SENIOR SOLDIER ENROLMENT - A PRAYER FULFILLED

Today Elizabeth was enrolled as a soldier in The Salvation Army. This was a moving moment for both Gayle and I as we continue to see God's hand moving in her life. From the moment of her birth as I first held her in my hands I breathed a prayer up to God giving Him complete control over her life. I prayed that God will become the passion of her life, that He will use her as the means by which others are brought to Christ.








Over this past year we have witnessed the growth of her vibrant faith - she has been the means by which a number of her "non-Christian" friends were connected into Berkshire - either through youth group, "HUB", youth small group or Sunday worship. Several of her friends accepted Christ - one of which took time off of work yesterday morning to witness her enrolment.

As I enrolled Elizabeth along with five other people from Berkshire, I was moved and inspired by her determination. She chose to wear full Salvation Army uniform not to please her mom and I but to give her more opportunities to witness to those around her concerning her faith.




It was also thrilling to hear Emily sing a song of dedication called "Sanctuary." This was the first time in almost a year that she sang on her own. Emily has one of the purest natural voices I have ever heard yet lacked the confidence to sing in public. She put her timidness behind her and sang the song. When Emily first began to sing I thought they had the accompaniment disk on the wrong track - that it was on the artist's track - but no! It was Emily! I was blown away! I wish it was recorded so you could have heard her sing.

WHERE ARE THE PROTESTS? WHERE ARE THE REASONABLE THINKERS?

I've been reading David's perspectives on the on-going US debate when it comes to the absolute deplorable state of health care in the US. It's deplorable for the 45 million Americans with no health care coverage and those whose health insurance is far from adequate when it comes to the level of health care they could expect.
My question to David and to all other reasonable Americans is why are there not massive protests in the streets? Why have this hijacked system of for profit health care continued for so long? It's deplorable that big business continues to line the pockets of share holders at the blatant expense of those who cannot afford the expenses of health care premiums. I have said in the past it is a moral issue of immense proportions!
My American friends and family, examine the immensity of the injustice and the fundamental immoral nature of this system. Where is your rage? Where are the protests that in a great democracy can be the catalyst of change for the good of all?

A Harvard Medical School study dated from May of 2006 that looked at the health care of more than 3000 Canadians and 5000 Americans was the first-ever health survey carried out jointly by Canada and the US official statistics agencies.
Here are a few paragraphs about the study which was printed in the American Journal of Health in July 2006:
“Canadians had better access to most types of medical care (with the single exception of pap smears). Canadians were 7% more likely to have a regular doctor and 19% less likely to have an unmet health need. U.S. respondents were almost twice as likely to go without a needed medicine due to cost (9.9% of U.S. respondents couldn’t afford medicine vs. 5.1% in Canada). After taking into account income, age, sex, race and immigrant status, Canadians were 33% more likely to have a regular doctor and 27% less likely to have an unmet health need. For each of these measures, the average Canadian did about as well as insured U.S. residents. Race and income disparities, although present in both countries, were larger in the U.S. Nonwhites were more likely than whites to have an unmet health need in the U.S. (18.6% vs. 11.1%); while in Canada they were not (10.8% vs. 10.2%). Notably, both white and non-white Canadians had fewer unmet health needs than white U.S. residents. After taking into account income, age, sex, race and immigrant status, poor U.S. residents (making less than $20,000 per year) were 2.6 times less likely to have a regular doctor than the affluent ( those making $70,000 or more). In Canada, the poor were only 1.7 times less likely.”
But this next paragraph is even more important, because it deals with that great bugaboo that those opposed to single payer like to bring up about the Canadian system – waiting times:
“Lead author Dr. Karen Lasser, primary care doctor at Cambridge Health Alliance and Instructor of Medicine at Harvard commented, ‘Most of what we hear about the Canadian health care system is negative; in particular, the long waiting times for medical procedures. But we found that waiting times affect few patients, only 3.5% of Canadians vs. 0.7% of people in the U.S. No one ever talks about the fact that low-income and minority patients fare better in Canada. Based on our findings, if I had to choose between the two systems for my patients, I would choose the Canadian system hands down.’ ”
Here the study’s other author, another American doctor:
“These findings raise serious questions about what we’re getting forthe $2.1 trillion we’re spending on health care this year,” said Dr.David Himmelstein, Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard andco-author of the study. “We pay almost twice what Canada does for care,more than $6,000 for every American, yet Canadians are healthier, and live two to three years longer.”
there are three important myth-busters this report contains: 1) Under the Canadian system, people were more likely to have a regular doctor than Americans, and to have fair fewer unmet health care needs 2) About 2. 8 percent of Canadians have to wait longer than Americans to receive certain kinds of health care. That means of every 1000 people, 28 more Canadians have to wait longer. Not exactly the huge lines portrayed by certain American lobbyists, is it? 3) The author of the study, an American doctor, when asked which system she would choose for her patients, took the Canadian system “hands down.”
There is also the fact that the Canadian system costs a lot less for all this great care.
And that’s just one study. I found several others that stated the same observations. They can be easily found via Google.
What I have learned from David is that facts don’t matter in Washington, nor with the mainstream media inside the pockets of big business. It’s all about spin.

This evening I read a brief article and pasted it into this post below. It starts off as a tongue in cheek poke at the New Democratic Party leader who paid a visit to the US in support of universal health care and to clarify many of the misrepresentations and the overt distortions concerning how the Canadian health care system is being presented to the US public. This article however supports some of the earlier statements presented by David in his posts on this subject. It also clarifies the fact that you will not find Canadians filing for bankruptcy, selling their homes and farms and dying from treatable diseases because they cannot afford medical treatment. We may have some waiting lists for some procedures and there may even be those who do fall between the cracks but all Canadians still have access to the most fundamental aspects of life saving medical health care. Yes there may be doctor shortages resulting in 4 million Canadians not having their own family doctor (due in part to the huge numbers of Canadian trained doctors being lured to the US by huge incomes and those that may be tired by the bureaucratic nature of government run health care), yet health care is not denied as walk-in-clinics take up the slack in most cases. Yes, we Canadians pay slightly higher taxes than our American neighbours, and we do so generally speaking happily so knowing that we are indeed our "brother's keeper."

U.S. health care battle turns into a debate on 'socialism'
Updated Thu. Jun. 11 2009 5:00 PM ET
Paul Workman, CTV News Washington Bureau Chief

There was a bit of snickering around the office when we heard that Jack Layton was making a trip to Washington and would meet with "top administration officials." That was the week Obama was in the Middle East and all the "top officials" were away!
Oh the cynicism.
In fact Layton's visit to Washington was far more legitimate than others who have come here in this spring of economic discontent. His mission was to meddle directly in American domestic affairs, and defend Canada's medicare system. And as head of the party that gave Canadians their first taste of universal health care six decades ago, he had more than a passing interest in doing so.
The Americans are once again going through the agonizing process of trying to reform their obviously broken health care system, and the Canadian experience may well play a role.
When Bill Clinton tried to do the same thing 15 years ago, he failed spectacularly, beaten back by the insurance industry and its allies in the Republican Party. Now Barack Obama has taken up the challenge. In fact he's made it a keystone of his presidency, and that's a risky thing to do.
Every president going back to at least Lyndon B. Johnson has tried to reform health care, and the system has become more fragmented, more wasteful; more expensive. Medical services consume nearly one-fifth of the American economy, and threaten the government's long-term solvency. A recent story on the front page of the Washington Post began with a dire conclusion: "Nowhere else in the world is so much money spent with such poor results." It's that bad.
Enter "Canada's Socialist," as one of the more popular American websites called Layton. Then again, he probably knows more about the American system than most politicians south of the border.
Anyway, in came Layton wagging his finger and offering a history lesson on the struggle to win medicare in Canada.
"Americans should know that when the battle begins here in earnest once again, it'll get dirty. It'll get nasty."
He's right, because it's already getting dirty. All you have to do is turn on your television in this country, and there's Canadian health care being smeared by an American group that equates socialized medicine with something close to communism. The group is called "Conservatives for Patients Rights," and one of their commercials features a former head of the Canadian Medical Association, Dr. Brian Day, warning ominously that "patients are dying, as they wait for care in Canada."
The TV commercials are aimed at Americans, but quite naturally Canadians like Jack Layton are incensed and defensive. "The forces of the vested interests are gathering against change," he says, "and they're sowing the seeds of fear with myths and lies about Canadian health care."
High costs for insured and uninsured
It's a huge and vital issue in America, where 46 million people have no health insurance at all. None. Nothing. Forty-six million! But there's another statistic I find even more frightening. Of all personal bankruptcies in the United States, at least 60 per cent are related to the payment of medical bills. In other words, a lot of middle class families are going broke paying for their sick mother, or husband or child.
Okay, you say, that could never happen to people with health insurance. Not true. A lot of families lose their coverage in the course of an illness and end up facing bills averaging about $25,000, according to a recent study. What Canadian family has that kind of money to pay for hospital costs? Not mine.
I know a woman who's been diagnosed with terminal kidney cancer. She recently started taking a powerful but very expensive drug. The treatment costs $7,700 a month--that's right--and at some point her insurance may run out. She's desperately selling her jewelry and other possessions, to ease the burden on her family and to gain a last chance of survival. As I recently wrote to a friend, the health care system is hounding her to death.
I have a more personal example. I got to Washington a few months ago and needed to get a prescription filled for a blood pressure medication. I could buy a six-month supply of the same pills in Delhi (Ontario) for about $25. A two-month supply in America cost $196.41. Exactly the same pills, exactly the same dose.
There are problems with the Canadian system and maybe Layton is too much of a cheerleader to see the flaws. What about the long wait for elective surgery? The long wait time for an MRI? Or the 4.5 million Canadians who can't find a family doctor? All right, it's not perfect, admits Layton, but there is universal coverage, and not a single person in Canada will lose his house or her farm paying off medical bills.

