I can honestly say without a doubt that this is the craziest, life changing, and challenging year yet for me. I have gone through new first experiences, including learning a new culture firsthand. I have explored who I am further and I have pushed my boundaries. However, I really want to focus on the accomplishments that I can say were challenging to achieve.
How many people can say they have lived in another country away from home knowing that they would have to relearn how to "be" in order to fit in with the locals and acquire their respect. Honestly, I was terrified to embark on the journey to learning a new culture and pushing my own boundaries and pushing myself to see how much I could handle. I have fed monkeys, worked with children who did not know much English and I had to learn different ways of communicating with them and teaching them so that they could acquire new knowledge and grow. I was forced to unlearn a few things and be open to a whole new way of teaching. I struggled to embrace their ways at first but as soon as I put aside my own ambitions and knowledge I gained a greater appreciation for learning and for mentorship. The teachers I worked with truly taught me how to live, how to see the bigger picture and how to think on the fly. Teaching a class of 50 children is tough enough try doing it in a cramped classroom with limited resources and not knowing the language. It gives a whole new perspective on what's difficult and the teaching styles that you learn in university are definitely tested. The journey to living in Ghana and acquiring a more complex understanding of culture and what it means to live, in different contexts. I truly believe you haven't lived until you learn a new culture. There is so much to gain from being without a clue to learning how to cope and acquire the skills to embrace your new surroundings. The people I met, and the relationships I have made in Ghana alone are truly blessing from God that I thank him for giving to me this year.
Another part of my year was the relationships and learning about myself and what I want. Lately, I have realized (a little late but rather late than never) that you can never truly turn to the next chapter unless you let the previous and everything in it go and realize that you only take memories and lessons with you but that once you leave it in the past you can't ever go back to the way it was. You can't begin a new start with somebody new if you still think about the old and compare other people to what you had. Learning about who you are requires looking at the choices that you made in the past and understanding what went wrong, what went right , and how you can improve so that you don't make the same mistakes and so you can avoid going in circles. I have loved and I have lost. I have learned the hard way that distance makes love much harder than you ever think it will be. I have learned that determination in a relationship isn't always enough. You can fight to keep something alive and it could still die and its hard to accept that. People who are married understand that love or I should say the feeling of love fades and after the honeymoon phase the hard work begins. One day I will experience that for myself and see how hard that is. However, for now I can honestly say that love is only hard when you have to try so hard consistently. Loving is easy when the other person loves you in return and accepts you for who you are its not so easy when you have to love someone the way God loves us. I have learned that unconditional love and romantic love are very different and each require God. I could have saved myself so much pain and heartache if I just let God have the control and trusted him with the outpouring of my love. A new year brings new chances to get it right and love like he did and still does.
Lastly, I have to come the place of humility and I have reflected and I have seen the challenges of this year including the loss of my opa and learning what it means to mourn and go through the storms that come with that. I am grateful for all those who are in my life that have supported me and love me and have been by my side. You are all so beautiful and I am grateful for all of you! This year has had its ups and downs, its wow moments and I am sure like most of you, it has had some new realizations and new experiences. I am going into this new year with a fresh outlook on life and I am walking in with new resolutions that I will be accomplishments that I will write about next year. Happy New Year Everyone! Let's make this a year that we can look back on and say I accomplished what I set out to do!
Monday, December 31, 2012
Sunday, September 2, 2012
Leaps of Faith: Ghana here I come!
Hey everyone,
I apologize for the tardiness of this post. Life has been so busy and I have been working diligently, and contemplating life daily so that I could write this post. The title of this post is to describe the past few months of my crazy, beautiful and unpredictable life. I have gone through quite the "pruning" process. I say this as a metaphor as if I was an apple tree and the dead branches or branches that were not needed were being cut and pruned until I was ready to bear fruit. These past months have been trying for I have been tested and I have undergo a gradual transformation.
