Merry Christmas!!!

Hey there!

Merry Christmas to all!

Today was a good day. A very good day. After getting up in the morning and doing the present thing, we just sat around and enjoyed playing wih all our new toys. Meg, Nathan and I all got MP3 players, so we've been playing with them all day. Very cool stuff. The extended family came over later this afternoon and we enjoyed (thoroughly) the turkey dinner. It's been too long since I've had one of those. Yum!

And both Meg and I were very spoiled in the way of getting presents, one of which was two tickets to the hockey game on New years Eve from my friend. (Nathan, it's no Boxing Day test, but it'll have to do)
This isn't just any game, it's an epic battle between the two teams of Alberta, the Calgary Flames and the Edmonton Oilers. I am a diehard Oilers fan, which leaves me as the hated minority at a game like this, but I wouldn't have it any other way. Meg, on the other hand, enjoys stirring me up and is a Flames fan and even has jersey that she'll be wearing loud and proud on game night. Go Oilers!

Well, tomorrow morning, we leave for Toronto, so it might be a week before another post is made to this blog. Grandma and Gramps don't yet have a computer (Shock and awe!) and so no internet until we get back on Dec. 31st...but to keep all of you coming back for more, I'm going to post a gallery of pictures of all the cool stuff we see over there, like downtown Toronto and Niagara Falls.

Well, I need to finish packing, so you'll hear from us soon.

Merry Christmas again to all of you

!

Hello everyone looking at this from around the world.

And a Merry Christmas Eve for those of you whom it is already tomorrow.

Today was the fourth day above 0 degrees so we made the most of it and went out for a skate...and when you go out fro a skate in Canada, it means, bring your stick and puck for a hockey game at any rink you can find. It feels good to drive down the road and see games of hockey being played in every rink we drive by. And it doesn't matter who is there, as long as they're on skates and have their own stick, that qulaifies them for almost every hockey game.

I was a bit rusty on the ice and didn't do so well, but I managed a couple goals none-the-less. Because it's a balmy 12 degrees today, no jackets were needed for the game today.

Last night was a historic event. All the Dyck family was together for a night of hot wings, pizza and general fun. It might not happen again for quite a while so we all got together and just had some fun playing games, did our gift exchange and lots (LOTS) of pictures were taken. As you can see, that picture is of all the cousins and spouses/significant others. What a crazy bunch. And if you think you've had some crazy times? Try playing board games with my brother and cousins Kyle and Justin. Our motto is, "it's not a game unless someone's feelings get hurt." Oh, the yelling and the fighting...it's legendary for Dyck board games...it's just our style. Speaking of which, it's just about time for another soon.

We'll be posting a special Christmas day blog soon.

Merry Christmas to all you guys. Keep posted!

Kodak Moment!

Today was one of those days that everyone from Australia would be jealous of...we did a day trip to the mountains.

Since they are only an hour away, we thought we'd make the most of a lazy Sunday and head out to Banff. And we couldnt have picked a more perfect day. Although it was bitterly cold...hovering around -20 in the morning, and "warming" up to around -12 later on in the day, the cold weather helped keep the sky perfectly clear and blue. "Big Sky" Country, that's what they call Alberta...and for good reaosn too. As you can see by some of the pictures, it was an awesome day for pictures. These are of course, only samples of some of the great scenery we got pictures of.

So, we did some shopping, checked out the candy shop, the fudge factory...and nothing feels better after a hard day shopping than a dip in the pool. That's right...a dip in the pool...the hot spring 40 degree heated pool. It feels weird to bundle up for a chilly day and then the get into your bathers and get into the pool. But after a few minutes in there, you already feel like sitting on the ledge and cooling off.

All in all it was very good day. It's funny because for many years this as my backyard but now I realize that I took it for granted because I could go there any time...

Another week until Christmas and we've got my cousins (Justin, from my wedding) coming from Kelowna this week. Should be pretty fun to hang out with all of them and play games.

We're looking forward to hearing from all of you again soon.

A pathetic attempt to snow...

