The Pages of My Life

" When I stand before God's throne, nothing hidden nothing unknown...When I kneel down that day, looking upon His holy face I will remember with trembling every single moment, every memory...He'll be staring at the pages of my life. Was my passion just to know him, did I really let it out and show him? "

Music artist's Leeland couldn't have said it better. These lyrics are from their song 'Pages'. The reality of the above lyrics have really hit me hard lately. As we bring in a new year I cant help but reflect on all that happened this last year. In the same way when we stand before God after our earthly body has died, He will look back at our life-much like people reflect on the past year at new years.

God will look at my life-the 'pages' of my life. I ask myself- was my passion to know Him? What kind of fruit did my passions grow? No matter what the answer is to that question, God will see them, those pages, and it will be too late to go back and edit or change them.

I have always loved music. It seems to speak to my soul. I can look back at times in my life and certain songs will take me back to those moments as if I was re-living them all over again. Some songs I can listen to with joy and happiness, others I cant listen to because of the raw emotion and challenges I was facing at that point in my life. I love that God has given us the ability to express ourselves through an enormous variety of arts. Knowing that He created man in His image, and seeing how man has the ability to express himself, I cant wait to be in glory with God to experience Him in a perfect state! He has so abundantly expressed himself on this earth with the amazing beauty of creation all around us...I cant even begin to grasp what it will be like in heaven!

This past year was a challenging one for sure. It was our 1st year back in Nova Scotia. I really love it here, but I found myself riddled with health struggles. After struggling for a couple months with a variety of concerns I found out that I had Mano. I also fought a nasty respitory infection at the same time. Right after that we experienced the immense loss of losing a baby. Those details will remain unwritten about at this point, but all I can say is God is sovereign and His timing is perfect... We had a pretty good summer. We celebrated 3 years of marriage in August, and in September moved into a bigger place with a back yard for our dog. I began having more health concerns in October, and after a series of blood work, ultrasounds, and a diet change I discovered that I have a sensitivity to gluten. We spent the holidays with Mitch's family and had an overall pretty relaxing season with them. Our car was totalled and we had to go through the fun process of finding a new one. As I look back on all of this I can say that God definitely and absolutely is faithful! In the midst of a trying year He has stayed a solid brick of strength in our lives. James 1:2-4 says "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." No matter what I face in this life I believe this verse to be true! I once heard someone say that without difficult times one cannot know pure joy.

So we have been in Nova Scotia for a year. As I have written before we want to go on with our schooling to serve overseas as missionaries. The question to answer is are we any closer to meeting that goal? As it would appear to us and to put it simply - no. This has been another struggle for us of late. We both really desire to go back to school. But there are several things that need to take place before that will happen, and so far many of those things have been left unchanged. We have really struggled to understand why God has not made is easier for us to get all this stuff done so we can go. I mean, after all there are unreached people groups out there that need to hear His perfect and holy word right? As true as that is, for His reasons only, He has not led us in that direction yet. Mitch and I have both reached the point that we have no choice but to take each day at a time-trusting God to lead us, praying that we will be faithful with what He has given us, and believe that when it is His time for us to go to school doors will begin to open. I can say with complete honesty, as best as we can understand, that the doors have been closed for us to go any time soon (not to say He cant and/or wont open them).

Many of our classmates have finished their training and are serving overseas right now. I love seeing all of the pictures and stories from them, hearing how God is working in amazing ways in the hearts of the people who are in remote tribes around the world! It brings such joy to my heart to see the great commission take place in such a raw manner! Both Mitch and I know that God has placed us here in Truro for a season, and we need to focus on being here 100%. As my friend Tenley recently said: "choose to bloom where you are planted"...I couldn't have said it any better my self! I desperately want this 'page' in my life to show that my passion is to truly know Him. In my weakness He is strong, by the power of the cross! I praise my Creator God that He is indeed strong when I am weak, for "I delight in weaknesses...in hardships...in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." 2 Corinthians 12:10.

~Amanda~

Some pictures of the local scenery - SUCH beauty!

My friend Brittany and I went on a walk in Victoria Park-which is just down the street from where we live. It is SO beautiful! There are several waterfalls like this one, and so many cool deeply rooted trees in the sides of the hills...what a relaxing and beautiful time it was!










These pictures were all taken out in the country a bit about a half an hour from where we live. I just love all the farm houses painted such bright colors! They have so much unique and aged characteristics to them...

A Season of Waiting...

Summer has arrived! Yet again another season has passed. Winter is over, the snow and ice have melted away. Another beautiful layer of Nova Scotia has surfaced and I am in awe of God's creative beauty! I was driving to a friends house yesterday to do some baking. She lives out in the country a bit, and I couldnt believe the things I saw as I drove. Huge fields of corn just starting out, with big red barns and grazing holstine cows in the background seeming like they have been there for as long as time itself. How amazing it was! I would have tried to capture it with a photo but our camera has recently broke, so there might not be as many picture posted for the next little bit.

