Christmas 2012
USA Thanksgiving weekend, (Nov 2012) - I (Lori) sit in the Mt Baker Ski Lodge (in many ways, our second home), surrounded by fresh snow and delicious sunshine..... As I reflect on 2012, I am again, undone, by God's unfailing care, love, providence, and sovereign guidance in the Bussani family. It is impossible to capture in words, his abundant goodness to us......to carry us through our valleys of pain and fear, to play (and protect !!! Thankyou for your prayers, Carlo !!) with us on our adventures, to comfort our wounds,to sovereignly lead us along the paths he has uniquely preplanned for us, and to help us become more and more like Jesus, his precious son, whose BIRTHDAY we celebrate.
Happy Birthday Jesus !! May you be glorified as we remember this past year and see your hand in every detail.
DECEMBER 2011
This letter must begin honoring where honor is due......last year, as you were reading our Bussani Christmas 2011 letter, Carlo was working at the Greenhouse for a new boss. He was putting in long hours, plus on greenhouse alarm duty every night. Never once did he complain. For example, one Dec night, Giancarlo needed to visit the Emergency room at our local hospital. In true Carlo fashion, he offered to take Giancarlo in, got home after 3am, slept for ONE HOUR, got up at his usual 4:30 am and went back to work...THEN, came home and tackled helping out at home. Never once did he complain.....he never complains. Carlo is such a visible picture of the heart of Jesus to his family - he sacrifices greatly, and with great joy, to provide the finances, love and support he desires for us. We would not be the family we are without Carlo....
JANUARY 2012
- the farm is still for sale. Since listing it last summer, we have not had one single bite. Hmmm...the price is right, we know we heard God ask us to lay down the farm and put it up for sale, but nothing..... obeying God is always an adventure ! Very rarely does obeying God lead to where you think it will !!!!
-Lori turns 50
-Our usual routine continues....
- Carlo works as an Assistant Grower at SunSelect Produce
- Carlo works all evening as the "Homeschool wonder tutor"
- Josiah is in Gr 11 at Heritage Christian online school.
- Giancarlo is in Gr 8 at Lochiel U-Connect (online/homeschool) School
- Emmanuel (Gr 5) and Ariel (Gr 4) attend Blacklock Fine Arts elementary in Langley
- Carlo gets up at 4:30 am each morning to exercise before work....Lori is up at 5:30 for farm chores and a
workout, and the kids are up at 6:30 for chores and either a run/swim/boot
camp calisthenics.
- we LOVE our family devotional, "Jesus Calling" , by Sarah Young. AMAZING
book written straight from the heart of Jesus into "exactly" the situation
we seem to be facing.
- drum lessons for all four children with our beloved rhythm guru Eran Vooys
every Thursday 4 - 6 (we pay his mortgage !!!)
- dance lessons for Em and Ar every Mon after school (you are SUCH a gift to us,
Amy Hamilton)
- every Tuesday is spent snowboarding at Mt Baker
- every Saturday is spent at Cypress mtn. Lori is in her second year of Snowshoe/nordic
ski patrolling. Josiah is a ski instructor at the Alpine area. Carlo, Giancarlo, Emmanuel
and Ariel spend Sat morning nordic skiing and Sat afternons snowshoeing
- every Sunday is spent at Mt Baker "Baptist". Lori is in her second year of Ski
Patrolling. Josiah and Giancarlo are free skiing (and LOVING it). Emmanuel and
Ariel continue with the Mt Baker race team. Carlo has a day of rest back home (and
prays for us !)
- Emmanuel and Ariel have their FREE GR 4/5 SKI PASS this year ( and Lori and Josiah
receive significant discounts with their Instructor/Patrol standing), so we plan on
getting in lots of free/cheap skiing in this year at some new locations.
- we continue to struggle with the huge test that God is walking us through (the neighbours'
dog that bit Lori). It goes from bad to worse, and our local governing body backs off bylaw enforcement (due to legal pressure) and lays all blame on us. We deal with regular property vandalism and threats. We no longer feel safe on our own property or road. We are repeatedly advised to hire a lawyer and fight back, but instead we choose to trust God that his justice will prevail. It is one of the hardest journeys we have ever been on.
FEBRUARY 2012
- Lori begins to mentor the worship leaders at NCCTK. What a gift to be able to give
away what has been deposited into her.
