Adjusting and Abiding

This is just a quick post for anyone out there who may still be checking this blog.
Much has happened over the past 14 months.(sometimes it seems so much longer that that.) We are still in Alberta and enjoying it very much. We've seen improvements in David's health which is encouraging. There are times when the adjustments still bring moments of frustration but we've been trying to focus on abiding. Just being. Being where God wants us to be. Being in His will. Abiding in Christ.

Things Kids Say

So, when you are working at a kid's camp, you are going to hear a few cute things. Last week the speaker asked the kids, "Whats the difference between a need and a want?" One little boy raised his hand and answered:
"A need is something your parents will buy for you, and a want is something you have to buy for yourself"
LOL!! Most adults in chapel that night erupted in laughter and applause.

We are into our last week here. Today is David's last day of work and Sonya works until Wednesday. Right now there are boxes everywhere and chaos in our home. We are quite tired but just trying to press through. This Friday is going to come real fast!

Alberta Bound

Yes, it is one of David's favourite Gordon Lightfoot songs and it is what we will be doing on the 25th of July. Our service here at Red Rock will end on the 26th of July.
The reason for moving on is the ongoing battle of David's health. He is still able to work, but the toll on him is taking too much. The stiffness, pain and exhaustion are a daily occurrence. It is time to find something less physically demanding. Sonya also faces the long, long hours of her job. We came to willingly serve and contribute to the running of this camp but as we face personal health issues, there is less and less joy as the weeks go by. We need to concentrate on finding medical care that will help us get to the reasons behind why David's body is not producing white blood cells. We need to find ourselves again.
To this end, we are moving to Camrose Alberta.
Why Camrose you ask? David will not be able to work forever and we need to look to our future. We have discovered that some ex-neighbours from our Tavistock days live in the Leduc area and own a scrapbooking store in Camrose and have offered to help us relocate. We have found a rental suite to live in and David already has a couple of job interviews lined up at building supply companies for sales type jobs. We are praying that other fall opportunities will come our way too. We've found a church close to where we will be living so we are looking forward to just getting resettled into "normal" life. LOL. We know a few of you are saying to yourselves "Normal-Biehns" do those 2 words really go together??
This is not what we had planned when we moved to Manitoba, but as we have learned from the past, our plans are not God's plans. David just looooves to move, (slight sarcasm here) and we are finding these last few weeks very stressful, but we are trusting God in all things. Prov. 3:5&6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths" We both know that this move is necessary. We will miss many of the young Summer Staff personnel, especially the ones we have just met. Many of these young people are mature beyond their years and are wonderful examples to others. They have been a bright light of encouragement to us.
We will try to post atleast once more before we leave. Thank you to all who are praying for us.

Rock N' Roll

Some of the experiences in the Whiteshell Provincial Park have definately been different.
For instance, we were awakened thismorning around 4:30 am by very LOUD cracks of thunder. Bouncing of the rocks all around us, seemed to intensify things! Wow, it was unbelieveable and for Sonya who doesn't care for storms it was quite terrifying. There still are some storms rolling around in the distance and they say we are suppose to have a fair bit of rain over the next few days.
We also saw another black bear a few days ago just walking accross the road with not a care in the world. It has shocked a couple of ladies who were walking so we pulled over and gave them a ride back to a "safer" area.
The cabin project is still pressing forward. David has been still working away. Kitchen life is humming with lots of activities and huge amounts of food.
We will be posting more news soon.

Never A Dull Moment

So much for the laid-back camping lifestyle. Just when we thought that things were falling into place to start the camping season, a number of twists, challenges and heartbreaks paid us a visit.
First. On a sad note. Our newest camp dog, Chase, had to be put down on Friday night June 27. Summer staff were arriving and one of the adults who was staying the weekend was moving his vehicle and the dog ran under it at the wrong time. It's injuries were extensive and there was no other choice.
On a personal note, David finally got some news of his bone marrow sample on Wednesday June 25. He is not producing enough white blood cells which is the cause of his lethargy and lack of stamina. More tests are on the horizon and the adventure continues.
Fast forward. Tuesday , July 1. Freak, isolated, wind storm came through at 5:00 P.M. resulting in the downing of 2 hydro poles, 3 transformers and many trees and wires. Thankfully no one was injured and there was little to no damage to any of our building structures. Our generator maintained some lights and the water system. Main freezers and fridges were not on the auxiliary, so we kept them shut. A small generator was hooked up for the houses for freezers, etc. It was loud though and seemed to vibrate off all the rock here. BRAVO to Manitoba Hydro!!! about 3 trucks and 7-10 workers. They arrived at camp within an hour, worked through the night and restored our power at 5:15 in the morning.(Approx. 4 hrs before our first junior campers arrived...whew) Today was a day for cleaning up fallen trees, scraping up oil from the broken transformers {an environmental cleanup was going on today courtesy of MB hydro} and getting our first group of campers settled. We still have no phone power but hopefully that won't take too long to restore. You would think that we were past the worst of it. But wait!!!!
Wednesday, July 2, 4:30 P.M. Call came from our food delivery truck. It was seriously broken down in Rennie, 17 km away. Sonya was trying not to panic. Some of our staff had to take a couple of trucks to pick up our supplies, all 102 pieces, or they would be taken back to Winnipeg by the tow truck and leave us with almost nothing to serve our campers for the rest of the week.
Whew!! When God wants to stretch us, one word comes to our minds....CAMP!

Here Comes Summer

Are we ready? Doesn't matter, here comes summer. Our spring staff has been here for two months now and the time has flown by. Much work has been done on getting the camp ready for the busy weeks ahead. Maintenance, waterfront, programing, kitchen and the rest of the staff have been working very hard. We have another week until the first group of campers arrive.
Sonya was able to take her two days off in row before her busy time starts. She got a very inexpensive flight to Edmonton to visit some ex-neighbours of ours from Ontario. It was a good break for her and brought rest and encouragement to her spirit.
The cabin project will get a big boost this weekend when a group of 10 to 15 volunteers will come on Saturday to get a lot of the siding done. Some of them are experienced handymen so this help is very much appreciated.
And so it goes. Life at camp has it's own pace. Fast or slow, nothing we do can change it. Some things great, some things not so great, but we are in it.
Thank you, from the depths of our hearts, for all of our friends and relatives who keep praying.
(Dave here).. P.S. Saw a bear Saturday morning driving back from Winnipeg. I was driving, not the bear.

Not So Hot...the weather of course..

Thought we'd suprise everyone with a picture!

This is our second post this week, after being gently reminded that we had not posted for nearly two weeks once. Glad to hear that people out there in the big, wide world are dilligently keeping up with our lives. We do think of our families and friends very often and you are always in our hearts.
We have noticed in the news lately that most of the rest of the country has been enjoying [or enduring] a bit of a heat wave. Here in our little part of Manitoba, we have been enjoying nice, warm temps and a fair share of rain. With the rain comes everyones' favourite part of the year, insect season. Yes we have mosquitoes and black flies now but we also have had an influx of dragonflies. It didn't take long for them to clear the air of the first wave of pests. The locals are saying that it is unseasonably cool for this time of year, but we don't mind one bit.
Life goes on here at camp with many groups coming and going. Sonya has a good staff now and as the weeks go by, they will become better and better we are sure. The project continues to progress and there have been many favourable comments by people who have been here before. With all the hours we put in, it is hard to enjoy the beauty around us but soon we will become more diligent about taking time for US!!!!!. There are a number of fine golf courses in the area and we are going to visit them very soon.
God bless you all and thank you for the prayers, phone calls, E-mails and good thoughts. You continue to be our rock.