The Creature from the Blog

Hello? Hello...hello...hello...hello...

Is anyone here? here?...here?...here?...here?...

Wow, it is pretty dusty around here. This poor blog hasn't been kept up very well at all. It looks abandonded - it's like a ghost blog. Spooky.

Alright then, let me just sweep up around over here and here and a bit more and there. That's better. Okay, to business now.

Let's see, my last blog was February 8th and it is now, YIKES! MAY 29th! Well, thanks for all you emails of concern, the phone calls and letters begging me to come back and light up your day with my clever and witty anecdotes. Yes, thank you - Dad.

I have missed you all, too.

So let us go back to February and try and fill in this gap...

Well, the biggest thing that has been happening for us is a fun little thing called PROJECT GAMBIA. As you may or may not recall, a while back Danny and I had this hairbrain scheme to take a bunch of high school students on a trip to Africa, on a "mission" if you will. We had it all laid out: 8 sessions of preparation, 1 week of "mission" (if you will), and 3 sessions of local follow-up. It was a grand idea, full of potential...

Well, it happened. Boy oh boy, did it happen!

On February 2nd we had our first Project Gambia Session with 19 students and 5 staff from Manor Foundation Business, Enterprize, and Sports College (yes, that is the school's name. You should see there letter head, it's like 2 pages long). Over the course of the next 12 weeks we ran classes about poverty, prepared the group for the week in The Gambia, fundraised, filled out risk assesment forms (which I purposely neglected to ask for Danny's input there), met with parents and staff, fundraised, collected a wide assortment of school and sports supplies to donate, more meetings with local council bigshots, newspapers, schools, and churches, fundraised, applied for grants, was rejected for grants, fundraised, booked flights, arranged for extra luggage, booked lodging and meals in The Gambia, made many other calls to The Gambia, plus the other LifeFORCE stuff (ie. the team's trailer burning to the ground with the set, props, sound and media equipment, and all their luggage was an issue that required immediate attention).

Oh yeah, we did a bit of fundraising as well.

It was a crazy couple of months getting ready for just one week in The Gambia! Let me just say though that the school, (deep breath) Manor Foundation Business, Enterprize and Sports College (gasp), was absolutely incredible with all the work that they did! They blew everyone away with the funds they were able to raise, including themselves! Usually in a YEAR they raise about £2000 ($4000 CA approx.) for charity. But when all the numbers were added up from all the pledges, donations, carwashes, bake sales, dances and raffle tickets they had raised an impressive £11,000!!!! And in only 12 weeks!!! Even they couldn't believe it! It was as if somehow the money was magically being handed to the project, like some higher power was guiding it the entire way...

The blessing of the LORD brings wealth, and he adds no trouble to it.
Proverbs 10:22

Yep, it is a mystery. Anyway, soon it was time for the big trip to The Gambia itself. It was a dard, cold, and misty morning at 5am as we left for the airport on April 20th. There were 28 of us all together, 24 from (big inhale) Manor Foundation Business, Enterprize and Sports College (what exactly does one study there), our pastor and youth pastor from our church here in Walsall, Danny (what a hunk he is, if I do say), and yours truly (what a babe if I do say).

Look at how long this update is already and I am just getting to the good part - our week in THE GAMBIA!!!

It's kinda weird how it's not "GAMBIA" but it's "THE GAMBIA," eh?

Well, I don't know about you but I finished my cup of tea about a paragraph ago. So how about we all just take a break for now from this little adventure? Leave some surprises for next time?

I'll leave you with this sneak preview:

Amazement. Joy. Tears. Change of hearts. Change of lives. Crocodiles.

Yes, crocodiles.

Until our next cup of tea, take care and God bless!

Sincerely,
~Alycia DeLong

I Haven't Thought of a Clever Title for This One

Hello and happy February to you all!

Danny and I are back in England now. We've been back for almost 2 weeks and it has been full speed ahead with all our programs. On Monday we start with our new program, Project Gambia, in which we are educating and equipping a group of teenagers from a local high school for a one-week trip to The Gambia (that's a tiny little country in West Africa). We have 8 weeks to get ready for it. In fact, I don't really want to talk about it at the moment because I've just spent the whole day filling out grant applications and proposals in monotonous detail. It took the fun right out of Project Gambia. Tomorrow I'll be excited about it again, though.

Hey, it snowed like crazy today! Outside is a winter wonderland, the trees are blanketed with a coating of marshmallow, the temperature is a mild minus 2 degrees, perfect for all kinds of outdoor winter fun! Oh wait, I've been inside filling out forms, writing letters and making up projected budgets. Life is so unfair.

Speaking of life being unfair, here's a funny story. I actually wanted to tell you this right from the beginning but, well, I've always had a problem with procrastinating (in a related story - note the last blog entry was like a month ago).

So right now there is a LifeFORCE team travelling the UK. They trained in Canada and now they are doing their mission here. We set up the schedule for them, but we aren't leading the team ourselves (woo hoo). They track around the West Midlands in an eight passenger van with all their luggage, props, media and sound equipment, set and curtains all packed up in an amusing little camper from the late 70's hitched to the back. Anyway, after a week of programs in the lovely little town of Kidderminster, the team packed up the set, the sound and media equipment, the props, and all their belongings except for an overnight bag into the camper last Sunday evening as they were going to be leaving for their next destination early the next morn. They precariously arranged everything into the camper, parked it behind the church, and then proceeded to the pastor's house for tea and crumpets (because that is what you always have here in England, as we all know). A few hours passed and the team decided to return to the church to meet together before the next morning's departure. Upon their arrival to the church they were greeted with a number of firetrucks and police cars lined up and down the street. Smoke billowed from behind the church. They got out of the van. They walked down the sidewalk, around the corner of the church and found...

THE CAMPER WAS ON FIRE!!!!!!

Yeah, the whole thing and all their stuff torched! Apparently, some one (or ones) had broken into the camper, stole all the sound and media equipement and then, to add insult to injury, lit the thing up! The back windows of the church were cracked because of the heat and the firemen said that 10 more minutes and the church would have been gone too! So far, the story has made a couple of papers and the news on the radio!

Take a look at this!








What's Left:

The worst part about it is that nobody had any marshmallows on them at the time of the fire.


Donations of money, clothes, shoes, jackets, and suitcases have already started coming in and the team has handled the whole thing really, really well. In the meantime, though, there are a lot of things to sort out. Most of the teams passports did not survive the fire. They've all been cancelled now but we have had to start the process of replacing them. We also have to get a new set, new props, and new sound and media equipment. Not to mention new means of transporting it around!

On that note, I think I'll go back to filling out grant applications for Project Gambia again.

Until next time - God bless, take care, and remember: Never leave home without a bag of marshmallows.

Sincerely,
~Alycia DeLong

Happy New Year

"Let old acquaintance be forgot..."

What does that mean? I always figured it meant you no longer associate with anyone over the age of 55... Are those even the right words to the song?...

Okay, I went off track pretty early this round, but no matter. I really have nothing to talk about right now. I am on holiday. Yes, a big H-to-the-O-to-the-L-to-the-IDAY.

Dream Scene...
It's the final round in Wheel of Fortune. Pat Sajak turns to me and says, "The category is event. You have R S T L N E. What letters would you like?"

I examine the puzzle: _ _ L _ _ _ _

I say to Pat, "I'll have an H, a D and a Y. And I'll skip the vowel. I don't need it (I am that good)."