- Josiah shares his new dream - to spend his last months as a High School student, completely focused on who God has made him to be, and what God has sovereignly planned for his life. He asks for our permission/support to tackle Gr 11 AND Gr 12 in one year, plus work three part time
jobs (movie extra, Toledo Renovations, Cypress ski instructor),so he
attend a YWAM DTS his last 6 mths of Gr 12. WOW !!! How can we not support such a noble and
Christ-like dream? Nothing better than when your kids love Jesus with all their
being and want to pursue HIS sovereign purpose for their life. We are so proud he
is willing to work so hard to earn the full $6500 tuition all on his own.
- Emmanuel and Ariel try out the Cypress alpine race team...(imagine a large group
of unsupervised ski children alone in the race team hut at lunch. Need I say more?)
- Lori, Emmanuel and Ariel (and the trusty Bussani Suburban.....almost at 400,000 km
and still going STRONG....although you can tell she is quite "geratric"))
head off to Loup Loup for the Wolfe Chase race. Since it was just a three -some, we
camped in the back of the Suburban......SO FUN BEING ALL SNUGGLED up in our Puffie
coats and down sleeping bags with the mercury well below freezing (avg - 10 celsius).
- Lori, Emmanuel and Ariel spend four days SCOPING out the Apex Mtn and Mt Baldy
Alpine race teams and available residential properties in south central BC. What a fun
adventure, camping in the Suburban, meeting new mtns and coaches, and dreaming
of a possible move ( IF the farm sells.......). We did find a beautiful 6 unit Condo
complex for sale for CHEAP at the base of Mt Baldy (100 m from the lodge) ......
we thought "this is what we have been looking for all these years".
It was priced well below market value, as it had been for sale for many years (foreclosure).
We found jobs for all of us on the mtn......but, as I mentioned before, things seldom go as the
way you "think" they should go, and when we called about it the next day, the realtor informed us
"it sold yesterday".
- a few significant adventures occur on late drives down the mtn.....on a Baker Patrol day,
we are one of the last vehicles down. One Sunday, as we were driving down, a
avalanche occurred, covering the road with snow. We saw the vehicle ahead of us plow
right into the debris. After making sure there were no buried vehicles, we (as a group)
leave our vehicles and walk back up to the lodge....praying more snow does not let go
and bury us as we walk the road. THANKYOU CARLO for always praying for us !!!!!
After many hours, the road was cleared, and we made the dangerous drive back down the
Highway (now deeply covered in snow). We had to stop many times to dig out those in
our convoy who did not have proper snow tires and slid off the road. Interestingly
enough, the young ski bucks (the same ones who seemed SOO cool while we were waiting
for the avalanche debris to be cleared) abandoned us, saying they were hungry and had to get
down quickly to eat, leaving only Lori and kids to get the other vehicles safely down the
mtn. As soon as we got everyone down safely, we came upon a lone driver stranded on
the side of the road - freezing with no coat and a broken down car.....trying to get UP the
mtn to PU his girlfriend. There was no one within 30 mins to help him - if we had not
stopped, he would have frozen. After we could not get his car started, we drove him
to the Dept of Highways depot and found a snowplow driver who told us to "get the
XXXX out of here", and promised us he would take care of this young man. Another
adventure (6 hr) never to be forgotten.
MARCH 2012
-our property listing expires and we chose to not re-list for sale. No idea what God is doing
but we chose to trust in his sovereignty. He has a plan !
- Spring Break - 2 weeks jam packed with fun:
A. Big White - we were BLESSED with a week in our friend's incredible condo at
Big White, Kelowna. Unfortunately, our farm sitting fell through at the last
minute, so Carlo (again, the amazing man he is), offered to stay behind, with
the thought of using his week vacation for an upcoming medical missions
trip. The kids had a BLAST at Big White and spent almost every minute on
Ski Cross course and Terrain park. Lori was terribly lonely for Carlo....but did
enjoy her early morning snowshoe jaunts.
It was very special to get to spend a day with "Uncle Kim" snowshoeing,
as well as have Annie visit us for two days.
On our way home, we left extra early, so we could zip up to Silver Star
for a day (before the long drive home). The boys gobbled up the mtn with zesto.....
Lori slept in the Suburban all day, with Ariel in the back seat, snuggled up with
a sleeping bag and a good book.
B. MT BAKER - Lori and the kids did two days of skiing, with
a sleep over in the Ski Patrol hut. It has been DUMPING snow at Baker!
