The Hills Are Alive With The Sound of Music

This year's annual musical performance at WCC was The Sound of Music. I remember being surprised when Dwight told me which musical we were doing. To be honest I was worried. The Sound of music is probably the most well known musical out there and that puts a lot of pressure on for a great performance. This year I didn't audition for a major role because I knew I didn't have the time to commit it. I played the role of Frau Schmidt, the housekeeper, and I sang in the nun choir. It was a lot of work and a lot of fun. I can't say that I'm sad that it's over. I'm thankful for the experience and I am also thankful that now I have more time to focus on my studies. Last year it was almost depressing when musical was finished. (We did Narnia, better known as The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe) Maybe it was because I had a larger role (the white witch) and was a lot more involved, I'm not really sure. We were able to pull together a pretty good show this year with the hard work of a lot of people, actors, set designers, make-up and costume crews, stage crews and a great director and a fantastic music director. I don't have any performance pictures to share yet but I do have some backstage shots for you to see.

My roomate, Joyce looking very nunish!


Pamela, the crocheting nun...I spent a lot of time backstage so I thought I'd make good use of it.


This is Brett as Captain Von Trapp, and I as a nun. I don't have any pictures of me as Frau Schmidt. Oh well.


Ryan Emmons, the very giddy Nazi guard.

Desiring to Desire...

About four years ago I sat in chapel at WCC and listened to the words of Tyler Laycock. He spoke about the desire to know God more. And he talked about when we don't desire to know God more we need to pray and ask God to give us the desire to desire to know Him more. And if that doesn't work to pray for the desire to desire to desire to know Him more. I think you get the point. Anyway, Tyler's words have stuck with me all these years. I often think about my desire to know God more, or my lack of desire to know Him more. Tonight I started praying that I would desire God more. I have also been praying recently for focus, because I have lost mine. I have focus, but it is on the wrong things. I'm focused on school, I'm focused on work, I'm focused on musical, I'm focused on so many things but not the most important thing. I have let other things take priority over my God in my life. With the loss of my focus I have allowed certain sins to creep back into my life and I have allowed them to make themselves at home. How I detest these sins in my life! Oh, Lord give me the desire to know you more! I feel like if I could know you better that I would be more like you. I wouldn't be this broken person who keeps falling into my old ways. Lord, transform me. Give me the desire to truly know you and become like you!

Treading Water and Refusing to Drown!

In recent weeks I have been getting very discouraged with the number assignments that I have looming before me. There are only 4 weeks left in the semester before finals begin. (I actually thought there were 5 up until a moment ago when I looked at my calendar!!! Good Grief! It's worse than I thought!) The most suiting way to describe the way I have felt is drowning! I am currently working on approximately 5 different assignments at the same time. Three of these said assignments are due on Wednesday including a critical book review that I have found myself getting completely frustrated with. Every time I sit down to work on it I inevitably end up doing something else. In other words I have been procrastinating and getting no where fast! Finally I decided to start working on a different assignment for a while. Approaching a new task was much less frustrating than working on the one that I was getting no where with. And after working on something else for a while I was able to come back to the book review with fresh eyes. Soon enough though I found myself getting frustrated once again with it and looking for anything else to do but that. The feeling of getting nowhere has been overwhelming! I kept thinking that if I could just get through this book review that then I wouldn't feel like I was drowning in a sea of assignments with not even a glimpse of the shore in sight.

As I sit here tonight I still haven't finished said book review...grrr! But tonight I did finish a different assignment. I've been working on so much at once recently that I haven't actually finished anything for a number of weeks. Tonight the feeling of accomplishment that I had after finishing an assignment was incredibly satisfying and encouraging! Even though it is only one of MANY more, just being able to say that I have finished something makes the rest seem a little less daunting. After finishing that assignment tonight I went back to the ever frustrating book review and I actually think I have a chance of producing something worthwhile! It's as if I've been thrown a PFD to help keep me afloat!

These next four weeks are going to be crazy but as I am able to cross each assignment off of my list it will give me encouragement and drive to tackle the next one! This semester is not going to drown me! I'm treading water and I will make it through one stroke at a time!!!

