22 days :(

Hi everyone!!

I know, it has been an EXTREMELY long time since i've been on, but its never too late to say hi i've been told! Anyway, I dont really have much to say, other than, my phone died again :( :( :( :( . SO BUMMED, its the second time this has happened to me, so i once again sont have any of my phone numbers...If you could email me your details when you read this that would be FABULOUS. Even if you think i have them again, it would be good to have them on email too!! Anyway again, thats not all i have to say.
There is now only 22 days til im leaving Canada, and back in australia. Yes, it's been a while since i've set foot on aussie ground, but still coming too soon for my liking. Sorry if i offend anyone, but its getting harder to think that im going to be gone from here for a while. This has certainly become my home, so much more than ANY other place. They say home is where the heart is, and your family is the most important thing. well, friends are the family that you choose, and my heart is with my 'family', here in Canada. It's amazing how if we just taste and see that Jehovah is good, he will pour out a blessing on us. He has truely blessed me here, something i will NEVER forget.
My service is going really well too. I still have a regular study with one lady, and have a few calls that are progressing nicely. Hopefully one or two will turn into a study after i leave. It will be cool to keep track of how they turn out. I have stopped working too, taking the rest of my time here off to be out in service as much as i can, and spend the most time with my friends before i leave.
We have our Special Assembly Day this weekend, and i know of three people that are getting baptised. One of the guys hangs out with us a lot of the time, 16, half grew up in the truth, but one of the other guys has only just learnt the truth in the last few months. I think it was within a month of studying he was an unbaptised publisher, and he's out in service a lot too. Has a real zeal thats amazing. And he started studying because of a witness girl at his school. Long story short, he's east indian, so had a lot of opposition from his family, they even kicked him out of home for a few days, but he wasnt peterbed coz he knew it was the truth, so was telling all his friends about it, and studying all the time he wasnt at school or working. He LOVES what he is learning, and is doing all he can to get moving for Jehovah. I think he is going to start auxillary pioneering as soon as he can too. Kinda one of those experiences i wouldnt be supprised to see in the yearbook.
Ok, what else is there to tell you all...Janaye, Sean, Deb, Simon, Amy and Becky all went down to the states, Omak, last night for dinner. There's a really cool resturant, Rancho Chico, Mexican, so we had an AWESOME meal. took around two hours to get there, and we got stopped at the border for around 30mins, so that was a pain, but oh well, just mad ethe food that much better. And i could have had real tequillas, but it was the states, so 21 is the drinking age, not 19 :(. oh well, i was with Janaye, so shouldnt have drunk anyway. It was still TONS good food. Fresh nacho chips, with home made guacamole(???), mmmm!! And we got some awesome candy on the way back too, i love the states!!! they have tiny chicklets, (flavored gum) that are super rad! AND, skittles gum!!!! As well as mini reece's peanut butter cups!!(favorite :D)
Ok, i should be going to bed an hour ago, have my study in the morning, and going through the 70 weeks of daniels prophecy with her...

Here are some pics of me wakebaording too!!!!

Please write to me with some news, be it contact info, or just info, makes me happy :D

Love to yall

me xoxo

New York New York

Well guys, im back in the Big Apple again, and the weather so far is lowsy!! clouds, damp air and possible rain/mist all day. Not the 2 i read it would be, but anyway. Thats travel for you! I'll tell you a little story about my trip though...
We planned to leave Penticton by 3:30 to get to the airport (in Kelowna and hour away), in time to miss all the 5 o'clock traffic. And we did, bag on time. Then, 30mins later i hear an add on the radio about updating your passport, blah blah blah,... then i realise... i DONT HAVE MY PASSPORT!!!!!!!!! AAAAAHHHHHHHH!! SO we whip the car around, and drive hallf the way back to get it. meanwhile im trying to call home to see if anyone can find it for me for when we arrive. Eventually i get Mike, and he finds it in one of the two spots i thought it could be. We turn up, grab it, seriously think if there is anything ELSE i have forgotten, then hit the roda agin. Now about 4:30. Also on the way back home i realised my flight doesnt leave at 7:30 like i had read it at least 50 times, but rather at 6:35!! So now the realxed ride to the airport becomes a paranoyed that im going to catch the traffic and misss ny flight one! Mel call her fam and asks about the traffic, and if there's a better way to go and all that, easing all our minds a little. And........
We get there on time-ish, just over 30mins til my INTERNATIONAL flight, running (Janye and I) with my bags and stuff up and down the airport looking for where to check in, then running (now with MEl too), to the gates where i say goodbye and get security checked. what a trip so far!! Then, they full body-check me, first time for that. By now I have about 10 mins to sit down, get my mag out to start reading, then put it straight back to board! The rest of my trip went perfectly, stopped for 3hrs in Seattle, found a really cute shop... ate dinner at 10 at night!! then baorded agian for the 5hr flit to NY. Got there around 6:30 their time the next morning, having MAYBE 1hr sleep, to Jonanthan and Mitch, (not mick!) picking me up. Mitch had a silly moment, picking up another girls stuff thinking she was me!! Then i went home, kids came for the daycare, we went ot get breaky, and i helped watch the kids all day. Educational!! We ahd a family study last night too, which was really nice. Another sister and bother from rhe hall came too. It was the WT for this week, which I had done on the 9 row plane from Kelowna, so i had it easy :p