We have a great day of skiing, have a blast in the Patrol hut, and wake up the
next morning to discover that the Highway is closed due to over 40 trees
down on the Highway. The mtn is covered in waist high fresh DRY powder, and
there are only 100 of us on the mtn (those FORTUNATE people who made it up
before the Highway closed). SInce it is not safe to drive down, the mtn opens
up for us and we literally have the mtn to ourselves. EPIC !!! A day we will
NEVER forget.
C. CYPRESS - Lori and the kids loaded up their backpacks with a sleeping bag and
2 days of food/water and snowshoed into the Nordic Ski Patrol cabin ( VERY
wonderfully rustic). We LOVED the old wood stove and propane lanterns. We
enjoyed two days of snowshoeing in fresh snow and sunshine. The highlight
was heading out after dinner for a moonlight snowshoe, then back to the
cabin's crackling fire.
APRIL 2012
- Motocross begins !!!
- All four children will be racing the LMMC (Lower Mainland Motocross Club) Tues night
series ( and paying for ALL their expenses....VERY impressive). Josiah will also be
racing the CMA (Canadian Motocross Association) weekend series.
- All four children participate in George Bakkers' MX school ( you never cease to BLESS
our family, George !!! We could not be in the sport without you!)
- Lori is asked to be the First Aid attendant for the LMMC club. FUNNY how God
works....TOTALLY outside Lori's comfort zone (BIG crashes at Motorbike races...)
Lori says yes, again trusting in God's sovereign plan ( and going to a whole new
level of experiencing God's strength in our weaknesses).
- Dykoda (Emmanuel's friend from school) joins us every Tues night, and plans to
spend much of the summer with us on the farm (doing chores to earn riding time).
It is a privilege to spend time with him.
- Josiah and Giancarlo are "sponsored" by our local Yamaha dealer (Western Power
Sports).
- The Honda 50 is sold, and replaced by a Honda 70 (whose engine blew within hours
of the first ride.....) for Ariel. Our 6x12 Cargo trailer is now officially too small (GREAT
memories in that trailer - learning to haul a trailer up the mtn, Carlo and Josiah
converting the inside to a "TOY HAULER"). God sends us an AMAZING couple (Harvey,
a retired Prison Chaplain, and his wife Gloria) to buy our trailer. They want to store
all their worldly possessions in the trailer, sell their home and seek God's sovereign
will for the next season in their life.
God provides us with the PERFECT 8X16 Cargo trailer, all set up for hauling
motorbikes.
- Planning ahead for the summer, we decide (for the first time in 18 yrs) , to NOT
have a garden or raise any meat (beef, chicken, pork). We see this summer as our
"last" with Josiah as a "child", and don't want each day laden with farm chores. We
feel putting Josiah first is a priority, and trust God to provide us with food.
- Carlo can't find any openings on any Medical missions trips...waiting lists for all.
Again, we thought we had God all figured out....wrong. Carlo lays down the dream...
again.
MAY 2012
- Lori gets pneumonia....but life goes on!!!
- Ariel cuts off 12 inches of her hair to make a wig for a cancer patient.
- Emmanuel's Suzuki 65 motorbike gets "very sick" and the Thoring family BLESSED Emmanuel with a Polini 65..... Emmanuel is IN LOVE !!!!!
- The children have several MX lessons with Kyle (professional MX coach in Lynden...). Dream come true for them. SO NICE to have some extra MX money (Lori gets PAID for doing MX First AId...WOW) to bless the kids.
- "Scrubbie" joins the Bussani family (little male Chihuahua puppy - Yamaha's betrothed!!)
- GC drums for the Lochiel year end play !!! Boom boom budda bum bump !
JUNE 2012
- Emmanuel and Ariel participate in the Langley School District Track meet
( Em fourth in the 800m / Ariel first in the 400m with a time of 1:29)
- Giancarlo turns 14 !! He is currently on a major growth spurt and is enjoying
his $100 (for breaking 100 lbs) and another $100 (for being taller than Lori).
- Josiah makes some AMAZING new friends amongst the NCCTK youth. He has finally
found some youth who share his passion for music and worship. He also begins to
play drums for the NCCTK church service (he had to die to that desire before it came
to be).
JULY/AUGUST 2012 SUMMER !!!!
- Lori's 50th birthday party (SUCH FUN !!!...can you tell that I LOVE to dance?)