THE PARALLEL PLAN
So what's Obama going to do?
He's certainly not going to take the Canadian model and apply it to his own country. That would be political suicide. It would provoke a civil war with the private medical and insurance industries, and leave him as defeated as Clinton was back in the 90s.
What he may do is set up a parallel government insurance scheme that would ensure universal coverage to all Americans, and create a level of competition that has never been seen in American health care. Republicans are already screaming that it would result in a "federal government takeover of our health care system." Socialists at the gate.
Today, on his way to town hall meeting in Wisconsin, Obama was met by demonstrators who held up signs saying "NObama" and "No to Socialism."
Obama told his audience that this is not a socialist plan. The government won't force change upon people who are pleased with the plan they already have with their employer.
"When you hear people saying socialized medicine, understand, I don't know anybody in Washington who is proposing that," he said.
Layton, the socialist, defends Canadian Medicare with a health story of his own: Double knee surgery last Easter, that was done quickly, efficiently, and says Layton, "my credit card stayed in my wallet." By the way, Macleans.ca headlined his visit to Washington as "Jack Saves America."
Humble he wasn't, as he compared the United States of today, with Canada of 60 years ago, when public health care first emerged as an election issue in Saskatchewan, and gradually became a right, not a privilege across the entire country. More than a right, it has become a sacred part of Canadian life. Imagine the political party that ever wanted to privatize health care in Canada. Loser.com.
"Sixty years ago Canadian families were on their own to pay doctor and hospital bills," says Layton. "Some sold their farms, or re-mortgaged their homes, and still others went without care...and even died because they didn't have the money.
Sound familiar?"
It does sound very familiar to Americans who look fondly at our health care system and think it's free. I get asked about that all the time.
Of course it's not free (we pay it through our taxes), but it seems to work better than a system that leaves tens of millions of deprived Americans with no coverage at all, and countless numbers of families struggling to pay their medical bills.
I heard a story last week of (an American) colleague who died of colon cancer, who had no insurance and couldn't pay for the check up which might have detected the disease earlier, and perhaps saved his life.
He couldn't afford it, said his wife.
Sad.

Really, is this what church should be???

I'm am really struggling with this one - I thought that the Southeast Church that seated 9200 was perhaps a stretch for me - but then there is this - a 16000 seat church which belongs to Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church. His theology is a "feel good approach". I watched this man on youtube being interviewed on Larry King - basically he said that there is no truth. I'm sure he is a good man - yet something about this does not sit right with me. I'm sure somehow there must be room in the universal church for something like this. I just have a hard time seeing Jesus in this one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65nW8Chr0K4

MOM ON CBC NEWS - HER SIX WORDS

Mom made it on the news with the tragic deaths of three babies in a neighbouring house.

www.cbc.ca/clips/mov/roussy-london090609.mov

A Random Run Down of The Past Month

The past number of weeks have been very busy for our family and in our ministry at Berkshire. I'll randomly mention what I can recall that has happened in our lives over the past month.
As most of you know, Elizabeth and Emily are in an amazing children and youth choir. For the past four years they have been making weekly, and sometime several trips to the south part of the city for practices. Gayle is a parent volunteer and actively helps in fund raising efforts. During these days, the practices have been ramped up along with a number of fund raising activities thrown in. As a family we helped with bottle drives, selling meat pies and assisted in running an Octoberfest evening. There have also been a couple of major concerts thrown in as the girls along with Gayle prepare for a two week choir tour of Germany in a months time. Kathryn is also in this choir, although in a beginning level group. They are too young for a tour although the concerts and fund raising remain the same.
In these weeks there have been school parent teacher interviews, after music practices (Jazz vocal, jazz band, concert band - Elizabeth) (concert band for Emily and Nathan), concerts involving Elizabeth, Emily and Nathan. Nightly homework is also par for the course.
There are the regular activities of church - Sunday morning worship, worship team practices (Elizabeth), Berkshire Brass practices (Elizabeth, Emily, Nathan) teaching Sunday school (Elizabeth), Sunday school classes (Emily, Nathan, Kathryn) weekly mid-week youth outreach ministry (Elizabeth, Emily, Nathan), weekly youth group - Friday nights (Elizabeth, Nathan, Emily), Beavers (Kathryn), Scouts (Nathan), weekly teen small groups (Elizabeth, Emily, Nathan), woman's small group (Gayle), Men's small group (Stephen). Without going into detail there were a number of significant ministry/pastoral issues we had to deal with. During this time my main computer crashed - I lost most of my files including my e-mail addresses - thus I have been unable to send out my weekly Berkshire E-Chat (some of you may have wondering why I have'nt sent anything for severall weeks - now you know why). Fortuntely most of photos were backed up on disks along with all my sermons and study notes and important files for my ministry. In all of this we are dealing with some significant issues within the Salvation Army when it comes to the current economic situation - that has led all SA ministry units to rework their budgets for re-approval within a tight window of time.
There have also been a huge garage sale conducted by the corps (church) in support of our Partner's in Mission, board meetings, a highly successful silent auction and dinner to support 28 of our youth and their leaders to attend YC up in Edmonton and then there is the YC weekend itself (Gayle was one of the chaperons, Elizabeth, Emily attended).
In all of this both Emily and Elizabeth squeeze in part time jobs on Saturdays.
We also had a family we met up in the North West Territories come down and stay with us for ten days. It was such a great time to share with them. We took the kids out of school one day and headed into the mountains for a picnic - an absolutely spectacular day!
Gayle and I also help a mother with four boys three times a week. We watch her autistic son for 2.5 hours three times a week during the immediate after school time period. This allows her some respite.
Needless to say we are a busy family.
By the way, it is snowing today after experiencing wonderful summer temps for the past couple of weeks!!! My flowers and tomato plants will not be very happy. As everyone who has lived here for most of their lives say, "That's Alberta weather for you."

SHOULD CHURCH BECOME LIKE THIS?

Look at this video and let me know what you think whether church should become like this? We will be looking at this video with our church leadership team next week as a point of discussion. I do understand that this church has a significant impact within their city and within the world. I certainly do not want to take away from that. However, some questions can still be raised.
When I see a church building that seats 9,200 people, and the vast capital that must have taken to build such a facility and the ongoing site developments, I have to wonder how much more of an impact such a church could have within their city and ultimately the world if they divided the church community into worshipping bodies of no more than 300 people - and let their congregations grow from that point. I wonder if renting facilities that are flexible to changing needs would be better than sinking tens of millions of dollars into buildings. I wonder if freeing up such capital and releasing it into ministry outreach, resources and equipping would have a larger impact on the world. Would there be more entry points into the community, one's province, country or even the world for that matter for ministry and outreach? Can you still be one church - with many campuses of worship and places of fellowship and equipping?
I wonder if it would be earier to attend a church of 9000 people rather than a church of under 300 people.
I wonder if it is more difficult to be part of a smaller church because people tend to know you at a deeper level (outside of one's care group or small group). I wonder if one feels more obligated or perhaps challenged to a greater degree to be more active in ministry or service in a smaller church than you would be at a church of the size seen in this video? Certainly there are thousands who attend this church that are involved in active ministry - however I wonder if the over all proportion of those actively serving in significant ways is more or less than found in a smaller gathering of believers.
I wonder, if Jesus, our Lord and Saviour, the passion of our lives, who inspires to live lives of holiness, who Himself when on earth was homeless, lived a beggar life, was a pennyless carpenter, whose best friends were the unclean, prostitutes, the tax collectors, intended for this 9,200 seat building and it's ministry structure to be a church model.
I wonder...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSQ53gfI4ac

Every Preacher's Worst Nightmare

This is always our worst nightmare as a preacher - the mispronounciation of a word or phrase. Youth Pastor Blake Bergstrom was trying to say, "Pitch his tents". Because of his American accent, it's easy to not pick it up." His reaction is priceless! Watch his facial expression when it first comes out wrong.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IymxMidkyI4

What if Starbucks Marketed Like a Church? A Parable.

I've been having a hard time of late in posting YOUTUBE videos. Hopefully embedding this within the post will allow you to view it. I'll be showing this video to our Ministry Board in a couple of weeks. There is a strong message here.

I am tired of trying to be like the church down the street. I'm tired of being compared to the many mega dominant churches within Calgary. Church has become gimmicky, always a point of trying to market yourself - to try and draw people into your church building.

As a ministry board at our church (corps - that's our internal lingo for church) we have come to the point of saying we need to take our hands of the church. It's God's church - it's not ours to manipulate and mold into something that it should never be. Church (that's the people that make up the body of Christ here on earth) are called to be faithful on a daily basis in their walk with Christ. If we are faithfully walking in Him both individually and corporately with God the Spirit living in us unhindered, then we are the church we should be and God will do the rest. We will be living out His purpose on earth. He will guide us into what we need to do and what we should be. He will grow His church because His love is being lived out.

This is what we have been preaching and teaching this past year - and wow! God is faithful! We have seen His hand upon us - growing the church - not with new families from other churches because of our marketing abilities or our most recent gimmicks, but through the lives of the people of Berkshire who are reaching out, touching lives - and we are seeing new families, non-churched, spiritually disconnected and hurting people come into Berkshire. We have seen lives transformed - a newness of life in Christ.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7_dZTrjw9I

JASON - THANK YOU FOR PUTTING YOUR LIFE ON THE LINE

Jason with Nathan

I've been thinking a lot about my nephew Jason over the past number of weeks as word has been received that he will be deployed to Afghanistan sometime in early 2010. Jason is a great kid (he will always be that rough and tumble kid who loves to play in the mud and hunt for fish and frogs). He has grown into this gentle man, big, strong, always displaying a sense of humour and determined to make a difference in the world in which he lives. His wife Allison understands that Jason can only be himself supporting his desire to enlist in the Canadian Armed Forces - not to be some great warrior or hero, but to make this world a better place. Life is a gift to be embraced, lived out in all of its fullness.

I remember when he was born - a brute of a baby. He demonstrated early on great lung capacity - announcing loud and clear that he's not hear just for a good time, but to leave his mark. Gayle and I loved spending time with him when he was a young child. I loved playing with Jason and his brother and sister. I always felt a connection with him. One of my fondest memories with Jason was cuddling him in my arms as a baby and toddler and having him fall asleep. He was so beautiful!

Growing up in The Salvation Army church, Jason understood what it meant to live a life of selfless giving. He saw that in the life of his mother whose passion to live out her faith in Christ was demonstrated in her service to others. His natural music abilities played a huge role in his life and played a part of his growth. My children absolutely love Jason - his ability to reach through the years to his younger cousins. The age difference did not prevent him from connecting with them - his "earthy" humour always a point of discussion in our family.

And now, he is training as a soldier - ready and willing to be deployed into a very troubled country - to help it's people to chart a new course in their history - one that points to the Afghanistan that upholds and cherishes all of its peoples. A future where hope refuses to let a warped and sickened ideology hold not only their country in the clutches of repression, but to impose such a failed ideology on neighbouring nations and to support those who are like minded within terrorist networks.