Here is an update:
For the past few months I have been praying about an incredible opportunity: Being an ambassador for Brock University and Canada in Ghana, West Africa for 3 months (well 83 days to be exact) through the Global Transitions Program. I was offered the opportunity back in march and I had to decide whether or not I was going to apply. After further contemplation, I decided to take the risk and I applied. Surprise to me, I actually was accepted! Out of all the students at Brock University I was chosen to be one of the 11 people to be accepted. It was quite humbling to know that I passed the interview, and the tiring application process and to find that the leaders of the program thought I was ready and the right person for the program. I never imagined such an opportunity to be dropped in my lap and all I had to do was accept and apply. But of course, hesitation set in especially once I saw the cost! It was not going to be easy to accumulate the funds, find a summer job, prepare for the trip and do all of this while battling depression. But when God says all things are possible through Him (Christ Jesus) in me, he wasn't lying. I had to first pray about it and when I felt peace I then told people about the opportunity I had been given. Some people were excited for me and some were not. I realized pretty quickly after no luck at job searching in St. Catharines, that it wasn't going to be easy to accumulate the 2000 dollars I needed to pay the final payment of the program fee. But when God makes a way he makes a way!
Short story: My dad knew my lack of success in acquiring a job in St. Catharines. So while searching on kijiji for computer parts (his hobby), he decided to check job listings for my brother and I. To his surprise and mine, he found a job add that we both knew was a God given opportunity: To do laundry at a special needs camp in Parry Sound. Remember: God always has a plan. And the doors he often opens are usually not ones we were expecting. Sure enough I applied and got the job a few days after. So off to camp I went two weeks after.
Now understand doing laundry was not what I had in mind for my summer, however I was grateful to get the exact amount I needed when I finished my contract so I continued working diligently. I was even blessed with a christian laundry partner for my first month. I got to mentor some kids in the evening too and make some great relationships. I struggled being away from my Christian support for so long, and I felt so tempted due to all the temptations that existed being a non-christian camp and all. I made mistakes and found grace. However, little did I know it would just get harder. Sure enough after a month of exhaustion but of great times with my laundry partner, she decided to quit. All of a sudden I was without my partner and friend stuck with a ton of work to do. She was my only support and I was losing her. Looking back, I believe that God turned an awful situation and taught me how to trust him.
All I could do was go to him. I felt alone, hurt, rejected, and just cast aside. Everyone treated me different when my laundry partner left. They treated me as an outsider and it was because I never left the laundry room due to the pile of laundry I was left with daily to do by myself. I didn't understand but I knew somehow that God had a plan I just didn't know what he was up to. Sure enough a new laundry attendant was hired and she was nothing like the previous one, especially since she was an atheist. God has a sense of humour, because she and I couldn't be anymore different. She loved heavy metal I was a worship leader who enjoyed some acoustic, country, pop and rock and obviously God-centered music. So to make the best of it, I prayed for her on my own time and risked getting hurt and rejected and I shared my life and testimony with her. It brought us closer and all of a sudden we were listening to christian music together. I truly believe seeds were sown that will one day be harvested.
During the last month, I decided to join a bible group with a few of the christian counselors that God had divinely placed there. We all grew stronger in the Lord and suddenly we all craved more and more of his spirit and his presence in our daily lives. Temptation still existed and I still made mistakes, but I was loved and constantly reminded of it and I was set free from condemnation all because of his grace. So I was able to press on and finish the two months despite what the enemy threw at me. And boy did they try to hurt, wound, and destroy my faith and me. Praise God I was victorious and the Lord and I just grew closer and the enemy lost the battle. It was a leap of faith from the start and I am glad I decided to go to the camp and trust God because I learned so much and became so much stronger.
When I returned home, I was anxiously awaiting the two week countdown for Ghana. I had gone to an orientation during my days off from camp and I got to meet all the people I would be going with and I got to find out what I was to expect within the upcoming weeks. So of course, I researched Ghana in my free time at camp and tried to prep as best as I could. However, there was still so much to do as I was awaiting the departure date. A few of them being: vaccinations, acquiring a visa, getting anti-malaria meds, shopping, and of course packing. I also visited with people and catch up with friends and family which was more fun than my errands but still required my time and energy. I enjoyed catching up with people but it was bittersweet because I was reminded that I will be away from all of them for 3 months. It made me sad and anxious. But I remembered the Lord will have placed people there in Ghana for me to build relationships with and skype is always good to use to keep in touch. Sometimes I love technology!