- Lori is asked to take over hiring/training/supervising of the LMMC track flaggers,
as well as First Aid. What a privilege to be able to work with some AMAZING youth
(Zoe, Hailey, Jordan, Noah, Joy, Nathan) who strove for excellence and made Lori
VERY proud.
- Josiah, Giancarlo and Lori attended Creation Fest - SO MUCH FUN !!!! 4 days of rocking
out with my sons - doesn't get much better than that. Icing on the cake was visiting with
the Hopper and Hobart clan on the way home.
- All the early morning swims paid off, as Lori and the four children did several open water
swims in Lake Padden. The kids were very brave and actually enjoyed it - Lori LOVED it.
- After church, we did several family runs/swims at Lake Padden - what a treat.....extra
special since Carlo and Lori and Lake Padden go way back.
- Lori gives up her trusty Suzuki 85 (way too small, but sooo nice and light and easy to pick
up after a crash) for a 2005 Honda 125 (much heavier, but the right size....and now Lori gets
"2" inches of air).
- Only one day trip to Nicklemine this summer......too busy with the weekly LMMC racing to
get away for more than a day. Lori's "new" bike breaks down, and as in the past, Gord at
Valley Yamaha (Chilliwack) works his mechanical magic!!!
- Carlo turns 52
- Our traditional week at Kevin Cornett's - camping, riding, and helping run the
Ride-N-Que. This year it had some significant changes:
- Josiah had a race on Saturday back home, meaning that he and Carlo stayed behind
while Lori, Giancarlo, Emmanuel, and Ariel went to Kevin's alone. Giancarlo handled
being the eldest child/big helper admirably.
- It was a two day event this year. Saturday was added as a day on the big track for the
children. Sunday, the kids were back on the little track.
- We made some wonderful new friendships this time (Mike and Lacey, the Jones
family, the Fields family, Arnold Stevens and Cori, the Goetz family, and Jason and family)
- Josiah "crossed over" - Kevin and the big boys told him it was "time" and Josiah
was only TOO GLAD to oblige.... He can now do the BIG jumps on the track, including
the finishline gap. Carlo handled this transition beautifully; Lori? Lori
did some major wrestling with God (for days) and then, left the track when Josiah
did the big jumps for the first time... Funny how easy it is to teach your children that
God has a sovereign plan for their life, so they should hold not fear, but run with
abandon - much harder to model that mentality when your son is flying thru the air
on a motorbike (see attached pic). Do I really believe what I teach my kids? If I fear
that something horrific will happen to them, I guess I don't.
- Harvey and Gloria sell their place and ask us if we "could use any of their garden produce
or frozen deer meat"? Wow !! We are so glad that we obeyed God and did not put in a
garden or raise meat this summer.
SEPTEMBER 2012
- Our next door neighbours (with "the dog") move back to Alberta ! TOTAL miracle, as they
had said they would "never" go back. Their place sold in under two weeks ( in a VERY slow
market). We are so humbled by God's care and justice.
- Our "new" neighbours move in and they are AMAZING.... sweet, kind, thoughtful....and
"no 160 lb dog" !!!!
- Return to the school routine. Emmanuel is very pumped to be homeschooling with
his "boys". Ariel will finish Gr 5 at Blacklock and return to homeschooling next year.
- the MX season officially ends, and the children are thrilled with their results (and NO
injuries.....WOW...THANKYOU God)
Josiah - LMMC - SECOND in Youth 2 Stroke/ FOURTH in MX 1 Beg
CMA (Weekend series) - FIRST in Youth 2 Stroke
- THIRD in MX 1 Beg
Giancarlo- THIRD in 85cc A
THIRD in Supermini
Emmanuel - FOURTH in 65cc
Ariel - FIRST place 50cc B
Interesting note - LMMC communicated that this year, with Lori in charge of First Aid,
there was a significant decrease in overall injuries, severity of injuries, number of
ambulance calls and NO airlift calls whatsoever. All the glory and honor goes to God,
as Lori ( and all the flaggers) prayed the "whole time". Oh, the adventure of Jesus !!!
-Carlo and the children do the "Omak Arena Cross" again. This is their annual "Dad
adventure", which they seem to love more than all the "Momma" adventures combined!
What a gift to go away with Daddy, camp, visit with Kevin and the whole Okanagan
MX gang, race, stay up late, eat junkfood, and have "no injuries" ....thankyou God !
