One of the books on my reading list for the summer is ‘No Greater Love’ by Mother Teresa. This is a book that I’ve gotten out from the library quite a few times and have read over and over. It is one of my absolutely favourite books. For me, Mother Teresa’s words are full of passion and conviction. Mother Teresa certainly isn’t known for writing theology, she is known for her life of service to the poor and radical dedication to Jesus. Knowing that these words spring from such a life, make them all the more precious and meaningful to me. This book is a great one for me to read at camp. Mother Teresa speaks over and over about being selfless service, prayer, falling in love with Jesus, and seeing Jesus in the least likely places and the least likely people.

Right now I’m just a few chapters in. Since I enjoy quotes so much and I’ve been making tons of underlines in my Kindle as I’ve been reading, I thought I’d post some quotes that have stood out to me so far:

The fruit of love is service.

Were I to think about crowds, I would never begin anything. It is the person that matters. I believe in person-to-person encounters.

If we don’t pray, our presence will have no power; our words will have no power.

Tomorrow if He finds somebody more helpless, more hopeless, I think He will do still greater things with her and through her.

I think that the person who is attached to riches, who lives with the worry of riches, is actually very poor. However, if such a person puts her money at the service of others, then she is rich, very rich.

Our works of charity are nothing but the overflow of our love of God from within.

From  the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. If your heart is full of love, you will speak of love. I want you all to fill your hearts with great love. Don’t imagine that love, to be true and burning must be extraordinary. No; what we need in our love is the continuous desire to love the One we love.

We are called to love the world. And God loved the world so much that He gave Jesus. Today He loves the world so much that He gives you and me to be His love, His compassion, and His presence, through a life of prayer, of sacrifice, of surrender to God.

Often a deep and fervent look at Christ is the best prayer: I look at Him and He looks at me. When you come face to face with God, you cannot but know that you are nothing, that you have nothing.

On Saturday, Josh and I arrived at Double H Ranch, in Upstate New York, where we’ll be spending what’s sure to be an action-packed summer here at camp. Josh is going to be a full-time counselor and I’m doing my Small Animal Assistant gig in the barn. Right now training for program staff (which I am) is in process, and we’re also preparing for Camp Inspiration which is a special week of camp for children on ventilators who come with their family.

Josh and I get to have our own room, in a place called ‘Circle H’. Circle H is like a big log cabin with dorm rooms in it. It’s pretty cool for all. Like, I’ve said to a bunch of people here- camp is so far, my favourite place where Josh and I have lived together.

This afternoon me and the rest of the barn girls got to work. Josh helped me clean out the rabbit hutches and I gave all the critters some baby toys that had been given to me and that I collected from Value Village.
I'm already enjoying the camp food. They feed us good here! Today for lunch I had a veggie burger with sun-dried tomato hummus, and then chicken Parmesan for dinner.

I'm also enjoying the glorious air down here and the sights and smells of the wilderness. There is truly no place quite like camp, and I'm glad to have a whole new summer ahead of me.

Before traveling to Double H Ranch in Upstate New York, Josh and I had the opportunity to visit St.Catharines; the city where we met while attending Bible College- typical story (on the surface anyway!) We stayed with our friends Peter and Julie Karanfilis and their son Stephen.  We met Peter and Julie at Bible College and they are truly an awesome couple.  The reason we know about Double H, is through Julie who had been a counselor there herself.

We couldn’t be in St.Catharines without visiting our beloved people at Scott Street Manor. A few years ago, during and after Bible College Josh and I, Jessica and Colin and Josh Heymans started a church at this Manor. When I think about worthwhile and fun things that I’ve been a part of in my life, Scott Street Manor tops the list.

 Probably all of the residents at the manor are  clinically depressed along with other personality disorders and conditions that prevent them from living independently and functioning safely in society. We often said that Scott Street Manor wasn’t a church for the faint of heart. We’ve had some funny and interesting times to say the least, but the transformation we’ve seen in these people who the world has seem to forgotten about- has inspired me for life I feel. 

Scott Street Manor is the perfect place to go to just love on people, fully relying on God to give you the perseverance to just keep loving.

Josh and I felt like very much at home visiting with our manor people and catching up. We felt encouraged to learn that they have movie nights and an exercise program amongst a few other weekly activities. 

 We hope it’s not too long before we’re in St.Catharines again for another visit.

Last night I wasn’t feeling well. I drank half a cup of lemon ginger tea and fell fast asleep quickly. Sometime between the night and morning, I had a really strange but vivid dream.

Josh and I were making our way through a country field with our eyes fixed on the beautiful orange and pink sky in front of us. It appeared to be sunset and it was a gorgeous one. Other people were drawn to it too, and soon a little crowd formed around us as stopped and stared at the sky. Suddenly in the midst of the pink and orange cloud, stars began to twinkle. We collectively gasped in amazement at the magical beauty as we felt we were witnessing a phenomenon, but there was also very much eeriness to it.

