Month of October

Hello Everyone!

I appologize for taking so long again to update this blog. Life has been very busy for me and challenging, but it has been good. I cannot believe that I have been here 2 1/2 months and feels so much shorter than that - almost as though I have barely blinked my eyes. I do enjoy life here, but at the same time I have missed Montana as home: my family, and dear close friends. Yet even with that, everyone here has been very wonderful and super nice. For those of you who do not know, I have signed on another contract to help this hospital throughout the winter season and will finish sometime in March. Winter has definately set in and as soon as I get some pictures I will update that as well. Most of the ski resourts have opened and supposedely this weekend Vail Ski Mountain is supposed to open - to the absolute joy of everyone here. I am very excited for this ski season for I have bought my very first pair of skiis and boots and am dying to try them out sometime soon. Anyway, below are some pictures of what has happend, but I need to be taking much more to show all of you.

Last month, the Dommer Family came up from Denver to stay at their Time-Share - to which I stayed with them that weekend in Breckonridge. It was very relaxing and a wonderful time. My brother was going to try to make it, but due to school was not able to. I keep hoping to make a trip down to Denver to see him and others, but unfortunately that hasn't happened yet.

A couple weekends ago my good friend Don took me out to the Sweet Basil restaurant, which is a very fancy North-American cuisine and to-die-for food with quite the artistic arrangements. That night it snowed so much that interstate was closed and many people were stranded until the next day when the roads could be plowed; still, it was a beautiful winter-wonderland and the perfect night to head out. Don is a very sincere, strong christian whom I admire in many ways and has helped made life feel more like home. I am greatful for having someone who loves the Lord and who has a huge heart for the people in this valley.

For Halloween, one of the nurses that I work with had a "Pumkin-carving party" to which was very fun. She went to so much work in creating quite the halloween foods and provided everything needed to carve the perfect pumkin. :)

The pumkin on the upper left is the one that I carved; all the other pumkins are ones that the others had carved.

For those of you who pray, here are some things that you can keep in mind. Please pray that God will continually use me and that I will not loose focus of the real reason of why I am here and that is to share the gospel and living out the light that God has called me to be. Sometimes I feel alone - but that is when key friends like Don and Shae are huge encouragements and blessings to me. There are a few surgeons who contstantly challenge my faith - which I encourage them to do, but sometimes I do not know the answers and feel beaten. I know that it is good and healthy for me because it then makes me search out the real reason why I believe the things that I do. Through this and other ways, God is really refining who I am and that has been challenging but good and I am thankful for that. I ask prayer that I will not let my heart become discouraged by the challenging things I face, but that I will continually stand firm in Faith in the Lord - my life is for my God and I don't want to become distracted and loose focus or passion.