Tears and smiles are common as we approach the throne room of Almighty God. I have noticed that there is not always a reason for these, but they can even go hand in hand. During worship today, I noticed that all the debris had collected at the end of dam. My mind immediately was reminded that our lives can end up like this – with out the overflow of God in our lives, we can be like a dam that is not full with all the debris clogging it up. What causes this to clear is the overflow of love from the Father, today I am so thankful for the overflow of love that, married with His Grace, clears the blockages of my own life leading me directly to Himself!

Well, Cyprus is cold, a wee bit rainy/stormy… Not really what you expect, yet it is their winter and at 0C it is winter here without the snow, for now!

This is the block of houses that I have lived in for the past two years and again, I live in the middle house my bedroom is behind the tree. I have now lived in all three of these houses and in all three of the bedrooms!

The main offices/classrooms/worship room/kitchen/dining area, a.k.a. the base, has moved location down the hill a bit. The new kitchen is great with 4 sinks we are spoiled for choice and doing dishes is a lot easier with running hot water and a spray hose.

During my flight over, I dosed and rested until I woke up quite quickly. I looked outside the window and there was the alps – wow I was gobsmacked by the beauty and the grandeur of the mountains and the artistry of our Creator!

My roommate is Chelsea, a girl from Colorado who has gone through the past two years with me. It is an exciting time as all the students are now here and going through their orientation. With regard to my ‘duties’ here, I am still in the dark with regard to most of them, however do know that I will be working with the staff team of the second year programme. I will be involved in the worship team twice per week playing flute/whistles. There will be other duties such as making lunch, helping with the kids, manning the office and so forth. I will update with more information after tomorrow when we have our orientation (induction as I have been calling if for the past week!)

This week I have cleaned the cabins, dressed the beds, tidied various areas, cleared leaves, general preparation for the school starting this week.

On Friday, after I arrived in Cyprus, I had the privilege of joining the staff for my first Shabbat this year with the Wilks at their holiday house in Paphos. With beautiful views of the sea and a freezing pool, I only wished it was a little warmer so I could have gone swimming!!