I have been reading a lot about Afghanistan and the history of that very ancient and historic country. It's a country of rich history, tribalism and at one time, a place of progressive thought. Yet it has become hijacked by a group of extremists whose main ambition is political. They have hijacked and distorted the Islamic faith, the customs and traditions of the country and dehumanized women. One relief person who has given her life over to helping the greatly oppressed women of the country said,

"Keeping hands off culture and religion is wrong. We are so politically correct that we excuse criminal assault in the name of cultural relativity. Afghans never used to be so religiously strict. Their culture was a rich tapestry that was thousands of years old. What the fundamentalists are passing off as culture and religion in Afghanistan is foreign to the Afghans themselves."

I found a number of photos of the troops in Afghanistan. As I look at these photos that are scattered throughout this post, I see Jason all over them!

Thank you Jason for putting your life on the line! We love you! Thanks for giving to and sharing your life with the people of Afghanistan and to our own country of Canada! I am so proud of you and Allison! We are praying for you.

BTW - the photos below are the result of a group of attackers who squirted acid from water bottles on a group of female students and teachers as they walked to school in Kandahar City back in November of 2008. They were attacked by the Taliban because these young teens and their parents went against their edict of not allowing girls to be educated and for allowing women to work outside the home.
Several of the girls suffered burns to the face and were hospitalized. One teenager couldn't open her eyes for days after the attack.

DO YOU KNOW ANY GOOD LAWYERS?

When I arrived home this evening from the Ministry Board Meeting at the Corps (that's Salvation Army lingo for church), I found an email in the in-box containing photos of an extreme dog grooming contest. All the dogs below are poodles. Do you know of any good dog lawyers?
I have never seen anything like this before! Someone has too much time on their hands.






Camel













Buffalo (Bison)


















Peacock













Clydesdale

Fallen Soldier

Vineyard

Ninja Turtle

Fishing

Cock-a-doodle-doo

St. Patrick's Day

YOUTH EXPLOSION @ THE SALVATION ARMY BERKSHIRE COMMUNITY CHURCH

This past year has seen a significant development in the youth ministry at Berkshire, The Salvation Army church Gayle and I pastor. Since September, we have partnered with a student outreach ministry called PAIS. Through this partnership has blossomed an amazing youth ministry reaching out to the youth of the city of Calgary with Berkshire at its centre. It has been a phenomenal experience - revitalizing, encouraging the youth of our church to live out Christ in every aspect of their lives. Working with ourselves, the youth pastor and leaders, two youth apprentices from Germany ministering as missionaries to the youth of the city through Berkshire, have now connected with and are currently working in three high schools and one junior high school in the NW part of Calgary (that's the region of the city in which we are in). They work as mentors, tutors, teacher assistants and as resource opportunities to teach the youth about interpersonal relationships. The goal is to build relationships with the youth and living out Jesus in their environment. Through their vision, a wildly successful mid-week teen ministry that focuses on challenging teens to live their lives for Christ through service and a life of worship has borne incredible fruit.
They have also co-ordinated a monthly youth outreach event called, "HUB Conference" that encourages the teens of Berkshire and the two other churches that are part of PAIS Calgary to invite their friends - especially those who are not Christians. Through games, music, worship and an animated presentation from the Word, the young people are challenged to look at their lives in the light of Christ and to invite him to be part of their lives - to have a relationship with him. On Friday, there were over 140 teens gathered at Berkshire for this month's HUB Conference! The atmosphere was electric. Nathan brought three friends from school - two of them accepted Jesus into their lives! Elizabeth had 5 friends from school - one became a Christian! In total, approximately 12 teens accepted Christ. The follow up is now on.
Needless to say, our Sunday morning worship attendance is becoming ever more youthful.

I have attached the web site of PAIS Canada.
http://www.paisproject.com/index.cfm?i=2998&mid=4&ministryid=13328

ROBERT WRIGHT - TORONTO POLICE MOUNTED UNIT - A LEGACY TO EMBRACE

The other day, Gayle's father, Robert Wright, was honoured by the Toronto Police Force. On March 27, 1990, Gayle's father, an officer on the Toronto Police Force in the Mounted United, died after a sudden and massive heart attack at 50 years of age while riding his horse Billy in the exercise ring. It was shock, one that continues to reverberate throughout the subsequent years. For Gayle and I, we are sadden that he did not have the opportunity to enjoy his 7 grandchildren. He certainly would have been "A Great Grandfather."

"Dad" was a real gentleman. He had an acute sense of principles he refused to compromise. He was a man of immence patience. He was a husband who doted on his wife Joan, cherished his two children, Gayle and Paul. He enjoyed a special relationship with his sister Sally who continues to live in retirement in the UK. Dad was an uncle and brother-in-law grreatly loved and respected. He enjoyed the simple things of life - although he embraced the adventures that life put on his path. He was an avid reader. We discussed for many hours political issues of the day, his life in the French Foreign Legion and his early days as an immigrant to Canada from the UK. He a love of the outdoors and enjoyed hearing about our (Gayle and I) camping trips.

Dad was respected by his peers and admired by the younger members of the Mounted Unit. They looked up to him as a role model to follow. They knew he was a man and an officer who stood for honour and integrity.

Nineteen years later, Gayle's dad's memory was honoured at a special ceremony during the graduation cermony of the newest recruits on the Toronto Police Mounted Unit. A horse was dedicated at the granduation ceremony in his memory. The name of the horse is "Bobby". The graduation and the dedication of the horse was televised on both CTV and CITY TV. Gayle had the opportunity to fly back to Toronto for a few days to be part of this special occassion.


He left a legacy to embrace by his children and grandchildren. We thank God for his influence and honour his memory.












Paul being interviewed by CITY TV

Gayle with "Bobby" and the constable who will be riding him.







Plaque on the wall in the Stables.

AN IGNORANT PERSPECTIVE ON WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE WORLD ECONOMIC MALAISE

For a number of months, I have been wanting to comment on what is happening in the world market place as I've been watching from the side lines, like most of us, what is happening within the economic structure of the world's economy. Gone are the days when one part of the world can operate economically in isolation of another part of the world.

I have done a lot of reading, listening, and watching on what has caused the world to teeter on the brink of something far greater than what is happening now.

For a number of years I have been feeling somewhat uncomfortable with the philosophies of the world economy - driven primarily by the American model of deregulated, hands off approach by government. I have been uncomfortable with the thought that the Wall Street bosses are really out there to look out for the best interests of my family. For years I have been uncomfortable with the prevelent mentality out there that said, "The American way is the best way." For years I have been uncomfortable with how I invested my money - it always smelled bad - the growth on paper of my so called wealth. For years I have been uncomfortable - yet what do I know, the experts are on Wall Street. I have to trust the experts as they suggested on the best way to take my limited financial resources and invest them. I said to someone a couple of years ago, it almost seems like a government sanctioned pyramid scheme.

What gave me some reassurance however, was the Canadian government's reluctance to fall under the pressure from the US government to deregulate the most sensitive areas of our economy - our banks - unlike most of Western Europe and Asia. Consequently we are one of the few countries in the world today that hasn't had to nationalize or partially nationalize their banks. This should allow our country to quickly climb out of resession and position us to grow vigorously - with government regulations in key segments of our economy firmly in place!

Anyway, below is a response to my brother David's (he lives in the US) blog about the economy and the causes of the global resession we are now experiencing.

The American malaise that has been inflicted on the world cannot be blamed on a couple companies such as Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac. It stems from a deeply flawed philosophy - US economic policy - of allowing the "market" to regulate themselves.The philosophy has been that the market is the best determiner of what needs to happen within the economy. Deregulate everything! Keep out of the banks! Keep out of the economy! Slash taxes! Free up the hands of the corporate elite - for they always know what is best for you and me! Therefore, Keep the government regulations away from the market place! As a consequence, greed at the highest level in the corporate structure spiraled out of control. Banks collapsed all over the world - governments had to bail out the banking system - Credit availability was brought to a grinding halt - throwing tens of millions of people out of work around the world!It's about government sanctioned economic greed - of allowing the corporate to dictate how government runs. US government's self-righteous deregulated banking and economic model demonstrates how deeply flawed it really is.Government regulations are needed in certain sections of the economy - especially economically sensitive areas such as banking - to prevent corporate greed from dictating policy. It threatens American fiscal long term viability! It's mind boggling! By the way, Canada's government regulated banking system is now held up as the model for the rest of the world. We are one of the few countries in the world where no banks failed, no government money was required to prop up the banking system - banks remain independent - none of them had to be nationalized or partially nationalized - unlike the States and most of Europe.

OUR NORTHERN ADVENTURE - YELLOWKNIFE

The day we woke up to leave for Yellowknife, it had snowed approximately 15cms at the Kingleys and the Warners piece of paradise on the Hay River. The sky was grey and the snow kept falling. We had a 6 hour drive ahead of us on a good weather day. Who knows how long it would take on this day. We were taking an extra passenger with us - Matt Kingsley who was going to be staying with us as we visit with the Salvation Army Officers of the Yellowknife Church - Derek and Marren Plunchinski. Matt is good friends with their oldest son.
As we pulled out of their lane and onto the "highway" the road was snow covered and icey in sections. We were able to get up to regular speed but when a truck passed us in the opposite lane, we were litterally in white out conditions for at least 10 seconds. It was frightening. We slowed right up - expecting to have a ten hour drive a head of us.

Once we arrived at the Mackenzie River ice road, the weather was clearing up.

During the summer, a small ferry shuttles vehicles across the river. During the winter months, an ice road is pushed over the river. It's a really neat experience to drive across such an historic river. The speed limit was 20km per hour.

During winter freeze up and and during spring break up Yellowknife and the tiny communities on the opposite side of the river are cut off from the rest of the country for a number of weeks at a time. When we were in Yellowknife there was a made rush of trucks driving up to Yellowknife crossing the ice road to stock up the city before the closure of the road in a couple weeks time.

Once we crossed the river and began to make our trip over the top of Great Slave Lake, there was a noticeable change in the vegetation. The trees began to become thinner and scrawnyer. In saying that, there were still large stretches of thick forests with large expanses of thin scrawny trees. I was told that these were areas where the perma-frost was just below the ground - affecting the growth of the trees.

A majestic northern bison plowing through the snow at the side of the road. It's amazing to see these beasts roaming completely free!

We picked up time on the roads. It's amazing to travel through such vast expanses of wilderness - going hours between communities. There are a number of "Territorial Parks" - the equivilent of provincial parks. I would love to explore some of those parks - but camping in the summer makes me nervous when I think of the bugs.

