A.O.K. (acts of kindness)

Our plan is to do at least one Act of Kindness every day of the trip!

Jan 30

Our kids rescue a toddler who ran away from her Mom in the Vancouver airport

JC helped an older lady with her luggage on the flight from Van to L.A.

Jan. 31

Landon helped a disabled lady with her crutches from the overhead compartment.

Feb. 1

JC worked up a sweat helping to dig a foundation using a pic axe into the ground which was hard as rock made of solidified volcanic ash!!

Feb. 2

Our family playing soccer with all the kids from Compassion created the biggest smiles on all their faces!!
We gave money to a man with only one leg outside of the church in Salcoatitan.

Feb. 3
Landon and Tianna taught Luis (Carlos son) english on our hike through the volcano, "how much wood would a wood chuck chuck if a..........." and Dad helped carry a Chilacayote (the size of a BIG watermelon) from the bottom of the crater up the hill and back home.

Feb. 4
Tianna helped Carlos wrap cheese (not really act of kindness but close because it was stinky cheese!)

Feb. 5
Shelley picked up some glass off the sand at the Playas (beach)

Feb. 6
We spent time trying to bring some joy into the lives of people waiting for a wheel chair fitting.

Feb. 7
We gave the security/maintenance man some pizza at Cabana's Iguana in Jaco, Costa Rica.

Feb. 8
Tianna entertained some of the passengers on the boat from Jaco to Montazuma with her string trick that her cousin Victoria taught her at Christmas.

Feb. 9
Tianna played hide n' seek with a little boy Jackson at the Beach Break Hotel

Feb. 10
JC helped clean the pool

Feb. 11
Saved a spider from drowning in the pool (my kids laughed at this one but it does qualify as an act of kindness for the spider:-)

Feb. 12
Landon & Tianna served Luis his lunch while he lay reading in the hammock!

Feb. 13
today was pasta making day at Pastas La Nonna and I washed all the dishes for them

Feb. 14
Tianna spoke french with a fellow Canadian from Montreal now retired in Costa Rica...not really an act of kindness but it did make him smile!!

Feb. 15
washed the restaurants dishes again

Feb. 16
Landon & Tianna saved a fish that had just washed up on shore by throwing it back in the ocean

Feb. 17
helped a HUGE beetle who had flipped on its back and was going no where!

Really embarrassed to report that our family has failed miserably in this department......the days we spend at the house when we don't go anywhere does not give us much opportunity to do acts of kindness....and even though Landon thinks A.O.K. is 'cheezy' I think it's important and will continue to look for ways in which we can make a difference!

Picked up garbage off the beach.

Helped a young guy at the market pick up a bunch of tiny beads that were overturned in the sand by a dog running through his display of jewelry and beads.

Gave some money to our new friend in Santa Teresa to buy another pair of sandals since the ones he just purchased were stolen off the beach while he was surfing.

Tianna gave some of her clothes to Betty for her to sell at her little shop in Santa Teresa. We plan to send more clothes to her when we return to Canada.

JC helped a lady in Lima with her propane bottle.

Gave a donation to a man in a wheelchair at the market.

Gave some money to the owner of a store who gives candy to the kids waiting to be picked up and taken to Elias's church. Supporting their 'Candy Ministry'.

Landon gave a little girl some chocolate after she slipped and fell on the stairs and was crying.

I french braided a little girls hair outside the store.

In Lima Landon gave some money to an older man who appeared to be blind.

I helped Elias's parents peel Lima Beans to get them ready for roasting.

Tianna and I helped Katherine from Australia pick up garbage on the Sand Dunes. Unfortunately some people don't appreciate the beauty of Huacachina and leave their litter behind!

Our family helped set up clothes etc. for the church sale then worked all day at the sale.

Landon used a frisbee to collect water from the stream which he gave to the grazing sheep where we had our picnic in the mountains.

Picked up garbage from the stream at the meadow in the mountains outside of Arequipa.

Helped Ruth make oatmeal, chocolate chip cookies to take to the orphanage.

Landon purchased building materials for an orphanage and he and his Dad helped re-roof the playground equipment.

We gave all the love we had to 2 babies at the orphanage, taking turns holding them and loving them.

We took 11 orphans to the park to play.

Tried to comfort little Pedro after he fell from the swing and hit his head on the cement at the orphanage.

Did a 'Colvin Cafe' for Dennis & Ruth (banana pancakes of course!)

Our wonderful children gave us the best surprise for our 12th anniversary, including a candle light dinner, wine and cookies.

Left some money with Dennis & Ruth to help a family in need.

Handed out Easter chocolates to all the children from the orphanage after church on Easter Sunday.

Treated the family of 6 that we are staying with in Cuzco to the Chocolate Museum...yummm!

Landon made his famous banana pancakes for Ramiro and family!

In Cuzco Tianna fixed the rubix cube and gave it to Kim.

Both kids played for hours with Lia, Liam and Kim in Cuzco.

On the hike to Machu Picchu we picked up garbage off the path.

JC helped carry a bunch of potatoes up to the fourth floor of the hotel in Puno

JC came to the rescue of a very old lady needing help up onto the curb in Puno

Tianna was the best babysitter ever, keeping little Noah entertained in the car while driving all around Cape Town.

All the missions work we did with the Zimbabwe Project including giving food, some of our clothing, shoes and sleeping bags. Running the kid's camps.

Landon presented his book Spirit Wolf to the new library in Chikumbo, Zimbabwe.

Landon & Tianna donated their term 2 schoolbooks to the new Chikumbo Library in Zimbabwe.

JC gave up his seat for about an hour to a young girl on the bus from Vic Falls to Harare, the bus was overbooked and she never had a seat.

Paid for our new friend Never to get his abscessed tooth pulled.

JC gave blood in Malawi.

Landon helped a French tourist with translation in the Kenya airport.

Sharing the Salvation Story by making salvation bracelets with kids, reading and giving them the story to color.

Helping teach english, PE, & math classes at the Kywbirwa Primary School to hundreds of students.

JC provided impromptu swimming lessons for some kids swimming at a Resort in Uganda including Winnie & Daniel.

Purchased 3400 feminine products for the girls of the Kyabirwa School so they do not have to miss 3-4 days of school each month.

