nica-eh: What Time Is It?

It's summertime and it’s been a long time since I’ve written, so I thought I would catch you up on what I’ve been doing since my last entry. Not long after our graduation at Nicaragua Christian Academy I was off to Canada. Canada greeted and welcomed me with a cold spell. A large cloud, rain, and cool weather followed me for two weeks from Ontario to British Columbia. That was the first adjustment I had to make. One benefit of the cool weather is that I could drink hot tea without breaking into a sweat. I spent the first couple days with Faye, my sister, Jason, and their two children Annika and Jacob. This was my first peak at Jacob who was born in March. He was at the airport to greet me, but he isn’t so much a baby anymore. Annika was happy to see her Aunt Aimee and was soon telling me all kinds of stories. She had just been toilet trained and found it appropriate to also give me treats when I went to the bathroom. A couple of days later I made my way down to the farm in Port Dover. The first person to greet me was my brother Wayne and not five minutes later he was asking me to help unload wagons of hay. The second person to greet me was Sara and she too asked me to help drive hay wagons. The second option sounded better although both siblings sounded desperate. The next couple hours of being home were spent driving tractor in the field which brought back lots of memories of working at home.

Welcome home BBQ

I also spent a week in Houston, British Columbia where I taught for three years before going to Nicaragua. It was great to visit everyone there and I couldn’t believe how much it felt like I had just left even after four years. Things haven’t changed much when I found my self fishing with Bobby and Clarence, playing Scrabble with Jacky (and winning), hiking with Jack, visiting with former colleagues in the school staffroom, playing games with the Vanderhiede family, taking walks, playing games, and biking with the Kronemeyer kids, and talking the evenings away with Ed and Fran. Flying over the Rocky Mountains and going for a short hike reminded me again of how much I love this part of Canada. I was also in Houston in time to attend their graduation. The graduating class of ’08 was the first class I ever taught. All of the 11 graduates had been former students of mine. It was a privilege to see them all grown up and to hear about their plans for after high school. In reflecting on how much they have grown up, I can see how much their upbringing in a Christian home and school has influenced them. It’s awesome to see that the small kids I had in grade 6 have grown in height, but also spiritually.

Canoeing with Ciara and Mackenzie

Hiking in Dungate Meadows with Jack

Whoa, snow in the meadows in June!

Always an adventure with the Sienens

With Diane, a grad and student from my first class

At graduation with Andrea and Dorene

The Kronemeyers!

The following week I was back in Ontario in time for family camping in Turkey Point. My sister in law Tanya and her four kids, Faye and her family, and Sara and I stayed in the campground for three nights. Mom, Dad, Wayne, Leonard, and William came when they could. We spent most of the time biking, cooking, swinging in hammocks, playing games, or swimming. Bootsma vacations aren’t usually just lazing around; we like to be quite active. The first night I woke up to the sound of raccoons outside our tent and tried to scare them away. In the process I woke Sara up and she looked out and spotted a raccoon and a skunk. The skunk came right up next to our tent! She whispered in her very commanding voice, “Don’t move or say a word!” Needless to say the rest of the night wasn’t very restful.