H O L I D A Y

Actually, I happen to be in Canada at the moment, treasuring precious moments with loved ones. Like Dairy Queen and Tim Hortons. Aaaaah, it's good to be back.

You're probably thinking, 'I wonder when they go back to
England?'

Gee, thanks. My Christmas was fine, and yours? Oh wait - that wasn't the question. The question was when do we go back. Or as I like to interpret it: 'I can't stand that nerdy Alycia DeLong and her lame sense of humour. I hope they leave the country again soon.' Well, EXCUUUUUUUSE ME!!!!

Do you know what I love about Canada? The sarcastic wit. There's really nothing like it anywhere else in the world. That and poutine.

Oooohoooo, here's something important. As you may or may not have heard, Danny's dad, Dave, underwent major surgery for a cancerous tumor in his stomach. The doctors actually removed his stomach completely on December 11 and he has been recovering steadily ever since. He is now out of the hospital and doing miraculously well, and I'm not just saying that! To look at the guy you'd never know that he has no stomach (unless you look at him whilst he is connected to his feeding tube). He is pretty thin at the moment but other than that he looks great!

Now I know you're asking, "How can a person survive without a stomach? How do they even remove a stomach?" Well, I don't know. I don't want to know. If you, however, really want to know, I'd recommend googling it. That's what it's there for.

Okay then, well I'm off to hit the hay now. I have a busy day tomorrow of sleeping in and catching up with my old friend Kraft Macaroni and Cheese.

God Bless you all this new year and may it be filled with many familiar comforts and new surprizes!

Sincerely,

~Alycia DeLong

P.S.- We fly back to England on the 24 of January. (Thought I forgot, didn'tcha?)

A Long Time Ago, In A Galaxy Far Far Away

For the past several weeks there has been a dark cloud, an ominous black fog if you will, hanging over me. It's there when I wake up, it's with me when I go to bed, it follows me down the street, and even into the bathroom. What is this black fog? Well, when you put the two together it is just what it is: The BLOG.

Yeah, yeah, yeah I know. I haven't written in FOREVER, but I have a good excuse: Okay, I have a lame excuse. What I do not have is internet. Or time. But don't worry, because right now I have both plus an extra special ingredient - stories. Man, have I got stories for you!

So a couple of weeks ago Danny and I went to the Gambia. It's a small country in West Africa right by Senegal. Yeah, we hopped on a plane one day and went to Africa. You know us, throwing all caution to the wind, rolling with the waves of life, following the stars and all that yabber.

We went to set up a one-week mission for our new project that we're doing with high schools here in Walsall. We're going to be doing a 12-week program with 6th form students (the equivalent of 12th graders in Canada) where we educate about third world poverty for 8 weeks, experience it for 1 week, and expand on what we've learnt for 3 weeks. The trip went brilliantly and we were able to set up our entire schedule for when we take our group over next April.

And now for The Story of the Week:

Danny and I met a very nice Gambian lady and her son who invited us to their home to meet the rest of the family and see their shop of carvings, crafts and other knick-knacks. Danny and I both wanted to see how all of these things were made and so we arranged to meet up the next day and visit their home.

We had a wonderful afternoon meeting the brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, cousins, and new born cousins. Then they showed us how they carefully crafted each carving with old chisles and rusty sets of kitchen knives. It was remarkable. As I perused the shop, I was struck by the detail of each creation: birds of every kind - captivating and colourful; thinking men sitting in many positions - abstract and awkward; monkeys of all sizes - a bit creepy but impressive; topless women with proportions to make Barbie blush; crocodiles detailed from tip to tail; and every animal Noah took on the ark.

The mother of the family walked up and stood beside me as I admired all the carvings.

"My sons work very hard," she said, her words laced with pride.

"These are all amazing," I complimented, "Your family is very talented."

"Thank you," she replied. "You know, the tits are the hardest to make."

Pause.

"Uh, pardon?" I whispered.

"The tits," she repeated, "they are the most difficult to carve."

Pause.

Then one of her sons came and joined us.

"Yes, the tits are the hardest to carve because you have to do each one individually," He stated in agreement.

Pause. I stood motionless, making eye contact with only a statue of a crocodile.

"Uh, huh." I said.

Then the son reached over and picked up the crocodile that I was staring at.

"You see," he said as he pointed to the reptile's mouth, "the tits are small and it is very difficult to carve each one exactly the same."

Flashback One: A Gambian girl named 'Elizabeth' introduces herself as 'Elizabet.'

Flashback Two: A Gambian student writes 'Thursday' and pronounces it 'Tursday.'

Flashback Three: A Gambian man in the market is selling souvenirs for a thousand delasi (about $10 Canadian) and quotes us the price of 'a tousand.'

'Th' sound = 'T'sound ...'Th' = 'T' ... so 'tits' would be 'tiths' would be 'teeth' would be ... oh, I see now.

"Yes," I finally fully joined the conversation, "The teeth do look hard to carve."

And my record is perfect still. Alycia 4, Ears 0.

Ring ring!

Hello there, it's me. Just thought I should verify that first so you know who it is. Don't you hate it when some one hands you the phone and you have no idea who it is, but they're like, "Hi! It's me! I'm so glad I caught you..." And you're like, "Yeah, it's good to talk to you too" but in your head you're like, 'who the heck is this? Is is Jean? Or maybe Barb? I should know. Why don't I know? I can't let them know that I don't know!' You know what I mean? And then you think to yourself, 'It's Jean. I know it's Jean.' So you say, "Hey, I say your mom the other day!" and they say, "Really?" and you say, "Oh yeah! She was looking really well!" and they say, "Looking well? She's been gone for 12 years." And then you think, 'Oops. It's Barb.'

Well, that has nothing to do with anything. But here's a funny story...

On Wednesdays I occassionally stop in to one of the local Walsall churches to enjoy an afternoon of soup, tea, and talk with about 30 senior citizens. It's a great time and I love to hang out with my peeps there. Last time, the ladies at the table were asking me where I was from (which I get asked every week). They were delighted to hear I was from Canada and began to share with me all the names and places of loved ones who had moved to Canada. Yes, there was "so and so's niece". Then there was "my neighbour's son." And we musn't forget "my cousin's daughter's best friend's third grade teacher's dentist." It was a wonderful time of sharing and reminissing of the great white north.

At one point in the conversation, the elderly woman at the end of the table looked up at me and said, "Ah nee tah toilah." (I've tried to write it out phonetically so you can catch the accent.) I replied, "Oh, uh, it's just through those doors and down the hall. "No, ah nee tah toilah." I nodded, and gave her the directions again, "Just through the doors and down the hall. It's on the right hand side." The other ladies were giggling. I was obviously not in on their little joke. "No. Ah nee tah toilah!" The lady repeated slower and louder. Then I understood. I began to stand up. "I can help you down the hall if you like."

The table burst out into laughter and the woman next to me took me by the arm. "No love, she's saying 'Anita Taylor.'"

"That's the name of my friend in Canada," the lady at the end of the table said through her laughter.

I haven't been back in two weeks.

Alright, one business memo. Things are going great with our new program. We've met with schools again and we have penciled ourselves in to start in February. There's still so much to be done, but I'll write more on that next time. I wanted to break things up with a funny story for now.

That doesn't mean thought that my next email will be boring so you can just skim over it!

Alrighty then, I'll end it here then until next time. God bless and take care!

Sincerely,
~Alycia DeLong

The Winds of Change...

Oooh, I've just realized that this title might give the wrong idea considering my last blog was titled, "Beans, Beans, the Musical Fruit." Well, let me assure you, the two are not linked.

