The picture speaks for itself!What Canadian kid doesn't miss snow?Last weekend we visited both the Sequoia and Yosemite National parks. We drove from 342 ft above sea level to over 8000 ft. and as soon as we saw snow, the truck doors were opened and the kids were out nearly before we stopped. Sequoia boasts the largest trees in the world.The General Sherman tree is not the oldest but stands as the largest tree on earth according to the sign beneath it at 1487 cubic meters (if that was Canadian softwood it would translate to about 45 truck loads). Yosemite is just magnificent. The roads are similar to that of a roller coaster (so we don't need to do Disneyland anymore), but the rock face is stunning.Most of the waterfalls were already frozen and held a timelessness about them that was restful.The air was fresh, the sun was warm, and the beauty, as always, was humbling. We have never seen so much spectacular geology packed into such a small area, which is saying a lot for a family from the Canadian Rockies.

Our last week at Gleanings has been fantastic.We have been working hard - in a relaxed sort of way!?Tim and Eli continued to work on the construction site driving all sorts of equipment about.Naomi worked mostly in the soup plant and Eden sewed diapers for Haiti, which she would really like to hand-deliver!I was on the decorating committee and had an absolute blast creating centerpieces and decorating the office, dining hall, foyer, and chapel.They're pretty serious about celebrating!

Altogether Gleanings sent out three trucks this week to Mexico, Belarus, and Cambodia filled with dried fruit, soup mix, dehydrated eggs, quilts, canned salmon, and other various delights that had been donated. We are the last of the volunteers to leave before Christmas, and were blessed to be included in the staff Christmas Party... it began with a different kind of "Santa" parade.We took boxes of food and quilts to a Mexican migrant camp in Sultana just a few miles down the road. A local pastor and his daughter joined us as interpreters as all the families from Gleanings walked around the camp singing Christmas carols, giving out food, and blessing and praying for those who live there.

The Gleanings staff and their families number over 40 here, and with us and the Mission Builders we were a small crowd of over 50.We had a beautiful dinner together followed by a "family gathering" in front of the fireplace in the chapel.We were so blessed to have been included in their family - complete with gifts under the tree for the kids!It was overwhelming and amazing and sooooo much fun.Of course it wouldn't be a party for Canadians without a line dance and a two-step, so we danced the night away with every genre of music you can imagine.

The hardest part is yet to come.We will be leaving on Monday - much to everyone's immense disappointment. We aren't at this time sure where we will be going, but we know it is time to move on (hopefully one day to return).As always, we will let you know what happens next!