Before our very eyes, the sky began to change rapidly. Royal blue and grey collided in and soon the bright sunset dissolved away, and a swirling night sky loomed over us. I remember feeling really nervous. I had a gut feeling that this weird sky meant something serious. And it turned out I was right. A figure that resembled a grim reaper type character lowered down from high in the sky toward the earth. In a shaky voice that contained both a sense of disbelief and knowing, Josh said, “Today is the day. This is the judgment day.” And I knew he was right without a doubt. As the strange figure descended onto the earth it was as if we and the crowd all understood this to be Satan and we turned around and started moving as fast as we in the other direction. I actually remember holding our hamster Sonnen in my hand as we hurried along the field, and she put her ears down and burrowed into my shoulder the way hamsters do when they’re nervous or upset.

Suddenly it was daytime and people collected in coffee shops and restaurants, but no one was eating or drinking. There was no more work or school. From a TV in the coffee shop we listened to a lady speak who looked ordinarily human but we knew she was a heavenly-being. Some kind of little cards were handed out to everyone by some unknown person. Time dragged on painfully. I remember Josh saying, “Wow, Harold Camping wasn’t too far off.” I thought that perhaps it was a dream. I pinched myself multiple times and stepped on my one foot with the other but nothing happened. It wasn’t a stretch for me to believe that perhaps this was really happening. I began to accept that it wasn’t a dream.

What stands out to me most about the dream besides the way the sky looked, was the awful sense of terror that I felt. Assurance of salvation or not, there was an awesome dread that filled my body and made me dizzy. There was no rejoicing; no celebrating or singing. No excitement and joy that Jesus would soon take us up to Heaven, but just a feeling of intense nervousness and dread.

I don’t remember what else happened but I woke up, and was relieved but also in disbelief that it really was just a dream.

It’s a pretty big deal when the Brown family gets together.  My older brother Brian lives in Newfoundland, my twin sister Jessica and Colin are residing in London, Ontario and my Dad in good old Windsor, Ontario; and since when Josh and I aren’t traveling we’re in PEI, it’s a rare occasion when we could all get together. But thanks to determination and some Air Miles, we made it happen.

Yesterday morning Brian arrived and went out to eat at a little diner down the street and then spent the rest of the morning walking by the waterfront and downtown, with a much needed stop at Starbucks of course. Colin introduced Josh to a drink that I think I’ll be seeing a lot more of now- a Mocha Frappucino with two shots of espresso. 

Colin, Jessica, Josh and I went to Value Village because that’s just what we do, and I’m not sure that we’ll ever grow tired of it. I was really happy to find tons of baby toys to bring to my darling bunnies and guinea pigs at Double H Ranch, as well as some American Eagles jeans which are destined to get lots of love as I wear them in the barn this summer.

In the evening we went over to our Aunt Lynn and Uncle Mal’s for dinner. As I was pinning my hair back into a messy chignon, I was picturing a ‘please pass the potatoes’ kind of dinner, but little did we know that our loving, sneaky Dad planned us a birthday surprise. Some friends from church including Joanne Noble and her daughter Heather and the Nicholls family joined us as we indulged in some delicious chicken, hamburgers and salads. My favourite was the potato and egg salad. The weather was beautiful and it was sweet to chat and catch up with some new and old friends, and our family.

After dinner, Jessica, Brian and I blew out the candles of our shared birthday cake. It was a sweet touch to a lovely evening. 

Last night Jessica, Colin, Josh and I stayed up late talking and laughing over Scott Street Manor memories and a bunch of other things. This morning, Jessica and Colin headed back to London since they’re moving to another apartment today. I wished that I could put them in my pocket and take them to camp with us this summer. It’d be so much fun!

 On a whim, Brian decided to go with them to help, and then hitchhike back home. He insists it works, so let’s hope that it does! Today Josh and I are taking it easy today and are going to hang out with my dad this afternoon when he finishes his work.

Our next stop after Ottawa:  Toronto to visit our friends Shawn and Hayley Cuthill. Our friend Michelle introduced us to the Cuthills and so over the past few years we’ve been visiting each other, and Josh and I have gotten see some of the awesome work they’re doing in their city. 
I feel like being in a big city has been a great change of pace for me. I do enjoy Prince Edward Island, but I find that I’m longing for city life and the many opportunities that come along with it.

I enjoy being a part of the everyday life of the Cuthills as they care for their three children and do a whole lot of other great stuff at the same time. We were able to attend their organization’s appreciation dinner which was cool because we always get the invite for it on Facebook but usually we’re away and unable to attend. Eating tandoori chicken, a basmati rice salad and mint salad, while talking about the awesome stuff Jesus is doing in the city, is a pretty cool way to spend an evening.

And now as Josh says ‘like the Littlest Hobo’ (I’m too young to know this show) we jump on a bus and we’re off again. We are now currently in Windsor visiting with family. Yesterday we had a backyard birthday celebration, but you'll hear more about that soon!