(I didnt take this picture, but found it and thought it captured the local scenery very well)

With the changing of the seasons has also brought the changing of our location. We found a cute 2 bedroom apartment in town and moved in the beginning of April. We are really close to everything in town, and while we miss the beautiful half our drive into the country, its quite nice living so close to everything. Mitch has been at his new job for almost 6 months now and he is really enjoying his work. He is able to commute with quite a bit of people who live close to us, and he has made some friends with the guys he works with. We are so thankful for Gods provision through his job while I have not been able to get work.
As I titled this post a Season of Waiting I chose those words becuase that is exactly what I have been doing! Waiting, waiting, and more waiting! For my work permit that is. After some miscomunication from the Canadian Immigration Services, I submitted my work permit form at the same time as my Permanent Residence form but I mailed them to the wrong places. As a result, my work permit form was rejected and I have been waiting for my Permanent Residence form to process so I can then re-apply for my work permit. The Lord has definantly been teaching us patience in all of this, as well as constantly reminding us of His amazing love in His daily provisions for our needs. He is truly a God who cares about every detail of our lives!
What are the next few months going to bring? Well, we are planning a trip to Halifax, Nova Scotia's capital, for our 3rd wedding anniversary in August. We are also working on getting things paid off and saved up so we can go back to school. We are constantly reminding ourselves to enjoy each day, but we are also so very excited to finish schooling. We are so thankful for the time we have had here so far, and we love the relationships God is building for us here. We know that God will lead us on to that next phase in our lives after He has prepared everything perfectly for us here. His will - not ours. What a re-occuring theme that is for us in our lives!
We look forward to what the Lord has instore for us this summer, and we pray that all of you, our friends and family, will be blessed and encouraged this summer.

Take care and God bless,
Mitch & Amanda

A New Job & More Time Waiting

A quick update to say that Mitchell got a new job! He started his new job this week and so far so good. He is working at a big food warehouse packing up and shipping pallets of food to local grocery stores. The pay is good and it seems like it will be a good job for him. :)
We did get some news on my immigration as well, although it isnt as exciting. Its going to be an other couple months before I will be able to work. I was given wrong information on how to file for my work permit, so it was rejected and I will have to wait for the 1st stage processing of my permanent resident card before I can re-apply for the work permit. The Lord is definately providing for us and we are so very thankful for it. I am just trying to use this time in a productive way.
We were able to have a really nice Valentines weekend. Mitch worked that evening so we celebrated it the weekend before. We stayed at a hotel for the 1st time since our honeymoon, which was nice, and I cooked a nice meal for lunch on Valentines day before Mitch went to work.
Well that is all for now! Take care!
-The Chaplins'

Snow in Canada?

So we finally have begun to get some snow. It has been kinda a funny winter. We have had more rain than snow, which people find ironic with this being Canada and all. We took a day to go outside and play with our pug dog Sampson and to just enjoy Gods beautiful creation. Here are some pictures from our day.

And...2011 begins!

So, time has just been flying by since we arrive the end of October! Mitch has been working a lot. He was blessed with another job working at Mcdonalds. We have gotten involved in a great little church in town. Its a recent church plant and we really like the people that are attending there.
We had a great Christmas and New years. We both had colds and werent feeling great, but we had a very relaxing and nice time with our close family and friends.
I have been keeping myself busy with a handful of different things. I have been quite suprised how fast everything is going with me not working. I have been helping a Lebonease women with her English speaking a few times a week. Ive been really busy with trying to get all of my imigration paperwork in order.
I was hopeing to get it mailed in last month, but as I was going through the checkoff list, I discovered two things that I hadnt done yet that would take some time for me to do. I didnt realize I needed my medical exam and background check done before I would submit the paperwork. I thought that they would tell me when and were to get them done after I sent in my paperwork. So I did get the medical exam done, and I mailed off the the information for the background check. The results could take a while to get back though. I am going to submit my paperwork soon, and then will have to submit the background check results after I get them back. We are hoping that I will get my work permit soon so I can start working!
We will definately keep things updated as they change! Thanks so much for all your support!
Untill next time...
The Chaplins'

Our Arrival in Canada

We made it to Canada without any major problems. We almost missed our connecting flight in Detroit but made it just in time! Sampson, our dog did great with the flying. Mitch is already adjusted to being back home, and I am doing well getting used to all the new things. We have already made some great friends, and have gotten plugged into a Bible Study.

Mitch has found a part time job at a Pizza shop, and is looking for another one that will give him more hours. We have almost got all of the paperwork and documents ready to send in for my immigration stuff too. We are thankful to have been able to use Mitch's grandma's car up to this point and we just found a great little car that we will be able to get within a couple days.

I was able to carve pumpkins with Mitch's brother, sister, and her boyfriend while Mitch was at work. That was a lot of fun!