Friends who speak Portuguese

I was really excited last month when I discovered that Queen City Collegiate (an English school for foreigners that rents space from Western) had a new student from Brazil. I soon met Leticia and we became friends instantly. I was so excited to have someone to speak to in portuguese but I was very disappointed when I learned that she would be returning to Brazil in only a few weeks. She had come to Canada to visit her friend Carla and to imporove her English speaking skills. She and I started to do friendspeak together almost everyday. I was able to meet her friend Carla as well. Carla is half Brazilian and half Japanese and she is married to a Canadian. I am so excited that I am now able to pracitce my portuguese with Carla regularly. It was very sad to say good-bye to Leticia last week but I am excited that when I go to Brazil this summer that I will be able to visit her.

Leticia with Carla's dog

Baby Shower

On Saturday October 28th some of my friends from high school in Saskatoon held a baby shower for my friend Lisa and her daughter Cadence Mattea (aka my niece!) It was even more fun for me because I came as a surprose for Lisa. She was not expecting me...hehe It was definately fun to see the surprise on her face.

The evening was a great time of catching up between all of us. It is neat because this group of people who spent at least 5 days a week together back in higschool can get together maybe once a year and talk just like old times. Of course a lot of the conversation is now catching up on what we're all up to these days. Some of them are married and having kids now and some of us are still enjoying the single life:)

The highlite was of course getting to see my neice again! This was actually the third time I had seen her as I was in Saskatoon the weekend before when my roomate randomly decided to make the trip. This Little girl has grown so much since I first met her back in September!

Me and My beatiful neice!!!!

Cadence Mattea Wearing a very cute t-shirt and hanging out on the blanket that I crocheted for her.


This is Tamara holding Cadence. Tamara is one of the only other girls from our high school group who is still single and doesn't have babies...It make me feel better anyway!


Robin holding Cadence. Robin has a little boy of her own at home.


Jenna holding Cadence. Jenna is married and has two of her own.


This is Cadence and Spencer. Would you believe that Spencer is about three times her age?? You would never guess by the size of them! I took this photo because I think it will be cute to pull out some day at the wedding. ;) hehe Who knows!?!?

Here she is all bundled up and ready to head home. Bye Little girl!

World Mission Workshop 2006 - Lubbock Christian University

What do you get when you take fifteen people, a fifteen passenger van and a small trailer and send them packing from Regina, Saskatchewan to Lubbock, Texas for a workshop on world missions?? A lot of fun times, good memories and changed lives!

About two weeks ago i had the pleasure of attending my fifth World Mission Workshop, this time in Lubbock Texas. Fifteen of us from WCC went. It was a little cramped in the van but it really didn't matter all that much. Everyone seemed to get along pretty well and I know that realationships were deepened.

We left at 5 am on Tuesday October 10th. That first day we drove for 20 hours. We spent the night at York College in Nebraska. We toured the campus on Wednesday morning and then drove another 6 hours to Oklahoma Chrisitan University in Oklahoma. I had the opportunity to catch up with some Canadian friends who either work or study there as well as my American friend Heather Pienne who I met in Brazil. Amanda Coulter gave us a tour of OC's campus on Friday morning and then we made our way through the last stretch to reach Lubbock.

Something I began to ask myself during that last day of travel is, Why do people call Saskatchewan ugly?? It is way prettier than west Texas!!!! Oh my goodness! I have never seen such a barren and desolate looking place in all my life! I think Saskatchewan is beautiful without even comparing it to that horrible place known as west Texas!

The workshop was a great encouragment to me. It is wonderful to be with so many young people who are all focused on the same thing that I am. Highlights for me were all of the keynote speakers and the feast or famine. On Saturday at lunch we were divided into different groups that represented different economic groups in the world. We ate according to what group we were in. Some people sat on the ground recieving only bread and soup, others torillas and beans and others sitting at tables being waited on by staff. On the trip home to Canada we shared some of our different experiences during the feast or famine. It was an eye oppening experience for all us.