Our little Toyota Corolla started having problems again, just like last month it had some problems and the month before…so Josh and I decided rather than risk the chance of our car breaking down during the trip, we’d take the bus to Ontario, and then to Double H Ranch in Upstate New York. Sure  driving the car would have been the more flexible and comfortable option, and we would have had a car at camp to drive around which would have been sweet- but I think no car is better than a broken down one, especially when you’re traveling through the US.

So on Tuesday we said goodbye to our sweet little hamster Sonnen. She’ll be staying with Josh’s mom and stepdad for the summer, and eventually going to their cottage. We’ve become quite attached to our little pet, and we miss her already, but we hope that she’ll have a fun summer while we’re away.

After a long bus ride with some uncomfortable attempts at sleep we made it to Ottawa where we’re now hanging out with Josh Heymans, our buddy from bible college. I especially enjoyed yesterday evening when we had supper at a restaurant called Scores, and laughed over memories of the church we started at the Scott Street manor in St.Catherines. Boy do I need another manor in my life.

Tonight we’re thinking of going to Shawarma Palace, since we all like shawarmas and it seems that everyone and their mom is encouraging us to go there. I’m looking forward to another evening hanging out and laughing with Josh Squared. It feels just like old times as I sit in the back seat and laugh over the Joshs bantering as we head somewhere to get some food, and Heymans is wearing some kind of distressed jeans or paint splattered shirt, and there is always some current issue to discuss or an enjoyable old one to bring up again.

I'm sure glad we've stayed connected with Heymans. He was friends with us both before we were together and he even joined up with us in Vegas the day after we got married. We enjoyed some awesome street evangelism including our daring Halloween evangelism, and a day trip to Toronto to hand out lunches to the homeless. Most of my favourite memories from our bible college include Heymans. And when you have a friend who you can reflect with and laugh together over funny times but some of those major-growth times in your life- that's pretty special.

Missoula Firefighter Brett Cunniff holds an oxygen mask to a kitten rescued from a house fire. Photo by Tom Bauer.

To read about what happened click here for the article.

While I was Googling randomly for stories about kittens being rescued from fires I found an article about Scarlett the cat who carried out her 5 kittens one by one from a burning garage, despite her eyes blistering and suffering major burns herself. I remember seeing her story on TV as a little kid and had forgotten all about it until now. I adore this story. It is so touching, courageous and is the story of a mother's love.  
Click here to read an article about Scarlett.

I also seriously want to read this book!

This past beautiful, sunny Friday was my last day of work at the daycare. The toddlers and I took advantage of the sunshine and spent the morning in the backyard with the 3&4-year old group. As the smell of Doris making homemade hamburgers in the kitchen drifted outside, many of the kids were busying themselves making their own food creations. With my fascination for food, cooking and children at play, I was all too happy to walk around, observe and ask the children what they were making.

What a sweet sight: a little blonde girl with curls, making cakes out of sand. When I asked her what kind of cakes she was making she was quick to answer 'carrot cake' and tell me about how her Nana spends all day in the kitchen making carrot cakes for her, Mommy and Daddy.

Chicken! That's what this weed adorned sea shell is. Actually, the little girl making this chicken dish was helping another little boy to throw a Justin Bieber party!

This plant also became part of the festive decorations for the Justin Bieber party

These kids told me they were making cheese. That's not one you hear too often, eh?!

And the pie making! This is a strawberry pie and I think she's forming the crust. The girls beside her were making blueberry and peach pies. When I told the girls that I've never made a pie before, they filled me in on how easy it is.

And now for the real dessert: 'Good bye Jenny  Cupcakes' as was written on the menu!

Yesterday morning I was sitting in my classroom with some of my favourite kids. The sun was streaming in through the windows and poured onto the wooden floor creating a lovely canvas for shadow puppets. It was between making shadow puppet ducks and spiders that we began to discuss summer food. We indulged in a fantastical conversation about ice cream sandwiches, popsicles, barbecued hot dogs and hamburgers, potato salad, watermelon, corn on the cob, lemonade, etc. Their 2-year old minds combined with my 24-year old mind crafted a beautiful, mouth-watering picnic in which all of our favourite foods were present. We then went further to day dream aloud of splashing in the pool, going to the beach and toasting smores at a camp fire.

“All I want to talk about right now is summer,” I announced to the children, and they happily chimed in with what they like to do with Mommy and Daddy in the summer. It was such a fun morning, though it was only 9am and I had already worked up a big appetite talking about all that food. 

As I sat there lazily on the rocking chair, I thought uncomfortably about how children in the third world are also fantasizing about food and probably dreaming about bread, rice and the bare essentials, and here we are talking about all this extra, fun food that we know we’re going to get. I feel that we’re so far removed from the poverty of the world, and it’s so easy to not even realize how wealthy we are and how that makes us very accountable to the poor.

Not to say, it’s wrong to have fun discussions about food. Every culture has their food that they love to talk about and eat. But as I work with children I really don't want to foster an ignorance or complacency about those whose needs go unmet. I want to encourage a thoughtfulness about others that transcends into actions driven by love and passion. It all has to age-appropriate of course, but I hope to really learn about how to communicate effectively to children about helping others.