thank you

so there is a long overdue thank you that i need to write about. the process of being in lethbridge has been really difficult. i have had my good days and my bad, i have wanted to return and been excited to stay. all in all there have been quite the mixed emotions. through this whole process there have been three significant women who have come along beside me and encouraged, challenged and supported both scott and i and our journey. i would like to take a moment to thank them. pam. pam is much like my friend sam from the island...note that even the name is very similar. scott says i have a hard time with change. pam is very hospitable and gentle spirited. she is one of those friends who make it easy to have to tea with on your worst day. no expectations. she is so very kind and has written me many notes of encouragement and the sort. she made cookies for me to mark my one month stay here in lethbridge, this is all coming from a woman who herself only moved here a few months before me with her family and is dealing with many of the same emotions. she has brought me countless london fog's, shared her view on women's roles in the church, and has had us to her house for dinner many times. she has a print on her wall that reads "i am fairly certain that given a cape and a nice tiara, i could save the world." i love it. i love it so much that she took a picture of it and made it into a card so that i could have it in my house too. this is pam. christine. christine is the wife of jeremy who is also a youth pastor at the church, but she is not a pastors wife...she is an individual who loves the Lord and supports her husband. christine has been a great friend, as she took me under her wing as we attended the "ministry wives" meetings on monday nights, she picked me up and drove me home, she mouthed the names of the ladies i didn't know so i could pray for them. she has challenged me on what a ministry wife is and what my role looks like inside the church. christine is a strong woman, courageous in her speech and mature in her actions. i have enjoyed a few walks with her and am excited for the day her and jeremy are called with the news they are having a baby...i look forward to spending more time with her as long as we are not making invitations! she has dragged me to step and dance class and has pursued a relationship with me, something that i appreciate immensely. she kicks my butt at ddr. this is christine. jen. jen's husband is sid, who hired scott and is his boss. jen shares a very similar heart to mine. she loves the mountains and adventure. we have talked about what it could look like to have a program that would facilitate young ladies as they understand success and Christ in creation. she is more of a type A person, who is always on the move and while i was pregnant took me with her everywhere. jen is easy to get a tear from, something that is real in my life as well so i find it comforting. she is easy to talk to, easy to sit with and easy to be around. she is one of those people you can pop in on and doesn't care if she is out of her pj's yet. jen likes the conversation that involves predestination and womens roles in the church. she encouraged me to attend woman's bible study but then i found out why she went...to get a starbucks from her sister pam. she is a little crazy and worries a bit too much about things, like whether or not her hair is growing back, or if she is going to have a lung disease after being on the island...but we find this funny, especially scott. this is jen. all three of these women have been so very kind to me, and have loved me despite my complaints about the weather and the fact that there are no trees here. both christine and jen were on the trip to banff with us a few weeks ago and it was there in the comfort of their friendship that i made the decision in my heart that i would like to stay here and invest some of my time and love back into these women. thank you for being so patient with me as scott and we have struggled to our decision. we are excited about our future and the friends we are making. thank you to our friends from back "home" who have also encouraged us and prayed for us as make this choice, you are key people in our lives, people we have been blessed with and are continually blessed through.