We invited Maddy, our driver, to join our family quading. It was his first time driving a quad and he had a blast!!

Landon treated John to quad riding in Uganda.

As a reward to all the P6 Phonics students we bought some special Cadbury candy to hand out on the last day.

A man who works as night watchman at the school contracted malaria, we had extra anti-malaria tablets which was enough to treat him.  We pray he is cured.

Tianna donated 2 of her English storybooks to the Kyabirwa Library.

As a family we gave stickers to the teachers to use on students school work, crayons & paper to the art class, and shared the salvation story with all the teachers including a bracelet.

We left the remainder of the candy with Moses to use as a reward for students “caught in the act” passing on the idea from Beairsto.

To thank Florence for all her delicious cooking and for how hard she works we gave her some money to spend on herself.

We had some stuff in our packs that Maria could use for her crafts class, which we were happy to give to her project helping the Jinja women.

We left presents for all of Moses’ family.

Our mosquito nets that were never used, were left with Moses which he can pass on to a family in need.

In Maadi (a city in Cairo, Egypt) there is garbage everywhere but despite this picked up garbage on our way home.  It did not much of a difference but trying to leave it better than we found it.

I offered to be the chaperon for all the Maadi house kids so they could hang out at the mall one day.

On several occasions our family has given money to the poor begging on the streets of Maadi.

Mailed a phone card to Moses and our kids school books to Kyabirwa Primary School in Uganda.  Also, sent some money to Maria for her craft project with the Jinja ladies.

Invited the Aussie family, we met in Peru, to Cairo and found them free accomodation.

Drove Niko from Sea of Galilee to the Telaviv Airport in Israel.

Helped out a couple from the USA by renting them our rented car in Eilat, Israel since they missed their bus and the car rental companies were closed.

Many opportunities to take pictures of couples or families so no one would be left out of the photograph.

On the way to our gate in the Cairo airport we walked past a Muslim woman with an infant in her arms and a wailing toddler standing next to her.  I could tell that she was having a really hard time getting the toddler to walk with her.  I went back and asked if I could help.  I picked up her screaming child and walked through the airport all the way to their gate with him crying the entire time!!  Moms in any culture are the same, happy for getting help when they need it the most!

Tianna picked up and returned an item dropped by a chinese tourist in the spice market in Turkey.

Several times we picked up garbage and discarded water bottles on the shore of Katelios and Mounda Beach in Greece.

Helped the volunteers of the turtle project dig for a turtle nest on the beach.

Landon scooped out a bunch of garbage out of the sea near where the Loggerhead Turtles come to feed.

Saved 7 baby turtles just hatched on Mounda Beach, Kefalonia Island, Greece.

Upon arriving home to Vernon I made arrangements through Moses to get Isiiko(the man I met on the street) money he needed for transportation to get to Kampala for a new wheel chair.

Moses with Isiiko in his new chair!

God Moments

We are sure there will be many wonderful ways God interacts in our lives, when we allow Him in:-)

On our last night in Vernon at church we 'happened' to meet Gayle and her daughter Caitlyn (who Tianna enjoyed having as a leader at Eagle Bay). They had just came back from El Salvador, and said that they felt more safe there than in downtown Vancouver and I really needed to hear that! Later she emailed us a contact in El Salvador, Carlos. God is amazing for ensuring we met them that night!!

Every morning, waking to the sound of so many different types of birds singing, too many to count, of course there is the rooster but he calls all day not just in the morning. And who can ignore the chirping sound that the gecko’s make. All God’s creatures waking us up and bringing us into a new day!

Finding the house we are renting in Costa Rica was surely a gift from God. When we arrived we were shocked to find out the prices of rental accommodation, I guess we didn’t do enough research prior to coming?! Anyway, everything is $60 or higher per night and when you’re travelling for a year that’s not within the budget. Feeling somewhat anxious I went for a walk with Tianna on the beach and she asks ‘what’s wrong mommy?’ I tell her the truth and she tells me not to worry God will take care of us and everything will work out. The very next day JC goes for a walk to look for a place to stay while I send several emails attempting the same. He comes back a couple hours later saying he thinks he’s found it! And now only 24hrs after my prayers on the beach and Tianna reassuring me, we are renting a beautiful house overlooking the ocean, far from the tourists and dusty road below with a gorgeous pool, outdoor shower, toilet and sink! Our view out back is a jungle and the best part is we can afford it!!! The people who had it rented 'suddenly cancelled' leaving it open for us. Thank you God for continually taking care of us!

We are discovering more and more everyday that God moments do not have to be miraculous to be important. Even the little things come from God, such as getting a ride up the hill when our hands are full of groceries, meeting people and becoming instant friends, remaining healthy even when circumstances could be a recipe for illness.
Here is how JC describes it: (I stole this from an email he sent to a good friend back home)

The trip so far has been amazing..still getting into our groove however I am really learning how to lean into God more than ever before!! It's amazing how

when you have nothing, ie. living in a jungle on a more of a day to day basis, with no comforts per se, my faith is deepening almost like a (welcome) forced
dependence...I am very excited to see where God is leading me into in the days, weeks, months to come!!

Right now He is teaching me about how my patience is His way of cleansing events and circumstance and that my (our) unmoving faith in Him will always lead to success...His success and plan, and that I get to trust that plan is good and right for the greater

good of His Kingdom.

It's not like I didn't know any of this before our trip, it is just coming to me in a deeper level and with more meaning than ever before!!

I think that when you are faced with a dangerous situation and you survive you feel closest to our creator. Luck and coincidence does not belong in our vocabulary since everything that happens to us happens for a reason. Like during our last night in Santa Teresa when Landon & I swam out too far and the HUGE waves were crashing down and tossing us around like rag dolls with very little time to recover in between waves. Our attempts at swimming back to shore were failing due to the rip tide pulling us back out. Just when it seemed like there was no hope and it was only a matter of time since exhaustion was taking over we made it to shore!! We NEVER could have done that without the help of our guardian angels sent to us by God. I would bet that even those who do not believe in God would pray to Him in a situation like this. I would question though why wait until you are in a near death situation before making the connection with our heavenly father?