The Winds of Change have blown, though, and they are directing our LifeForce UK sails in another direction. And now I will say it for the record: There will be no LifeForce UK training base this year. A team will still be coming to us from Canada during the mission period of January to May, but we will not be leading it. Danny and I will not be leading at all this year. No, we will not be hearing the pitter-patter of little LifeForce students as they rehearse dramas, or wipe their runny noses when they are homesick, or hold their little hands in a circle of prayer. No, it won't be Danny and I watching their eyes light up as we pick them up in our 1981 minibus, moving every week, waking up early to visit schools and staying up late running youth groups. Ahhhh, memories.

So, what are we going to do? Glad you asked!

We are starting a new program (under LifeFORCE, of course) where we will take high school students (age 16 and up) on a 'mission trip.' Our plan is to do a 12-week program in schools: 8 sessions of class work, 1 week of a mission trip to a third world country, and then 3 sessions of debriefing and follow-up. Pretty simple, eh?

Actually, it has come together more easily than we thought. We are already allowed in schools to run programs simply because of the experience and relationship that have already been established over the years. We also already have the connections in a number of countries in Western Africa (mainly Gambia and Ghana) to organize the one week mission schedule. We've already had people calling us asking for more information. We meet with our first school tomorrow morning!

As for everyday life, we have very exciting news! WE HAVE AN APARTMENT! We've only had two nights in the place, but it is fantastic! Now let me tell you, God is our provider! The place was a £150 out of our price range and totally unfurnished. Well, the property agent came down a £150 after hearing about our work in schools, then a friend from another charity said to come to their warehouse and see if there was anything we could use in our place. We got a double bed, a single bed, 2 sets of drawers, a wardrobe (the non-Narnia kind though, too bad), a coffee table, and a number of other shelves and little tables. All of it was practically new! In fact, I was going through an Ikea catalogue and calculating what it would of cost us to buy everything we were given and it would have been around £1000 (about $2000 Canadian). Oh, we're not even done. Other people have given us a 3-piece leather suite, a TV, a microwave, a fridge, a toaster, a tea kettle, cutlery, tea towels, I can't even remember it all! It all came together in just 4 days! We never even really put out a notice or anything that we were looking for stuff! I swear, we haven't raked in this much since our wedding! I didn't even have to use the tumor story once! Now I know I must be because I am ridiculously good looking.

On a sadder note though, our mini-bus has finally called it quits and gone to the big garage in the sky. Well, to be more accurate, it's gone to the big scrap yard in Cannock. But the way things are going for us, I'm sure it won't be long before the Lord provides something better!

Seriously, you would not even believe our place! It looks so, so, not like us! Everything matches! It's kind of scary. I'll have to get used to it actually being OUR place! We haven't had a place that's actually just for the two of us since January. We've been living out of our suitcases since then. Last week we figured out that in our 5 and a half years of marriage we've moved over 30 times (we didn't count the week to week moves. Then it would be over a hundred)!

A couple of other things going on are:

1. We're teaching drama in a local Christian school and running an after school program.

2. We're organizing the schedule for the LifeForce team from Canada that will come and tour from January to May.

3. We're involved in the youth group of our church here (Walsall Christian Centre. You can google it.)

4. I've got a couple of video projects on the go for some local church programs.

5. We have people coming to dinner tonight and I have to get groceries.

Right, on that note I'll end this entry. I'll keep you updated on our progress!

Until next time then, God bless and take care!

~Alycia DeLong

Beans, Beans, the Musical Fruit...

Hello and welcome to the newest update! The past couple of weeks have been filled with rain, scraped knees, and a lot of baked beans. We've been at camp in Wales. Week one was kids' camp, but only Danny went as I was still not quite 100% due to my new medication. I did get to go and visit for a day. The camp had all kinds of games and activities that were just incredible! There was fencing, rock climbing, cave exploring, fort building, abseiling (that's where you repel yourself down the side of a wall), a ropes course, zip wire rides, and more! The most incredible one was the driving lesson. Yep, for £3 a 10-year-old kid could get behind the wheel of a real car and learn to drive! When I saw this, the adult in me was like, "What?!?!? Are they crazy?!?!?" and the kid in me was like, "Wow! That is the coolest thing ever!!!!"

The next week was teen week, which I did go to. They basically had all the same activities except the driving lesson (gee, wonder why). There were around 400 youth at this camp (cry). We had just a fantastic time though and we saw so many wonderful things happen in our own youth group that we had gone with. They really bonded and encouraged one another throughout the week. The majority of our youth don't actually come to church, but they are all great kids once you get to know them. They are a tough bunch though. By the end of the week our group was responsible for 2 broken windows, 2 broken beds, a dislocated knee, an iron burn on the floor, a near concussion, a few broken hearts (wink wink), and many warnings to keep quiet after curfew. Ahhh, what a team effort it was.

And now for my cool camp story:

There was a group there that ran all the big activities like the rock climbing, fencing, cave crawling, etc. Each member is trained to manage the activitie, is equipped with first aid and emergency training, and has many other certificates in physical education. The group is not a Christian organization, but they are in the process of taking over the camp and upgrading it into some sort of super-extreme-sport camp for young people. Each staff member was very professional and very friendly and it wasn't long before we'd gotten to know a few of them. One girl in particular, Deborah, was always smiling and soon made friends with many of the youth and leaders at the camp.

On the Thursday evening there was a talent show and Deborah and I sat together to help each other through, uh, I mean, enjoy the performances. I had spoken with her a few times before, but being a member of staff with the activities company, she wasn't really allowed to visit with campers (or the customers) during the day. We were giggling and having fun when almost out of the blue she turned to me and asked, "Why did you decide to become a Christian?" So I told her and then pulled out 'old faithful' - the tale of the brain tumor. She had such a shocked look on her face that I had to use my best tumor jokes all in one shot just to help her relax a bit. [Her question: "How did you tell your family?" My Answer: "Ah, you just gotta glide it in casually with a smooth segway, like they use on the news...'My, these cookies are delicious. I think I'll have two more. Speaking of two more'...see cause two more sounds like tumor when you say it with the right emphasis...ah forget it.]

Friday night I started to get nauseous after taking my medication (which is what sometimes happens). I didn't want to, well, you know, in the evening worship service so I went up to my dorm to hide out for a bit. Danny soon came up to check on me. Not long after he left I fell asleep for over an hour. Usually, I am out cold until the next day, but this time something woke me up. That something was my stomach, or so I thought. It was about to, well, you know. I clutched my quilt tightly and prayed that God wouldn't make me get out of bed. Then the weirdest thing happened. I felt like I was supposed to get out of bed and go down to the service. My stomach gave it's rebuttal with a few ominous sounding gurgles, and I closed my eyes to sleep again. It was only a couple of minutes later when I woke up with the same feeling as before - I needed to go to the service. I clung to the quilt again and prayed that God wouldn't make me get out of bed. I though for sure if I moved I would, well, you know. But I couldn't get rid of that feeling that I was supposed to go. Fine, I decided, I'll go down to the service and probably hurl in front of everyone, but that's fine (I was kinda perturbed at this point so there were no more 'well, you know's'). I put on my jacket and started down to the meeting. Then the weirdest thing happened again. I started to feel better. In fact by the time I got to the doors of the tent where the service was being held, I felt totally fine!

I had just entered the tent when I saw Deborah. She was just on her way out and I could see that she was crying.

"Hey Deborah, are you alright?" I asked her.