As we approached Yellowknife there were scattered cabins and homes along the road. Once we were within the corporate limits of this city of 20,000 people, it was remarkable to see how comfortable of a community it was. It has most of the major stores we would have in here in Calgary. The services in health and education, bus system, correctional facilities and parks and recreation are second to none. After all, it is the capital of the NWT and by far it largest community. The next largest community would be Hay River - approximately 3,600 people.


The Plunchinski's home.

Derek and Marron are a warm couple with three children. They freely welcomed us into their home - turning their house upside down in order to accomodate our family of six people. We immediately felt at home. We enjoyed our time with them - conversations, sharing about our ministries, our families, our joys and frustrations. They are a remarkable family who have embraced the north and the opportunities it has that has so enriched their lives.

All over the city you see parking lots where cars that had not been moved during the winter are now completely buried in snow.

A snow mobile is an essential form of transportation. You are able to drive a snowmobile anywhere on the streets except in the downtown core. The kids went snowmobiling on a number occassions - this had a fantastic time.

Derek and Marron took Gayle and I for a drive and said let's go to Bullock's Bistro and make reservations for dinner. When we drove up to the building I thought we must be parked beside an old shed. Yet this was the restaurant. It is a log building which was built in the thirties as a store on the lakefront. I went up to the door - it was locked. I went to a side door and knocked. A tough looking woman came to the door and yelled, "Look, our new dish washer finally showed up!" She was grinning the whole time.

Early that evening we drove back to Bullock's and we made our way into a tiny room crowded with four or five tables along with a tiny bar. It was busy - but we were able to secure a corner at a table where the four of us crowded around the one end. The waitress (I'm sure she was raised at a trappers lodge) said, "If you want a drink, help yourself from the cooler over there. Today we've got fresh whitefish, pike, trout, pickerel and arctic char, and all the meat on the menu." The meat on the menu is muskox, caribou, and buffalo. Fish can be battered, pan fried or grilled. All meals come with salad and freshly made fries. There are two choices of home made salad dressing: garlic or feta cheese.

I am now absolutely enchanted by the north!

Earlier in the day we drove on another ice road that crossed over the lake to an aboriginal village. Usually it takes thirty minutes to get to this village - but over the ice, it's an easy 10 minutes.

One of the ladies that work at Bullocks said to a woman at a table beside us as she poured coffee, "Honey, be careful, this coffee will make your bra pop off."

There are a number of houses moored in Great Slave Lake. They are self sufficient - pay no property taxes to Yellowknife.

Boyde Warner's Office for his hunting camps up in the far north. His office is filled a number of the animals he has hunted over the years.

The bear is having it's revenge with Emily and Nathan.

Yellowknife International Airport

A Polar perspective

We met up with Jim Merritt, a former Salvation Army officer who went into the ministry from Yellowknife and had his final appointment in Yellowknife. Jim was a bush pilot flying into the remotest parts of the Arctic.

Jim developed a tent ministry as a bush pilot using the money we was paid to help support and expand the ministry and work of The Salvation Army.

Jim and his wife have now settled into a new life and he has picked up with his flying with First Air, a northern airline service. He flies large cargo Hercules Airplane up to isolated mines and

communities throughout the far north.

He invited us to the airport for a tour of the plane he flies. It's an amazing aircraft and an adventurous life to be sure!

One day we drove out of Yellowknife and continued on the road past the city until it came to an end. From there we turned onto the "Ice Road Highway" that twists and turns hundreds of kms over lakes and slivers of land. There are several roads like this that take up you up to the great northern diamond mines that are now the driving force of the NWT. These roads of ice are maintained, plowed and repaired on a daily basis. Massive trucks carrying equally massive loads of equipment and supplies travel these roads. It's a marvel of engineering. As a matter of fact there is a reality show that is popular especially in the states called "Ice Road Truckers." Check it out on You Tube.

A wolf on the side of the road on the way back to Yellowknife from the Ice Road.

Snow Castle on Great Slave Lake

The dinning area.

The concert / dance hall

Derek and I talking with the "Snow King"

The North West Territories Legislative Assembly. Democracy NWT style is absolutely foreign to the provinces to the south. There are no political parties - people run as individuals, are elected and then those who are elected, come to a concensus and appoint one of their members as the Territorial Premier. Political posturing is unknown - all the elected members are friends and make decisions based upon concensus.

Kimberlite - the rock in which diamonds are found.

The now closed "Giant Gold Mine" in Yellowknife. It has a very sad and violent ending when a strike by the workers went so wrong causing the death of a number miners.

The Yellowknife Church attached to an addictions programme and homeless shelter run by The Salvation Army.

The Yellowknife Corps is a wonderful community of people - a younger congregation and surprisingly a very culturally diverse church - including a good representation of people from the Dene nation and Inuit from the high Arctic.

It was my privillege to preach on the Sunday morning.

The Chapel

Gayle, Marron, Derek, Stephen

Towards the end of our visit with Derek and Marron, we had gone to bed when Marron came down and told us that Northern Lights were shining bright.

Gayle and I woke up the children, we bundled ourselves up and headed out in the -25C temperature. We piled into the van and drove a few kms out of Yellowknife - literally to the middle of now where where there was no lights to interfere with the display of the Northern Lights. We were hoping to see them - and there they were - far more billiant than we had ever imagined them to be! They danced, swirled and curled and snaked across the sky. In the silence of the crisp night air, we just stared into the sky to watch this amazing display of celestial glory. I said to Gayle it seems you can hear them sing! I was sure I heard something - but It was just my imagination.

We couldn't get our camera to focus (still learning to use the proper settings). I found this picture on Google Images of the Northern Lights up in Yellowknife - and in the same place where we stopped! It was exactly like this picture! As billiant! As captivating. As stunning.

In all, this trip went much beyond our expectations! It was a definite life memory that we will always cherish as a family.

OUR NORTHERN ADVENTURE - THE CABIN

It's the March break!! Let's head to the sun, the sand and surf! The waving palms are beckoning us!

What??? Are you kidding??? It's about the snow, the -20C weather, the permafrost, the ice roads; it's the frontier that beckons us!

A few months ago, while Gayle and I were at our annual Salvation Army Officer's Retreat, we met up with some friends of our who are stationed and ministering up in Yellowknife. They invited us to come up with the family - not during the summer, but when it's still winter. They very hospitably invited into their home. They also mentioned that we may be able to stay a couple of days with a couple of families that use to attend the Yellowknife church but since moved to a piece of northern paradise near Hay River NWT.

I quickly dismissed the concept of going to the NWT from my mind - but not Gayle! Gayle, the mighty planner and adventurer, the voyageur! Since we moved to Alberta, she has always said she wanted to go to the North West Territories. I never took it seriously.

About two months ago, she began to plan a school March Break vacation to Yellowknife. I immediately reacted quite negatively as we had already gone a family adventure of a life time this past summer when we took a month to camp our way down the western coast of the States, into the California desert driving just briefly into Mexico (see earlier blog). I mean, we went almost 9,000km and now Gayle wants to go another 4,000km?

Well guess what? We went to the NWT for 9 days - and what an adventure! I would not trade this amazing experience for anything!! This brief vacation went far beyond my imagination. We met some incredible people, the scenery and nature was phenomenal! The weather bitterly cold and the snow was amazing.

It was not until we were driving in the extreme north of Alberta approaching the NWT did it really begin to seem real - the vast distances, the sense of isolation, the topography.

I discovered that few sane people travel by mini-van to Yellowknife - especially in the winter. The vast majority of people fly - no kidding when you think about the logistical dynamics one has to consider - such as planning refueling locations which are few and far between. You need to ensure that your vehicle is mechanically at top performance, tires are in good shape, emergency supplies, food and extra blankets are packed for a possible northern challenge.

Departure Day:

We woke up by 4:30am hoping to hit the road by 6:30pm. We had to finish up the packing and loading of the van. Tidying up the house still had to be done. Last minute instructions were left with someone who moved into the house to look after the dogs.

We ended up having to go to the church for some last minute instructions for the office administrator.

We finally pulled out of Calgary at 11:30am as we started our "13 hour" journey to the cabin just inside the NWT near Hay River. Ya I know - it's always the same story for our family! Good intentions are always there but reality is something else.

We arrived in amazing time - the roads were in good condition and the passengers co-operative. We arrived ten minutes before midnight. We received the instructions on how to find the property - down to the exact km. It's difficult to find their lane that runs off the main highway - especially in the middle of the night when your nerves are on edge.

As we turned onto their lane that took us onto their property the snow was quite deep and fairly soft. I thought we may even get stuck - but we made to the end until we arrived in a clearing where we saw to the left a series of ramshackle buildings lit up - absolutely brilliant in the darkness. To the right was a newer pine house, also lit up and so inviting.

The home of the Kingsley family










Following the instructions we received before we left Calgary, we went to the house to the right. It was the home of Boyde and Monique Warner who allowed us to stay in their house as they were in Yellowknife. Exhausted, I drove up to the house and to the right was a large outdoor pen with a number of husky dogs - barking and wanting to know who we were.

Within minutes, a couple by the name of Ron and Ronna Kingsley walked up to us - and welcomed us. The Kingsleys showed us how the generator is operated, how to stoke the wood burning stove and to operate the toilet. The generator is on for only a few hours per night - the rest of the time it's candles and LED lights. I could tell that this is going to be an amazing vacation and experience for our family!

The home of the Warners.

We had a great visit with the Kingsley's. We had never met them before yet they warmly welcomed us as if we were their oldest and best friends! The kids had an amazing time with the Kingsleys. Their three boys were hospitable to the nth degree! They are among the most well adjusted, mannerly, sociable young men I have ever met. They work physically hard - with chores that are necessary for day to day survival in the wilderness of the NWT. They are home schooled by their dad - he challenges them and provides an enriched educational experience. The mother and father are both engaging and great conversationalists. They have such a facinating life story - living and moving about the north from Baffin Island, Yellowknife and now on the river. She works for a major diamond mind north of Yellowknife. She flies into the mine for two week stints.

A butchered caribou

A Lynx that was trapped

A wolf that was shot and skinned. That's me lifting up the carcass.

Holding the skinned head of a wolf

Ron took us out "mushing"

Gayle had to get out of the sled to go and turn the dogs back onto the trail

Matt Kingsley demonstrating how to shoot a rife for the kids.

Elizabeth learning to shoot a rifle.

Emily shooting a rifle

Nathan shooting a rifle

The Kingsley Family
Ben, Matt Ronna, Ron, Aiden

On our way back from Yellowknife, we stopped at the cabins for the night. The temperature literally soared. The day before we left Yellowknife, the high for the day was -18C. The day we arrived at the cabin, the temp. rose to just below freezing. The snow began to soften up and it was hard to drive down their little road onto their property. I was rather fearful of getting stuck.