We broke the trip home up on to two days. We spent the night somewhere in Colorado although I really have no idea where exactly. It was an encouraging trip and I hope that the only thing that will prevent me from attending more of these workshops in the future is actually being out on the mission field.

After arriving in Colorado our group worked off a little energy by climbing a tree in teh church parking lot.

Here is most of our group at a rest stop somewhere before we hit the Canadian border.

Lessons from a Coffee Maker

Ok, so it's really not the coffee maker that I am learning from but it makes for a good title. :)

I have a friend named Melisa Vye. I met her last year at WCC. We took some classes together and also served together on Student Union. Shortly after meeting Melisa there were certain qualities that she has that really stood out to me. One is that she is such an encouraging person. She is always leaving little happy notes in people's mailboxes or speaking words of encouragement into their lives. I have been the recipient of many such happy notes and words of encouragement!

Melisa is a single mom of two little boys. I never tire of listening to the stories Melisa has to share about her sons. The love and the patience that she has with her children are amazing to me. I admire how she strives to be a godly example to her boys. I also love how she can smile even in the face of the many difficult things that are a part of parenting.

In April Melisa and I both went with a group from WCC to New Orleans to help with the clean up efforts. I learned so much from Melisa during the two weeks that I spent traveling and working with her on the New Orleans trip. The most prominant lesson in my mind is about prayer. Melisa is a huge example to me of a prayerful woman. No matter how large or small the issue Melisa's first instinct is to bring it before the Lord in prayer. That is the kind of person that I want to be. I see so much strength in Melisa and she is not shy in sharing that the source of that strength is God. I admire my friend Melissa very much.

So you may be wondering where the coffee maker comes into all of this. Well, last week I was talking with someone about how I make coffee in the morning by boiling water and pouring it through a filter into my mug. Melisa happened to be listening and decided that I needed to have a coffee maker. Yesterday morning she found me before chapel and presented me with a gift. A brand new coffee maker! I hugged her twice before I remembered that she isn't into hugging all that much. Melisa is the kind of person who is watching for people who are in need. If she sees a need she does what she can to meet it. I definately was not desperate to have a coffee maker but I was very grateful for Melisa's gift.

I want to encourage you all to look for ways to be a blessing in someone's life. It may not mean buying them a coffe maker, it could just mean a little happy note or a word of encouragement. I know that Melisa, in her quiet way, has helped me to realise that I need to be more active in this.

Cadence Mattea Little

On Tuesday, September 5, 2oo6 at 2:53 in the morning my best friend of twelve years gave birth to her first child, Cadence Mattea (pronounced Mattía) Little. She was 22 and a quarter inches long and weighed 8 pounds 11 and a half ounces. This past weekend I had the opportunity to go to Saskatoon and stay with Lisa and her husband Paul and enjoy their company and well as meet my very first niece.

I remember coming back to the dorm last year and finding a note on my door telling me to call Lisa. I turned to my sister and said, "I wonder if Lisa is pregnant?" I was very excited when I did talk to her and she told me that I was going to be an aunty. I was excited for Lisa and Paul who were about to become parents for the first time but I was also very honored that Lisa and Paul would want their child to call me aunty. I am very thankful to be able to have that relationship with their children.

I spoke to Paul on the phone the day after Cadence was born. The first thing I heard was Cadence's soft cry in the background. That simple sound brought tears to my eyes. Tears were there again last Friday evening as Lisa placed this tiny little girl into my arms for the very first time.

The picture above and the picture below are both Miss Cadence napping on my chest during the first time I held her. The one below is taken at such an angle that you can see her mommy and Daddy on the couch in the background.



Here she is napping on her mommy's chest.


And here she is sucking on her daddy's thumb. Her mommy was otherwise occupied at that very moment and she was gettig impatient. :)

It was a joy to spend a few days with the proud parents and spend some time getting to know this little person. The proud new parents are both pretty tired as they ajdust to this new life of feedings and diaper changes. It was my pleasure to be able to help by changing a few of those diapers and assist with bathtime.

Here's the little munchkin after bath time. She did't mind the bath so much. Just the washing of the hair part and the getting dried of part.