"Yeah, I'm just...well, I've never seen anything like this. Where you can just come and talk to God. That anyone can." She looked around at the crowd again. "This is so real. I've never thought about it before. This really makes me question my religion."

"What religion are you?" I'd forgotten that she wasn't a Christian and so that all this church stuff would be quite foreign to her.

Deborah wiped her face. "I'm Jewish," she answered, "I went to Jewish primary school and Jewish camp and I was always taught that this wasn't true, but I don't know. Tonight, I feel like I'm missing something. That my life is missing something."

We talked for a long time after that. She told me about how she wanted to know more about Jesus, but it wouldn't be easy because she was Jewish. I told her the story of Nicodemus in the Bible. He was an important and recognized Jewish man in his time. When Jesus came along, Nicodemus wanted to know more about him, but because of who he was, it wouldn't be easy. So he snuck out to meet him in the middle of the night. There, under the covering of darkness, Jesus shared one of the most profound statements of all time with one man: "For God so loved the world He gave his only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him, will not die but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)

Deborah made a decision that night. Not to become a Christian, but to find out more about Jesus. Even though she knows it will be hard, and that she may have to do it in a bit of secrecy herself, she knows there is a treasure waiting there for her. And, I believe she can count on that.

One last short, funny story, just to wrap things up. After we had dropped everyone back off at the church when camp was over, I began the ugly process of cleaning our van after the journey. I was sweeping up the inside when I was joined by the 6-year-old sister of one of our teen campers. She stood in awe of the massive inside of our minibus. The rusting roof and chipped paint was as captivating to her as one would find the inside of an ancient cathedral in Rome. Finally, her heart's desire found it's words and she spoke with great wonder, "When you die, can I have this minibus?"

It's a deal, little lady. It's a deal.

May you find all your treasures this week!

God Bless,
~Alycia DeLong

Welcome to Loserville

Do you know how angels greet one another?

They wave and say, "Halo!"

Now you know why this entry is titled, "Welcome to Loserville." Lame jokes are a sad side effect of being a loser (yes, I did make that one up) that unfortunately do not only overshadow the sufferer of losernitis (medical word) but the people around them. Just ask Danny. He has suffered.

Anyway, by now you're probably like, "Where are you going with this? Why am I still reading this? Although, her pathetic one liners do make me look like Seinfeld."

This is where I'm taking you today. First Corinthians 1:26-27..."Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong." (NIV New International Version)

Now let's read it in the AWBTEV (Alycia's Warped but had a Brain Tumor Excuse Version)... "Think of what you were when you were called. Loser. Big letter 'L' on the forehead. Klutzy, insurance nightmare. Bad jokes are invented by you and blonde jokes invented for you. A bit of an embarrassment to be around, even by your loved ones. You wear sweater vests to prom. Big L - little oser. Loser. And you're just what God wants and loves in a person."

You know, I often ask myself why I am a Christian. I mean, I've always felt like kind of a loser. In fact today, as I was listening to a song about a young woman reflecting on her tumultuous teen years, my mind drifted back as well to evens in the history of my own loserness...

(Insert sound of chimes here to signify dream sequence)

When I started high school, every girl had a crush on the school council president. His name was, let's say George Finkleman (of course it wasn't that. That is a loser name. But I don't want to say his real name because with my email subscription being at an all time high, with my luck his Aunt in Toronto or something will get this call him right away and I will be totally mortified. George, if you're reading this, sorry about the loser name comment). Anyway, George was a real dreamboat. Charming, funny, kind, sincere, and as for looks - well! Let's just say he put the 'body' in 'student body.' No! I got a better one! He put the 'stud' in 'student!' Ha ha ha ha...

Loser Fact #17- Loser's always laugh at their own lame jokes for a ridiculously long time.

...ha ha ha ha! Yeah, that was a good one. Okay, so of course I was not spared from the ga-ga's whenever he walked past me in the hallway. Alas, he was in a distant senior land while I was but a lowly freshman.

One time we happened to be at the very same party at the same time. Was it fate? Or was it just a school dance? Anyway, a big group of us were line dancing to some country songs (a shame I do not speak of often) and out of the music and the mist (fog machine) came Ke--I mean George Finkleman. And he was heading straight for ME! He smiled and leaned close and told me that I was a really good dancer! GASP! I couldn't believe it! What if he asked me to dance? What would I do? What would I say? He leaned in again to speak. Was he going to ask me to dance???

Well, he sort of did ask me to dance, but with his girlfriend (she was from another school. Whatever. He apparently was too good to date someone from the very school he was the president of. Typical politician.) She really wanted to learn how to line dance. I spent the majority of the night teaching her moves to "My Achy Breaky Heart."

Loser.

(Back to me sitting in the kitchen listening to music.)

As I continued to listen to the young lady's voice and reminisce days gone passed, some of the song's lyrics were really speaking to me:

"You heard my complaints about my curfew at 10..."
- That sums up my teen years

"You saw when my room was a mess again..."
- And again and again

"You heard me when I swore..."
- I occasionally did have a bit of a potty mouth

"...that I'd never love again..."
-Oh, you weren't finished that line yet. I thought you meant, you know. You see I never
really had that "high school sweetheart" experience so I thought you were talking about...well, I mean I did have a couple of crushes. I guy asked me to dance once...almost... well, sort of...

Loser. Yep, this has shed a whole lotta light on the term "pre-destination."

To wrap this up, this is what I'm trying to say: I feel very privileged to be a loser. It's why God picked me.

And if you're feeling like a loser today, remember: You are. And God loves you for it.

Which makes you cool.

It's Show Time!

Announcer's Voice: Hey Kids! Do you know what time it is?

Children Scream: It's DeLong Email Time!

Cue the Intro Music: "It's DeLong Email time! It's DeLong Email time!..." and so forth.

Fade to update in 5...4...3...2...

Hello there and welcome to my new blog! What is a blog anyway, you ask? Well, think of it as a spin off of my other websites. You know when the show "Friends" ended and then they started a spin off series called "Joey?" Yeah, like that. Except hopefully my blog won't be cancelled after the first couple of episodes.

On this blog you will find all my previous episodes including hard-to-find pilot email updates from the early years! Consider this your online box set of the DeLong Reports!

[Applause sign flashes]

Yes, we are sparing no expense now.

Now to the update part: You already know that we are back in England. If you didn't get that email, you can just scroll down and read it now ['ooooh' and 'ahhhhh' sound effect]. We'll cut to commercial while you do that.

[Fade to commercial in 3...2...1...]

In UK theatres this week the movie "Snakes on a Plane" starring Samuel Jackson is attracting many patrons looking for a good scare. Posters for this production are all over the place and yesterday I finally saw a preview for it. Not that I really needed to, I think that it is a pretty safe guess that the movie is going to be about snakes on a plane. Who came up with that title anyway? That question itself sounds like one of those bad lightbulb jokes - How many creative executives does it take to come up with the movie title, "Snakes on a Plane"? My guess is that that meeting happened right before or right after a long weekend.

Anyway, the nutshell of the preview was this: It started with some snakes on a plane (surprize) and it ended with Samuel Jackson wildly firing his machine gun inside of coach. Now, I am by no means educated or experienced in the mysteries of aerodynamical engineering (heck, I don't even know what to call it), but I've been on a lot of air planes and I think that I can state with confidence that unloading a machine gun inside of a plane is a really bad. Dare I say, possibly worse than snakes on a plane. How did he even get a machine gun on a plane nowadays anyway?