Now im about to go out in street service, so have to get ready in only 7 mins!!!

love to you all

Jose :) :)

Regular Pioneer

HI all, sorry its been so long again.

Well, if you haven't heard already, I'm now a regular pioneer!!! I started in March, but didn't get my application back til the end of the month, so was announced the first week of April. It's all going well at the moment, have got my time for the first couple of months, so that's a good start.

And I've changed jobs again, am now at a cute little coffee shop called The Bench. I've only had one shift there so far, coz mum and dad are coming on monday for three weeks, so I have a month off!! But they are giving me the shifts I need for service, two days a week, and regular, every week the same shifts.

So at the moment Im in Burnaby, Vancouver, waiting til monday to meet mum and dad. I got a ride up with a couple from my cong who were coming up. And am staying with Janaye's cousins Misty and Tania. They are in the deaf cong in Vancouver, so I was out in deaf service today, and then the rest of the weekend, with a deaf meeting on sunday!! It's cool to see how another language opperates pretty much the same as what I'm used to in english congs.

Anyways, I should go to bed now, but hi to everyone, keep in touch...


Jose :P

howdy doody

Hi all, just though it would drop another line to let you know how im going.

Pioneering is going well, just finished my first official regular auxiliary month and looking forward to the next few. work fits in pretty well too. i start at 6 in the morning, sunday to thursday, and finish before 12 most days, so i can go to the service group straight after, and have a full afternoon out in service. and the cong i'm in now is super good in helping me out. they will pick me up from work if i need it, and one sister in particular will keep going till 5 with me if i need it too, it makes it easier for both of us to get our time in. last week, she had to pick up her two kids after school, so it was Damaris (mum), Jade (daughter ~11), Kyle (son ~9) and i out til 5, and it was really nice. we all got nice people to talk to, and Jade and i got some calls too!! a real blessing that's for sure. now i just have to plan out this month, so i know when i can do what.
hopefully i'm going skiing/snowboarding tonight as well!!! there are a couple of brothers going up to Big White, and i'm trying to get one of my girlfriends to get a few others to come too. i still don't know how to snowboard, but its only $5 to hire, and $5 for a pass on friday nights, so i will either just try and teach myself, or give skiing a go again. its been around 8 years since i've been skiing i think, but oh well, at least i had lessons that long ago, so i wont be as bad as i would be snowboarding!! it will be fun if i can do something at least, i STILL have really been up yet!!

Anyway, i should prolly go now, have to clean the house, i'm house sitting for a couple who are in Mexico, and they're coming home tomorrow, so i should give the place a good going over.

love you all, dont forget to let me know how you are all going too!!

jose :p xoxo

the creek i cross to go to work iced over!!!
the K of Apex
some wild horses we came across on the way up, HOW COOL IS THIS
the K run again :)

FINALLY!!

Hi all, yes, im am FINALLY BLOGGING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

some news, last week i was announced as a regular auxillary pioneer!!!!!
and the other day i was offered another job, in another bakery in the wholesale club in town. the pay is a little better, and a little bit diff type of work, so i said yes, and hopefully start next week or so. im just waiting on when my last shift is at SAve On foods, then i'll be set :). the only thing is, my day will start at 4:30 in the morning, coz i have to be at work by 5:30 to start!! how crazy is that!! ive worked out a schedual though, so if i stick to it i can still get all my study, prep, service, meetings AND sleep in, as well as socializing. Thats the plan at least, lol!

oh, one of my friends, Janaye, and her granparents took me up Apex ski hill this morning for a look and lunch. it was SO pretty, i will have to try to send some photo's out. we didnt get to ski, but that will come still :) .

what about all of you guys, what have you been up to? what exciting or not news do you have for me??

cant wait to here from all of you, and i will try to check my email and blog soon, ok!!

love to you all,

jose :) :) :P :P :P :) xoxoxoxo xoxoxoxo

Smore??