As time goes by I'm sure there will be more posts dedicated to my beautiful little niece so you can all look forward to that! :)

College Retreat

Last weekend was the Western Christian College (WCC) Retreat. Check out the school website at www.westernchristian.ca if you're interested. The majority of our college class went out to Dallas Valley Ranch Camp for the weekend. It's an annual tradition that allows the class to bond with each other and with the staff. Since we are such a small college it isn't really hard to get to know everyone but sometimes with the hectic life of college students it just doesn't happen. The weekend was a lot of fun. Jason Bandura, a WCC graduate who now preaches at Glen Elm Church of Christ here in Regina, came and spoke to us. We also heard our Dean, Stan Helton, and Professor, Blair Roberts, share with us. The weekend was full of laughter!!! I don't think I've laughed that uncontrolably so many times in one weekend. I don't even remember the last time I laughed as hard as I did at this weekend. We sang, we shared and we built community. I am so thankful that God has brought each student here this year and that we have this year to learn together and to serve together. This is going to be a GREAT year!

These are my two friends, Jennifer and Jennifer. :) We ussually differentiate them as Jenn and Jennifer who has also become known as "la rojo." Great girls whom I love dearly! This picture was taken at Tim Horton's on our way out to the retreat...Yay for Ice Caps from Timmy ho's!

One of the things that made the weekend so great was spontaneous worship. Whether accapella or with the guitars, it was all great. The guy with his back to you is my buddy and distant cousin Brett. Going clockwise around the circle is Tim, Dan, Jonie, Jennifer (aka la rojo) and then Jenn is just sneeking in to the corner of the picture with the back of her head.

We were lining up for supper and I started to give Jenn a massage she in turn massaged Jennifer who in turn got Carly. The next thing I knew everyone had gotten involved. I jumped out of line to get a picture of this kodak moment.

The whether was not what I would call warm but it wasn't cold either. Some of us were bold enough to go on the zipline and brave the VERY cold water. I only dipped my toes in. I may be silly but I'm not stupid! This picture is of Amelia and Lisa Vance (WCC president's wife) dipping their toes in . Lisa wass one of the brave ones who actually went on the zipline. More than once if I remember correctly.

I'm looking forward to being able to write many future entries about memories made with these amazing people that I am blessed to be spending this school year with!

1 Month

Today is September first. It officially marks one month since I left Brazil. It is not that I am not happy to be home. It is that I am sad to be so far away from the people whom I love and care about who are in Brazil. Oddly enough I struggle with the same kind of feelings when I am in Brazil, missing the people I love and care about who are here in Canada.

In the month that I have been back I've kept myself fairly busy. I spent one week at camp as a volunteer for the highschool week. One of my professors, Stan Helton, was directing the week. I enjoyed listening to his lessons on the sermon on the mount. I was definately glad that the week came to an end when it did. I think that I had a hard time putting myself into the "North American Camp mode." I think my heart and mind were still very much in Brazil.

After coming home from camp I had the opportunity to join my family at the annual Krogsgaard Cousin Reunion held in Regina at Candy Cane Park. The day was a bit rainy so we ended early but even so it was nice to see some cousins who I hadn't seen for very long time. And also nice to discover that those very cousins who I haven't seen in years actually live only minutes away from me here in Regina!

These two cuties are my cousin, Devon's two sons, Damian and Desmond. I think this picture is absolutely too cute! They are hiding from the rain under their Grandpa's coat.

After the family picnic got rained out I headed to Saskatoon with my mom and Brother and Sister. It was nice to be in Saskatoon for a while before the grind of school began. I was able to spend some time with my friend Lisa who is expecting her first child right now. I was also able to go to my little cousin Sarah's second birthday. Sarah was born three days after I moved back to Brazil for my second year. I met her for the first time three days before her first birthday when I got back to Canada. This birthday party was the second time that I had ever seen here.

Here she is eating her birthday cupcake. YUMMY!

And here she is carrying around her new stuffy that she got for her birthday. Isn't she adorable???