[Return from commercial]

I wonder if the person who came up with this movie had ever flown Air Canada? Come to think of it, wasn't there another movie about snakes on a plane? I think it was called, "Air Force One."

[CUT TO COMMERCIAL! CUT TO COMMERCIAL!]

Sorry about that. I did cross the line there. Of course, I didn't mean it, I just couldn't resist the joke!

I should really move on to actual events. I had an appointment yesterday with an endocrinologist. This was the third enstallment of a series of visits with them regarding my resent health problems. The doctors are concluding that I am having pituitary problems as a result of the radiation therapy I had 5 years ago. Anyway, the doctor gave me a prescription to try and help get me back to normal again. Poor guy, he has no idea what he is getting himself into...

Here's a funny thing about yesterday though: One of the doctor's names at the clinic was Toogood! So now when people ask me, "How was your appointment with the doctor?" I can say, "Oh, it wasn't too good." I saw some other doctor! HA HA! Get it? Of course you do.

No, I haven't started the medication yet. Why do you ask?

Alright then, I guess that's all the time we have for this episode. Thanks for joining us and we'll see you next time!

God bless,
~Alycia DeLong

SEQUEL IDEAS FOR "SNAKES ON A PLANE"

- "Hippos on a Bus"

-"Mad Cows on a Boat"

-"Lions on a Bike"

- "Peanuts in a Cab" (which would be terrifying to people who are allergic to nuts, when you think about it)

Back in The Ole' Country Again

Hello everyone!

I've given you a couple of weeks off but the break is over and it's time you wasted precious minutes reading my witty and charming anecdotes! Okay, maybe those aren't the exact words used to describe my updates, but close. Right to business then: Here we are in England. Back in sunny Walsall (and by 'sunny' I mean 'British sunny' which is not sun at all but a forecast of haze and grays). But it is nice to be back and see all our friends. I've particularly missed my dearest friend, Mr. Cadbury Galaxy Chocolate and his lovely wife, Hazel (although she's a little nutty if you ask me).

As you are probably noticing by now, I'm not completely over the jet lag. I have to admit it hit me pretty hard this time. Yesterday Danny and I woke up at about 4am. My stomach was really growling, but Danny said we shouldn't eat until a reasonable breakfast hour. Party pooper. Anyway, we played card games until about 6:30 and then I made omelets. Then we went to bed at about 10:30 am yesterday morning, woke up at 3pm, I went back to bed around midnight, woke up at 7am, returned to bed just before noon and woke up at 5:30pm. I haven't exactly been very aggressive in kicking this jet lag thing.

Boy was it great to be home for summer! After 4 long months of moving from house to house, city to city, living out of a suitcase, it was sooooo nice to come back to Canada for 2 months, moving from house to house, city to city, living out of a suitcase. Yeah, we traveled right across from Vancouver to Toronto and everywhere in between. A week here a week there. The only place we didn't really see very much of was our place. We spent 5 nights in our own home, and for me, 3 of them were on the couch. Danny was really sick and being the caring, nurturing wife I am, I thought it best if I gave him privacy and space to recover (Translation: projectile vomit plus innocent bystander equals wife spewed on in sleep. Not thanks I'll pass). Anyway, my sensitivity and wisdom was just the right prescription. Danny's all better now!

In a nutshell, here's what we did over the past few months:
- Visited family in Vancouver
- Visited family and went to ACOP conference in Kelowna
- Visited family in Edmonton
- Went to camp
- Went to camp
- Visited family in Regina
- Went to a wedding in Hamilton (saw Niagara Falls, too. Super cool!)
- Visited family in Regina again
- Went to camp again
- Re-shingled our roof in Calgary (fun fun fun)
- Visited family in Edmonton again
- Got on airplane and flew to England And that was our holiday.

So, how has your summer been?

Okay, well I think that's all I really have for now, so I'll let you all go and get back to whatever it was that you were doing, or about to do, or should do but you don't want to do, which is making me a tool of laziness. Maybe I should go have a nap for a few hours. It is about that time.

I look forward to invading your inbox for another year!

God Bless, ~Alycia

P.S. - Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Health Update

Hello there everyone! Here's the latest on my health situation. I guess I have good news and, well, no news.

The good news is that the old brain tumor is still shrinking. In fact is has shrunk another 4mm since my last MRI 2 years ago! Hooray! So that was very exciting!

The no news is that they have no idea what's causing the hyperprolactinaemia. I will have to go see an endocrinologist and have more tests. They're a bit stumped by what's happening in my brain. The MRI didn't reveal any new growths, and the old tumor isn't on the pituitary gland, it's fairly soon for me to be having side effects from the radiation, and my symptoms don't reflect that it is because of the radiation anyway. So we're back to the drawing board. We know there's something wrong, we just don't know why or how to fix this.

My next appointment with the endocrinology department is August 8 and hopefully they'll be able to find some answers, or find that I've been healed and am back to normal! (Was I ever really normal though?)

That is that, then, for now. I'm sorry I didn't have more answers, but so were the doctors. Thank you for all your prayers though - thank you very very very much! I have been strengthened daily by them and by God's gracious Spirit!

May God bless you all this summer!

Love,
~Alycia DeLong

It Is Finished

Hello my faithful subscribers! Okay, maybe you never signed up for this but due to powers beyond your control you have been getting my lengthy updates in your inbox and you're not sure why they aren't just being deposited in your junk mail right off the bat but for some reason you've been opening them and reading them every time. Something like that, right?

Okay, so guess what today is? We'll do multiple choice that's fun:

What is significant about May 17th?

A. First merry-go-round seen at a fair (1620)
B. Enya's Birthday (1961)
C. Last day of LifeFORCE UK (2006)
D. All of the Above

If you guessed D. All of the Above - you win! Please send us you name, address, and credit card number (don't forget the expiration date) and your prize will arrive in the mail soon. Ha ha! Just kidding! That's a good one, Alycia!

Yep, it is time to pack it up and move on from this, our very first year of LifeFORCE UK!

Overall everyone here agrees that we've had an incredible, exciting, challenging, and fun year for all of us! We've just officially wrapped everything up today with team debriefing, individual debriefing, and videoing all our new dramas that we wrote this year. Now we're packing up our bags and heading our separate ways. Some are going on to Bible college, others to university, some to jobs. Danny and I are coming back to Canada for a couple of months. I really have a hankering for Tim Horton's. We leave England next Monday and in the meantime we are swamped with all those last minute meetings and things that HAVE TO be done before we go. Ooooooh fun!

The most important thing I really have to say in this update is THANK YOU! Thank you for your emails, support, prayers, love, and encouragement! My constant prayer is that God would bless you as much and more as He has used you to bless us! You are such a huge part of what we are doing and we don't ever take that for granted! You have blessed us sooooo much! THANK YOU!!!!!!!

I think I'm going to end this email here and attach a couple of pictures of us instead.

With that, God bless you all, thank you for another great year, and may God give you all the desires of your heart!

Sincerely,
~Alycia DeLong

Mystery Solved

Hey everyone! I just got this email from the mother of a Maltese friend of mine! My sleepless nights are over!

~Alycia DeLong


Subject: Maltese

Date: Thu, 04 May 2006 15:18:36 +0000

Dear Alycia,

I'm Leah's mum. You don"t know me but Leah passed me your email about the Maltese that was talking to you about.

Believe me when I read the email I couldn't stop laughing. I know what she wanted to say. Probably this woman comes from a village because they don't use that saying in the city. My uncle used to use that phrase all the time.

