Colin and Tina - Livinglife

Moving from Blogger

2008-09-20T10:16:00.000-07:00

see our latest news at www.livinglife.ca

A new venture... What's in a name

2008-04-12T09:51:00.000-07:00

I have always enjoyed creating and learning how to put information on the web. My hobby is now growing! I have accepted my first professional contract... providing web services - designing websites/ pages, online training programs, web and email hosting, etc.

Now, I need a name! I am currently looking for suggestions. Please let me know yours -there will be a prize!

An Update on Tina and I:
We have been home now for 2 months. This is a major break from the pattern of our lives these last number of years. We have arrived back home soon enough to enjoy the winter. We went to Kelowna with the youth and I was able to get in some skiing. It has also been great to reconnect with family and friends before my work with Folklore gets busy with the onset of planting. Great parties in the last couple weeks as my sister MA and Tom visited - we celebrated my mom's retirement and birthday (along with all of the guests of the surprise party). Tina's sister Shannon, Kevin and their kids were here - that was another party! At work things are ramping up! Planting starts in 2 weeks and there is a lot to get organized in that time!!

Back home

2008-02-20T11:52:00.000-08:00

Back home again! Wow that was a fast trip and we are back home again. This is the first year in many that we are actually back to take in a little winter... I think that we will have to do some skiing!!
here are some photos from our last the last couple weeks in Guatemala - salsa in San Juan, retreat weekend to the lake and Tina and my quick visit to see the group out in Rio Hondo. - enjoy: http://picasaweb.google.ca/colintina/08dLastDaysWithOuttatown

Feliz Dia Del Cariño

2008-02-17T21:00:00.000-08:00

wrote this a couple days ago...

Hi all!
Our contract with CMU ended a little over a week ago and so the pace of things slowed back though have continued to work a little to put the finishing touches on the program.
Every year that we do come to Guatemala and work with CMU i am continually amazed at the amazing people that we get to know and call friends! What a privilege to collect friends from across Canada and in Guatemala! The team is currently working out in Rio Hondo working on their Habitat for Humanity project - we are building 4 houses in the community this year. Tina and I went out there this last saturday and had some time to hang with the group and to make a final hand off of info... While we were there we visited the waterfalls of the 'Rio Hondo' - an incredibly beautiful spot!! Unfortunately for me, i lost my footing and went in the drink so did my gear and my camera but amazingly after 3 days of drying it works again!.

Now that we are back in Antigua we are actually able to take it easy. We have had great times visiting our friends from here. We played a marathon set of settlers of catan with Uve and Lyn in the house that they just finished building - what a view! Tina and I had the familia Gomez-Baeza over for pizza last night. It was great to finally be able to host them - they have hosted us for so many years! We were able to borrow a car and visit Chici Barbella at the boys home - which in the last year has become a boys and girls home - God is doing great things there.

Tomorrow, is the 'dia del carino' and we are set - especially as this is some vacation time! I think this one has to go down in the books - a simple surprise for Tina in the morning; a massage for 2 in the afternoon; reservations at the Santo Domingo for dinner. Good times!

Guatemala Images

2008-01-28T09:02:00.000-08:00

Don't have time to write right now - but here are some pictures for you.

Enjoy!

Guate Again!

2008-01-09T09:03:00.000-08:00

Hard to believe that we are back in Guate again! The year has flown by.
Tina and I arrived on the 5th, got moved in and quickly went to sleep. The 22 hours of travel to get here had taken their toll. Now I am running around getting things organized for this years group of students from the Outtatown program. The group arrives Thursday night at ~9:pm. Tina will be taking more of a back seat role this year. In the fall she was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome - so we are being vigilant at managing her energy levels. Of course, Tina being Tina she is still in great spirits and sees this an opportunity to slow down - something that she has dreamed of doing for the last few years!
The set up this year is a little different - there are only 31 people coming down (as opposed to the normal ~60). Tina and i will be trying to set up as much of the semester as we can for them before we hand the reigns off to the leaders of the group at the end of Jan. After that Tina and I are going to take a couple weeks to simply hang out in this country that we love.

