It's a beautiful, sunny day here in Halifax. Not at all cold and dreary. The temperature for today is supposed to be around 28 degrees, which is AWESOME. Hopefully once I'm done my chores I'll have a chance to get out and enjoy some of it. I would be going out with the others and helping them hunt for jobs, but my feet have a few really nasty blisters on them from all of our walking, and I work tomorrow, so I'm giving them a bit of a break.

Speaking of work, for those who don't know, I got a job last week at the Lower Deck as a line cook. Not totally glamorous, but a totally interesting place to work. They seat about 500 people a DAY, so it's a big leap from what I"m used to at the Tea Room. Easily the busiest restaurant in Halifax... pray for my sanity, haha! Seriously though, I was warned that as a Christian I might find myself uncomfortable there. I trust that it's the right place for me to be, but I'd appreciate prayers of protection and endurance.

Being in Halifax means a weird mix of feelings. On the one hand, it's a new city and I don't know my way around as well as I'd like to, I don't know the best places to go for this or that, etc. But on the other hand, it feels a lot like Sarnia, so I feel right at home. I like Halifax a lot, and I wouldn't mind living here. It's definitely a place I could see myself putting down roots as well as planting seeds in (take that however you'd like to take it, hahaha). Spiritually, it's a very open place...

OH! I just realized how long it's been since I shared with you all. We went out sharing faith for the first time on tuesday night. My partner Ben and I met with 3 different people - please pray for Kaitlin (sp?) who is Catholic and interested in coming to our weekly meetings, Jill who is very interested in learning more about Christianity, and Rodrigo and Bethany, who we met at the end of the evening and ended up hanging out with at Rodrigo's soccer game where we met some of Bethany's friends. Whew. It was a really exciting night for Ben and I, as the people we met were very friendly and open to hearing the Gospel/about God. This city is unique from other Canadian cities like Toronto, or Hamilton (yes I realize there are other cities other than those two..) in that people are actually willing to talk to strangers, and get to be friends with them. Polar opposite from the culture in Scotland actually. At the end of the evening, we had 2 people pray to recieve Christ and they will be 'followed up' throughout the summer! Their names are Denise and Vivy, please pray for our new sisters!

It's amazing how quickly we settled into being a team. We're already sharing living spaces, cutlery, advice, recipes, encouragement... it's like we've known everyone forever, but still have lots to learn. I love my roommates, and we get along great so far. Sure there are little conflicts, but we're all pretty mature (me and my bubbles being the possible exception ;o)) so they're easily overcome. God's really put something amazing together for this summer. I'm so very, very excited.

Olga and I had a really interesting experience last night. There is a small group of German university students studying here at St. Mary's for the summer, and Olga met one of them (Sylvia) in the elevator of our building the other day. Last night, the three of us, plus two other guys from their team, Mirco and Roland (don't forget to rrrroll that R!) went out for "drinks" (virgin caesars for Olga and I... blech!!) and talked about all kinds of cultural differences and what we're studying. It was amusing, to say the least. Their English is very good, so it wasn't hard to communicate. It turns out that Sylvia is a Christian too, but we're not sure about the guys. We enjoyed hanging out and talking and they all want to hang out with us again, so I'm excited for that. It's good to get out and meet people and make connections, rather than staying around in my own 'Christian bubble'. My first challenge was actually declining to drink alcohol last night. Going out for drinks for me usually involves actually drinking alcohol, but I didn't this time. I can't say that awful caesar was a great reward, but it did speak about who Olga and I are as people.

There's lots I could write about, but I think that's enough for now... I'll include some contact information for you all, because I LOVE getting things. Definitely do not hesitate to send me your mailing address, as postcards and letters are just as fun to write as they are to receive!

Erin MacMillan
Apt. #704 Rice Residence
Saint Mary's University
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
B3H 3C3

(902) 491-8668 ext. 3186 (I cannot make outgoing long distance calls from this number, but I can definitely receive incoming ones!)

outside-the-lines(at)hotmail(dot)com (you know what to do with those words in the brackets!)

Blessings!

Erin