Dont worry, i didnt know what they were to start with either. Basically a certain type of cracker, with a toasted marshmellow and chocoalte inbetween two. The centre melts, so is all mushy and yum :)
An American thing i think.

Walden-Virginia

Sunday Suzie and i met J&A, and Ray & Irene(who were staying with them) at bethel, and went to Cup and Saucer (a cute diner) for breaky. I had 3 pancakes, 2 eggs and 4!! rashes of bacon, i couldnt believe how much i got!!! And it was good. Then we all headed to Minnewaska State National Park Preserve, and walked around part of a lake. We ended up on a cliff looking down to the lake, with the water as still as glass. Except for the two puddles of bubbles where there was a group learnig to scuba dive. The views were astounding. Then we somehow managed to loose Joel and Andrea, but Ray ended up finding them again after a while. We found a cute little waterfall to have a muffin and photo's at, then headed off to Taco Shack for lunch. Then off to Bethel to get changed, and head to the 3:00 meeting. After that we went to a brother and sisters place for a bonfire, with the majority of the cong. It was nice, i got to meet a few more people :). One brother and sister were back from Tennasee, just for the agm, but are special pioneers, so told everyone how they're doing. I talked with a few people. A couple of the young ones said they'd take me around NY city for a day when i get back up, so that will be cool. And we had smores(??) too!! When we got home a packed up again, ready for the morning.

Monday i caught the 7:30 train to Penn Station via Secaucus, then the 10:35 train to Virginia Richmond. I mostly tried sleeping, coz the view wasnt the best anyway. Got in at 5, and went back to M&L's place. I was really tired, so after dinner M & I started watching a football game, but i fell asleep, so we nt to bed before the end. Baltimor V Denver, Denver won, 13-3.

Tuesday, today, we went to Shenandoah National Park, and along the Skyline road, which jumps from one side of a mountain ridge to the other. it follows a hiking track that takes 3 months to walk. The trees were just starting to change colour too, so it was really pretty. Then, after lunch, we took a 3.4mile walk to a waterfall, the Jones Run Trailhead. It was awsome getting in nature again :). We finished just after 5, and hooffed it down to a nearby apple orchard by 5:40 to pick some apples!! that was awsome fun! i had a long apple picker, that could reach right to the tops of the trees. we only had til 5:50 to pick, but still got a few between us. Fuji they were, and nice and crisp :P. then i got a caramel apple at the store, that was covered in nuts too. it was very good. Then we stopped at a mexican place for dinner, adn headed home. and since then i have pretty much been doing this, and emailing people. So now im well and truly ready for bed, as it's 12:00am.

So, ni night, have a good arvo as i sleep,

south american traveller :P

Leaving Moncton- AGM

Ok, i should start with last week, so as not to get too far behind.

Monday night i watched The Cutting Edge, and recomend it, was a really nice movie :)

Tuesday we went out in service for the morning, had a study with a lady who is hopefully going to become an unbaptised publisher in time for the campaigne this month!! It went for two hours or so! Then we went home and I had a lobster roll for lunch, mmmm, and a burger, also yummy! Then we watched some more movies, ate pumkin pie, and when Brian got home we all went to Magnetic Mountain/Hill. That was the one place i wanted to go in Moncton, that i could remember, and Brian and Sandy didnt tell me where we were going either, so that was sneeky! It is basically a two 'hills' that you drive to one end of, then put the car in neutral, and roll down, then 'up' another hill. we did it twice, and i still couldnt figure out how it worked. They say the magnets in the ground pull you up the 2nd hill, but there's more to it than that. i Wont spoil it over a public site though, youmight not all want to know how it works!!
Then we went home, had dinner, and watched another movie, a couple of people called to talk to me!! I packed my bags, and we went to bed for a 5:00 morning.

