Summer and Strawberries

Hello again Everyone,
Well it has been a while since I last wrote and thankfully I can say that all the snow is gone! It took a while though and what we are left with is beautiful sunshine. I hope that all of you are enjoying what the summer brings.

Tim and I have had an interesting couple of months, Tim has still been working at Casa Rugantino but has recently been struggling with the work atmosphere, so is looking for something else. Please can you pray that he finds something that he can really enjoy.

I have been working away with Global and this last May we sent out 18 teams. It was definitely a lot of work getting them all ready but they all went off without a hitch, well except for one team who weren't able to leave for a couple of days because of a bomb threat!!! Pretty crazy. They all came back safe and sound at the beginning of June though and we are always so thankful to God that everyone is brought back safe. This year we also decided to do something different. We wanted to have a time where the leaders could come and debrief their trip with us and each other so we spent a couple days with around 40 of our leaders from this year talking about their trips: what they learned, what was hard and what they have each taken away from their experience. It was an amazing time for us and them. For many people it's hard to talk about their experience abroad with friends and family when they return, so this was an awesome opportunity to talk with people that have been in their shoes and understand what it's like.
The thing that impacted me the most during this, was how the students are changed by something simple--talking to someone on the street, seeing kids playing football, having tea in a hut with a family. Relationships are the most important part of life, they give us life, they change us and make us into better people. Not only the relationships we have with people we meet in other countries but also the relationships we have with people that are around us everyday.

I had a wonderful experience with God a couple of weeks ago. I woke up one morning and realised that I had a lot of anger built up inside from some stuff that had happened to me awhile ago. God said to me, "Sharon you can't hold onto this any longer--it's making you bitter inside." I suddenly realised that I needed to let it go. I thought that once I had made that decision it would be gone, but I know that it's a process and we work through things slowly, but at least I know that it's a beginning.

In regards to getting Permanent Residence, Tim and I have finally got our act together! We had definitely been procrastinating for awhile and wondered if it was because we weren't supposed to get "landed" here, but God works everything out for good. Just as we decided to go for it, we heard that a new system called the C50 came out which fast tracks people with work permits (which we already have) so it only takes 6-9 months--yeah!! Please pray that it goes quickly.

As for the future, we are taking some vacation at the end of July and then we have Tim's parents coming which we are really looking forward to!!

We are also in big change as our director is leaving for British Columbia at the end of the month to start Global Youth Network out there. We have been transitioning slowly, but your prayers would definitely be appreciated as we adjust to this new time for Global.

Tim and I appreciate you all so much--your thoughts, prayers and encouragements to us. We couldn't be here without you.

We would love to hear from all of you as well, please keep us posted on your news.

Love Sharon and Tim.