So yeah, My first month in Canada is coming to an end and my first week of classes has come to an end. Life marches on no matter how much we would like it to stand still for while.

Settling in to Canadian Life Once Again

This Picture was taken on July 31st at the São Paulo Airport. This is me with Antenor Gonçalves, the preacher in Itu, and Victor aka Vitinho, my adopted Brazilian brother. Paul Gonçalves, Antenor's son was also there. He took the picture, thanks Paul!

Leaving Brazil is not an easy thing for me. Words cannot describe how much that place and those people mean to me. Unfortunately I discovered this wonderful thing called a blog two weeks before I left Brazil so I wasn't able to write about all my crazy and wonderful experiences while they happened but perhaps as time moves on and I reminisce about my three months there I will be able share bits and pieces with you who are reading this...whoever you may be. I think that maybe this blog could help me to work through my own homesickness (saudades) for the place that is not my home by birth but has become my home because my heart took up residence there.

I had a long and rather uneventful trip home. I flew from São Paulo to Dallas, Dallas to Calgary, Calgary to Edmonton and then finally Edmonton to Regina. It was definately a round about way to get here but it get here I did. I spent my first week trying to get organized in my new appartment but really didn't get very far as I didn't yet have a dresser to unpack into. My roomate, Joyce, lived here last year and so she has the place furnished decently, no thanks to me. On Sunday I left to go to Clearview Christian Camp at Kenosee Lake to help out with the Highschool week. I had a hard time getting myself into "North American Camp mode" and so the week felt long and drawn out to me. I was grateful to arrive "home" last night. My bedroom was in exactly the same unorganized state that I left it in when I went to camp. I had hoped that it would be magically unpacked and clean when I came back but no such luck.

Tomorrow my momma is coming to town and she is bringing the brother and the sister with her. That is my brother and sister not hers. :) We have a Krogsgaard cousin reunion/picnic to attend tomorrow afternoon and then I'm planning on catching a ride back to Saskatoon with them to spend some time with them seeings as it's been about 4 months or so. Once classes start on the 28th I'm not going to have much time for catching up with the fam.


So what you have just read has been blog number 2 for this girl. My dear friend Ann, who is in the picture to the left, has been harrassing me to blog more. Personally I think she is an addict. Love you Anna Branca!!!! But in all seriousness I am going to try to be more regular with this thing for anyone who actually is interested in reading about my misadventures. :) Until next time friends!

Only A Few Weeks Left

So now that I have less than two weeks left here in Brazil I have decided that maybe I should start a "real" blog. I say real because since my arrival here 2 and 1/2 months ago I experimented with the world of blogging through myspace.com. It seems to me that blogging is a greaat way to let people read about what I'm up to if they're actually interested in knowing. I always feel a bit wierd when I send out my mass e-mail updates because really, how many people actually read those and how many people just delete them without a second thought?? I know that many people were faithful to read because I always heard back from them with words of encouragement and prayer. I am so greatful to those who have prayed for me and God's work over the years. This is going to be an experiment for me. I like the idea of being able to post pictures with my blog so that is why I am here now. Will I be able to figure out how this all works?? Time will tell. For now I'll try to give you a few highlights.

This is a picture of the LST team that we hosted here in Itu and Salto. Josh, Jared, Kristen and Cindy. I had a lot of fun getting things ready for them and even more fun working with them while they were here. They did some great work for the new congregation in Salto.

Here I am with a neighbor, my Brazilian mom Zezé, my brazilian brother Victor and Boris the doll, all cheering for Brazil in the world cup. It's a pitty that they lost since it was a whole lot of fun getting together with people to watch the games and celebrate!

Here is our group picture taken at the end of our bilingual camp. A BIG campaign group from Highland Church of Christ in Abilene Texas and a smaller group from Ohio came down to help pull off an amazing week! Lives were touched and God was glorified!

These are just a few highlights of my last 2.5 months here. if you'd like to read about what was going on before in a little more detail check out http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.ListAll&friendID=46424406 That's my blog on myspace.com.

I think this new blog might just become my new addiction. Until next time.