The morning we left Costa Rica we were driving in our rented car from LaFortuna to the airport, a 2.5 hr. drive. We got off a little late with saying goodbye to our new friends at the hostel and giving our food away. With the very poor signage we made a couple wrong turns and had to stop to ask for directions, then we were stopped for road construction. At the airport JC & Luis returned the car while we lined up to pay our departure tax.  But all the delays were divine intervention because in the line to check in right behind us was the sweetest lady, Marilyn Daly. We only spoke for about 10 minutes but during that time discovered that her daughter and son-in-law live in Cape Town in a safe, secure area and have a house they rent out. They live there doing missions work. Since we have no other contacts in South Africa we got her daughters info. and will contact her about staying with them! God has amazing timing! Had we arrived in the airport just a minute or two earlier or later we would have never met!!! Oh and just to confirm it was His timing, we had to be at our gate at 11:20 and even with all the delays we arrived at exactly 11:20!!

God is directing us and opening doors (literally) of families we were meant to meet. We decided to experience our first “couch surfing” in Peru and made contact with Michelle Cordova in Lima. Her reviews online were fantastic and we had a really good feeling about her and her home. She and her entire family were so lovely and once again we felt embraced and welcome!

After 4 days with the Cordova family it was time to move on (couch surfing is supposed to be for one night!) When we were packing the car to leave Kevin (Michelle's brother) said he would pray for us!

We feel so blessed to have met Elias through Mike & Crystal Powell from the Vernon Alliance Church. Initially he was recommended to be our driver and guide while in Lima but it has turned into something much more meaningful. We are already good friends and with the grace of God we are staying at his house with his entire family.

Today God heard my prayer and answered it.....we were on our way to meet a family that Elias knows to share God's love and be a blessing....Landon was not too happy about having to leave the new friends he met at the park playing soccer and basketball. In the car on the way he kept looking at me like.....'I really wanted to stay and play'.....I understood and felt bad for him. I prayed that God would somehow turn today into joy rather than disappointment for Landon and He did. When we arrived there were many children who came out to greet us. Landon made friends instantly (like he always does) and there was one special girl Gabriella that he got to know. Then we went to Elias's church where a small group of teenagers meet every Saturday night to sing, play games and learn the verses of the bible. Landon got to play the drums with "the band", he was thrilled!!! Today (Sunday) he had the option to stay home while Elias's family went to church since it's all in Spanish we decided to stay and listen to one of Pastor Stuart's services online instead. Landon chose to go back to the church in hopes of playing the drums once more!!! Thank you God for speaking to Landon in a language he understands....music.

At the Rotary meeting JC & I attended we met Violeta who right after the meeting invited us to stay at her house! Our 3^rd home stay in Lima was a Godsend. Our room was on the roof top patio with 2 bedrooms, a bathroom and laundry area. Her family, husband Carlos, daughters Sandra(22) & Melissa(24) both spoke English and son Carlos Jr.  Melissa works for Lan Air and has travelled pretty much everywhere and Sandra attends and works at the University. Both girls experienced Rotary exchanges in the USA, Seattle and Philadelphia. Violeta was a perfect hostess despite the language barrier but with lot’s of sign language and google translate on our computer we were able to communicate just fine. She even became my personal nurse when I spent one whole day in bed with all over body aches. She wanted to feed me but all I could manage to eat was jello and it was the best jello I’ve ever had!! Thank you God for Violeta!!

The place we are staying in San Andres is a small fishing village just outside of Pisco. Unfortunately the few restaurants on the strip next to the ocean close early and do not take credit cards. The one restaurant that takes credit cards closes at 5:00 and we arrived at 5:20. Walking back to our hotel we decided to ask Marco, a man JC had just met for advice on going to Pisco, where to eat etc. He offered to drive us, took us to the bank machine and dropped us off at a really nice restaurant where we feasted on pasta, steak(Landon), fries & Avacado salad. Marco speaks English, is a Pastor of the Capilla Cristiana de San Andres Church and has been to Kelowna!
Thank you God for putting him into our life at a time when we were so hungry and had no other options for dinner:-)

Another contact from home....Leanne's uncle Dennis and his wife Ruth are Canadians living in Arequipa, Peru for the past 30 years. We were welcomed into their home and became instant friends. The kids adore them and we are so grateful to be renting the 3rd floor of their home with enough space to spread out in. We are here although the original plan was to be WWOOFing in Brazil at this time but God had other plans for us and this is where He wanted us to be, meeting and helping where we can through Dennis's church.

Every time we drive through the streets of these busy Peruvian cities where the norm is for the traffic to make 3 lanes when there are only 2, and 'somehow' we always arrive safely to our destination.

The night bus ride from Arequipa to Cuzco proved to be a nail biter (for me) the rest of my family were stretched out sleeping in the reclining seats. I thank God for keeping our bus safe when the driver made some pretty gutsy passes overtaking other vehicles with limited visibility.

JC & I had a mini-date in a coffee shop in Aguas Calientes & met Rina.  She connected us with her boyfriend Ronal, owner of Olimpo Hotel in Puno where we stayed for 4 days.  She then met up with us at his hotel and we went on a mini-tour with her brother and family.  God puts people in your life for a reason...always.

How often do we look at a sunny day and thank God?  It rains often at Machu Picchu, it rained the two days before we hiked and poured the day after but the day we chose to hike the sun shone all day!!

We felt God’s presence on the Lake Titicaca boat tour as the rain stopped just in time for our hike across Taquile Island.

Meeting Basil on the plane from Johannesburg to Cape Town was such a blessing to our family.  He welcomed us into his circle of friends inviting us to his home for a Braii (BBQ), played the piano beautifully and spoiled our kids with treats and even $$ when we left Cape Town:-)

Getting Landon's guitar returned to us after it was lost on the flight from Brazil to South Africa was a miracle.  Landon is blessing people through music and God obviously wants him to continue!

Every ride we take in a car God provides a bubble of protection for us just like I pray for.

Meeting Demelza through a woman we met in Zimbabwe and being introduced to Servas was just another way we were able to connect to like minded people.  How fortunate were we to be guests with her lovely family in Malawi.  Our kids became instant friends and Landon begged us to stay longer so he could attend their school one more day.

Buying enough and not needing all the anti-malaria pills we purchased allowed us to be a blessing by helping a man treat his malaria in Uganda.