Honestly, this is my longest trip out of the country so far and that can be a little intimidating. I got nerves but I also have excitement so it balances out. I leave for Ghana in 10 days (September 12th 2012) and I will not return till December 3rd 2012. This is my leap of faith this year. I am leaving everything I have ever known to go live in and experience another culture which is very different from my own. I will be without the comforts of my home, with people I don't really know and even strangers. I will encounter dangers I am sure. I will encounter beauty and lots of beautiful people and places. It will be an adventure start to finish!
Please pray for me that I will be safe, healthy, and bold so that I can be a light and share Jesus through my actions and behaviour. Thank you to all of you who have been a part of my journey thus far and I thank you for those who have encouraged me in this season of my life. I will be posting updates through Facebook and Tumblr. Here is The link: http://obruniwithinghana.tumblr.com
Now you can share alongside me in my journey and learn more about Ghanaian culture.
With love,
Chantal
I apologize for the tardiness of this post. Life has been so busy and I have been working diligently, and contemplating life daily so that I could write this post. The title of this post is to describe the past few months of my crazy, beautiful and unpredictable life. I have gone through quite the "pruning" process. I say this as a metaphor as if I was an apple tree and the dead branches or branches that were not needed were being cut and pruned until I was ready to bear fruit. These past months have been trying for I have been tested and I have undergo a gradual transformation.
Here is an update:
For the past few months I have been praying about an incredible opportunity: Being an ambassador for Brock University and Canada in Ghana, West Africa for 3 months (well 83 days to be exact) through the Global Transitions Program. I was offered the opportunity back in march and I had to decide whether or not I was going to apply. After further contemplation, I decided to take the risk and I applied. Surprise to me, I actually was accepted! Out of all the students at Brock University I was chosen to be one of the 11 people to be accepted. It was quite humbling to know that I passed the interview, and the tiring application process and to find that the leaders of the program thought I was ready and the right person for the program. I never imagined such an opportunity to be dropped in my lap and all I had to do was accept and apply. But of course, hesitation set in especially once I saw the cost! It was not going to be easy to accumulate the funds, find a summer job, prepare for the trip and do all of this while battling depression. But when God says all things are possible through Him (Christ Jesus) in me, he wasn't lying. I had to first pray about it and when I felt peace I then told people about the opportunity I had been given. Some people were excited for me and some were not. I realized pretty quickly after no luck at job searching in St. Catharines, that it wasn't going to be easy to accumulate the 2000 dollars I needed to pay the final payment of the program fee. But when God makes a way he makes a way!
Short story: My dad knew my lack of success in acquiring a job in St. Catharines. So while searching on kijiji for computer parts (his hobby), he decided to check job listings for my brother and I. To his surprise and mine, he found a job add that we both knew was a God given opportunity: To do laundry at a special needs camp in Parry Sound. Remember: God always has a plan. And the doors he often opens are usually not ones we were expecting. Sure enough I applied and got the job a few days after. So off to camp I went two weeks after.
Now understand doing laundry was not what I had in mind for my summer, however I was grateful to get the exact amount I needed when I finished my contract so I continued working diligently. I was even blessed with a christian laundry partner for my first month. I got to mentor some kids in the evening too and make some great relationships. I struggled being away from my Christian support for so long, and I felt so tempted due to all the temptations that existed being a non-christian camp and all. I made mistakes and found grace. However, little did I know it would just get harder. Sure enough after a month of exhaustion but of great times with my laundry partner, she decided to quit. All of a sudden I was without my partner and friend stuck with a ton of work to do. She was my only support and I was losing her. Looking back, I believe that God turned an awful situation and taught me how to trust him.
All I could do was go to him. I felt alone, hurt, rejected, and just cast aside. Everyone treated me different when my laundry partner left. They treated me as an outsider and it was because I never left the laundry room due to the pile of laundry I was left with daily to do by myself. I didn't understand but I knew somehow that God had a plan I just didn't know what he was up to. Sure enough a new laundry attendant was hired and she was nothing like the previous one, especially since she was an atheist. God has a sense of humour, because she and I couldn't be anymore different. She loved heavy metal I was a worship leader who enjoyed some acoustic, country, pop and rock and obviously God-centered music. So to make the best of it, I prayed for her on my own time and risked getting hurt and rejected and I shared my life and testimony with her. It brought us closer and all of a sudden we were listening to christian music together. I truly believe seeds were sown that will one day be harvested.
