Day 231 - Fri. 08-21

Daniel had lectures again this morning so we were able to sleep late again. This also meant that we didn't get to leave as early as we normally would. But, the class was shorter than normal so we recieved a message by 10:30 that they were done and we could come over to pick them up.

Goodbyes were still being said in the dining hall turned lecture hall (the lecture hall was under renovation) but we patiently waited while Daniel and Katie made sure they talked to everyone they wanted to.

Both students were already packed and ready to load their bags into our truck, so once the goodbyes were said, it took very little time to get on the road.

Here comes Katie with some of her bags.....





Daniel works at getting everything in - and still leave enough space for himself to sit comfortably in the back seat.....









We were pretty full - good thing Jim fixed those back doors a couple months ago!







It was another beautiful day for travel and my truck IS a comfy vehicle for riding in. We had no hitches at the boarder (in fact, the Australian's travelling with us said it was the fastest boarder crossing they had ever made) (and these are YWAM lifers....they have done MUCH international travel).

Did I mention in an earlier post that Katie (of HMK) and her mom would be coming home with us for a few days? Katie's mom (Sheree) came to the US for a conference in California. She timed it so that her conference would be over and she could be in MT for the graduation. They have friends in Alberta - AND it has been Katie's life long dream to go to Canada, so they first asked if they could catch a ride to Calgary where they would visit friends. It turned into a visit at our house for 2 days then Dan took them to back to Calgary to stay with their friends there before flying to Phoenix for a stay with more friends......when you are with YWAM for years, you make a whole lot of friends all over the world!

Anyway, we had a pleasant trip with many interesting conversations.

We stopped in Red Deer for supper where we heard more about the details of 'outreach' over the table. Much nicer to visit face to face without the road noise and engine noise of travel.

We arrived home fairly late due to our liesurely supper.

Day 230 - Aug 20 - Thursday

I started off this morning by going to the grocery store.






I decided to take advantage of the fact that our room has a full kitchen and bought what we needed for breakfasts and snacks.

Jim slept quite late, which was good, considering how awful he was feeling when he went to bed.

Daniel had had classes until 11, so we had the morning to ourselves. We went to the base as soon as he texted us that he was through. There, we met Katie and her mom and then we all went in to the dining room for Chicken Ceasar Salad.

After lunch, we mostly sat on the deck outside the Student Center and watched all the activity. Daniel had a long conversation with Andrew while we sat there.

Also this afternoon, we had a nice long visit with Isaac - the husband of the couple whose home I stayed in when I went down to visit Daniel in June. I was glad Jim had the opportunity to meet him. Turns out Isaac has worked in the Alberta Oil Patch - for a company that Jim has hired often.


After our people watching, Daniel went to pack and hang out with his friends. We went back to the hotel so Jim could rest and be ready for the graduation celebration tonight.

Before we left again for the base, we walked across the road to the beachfront that belongs to our hotel.

Of course, I took some photos of the pier area.....

I've said it before, Flathead is a beautiful lake....

When we arrived at the home on the base where the graduation celebration was to be held, we were amazed and impressed by the beautiful surroundings.

A pretty little creek runs along the back of the yard....

The back of the house is a profusion of blooms.....

In fact, there were containers of flowers and flower beds placed in many strategic locations all around the yard. Much prettier than crepe paper and balloons for decorations!

We even had an extra guest or two!

The meal was as delicious as our surroundings were beautiful and the weather was perfect.

The ceremonies began with some speeches by the staff......

......during which we had some more visitors.....

yes, they are wild turkeys.


I think Dan was glad to recieve his certificate stating that he had completed the DTS.

Sadly, the outreach phase of Dan's DTS was wrought with strife and therefore was not as 'successful' as he would have hoped. He did, however, make a few very good friends as a sort of survival strategy.....

Here, he poses with Mai and Katie. They formed a trio dubbed HMK (Hutch, Mai, Katie) who supported one another throughout the difficult 8 weeks in Thailand and Cambodia.

Another student Dan became better friends with during outreach was Jonathan...

In spite of the stresses of outreach, there were some good times, as evidenced by this photo of most of the group being silly.....

In the end, Dan is thankful for the experience - not only the opportunity to experience another culture, but especially for the growth that had to happen in him as he dealt with the 'people problems' within his team.

The graduation evening was a fun time for the students - a chance to appreciate one another and the whole experience.

Day 156 ~ Saturday, June 6

Remember this photo? I took this photo of the docks at Lakeside when we took Daniel to school. That was April 4 or thereabouts.

2 months later, the water level is MUCH higher!

Dan, waiting patiently while I was shopping...

This is Crystal - we spent most of Saturday afternoon and evening with her, playing Dutch Blitz.

For supper, the dining room served homemade pizza.....it was very good.

Holly was thirsty, I guess.....

The girl below Holly is Kelsie, her roommie. As soon as Kelsie discovered Holly had a jug of water behind her, she physically moved Holly to stand in front of her - apparently, Holly is known to 'randomly dump water on people'.

This is a great photo of Matthew.....he was staff at Vinj and Kath's school and always seeks Jim and I out when we are there. He is a sweetie.

A fun day. I wish I had taken a photo of my hosts, though - LaDawn and Issac. I enjoyed getting to know them.

Day 155 ~ Friday, June 5

Travel to Lakeside, Montana...




These 2 fellas mark the entrance into "Blackfeet Nation Territory"...






The reason for my trip to Lakeside.....

The beautiful (and comfortable) bed I was given in a friend's home.....

And the thoughtful gift that was left for us on the dresser.....

Day 94.....sunday April 5

We had breakfast with Daniel and Vinj and Kathryn's friend, Matt, then took our rather reluctant leave of Danny.

Personally, I was torn between being sad about his being gone for so long and being excited about the new experiences he will have over the next five months.

Travel today was much prettier than yesterday.....the sun was shining and the skies were clear.

Flathead Lake is so pretty.......These photos were taken from 'The Docks' in Lakeside.....

This shot is from Sommers....the small town north of Lakeside:

North of the Lake, just before you come to Kalispell:

North of Kalispell:

Now we come to the south side of 'the Passes'. There are 3 passes to take you through the mountains. I took these photos to show how much snow has accumulated on the mountains.

Here is another photo of the snow piled up on the side of the road......taking the picture while driving does not really show the height.....

This is a mountain side of which I have several photos - at different times of the year. This is the first where the ground is completely covered in snow.

See that winding road? That is the road through the passes.....it is very twisty - many corners are almost a 90 degree turn. You soon learn that the speed signs of 25 mph are not just a suggestion.

Finally, a place to pull over where we could see far enough down the road to cross it safely in order to take a 'perspective' photo:

This final photo was taken in a small town north of Fort McLeod...I forget which one. I thought this was kind of strange - how can you have a whole museum about ONE type of horse?

I started driving after this so took no more photos.

Jim was starting to feel pretty sick.

Day 93...Saturday April 4

This is the day we took Daniel to Lakeside, Montana to begin his 5 month Discipleship Training School with Youth With a Mission. (DTS with YWAM).

The drive through the mountains of northern Montana is very pretty and interesting.

I chose to show off the photos from this day using 'Smilebox' again.....hope you enjoy it!

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