The following day as we were preparing to leave for Calgary, the temp. soared to 5C. The Warners were arriving home from Yellowknife - Their large truck which was pulling a load of pallets became stuck and blocked the narrow road. It was literally impassable. We unloaded the flatbed, and then they began to jack up the trailer hoping at one point to flip it upside down. As they jacked it up, we began to slide the pallets underneath the flatbed. Eventually, the flatbed slid somewhat to the side. It was just high enough to allow us to drive the mini van through. The concern of course, we too would get stuck. However, Ron drove his 4x4 ahead of me making a packed down trail. It was our goal to leave by8am that day for Calgary - we didn't leave until after 3:30pm.

The journey home was very difficult - the wind picked up with heavy blowing snow - the roads became snow covered and very icy. Eventually we arrived home at approximately 4:30am. Suffice to say, we were all very exhausted!! The following day we were ready to go back up to Hay River!

Licence plate for the NWT

OUR NOTHERN ADVENTURE - YELLOWKNIFE - Post to follow soon.

IMAGES OF CHRISTMAS 2008

Christmas is always a busy time for our family - especially one that is part of The Salvation Army. It's always good to keep yourself in check as to why you do what you do when it comes to the activities in the Salvation Army. For me, these things are not just extra work or activities. They are a unique opportunity to be not only visible within the community, but also to present Jesus - and people are willing to listen! It really is an amazing thing!
Here is a brief outline of the additional activities that are included during the season:

Pageant practice beginning the last week of October (2 times a week plus Sunday afternoon)
Pageant production (three productions - first Sunday of December - during the regular worship service, the following Friday night and then the second Sunday of December - an afternoon performance).
Christmas Eve service
Oversight given to 9 Christmas kettles (this year's campaign was very challenging. The weather was extremely cold and snowy. The roads and highways were snow and ice covered for the last three weeks of December. Traffic crawled - adding significant time to the over sight of the kettles and to the delivery of the monies at the end of the day to be counted)
Playing Christmas Carols on the Kettles
Playing for a Rotary Club Christmas function
Choir practices for Elizabeth and Emily who are in the Cantare Children's Choir
Christmas Concert with the Cantare Choir
Attending three Christmas school concerts

I have put together some photos that will take us through the season.














When mom and dad came to visit in November, we took them to Heritage Park. Santa was there. Kathryn was certainly pleased!














The day before mom and dad left to go home, we had a family Christmas with them.














A week after mom and dad went home, it began to snow and snow and snow! The above picture including the two pictures below is of our house after the first snow fall.

Nathan and Emily (the devils) in the Christmas Pageant

Elizabeth at the gate of heaven.

Kathryn - a daughter

Kathryn singing a solo

The Angelic Choir




Amazing props!






















Kathryn's school concert.




















A roaring fire on Christmas morning.

Kathryn's Tinker Bell Poster.

Nathan's I Pod Nano.















Emily's Green Day CD.














Elizabeth's Guitar.




Our Christmas Tree.

Mom's favourite decoration on our tree.

Nativity set on top of the piano.

Tinsel's A Mother Again!

A couple of weeks before Christmas, our dog Tinsel gave birth to five more puppies. The day before Tinsel delivered, we got her pen out, got out the plankets that are needed for the big moment. The next day, she had'nt displayed any of the "classic" signs that she was about to go into labour. Gayle was out that evening with Elizabeth and Emily at Choir practice, Nathan was out. Kathryn and I just got home from Walmart and were preparing to go out to Beavers and Cubs. I went to put the dogs outside. Garland came immediately when I called her (she a puppy from Tinsel's third litter that we kept). But there was not sign of Tinsel. I called her and called her. I looked all over the house including under my bed - but there was no sign of Tinsel. I looked outside - all the gates were tightly closed. I went back into the house and then it came to me - Tinsel has gone into hiding to give birth. I thought of her favourite spot in the house - under my bed - in Gayle's sock and underwear bin. I went back into the bedroom, pulled out from under the bed the bin - along with Tinsel and five puppies!!!

This was a total shock to say the least! She had given birth on her own, cleaned up her puppies including herself! It was amazing - yet it's the most natural thing for her to have done.

Anyway, I have included below a few pics of the puppies when they were older. All the puppies were healthy and found good homes.



























Tinsel in the pen with a couple of her puppies. I do have to say, they are sooo cute!














A very shaggy "Garland" looking in on the puppies. Shortly after this picture was taken, Garland had her hair cut.



























The last puppy to go home. She's a cutie!

Visit of Mom and Dad in November of 08

Mom and Dad came out to Calgary for their annual pilgrimage in November. Unfortunately their visit was only for a couple of weeks. But we will take whatever we can get. The kids always love to spend time with Nana and Papa - to have a taste of home - home family traditions from years gone by.

Unfortunately, we were not able to spend any vacation time with them this year. We also worked them very hard in our fund raising efforts for the girl's choir trip to Germany this summer (didn't I mention that before? I don't think I did).

I did manage to take a couple of days with mom and dad. On one of those days, I took mom and dad for a drive up to the Ice Fields along the spine of the Rocky Mountains. As we drove further into the mountains and into higher elevation territory, we were transported into mid January weather. The road was very icy and snowy in sections. It was very isolated. We saw only a couple of dozen cars during our four or five hours along the Ice Field Parkway. It was a great day - the sun was out, the air was crisp and a totally different perspective of this area compared to the summer.















Just inside Banff National Park















This is wild life "overpass" built to allow safe passage for bears, cougars, elk and all other sorts and sizes of animals.
There are also wildlife underpasses along this stretch of roadway.















A stunning mountain scene with a glacier between two peaks with a frozen lake in the foreground.















Mom and Dad - this is a favourite location for a photograph. This is part way up the final climb to the Athabasca Glacier.

It was at this location that we met up with some "Big Horn" Mountain Sheep. As we were driving up to the above location for a photograph, we drove by a large male Big Horn Sheep.















When we stopped to take mom and dad's picture, we saw a few female Big Horn Sheep and their kids coming up from the valley below.















The male Big Horn that we just passed came trotting up to us - we were in between him and his harem. He was not very pleased.















To demonstrate his authority and ownership, he leaped just feet from me. It was an amazing experience for mom and dad and I to say the least!














After a two and half hour drive, we arrived at our destination in the ice fields - the Athabasca Glacier. It's a mammoth sheet of ice covering hundreds of square km's. We had a picnic lunch and dad and I went for a brief walk towards the glacier.

The day ended with dinner in Banff. It was great to have mom and dad all to myself! It is something that does not happen all that often - something that I treasure!

SOMETHING TO PONDER

Hi! I am still here. I'll be posting updates soon. However, I thought I'd like to quickly share this definition that I heard at a conference I attended this past weekend up in Edmonton. This is something I will be incorporating in my introductory message on stewardship this Sunday.

FAILURE:

"Failure is succeeding @ something that does not matter."

MR. BEAN CONDUCTS THE SALVATION ARMY BAND @ CHRISTMAS

Evie posted Rowan Atkinson's portrayal of his reading of the Scriptures according to his unique sense of humour.
I posted this of Mr. Bean (Rowan Atkinson) conducting the SA band. It's fabulous!

The Christmas Blog Challenge??

Here is a cut and paste list of questions from Barbara's blog on Christmas. Barbara, you have too much time on your hands to spend time hunting these kinds of things down.
1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper is the preferred although we do use bags for the occasional gift
2. Real tree or Artificial? Artificial. We put our tree up as early as possible in November because of the very busy nature of our Christmas season as part of The Salvation Army. A real tree lasts at the most two weeks and then it's over. We like to prolong the experience.
3. When do you put up the tree? By the beginning of the third week of November. Believe it or not, we are not the first on our street. A neighbour across from us, put up three trees in their living room a week before that time The lights go up on the house at the beginning of November before the freeze up.
4. When do you take the tree down? Usually on January 2. By that time, I want my house back to normal!
5. Do you like eggnog? Are you kidding??? It's disgusting!
6. Favourite gift received as a child? An electric train set
7. Hardest person to buy for? Gayle
8. Easiest person to buy for? My son Nathan
9. Do you have a nativity scene? We have two. One is under the tree (a home made wooden set for the the kids to play with and a porcelain one that sits on the piano)
10. Mail or email Christmas cards? This is an area of huge guilt. We are inundated with beautiful cards yet we never send any out (we do send out cards to the members of our church - 151 families)
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? A flamingo toilet plunger - don't ask!
12. Favourite Christmas Movie? Frosty the Snowman, Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer - Christmas classics from my childhood!
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Gayle does the shopping - she has an eye out for gifts throughout the year
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? No, but there are several I could have
15. Favourite thing to eat at Christmas? Turkey
16. Lights on the tree? Of course. There are approximately 2700 lights on the tree - not the LED kind - the mini light - they are much brighter
17. Favourite Christmas song? The Hallelujah Chorus
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? We began to stay home for Christmas a number of years ago as the kids enjoyed a day to relax and enjoy the day with their gifts. Now being thousands of kilometres away from home, there is no other option. We greatly miss the "Sears" Boxing Day gatherings and Gayle's family's gathering over the Christmas time.
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen .... and do you recall, the most famous reindeer of all? Rudolf the red-nosed reindeer, had a very shiny nose .... LOL! - Thanks for doing this for me Barbara!
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Star. We have been using the same tree top star for over twenty years. I wanted to put an angel on the tree this year but the kids were upset with even thinking about it. So the star sits there again.
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas morning.
22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? The greeting, "Happy Holidays"
23. Favourite ornament theme or colour? Our tree tells our family history. There are ornaments that have been made by my mother, my sister Joanne, Gayle's cousin April, special ornaments that were given to us as a family (some hand made) collector ornaments and glass balls. A number of the ornaments date to our first Christmas 25 years ago. Our tree does not follow a theme - it's the "FAMILY TREE".
24. Favourite dessert for Christmas dinner? Mom's green or red jello with whipped cream
25. What do you want for Christmas this year? A relaxed family that enjoys the day together
26. Any special Christmas traditions? On Christmas Eve, go to the evening service at church. When we get home, Gayle gives everyone a new set of flannel pajamas to wear to bed that night.

To Our Excellency, the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, Governor General of Canada

Your Excellency:

Please hear the heart of a furious Canadian!!!!

What is going on with those whom we have elected as responsible representatives in the Canadian Parliament?? I didn't think we lived in a Banana Republic! Do we live in Zimbabwe?