Because of a conversation we had with Sue & Kathy in Zimbabwe we are now staying with Susan & Rod in Cairo, Egypt.  This has truly been a blessing and exactly what our family needed after travelling for 5 months.

After the tragic moment of Landon hitting his head and requiring stitches we developed a friendship with the International Doctor, Amira who handled his case.  Because of meeting her we had a lovely Iftar dinner experience and learned even more about the Egyptian culture.

Floating in the Dead Sea while talking travel with a couple from Argentina resulted in our meeting and staying with Niko and Tanya in Israel.  People that we were definitely meant to meet!!

Sometimes plans change and at the moment you are not sure why but when it is revealed to you you are so grateful for the outcome.  Although sleeping in a tent on the beach at the Red Sea would have been memorable, waking in the morning inside a nice hotel room instead was what we needed in order to deal with tummy trouble!!  Thank you God for stepping in and adjusting our travel plans.

Meeting the Aussie family in Peru was God's plan and because of that initial contact we were able to meet up again in Egypt and travelled together in Turkey.  We feel blessed to have all these memories with their wonderful family and having developed a lifelong friendship with them.

Although initially disappointed about missing the bus to Kefalonia Island in Greece, this 'mistake' ended well since we decided to take a tour of the city of Athens and now will no longer have to return to Athens prior to leaving.

One of the most obvious God moments happened during our last days....we were in Greece, the kids and I had our tickets booked home but JC was undecided about coming home or going to work with his brother in Saint Maarten.  We really didn't know what we should do and prayed for some direction.  JC was checking into flights and I asked the kids "are you okay with Dad not coming home right away" and they both replied they were fine with it.  Then the next day Landon broke down and said he thought Dad should come home with us, so he did!!

We are so grateful for...

Angela Yablonski who works tirelessly on Project Zimbabwe, we are so excited to be meeting up with her and the team from Vernon in Zimbabwe in May!!

Our kids teachers at Beairsto, Mme. Labrie and Mr. Paquot as well as their new online teacher Jane Higgins from V-Learning. Their support and dedication to making this work is amazing and so appreciated.

All the staff at Ministry of Forests (where I work) who have shown so much kindness, especially in the last couple months! Thanks for all the hugs on my last day.

Our friends at Vernon Alliance Church, what a blessing to have the love and prayers of so many who share in our faith. A special thank you to Carmen & Amy who do a phenomenal job each week leading our kids, in a fun way, to learn about God and teaching them life skills!!  Later we learned that VAC kids prayed for us often which we are sure it was their prayers that kept us safe!

Oliver at OUTDOOR EXPOSURE, many thanks for the deal on my back pack and for providing excellent customer service. Please remember to support this local small business when making any purchases for your outdoor experience. They are great!

Dr. Clark and all the ladies who work with him for caring about dental hygiene in Zimbabwe. Your donation of toothbrushes, floss and toothpaste is fantastic!

Marina at the Indoor Soccer Centre, she ROCKS! Because of her we have collected and sent over 1000 soccer jerseys to Africa.  She continues to support this project by collecting soccer gear all year for delivery to Zimbabwe.

Becki Ott, is a godsend, she has gone above and beyond helping me prepare to lead 'sunday school' for the children in Zimbabwe. Angela tells me to expect up to 600 kids (not all at once, thankfully) and Becki has donated everything we need to make salvation bracelets, booklets and has spent time sharing with me what she knows about kid's ministry. God Bless you Becki.

Brenda at INSTANT REPLAY SPORTS in Vernon. She is so willing to help out, providing what she can towards Jersey's For Africa project. From soccer cleats & shin guards to Hockey duffle bags required to ship the many donations to Zimbabwe she truly is an awesome person and local small business owner. Thanks again Brenda!

My son Landon, who at 10 years old wrote a 10,000+ word novel called Spirit Wolf. It has become so popular that we decided to start selling them with half the proceeds going to Jerseys For Africa. He has inspired many with his book signings, book readings at various library's throughout the Okanagan Valley. We are so proud of him!

and how could we ever thank Sherry (Red) Guenther?! She is the most talented artist we know and was so kind to agree to paint a wolf for the cover of Landon's book. It looks amazing! Her faith in God is inspiring and the kids with Youth Ministries at Vernon Alliance love her. If you are ever in the need of some great artwork ie. murals, paintings etc. she is your woman :-)

Mike at Sun Valley Sports for finding a supplier willing to sell us soccer shorts at a discounted price!

This next person is an Angel on earth, she is always ready to help out any way she can including cleaning, packing, and anything I ask her to do. She's offered to tackle my 'To Do' list when I am stressed about it and is even willing to give every penny she has to help pay for our trip. She does all this with a smile and a giving attitude and her loving heart is made of pure gold. Who is this incredible person you ask? TIANNA COLVIN, my daughter!

Aunt Cindy from Denver Colorado and Joy & Michael living in London. Their generosity to our kids is unbelievable, how blessed are we to have them as our extended family!

We have so many people to thank for offering their support either financially or with donations of supplies for our missions work. A special mention goes to GAP of Vernon Alliance Church, Silver Star Rotary Club, friends Bonnie Luttmerding, Deb Nadeau, Sharmay Taylor, Auntie Elsie & Uncle Mario and everyone who purchased a copy of Landon's book Spirit Wolf.

Bernie, Karen, Matthias, & Emilia, a family of four who just returned from a year travelling around the world and agreed to meet with us to share their experiences and advice! It was their blog which inspired me to write our own.

Tammy Andreotti, thanks to her we have a wonderful family living in our house. God brought us together and I know in my heart we will be life long friends.

A BIG thank you to Dave from down the street.....he has been helping JC get our house ready since the summer, designed and helped to build shelves for storage.  He took JC under his wing and all the while creating a special friendship. He is in our prayers as he is home recovering from a very bad car accident he and his wife Pat were in a week before we left Vernon.  He's a fighter and an inspiration so we know he will fully recover no matter how difficult the next few months will be!!