The week of planting !!!

2007-07-27T20:45:00.001-07:00

Hello All - Greetings from Smith AB it is 9:30pm and I am waiting for the bush kitchen truck to pull into town - they appear to have gotten lost. We are setting up our final camp of the season and there should only be about 6 more days of planting remaining. It has been a full and busy season - I have loved the challenge of the job and all the different people that I get to interact with, and areas that I get to see. In the last few weeks I have visited the outlying areas of those famous Alberta tree planting towns of Foxcreek, Whitecourt, Swan Hills, Slave Lake, Wabasca, and now Smith.
Through these last weeks Tina and I have mostly been apart which is hard. However, she was able to make it out to stay in camp with me for 1 week and I was able to get home for a couple weekends one of which was a sneak trip... I got her good and if you know Tina you know that she loves surprises. If you want the details you will have to ask her all I can say is that there was a hunt, there where daisies, and there was some great smiles.

Come and Plant!!

2007-05-11T15:42:00.000-07:00

No, seriously!! Come and plant! I know of a few foreman that want to top up their crews - so if you are interested then let me know!!

So, ya i am full into the planting world. Seriously am i just an adrenaline junky? I love work that is high paced, full of problems to be solved and making things work - being a project coordinator for Folklore is a good fit. It is my job to make sure that the planters do not see any problems and that they can simply focus on the job at hand - making money with trees -- So far so good!

Hitting the ground running

2007-04-27T22:29:00.000-07:00

We are back!!!
We hit Canadian soil just over 2 weeks ago. First, to Winnipeg where we took part in the Outtatown grad ceremonies (i gave the final challenge to the grads). What a huge transition these days are for our students - from living simply out of back packs, working with and serving people, and having made the most amazing friends to returning home to the pressures and consumerism of North America, and returning to people that expect them not to have changed - who expect them to fit back into the mold that they left...

Following grad we had an great week debriefing and having some good hang time with our staff. One of the great benefits of this job is the opportunity to collect such incredible people into our lives! I think the goodbyes at the end of that week were harder than the goodbyes with our students.

And now... now we have made our return to PG. Leaving Winnipeg 8 days ago we flew into Edmonton to catch up with family and then arrived in PG this past Sunday and hit the ground running: 10:00 arrival, 11:00 church, 2:00 lunch with parents. Monday I started my job with Folklore Contracting - I am a project coordinator with them - pulling details together to make sure that planting contracts run well.

It is good to be back. We miss the people that we worked with, but it is time to reconnect with our world here. It is good to be back, I love our home here. I love the knowledge and stories I am able to bring back to Canada. I am looking forward to sharing good coffees catching up and discussing life with our people here !

3 hours to Leave Time

2007-04-12T00:52:00.000-07:00

It is currently, 2:am here in Antigua. I've stopped to take a quick break from packing. Wow the time has flown by!!! It is hard to believe that we have been here for a little over 3 months already. This past week was our student debrief week. The students took time to share with each other what they have learned throughout the year - incredible stories / powerful time!
It was also Holy Week / 'Semana Santa'. Antigua has some of the world's largest celebrations of Easter in the world. So over this past weekend the streets were packed with the festivities. Here are some picture from Good Friday.
http://picasaweb.google.com/colintina/GoodFriday

Earlier today, all of our staff and students made it out of country... easier said than done sometimes! Hopefully, our next post will be from Winnipeg - there is the potential for some technicality problems with our passports. ..

upcoming...
Student graduation - I have to finish getting a speech together for this.
Staff debrief for a week
A quick visit to Edmonton
Then starting work in PG...