Wednesday we got up nice and early to head to Quebec. Up at 5:05, and left the house by about 7:30, we made it for a Tim's breaky, and drove and drove our way to Quebec. We had lunch at a cute place, Pizza Delight, and i watched a movie on the backseat till we got to a pretty part of Quebec.(they have the most awsome movie collection, and we took their laptop on the trip!!!) We got to a hotel, the Times, at around 3:30, checked in, and then went to a close mall after a quick nap. I have now been exposed to Linen Chest, a store that you would LOVE mum. It has kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, diningroom, basically all home furnishings and stuff. The place to go for everything nice. Then we went and had dinner at Tuscano's, and were served by a french waitress (of course), but one who couldnt speak english, even enough to understand that Brian wanted to taste the house wine, or that we werent ready to order yet!!! So, my worse than anything french came to mind, and i helped a tiny bit by saying 5 minutes in french, one of the only things i remember what is! and Sandy knows a little too, so that was nice. then, eventually, the waitress got a girl who spoke english as a first language, and we stared to get somewhere. The food was good though, worth the effort. And i had a real drink!! because in Quebec the legal age is 18, not 19 or 21 like the rest of the continent!!! Then we tried going to the movies, didnt work, so we went to the food store, then went home and had some champaigne and watched the only english tv station.

Thursday I used the 'gym' and the pool, a great start to the day, and we went to Chez Cora for a late breaky. AMAZING food, i had a belgium waffle with bananas and strawberries, custard and cram i think, drizzled with a chocolate sauce. To die for, but way too big. I ate it anyway, but oh well!!
Then we checked out of the hotel, and toured around old Quebec for the day. So cute, the ambience was awsome. We went to Chateax de Frontenac, the most photographed hotel EVER. I was busting to go to the lu, so we found the bathroom, but it was locked, you needed a room card to get in! not impressed, and running out of options, i tried scooting in behind another another lady, that didnt work. so i then just asked a lady who worked there if i could get a card to use the bathroom, and she said yes!!! score ;p Then after i visited Aunty Audrey, we strolled down the cute streets of Quebec, soaking up the ocassional musicians on the footpath, and peroosing in the tiny shops that beccon you in. I picked up some 'better than i can take photos' postcards, and we made our way to Côchon Dingue for an energy boost, where i enjoyed REAL poutine with sausage and cheese curds, mmmm, (way better than Montreal Tanys, sorry), and a Guinness!! Then we walked our way up to a pub that B&S had been to before, which had a really cute and cozy seller. You wouldnt think it from the outside, but in winter, it would be the best place to go and have a drink, with a gorgeous fireplace that would keep the thick stone walls warm all night. Then we found a cute little shop with a purse (handbag) that you plugged an iPod into, with speakers on the front!! Like a mini boom box bag!!!! I really wanted it, but not for the $60 they were asking. I settled for a cute wallet (purse) instead :).
We left just after 5, after we took a few mintues to find our car in the carparck, off to Montreal. Got there around 8:35, after watching another movie, and Brian went out and got us a pizza and some more champaigne for after dinner!

Friday Brian had his course til 4, and Sandy recomended i sleep in, to be rested up for the AGM the next day. So, i slept in til 10:30, then went to the really good gym and pool til 12:30, then we checked out and went for "breakfast/lunch" at Marathon Souvlaki. Here i had my first Baklava, and was highly impressed :P. By now it was too late to make it into the city, so we set off to find a mall to look through. Well, we took the GPS to make things "easier", but driving in Montreal was not an easy task, and we got totally confused and lost, and couldnt find any malls!!! So, highly dissapointed, we were trying to turn around to go and pick up Brian, when BING, we spotted a factory outlet centre. So we turned off the hardly helpfull GPS, and hooked the car around. By now we didnt have much time at all, so just looked through a couple of stores, and then went and picked Brian up. Then, on the road again, to the border. We waited there practically an hour, (public holiday weekend), the nstopped at Friends at 9 for dinner. Yummy yummy food, and heaps of it too. We hit an inn at 11, the Red Roof Inn, and checked in. It was right next to the highway, the smell outside was revolting, and the inside was almost worse, but, it was a warm place to sleep with a bed, so we didnt care.

Saturday started at 6, with an 1.5hr drive to Wallkill by 9:05. I said some sad goodby's to Brian and Sandy, and waited in the packed out lobby for Andrea to come down. Then we staked out our seats, then went back to pick up Suzie. The meeting started at 10:00, and went til 1:25. We sang three songs, just like a normal meeting, and heard awsome experiences from across the globe. We had reports from Togo, Lebanon, Equador, North America, and France. Brother Max Lloyd and Don Mcclean were interviewed, as well as other long standing brothers, and the new DVD of both organisation videos, and a new kingdom melodies cd were released, and we were told the theme text for next year, Zeph 1:14 "The great day of Jehovah is near." There were visitors from over 69 countries at the meeting!