The other day as my dad and I listened to the "Financial Statement" speech from the finance minister, I couldn't believe the partisan and provoking nature of the presentation. By revoking the financial support of the political parties of the Canadian Parliamentary system in the name of financial cutbacks during these difficult economic to save a measly 30 million dollars and pushing some parties into bankruptcy potentially hindering an effective opposition to the governing establishment - is not only unethical, but as far as I am concern undemocratic.

Following the recent Federal elections which gave the governing Conservatives a stronger minority government and mandate to govern, there seemed to be a good deal of good will being expressed, the desire of all political parties to work closer together during some very difficult times on the economic front. I was certainly encouraged to hear the parties speaking to one another in civil tones.

Then this happens -pulling the funding of the political parties - giving the opposition no choice but to try and put over a bloodless coup disguised as a coalition government.

Yet behind it all, was a sinister plot by the NDP and the separatists from Quebec to bring down the government before all this was even presented to parliament!! The Liberals have been duped into buying into this Banana Republic mentality of over throwing a democratically elected government - somehow this squeaks by under the Canadian Constitution. UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!!!!!!!!

Your Excellency, it demonstrates the low ethics of the entire parliament. The government and all the opposition parities are more interested in their own self interests over that of the country. The Federal government has literally raised a white flag of surrender - yet it is too late! The opposition is determined to carry out this bloodless coup naming the failure of the conservative led government to present a "stimulus" package for the economy. We all know that is nothing but smoke and mirrors. They are furious with the Conservatives and have no trust in them to act responsibly.

If the Conservatives didn't try to bankrupt the opposition parties, none of this would have occurred. The Conservatives would have continued to demonstrate the wise leadership over the economy with the full support of the opposition Liberals.

The whole system is morally bankrupt!!! The Prime Minister deliberately set out to provoke the opposition - to silence their voice. This whole mess is of his doing and he has to take full responsibility. He could have been a brilliant leader. Please encourage the Prime Minister to do the right thing and step down.

Your, Excellency, please dismiss the government and dissolve the opposition parties and let's start over again!

Thank you for hearing out my rant.

PRIME MINISTER STEPHEN HARPER

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081202.wparliament03/BNStory/politics/home

http://pacificfreepress.com/news/1/3394-rally-for-canada-the-last-refuge-for-harper.html

http://www.680news.com/news/national/more.jsp?content=n1202129A

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081202.wcosimp03/BNStory/politics/home

AT THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME

Last Friday morning, mom and dad flew out from Ontario to Calgary for their yearly visit with us. Today I took some time off and we went for a drive along the Ice Field Parkway - an amazing wilderness drive along the literal spine of the Rocky Mountains. This is the first time I have driven this road at this time of the year which is now firmly in the grip of winter. It is a breathtaking drive during the summer - and even more so at this time of the year. During this time of the year, the Ice Field Parkway is not well travelled. As we drove up a steep stretch of road that was the final climb up to the Columbia Ice Field we came upon a male big horn sheep. He was beautiful in his winter coat. I stopped at the side of the road and dad and I snapped a few pictures and we then continued on our drive. We came upon three female big horn sheep and their kids. Again we stopped, got out of the van and began to take some photos. The male big horn sheep we saw earlier came towards us - it was his harem. He was very intent on coming between us and his family. He didn't seem agressive but it was obvious that he didn't wanted us to walk towards them. By the time he reached me, he was literally no more than two meters from me - he then jumped - it was as if he was trying to impress me - and he certainly did! Somehow I was able to snap this photo. I was AT THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME!! Needless to say, I'm quite pleased with this shot.

CANADIAN HEALTH CARE - IN NEED OF AN OVER HAUL

The other day, my brother David wrote a great piece about the American health care system - asking if it is the best system in the world. It has spurred me to think about our health care system here in Canada and our perception that it is the best in the world. Yet in reality, we are struggling to keep up standards, waiting lines are increasing at our hospitals and for essential medical testing and treatment. Please see David's blog dated Sunday November 16 and then read my grammatically incorrect response below.
I would love to hear your good and bad stories about Canadian health care system and your thoughts about what is being suggested concerning the roll of "for profit" health care within the Canadian system.


MY RESPONSE TO DAVID:
This was a great piece! I'm a huge proponent of the Canadian Health Care system, although it requires a complete over haul in both philosophy and service.For years, we have upheld almost to the point of a divine mandate that only the government can provide health care. Yet over the past 10-15 years, waiting lines have increased for essential diagnostic tests, more Canadians than ever are without a family doctor. Many small communities don't even have the staff to keep their hospitals open. In larger urban areas, hospitals are grossly understaffed and in some cased under equipped.
Government run health care here in Canada has become very inefficient in both servicing the needs of Canadians and in the fiscal management department. Fiscally it has come to the point that health care now takes up more tax dollars than anything else.
There is a ground swell, it remains small, but I certainly can see it developing to a tremendous force for change in how health care delivery is managed.There is now talk about allowing for profit providers of health care, for diagnostic testing, for hospital management, for surgery etc. This would be in no way a two tier health system where the rich get to the front of the line because they can pay.
Many are crying "Americanized Health care!!" There is fear that we may go down the disastrous route of American health care.
NO!! That is not what is being suggested and what is now being practiced in pockets of Quebec. Under a proposed for profit health care system that runs parallel with the government run system, for profit private health care providers would not be allowed to turn anyone away due to financial means.
Financially, nothing would change for the consumer of health care as government health insurance would still pay for it. For profit health care providers would be mandated to work within government health care insurance programmes.
It has been suggested that the benefit of such a parallel system would be more access to medical care and testings - this would be wrapped in a system designed to be more efficient economically - in the long term saving government run universal health care which we as Canadians uphold as one of most treasured.
Did you know that most European countries, Australia, New Zealand already have such a system in place. They don't get our phobia when it it comes to private delivery of health care. I totally get our phobia - We are a small nation living living next to a country with 10X's our population. We feel at any moment the dam we have worked hard at maintaining to keep Americanization of our health system at bay, will burst. We look in horror south of the border at "private delivery of health care" and the millions that go without the health care services they need. We are afraid that we will become like them. Only time, cool heads and rational conversations will we be able to move this need to tweak our health care system forward. This will allow us to continue to have a healthy care system we value so highly as Canadians.

WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?? (A Canadianized edition)

Barbara has thrown out the challenge to do this list. I looked at Jennefer's list and noticed how she made up her own "Canadian Edition." I thought I'd keep to the original list and include what I would consider be equivilent experiences. They are in italic. I included my "did do" list in bold.

1. Started your own blog

2. Slept under the stars

3. Played in a band

4. Visited Hawaii (although I did visit the Queen Charlotte Islands - just as lush and exotic I would think)

5. Watched a meteor shower

6. Given more than you can afford to charity

7. Been to Disneyland

8. Climbed a mountain

9. Held a praying mantis

10. Sang a solo (The poor old souls at the some of the senior residences where I conducted services were afflicted by my talent for destroying hymns).

11. Bungee jumped

12. Visited Paris (Does Paris Ontario count?)

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch

15. Adopted a child (Congrats Jennifer and Kevin!!!!!!)

16. Had food poisoning

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty (I did one better!! I climbed all the stairs at Toronto's CN Tower)

18. Grown your own vegetables

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France (I have visited the "Hermitage" Museum in St. Peterburg Russia and viewed many of the classic works of the world's most famous artists ( Leonardo da Vinci, Rembrandt, Michelagnelo, Rubens, Van Dyck, Van Gogh, Picasso etc.)

20. Slept on an overnight train (the overnight train from St. Petersburg to Moscow)

21. Had a pillow fight

22. Hitch hiked

23. Taken a sick day when youʼre not ill

24. Built a snow fort

25. Held a lamb

26. Gone skinny dipping

27. Run a Marathon

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice

29. Seen a total eclipse (lunar or solar? - I've seen both)

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset (seen both)

31. Hit a home run

32. Been on a cruise

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors

35. Seen an Amish community

36. Taught yourself a new language (does pig latin count??)

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person (How about the Kremlin or Red Square? - OK, it's not on the same romantic level)

39. Gone rock climbing

40. Seen Michelangeloʼs David (I've see David's "Madonna Litta" at the Hermitage)

41. Sung karaoke

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt (I have driven "Magnetic Hill" in New Brunswick - quite cool actually)

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant

44. Visited Africa

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight

46. Been transported in an ambulance

47. Had your portrait painted

48. Gone deep sea fishing

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person (St. Basil's Cathedral in Red Square, Catherine The Great Cathedral in St. Petersburg)

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris (The CN Tower is really cool - quite spectacular actually)

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling (Bermuda)

52. Kissed in the rain

53. Played in the mud

54. Gone to a drive-in theater

55. Been in a movie

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Started a business

58. Taken a martial arts class

59. Visited Russia

60. Served at a soup kitchen

61. Sold Girl Guide Cookies (I've bought lots of boxes over the years! Since becoming a cub leader, we are into selling popcorn)

62. Gone whale watching (both in the Atlantic and Pacific)

63. Gave flowers for no reason

64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma

65. Gone sky diving

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp

67. Bounced a cheque (notice my American friends and family, the corrected version of the word, "Cheque" - not "check" as in... "check and see if supper is ready")

68. Flown in a helicopter

69. Saved a favourite childhood toy

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial

71. Eaten Caviar

72. Pieced a quilt

73. Stood in Times Square

74. Toured the Everglades

75. Been fired from a job

76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London (does the changing of the guards count on Parliament Hill in Ottawa?)

77. Broken a bone

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person

80. Published a book

81. Visited the Vatican

82. Bought a brand new car (1986 Chevette)

83. Walked in Jerusalem

84. Had your picture in the newspaper

85. Read the entire Bible

86. Visited the White House (drove by it)

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

88. Had chickenpox

89. Saved someoneʼs life

90. Sat on a jury

91. Met someone famous

92. Joined a book club

93. Lost a loved one

94. Had a baby (how about fathering 4 children)

95. Seen the Alamo in person

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake (Camped beside it - that was enough - quite the smelly lake)

97. Been involved in a law suit

98. Owned a cell phone

99. Been stung by a bee

100. Read an entire book in one day

RANDOM BERKSHIRE REFLECTIONS

It's hard to believe that we are well into our fourth year of ministry here at Berkshire. Much have happened - both positive and negative. Yet in spite of all that has transpired during this time, we are so grateful to God for the privilege as Salvation Army Officers to here at this point in the history. For the sake of easy reading, I'm going to do much of my reflection in point form.