Homeward Stretch

2007-04-04T20:05:00.000-07:00

We are back in Antigua!! The rush is over and Tina and I are able to take a little down time - we are loving it. Last week we finished our second amazing race (pictures here) which was great!! Now, all of our peoples are in their final week of debrief. A week to reflect on all that they have experienced in the Outtatown experience. It is always an amazing time of sharing stories, hearing how God has worked in lives, and of good friends encouraging one another before returning to Canada.
This morning I was able to take some great downtime. I went out with my camera and filled my memory card within an hour and a half it was a beautiful morning!!
here are some of the pictures that I took:
http://picasaweb.google.com/colintina/AntiguaMorning

Upcoming, It is Easter week / Passion Week / Semana Santa and here in Antigua is a huge deal - some of the largest celebrations in the world. Christ, his suffering and execution - the passion - is taken very seriously here! We were able to house the students close to or in Antigua - actually in 2 convents - so that students would have a chance to observe these celebrations!
And, next week - we all head for Winnipeg!!! So hard to believe that our time here is almost over. We are looking forward to heading home and connecting with everyone there, but we really treasure the time that we get to spend in this place!

In the Thick of it!

2007-03-26T07:23:00.000-07:00

Unbelievable that it has been 3 weeks since our last post. The time has been full, and the pace crazy!
Three weeks ago we saw our students complete their final classes in Spanish and then we all began three more weeks of intensity. One week where we sent the students out on independent service projects - Tina and I coordinated all the details to partner with 6 different organization in Guatemala - orphanages, churches, and para-church ministries where we could send our students to make a difference.
A second week we sent the groups to work with a land tenure and food security project in the Coban area. There the students were in home stays with Mayan families. It was an unbelievable, unforgettable time for all of them! Tina and I were able to be there for a day, to meet, work beside, and eat with the people there - beautiful! Finally, the third big week is the 'travel week' where we take the students to Tikal, Poptun, and the Caribbean. Starting last year we turned this 'get on the bus / get off the bus' experience into an 'Amazing Race'. It really is amazing!!! It is great! It is a lot of work to pull together but it is so worth it as it adds so much to the students experience in the country. They have to figure out how to get from point A to point B (and do it as cheaply as possible!) and they work in teams to accomplish challenges and solve problems - all to win points to win an awesome prize (which I will have to describe at a later date!)
Tina and I are holding it together... 2 weeks ago we were burnt-out, and due to some glitches in plans we were forced to stay back in Antigua and rework some plans. In the end it was the best thing for us as we were also able to take some time to rest. Last week we were both sick... but we seem to be on the mend. Please pray for us that we will have the strength to finish everything well and strong!

Photos of last weeks Travel Week / Amazing Race

Ramping Up

2007-03-01T05:31:00.001-08:00

We just past our half way point this last weekend and it feels like the end is coming very quickly. The students only have 5 days of Spanish classes left and then we enter an explosion of activity. It feels like the calm before the storm... waiting in anticipation for roller coaster to begin.
Upcoming
This next week - final week of Spanish, retreat at Antonio's farm, many meetings as we host Paul and Deanna (our Director and administrator from Canada), a flight to Coban, and Tikal, plus organizing stuff.
The following week we send one set of our students on their independent service projects, while Tina and I join the other group heading to the Coban where we will live and work with the indigenous peoples (as amazing and intense experience), from there we will host the 'Travel Weeks'- seeing Tikal, Poptun/Ixobel, Rio Dulce, and Puerto Barrios (doing the loop with each group). Please think of us during the time ahead!
I haven't posted any of my own pictures this week but check out Dales - he is one of our site leaders and he is great at photography: Dale's Pictures

Habitat for Humanity - Completion

2007-02-23T06:05:00.000-08:00

They did it!! The staff and students pushed through 2 hard and hot weeks in the blazing sun with temperatures reaching up to 45⁰C, slinging cement, hauling rocks, and assembling rebar. And definitely, they made some new friends along the way. For many there were tears in the eyes of the Guatemalans who worked with us and the staff and students who shared times of hard work but also their hearts. It really makes me think that this is probably one of the best jobs in the world! To be a part of people coming together, meeting community needs, and seeing hearts transformed!
Pictures of our last days in the Zacapa area: picasaweb.google.com/colintina/20070223Habitat

Study, Service, and Adventure.