We have a saying here that says that if you don't eat you won't stand. She wanted to tell you that if a sack is empty it will fall, but if it is full it will stand. She was describing the sack as the stomach and the food as a filler. So now you understand? She meant no and probably if you mention the word to her you would have embarrassed her.

Well thanks for a good laugh and if you have any difficulty about maltese please let me know.

Margaret


Well, Margie. I'm glad I could brighten your day. And I'm glad that now I can sleep at night!

You Know What They Say

Hello everyone! Yeesh, I'm emailing you more than those abnoxious spammers! But I have a funny story. One that is fresh off the presses, as they say!

So we've all chuckled at my consistency to misunderstand people, especially those with accents foreign to my own. There was the salesman in Walsall whom I thought was asking about my 'accident' when really he was saying 'accent.' Then there was the very embarassing incident of the gentleman in Kidderminster who was inquiring about my profession. (I thought he asked, 'Are you a prostitute,' but he was really saying, 'Are you a pastor, too.') Well, today I found myself in another one of those classic 'it-only-happens-to-me' situations.

Today we were at one of my favourite schools in Malta. It is a Catholic school and the priest there, Brother Kieren, is a wonderful man who is extremely welcoming and encouraging to our teams. In fact, all the staff and students are. We've been going to that school all the years we've had teams in Malta and we always have a lot of fun there.

One of the best things about visiting the school is that they always cook us a big, delicious lunch. There is always a home made soup, fresh baked Maltese bread, and an amazing pasta dish. Yes, they really know how to treat us right!

After lunch, we went back to the hall to pack up our set and all our props then say goodbye to our friends at the school. Brother Kieren shook our hands and blessed us all before he had to run back to his class, leaving one of the lady teachers behind to escort us out. As the team went ahead, I walked with the teacher just to tell her how much we appreciated everything they had done for us that day.

"We love coming to your school," I gushed, "especially since you always feed us so well!"

"Well, we like that you come here and the students like it very much," she responded in her thick Maltese accent. It was clear that English wasn't her first language and she was struggling to put her sentences together. "We have a saying here in Malta, you probably know it and have it in your country, too. We say, 'If you have empty sex, the body will fall over.'"

A moment of awkward silence.

"Uh, pardon me?" I had definitely heard that wrong.

"We say this because you know, if the sex is empty the body will fall down." She then repeated it for me in Maltese, which didn't clear things up at all.

So I lied. "Oh, right. I see." What the heck was she talking about?

I waved good bye and quickly walked down the street stiffling my laughter. Had I heard her correctly? I wanted to ask her again to repeat herself. In fact, I almost said to her, "Look, that may be a popular phrase where you come from, but I've only been married 5 years and I don't know that one yet!"

As it turns out, I still have no idea what she was saying. I ran it pass the team and we are all totally clueless on this one. I'm writing this to you so that maybe some one out there can decipher this cryptic message for me.

Hopefully some one can tell me the meaning of this saying. I'm sure it's simple, like the writing's on the wall but I'm running around like a chicken with it's head cut off so I don't have time to stop to smell the roses. Maybe I got up on the wrong side of the bed and I'm not the sharpest knife in the Swiss Army today. Who can tell with all this mumbo jumbo. Maybe she was just mad as a hatter, not playing with a full deck, you know? I'm sure if I put on my thinking cap though, I can solve this idium.

God bless you all and be sure to let me know if you have any ideas about this! Thanks!

Straight from the horses mouth,
~Alycia DeLong

Still Trying to Get Caught Up

Hey everyone! It's me again (insert your sarcastic remarks here. Ha ha, very cute. Good one. Ha ha big fake ha.)

Okay, now that's out of the way, here's a funny story from a couple of weeks ago. We were in West Bromich doing a week with at an event called Revolution. Basically its a mission week for teens while they're off for Easter break. About 50 of them come from different youth groups and churches and we spend the week doing evandelism. Uh, I mean, evangelism. Hee hee, a fraudian slip from me. We all split into groups and then rotate from the different activities around the community. There was gardening, garbage picking, kid's activities in the park, prayer groups, and many other things. The whole goal of the week was to serve the community and show teens the benefits of serving. Being a servant is the first and foremost step in being any sort of minister for the Gospel - and it's the small things we do that can really make a big impact!

Friday was main event day. We were allowed into the biggest mall in the West Midlands to do a day's program of songs, dramas, balloon animals, puppet shows, and face painting. In fact, this year I was asked to be the official 'face painting' instructor, a covetted title. (Okay, no one else really wanted to do it, and I just love paintin beards on little kids.) Anyway, on Wednesday night the germsI had been battling won the war when it brought out the fever weapon. Danny drove me back to Walsall to recover for the rest of the week. I was so disappointed that I was missing all the fun! But I slept lots and did my best to recover for the main event on Friday.

Friday morning came and I shakily dragged myself out of bed, got dressed, and tried to make myself look not so much like I'd just escaped from the Betty Ford clinic. I whined and pouted to Danny to take me to the main event at the mall. There were so many little faces to paint and they would need all the help they could get! Finally, he agreed to take me but I was under strict orders to take it easy.

When we got to the mall no one was there except the other members of our group setting up and store workers. Our group was pretty much done: the tables were set up, balloons were filled and the puppet curtain was just being hung. There really wasn't much for me to do but sit in the face painting area and watch.

As I sat down my body reminded me of my current physical condition. I felt gross. My head was swimming and my stomach was sea sick. What was I doing here? Why had I come? I was totally useless! Was there going to be anything for me to do today? I should have stayed in bed...

Then, just as the stores were beginning to open, came our first customer! A lady and her three small children approached the face painting counter and politedly asked, "Excuse me, are you open yet?"

"We sure are," I replied excitedly. First victim of the day!

"How much is it to get your face painted?" she asked.

"Absolutely free," I was very proud to tell her.

"Oh, well that's great!" Turning to her three kids she asked them, "Would you all like your face painted?" And what kid doesn't? And they've hit the jackpot! We could paint Spidermen, princesses, butterflies, dinosaurs, you name it - we could do it!

But these kids didn't look very thrilled. They all huddled in closer to their mother and scanned us over very suspiciously.

The mother looked her children in the eyes. "It's alright. It doesn't hurt. It will be fun!" They didn't budge. "Look," she tried again, "see? It's fun! Here, how about I have my face painted first? Then if you like, you can have yours done to."

The woman's two little boys looked more nervous by this comprimize than comforted. Her little girl, only about two years old, clung tightly to her mother and began to sob, "I don't want it to go on your face!"

"It's fun! Trust me," and the she sat down in the chair. "I'd like a little butterfly on my cheek please." And with that, one of our face painters began to paint a very delicate, purple butterfly just below her eye. Her two boys barely blinked as they carefully watched over their mother and her little girl continued to sob. I tried to talk to them, to distract them, but they were very focussed on their mother's face.

"They're pretty shy," the woman said to me, "but I'm hoping that if I can show them that its alright, they'll get a bit braver."

"Well in that case, don't forget to go get a balloon animal after, too!" I said and we both had a little chuckle.

We continued to talk while she had her face painted. At first it was the usual stuff, 'Where are you from?', 'What are you doing here?', 'Do you like England?' I told her about our activities throughout the week, the litter picking and games and gardening. She was particularly interested in the last one.

"I've just moved into a new place last October and I'm trying to start a garden. It's hard to find the time to do it though. I'm a single mother." She explained.

"It certainly does look like you already have your hands full," I joked as her arms were still trying to comfort her toddler.

