Today is Sunday, January 2, 2005. A new year. What does it have in store for us this time? We can only wait and see. Trusting in God alone will help us to make it through.

2004 was a very interesting year for me. It was my first complete year of teaching Grade 2. I started with my new teaching position, a Grade 2 class, on Monday, January 5, 2004. It was a big challenge to start a new position in the middle of the school year...especially after another teacher started the schoolyear with them. Nevertheless, I was happy for the challenge, and grateful to God for the opportunity to finally be a Grade 2 teacher. For that reason, I can say, "Thank you, Lord, for blessing me with the fulfillment of a life-long dream." I just finished Term 1 with my new group of students and had a wonderful time with them. I look forward to working with them for the remainder of this schoolyear.

Last year, I was also able to visit one of my best friends, Aubrey, in Calgary, Alberta. It was our first vacation together and simply more than I ever expected! The trip is outlined in the photo album on my website. It's also documented in the first journal entry on this same page (see below). My other best friend, Michelle, started her new teaching job in London, England. As it is for any first-year teacher, it was a challenging experience, but she made it through first term! She came to visit in the summer of 2004 and it was great to see her after such a long time away from home.

2004 was also special because I attended a Christian Women's Conference in September. When I first heard about it, I really wasn't interested. After my experiences there, I couldn't stop talking about how wonderful it really was. It was held in Niagra Falls, Canada. It was a beautiful weekend of workshops and seminars. I had such a blessed time there, my friend Nat and I decided to attend a Young Women's Conference held in Ottawa (Ontario) in November! There, we met some amazing new people and also had a spirit-filled time. I was reluctant to attend the first one, but now I'm spokeperson #1 to advise everyone to attend a similar conference in future!

The 2004 Christmas holiday season brought a sad reminder of how our lives are not our own, and can be taken away at any time. The Tsunami disasters in Southern Asia took away 130,000 lives of people in 11 different countries. The numbers will still rise in the coming weeks. Citizens and tourists in these countries went through an absolutely terrible ordeal and are in desperate need of help. In this dark moment however, it's amazing to see the human spirit; pepole worldwide are sending money to assist those who need it most. Tomorrow, my class and I will be running our own fundraiser to collect money for the victims of the Tsunami. As little as we may collect, I want them to know that we all can help others in some way or form.

It is my prayer that 2005 will be a blessed and fruitful year for us all. Please continue to keep me in your prayers, as you are all mine. All the best for 2005. God bless!

Krishana