Our last week in Vernon was very hectic, although we were able to accomplish all our packing, got the house ready, and took care of last minute trip details thanks to our wonderful friends and family who had us over for dinner....many thanks to the Andreotti's, Al & Linda, Huber's, VandeSande's, Dad & Suzanne, Mom Zupp, & Frank & Leona and of course our final meal at Dad & Mom Colvin's!! We really appreciated the dinner's while our life was too crazy to cook for ourselves. Also, the lunches I shared with my friends(Deb, Twi, Cynthia, Audreen & Bonnie, Debbie, & Barb) was so special to me, a BIG thank you to Audreen and Bonnie for treating me. On our last day what would we have done without the help from our great friends/neighbors Mark & Debbie. Moving a couch, queen size mattress and entertainment centre down the stairs and into our basement was no easy task but with Mark's muscles and Deb's navigational skills it got done!

Without my Mom helping us pack up and clean our kitchen I think I would still be there doing it!!! She was such a blessing, thanks Mom!!

Landon & Tianna's friends are so WONDERFUL, a big thank you to Jodi (Shaelyn's Mom) for hosting a surprise going away party for Tianna with all her friends there! She felt so special to be given a party of her very own! and to Landon's classmates and his teacher who managed to throw a surprise party for him during English class on his last day of school. The cards are so special, we love all of you! And upon returning home Alison (Jamie's Mom) surprised Tianna with a Welcome Home Party!

The bond I share with my sister Charlene was made even stronger through packing and cleaning.....what would I do without her?! She is so organized but I think I'm rubbing off on her since I heard her say "good enough" several times:-) I'll miss ya sis!!

and finally all our family and friends, who even if they think we are crazy, have given us their support and well wishes.

Tianna's Page

Our adventures are in Peru right now. The food is very different,but a bit disterbing,for example the heart of cow...yuk!!!!  A couple of days ago we went to the orphanage,its soo hard too even think about what they've been through!!!I was holding one of the babies and he fell asleep in my arms,and I was just thinking how a baby could go through loosing it's parents,I can't even go a month without my parents and I'm nine and he's only six months old.Today was the last day seeing the orphans at the church as we gave out Easter chocolats while saying "Dios Bendiga"which means "God Bless You".

April 19, 2012 – By Tianna Colvin

Sound Is exciting In Peru

When visiting Peru there are many sounds you’ll hear,

Even when you are on top of a building they sound

very near

From the people speaking Spanish,

To the parrot’s loud squawk which quickly vanish

Lot’s of horns honking all day long,

With roosters crowing at the break of dawn

Many venders yelling advertising for their toques,

While others have sizzling stoves with food that

sometimes gives you the scoots

When our boat arrived at Amantani Island, we got greeted by several Peruvian girls, then we followed our hostess Bonita through many farms to her house. At her house there was a new born baby calf, then we ate lunch. After lunch we went to the Plaza for a meeting, we met and played ball with a little girl named Madison then had a soccer game with the local boys.

Yesterday my mom and I had to get up at 5:30am to go see Machu Pichu, so we got ready and went to go get Landon.It took us about a half in hour to find the boys camp sight.Then we got Landon and started heading up Machu Pichu by walking not the bus like everyone else.(pictures to follow)Once we were almost there we thought we heard some music,but once we got up there we realized it wasn't music it was 100's of tourists talking!!!!!  It took us about an hour to hike up then we had to wait in line for like 10 min. for them to check our tickets! After all of that we had to hike up these stairs to get to Machu Pichu. When I got up  there it looked way bigger than in pictures!!  After seeing a little bit my mom and I wanted to go climb the Montana mountain.It took us a while to find the entrance,after we got there and started hiking we came to this hut that thankfully took our bags and jackets,there we met two girls from India(that spoke english).We ran into a couple of people that were coming down and said we were almost there.When we got up there we met a couple from Israel that had a really nice camera and they asked us to take there picture so we did then had them take our picture which they will mail to us.

My mom & me on top of Machu Picchu Mountain!!!

My Elephant Experience in Zimbabwe

By Tianna

My parents woke Landon and me up at 6:00am saying “Who wants to ride an Elephant today? “ At first we really didn’t know what to say (because we were half asleep)  , then we wondered if they were just trying to wake us up ,but no we really were going to ride an Elephant .So the van picked us up and we got to the Elephant place ,we saw the Elephants that we were going to ride ,it was so cool !!!So we sat down, had a cup of tea and the guide just talked about how the day would go. The time came when we were going to ride the Elephant….

My elephants name was Pongos ,which means mother-in-law and she is 30 years old. Landon rode Dumbo ,which means silent and he is 35 years old.  We went on a high ramp, the elephant was right beside it and we had to get on it like a horse and ride it that way.

At first it was kind of scary because you didn’t know where to hang on to but then the guide told me to hold on to the strap in front of me.  So those of you who ride a horse it will be easy for you.  We started off and my guide talked about the plants elephants eat.  There are two kinds of elephants in Africa, the forest elephant and the savanna elephant, which is from South Africa (I was riding the savanna one).  And there are two types of elephants in the world, Asian and African Elephants.  Also, African elephant ears are shaped like the continent of Africa and the Asian elephant ears are the shape of India.  Riding an elephant is pretty wobbly so you definitely have to hang on tight.  On the way we saw lots of different plants and trees and every few minutes the elephant would go up to a big branch on a tree and hook it with his trunk and start eating one end to the other end of the branch.  By half way the elephant went into the watering hole to get across to the other side.  On the other side was a crocodile farm and there were hundreds of baby crocodiles in one big cage with a watering hole and food.  Behind them were all the big crocodiles.  Our ride lasted for 1 hour and when we got back we got to pet their side and feed them and solute them while they saluted us with their trunks pointing upwards.  Before we left we were served a yummy breakfast.  Now I can cross this off my bucket list!

The Cairo Museum

Royal Mummy Room

Going to the Cairo Museum was awesome!  Landon and I went to the royal mummy room and saw ancient Kings and Queens, as well as the 6 Ramses.  There was this one Queen who was buried with her pet baboon who was also mummified!  When we walked in we saw a bunch of cases with 5 thousand year old mummies.  We were very surprised because in the second room of the mummies, there was this one, which had fake, painted eyes!  Our guide told us that somebody stole King Tut’s body from the museum, now they have night guards! Then it was time to leave. 

Back Home

Back home is very different from the trip, and now it feels like it was 1 million years ago!  Last night we had a Skype call with Luis and we were talking about how much fun we had together and all the funny moments together,it was awesome chatting with him and his family!!!! Now when I look at all our photos and stuff I realize how different Canada is from the world!!!!