During the last month, I decided to join a bible group with a few of the christian counselors that God had divinely placed there. We all grew stronger in the Lord and suddenly we all craved more and more of his spirit and his presence in our daily lives. Temptation still existed and I still made mistakes, but I was loved and constantly reminded of it and I was set free from condemnation all because of his grace. So I was able to press on and finish the two months despite what the enemy threw at me. And boy did they try to hurt, wound, and destroy my faith and me. Praise God I was victorious and the Lord and I just grew closer and the enemy lost the battle. It was a leap of faith from the start and I am glad I decided to go to the camp and trust God because I learned so much and became so much stronger.
When I returned home, I was anxiously awaiting the two week countdown for Ghana. I had gone to an orientation during my days off from camp and I got to meet all the people I would be going with and I got to find out what I was to expect within the upcoming weeks. So of course, I researched Ghana in my free time at camp and tried to prep as best as I could. However, there was still so much to do as I was awaiting the departure date. A few of them being: vaccinations, acquiring a visa, getting anti-malaria meds, shopping, and of course packing. I also visited with people and catch up with friends and family which was more fun than my errands but still required my time and energy. I enjoyed catching up with people but it was bittersweet because I was reminded that I will be away from all of them for 3 months. It made me sad and anxious. But I remembered the Lord will have placed people there in Ghana for me to build relationships with and skype is always good to use to keep in touch. Sometimes I love technology!
Honestly, this is my longest trip out of the country so far and that can be a little intimidating. I got nerves but I also have excitement so it balances out. I leave for Ghana in 10 days (September 12th 2012) and I will not return till December 3rd 2012. This is my leap of faith this year. I am leaving everything I have ever known to go live in and experience another culture which is very different from my own. I will be without the comforts of my home, with people I don't really know and even strangers. I will encounter dangers I am sure. I will encounter beauty and lots of beautiful people and places. It will be an adventure start to finish!
Please pray for me that I will be safe, healthy, and bold so that I can be a light and share Jesus through my actions and behaviour. Thank you to all of you who have been a part of my journey thus far and I thank you for those who have encouraged me in this season of my life. I will be posting updates through Facebook and Tumblr. Here is The link: http://obruniwithinghana.tumblr.com
Now you can share alongside me in my journey and learn more about Ghanaian culture.
With love,
Chantal
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Falling Deeper for Someone: What a Process!
The butterflies, laughter, and sweet utterances are great and all, but I am realizing that falling in love is much more enjoyable and worth it when two people change to be better people for the other and for themselves. How amazing it is when people love you as you are, but also encourage you to be the best you can be and live up to your amazing potential. Romance and writing hearts and saying " I Love You," and all the little things that go with falling in love is sweet and it definitely doesn't hurt, but there is so much more to love than what the media shows us and so much more than just the physical love that many desire and is often selfish (ecstasy not purity). There is sacrifice, understanding, forgiveness, acceptance and most of all there is a commitment to be there for each other or give space when they need it; to be the other person's half , recognizing of course that God completes us. It is combining your interests with someone else's. It is learning to be patient and letting love be spoken in action than through words alone. There is so much to love, that I get the privilege to learn how to give love, and to be able to spend my entire lifetime knowing my Heavenly father's love for me, but also the love from my future husband and one day, from my children.
It is a process to love someone. I used to think it was just something that happens over time that is magical though painful at times. I used to see love as a concept that couldn't be explained as if it was an extreme emotion that had many different facial expressions. As I mature and truly learn who I am, I see that love is everything that 1 Corinthians 13 says it is. From the Message, I was reading it and I couldn't help but want to share it with all who read this:
The Way of Love
1 If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don't love, I'm nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate. 2If I speak God's Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, "Jump," and it jumps, but I don't love, I'm nothing. 3-7If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don't love, I've gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I'm bankrupt without love.
Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn't want what it doesn't have.
Love doesn't strut,
Doesn't have a swelled head,
Doesn't force itself on others,
Isn't always "me first,"
Doesn't fly off the handle,
Doesn't keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn't revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.
Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn't want what it doesn't have.