I arose this morning to a chilly -14 and light snow, much to my delight. It's been snowing on and off all day today but it's a very light pathetic attempt of snow. It wont last long at all because the weather is suppose to get to +5 by Monday. Apparently there's snow coming next week but we'll just have to wait and see.

On Boxing Day the whole family is flying over to Toronto, Ontario to spend 6 days with Jeremy's mom's side of the family. I cant wait because last night they were expecting 30cms of snow overnight so there will hopefully be heaps of snow there still. We also have a few trips planned to downtown Toronto as well as Niagara Falls which I'm really looking forward to.

It's Nate's 21st birthday tomorrow so tonight we're having a family dinner along with Sheena and a couple of Nate's friends. I've been talking up his birthday telling Nate that we need to have a huge 21st party Australian style but for some unknown reason he's not so keen! 21st birthdays are just like any other here, not big at all.

Sunday we're planning a trip to Banff with Jer's mom and dad which will be great. There's an amazing candy shop at Banff so we cant wait to visit. We'll also be making a stop at the hot springs while we're there, so we'll be sure to post lots of photos when we get back.

Our family here is into board games big time. Actually, most families in here are and I reckon it has something to do with the rediculious cold weather out. Today we played Power Barons some game I'd never played before but I might add that I happened to WIN the game! There's a real competitive spirit in this household when it comes to playing board games so nobody appreciates losing at all! You know me, I like to stir things up a little so it makes it even better when I talk about my win for the next hour or so! hehe...

Anyways I'm off to watch the battle of the brothers in foosball. Hope it's not too hot back home!

Love Meg

A little bit chilly

Hi everyone,

It's been a week today since we've arrived and we reckon time has gone pretty fast. I'm still praying for snow, so those of you who would like to join in prayer with me...please pray for snow on christmas day! The long weather forcast shows snow on christmas day but anything can happen with Calgary weather.

Today Jeremy, Nate (Jer's brother) & I ventured downtown to look around. Just a chance to do some shopping and walk around downtown Calgary. It wasn't too bad. For those of you familiar with Calgary, you'll know that even though it's -15 outside, you can still go from building to building and never take a step outside. They have these walkways over the streets called the Plus 15's...called so because they are 15 feet above the ground. You can go from one side of downtown to the other and never have to worry about going outside!

After we arrived back from being downtown Jeremy & I went for a walk down to Fish Creek Park which is just down the road. It's a massive park that stretches kilometres and kilometres through the SouthWest of Calgary. Sometimes bears & cougars find their way into fish creek park by following the river down from the mountains. We didnt even see a squirrel today much to my dismay! They look so cute and everyone here always gets me to say "squirrel" because apparently i dont say it the right way...whatever...Canadians are the ones with the accent!

Before going outdoors today we both rugged up for our adventure into the park seeing as it was about -10. In the summer here they had a mass flooding so today when we talked through the park so much of it had changed from when we last saw it. The river had moved in parts, so many trees down and debris everywhere. Looks really different. We get to walk across the river today seeing as it was frozen all the way over in some parts. I asked Jeremy to step out first just to make sure it was frozen all the way...hehe! There's a picture here of me, I was so cold and by the time we got back my legs were seriously numb, very cold.

To all those at Victory Church involved with the Christmas Production, hope tonight is a blast and all goes well. Really wish I was there watching it. Make sure you tape it so we can watch it when we get back!

We'll leave you with these pics. write again soon.

Love Meg & Jer

Just to keep people happy

Now that Im getting up each day at like 8:30 (I'm not a sleep in guy) and having no plans whatsoever except how many games of Settlers we play, or Monopoly, or Rage...those of you familiar with me or my family know very well how much we love games...anyways where am I going with this? Now that I have all this time, I suppose I have no excuse for not updating this blog all the time. We've heard from a few of our Australian family and friends who've reading this blog, which has been great. We do consider Australia our home, but truthfully, we're not ready to go home just yet.