Landon's travel column on Central America

Landon was asked by his english teacher Mme. Coogan-Penner at Beairsto to write a travel column for their class newspaper which was later published in our local paper The Vernon Morning Star:

Central America

By Landon Colvin

       When planning on traveling to Central America, be sure to add El Salvador and Costa Rica to your list.  As you make your way through the San Salvador airport, the excitement really begins.  When you’re driving through the city you just can’t wait to get to a nice Hostel and put down your heavy backpack.  You start thinking about all the amazing sites, tastes and people you will come across.  First recommendation? A great Hostle called El Roble (The Oak) in Playa (Beach) San Diego, El Salvador.  They provide excellent meals, a short walk to the awesome beach, which by the way as an amazing sun set every night, and very nice service.  In fact, your first day, they give you a complimentary drink, which you can sip on in one of the many hammocks around the cute little garden and multiple swimming pools.  Then after a lovely stay, you can go on your way to the nice little town called Salcoatitan, just North of Sonsonate, El Salvador, were you can stay at Carlos Cienfuegos’s soon to be Hostel.  He is a very nice man, and a great tour guide.  If you need a translator, I‘m sure his very polite son, Luis, will be happy to help you.  And if you’re lucky, they may even take you hiking to Laguna Verde (The Green Lagoon), which happens to be in the middle of a dormant volcano, or have you take a ride to their bakery, which has homemade Quesadilla.  You may be thinking: What is a Mexican Quesadilla doing in a bakery?  But, a Salvadorian Quesadilla is actually sweet bread eaten at any time of the day.  Very good.  But the fun doesn’t stop there! Next you can see the AMAZING waterfalls that are called Los Chorros De La Calera that has crystal clear water.  But, every country has to have an end, so you make your way back to the airport and find your self in the wonderful country of Costa Rica.

      Expensive and hot.  That’s a couple of things you can describe Costa Rica as.  Of course it is an amazing country, with awesome views, big waves, and interesting wild life.  If you like surf towns were all day they say Pura Vida (Life Is Good), then Playa Santa Teresa is the town for you.  My word of advice, buy all your food at the grocery store.  It is much cheaper.  NEVER buy drinks at a restaurant.  An example would be pop at the grocery store is 400 colones (see convert at bottom) and a pop at a restaurant it is 4000 colones!  The dirt road covers the town in dust, so be sure to bring some kind of face protection.  The waves and beaches are gorgeous and like El Salvador, there is a beautiful sun set every night.  Be sure to rent a surfboard and hit some of the massif waves, or go hangout with the locals on the soccer field.  You can hike up the big hill to Gumbo Limbo, an Italian Restaurant and Hotel where they make fresh pasta every day.  Although, it takes them a long time to serve the food to you.  And when I say long, I mean VERY long.  Especially when you are so hungry!!  I wouldn’t recommend it.  Certainly when you’re in the jungle, there is LOTS of wild life.  Everything from those teeny tiny ants, to those very loud Howler Monkeys, this place has it all.  The insects are very annoying and make sure not to leave ANY food lying around the house, or else you will be living with every ant in the world!!!  There are Scorpions, Tarantulas, and lots and lots of Geckos, Iguanas, and Parrots.

     Depending on how long you are planning on staying, it is a good idea to have some kind of mode of transportation, such as a Quad or bicycle.  Then there is the option of taking a long bus ride to Montezuma, where you can see the breath taking waterfalls.  It is a river that leads into the ocean, and along the way has small water flows.  But at the end of the river, you find a 50 ft. waterfall that makes you look way up high.  And get this, locals’ cliff jump from the top!!!  Of course there are other lower areas where you can jump into the nice warm water, but be aware, some unlucky people have lost their lives from slipping off the top and landing on some of the rocks below.  You can even go under the falls, and then gracefully dive into the water.

     Now I know its almost spring break, and you’re all excited to leave with your family to lay on the beach and get a nice tan, and when you get too hot, you go swim in the ocean. But you have to watch out for the Red Tide.  It makes the Sea look muddy, you can smell it from the road, it makes your Rash Guard reek for days, so what is it? Believe it or not, it’s the billions and billions of Plankton.  They give off a sort of algae that takes all the oxygen out of the water, killing a lot of fish, eels and clams.  Don’t go surfing when there is Red Tide!  Making a trip up to Gumbo Limbo would be a good idea, if you want to see what the ocean looks like from high up.  After watching a surf competition or two, you can rent a car and head inland to La Fortuna and see the Arenal Volcano and Lake, which last erupted in 10 years ago, but the biggest explosion was in 1968.  You can also check in to The Eco Lodge, where you can have an amazing home made meal, or take a guided tour with Ulises Alvarez around the very interesting rain forest where you can learn about plants, trees and mammals.  As family, you get a great deal, 2 rooms for the price of 1!  Then after you’ve made friends with all the animals, including the horses that you can also take a tour on, it may be time to go down the mountain to Arenal Hostel Resort were they provide a great pool,  rooms, bathroom and kitchen.  Make sure you go to the amazing Hot Spring called Los Laurales, which is $10 per person, but it is better than the Hot Springs across the street where they are $30 per person.  They are called Baldi and they are very touristy and commercialized.  They do offer canoping and slides, but the cost is way too high.  If you really want to go canoping, you can go down the road to Eco Glide where they provide an awesome ride down through the rain forest, with the ultimate view of all of La Fortuna.  And halfway through your hour-long tour, you come to The Tarzan Swing.  It may not sound too scary, until you get there...it’s a 50 ft drop that you have to jump off while being harnessed to a rope.   If you’re like me, you may even scream “Pura Vida!!!”

Central America is a wonderful continent, and I would definitely recommend it.  El Salvador is an excellent country, but I have heard that Nicaragua and Belize are very nice as well.  So if I were you I would start saving your money and make your way down to the great countries of Central America.

    

             Pura Vida!!!

Colones To American Dollars

Colones = ¢

$1 = ¢500

$2 = ¢1000

$5 = ¢10 000

$10 = ¢20 000

$100 = ¢500 000

$200 000 = ¢1 000 000

When converting from $ to ¢, you times the amount of dollars by 5.  
When converting from ¢ to $, you divide the amount of colones by 5.

i.e

¢1000 ÷ 5 = $2.00

Now try to see how much money I spent at the grocery store in Playa Santa Teresa instead of the restaurant.

