Short Story Setting

The strange colored rays beamed down between the clouds and struck my face with an intensity unlike anything I had experienced before. The warmth was comforting and for what seemed like hours it was all I could think about. I was in a peaceful place, that I knew, but beyond that I knew not where I was. The surrounding landscape was new to me but at the same time seemed stragely familiar as if it was an amalgamation of all of my favorite memories. The dramatic peaks of the mountains stretched out for eternity in all directions and somewhere in the distance was the crashing sound of water as it fell effortlessly from a cliff to a stream below. Slowly, the light that brought such comfort began to fade away and a wall of ominous storm clouds formed on the horizon. Immediately the comforting feeling left me. As the shadows crept across the mountains toward me I could hear the booming voice of thunder as the impending storm approached. With every crash of thunder and crack of lightning the sky was yelling at me. I tried to run but I was paralyzed by fear. The warmth I had felt had vanished and been replaced by a cold sharp pain in my chest. The thundered screamed again, "CLEAR!" and with a flash of brilliant lightning I awoke.

Mr. Wiebe's Keepsake Items

Favorite Memory
My motorcycle goggles remind me of several of the best memories of my life. While living in Asia I bought a motorcycle and took every chance I had leave Bangkok and see as much of God's wonderful creation as possible. Perhaps my favorite memory on my motorcycle was in the summer of 2009 when I spent a week with Mel and two friends exploring the mountains in norther Vietnam. We tried as hard as possible to get away from the tourist trail and experience and see the "real" Vietnam. Meeting the local Vietnamese people and village kids was an incredible experience. The picture to the right is some local kids playing with my goggles.  The real Vietnam is unbelievably beautiful but not without it's share of dust, rain, and bugs. It is the real Vietnam that made me need my goggles!

Something Important - Blankie!

I'm not embarrased to admit it, I still have my baby blanket and it is one of the most important things to me right now. It is actually the second baby blanket that I have used in my 30 years of existence. The first one was stolen by some maids in a hotel room in Sioux City, Iowa. My blankie goes everywhere with me. It accompanied me on all my road trips, sporting trips, family vacations and it has been to over 40 different countries. I still remember my university volleyball coach looking at me with confusion as I sat on the airplane with my blankie wrapped around my head. He just shook his head and said "there is one of you on every team!" I don't care. I'm not embarrassed, I feel safe and comfortable with my blankie wrapped around my head. It's one of my most prized possessions and I will keep it as long as it still holds together.

Passport- hopes and dreams!

I love to travel. Ever since I was 10 years old and my parents took me on a world trip I have had the travel bug. My total of countries visited already is between 40-50 and I hope that someday I will reach one hundred. The last passport I had filled up completely with stamps and visa's so I had to replace it two years before it expired. My current passport has extra pages at the back so I don't have to worry about filling it up. Last summer I spent three weeks in Europe and got to add Croatia to my list of visited countries. This coming summer I hope to go to South America, maybe visit Peru, Argentina and/or Chile. My passport represents my love of travel and my hopes and dreams of seeing more of God's beautiful world!

Wiebe's Nightstand Books

One book that I currently have on my nightstand is called "The Prophet" by Kahlil Gibran. It is a collection of inspirational poetry that discusses topics such as life, death, love, children, work, and friendship along with many many other topics. Gilbran is an author who is very studied in the sacred texts of all world religions such as the Bible, the Koran, and Buddhist writings. During reading it is very easy to see how his writing and morals have been influenced by the Bible. Throughout my life I have used the Bible shape my morals about the topics listed above but I also find it very interesting to learn about how other people, in other parts of the world, make important moral decisions.

If I am honest with you I have to admit that my other common reading material before bed is http://www.espn.com/. I guess it's not really a book, but my laptop computer could be on my nightstand, abd besides, I'm the teacher and I can make the rules....haha! Anyway, I love sports and I could read about them for hours. After a busy day at work and at school I enjoy just turning my mind off and updating myself on the current developments in the sporting world.