weekly wrap up : mountains & music

Oh dear, where to even start! This week has been absolutely packed full to the brim for me... I kicked it off with a trip to Jasper National Park, where I was shooting an engagement shoot - so Caleb and I made a little getaway out of it and went snowboarding with my clients (so fun! I have the best job ever), ate lots of yummy food, stayed at a cozy little church, went snowshoeing, and enjoyed the beauty of God's creation! It feels like its been ages since we've been in the mountains, so this was such a treat for us! 

The rest of the week has been me being sick =( ...studying, writing papers, editing photoshoots, and then hitting up a great evening of wonderful music here in Edmonton at a local place called The Artery. A tad sketchy looking, but our friends were playing and it was such fun! Go check White Lightning's stuff on youtube, I promise they won't disappoint :)

 

p.s. ♥ clara

wanderlust : kenya in black & white

I had an absolutely incredible time in Kenya and am excited to show off some black and white photos of this gorgeous country & its people. First off, Kenyans are probably the most FRIENDLY people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. They were so welcoming, gracious, and lovely that you can't help but fall in love with them! That being said, the corruption that exists in this country is despicable. 

This photo is the remains of what used to be the Mitumba Slum, which housed over 35,000 people. Last fall, the Kenyan government gave the people of the slum less than 24 hours of notice to evacuate and then bulldozed the entire place down. This place is particularly special to me because my husband's  family & church in Medicine Hat helped build a church, orphanage, and school in this slum alongside a local pastor. Thankfully, though all these buildings have been destroyed, the peoples' spirits aren't broken. In fact, they're praising God that nobody was harmed and are praying faithfully that God will provide for them. I was so blessed by them & truly have so much to learn from their attitudes! 

This little boy, Peter, was just so precious. He's one of the slum kids from the orphanage and has such a tragic story. First, his biological mother abandoned him and his 2 older sisters. His father took care of them, but when he got remarried, the new wife threatened to kill the kids. So Peter's father dropped off his 3 kids at the Mitumba Slum Orphanage and abandoned them... such a tragic beginning to life, yet Peter and his sisters have so much joy and are so thankful to Pastor Shadrack and his wife Violet for taking them in and have totally flourished in their new home. Praise God! 

After spending time working with Pastor Shadrack in Nairobi, Caleb and I had the incredible opportunity of going up to Northern Kenya to visit the Samburu and Rendille tribes. The people there were so lovely and I just fell in love with rural Kenya! 

I also had the great fortune of having my birthday while I was in Northern Kenya and was blessed with this lovely breakfast and note =) 

I absolutely adored how the people adorned themselves with bright, colourful, beaded jewellery!

They are such beautiful people!

We met some beautiful people in Korr that were absolutely in love with Jesus. What an encouragement! We were so blessed to see God working in such a remote area (not that we ever doubted that He could!) and we felt so encouraged by the missionaries we stayed with and the local believers. It was a completely different world, yet the hearts of the people are totally the same.Overall, our trip to Africa was a wonderful, once in a lifetime experience. We definitely feel called to go back in the future and can't wait for that day to come! Keep the people of Kenya in your prayers =) 

ps: clara ♥ 

weekly wrap-up : 21 days in 12 photos.

I'm baaaackk!! After a 3-week long trip to Africa, I am finally back in Canada! 

It was a WONDERFUL, life-changing, exciting, and beautiful trip and I can't wait to share more about it with you all =)  So instead of a traditional "weekly wrap-up", I thought I'd share a photo journey of I've been these last three weeks & what I've been up to on the other side of the world...

We had a 19-hour layover in London on the way to Africa, so Caleb & I hit up some sights =)

I was sorely tempted to buy these... but settled for a photo instead.

Had a short layover in Zurich then after being in transit for over 24 hours, we finally reached our final destination: Nairobi, Africa!! 

Led a bible study at an orphanage in Nairobi with the most wonderful kids! 