Modes of Transportation

How does a person get from place to place when travelling around the world?  Here is our list:

Car

Air Plane

Shuttle Van

Bus

Pick Up Truck

Boat

Taxi
Surf Board

Quad
Rental Car
Zip Line

Mototaxi

Luxury Bus
Cycle taxi
Dune Buggy
Sand Board
The Dennis Mobile(VW Van)
Double Decker Bus(sleeper)
Train(Peru Rail)
Tour Boat
Reed Boat
Mercedes Benz (Basil)
Combie Van
Safari Jeep
Elephant
Small Plane
4 Wheeler
River Cruise Boat
Boda Boda (motorbike)
Camel
Ferry
Open air double decker tour bus
Scooter
Hitch hiking (when you run out of gas!)

ongoing....Travel tidbits!

It always amazes me, when I travel how much can change in one week.  Every sense is awakened; all the sites, smells, sounds and even tastes are so different from home.  I find it takes about one week to adjust to the newness before one can fully appreciate its goodness.

Take bugs for example, when I left Vernon it was winter in Canada, very rare to see a bug in the middle of winter.  Now two weeks in Costa Rica and I’m sure I have seen every insect God has created!  I think the most annoying though are those teeny tiny ants, so small you almost don’t see them until you get really close but then you see them everywhere.  Next, are the regular ants but at least you can see these ones and they always seem to have a purpose.  I’m most scared of the flying ants though, and why are there so many different types of one insect anyway?  The problem with bugs are, if you see a lot of them then you spend the next few hours thinking something is crawling on you or you wake in the middle of the night sure there is something sharing the bed with you.  Sand flies are super annoying since when they bite you don’t actually see them so you have no chance to slap yourself silly trying to kill them, rather you wake up with itchy little bites on your feet and legs.  But on the positive side I have yet to see a mosquito here!

The first Gecko you see on vacation is always a thrill and you run to get your camera to snap a photo of it.  By week 2, they are as common as snowflakes in a Canadian winter.  Except snowflakes don’t chirp at you from the ceiling in the middle of the night like gecko’s do!!  The iguana’s are interesting and I like that they are big so there is no missing them.  We have one living on the rock steps between our house and the restaurant (75 steps in total but who’s counting?) She’s always there and close behind is her baby iguana.  I shouldn’t make assumptions and maybe it’s a male but babies are usually with their mama aren’t they?  Now spiders are one insect I could do without unless their main source of food is those teeny tiny ants then I may become a fan, but if not they belong outside not lurking in dark closets!!  Scorpions, although very dangerous looking are actually quite easy to catch, just ask JC, as he caught one tonight in a cereal box and then picked up the box with the scorpion in it before it crawled out and threw it over the wall of our bathroom into the jungle….I should have caught that on video!!  But I think the worst insect of all is the cockroach, even the name is nasty!  I haven’t seen any big ones here, not like the ones in Australia that are on steroids and make me run and scream like a little girl.  Nope, the ones here are small, still icky but almost acceptable.  And what's with those little dust bugs?  they resemble a fuzz ball (or belly button lint) but if you look real close it has legs and moves ever so slowly.

The sounds this close to the jungle are like a symphony and of course God is conducting which is why it all sounds so amazing and in perfect harmony.  Add in the crashing ocean waves on shore, the odd bark from a dog, a rooster crow, the birds filling the air with their singing and some howler monkey’s in the distance and you’ve really got an orchestra to enjoy.

The people we’ve met have been from around the globe, Argentina, Israel, Peru, Chile, Sweden, Germany, Scotland, Turkey, lot’s of Canadians (Toronto, Nova Scotia, Vancouver, Montreal, Abbotsford) and a few Americans (Colorado, Georgia, New York, Minnesota).  When you first arrive you’re the newbie, don’t know where anything is, where to stay, where to eat and have white skin but now 2 weeks later we are the ones giving directions and suggestions to newcomers.  Even the cashiers at the Super Ronny Grocery Store are getting to know us, oh and we have a tan now.  I guess this is an obvious transition but interesting just the same.  Today is a perfect example; JC & I were walking along the dusty road from Santa Teresa to Mal Pais where we need to book a rental car for the day we leave.  Now when I say dusty I’m not talking about a little poof when someone drives by, oh no it’s more like a thick fog that turns all the palm trees on the side of the road from green to grey, and where people write messages on their vehicles in the thick coat of dust.
Anyway, on the way we met up with a couple walking towards us so we stopped to ask them how much further to Mal Pais?  We got talking, they’re from Abbotsford, and they asked us if we knew of any good places to stay since they had just arrived.  So we told them about Gumbo Limbo and tonight we had a really nice conversation with them around our pool, they’ll be staying here for the rest of the week!!  Of course they are grateful to have found such a nice spot and we’re happy to have the company!  Jen has skied at Silver Star and went to OUC in Kelowna.  Ryan’s dad was a guest speaker at our church a few months back.  “small world” is spoken a lot while travelling as everyone agrees how ironic it is to meet someone from so close to home when you are thousands of miles away.
Another example of ‘meant to be’ or chance, which in Hebrew we found out means “with God’s help or hand”, is where we decided to stop for lunch.  Walking back to Santa Teresa we decided to trek along the beach instead of the dusty road, good call.  We checked out one restaurant but something was telling us to keep going.  Next, we came across a beach side restaurant and cabina’s called Habaners.  It looked nice so we stopped.  We were right; our waitress was from Montreal and was a French immersion teacher who also worked a season up at Silver Star in the Silver Lode Hotel.   The man that owns it is from Israel and his wife was from New York, they have 2 girls ages 9 & 7 who want to meet Landon & Tianna.  His wife also wants to read Landon’s book, Spirit Wolf.  We’ve arranged to come back in a few days so the kids can play and swim in the pool together.