We will continue to keep things updated as things change and come about. :)

What should stay? What should go?

So we have been going through all of our things and we have decided, for the most part, what to keep.

This is a good part of the items here. 7 Totes to be precise. We have already mailed 3 filled with books and a couple blankets.

This is the luggage that we are taking on the plane with us, plus Sampson's travel Kennel. We have been getting him used to it. In fact, he sleeps in that by choice more than he does in his bigger kennel. Hopefully that way he wont be quite as stressed for the long flight.

We still have to sell our cars and our TV. And in just over 3 weeks we will be off!

So...We are moving again!

So, some changes have come about yet again. It is so wonderful to see how God is in complete control of our lives, and He uses times like these to remind us of that. As we have posted before, we were planning on moving to Canada next year. After much prayer we decided that we would attend the Canadian Missionary Training Center in Ontario and that we would spend some time in Nova Scotia first establishing some deeper relationships with people there as we raise/save the rest of our money for school.

We realized this past summer that Mitch's green card would expire this November. We originally weren't going to renew it because we were going to abandon it anyway when we move to Canada. But November just seemed too soon to leave Idaho and to move to Canada, so we were planning on just paying the $600 to renew it and then we would leave early next summer to Canada. As we began to go through the necessary paperwork needed to renew it, we realized that we had forgotten to file a form within the required time frame. Because we failed to file this form when we were suppose to, we could get fined a bunch of money (on top of the $600 for the renewal), and his renewal could get rejected anyway. So as this big item arose we decided that we would move to Canada ahead of our schedule and move the end of October! October 26th to be precise. It has been a week and a half since we found out and we have bought airline tickets, sold most of our stuff, given our notice at our jobs, and have been able to put a good amount of money in savings. From the selling of our vehicles we should be able to pay off all of our debt, and move to Canada debt free and with money in savings! The only way this is even able to happen is because God has orchestrated it all. As crazy as this all seems, it is actually going to work out for the better. It has been a great reminder of God's sovereignty and how He really is in control and knows what is best for us.


Just a Side Note...
In case any of you that arent from Canada, and are wondering where in the world Nova Scotia is...here is a picture of . It is directly east of Maine. And in case you were wondering how far of a drive that is from Idaho Falls Idaho...3,062 Miles or a 27 hour drive non-stop.



A cool thing that we were able to do recently was to meet with our church's missions comity. That was really nice to be able to lay out our next 4 years, as much as we can know it. :) They were so encouraging to us and we are so blessed to have Christ Community Church as a great support. We know that we have a wonderful family here, and as exciting it will be to move to Canada, we will miss them greatly. We already cant wait to come back and visit.

Once we arrive in Canada, Mitch should be able to find a job right away. The job market up there is good right now. We do as for your prayers that he will find a good paying job so he will be able to sponsor me into the country. They no longer allow in-laws to co-sponsor so Mitch will need to make enough money alone to sponsor me. I will have to apply for a visa as soon as we get there, then Mitch will apply for the sponsorship, and once that is approved I will be able to apply for my permanent residency card. Once I get that I can start to work!

We would greatly appreciate all of your prayers as we get closer to this big move. We still need to sell some big items - our TV, and both vehicles. We also would be appreciative for payers for Mitch to find a good paying job, and for me to keep busy with productive things as I have a few months of no work. I also would appreciate your prayers with some dental work I have coming up. I have to get a root canal this week, and then will have to get a crown done before we go. We are so thankful that we found it now while we still have dental insurance, and that I can get it fixed before we go.

When we are in Canada at first will be living with Mitch's family. They have a studio apartment we will be able to live in while we get on our feet. We also have a car to drive once we get there. It is so cool to see how God is providing everything!

Once again, we are so thankful for all of you and hope you all are doing well. Take care and have a wonderful day!
Mitch & Amanda

The downhill side of summer

So we finished up our vacation in Nova Scotia. We had such a great time there catching up with people and getting a lot of rest. We also had a great time going Tidal Bore rafting. It was raining the intire day, but we had a blast doing it! Our travels coming home went great and we soon got back into the normal routine.

Since we have returned we decided to sell our Jeep that we bought this past Januray. We realized that we could invest the money for that in better places, and we found a cheaper truck for Mitch to drive around. We are just working on now paying off the rest of our debt.

We have been praying for many months about a big decision that we have been faced with. After visiting Nova Scotia we have decided that we are going to move to Canada. We are still unsure when this will take place, but we are faithfully moving in that direction. There are many things that have factored into this decision and we are excited to see how things work out. We are trusting God to lead us in His timing.

We just had some friends from school come and stay with us while they were on their way back to Michigan to finish up their training at New Tribes. It was so great to have them here for a couple days. It was a very encouraging time and were blessed to have them with us.

I guess that would be all for now. Take care!
The Chaplins'