Good day, my Black Creek Church Family, 

 

We drove in the yard last night.  

The cats were glad to see us (opened a can of their food!) 

The house was warm (we had asked for that - so Donna's mom wouldn't get chilled) 

and it was good to be back.

 

 Approx 20,000 km, weekly sani-dumps and fresh water fills, can't remember how many truck stops, Walmart, side of the road, behind gas station buildings, rest stop overnights we had.

 

We learned to sleep when it was bright enough to read, noisy enough to not talk in normal tones (Rush hour 4 lane traffic in Montreal all night at a truck stop), and cold enough to see your breath (-2 in the van one morning when the heater quit). 

 

Our adventure included major and minor repairs: 

 - RV fridge out for repair/troubleshooting 2x, Leaky roof vent replacement, van heater core replacement in the rain at night in a campground, heater fan replacement, auto transmission re and re, including a 2-day overhaul. Leaking transmission cooler line fabrication (they don't make them anymore), Transmission seal and drive shaft u-joint replacements and adjustments 2x, and the trailer hitch box mount reweld after failing on a rough stretch of highway.

I took tools, and we purchased sealant, glue, bolts, oil and various odds and ends and asked for lots of help.

 

Was it restful?... .  No and..... yes.

....undisturbed, serene, calm - No...  there was lots to do every day.

...enjoyment, wonder, pleasant - Yes... every day was a time to discover, enjoy, see and experience new things. 

 

I was surprised by fatigue and anxiety in the first half of the trip.

Donna and I worked through our daily expectations. 

We chose to have 'down days'. 

We intentionally practiced choosing not to escalate 'mistakes' or 'managing' things that we hadn't planned for (fitting in with other people's agendas, missing exits because Garmin led us astray (again), or not hearing each other in a relatively high noise environment).

I am happy to say that fatigue and anxiety in the last half of the trip was much less. 

I Enjoyed driving in Vancouver!  I Enjoyed stopping for the night at 5 or 6 rather than pushing for later / longer.

 

I feel renewed and refreshed to step in and engage once more.  

I look forward to being involved in our amazing community.  

I am so thankful for so many things.

- The privilege of your trust to release me for these 3 months.

- My amazing lady, Donna, who loved me well for 89 days in a van. 

- The folks we met along the way, some who helped us, some we had the privilege to help.

- Our Lord, who let us see into some of the situations that he arranged.

 

 Memorial - For Dan Stevenson - Campbell River Baptist Church (260 South Dogwood Street) - this Saturday, November 29th at 1:30 PM 

Service will be live streamed by CR Baptist at this link   https://youtube.com/live/rAy9rGXpNIg?feature=share

 

 Paul's letter to the Philippians reminds me that true peace and rest are directly connected to my choice of how I  process the small and big challenges of the day.

4:4  Rejoice in the Lord always; 

again I will say, Rejoice.

5  Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand;
6  do not be anxious about anything, 

but in everything by prayer and supplication  

with thanksgiving 

let your requests be made known to God.
7  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, 

will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8  Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, 

whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, 

if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, 

think about these things.
9  What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me 

practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

 

It's good to be back. 

Blessings

Peter Jackson

Part of Your Team

Black Creek Community Church

peterj@blackcreekchurch.ca