Today, we had the opportunity to go out to lunch with Mel, a good friend of mine. It was good to catch up with him and some of you know about mel from what I said in my sermon. I'm glad he and I are still friends because he's such a cool guy. Meg got to meet him for the first time too...and she thinks he's pretty cool too.

Weather wise...it's not too bad here. Only -2 today although they are threatening us with a -19 in the morning and a HIGH of -10 later on this week. The cold weather cometh...but no snow on the horizon...believe it or not. Meg is NOT happy about that.

Meg and I are going to venture into Fish Creek Park tomorrow so expect plenty of pictures...since the flooding in the summer here, a lot of the bridges in the park have been washed away but Dad says it doesn't matter, since the river is frozen over so you can just walk across it. Great!

stay tuned...

10 degrees is a WARM day!

It's hard getting used to the idea that when you have a day here that's above 0, it's a warm day.
Today was 10 and a beautiful day here. So we decided to make the most of it and go skating. The ice was pretty good and if we got too chilly, a fire was made beside the rink so we could roast Hot dogs and sausages.
Although, we had to give it up around 4:30 because the sun was almost down. That's right. by 5PM, it's dark here. So, we stayed inside, drank eggnog (YUM!) and Hot Chocolate (for Meg) and decorated the Christmas tree. We had my brother's girlfriend Sheena over as well.
I'll leave you with a picture of all of us in front of the tree.

We'll write again soon!

We've figured out how to post pictures onto our blog now so look out for heaps of pics coming in the next few weeks! Today was a very warm 10 degrees here in Calgary, you didnt even have to put on your coat when you went outside. Jeremy and I along with his parents went out today to buy a 'real' christmas tree. We'll post a pic tomorrow when we decorate it! We're having so much fun, miss everyone back home. Talk to you soon!

We're Here!!!!!

Well, I think all of the family that was meant to be surprised has now been surprised, so I can say it
Gotcha!
That's right, we're already here in Calgary...everyone in Canada thought it was the 12th that we were arriving, but got here at 3PM on Dec 8th...and surprised EVERYONE..well, not everyone. Good job to Nate and Sheena for keeping the secret for so long. The faces were priceless...especially my mom who just screamed, gave us a hug, stepped back and screamed again...Hahaha!

It feels weird to be back...very weird. It was a good feeling though to arrive back in Canada and no longer be the only one speaking Canadian (eh?) and flying off from Vancouver and seeing the mountains again. Loved it! And we're back and I'm still getting used to the idea of driving on the right (and correct) side of the road. The ground is white, for the moment, because the weather for the next few days is supposed to be about 10 degrees...HEAT WAVE!

Meg and I did end up getting a digital camera in Singapore, which means that in a few days, we'll be getting some pictures up and running on this little blog of ours.

Well, keep tuned to this page...
Bye for now

A Shameless Plug

Just a quick a shameless plug for our Big youth conference and new CD our church has produced. The conference is called Historymakers and the band has just put out a new CD (which is awesome). You can check out the link on the side of the page or HERE to listen to clips, see pictures, do all kinds of stuff...the website was only up and running today so it's not completely done yet. Give it time. I personally love the logo...I wouldn't mind having a cool shirt with it on the back or something...Just thought I'd spread the word

And counting...

There has been some BIG news here in Bendigo. Very big! Every Sunday night, everyone from church gathers around in someone's house. We all chat and have a fun time eating and laughing and carrying on...as you do. But when it hits 7:30, the room is overcome by a silence as the familiar tune of Australian Idol is the only thing heard. For one hour every week, we all cheer or boo the singers who bravely take the stage, one of which was a Bendigo girl named Kate. Now, Kate has a good voice. But I didn't think it would take her as far as it did. On Monday night, Bendigo's own Kate DeAraugo was crowned Australian Idol. A controversial decision because she wasn't the best of the final two, by far, but none the less, big news for a little town. (Meg says Big!) I think she was front page three days running.