Eating in a foreign country is always interesting and sometimes challenging.  You want to experience authentic food (since this is one reason why we travel) so you try not to order something you could easily get back home.  Now comes the challenge….what exactly are you ordering….has it been prepared hygienically…..is it being cooked properly????  I have had food poisoning before, while travelling through Austria with my Dad and I have never forgotten the experience so I am always uneasy when it comes to ordering from places I don’t know (especially chicken).  Anyway, out of all the countries I’ve been to and the hundreds of meals eaten I am happy to report it only happened once!  So I will continue to trust so I can continue to enjoy deliciously different food.  Sometimes you are just so hungry that even though you saw numerous flies land on the food being prepared, you eat it anyway and hope for the best!  Your standards are automatically lowered when it comes to food unless you want to starve yourself.  Saying a prayer just before you consume your meal helps, I am sure of it!!!

Respecting mother nature is key to safe travel.  When you’ve heard that the sun is more intense than back home listen to the warning and take precautions!!  Although personally I’m not a huge fan of sunscreen unless I know I will be out in the sun all day like we were when we went surfing.  Sadly, Landon has had to learn this lesson the hard way as now he’s in so much pain with his sun burned lips, it hurts me to see him hurting.

This area is affected by Red Tide (Red Tide is caused by a rapid population growth of microscopic plankton. These microscopic plankton release toxins that have severe affects on marine life and humans) and some days are worse than others (more on this in another post).
And, we are in awe, witnessing the gorgeous sunset’s each and every night and will try not to take this for granted like we do, unintentionally, with so many things back home!  
Everything is different in this corner of the world, for example washing dishes in Central and South America goes like this.....wet the dishes, turn off the water, scrub the dishes with a strong soap that you dip your sponge into(it's in a dish similar to a margarine container), rinse the dishes.  We've done dishes in 3 countries now without the use of hot water.  Water is a HUGE commodity and is to be used very sparingly.  When you shower, get wet, shut off the water, wash hair, body, shave etc. without the water running, then rinse when done.  At Gumbo Limbo we had hot showers when we had water!!!  Oh and you never flush toilet paper it always goes into the basket.  Insects are all part of life here (adding cockroaches to the list) which I am trying really hard to just accept.  I'll never be scared of another spider back home again!
Another huge difference between traveling in 2012 compared to being a tourist in the early 90's is the communication with home.  Back then I would mail a few postcards and have one very expensive phone call home during a 3 month absence.  We had to use a travel agent as there was no internet to do it yourself.  Bringing reading material was heavy and bulky but there was no other choice if you wanted to read a book.  Now, with a click on the keyboard of our laptop we can have a skype call with our parents, email friends and family, kids can keep up to date with friends via Facebook, we are arranging the majority of our travel plans ourselves online, we're reading books on an E-Reader and rather than a journal I'm writing our experiences on a Blog.   These words were not even invented yet when I travelled in my 20's!!
Growing, adjusting, going with the flow, winging it, flexibility are all words I would describe someone crazy enough to do what we are doing!  If you have any control issues at all, like where you sleep, what you eat, expecting people to speak your language or  knowing where you're going and having things in your control then I would not recommend a trip such as this.  Although it's been great for our family we've all definitely had to learn to relax and let go and lean on God's strength.  He is truly taking care of every detail for us.

Two and a half months of spending 24/7 together and I’m happy to report that we still like each other. We are blessed to be seeing and experiencing new things daily and to be safe and healthy.  Even the countries we were warned about being so dangerous have proven to be the opposite and we’ve met only friendly people, never once feeling threatened.  The language can be challenging but somehow JC has the patience to keep trying even when it’s clear they have no idea what he is saying.  By the way, jokes in English are really hard to translate or explain to someone who only knows a little English.

Landon & Tianna are great travelers and are really amazing how they manage to cope with everything being so different from home.  Strange places, food (how much rice, chicken and potatoes is too much?), people, & language barriers don’t seem to bother them.  Tianna is coping especially well and is the ultimate optimist when things aren’t looking like they are going so well. During the 2nd week of this trip I told her that at each moment I ask myself, "are we safe, are we healthy, are we too hot or too cold, do we have enough food to eat, then we're doing okay and all is fine."  Now she uses this technique on me anytime she sees me 'having a moment.'  One of our goals when we were planning this trip was to stay in places long enough to truly learn about the area, the people, the culture etc. and although we have managed to do this we're finding it's harder to leave once we've made these connections.  Especially for Landon who gets very attached to people, places and animals.  Shorter stays would probably be easier on him since good-byes are very difficult for him.

Thanks to the contacts we made through our friends at Vernon Alliance Church, Couch Surfing and the Rotary Club we are below budget in accommodation costs!  However, we realize that all the money we are saving today will be spent in no time in overly priced Europe!!  I haven’t quite comprehended what it means to travel for a year but we have a year to figure it out.  I find what works best for me is, other than making immediate travel arrangements; I try to live in the moment.  I get overwhelmed if I think too far ahead.  I have to admit the biggest challenge thus far is keeping the kids on a schedule with their schoolwork.  It’s hard to do when there is so much to see and do and when we do have down time they would rather check their Facebook than hit the books.  I guess I can’t really blame them but for some reason I think it’s my responsibility to ensure their school work get’s done?!  My hat goes off to all the teachers out there, not an easy task and like I said to Landon today as he was wrestling with Tianna on the bed during their lessons, “act like you would if you were in school”, “this is how I do act”, he replied ……arrrrgggghhh I give up!!

IN TRANSIT

I don’t normally write about airports since anywhere in the world they are pretty much all the same….check in counters….luggage drop off……security…immigration….etc. etc. well the airport in Ethiopia is different.  Everyone was so friendly starting with the policeman Jeff in Uganda, check in staff for Ethiopia Airlines, and security who let us drink our wine right then and there rather than dump it out.  
Something we hadn't seen before was a designated area in the airport for the Muslims to pray.
At the Ethiopia Duty Free shop Tianna spotted a dress she had to have.  Pardon?  Tianna does not wear dresses and she has two in her pack.  We even left the store but she continued to talk about this dress she liked.  Finally I caved, “alright I said but you have to buy it with your own money.” 

When we went back for her to try it on the all female staff were so friendly and nice not only to Tianna but Landon as well.  The next thing we knew Landon was playing his guitar in the store for all these pretty Ethiopian girls in their 20’s.  They took some pictures together, they were video taping him with their phones, other people came in to see what was going on and the girls were hugging and kissing him on the cheek.  We think they thought he was Justin Bieber.  Tianna bought the dress.