2007-02-08T13:32:00.000-08:00

Since last update we have had it all! This last week students have now completed half of their Spanish classes.

This last Friday was a little crazy... Tina and I went to say goodbye to a group of the boys who were going to hike Acatenago the highest volcano in the area reaching over 14,000'. Through some bizarre mix-up their tour operator had cancelled the trip on them... they were seemingly stuck in town and disappointed. But in Guatemala, todo es posible! Dario, our main transportation man here got a hold of a guide friend of his in some tiny little remote town. Then I piled the guys - 9 of them - in the back of our truck and we were off to the trail head. The road went from asphalt to paving stone to dirt and wound it's way up the mountain. The guys were able to head out for an amazing trip and I was even able to make it back to Antigua in time to join our San Juan group on their trip up Volcan de Pacaya an 8 hr excursion. Amazing views of the valley, volcanoes, the sunset, moon rise, and the river of molten rock!! We made it back to our beds with the full moon coming in our window by about 11:00 following a phenomenal day of adventure.

On Sunday the students all headed out to Rio Hondo where they are serving with Habitat for Humanity and living at Hotel Hawaii (which does not live up to it's name). What a privilege we have to make such a difference in the lives of several families. Our two weeks of work is dramatically improving the lives of 8 families!!! Never believe the lie that you cannot make a difference.

I have posted photos of our latest Pacaya climb and the first 2 days in Rio Hondo - check out the links on the right.

Spanish Classes, Cultural Studies, and Beach Adventures

2007-01-30T17:02:00.000-08:00

Things are going well here in Guatemala! Tina and I have a great staff and are loving the opportunity to invest in them.
This Weeks Pictures: http://picasaweb.google.ca/colintina/20070130
For the last couple weeks students have been in Spanish classes during the week, spending time in small group bible studies, various service projects and cultural exposure activities. The weekends have been full - with classes at a seminary in Guatemala City - CASAS (Central America Study and Service), as well as a weekend retreat for one of the groups to the black sand beach of Monterico the waves were amazing! During this time we have had the privilege of hosting Blayne and Betty Griener. Amazing people who spent the majority of their time pouring into staff and students alike.
Of course amidst all of this adventure and study there is always a little drama - a logistical glitch here and there, a dead car battery where no one in the country seems to have jumper cables (we do now!), and sprained ankle - one of our students. But all in a thing are going smooth. It is good to be here.

Upcoming - this Sunday we switch gears as everyone heads out to work with Habitat for Humanity. We will be working in the desert area of Guatemala. Please continue and to pray for safety and also for the health of our teams - especially hydration issues.

Week one

2007-01-21T19:48:00.000-08:00

Our students have now been here for a little over a week. Things are going smooth: the banking all came together, coodination of volunteer projects and cultural events is all coming together well. Blayne and Betty Greiner have joined us for this time. They are always a great encouragement to ourselves, staff, and students.
This week the students spent their days in spanish language study, and Tina and I were able to join one of the groups on their night hike up Volcan de Pacaya. It was amazing!! I think it was my 5th or maybe 6th time up and it has totally changed! The mountain has been very active of late - spewing lava. We left the trailhead at 5:pm as the sun was getting low. Up through the forest - into the alpine where the clouds were think - it was getting dark when we started crossing the new lava beds... See the movie slideshow of our trip up the mountain! Who brought the Ring??....

They are here!

2007-01-15T19:53:00.000-08:00

Last Thursday our students arrived in country. Tina and I were there to greet their smiling faces. The groups spent their first 3 days at a beautiful camp near to Antigua - time to reconnect with one another following the Christmas break. On Sunday afternoon they packed up to meet their host families. I think the ´meet the families´day is one of my favourite days in the semester - the blend of excitement, fear, joy, and general anticipation as the students wait for their names to be called to meet their Guatemalan family.
I posted some pictures at : http://picasaweb.google.com/colintina/Guate07Arrivals

Upcoming:
The students will be in spanish class over the next three weeks - with weekends going to the Guatemala city to study with ´Central American Study and Service´, a trip to the beach, and an afternoon/evening climbing Volcan de Pacaya.