- After a month long camping trip across Canada, we arrived here in Calgary at the end of July 2005 - greatly saddened with our untimely departure from North Toronto Community Church. Yet at the same time we were excited at the new chapter and adventure that God has called us to embark.

- Berkshire had an officer couple that was greatly loved - they were pastors at Berkshire for 13 years. They resigned after declining to accept a new appointment that would have them move from Calgary to Toronto. The final Sunday for these officers, was also the last Sunday for a significant number of families who either stopped attending church altogether or went on to other churches.

- Within five minutes of arriving at Berkshire, the office administrator greeted us with the news that the daycare renting space from our building was being forced to close - affecting the budget of the church. With the closing of the daycare and the departure of a number of families, what was a tiny surplus budget for Berkshire suddenly was a significant deficit.

- We were warmly embraced and quickly enveloped into the hearts of the people at Berkshire. Going from North Toronto, a challenging and often intransigent older traditional congregation (large brass band, songsters, full slate of traditional "corps" programmes) to a contemporary and young family congregation that was in every sense of the word a "community church" was refreshing. The emphasis at Berkshire is upon children and youth and small groups. It took me the better part of a year to become comfortable with a new style of worship and to work through with the "worship team" my own personality and perspectives. Needless to say, everyone was very patient with me!

- The building we have at Berkshire is ultra-modern - built in 1986. The Sanctuary seats 300 people comfortably. When the wall between the sanctuary and the gym opens, seating capacity more than doubles. The corps building is approximately 23,000 square feet. It is beginning to show signs of age. We see the building as the means to generate additional income. Currently we have a number of groups that lease space from us - a pre-school, a daycare, a before and after school programme, a Saturday night church that reaches out to the Filipino community and a Sunday afternoon church that reaches out to the Korean community. We also rent out space for piano recitals, community meetings and sports organizations. We are also used by various groups like Scouts Canada for Southern Alberta for conducting their youth and leaders awards ceremonies and banquets. Berkshire is a designated polling centre for the provincial and federal elections. The Member of Parliament for our riding occasionally uses the building for her community meetings. All of these groups are an essential part to helping us to pay the bills.

- Half of the building was redecorated by the time we arrived here at Berkshire. Since our arrival, we completed the other half including a complete gutting and rebuilding of the kitchen.

- Over the next year, we continued to experience loss - with many deaths of the few older people in our church. Over the past three years, we have lost most of the older members of the church - 15 deaths. It has been a very difficult time for the church. Even today we are still experiencing loss.

- The children's and youth ministries of Berkshire are a definite strength of Berkshire. We have a woman who has a paid part-time position with us as the "Minister of Children and Family Ministries." We also have a part time youth pastor whose main emphasis is the pastoral care and mentoring of the youth of Berkshire. Gayle and I are so grateful to God that He has placed us here at Berkshire at this junction in the life of our children. We are convinced that there is no better place for our children to be.

- We had a pastoral care worker on staff but had to cut this position due to budget considerations.

- We have a number of gifted people at Berkshire that have made ministry a joy and an adventure. Christmas pageants are second to none to any of the Salvation Army Churches we have either attended or as pastors. They are of such a grand scale with special effects that dazzle and amaze.

- The Ministry Board consists of 12 men and women who are tender hearted and are sold out to the mission of Berkshire. They are great encouragers to Gayle and I.

- Berkshire loves to reach into the community - Summer VBS, community carnivals and picnics, "Stampede Breakfasts" which I have blogged about a couple of times, Southern Gospel concerts and today an overwhelming successful youth outreach ministry into the local high schools that bridges directly into the youth ministries of the church. At a later date, I will blog specifically about the latest youth initative of Berkshire that has connected with 13 teens from the community over the past couple of weeks. Over the past three years, we have increased our participation in the Sal Army's Christmas Kettle Campaign by co-ordinating and running a section of the city's campaign. This has been an exciting development and opportunity for service for the people of Berkshire and to connect with a large number of volunteers within our community.

- SOME RANDOM STATS: Our Sunday morning worship attendance can be as high as 200 and as low as 115. Last Sunday (Nov. 9) we had 166 in the meeting. It depends on the time of year and the weather conditions (the average attendance has yet to recover from the large loss of people when the previous officers left). Small group attendance is growing - last week, we had over 70 people in 6 small groups. Our teen ministry has ballooned from 20 to over 50 over the past several months! A team of 10 individuals go out to minister to the homeless every Monday evening. 110 people participated in the Christmas pageant last year with over 600 people from the community coming to watch the production, over 900 people attended our "Stampede Breakfast" at the beginning of July.

- This past spring and summer was both challenging and exciting. We said goodbye to six significant families that gave leadership to the worship team and the youth ministry of Berkshire. We took another hit financially. Yet it was a time for God to say to us that "Berkshire is my church - keep your hands off!" Sometimes God has to remove some people before He will do a new work. In saying that, none of these families were standing in the way of God's movement among his church. They are all amazing people - gifted in many ways. They all have a heart for God and for his church. Yet due to various reasons, they moved out of the district. One family moved to Nova Scotia, two families entered the College for Officer Training, another family responded to a call to ministry in Saskatchewan, another family moved to the extreme south end of the city and another couple went to another church in the area (newly weds - couldn't come to an agreement to which church they should attend - his or hers - so they chose a totally different church altogether). Normally such a loss could be devastating - yet God brought new people into the church and other members of the church have taken their places in these vacated positions. The average Sunday morning attendance is now more than it was before these families left in the spring and summer. As a matter of fact, we just held a "Friendship Banquet" to welcome those who are new to the church over the past three months - it involved over 30 active attending new comers!

I have concluded with rambling blog with the mission and vision for Berkshire:

OUR MISSION STATEMENT:
As followers of Jesus Christ, Berkshire Community Church exists to Glorify God and share His Love with our Community.
OUR VALUES (what matters most to us)
A. Lost people matter to God
B. The Church has to remain culturally relevant & doctrinally pure
C. Full devotion to Christ and His Cause is normal & expected behaviour
D. There will be an authenticity in discipleship with a yearning to grow in Christ
E. Loving relationships permeate our fellowship & all of church life. Excellence honours God & inspires people

Our Vision: the establishment of new “Berkshire” communities of worship and service in Calgary and in surrounding communities ie. Airdrie, Cochrane (The Salvation Army Berkshire—one church with a number of expressions of worship and service in our communities.

WE ENVISION:

A. We envision that the members of Berkshire will truly know one another—meaningful relationships will be established resulting in the strengthening of the body of Christ.

B. We envision a significant increase in congregational financial giving to meet the needs of the budget and to allow for expansion of ministries.

C. We envision the re-launching of Small Groups with a renewed emphasis upon connecting together through the Word of God, fellowship and practical acts of service.

D. We envision impacting the local junior high and senior high schools

This spring, the ministry board affirmed,

“we will never know our potential under God until we step out and take risks on the front line of battle”

Remembrance Day Soldier Cries (Soldier_Song)

To all the brave and selfless soldiers that have given and continue to give of themselves unconditionally not only for the freedom we treasure, but also to a country that respects and honours people of all cultures and faiths, THANK YOU!

THANK YOU also for responding to the heart cry of peoples in far away lands, to those in countries that know no peace, to those in countries where they know no freedom or justice, to those in countries where basic human rights are denied and oppressed - To you, our brave young soldiers, again, I THANK YOU!

GOODBYE JOANNE AND BRUCE

As you all know, Joanne and Bruce moved back to Ontario at the end of September. For myself, inwardly, it was quite emotional when we had our last visit together. Even though we did not see each other all that often, knowing they were close at hand was conforting. Since Joanne and Bruce and ourselves arrived in Calgary over three years ago, we spent the significant holidays together - it was kind of neat knowing that the family back in Ontario was together celebrating while the western branch celebrated. We shared accomplishments together, we shared our dreams, frustrations and disappointments. We shared our concerns for loved ones back in Ontario and in the US. We followed the journey of Kevin and Jennifer and celebrated with Joanne and Bruce the arrival of their grandchildren. It was a touch of home - having Joanne and Bruce with us. They were the means by which we were able to enjoy brief visits with Jennifer/Kevin, Jason/ Alyson, and James. They were the means by which our kids felt they were still attached to the rest of the family - the most important people in their lives.
We will miss them greatly! Goodbye Joanne and Bruce! We love you!


Joanne & Bruce with Gayle, and the kids

SPIDERS!

One night when we came back to our campsite in the desert outside of San Diego, we were visited by a very friendly and furry critter. Who would have ever thought that taranchulas can be so friendly?!

OUR GREAT FAMILY ADVENTURE - Part 3

After saying a fond farewell to San Diego, we doubled back up to Los Angeles - San Pedro to be exact. We parked the tent trailer and had a week in a very well equipped townhouse situated in a resort like setting. Needless to say, it was nice to be in a "real bed" again with access to a fully equipped kitchen and laundry facilities. From the townhouse we went to Walt Disney Land / California Adventure on a three day pass. We broke up the three day pass by taking a day off inbetween our park visits. We spent our days off at the townhouse pool.

We had an amazing time at Disney Land. As the week wore on the more we enjoyed being there and the whole "magical" atmosphere. The attractions are second to none - nothing is spared to create an amazing family experience.

Visiting with Mickey

Visiting Mini Mouse in her home

Space Mountain was our favourite family ride attraction.

Nathan fighting the "dark side"

Look carefully at the man playing the guitar - Does he look familiar? Think back to the days on Walton Mountain (* see the bottom of this blog for the name of this individual).

After we said goodbye to Walt, we loaded up the van, hitched up the trailer and made our way towards the Grand Canyon. Travelling to the Grand Canyon will be unforgetable as we headed into the desolate expanses of the Arizona desert. As we approached Neadles Arizona, the temps outside the van reached 48C - unheard up temps for this guy! I put my window down and put my arm outside the van - and it felt like I had put my arm into a blast furnace. We stopped at a McDonald's for an ice cream just to experience this kind of heat. It was remarkable - it was oppressively hot yet it did not take your breath away. It was an incredibly dry heat. Yet a humid 32C in Southern Ontario is enough to suck the breath out of you.

We arrived at Grand Canyon National Park late at night (what else is new!!). The Grand Canyon was one of the most amazing scenes we have ever experienced. Words such as breathtaking, awe inspiring, mind boggling do not even scratch the surface of this most incredible place! We spent only a day exploring the South Rim of the Canyon. This is an area we could have spent several more days exploring.

Gayle and Nathan got up early to view the sunrise over the Grand Canyon.

The Grand Canyon!

Look carefully on the ledge and you will see me and a couple of the kids. It was a stressful moment for Gayle.