She laughed and then paused for a moment. It was one of those pauses that come when a person is debating on what to say next. Not only what to say, but if they should say it.

Something made this woman decide to say it.

"Actually, my husband passed away a year and a half ago," she said quietly, as if still trying to protect her young children.

"I'm so sorry," I replied. What else could I say?

Another moment of silence as she made her next decision.

"He passed away from a brain tumor."

At that very moment I knew exactly why I was there. I didn't say anything at first, I couldn't. After all, this woman was telling these things to a complete stranger! She didn't say much, but she didn't have to.

Her butterfly was finished and she said thank you to the artist as she looked her cheek in the mirror. Her kids were still anti-face paint, so she stood up to leave.

"I don't mean to sound weird," I carefully started, "but would you mind if I walked with you?"

The woman smiled graciously and invited me along.

"I'm a strong believer in Divine Appointments," I said, "and for me, this is one of those appointments! I really related to what you were saying. You may not believe this but, I had a brain tumor."

The conversation went from there for another 30-40 minutes (it's hard to tell, you know how it is when women start talking.) We talked about the depression, the disappointment, the loneliness, the questions and all of the stuff that comes with losing a loved one (as I had also lost my mother to cancer). She asked me about how I felt while I was going through my own diagnosis and what I felt watching my family worry for me. She shared her own pain that she had gone through watching her husband suffer, and the new pain now as she lived a different life without him. She told me about how hard it had been on her children. They were so scared of losing her too they rarely let her out of their sight. We talked about the good things though as well, the things we've learned, the prayers we've had answered and God. Although I never found out what her own faith was exactly. We just talked.

Our visit ended with the two of us wiping our tears outside of a Carlton Card shop. We exchanged email addresses before she had to go so we could continue to stay in touch.

As I walked back to the face painting counter I was so excited and encouraged, no germs could survive! Why was I here today? As far as I was concerned, it was for that 40 minutes with that mother and her three kids. In fact, why was she there today? Maybe for me, too! That's just the way that Divine Appointments seem to work!

So as you go into this new week, my prayer is that your days will be filled with Divine Appointments!

God bless you and take care!

Sincerely,
~Alycia DeLong

P.S.- When you think of it, please say a prayer for Jo and her three kids. Thanks.

Guess Who?

A riddle for you...

What's stinky and sweaty and hasn't sent out an email update in a ridiculously long time?

Answer: Danny. He's terrible at email updates. That's why I do it.

Greetings and Salutations to you all! Wow, it has been a horrendously long time since I wrote, but I had a shower so I'm not stinky and sweaty anymore. I guess I should fill you in on what's happening, and what's been happening over the past month.

We are now in Malta (and the peasants rejoice)! We arrived last Tuesday, April 16th. It has been a wonderful change for our team - we've all felt the thrill and excitement of a new country and a new mission! Our schedule is already full with presentations and programs in 2-3 schools a day and 2-3 evening youth clubs a week! Then there's all the extra stuff we get ourselves into!

For example today. We did two schools and then went to another radio mission based here in Malta and did some backyard labour on their building. Hence the afore-mentioned stinky and sweatyness. We've been having a blast in schools. It always amazes us how we can speak so openly about our faith and the difference Jesus has made in our lives right in an assembly!

We had a really cool experience on Friday night. The man that runs all the Catholic youth clubs in the country asked us do to some of our dramas on the steps of the Mosta Dome! I know you're like, "Wow! What the heck is a Mosta Dome?" Glad you asked!

A picture speaks a thousand words. Take a look for yourself

http://www.maltavista.net/en/list/photo/471.html

http://www.maltavista.net/en/list/photo/472.html

It seems to be a bit of a running theme for us, performing in cathedrals. Just a few weeks ago in England we did a week long program in the Lichfield cathedral. Look at this one.

http://www.lichfield-cathedral.org/

Anyway, I'm sure it's only a matter of time before Jay Leno calls.

Okay, this email is long (no surprize there) so I'll wrap this up for now with one last exciting thing...

Yesterday we went swimming and I was stung by a jelly fish! Actually, it didn't hurt that much, it was just a little one. But then, because the driver of the boat we'd gone with felt sorryfor me, he let me drive the boat! I almost capsized and killed us all! How exciting!

With that, I should go. I'll be writing again, don't you worry! I have a couple of great stories I have to tell you about, but this email is long enough as it is! So God bless you all and take care!

Sincerely,
~Alycia DeLong

P.S. - Don't worry, I didn't let anyone pee on my jelly fish sting.

Finally the Internet and I Meet Again

Hello there my favourite family! I'm beginning the enormous job of replying to an obscene amount of emails. We haven't had email access in almost over 2 weeks and it HAS DRIVEN ME CRAZY! First of all, I've wanted to send out an email to let you know how my test results turned out. Well, I passed all my tests: my thyroid is fine and my cortisol levels are normal (that's some sort of adreneline hormone.) A couple of things have come up though. My prolactin levels are still way too high, causing low estrogen levels (which explains why I've been watching sports, scratching myself and leaving the seat up), and I also have low levels of IG-1 hormones. That's a growth hormone. Basically that means I won't be having any growth spurts any time soon. It's not a big deal. It just seems that its a case of hyperprolactaenamia. Yeah, I could have guessed that. (????hyperprolacti-what??? I'll take hormones of the pituitary for $1000, Alex).

I still do need a lot of prayer. The doctors are a bit baffled by what is causing this and I'll still have to go for more tests. They want me to have my MRI first before they start jabbing me with their torture sticks again. They can do what they want, I'll never talk!

Otherwise, to be honest, I've been pretty run down. I missed pretty much all of last week, which was a bummer. We did a whole week of our program in the Lichfield Cathedral! Yeah, Europe's biggest three-spired cathedral, like 800 years old, an absolute masterpiece of architecture and history. And we did a desecrated it with our loud dramas. It was awesome, and I missed it.

I've found that I just have 'shut down' days. It's pretty much impossible for me to function when this happens, it just feels like a total energy drain. It's nothing that a quick 14 to 16-hour nap doesn't fix. It's most likely because of the hyperprolabadabadoo thingy combined with our lifestyle/stress/lack of chocolate intake. Okay the chocolate intake may not be a real medical solution. Yet.

So I do need a lot of prayer so that I can try and keep up. Danny and the team have been great to accommodate me and my health. The team doesn't know all the details about everything (it's sort of hard to explain anyway), but they've never asked any questions or judged me about my time off. And Danny has spoiled me rotten, as usual!

So his birthday and our anniversary was just last week! Thank you for all the emails wishing us the best! I didn't see Danny at all on his birthday because he had to take the team to a mission in a different town while I stayed behind an extra day for a doctor's appointment. Then we had our anniversary. Did you know that the 5th anniversary is the wood anniversary. I thought about getting Danny a popsicle, but Danny definitely won the prize for most thoughtful gift. First, he gave me this beautifully carved wooden box and inside was a very antique looking French song-book and piano sheet music! Wow! Then he surprized me even more when that weekend he took me to a hotel in Dudley (called ' The Village')! When we got to the room there was flowers, champagne and chocolates waiting to meet us there! I even had a massage there! It was just what any doctor would order.