Banking - an item for prayer

2007-01-08T19:29:00.000-08:00

Today was a great day... Tina made a number of connections here in Antigua for the students' sevice projects and culture day. I travelled to the city by bus for a meeting and to get our pick-up truck. I was also able to get all of things from the airport.
Tomorrow we will be off to open a bank account. Prayer is always welcome as we jump these hoops in this process!

Safe Arrivals

2007-01-07T16:46:00.000-08:00

Well we are here! And it feels ... very normal. Tina and I arrived into Guatemala city and made our way to Antigua where our apartment waited for us. Unfortunately, for the first time in all of our travels our bags did not make it with us - might have had something to do with the literally 2minute layover that we had in Dallas/Ft. Worth. Hopefully we will have everything tomorrow.
We have loved our first 2 days here as we have set up our home and had great opportunities to connect with people which has made us realize that we have a good community of people arround us here as well as back home.
I know you are all curious and i know it will make some of you envious: yes - it is beautiful here (it always is!). The sun has been shining, the flowers are in bloom and the temperature is a warm comfortable (about 25 in the day, 15 at night).

We have our phones set up so if you would like to talk to us in person call +502 5665 9455

Upcoming: Thusday our staff and students arrive (67 of them)! They will stay at camp Adulam for a couple days as a group before we farm them out to their host families this coming Sunday!

Items for Prayer: That we get our luggage ( i am a little taller than the average Guatemalan - which could make replacing my wardrobe a little difficult).
- Safe Arrival of our teams

In the Guate Zone

2007-01-01T12:59:00.000-08:00

It was great ... 2 days ago I simply woke up in the zone!! In my Guatemala mode: on fire, high energy, ready to get things done.
Tomorrow we leave Prince George for a couple days visiting in Edmonton. Friday Tina and I travel to Guatemala arriving that evening. We will spend the first few days confirming logistics, getting banking set up and meeting with our Guatemala partners. The staff and students will arrive Jan 11th.
Guatemala here we come!!

Guatemala here we come ... again

2006-11-15T17:12:00.000-08:00

The Countdown is on!
This week Tina and I are off to visit the staff and students that will be joining us in Guatemala. They are currently in their first semester of study. We will meet them down at Cultus Lake.

We will leave for Guatemala at the beginning of January and the students will be arrive a few days later.

Reflections from the Rock

2006-10-15T16:15:00.000-07:00

Time is flying far to fast. It was 3 weeks ago already that I was invited by Layne to go rock climbing in Squamish. Yes, it was amazing!!!
Now, I have not done a lot of rock climbing before - an hour in a gym here or there, or an afternoon struggling up some rock face - usually without proper footwear. This weekend blew all of my past experience away as we climbed for ~6hrs/day for three days on some of the best rock around. It was hard, it was exhausting, my fingers nearly bled, and it was so good - fun, exhilarating.
Here are a few things that I learned

It is ok to look failure in the face - 2 things could happen: 1. Good lesons and skills are learned in the trying 2. You suceed where you did not think it possible.
I am stronger / more capable than i think i am. What you think is beyond your limits is often within you limits.
So good to have a friend to push you - call you to something higher (thanks Layne!)