Friday now. It's coming to the point where I'm more in tune with what is going on in Calgary than in my own home town. I hear Calgary won against San jose, starting a new streak of two wins, because I listened to the game on Fan 960. I hear that although Tuesday hit a high of 20 degrees, the cold snap is coming in on the weekend with a high of -2 forecasted for Sunday. I hear that there was a scare of whether the police were going to be forced to write more tickets, although that rumour was squashed. I know the music coming out soon. I know Seinfeld Season 5&6 are available at Future Shop for $42.95. I know the movies coming to Calgary. I know which restaurants I want to visit. I know the roadworks, the shopping, the events...

Excited?? I think so...

Well, it's church tonight. The Finnish girls who have been spending this week in and around Bendigo will be in for a treat I think. They originally come from a Lutheran Church, so when they come in to the service tonight, with music cranked at 102 dB's (I know. I'm the sound guy) and the youth jumping...I doubt it will be like anything they've had at home.

Well, hope to hear from you all soon. I guess you can be excused if you live in Canada and don't write emails because we'll all see you soon enough anyways...

Monday Monday. So good to me!

Hey all
Well, I think for once, I’m glad to be at work on a Monday morning. Mainly because this weekend felt non-stop. So, compared to that, it feels almost relaxing to be here…almost.

On Saturday, we got up at 6:30AM to get ready for the day. We had organized a trip down to these new Factory outlets in Melbourne, the DFO. I think we had about 45 people come along for the trip, who all go to the church so we could leave at 8AM, which, in church time, means about 8:20. So we headed down there for a day of fun-filled shopping. Meg and I drove down in our car, while the rest of the shoppers took a bus we had hired. So, Meg and I got there about 9:45, when the shops opened up at 10, and I couldn’t believe my eyes as I entered the parking lot. Not only was it already a quarter full before anything was even open, but the swarms of people hoarding their way in was a sight to believe. But seeing as the place was so huge, it actually managed to contain what I’m sure was the population of an entire town Inasmuch as I’m not the most shopping-oriented person, I actually found myself having a good time. But that was mainly because we were counting down the minutes until we could drive into the city to catch the long-awaited Lion King.

Now, for those of you haven’t been…Go! It is phenomenal! The whole production from start to finish was brilliant. You know what’s going to happen but the way they do it all on a stage is just amazing. It’s amazing what you can do with a bit of paint and some fancy lights…I’m not going to tell you each little detail because it would just be overwhelming to try and put it all into words…The most amazing thing was just how they used a little stage to convey all the different scenes in the movie…very well done…I loved it

And then after that finished, we headed back to our motel for the night, because we had to up early Sunday morning, because we have a couple Finnish girls coming to our church for the next six weeks, and we had to pick them up…well, we volunteered for it because we got a night’s accommodation out of it. So, we were at the airport at 6:20 AM when the flight was supposed to arrive, but it was late and scheduled to arrive at 7:35…Typical Australian Immigration, the girls didn’t get out until after 9AM…and what made it harder, we had no idea who these girls were or what they looked like…just a couple of blond girls who looked Finnish…But that worked out OK.

We took them home, got them all cleaned up and sent them off the their billeted home and headed off to a first birthday party, and straight from that to home where Meg’s family came over to celebrate a Christmas dinner…I BBQ’d up a feast and we had a grand ol time, and crashed in bed at 9, not be awoken again until this morning…

So, it’s been a whirlwind weekend, but we made it out alive…just barely.

Australian Words & Phrases

This will entertain those of you who are not from Australia. Take some time to understand where I come from and the language I speak....It's funny when a Canadian is around it long enough to start saying some of it without noticing. ha ha!