Love doesn't strut,
Doesn't have a swelled head,
Doesn't force itself on others,
Isn't always "me first,"
Doesn't fly off the handle,
Doesn't keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn't revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.
WOW! I am glad I have a lifetime to experience this love and learn how to love like this myself. What and incredible God we have who gives us this love already unconditionally.
I am going to strive to love like this. I know I won't be able to even grasp half of this scripture until I am much wiser and older but I will STRIVE to live out this love in my family, my relationship, and in relationships I have now and the ones I will have in the future.
I encourage all of you to love like this and ask God to help you love like he does.
This love is difficult to give but not impossible. It is a process but one that God will take each one of us through.
Monday, March 19, 2012
Serenity
 |
| Sky after sunset at Municipal Beach There is nothing like the calm after the storm, or the waves after the tide has been washed back. There is a stillness after a sunset that makes you reflect on all the memories of the day preparing for the night to fall and cover you with a glimmer of light from only the stars above. I love the ripples that reflect the shades of light that mirror the fallen rays of sun. The seagulls squawk, the birds sing their final song for the day, the mosquitoes come out to play and there is nothing like the watercolour painting spread within the skyline. I cannot imagine waking up to the morning’s version of this beautiful setting everyday. It would be a dream of mine. Serenity, something that calls upon each of us in its smallest voice to bring us back to our equilibrium where everything is right and as it should be. The crave of activity, connection and a chance to live out life’s greatest moments is paused. The silence of the noise in life is minimal and the still small voice of our lover calls to us. His breath of song is sung by the songbird in its quiet melody, his voice as the swish of the waves soft but heard nonetheless. |
It beckons our soul to be at peace, to rest in the serenity of his presence that surrounds and engulfs us.
Do we take the time to let our souls be engulfed in the love and depth of his peace and let him romance us?
Serenity is short lived, taken for granted as if only taking it in for a moment before life picks up again in its hectic state. I for one have never appreciated the serenity in all of its glory. If only for a moment I could I let my mind be an abyss of nothing and focus on the thoughts the heart and spirit that I often shut out due to the other voices drawing my attention away.
Often brief and fleeting it is, so it must be cherished and appreciated as a time for thought, reflection, and gratitude. It allows us to be optimistic and live the rest of the day out in purpose and with an attitude of resting in Jesus. How beautiful it is to surrender in the God given serenity and allow our hearts to be filled with the peace and joy than comes from him. How amazing is our God!
Thursday, February 16, 2012
New Year: New Part of the Journey
It has been a while since I have written anything, that is mostly because I have been so busy trying to figure out things in my life. School this semester has caused me to ask questions I have never asked before such as " What is the purpose of this degree I am working hard towards?" I have wondered " Where exactly am I wishing to go after my education?" These are questions that every undergraduate asks, however, just recently they have become all I can think about.
I remember when all that was important to me was to love and worship God, be liked, to learn how to sing, and to know how to make my mom's homemade spaghetti, and now it seems like I am entering a whole new realm of responsibility and inquiry. One that I cannot say I am excited to enter into.
Just last year, I decided that I would start trying new things, opening my mind to new ideas and possibilities making the most of each day. I realize with new possibilities come new choices to make. Some easier than others.
By March I have to know if I am going to do the honours program, graduate a year early or do an exchange program for a year. Too many other options exist that would exhaust my brain so these are the ones I have it narrowed down to. Who knows maybe I could go to another province and do a year there. The world is full of possibilities. Question that plagues my mind is how do we know which possibility to take hold of and run with?
Any thoughts?
I remember when all that was important to me was to love and worship God, be liked, to learn how to sing, and to know how to make my mom's homemade spaghetti, and now it seems like I am entering a whole new realm of responsibility and inquiry. One that I cannot say I am excited to enter into.
Just last year, I decided that I would start trying new things, opening my mind to new ideas and possibilities making the most of each day. I realize with new possibilities come new choices to make. Some easier than others.
By March I have to know if I am going to do the honours program, graduate a year early or do an exchange program for a year. Too many other options exist that would exhaust my brain so these are the ones I have it narrowed down to. Who knows maybe I could go to another province and do a year there. The world is full of possibilities. Question that plagues my mind is how do we know which possibility to take hold of and run with?
Any thoughts?
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