An historic tower (circa 1930's) built into the side of the Grand Canyon.

Leaving the Grand Canyon, we made our way up to Utah to the Bryce Canyon area. The colours are absolutely amazing. In some way, it is more beautiful than the Grand.




































After Bryce Canyon, we travelled up to Salt Lake City for a one night stop over. Travelling through this area allowed Gayle and I to engage the kids in a discussion about the LDS - their historical background and beliefs. It became a point of prayer for us.

From Salt Lake City, we travelled up to Butte Montana, again, for only one night from where we pushed the rest of the way home.

After 8,800kms on the road, we all agreed that this was an amazing family adventure - something we are glad we expererienced together.

* "Jason" from the Waltons (Jon Walmsley)

OUR GREAT FAMILY ADVENTURE - Part 2

We decided to leave San Fransisco one day early - which was also the day that we visited Alcatrez, and pushed our way down to Los Angeles. Why? The way we booked in our visit to Universal Studios led us having to make that decision.
After a long yet memorable day at Alcatrez, we drove down to a Wal Mart parking lot in Los Angeles located across the highway from Six Flags Amusement Park and set up the trailer for the night arriving around mid night. First thing in the morning, we set the trailer down and headed to Universal Studios arriving at 10:30 am. It was an enjoyable day - yet it was not what we had expected. The park itself is much smaller than we had anticipated. We toured some of the studios where some popular films were made. We saw the set used for Whiseria Lane (Desparate Housewives) and a couple of actual filmings. Our family favourite attraction was the Simpsons.


Do you recognize the above car on the left?

Demonstrating blowing up cars @ Universal Studios

The set from the movie, "The Grinch"

A stunt man practising for an upcoming shooting.

The kids with a couple of friends they met at Universal Studios.

Closing down the park, we left at approximately 9:30pm and headed down to Lake Jennings County Park - located in the desert - twenty-five minutes outside of San Diego. We arrived at 12am. I know, long days! Crazy isn't it!
We loved our time in the San Diego area. The desert environment is amazing. It cools down nicely at night - but by 10am - the temps were already at 37C. Needless to say, we never spent one day at the park itself.


First morning at Lake Jennings.








The corner of our campsite










View from the road leading to our campsite. The signs along our road warned us about the rattle snakes. It is here that we ran into (actually, we camped right beside him - no more than twenty feet from this person and his family or friends), a famous TV and movie star (we will not name this person through this medium).

Over the course of the week we spent in the San Diego area, we kept ourselves busy by visiting the world famous San Diego Zoo, Sea World, visiting Mexico and spent several afternoons at the beach.


Waiting for the "Shamu" show to begin











The "Shamu Show" @ Sea World







Polar Bears @ Sea World







Elizabeth's favourite critter - the "Penguin"







Koala Bear Exhibit @ the San Diego Zoo

The Panda Exhibit

Kathryn and I with a very co-operative hippo






On the Sunday, we attended the Salvation Army Church in the suburban community of El Cajon where we met up unexpectedly the former Territorial Commanders of The Canada and Bermuda Territory, Commissioner and Mrs. Lutrill. Following the service, they took our entire band of six out for a brunch. Following the meal, we drove into Mexico to the beautiful and laid back town of Tacate.



"Tacate" Mexico






Public Transport








At the outdoor cafe








Shopping at the local Plazza







US - Mexican border

Tim McGraw - Live Like You Were Dying

This is a powerful song that reminds us the importance of living each day as a precious gift from God.
Imagine how this world would be different if we lived our lives like we were dying.
I am going to do a series of messages based on this song beginning after the Canadian Thanksgiving weekend. We are going to focus on different aspects of this song - LIVE LIKE YOU ARE DYING, SPEAK SWEETER, LOVE DEEPER, GIVE FORGIVENESS. We are also going to have a four week small group (Bible Study) based on it. Should be an interesting journey as a congregation.

OUR GREAT FAMILY ADVENTURE - Part 1

After 8,800 kms, we arrived home tired, excited and very satisfied. We had spent the better part of a month (July 21-August 17) travelling through the Western US and into Mexico. It was a dream family adventure for us as we pulled our tent trailer down the Pacific coast through the great cities of California, through desolate deserts, over mountains, through mountain passes and through huge canyons. We were impressed by the high standards of the inter-state highways, the state roads and the infrastructure that supports and sustains the traveller. We came across two well known celebrities, including camping beside a hugely popular TV sitcom star who also does the voice of character in a PIXAR production (I will not publish the name of this individual in this format).

In brief the following was the route taken:

We departed Calgary - driving to Riverside State Park in the city of Spokan Washington. Staying one night, we pushed on through to the coast to Nehalam Oregon where we stayed for several days. It was cool, but the sun shone!

We spent time exploring the coast and enjoying some time on the beaches.

Our campsite at Nehalam, Oregon.

Elizabeth enjoyed reading in a crook in a tree.

The "Ewok" forest

Redwood Trees

Leaving Nehalam, we travelled down the coast until we arrived at Prairie Redwoods State Park in Northern California. These are the most majestic and massive trees on earth. It's a primeval ecosystem that dates to the age of the dinosaurs.

"The Big Tree"

Leaving the Redwoods, we continued down the coast to Samuel Taylor State Park located just outside of the fabulous city of San Francisco. San Francisco is truly one of the great cities of North America. It down right beautiful - yet the weather is almost always cool and damp.

Cablecars were really neat!

This photo does not give justice to the steepness of the roads in the city.

A beautiful park in the city.

Approaching the "Golden Gate Bridge"

San Francisco on the ferry to "Alcatraz"

"Alcatraz"

"A cell at "Alcatraz"

IT'S BEEN AWHILE!

It has been a few months since I took a breather from blogging. It was nothing personal - I missed it very much - I missed reading about my family and what was happening in their lives. I missed your comments and your interest in my life. Yet life has been so busy - so hectic - and at times overwhelming, it was something I had to do.

Now, feeling somewhat energized and at the same time very guilt ridden, it's time to get caught up with sharing what is going on in the Calgary branch of the Sears family.

The last time I blogged it was May 8th and we just got hit by a large winter storm. The snow melted within a couple of days and the greening up of Calgary continued. By the way ..... for those who have wondered about my maple tree I brought to Calgary from the bush of Southern Ontario in May of 2007, it survived the minus 38C temps of last winter! But not only did it survive, it has thrived this summer here in Calgary! I'll take a couple of photographs and post them for you. I am hoping for the "fall colours" that can be found in Ontario.

It was busy spring. To save you from having to read through four months of our life, I'll use photographs with brief statements.



VISIT OF GRANDMA AND GRANDAD - MAY 24th LONG WEKEND



Grandma and Grandad came for a brief visit. We took a few days off and went to Banff. Grandma and Grandad stayed at a resort while we camped in the national park. The weather was fantastic - warm and sunny. This was the first May longweekend in many years that was not bathed in snow! We were grateful for that! Camping in the snow with four children is not my idea of a good time.

The kids walking from the Banff Springs













Grandma and Gayle standing beside the Bow River swollen with snow and glacial melt water

Lake Louise - It's almost June yet it's still in the icy grip of winter. This scene is on the old edition of the $20 bill.

Kathryn in her sun dress - in the middle of the mountain snow.

EMILY'S PARTICIPATION IN THE CALGARY OPERA COMPANY'S PRODUCTION OF "TOSCA"

Emily was two characters in the production. The first character was that of a rough street boy.

The second character Emily played was that of a choir boy.

ELIZABETH'S FIRST BIG FORMAL EVENT

Elizabeth's first "big formal event" was that as the date to a high school graduation formal dinner and dance. She was the date of a young man from the church who would like to be more than just Elizabeth's friend.





Elizabeth in the dress that Gayle made. I can't believe my eyes! She has grown into a young woman! I don't know when that happened!

Aaron and Elizabeth.

VISIT OF JAMES

We were able to briefly visit with James when he came out to visit Joanne and Bruce. Needless to say, Elizabeth, Emily, Nathan and Kathryn were thrilled to see one of their cousins - With our family living thousands of Km's away in Ontario, such a visit is a rare and treasured event.

COWBOY CAMP - YES, I DID SAY, COWBOY CAMP!

In June, I attended a "Cowboy" camp in the middle of the Rocky Mountains. It was an amazing experience - just getting there and out again was an adventure. The main road into the mountains rapidly deteriated to the point we were travelling literally on a muddy pot holed road for about 30 kms. This Christian run camp was hosted by an organization that run camps on crown land for families and teens. They take you on pack horse trips into the mountains. You sleep in very primitive mud floor tents heated by wood stoves. It's the same kind of tents you see in photos when the explorers were travelling through the mountains.





My tent is on the far left.




















On our last morning, we woke up to snow.

























Open air dining. It felt I had travelled back 70+ years.

















Dining and kitchen area









"The Beehive"

















Our road back to civilization





















Our drinking water - absolutely pure.































The beauty of it all!

STAMPEDE BREAKFAST (July)

For the past three years, we have hosted a "Stampede Breakfast" on the first Sunday of the Calgary Stampede. Hosting Stampede breakfasts has a long tradition within the Stampede. It's a natural opportunity for us at Berkshire to connect with our immediate community. This event at Berkshire has grown from several hundred at our first Stampede breakfast to well over 900 at this year's event. Instead of having our regular Sunday morning worship service, we throw open the doors and invite the community to have a pancake breakfast with us. We use most of the building. It really is a festive atmosphere. This year we brought in two jumping houses, had live country and western gospel music, face painting and activities for all ages. This event is now recongized as a major community event. This year, the public library came in and set up a display and the newly elected local member of the provincial legislature asked if she could come in and help in the kitchen. We mobilized a large number of the congregational members who welcomed the community, cooked, served, cleaned, and gave oversight to the jumping houses, games and activities. It was an amazing event.




A shot of the amazing crowd.

































Elizabeth helped with the young children.
















While helping with a game, Nathan got swallowed by the clown.















Teressa Woo Paw, our newly elected member of the provincial assemby poured the surup.

YOU KNOW YOU ARE IN CALGARY WHEN...

YOU KNOW YOU ARE IN CALGARY WHEN...

...you put your youngest daughter to bed (Kathryn) and she asks, "Daddy, can we go tobogganing tomorrow?" and it's May 8! Picture to follow (we are in the midst of getting 20 cm of snow tonight).















OK, here is our "springtime" in Calgary - taken at 6:20 am. Believe it or not, there is actually green grass under all that white stuff.

BEWARE OF IMPOSTERS!

You just never know!