Ace! - Excellent! Very good!
Arvo - afternoon
Barbie (Barbeque) - Like a cook out. Many people get together for a 'Barbie' in the warmer months. They are usually BYO (Bring your own) meat and drinks.
Barney - A fight or scuffle.
Beaut - Very good. Excellent.
Billy - Used for making tea in, usually over a campfire. The best billies are the old ones. They make better tea.
Block - Block has a few meanings but the more Aussie one is your head.
Bludge - Not doing anything or getting things off others.
Blue - A blue can be a fight or the nickname of someone with red hair.
Bush - Bush refers to somewhere in the country or away from the city.
Chuck - Chuck has a few meanings. It can mean to throw or to put in.
Conk - To hit someone.
Cow - As well as being the animal that gives us milk it also means anything that is difficult. Crook - Not feeling well or not going well.
Dag - A bit of a fool or not very well presented.
Dinkum - Genuine or honest.
Dob In - To tell (an authority) on someone.
Fair Go - Give some a chance or an opportunity to do something.
Galah - A fool or a silly person.
G'day - A greeting. It is the Aussie way of saying good day.
Grouse - Means excellent.
Gutzer - Some plans don't work out or to have an accident.
Hooly-Dooly - An expression of surprise.
It's gone walkabout - it's lost, can't be found
Kangaroos loose in the top paddock - Intellectually inadequate
Jackaroo or Jillaroo - A farm hand, usually on a cattle station (very large farms).
Lollies - Candy or sweets.
Mate - This usually means a friend but it can be used to talk about or to anyone - even a total stranger.
Mug - Either a fool or your face.
Owyergoin - A greeting. How are you going? Often used with 'Gidday' and 'Mate'.
Pester - Annoy or bother someone.
Ratbag - Someone who does not behave properly.
Raw Prawn - A lie or a con job.
Sack - To be fired from a job.
Scrub - Can be the same as the bush or mean areas in the country where there are not many trees.
Shoot Through - To leave or disappear.
Shout - Pay for someone else.
Sport - A more general way of referring to someone rather than a mate.
Streuth - An exclamation, often of surprise.
Thongs - Rubber sandals.
Togs - A set of clothes. More often used to refer to a swimming costume.
Tucker - Food. Australian schools call their canteens a 'tuckshop.'
Whinge - Complain and carry on unnecessarily.
Wog - An illness such as the flu.
Yakka - Work - usually hard work.

So next time I'm with you, you wont have to look at me as if I'm from another planet, rather understand the unique language I speak!

Getting ready to leave the country

The count down is well under way and I'm just ecstatic about being able to spend my second Christmas surrounded by snow, espically snow falling on Christmas Day. Yes that's right, I'm speaking in faith here that there WILL be snow falling on Christmas day, it would be a dream come true, seeing as it didnt happen last time I was there.

It's what every little Australian girl dreams of at Christmas time because we see it played every year when the christmas movies are on TV. You cant really comprehend it when you're stuck in Australia and greeted by a 35 or 40 degree Christmas Day!

I dont think Jeremy will ever understand how excited I get at the thought of snow, snowman making, tobogganing, ice skating and the like because he's grown up with that his whole life. I seroiusly feel like a little kid (and Jer probably thinks I look like it at times too) jumping up and down at home with excitement about being back in the snow at Christmas!

I'm also very excited about seeing "my" family...he he...see, I can say "my" now cause I'm a Dyck and proud to be one too! Cant wait to see everyone again and annoy the daylights out of my "little brother" because after all that's what sisters are for right!?

Jer's been checkin out the in-flight movies with Singapore Airlines and they look pretty good. So between watchin movies and playin the nintendo we should have a fun flight. Well me anyways cause I can sleep on a plane, unlike Jeremy.

Cannot wait till we touch down in Calgary for an amazing 5 week holiday!

Love to everyone who's reading this, please drop us a line :)

Saturday...at work!

It's Saturday morning here, and I'm stuck at work...unbelievable! If there is a worse way to spend a Saturday, it would probably have to involve paper cuts and lots of lemon juice.

Just a quick one here to tide you over to when I can get a full post again. So, I'm going point form from here

-Thursday night. Drove to Melbourne to the coolest cafe in an alley for dinner. Held for leaders of young adults around Melbourne and surrounding area. Great mingling. Cool ideas. Renewed passion for seeing our young adults go further. Got home at midnight, woke up next morning at 5:45 to be at work at 7. That part not so fun

-Friday night. Victory church goes all out to get in international speaker. Very funky, cool, good-looking guy. Me. Lots of fun had. Good speaking, used a bit of lighting and drama for effect. Relieved it's now over though.