September Road Trip

2006-10-03T21:22:00.000-07:00

It actually began in August and it was an awesome trip. What trip isn't when you get to visit so many good friends and have such great experiences. We started with a drive to Vancouver Island where we hiked the Juan de Fuca trail for 4 days with Wes and Jodie, and Chad and Lyn. Awesome time walking the coastline - taking in the great scenery and visiting.
Following the hike we were able to connect with friends and family in Nanaimo, and Vancouver before hitting the road again.
Our final destination was Winnipeg - along the way we stopping overnight in Calgary where we caught up with my sister and in Caronport where we saw the Matthies! We made a final push to Winnipeg (and yes the Volvo did great the entire time!) where joined the Outtatown Discipleship School's leadership team for 5 days. While in Winnipeg it was so good to reconnect with returning leaders and get to know the new ones, as well as friends in the city. We had fantastic times of solid work and discussion in the board room and times of team building play outside. The time flew and then we were on the road again!
Back through Caronport, then on to Saskatoon, Camrose (Tom and MA moved there while we were in Winnipeg), and Edmonton were we connected with Kev, Shan, and the kids.
...
I think that we have decided that we have multiple homes across the country. Places where we have beautiful people / community. We love you all!

B.A.W.A.P.

2006-09-09T21:55:00.000-07:00

As I am intentionally unemployed for the next while I have been appointed to the position of president of the BAWAP society. Now there had been some discussion about whether this club is to be ‘Bumming Around With a Purpose’ or ‘…Without A Purpose’. My first edict as president, after 3 weeks of not so intense debate (though there have been many distractions to the responsibilities of the presidency’s office), is BAWAP will stand for ‘Bumming Around With A Purpose’ - purpose list to follow - your suggestions are welcome!

Our Summer – a flash summary

2006-09-09T21:49:00.000-07:00

What did we do this past summer?? Two days after returning from

Guatemala

we were back to work. Tina was at the hospital while I took a position as a project coordinator with Folklore a tree planting company in town. I loved my work – management, problem solving, planning, working with people – a good challenge. It was also intense – working long days with few days off. The few days off were usually spent on the road. Tina has really enjoyed being back at the hospital working ½ time and topping up with other shifts which has given her some great opportunity to take on some other pursuits.

So what did we do this summer?

May: A road trip to Vancouver and Victoria where – caught up with good friends in Vancouver then on to Victoria for Daryl and Colleen’s wedding!!

June was when Tina’s books arrived for a mentoring course she would take in Winnipeg – Tina’s first experiment in Graduate studies. She had an amazing time in Winnipeg studying, reconnecting with past students from the CMU’s Outtatown Program and making good connections with some of the staff from there as well! The end of the month Tina and I celebrated our tenth anniversary! The time has flown – we have lived some great adventures, pushed through challenges and we are looking forward to what God will bring next!

July – Tina went on a major road trip with her niece Amanda taking in Penticton, Kelowna, Jasper, Banff, and Edmonton. We had a weekend getaway to Green Lake to visit with the MacDonalds and Smiths. Lisa and Carson were married in PG.

At the end of the month I made a flash trip to Edmonton to take part in Jason and Kristin’s wedding in Edmonton – a huge honor to stand up for Jason – I was a very proud best man!!

At the end of the first week of August my contract with Folklore came to a close – for the first time in years I have time off to do nothing.

Back in Town

2006-06-10T12:00:00.000-07:00

We have now been back home for a little over a month and the time has simply flown by. It has been great to be back and reconnect with friends and family – though we have not been able to do as much of that as we would have liked as we have not slowed up at all. Not to worry though plans are in place to reduce the pace of life but for the time being we will go hair-straight-back reap the rewards in later. What are we doing? I have taken a ‘project coordinator’ position with Folklore Contracting a tree planting company here in PG – overseeing the activities of 2 tree planting camps. It has been great to be back in the forest industry and I loving the challenge of pulling all the logistical pieces together – I am also loving the working with a good bunch of people. Tina has been working and studying! She took off to Winnipeg for about 10 days where she took a course at the Canadian Mennonite University. She had a fantastic experience diving into the academic world once again – lots of great inspiring thoughts running through her head. She, of couse, took full advantage of her time in Winnipeg and connected with lots of great friends out there!!

A new journal spot

2006-02-09T14:56:00.000-08:00

It seems that our previous site has gone down... i'll try to bring of it over to here...