I have arrived in Abbotsford!

*Gigantic Post Alert* Make sure you’ve got some substantial time on your hands before you get started! *Gigantic Post Alert*

Hello everyone! My internet doesn't work with the router here, and I'm working to fix it. Thankfully, Joanna here has been kind enough to lend me her laptop so I can update all this stuff. You're the best Joanna!

So, let me fill you in with what’s been happening so far this week. I woke up at 3:30am on Sunday morning to get to the airport by 5am for my 7am flight. The flight was 4 and a half hours long (plus half an hour waiting in line to take off) and pretty cramped since I had a window seat near the front, where the plane is already narrowing. But, it was great to be able to see most of Canada as we passed overhead. I’ll make sure I grab an aisle seat for my shoulders from now on, though. Thankfully the girl next to me was sleeping almost the whole way, so I didn’t have to worry about getting in her way for most of the flight.

John Best, who is the TREK administrator, met me at the airport. He’s a great guy, and he took me out for some lunch, even though it was only 11am for him (it was 2pm for me, and I hadn’t really eaten anything yet). Then we came over here to the MARK centre – I’ll try to include a link at the upper right of the blog. It’s a chalet-style building with a great room in a half-sunken basement, and with 2 floors of rooms above that that all exit onto a porch that surrounds the building. On the very top is a prayer room, which I haven’t checked out yet. It is a very nice place in a residential area near Columbia Bible College (CBC). In fact, we will be having some of our sessions at CBC, as well as Clearbrook MB Church just down the road.

In any case, I was the first TREKer to arrive. I’ve been given a room all to myself, which is handy since it lets me spread right out with all my stuff! Each room has a name, and the name of my room happens to be Peace. I think it has to do with the verse on the wall: “The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,” says the Lord Almighty. “And in this place I will grant peace,” declares the Lord Almighty. (Haggai 2:9)

Each room has a specific name, not just mine. It works out well for Elli, a girl who stays here and helps with all kinds of stuff. She told us with great pleasure and pride that she lives in Solitude! The other TREKers live in Expectancy, Presence, and Comfort. I also want to give a big word of encouragement to our cooks – Gay Best (John’s mother) and SonJa (one of the interns). The food this week has been amazing!

This week we went through a lot of introductory material for TREK, the parent agency MBMS International, and the MARK centre. We also learned some stuff on prayer and journaling, done by Amy (another intern). We’ve had a tour of Abbotsford, attended a student-run worship service at CBC, and went tubing down the mountain in Cypress Provincial Park near Vancouver. The tubing was really fun – we got going pretty fast by the time we reached the bottom of the hill! We went down in groups of various sizes from 1 to 13. The girls slowly got tired of it and went to warm up in the van, but the guys (me, John, and Greg – the third intern) stayed strong and got our money’s worth by going for the full 2 hours!

Today we had our first work duty and thus spent a few hours in the rain cleaning up the gardens around the MARK centre with Steve Klassen. TREK and the MARK centre both owe a lot (if not everything) to Steve for their inception and I thank him very much for both. My winter coat proved to be a wonderful blessing – keeping me warm and, more importantly, keeping me dry! It got a little dirty, but then, so did I. The weather is warm compared to home at the time I left, hovering just above freezing most of the time. But it gets cold fast as you go up in elevation.

We’re heading up to Whistler tomorrow morning for the weekend. I hope to go skiing, but I don’t think anyone else wants to go. The whole issue might be resolved quite quickly if they don’t carry size 14 ski boots, but I plan to check very thoroughly! It sounds like we’re going to have a great time, and I’m getting excited to go.

The last thing I wanted to mention to you is that I have my schedules for the rest of training, and the first specific date I’d like to make you aware of is Jan. 23^rd. On that day, first thing in the morning, we will find out the finalized teams and our destinations! It’s just less than 2 weeks away now, but I’m sure the time will go fast. I expect us to slow down on the big activities after this (2 per week would be pretty crazy), and to settle into a steady rhythm of studying, writing, and working.

Thanks very much for all your prayers that travelling here would go well, and that I would make a smooth transition. Please keep praying for me as I’m sure various needs will pop up often. I’ll be writing a little newsletter soon, which I’ll be sending to you along with a prayer card to help remind you of me! Thank you all so much for supporting me while I grow in my faith.

Notes:
My mailing address here at TREK is:
David Toews – TREK
302-32025 George Ferguson Way
Abbotsford, BC
V2T 2K7

I will get my mailing address for while I’m on assignment in a few weeks.

Also, feel free to donate if you have not done so yet. All our funds go into a pot, which is split up as needed. So, any funds you choose to donate will be helping other members of TREK. My parents have donation sheets with all the information you need if you choose to give. Thanks!