came to my new home!! In Kelowna BC. The strange thing is, this place (which is amazing) just doesnt really feel like home yet! I think that because we were moving around so much and didn't really had a "solid home" for a while... nothing is really feeling like home at the moment! I'm sure that with time this will change, but it gets a girl pretty lonely and lost for the time being! However... even though it may not feel quite like "home" i've felt SO unreal welcome here! The family i'm living with has been incredible! It was such a God thing that i ended up here! In other news, TODAY WAS MY FIRST DAY OF SCHOOOOOL!! It was great! I had been pretty crazy nervous the night before, but once we got to the school and met some people it seemed so much less scary. I'm just so... curious to see what God is gonna do in both mine and Jeff's lives! But not to worry, my handy dandy blog will be much informed! Today, after we went through all of the rules and guild lines Wesley Campbell came and preached for us! It was really good! He was talking about the birth of John the Baptist from Luke 1:5-25, 67-80 and about going into the desert to get strong in the spirit. Something like that anyways, i enjoyed it! 

Oh September crisp air, how i've missed you!
Al. 

Home Sweet Home?

Hello from Kamloops BC! I finally made it! After months of people asking me "When are you moving?" or saying "You aren't gone yet??" I have officially moved away from La Crete. In the beginning, once i knew i was moving i thought to myself "its gonna be no big deal, my family will all be in BC now, i'll make new friends...etc" However, saying those goodbyes to the people i love and care about was so much harder then i had expected. But i made it! Before making my final trek out here dad, Jeff, and myself got to drive down to Edmonton to see the rest of my family in leu of my cousins wedding! It was really great! We shopped till we were absolutely sick of it (Which is a big deal, cause that doesn't happen very often!), drove around Edmonton, ate authentic Greek food (mmm!), got to dress up for the wedding, and danced like a crazy people! Overall, it was a super successful weekend! SO i'm in BC now, hanging with my mom, doing a few final  little things before school starts on the 11th. Am I nervous? Yes. Does the thought of city driving frighten me? A little. Am I excited? Like you wouldn't believe. Well, its time for me to go eat breakfast and figure out the rest of my day! Happy Tuesday!

The adventure continues...
Al.

It's a Wonderful Life

OLLO! Wow, looking back, these past couple of weeks have been crazy! I'll try to pick up where i left off! So, in case you didn't know...I've been accepted for school! So THAT is pretty dang exciting if you ask me! Praise the Lord!! What else has been going on... OH! My uncle Jake did, in fact, fly us down! Me, my dad, aunt, and cousin, got to go down for a weekend! It was so great! I finally got to see my new 'home'! Everyone had a great time. Hehe! I also surprised everyone back here by getting my bangs cut unannounced! (Thanks again mom!) Me and Tiff got to do some intense thrifting in downtown Kamloops, it was fantastic bonding time haha! Pretty soon after coming back from Kamloops we had to pack up our bags once again and relocate! We moved from the Fisher's place over to the Becker's. It was a really fun place to be! Me and Jeff made use of their hot tub one evening and brought Tyler over for a swim! He loved it! We also got to have friends over for movies and such, it was great! In more exciting news... On Sunday, pretty much a week ago now, me Jeff Lindsey Shannan and Rob all quadded down to Walls for the afternoon! It was going great! FINALLY we could all hang out together again! But things don't always go as planned... One of my friends was trying to throw a fair sized rock like a discus and it ended up flying my way. It managed to hit my shin and my foot. After a few tears, a speedy quad ride back, and a trip to the Fort hospital, it resulted in me had some very deep bruising on my left foot. Thankfully nothing was broken! I still can't quite wear a shoe yet though, its too fat still! So my last week of work here in La Crete included me hobbling around with my crutches! Haha it wasn't too bad though! So with all of that, some birthday partying, and friends swimming with all their clothes on, thats pretty much all thats been going on! Haha it's been a really fun last week! I'm gonna be so sad to say goodbye to all of these awesome people! But i know that God has some crazy amazing things planned for me over in BC! I'm so excited to see where i'll end up! And i'm so pumped to write about all that happens when i'm down there! Oh! I FORGOT! I also have a place to live in Kelowna now! It's gonna be so great! God really does answer prayers! So today is my last day in La Crete, AB. Tomorrow morning me, my dad, and Jeff head over to Edmonton for my cousins wedding! Its gonna be fun! Get some more shopping in, get to see my family, and get to attend a wedding! I love weddings! After the wedding i get to head over to my new province with my mom and Tiffany! And then i'll be there for good! (I'm probably more than likely coming back to La Crete for Christmas though! So that'll be fun!) Well, you are once again up to date with whats been going on in my life! I apologize that my posts are so far apart and such. But as you can see i've been a busy gal! 

Happy Monday!
Al. 

(p.s. here's a few pictures of my past month!)