-Saturday night. Friend of mine has the first 4 episodes of season 2 of Lost on DVD. Plan to watch all of them, one after another, no doubt to end in another outburst of "THAT'S how they end it?!!?!!"

I think those were the highlights of what's been happening. We now are only one week away from the Lion King. Excited? Oh yes!

And as I sit here, looking at the live webcam from Sunshine (I hear the best start of season for 16 years), it just remnds me of how much I can't wait for some snow again! Yes! And all in only a matter of a few weeks. And I hear the Farmer's Almanac says we are in for a stormy, snowy Christmas day...so maybe Meg will get her wish after all

See ya later!

An Informative and witty post

Ha!
Now that I've sucked you in with that misleading title, you're now stuck on reading this blog.

This week has been pretty much uneventful, which is why we haven't had a post since last weekend. Sorry about that. Of course, if you're looking to our blog to give your only source of entertainment...my friend...it's time to start looking elsewhere.

Meg's Great-grandma (Meg's dad's Grandma) died last Tuesday. It was coming for a long time, so everyone was pretty much prepared for it. She's had Alzheimers for quite a while, so at least she wasn't in too much pain and she was at peace. The funeral is tomorrow morning at 11AM. So, it's a good thing I'm not working tomorrow, because I have to jet down to Melbourne right after the funeral, because I have to put the sticker in my passport that will let me back into the country...apparently, you can't get EVERYWHERE on good looks like mine. I have to get the sticker that says I'm a temporary resident, which I've been for about a year now, but haven't needed to get the proof of it...until now that is, when in a few weeks time, we head off to Canada. WOO!

I think we're also going to try and find some Christmas presents while we're down there. I think we've been drawn the names of...oh wait....can't tell you...never know who's reading these things nowadays...

Christmas...I think it's about 7 weeks away...that's right...if you don't count Sundays...that's only 42 shopping days left...get cracking! You know, for all my years of having Christmas in winter, I can't honestly tell you the last time it actually snowed on Christmas day...not just had snow on the ground..that happens all the time...but actual snow falling from the sky on Christmas morning...Meg is convinced that it will be...even if it doesn't snow, I think I'm going to have to get up on the roof and push snow down over the window so Meg can see snow falling. But she lives in hope!

Hey, it's been good to get some emails from some of those people who we haven't heard from in a such a long time...especially those Calgary people that we'll get to see in a few short weeks. A few weeks...doesn't seem real at all. Oh, and update on the ticket fiasco. They have admitted it was their mistake, which I hope turns out to mean that we get First class seats all the way back...well...I'd settle for business class...

Another update done...I hope to write one later this week. So, keep posted...same Bat time, Same bat chan...umm...Bat website!
see ya!

A weekend in Bendigo

Hello all!

Meg and I are now trying to recover from a big weekend. Not the least of which was helped by the hour of sleep we lost. Good old Daylight Savings, eh? But the good thing about it is that it's now easier to call us based on the time difference. Now, as i type this at 9:25AM on Monday morning, it's 3:25PM on Sunday afternoon in Calgary. Quick fact for you...China has only one time zone and doesn't believe in Daylight savings...crazy!

So, back to the big weekend. This weekend, we decided to honor our Senior pastors, Pastor Bruce and Jan, because they have now been in the ministry for 25 years! That's a long time! So, we thought it fitting to give them only the very best! On Saturday night, we organized a big shin-dig at a fancy restaurant for them. Had all thse special guests come and we just looked back on their 25 years of what they're doing. Had some videos and pictures which was pretty funny to see the styles that the 80's considered cool. We had about 140 people there that night. Which, I think, blew them away to have all their friends there. They just loved it. I think buying stock in Kleenex would have been a wise thing before this weekend, seeing how many were used. So, then we lost an hour sleep that night because of the daylight savings and then got up on Sunday morning to have an honouring service for them. And we had a lot of people there yesterday morning too. But of course, you can't go a weekned like this without a nice big gift. 3 nights, 4 days at the very elite Versace Hotel. Even the teaspoons and toilets are Versace. I think it's the only 6 star hotel in Australia.