Josiah - 1st in Amateur Lite
Giancarlo- 4th in 13 - 15 (yr old)
Emmanuel- 2nd in 10 - 13 (yr old)
Ariel- 2nd in 7 - 10 (yr old)
-Josiah is VERY busy completing Gr 12, earning the last of his YWAM tuition, redoing the top
ends in all our motorbikes (WOW ! Impressive......thankyou again, George, for all you
have taught Josiah), getting all his immunizations up to date (lots of fun), etc. He is VERY
excited about YWAM and working VERY hard.
-Giancarlo's voice is changing !!!!! (and the legs are getting more hairy !!)
OCTOBER 2012
- JT turns 17. Lori and Josiah sneak off to Sumas mtn, for a motorbike ride ( where Josiah
first learned to trail ride) and a "suprise" blessing/release from Momma to son. It was a
day forever burned in our hearts. Josiah asked to get a "tattoo" as a symbol of the blessing.
Being the conservative parents we are, we say "of course"!!!
-Josiah passes his driving test and is the proud owner of his "N". WOW - what a gift to have
him be able to help out with the taxi runs. What an even greater gift to hand him the keys
to the family vehicle, totally trusting him to make great choices.
-Oct 12 - IT RAINED. We have been thoroughly enjoying our "DROUGHT" (no rain from July
22 - Oct 12)....but now, back to our usual rain....sigh.
-Ski swap - as always, the kids LOVE the ski swap....seeing old race team friends/coaches,
working hard, getting new gear and clothes.
- Our beloved little Ford Ranger truck gets rear ended and ICBC writes it off. Our initial
disappointment turns to "WOW", when we receive a check for $4000 ( it was worth only $1200).
This was just the "push" Lori needed to say goodbye to the Suburban... we decide it is time
(since Josiah will no longer be on all our family treks) to go back to a little 4WD station
wagon for our family commuter car ( and a full size truck for the farm/second
vehicle). God blesses us with a wonderful little 1998 Subaru Outback and a wonderful big
2001 1500 Dodge ram PU truck. Both have amazing "GOD" stories....
NOVEMBER 2012
- Giancarlo is very busy with his Mt Baker ski/snowboard instructor training. We are SO
thankful/blessed that Baker allows our children to be the Mountain's "ONLY" instructor
cadets. It is a tangible example of all those years of great manners and good choices
(while on the mtn) paying off.
- Giancarlo is also very busy with his Standard First Aid course, and his upcoming Bronze
Medallion course (Aquatic Lifeguard). Again, all those years of thanking the lifeguards
(after each morning lap swim) and exceptional poolside manners pay off, as Gianni is
recruited for lifeguard training.
-Ariel has discovered her "calling" in life (after learning about the human body in Science,
including a real dissection). She talks regularly about being a "scientist" and dissecting
bodies. When our family cat, "Pookie", was "handicapped" after Lori started up the Dodge
Ram (Pookie had crawled up under the hood......ohhh...NOT a pretty sight), Ariel confessed
(later), that she was disappointed that the cat received the traditional Bussan burial, as she
was hoping she could have dissected it. Hmmm.... we often wonder what God has in store
for this spunky little girl, being brought up with three big brothers in a family
"heaven-bent" on one adventure after another.
DECEMBER 2012
- HUGE NEWS......Carlo's "new" boss is dismissed and Carlo is re-instated to his original position
(Assistant grower, reporting to the owner). Wow...it has been a year of changes for him. His choice to be an employee of
honor and integrity in a difficult work environment was such an inspiration to all of us. We
know that God put him at Sun Select.
- The annual "Sun Peaks Toonie" day - get up at 3 am, milk the goats, on the road by 3:45,
arrive at Sun Peaks at 8:15, ski hard all day, back on the road by 4:30, home by 10:30.
LOVE IT!!
- Josiah gets his tattoo.
- Josiah gets braces.
- Ariel turns 9
- Emmanuel turns 11
- Carlo and Lori celebrate 23 years....WOW !
- Happy Birthday Jesus !!
IN CONCLUSION
As earlier stated, 2012 has been a year dripping with evidence of God's sovereign care.....
and a year of renewed passion to "chose to pay the price to be a family who does life God's
way". As we see the fruit emerging on the branches of our older boys, we are filled anew
with an consuming appetite to bite into all God has for them and for us.
Thankyou to each of you, for all that you have poured into us...and the part you play on this
great adventure we are on!
LOVE,
The Bussani family (Carlo, Lori, Josiah, Giancarlo, Emmanuel, Ariel)