Befriended this precious little girl & her baby brother in the small village of Korr in Northern Kenya... 

Hung out with some Rendille women in the village... aren't they gorgeous?! (& my sincere apologies for the partial nudity, but in northern Kenya, it's really inevitable...)

We straddled the Tanzanian - Kenyan border & were in two places at one time,

 just like they do in A Walk to Remember.. =)Went on an African Safari & saw TONS of cats... including a pride of 20 lions, 2 cheetahs, and even 2 leopards (which are one of the rarest animals to see on a safari!)

Not only did we see a crazy amount of animals, we also ate a few interesting ones on an adventurous dinner date. Our menu included: ostrich, crocodile, and ox testicles...yes, you read correctly. I ate ox testicles like they do in Fear Factor episodes... & I would definitely NOT recommend them to you ever.

Then we said goodbye to Kenya and spent a couple days in Zurich, Switzerland! (can you make out the alps in the distance? they were GORGEOUS)

&& finally, we arrived back in Edmonton, Alberta safe and sound, where a friendly face (our good friend Janelle) was waiting for us at the airport! 

Our final destination = our bed. 

Despite how much we enjoyed our trip & LOVE Africa, after being in transit for days, 

our bed felt glorious! It feels good to be back home =) 

But keep an eye out for a more in-depth wanderlust post on what I was up to in Kenya! 

There's just sooo much more to share & I can't wait to share my experiences with ya'll.  

ps: clara ♥ 

wanderlust : spirit of adventure

via

Yes, I am in Africa currently, and yes, I am still dreaming, thinking, hoping, talking, and breathing of more adventure in different countries, with other peoples, eating strange foods, 

learning new languages, experiencing beautiful cultures, and trying out anything new! 

(& to give myself a little credit, I did write up this post before I left for Africa...)

I love my life, I really do, but life is so much better when every day is an adventure. 

Check out this short video by NIKE it's sooo inspiring and wonderful and I just want to get up, grab a pack, head over to the airport, and go on an adventure now! Luckily, I'm sitting in the Nairobi airport about to head to Zurich for 2 days, so I can fulfill this desire NOW! (&& lots more posts to come about my trip as soon as I'm back home in Canada!)

How do you "make it count?" 

via

One of my favourite pixar movies is "UP" & I adore that it's all about the spirit of adventure, new discoveries, and big, BIG, BIG dreams. Plus, Ellie and Karl are the cutest animated couple ever!

via

Where would your "spirit of adventure" take you in the world?


ps: clara ♥ 

weekly wrap-up: school, snow and sunshine

Sooooo, my week has looked VERY different than what it normally does in May.  Instead of working on the farm...I'm actually in Alberta!

My degree has a field school requirement, which means that I'm in Kananaskis Valley for a week at the moment, doing all sorts of wonderful things!

When we woke up on the very first morning that we were here.....there was SNOW on the ground!! 

It was beautiful, but freezing cold!  My group was learning how to survey an area, and it is not something I recommend you do in freezing temperatures!

The next day was MUCH nicer, and warmed up quite a bit, and we learned how to calculate wind velocities using balloons! 

(our prof is hilarious....and was pretending to freak out right as I took these pics!)

One of the most exciting parts of this day was blowing up the balloons....helium is fun ;)

Below is my partner and I right after we set up a weather station on the delta of Barrier Lake! 

(it was SUPER WINDY!!!)

I am continually amazed at the beauty of the valley, and am having so much fun here.  It's so great to be able to be learning so many practical and applicable things, and the hands-on approach is so much more enjoyable compared to sitting in a classroom all day!

Today was hydrology, so we got to model some extremely flattering waders (waterproof overalls), and "play" around in a creek!  It was by far my favorite day....and it was so warm that a few people even got sunburns!

My group is so much fun....and it's been such a wonderful experience to be able to bond with my classmates in such a unique way before entering into our final year together!

I hope your week was as interesting as mine!

ps: kelsey ♥