Sunday, December 31, 2006

As One Year Ends…

Tomorrow morning- New Years Day 2007- Kim & I pack up the van and head home to Winnipeg after a couple weeks of great family time in good ol’ Rainy River, ON. My brother & sister-in-law drove in from Toronto, plus dozens of family and friends were in and out throughout our time here. Though it was full and busy, it was also restful to have some time away from the city to reflect on the year behind us and the year ahead.

That isn’t to say our holidays were uneventful. In fact, I received a call yesterday informing me that our home had been broken into during the night. Our house is a duplex, with Kim & I living on one side and our YWAM residence in the other. It turns out that the intruders broke into the YWAM side of the house, setting off the alarm. They managed to make off the DVD collection from one of our staff, as well as some random clothes from another renter. As frustrating as it is, there was other serious theft and very little damage. Oh what fun…

On a positive note, we have confirmed 6 students for our upcoming Discipleship Training School (DTS) which is scheduled to start in a week. In an uncharacteristic mix, we have three guys and three girls. Five of them are Canadian and one American. The American grew up no more than 20 minuntes drive from where I grew up, so we actually connected in person over the holidays. We are very excited about this school, which I will be blogging about here week once it starts.

This year has been a strange mix of troubling trials and exceptional promise- a connection I highly doubt is coincidental. As I enter into the coming New Year, I am filled with a deep sense of hope, albeit mixed with some anxiety. Thank you all for your continued prayer, support and, above all, friendship. Happy New Year!

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Posted by Jamie Arpin-Ricci in 16:22:55
Comments

6 Responses to “As One Year Ends…”

  1. John Smulo says:
    January 1, 2007 at 4:30 am

    Jamie,

    I’m really sorry to hear about the break in. Good news about the school though, and I’m glad to hear they allow Americans in YWAM Winnipeg (wink).

  2. o2thoughtful says:
    January 1, 2007 at 5:23 am

    Jamie, pretty tough way to end the year. Happy New Year though anyway, hope that it’s one filled with encouragement for you.

  3. Jamie Arpin-Ricci says:
    January 1, 2007 at 9:40 am

    Hey John,

    Thanks. Yeah, having been born in the US myself, I guess that is a must for YWAM in Winnipeg, eh?

    Peace,
    Jamie

  4. Jamie Arpin-Ricci says:
    January 1, 2007 at 9:41 am

    o2thougtful,

    Thanks and may your New Year also be filled with hope and blessings!

    Peace,
    Jamie

  5. Bryan Riley says:
    January 2, 2007 at 12:14 pm

    Wow, I just stumbled on your blog through John Smulo and was excited to see that it appears you are pioneering a YWAM base there in Winnipeg? I’ve only read these last two posts, so I haven’t looked further into who you are and what you are doing. My wife and I are just beginning our YWAM journey and haven’t even yet done a DTS; however, we spent four of the last five months in Kona volunteering at the University of the Nations after spending the last ten years chasing professional careers.

    This looks like a great blog and I look forward to “meeting” you more through reading and writing.

  6. Jamie Arpin-Ricci says:
    January 3, 2007 at 1:05 am

    Hey Bryan,

    Glad you found me. I hope you will return to read frequently. I will drop you an email this week.

    Peace,
    Jamie