Okay, what else did I have to say? Oh yeah, I have tragic terrible news! THE CAMERA IS BROKEN!!!!! I don't know what I'm going to do (but I'm hoping that in the rebound I will be able to console my broken heart with 5 or 6 pixel Fuji). It broke sometime last week in Lichfield. We think it must have gotten crushed in the bottom of the back pack. Usually I carry it with me everywhere in my purse, but because I wasn't well last week I wasn't able to protect it from the cruelties of the world! It is especially painful now that we are in Scotland and there has been the most wonderful snowfall here! I would be taking so many pictures if Canon A80 was here...~sigh~

On a serious note however, we had some sad news from the homefront. Danny's birth grandfather passed away last weekend. It was quite a surprize to the family I guess. We only got to meet him once, but are we ever glad we did!

Well, I've still got a million and 99 emails to respond too plus if it is possible I'll put out a general update as well!

I love you all and I miss you all! God bless and take care and hopefully I'll get to write again soon!

Love always,
~Alycia xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Kids Say the Darndest Things

Hello all from sunny, rainy, hailing, snowing Walsall! Yes, it's been a funny day for Mother Nature, she just couldn't decide what she wanted to wear today.

I just had to send out this story that happened this evening. We were at a kid's club for 6 to 12 year old children at the church. We did our dramas, told a Bible story, and played some games. The kids at this group are very, how shall I say, energetic? Enthusiastic? Rambunctious? And sometimes down right menaces! But they are so sweet and it is always such a huge blessing to us to have them run and give us hugs when they see us coming.

Okay, so at the end of the evening, we had some spare time to tell one last story, which is, naturally, Danny's job. He is the master of 'one last story.' So he proceded to tell the adventure of going Go-Carting last week with the youth group. Danny recounted every detail, every danger, and every challenge and the children (and us) were enthralled. He told of his brave battle on the go-cart track, racing against vicious teenage challengers, who tried to bump him off the track, but he didn't let fear defeat him,and he finally finished victoriously in first place. Actually, it sounded a lot like "Days of Thunder" except with go-carts.

At the end of is story, Danny asked the kids, "Does anyone know why I won the race?" Why yes, of course, Danny. It's because you didn't give up.

The responses from the children, however, were as follows:

-"Because girls are bad drivers." (That boy's walking home.)
-"Because you cheated." (Thank you for your honesty.)
-"Because you ate bananas." (Where we listening to the same story?)

And my all time favourite, the answer to every question:
-"Because you had faith in God so he helped you to win." (What can I say? We know how to program the young minds of today's generation.)

You know, there are only 3 or 4 children from the 30 plus group who actually attend church outside of this Tuesday evening club. But they are really teaching them the right answers to all of life's tough questions!

Until the next crazy thing that happens (which shouldn't be too long, we have another kids' club tomorrow night), God bless you all and remember...

...have faith in God!

Take Care,
~Alycia DeLong

Happy Valentine's Day (or week for those of us who are forgetful)

Happy Belated Valentine’s Day, everyone! Hope your week has brought you many bouquets of flowers and boxes of chocolates! I’ve got no complaints myself. We’re in Stafford right now enjoying an easy going week as it is half term break for schools so we don’t have any assemblies or classes. This week’s schedule has consisted of bowling, movies, games, go carting, ice skating and tobogganing (indoor, of course). We’ve just been hanging out with the local youth group as much as possible, which has been awesome! We needed a week like this; the last two have been insanely busy with schools and events. Hey, that reminds me of a funny story…

So last week we were in Wales, Clydach to be exact. I know what you’re all thinking, ‘Hey, isn’t that by Swansea, where Catherine Zeta-Jones has a mansion?’ Why yes, as a matter of fact it is. But we never saw her. Sorry. I hope you weren’t thinking that was going to be my funny story.

Our entire team stayed in the church for the week, boys in one room and girls in the other, including Danny and myself (also not the funny story. Side note: And people are so shocked that we don’t have children yet). Anyway, we were scheduled for full days of schools from Monday to Friday and evening stuff every night. Our previous week in Stourbridge had been much the same and we were already pretty exhausted, but there’s nothing that a little coffee and a lot of prayer can’t do. We pulled ourselves back together and arrived at school Monday morning ready to go.

When we arrived we were quickly taken into one of the classrooms by the teacher who was coordinating our week. He told us that a major outbreak of the flu had broken out at the school. In fact the previous Friday recorded around 200 students absent. He asked if we’d all had flu shots (to which we just said yes) and said he’d keep us updated on the situation. We didn’t think much of it, but it was nice of the guy to tell us what was going on. There shouldn’t be any real problems because of this, or so we thought…

By the end of the day it had been confirmed that two of the students had meningitis and that they were taking emergency medical measures to stop a possible epidemic. There were staff meetings to be held, letters to be written home, public parent meetings to be arranged, staff and students to be tested, and lots of pills to be handed out. Wednesday was spent in a line filling out forms, answering medical questions, and receiving antibiotics. It was panic and chaos. Parents we taken there kids out of school, teachers were calling in sick, the media was all over the story, and rumours were flying that they were going to close down the school. It was up to us, four Canadians and two Brits, to save the day!

By the end of the week we’d seen every present student in years 8, 9, 10 and most of the other year 7 and 11 students. Pretty much everyone between the ages of 13 and 17 we had contact it. And guess what, we never even got meningitis. Not even the sniffles! Originally we were only going to see a few classes, but it seems that God perhaps had a different idea and cleared the schedule for us! On the Friday night, when we held our main outreach event, we had around 100 students and adults pack the church and enjoy a night of comedy, and at the end they heard the Gospel.
We move on to Walsall for 2 weeks after this and then we’re off to Scotland for a week, which will be fun! We had a great mission there last year, so it will be exciting to see everyone again.

Well then, I guess I’ll be off for now. I think it’s time for a cup of tea. I also want to see what’s happening on the Olympics. Men’s Skeleton was very exciting yesterday as Canada took the Gold and Silver! And of course there’s HOCKEY! I’m looking forward to what today will hold!

Until next time, God bless and keep your stick on the ice!

Sincerely,
~Alycia DeLong

Guess Where I Am?

Hello from WALES!!!!!!! Yes, I am finally here! We are in Swansea right now until next Sunday. Unfortunately its such a busy week, I'm not seeing too much. And this is probably the only chance I'll have to do any internet stuff until next week. All of us are staying at the local church in Claduch, but it's the boys in one room and the girls in the other, so Danny and I are split up for the week. We don't have access to a phone or to the internet there (I'm at the library right now using the computers). Our schedule is full of school and classes during the day and meetings and kids club in the evenings.

So here's a funny story: The school we're at for the week is having a real flu epidemic. Out of 750 students, over 200 of them were away sick last Friday. Anyway, yesterday, 2 students were diagnosed with Meningitis. Today the entire school, including us, received free antibiotics to prevent it from spreading any further. So it's been a little crazy around here to say the least!

Other than that, we are loving it here! The church we are working with is small and mostly made up of age 60+ members - which means we are getting spoiled! The best thing in the world happened when we arrived at the church Sunday: I walked into the kitchen area and on the table to great me was a big container full of WELSH CAKES! It was magnificent (even though they aren't as good as your welsh cakes, Grampa)!

I'd love to be able to call or write again, but I don't know if that is going to be a possibility unfortunately. The past couple of weeks have been really packed. Last week we ran a youth drop in every night from 6:30 to 10:30. We were totaly wrecked by the end of the week. Hopefully we'll still be alive by the end of this one! Next week is the half term break for schools here, so it will be very laid back for everyone.

Well, I have to run, my time is up I am afraid. Everyone's leaving the library and I need to go with them so I can find my way back to the church!

God bless and Take care! Hope to talk to you all soon!

Love always,
~Alycia xoxoxoxoxoxo