| Westside Story - 1 After viewing map.google.com hundreds of times, I finally get to see Edmonton for itself from my unit: 
Pardon my mediocre photography skills. It looks much more impressive than this. And then there's the unit itself: 
I promise it's gonna look much better than that. At least I'll have a real bed. About two months ago, I was feeling anxious about coming. After being reassured by God that he has opened this path for me, anxiety made way for excitement. A few days before leaving I was feeling rather ambivalent, excited to go yet not excited to be leaving and missing people in HK. But throughout my emotional fluctuations, God always kept reassuring me that He was my guide, and I should discern and follow. One of the ways He reassured me was by providing friends who knew people currently living in Edmonton. I only knew one person in Edmonton in the beginning, but after tapping into connections, I had a list of people reaching out to make me feel welcomed in Edmonton. They are my angels! I was waiting for my luggage at the carousel when I heard a voice next to my ears: "Hey, are you Rickie?" I turned and saw the first angel, who offered to pick me up at the airport. I met him for the first time today. Grabbing my luggage, we headed to his car, in which sat the second angel, who was quick to point out all the banks, grocery stores, registries and other important amenities nearby. I haven't met the third angel yet, but she has helped to pave the way into my suite. She helped me search for accommodations, represented me to meet the agent and view the suite, gave me a lot of useful advice, etc. etc. She and her housemate even offered me a nice floor lamp. There are other angels who also played a role in my being here today, for them I am thankful. Upon arrival into the suite, I prayed to God, thanking him for bringing me safely here to the suite. I almost was not able to secure this suite; the process took over a month, but finally, God provided, and I trust that He will provide all the other things that I need to set up the suite. But suddenly, while I was praying, this sense of fear swept over me, made me a bit teary even. I was a stranger in a strange land, all by myself. It was so quiet, but not peaceful, but lonely. I heard the high-pitch whining that silence makes, and I didn't like it. Sense of fear and loneliness. Is it gonna be like this for the next two years? And then right away, my phone rang. Call from home. Talking to dad gave me some reassurance, and I knew I wasn't alone. Jesus is here. I must NOT believe that I am alone. Stupid lies. After the call, I finished my prayer and felt much better. I really had this faith that He was gonna provide. Thanks God again for His reassurance. But this time, God went overboard with His reassurance. It's like He knew I needed a lot of it. I looked at my clump of clothes on the floor. "I need to go buy some hangers and other stuff," I told myself. Then I realized how dark the suite was. There's no light in the living room, so I needed a floor lamp right away. Remembering the third angel's offer, I called her housemate, who lived just downstairs. She was in the process of moving out, so there was stuff all over the place. Her other housemate was also moving out and had packed boxes of stuff. I asked if they had other stuff to sell, and they mentioned a toaster. One thing after another, she pulled out of the boxes, saying that she was planning to drop them off at the thrift store anyway, so if I needed any I could just take them. And then she pulled out - hangers! Lots and lots of hangers. I was a happy camper! Just then, their other family members came up to help move boxes down to their car. Clearly they were surprised to see this foreigner holding a lamp. We started chatting and I told them I just flew in from HK. And they were like, wow.. welcome to Edmonton! Then they offered to give me a wall mirror. I helped them carry some stuff down, and they pulled the mirror from their car. And then they pulled out a desk lamp and just thrust it into my hands. Going back up, the housemates had ready a box of stuff ready for me to take. I met all these people for the first time today. I thought I was just gonna get a floor lamp, but I ended up getting a floor lamp, a desk lamp, a bunch of hangers, a mirror, a bulletin board, a water jug, an electric water boiler, two toasters, plant pots, a tray, a bunch of plates and cups, and some fridge magnets. The floor lamp you can see in the pictures above. Here's the other stuff: 
This is what I mean by "going overboard". I looked at all the stuff and couldn't stop thanksgiving, to the people moving out and to God. Then, I pulled out from the box something that seemed to have gotten there by accident. It was tucked within the cracks between cardboard flaps: 
Though He has provided me with all this stuff, let me not forget His ultimate providence. What a grand finale to this overboard reassurance! |