So, all in all, a good weekend had by all. And a first for me...I wore cufflinks! They're in style at the moment. Ha! Never thought you'd see that in sentence! "Jeremy" and "in style". Yeah, that's right. I'm a cool cat!

But it wasn't without dramas...On Thursday, Meg had tried to go and book our Singapore accomodation, only to find out that they had cancelled our flight back on the 9th of jan, and changed to the 7th of Jan. Now, why we would do such a thing? I never called saying that.
"Oh well", they said, "Now you can spend a couple more days in Singapore"
Silly travel agents. So we had to go in this morning and work all that out, trying to convince them that we actually WANTED to spend more time with the family. So, they're in the process of "sorting it out" because I think they realized that they messed up and didn't want us to see them rush around in a panic trying to fix it.

So, there you go.

That's just another weekend here in Bendigo.
Hope to hear from you soon
Love Jer & Meg

Some Clarification Needed

We've received a few emails and replies to our "Dyck Ministries International" blog entry (which is great!) but we do have to clarify with you all that dyck ministries international does not exist. We called ourselves that because it was the first time we'd been sent out from our church to minister at a different town and church. Click here for further understanding.

Sorry for the misunderstanding to some, maybe one day it'll come true!

We'll post another blog soon.

Carmen, Kathlynn, Jane & Jarrad and Lindsay...thank you so much for your replies! We love you all!

A failed date

Meg and I tried to do something we haven’t done in a long time last night…go out on a date. Unfortunately, it didn’t turn out so great. Early in the day yesterday I emailed meg to let her know I wanted to take her out and she could let me know what restaurant she wanted to go out to…(that’s a big hint for all the single guys…let her pick EVERYTHING). So, she picked a restaurant, only to email me later to say that they aren’t open Mondays and Tuesdays…oh the joys of living in a small town (oops, excuse me, Bendigo people hate that…it’s a Regional City). So, there went Plan A. Meg then picked another restaurant, and after work we drove there only to park out front to find it was closed for renovations…now Plan B had failed. We made a hasty decision to try Thai instead, so we drove up to the Thai restaurant, which, in it’s defence, said it was “open”, but the lock on the gate and darkened empty room suggested otherwise.
Are we doomed to spend Monday nights at our house because nothing in town is open???? Would we walk the streets endlessly with blank looks on our faces, asking strangers, “Do you have a place we could go?”?? That’s what it felt like. But in the end, Meg and I decided to go see a movie, Into The Blue…which turned out to be a pretty good movie. So, the night wasn’t a total failure…we’ll try again another night…so it’s just been postponed for now.
So, for those of you who don’t know, and those who do, Meg and I are partly responsible for the Young Adults in our church and one thing we do is every three weeks, we all meet together and go out for coffee. Pretty fun because we don’t always mingle together, so these nights are always fun. And that night happens to be tonight. Hopefully it’s not a repeat of last night
Anyways…I hope you’ve noticed that link on the right saying Email us! It’s there for a purpose!

" Dyck Ministries International"

We set out on our very first ‘Dyck Ministries International’ adventure at a ungodly hour of 7am Sunday morning. Wangaratta was our intended destination in which you would be happy to know we arrived safely two and a half hours later.We were greeted by a little yellow tin shed with a sign “Freedom Ministries.” We had absolutely no idea of what to expect but stepped inside this shed to a little church set up with red plastic chairs set for about 50 people. It was interesting for both of us to be part of a small church service again. We experienced things you would never see at your church back home, such as singers walking off the stage to get a drink of water etc! The little church was filled with amazing and friendly people who welcomed us into their church, and who were very excited to meet us.

I was up first with my communion message that I was little concerned about because I hadn’t spoken in front of adults in so long, (I’m used to talking to little kiddies!) but I was given many great reports about how significant it was to each individual, so really I had nothing to be nervous about.

