The happenings

Well, I'm almost done my 4 days off before I dive into my next set of 4 day shifts. And I must say that I am quite content. I'm actually not even minding the fact that tomorrow I have to get up at 5:50 am, stumble around bleary-eyed getting ready, and then bike to the hospital in a semi-alert state. As I eat breakfast I am always listening with dread for the pelting of rain on the skylights, and peering out the window to see if the deck is slick and shiny- so far, so good. On my 8 commuting trips it's only rained once, and I wouldn't call it rain, more of a light shower.
But getting back to the content factor. These 4 days were quite fantastic. First of all, Tuesday. It so happens that my good friend named Nanc has a good friend named Janis who has a good brother named Ryan. Ryan goes to UVic, and Nanc told him, well more kindly suggested I suppose, that I don't really know many people in Victoria yet and he shoudl show me around. Well he fully took this idea and ran with it, being very hospitable. So on Tuesday night I went with Ryan, his friend Alex, and another friend of Alex's, Lewis, downtown to hand out some meals to the homeless and have some conversations with them. I returned home feeling abundantly thankful for all the blessings in my life, and humbled to be able to show some love to some of these people.
Wednesday was another gloriously sunny day, I went with Ryan and Teebo, his dog, on a very cute little black and white checkered scooter (yes, 2 people and 1 dog on a scooter, it was amusing) up to the base of Mount Doug, which is a fairly decent sized mountain (not snow capped or anything, but still a climb) at the edge of the city. We climbed said mountain and the view was amazing. Could see all the way to Vancouver, the mountains in Washington, and the ocean all around. I loved it. There are so many beautiful places on this island. I am itching to explore more of it, that will come I suppose.
Last night I went to a new college and career group, once again courtesy of Ryan as it was at his church. Met some really great people, the girls in particular were very welcoming and 'took me in' right away. The type of people you just want to hug because you are so thankful that they are being so friendly! There's something amazing about Christian community too. Here I am, 4000 kms away from home- there was a map beside me on the wall which made Canada look huuuuge and southern ON really far away. But we're singing the same songs and these people all believe the same thing and we're all one family, really. That's the way is supposed to be. Imagine in heaven when people from all over the world are there singing... amazing.
Tonight I'll go to IVCF at UVic, and then tomorrow morning bright and early it's back to the hospital. Who knows what adventures are in store for these next shifts... that's one of the things I like about nursing, it's spectacularly unpredictable.