So, this is Saskatoon.

Day 3 - Sunday August 12, 2012

We woke up on Day 3 in Portage, Manitoba. Mom decided it was her turn to rock the headband, but sorry folks - no more pictures of her showing up on this blog. She prefers to be under the radar. I woke up feeling quite awake though I knew I was not...I think the nerves were really starting to set in yesterday and I had an upset tummy for part of the drive. I was feeling mostly excitement and anticipation about being in my new province...but also the reality of leaving home until Christmas and Mom going back on Wednesday - that was starting to sink in, too. I am hopeful and happy when I think about meeting my students and the good Lord reminds me that there is awesome purpose in this journey. I want to love on those kids and learn a lot during my first year of teaching!

The day started out gloomily with rain but that didn’t drag my spirit down at all - God has been so gracious this entire time - causing me to float above a lot of circumstances which would typically drive me to tears. I felt a lot of peace as we started our journey. Driving across the Manitoba/Saskatchewan border was emotionally eventful. Mom and I had mixed reactions and the reality continued to sink deeper. I was quite excited about taking pictures with the sign but deservedly cut my wrist when I jumped up on it. I think the fact that Mom is leaving her daughter on a reserve in Northern Saskatchewan Wednesday was growing increasingly bothersome for her...but she seemed comforted by my excitement level. We stopped at the visitor centre and I grabbed an unnecessarily large stack of brochures/booklets. I have a lot of visitor information for any of you that would like to make the trip! We’ve had three days of driving and I can tell you - it has FLOWN BY. I expected it to be exhausting, dry and boring - but the rolling hills and colourful fields have been GLORIOUS! Mom kept referring to the Saskatchewan land as “just like that board game!” She’s comparing the coloured patches of field to the game Settlers that my brothers like to play. She also wishes that the fields would be labelled by crop so she can be more informed...she’s cute. The gas prices out here are much lower than at home, which is a nice change.

My Uncle Brian who lives in Saskatchewan had seen evidence on facebook of our Western travels, so he messaged us about meeting up. We met up with he and his friend at a Subway (literally, blink and you miss it). It was so refreshing to get a hug from family, it brought Mom to tears! We chatted over some fountain pop and the Saskatchewan residents filled us in on some provincial facts - as well as tried to mentally prepare me for what I’m getting into. It felt real then. I felt a strange mixture of nerves, apprehension, peace, joy and EXCITEMENT. Praise the Lord, I still want to go. It is most important for me to remember that the community I’m entering into will have their own system and way of doing things - I need to be open minded and respectful of that. I’m SUPER scared to start planning and teaching - but I know the Lord will guide me and above all else, I have to glorify Him in this. He’ll enable me to love those children, even if I’m feeling ill-equipped. We got into Saskatoon around 5ish pm (new time!) and the receptionist here is familiar with Patuanak and was able to let us in on a few things - for example, where to stop for gas in order to make it up there! She warned us about the TINY gravel road and if it rains, we should not even bother driving on it.

Mom took me for McDonald’s ice cream last night at 10pm...figured we may as well enjoy the luxury since it will likely be a longtime before I eat fast food again!

Naturally, it so exciting to finally meet you, Saskatchewan. I think we're going to get along just fine.