After communion I handed the mic over to Jeremy and he did an amazing job. (Biased Wife!) His message title was “How to take ownership of your church” with his three key points being 1. You have to love your church. 2. You have to contribute to it and 3. You have to grow it. His message ended with us both praying for people, and many many people thanking Jeremy for such an amazing message. I think it was a very significant message for the church and the stage they are at.

One of the perks of ‘Dyck Ministries International’ was the thick wad of cash we were handed for the morning. Well, not so thick but it sure was a huge blessing to us, something we were not expecting.

We were then taken out for lunch with the Senior Pastor, her husband and a few other couples which was really nice. Conversation was great, lunch was even better and soon after that we headed towards Victoria’s best-preserved gold town, Beechworth.

Jeremy and I had wanted to visit Beechworth for sometime now and seeing it was only 20 minutes from Wangaratta we thought we’d make the trip over. It was such a pretty little town with the most amazing lolly shop that we just HAD to visit. After walking the streets of Beechworth we decided to make the three-hour trip home.

We were very happy to arrive home safely and get out of the car into some comfy clothes after our first outing as ‘Dyck Ministries International!’

Jeremy and I hear from a little birdie, that we have a huge fan base logging on to our blog to check for latest updates, so we hope you’re quite satisfied with this latest entry. We’d love to be able to post photos with each entry but we do not have a digital camera as yet, but we’re planning on purchasing one in Singapore on our way over to Canada at Christmas, so once we get back there’ll be photos galore on here. But until then everyone will just have to wait to see us in person!

Well that’s it from ‘Dyck Ministries International’ for today, we hope you are well and please don’t forget to email us. Just click on to the link on the right. Now that you’ve spent the time reading it you might as well drop us a line. =)

Love Meg & Jeremy

Thursday afternoon ramblings

So, hello and welcome

I'm glad Meg came up with this (and no I'm not afraid to say it was Meg's idea). This way insetad of talking to everyone and making thousands of dollars of phone calls, everyone can just come to this site, and check it all out. I suppose the onus is ours to make sure the blog is updated, but I'm sure that won't be a problem

This weekend, we've got some cool stuff happenening. Tomorrow night at church is the Young Guns Night, where all the young guys get a chance to do their thing...worship lead, preach...and with me chairing the meeting. Friday nights are always a cool night to come and check out what the young people are up to. And then Saturday is our free day to prepare for Sunday, which will be a big one for us. On Sunday, Meg and I have been invited to go to this church about a couple hours from Bendigo, in a little town called Wangaratta. They've asked me to preach there. Victory always sends someone over every couple months or so, and my name came up! Interesting...and they've asked Meg to do communion as well. So, it should be a good day except for the fact we have to leave Bendigo at 7AM on Sunday to get there on time...BOO!! We would've stayed overnight on Saturday night, but some friends of ours are having their engagement party that night....the nerve of them...I know! So, I don't think this church is very big at all...like 60-70 people, so I'll let you all know what it's like. I'm very excited/nervous but I'm sure it will be all well and good. I think Meg and I are more looking forward to some time away. It's been a while...a LOOOOOONG while since that has happened.

And after this weekend, the next thing we're looking forward to is the Lion King Production on Novermber 19th. That's the cool thing about having a world-class city only 90 minutes away....we get all these cool things coming to Melbourne. So, that's on the 19th of Nov. We've got aisle seats, and apparently, those are the best to have because all the animals will be running down the aisles, right beside us! We'll actually be able to smell their sweat! YES! I think Meg is looking forward to this more than me...The Lion King was her favorite movie and she even has the collectable cards...So, Dad, if you remember what I was like at the Phantom, this is what Meg will be like the entire night.

Well, Don't forget we have an email address linked to this page, so email us when you get a chance. Love you all
Jez & Meg

First Entry

Well it seems like having your very own blog is the latest craze that we just had to be a part of! I personally thought it would be a good idea to create one seeing as we're on the other side of the world from Jeremy's family, but also because we have so many friends from Bible College that we keep in touch with and it's easy now for everyone to come and check out this blog to see what we're looking like these days and what's going on in our lives!

We miss you all terribly and cannot wait to be back in Canada at Christmas!