Greetings from Alberta!
Greetings! We wrapped up at Regent at the end of May and look back over a most challenging and rewarding month there. Enjoying the beauty of Vancouver added to the spiritual rest and enrichment we received. I concluded my time there with a lovely 10km run around the perimeter of Stanley Park.
After concluding at Regent we made our way to the Island to drop off the vehicle we’d been loaned. While there we had some dental work done (I had a root canal!!), and we spent the weekend visiting with friends and attending the morning service at Central Baptist. On Sunday afternoon we took the ferry back to Vancouver and on Wednesday morning, with our friends, Bill and Eileen McLellan, began our travels to Northern Alberta through the stunning Rocky Mountains. We overnighted in a place called Valemount surrounded by majestic mountains. It’s an area where a lot of heli-skiing is done.
The following day we travelled through more lovely scenery to the town of Grande Prairie, one of the best wheat producing parts of the world. The sky is big and the plains stretch before you forever. So different to the mountains, but equally majestic. The couple we are travelling with once lived in Grande Prairie. Eileen, grew up there as one of ten children in an amazing farming family. Of the ten children, five went to the mission fields of Ethiopia, Nigeria and Thailand. Several other siblings are big farmers who have played a significant role in supporting their siblings financially and in prayer. Some of these missionaries have now retired and are now living in Grande Prairie. It was our joy to meet them, have meals in their homes, and listen to their stories.
On Friday it snowed. Everyone was complaining because snow is not expected in early June, but Irene and I were delighted–except when I tried to shove a snowball down the back of Irene’s shirt! The following day we attended a rodeo on the farm of one of Eileen’s brothers. They have held this rodeo for 32 years, mainly as a fundraiser for the IVCF camps that are held in this region during the summer months. There were about 250 children and teens, plus a couple of hundred adults at the event. It was fun watching little children try to ride calves, and teenagers and grown men (and women) lassoing and milking wild cows! On Saturday night, and again on Sunday morning, we were entertained by a country singer and band. The morning service was called a Cowboy Service. It rocked! Or whatever country music does! It was inspiring being among salt-of-the-earth farming and ranching folk who really love Jesus and are passionate about reaching the next generation.
An added joy at the rodeo was meeting a couple I had taught at Prairie in the 70s, hearing their story of God’s leading and blessing in their lives, and meeting their children and grandchildren.
Yesterday we travelled to Edmonton (Leduc) to Irene’s brother, Ken. We’ll be here until tomorrow and then travel south-east to visit the family of my first wife, Esther. From there it’s to Prairie for the weekend where we will do some visiting of friends and hopefully have some think-time. After that it’s just one more week before we head for home.
Please pray for me as I preach at Prairie on Sunday. And please pray for our safety as we travel. We were almost wiped out in a head-on collision 50 kms south of Grande Prairie last Thursday. We came over a rise to find ourselves head-on to a van passing an 18 wheeler truck on a solid line. By God’s great mercy we made it through the middle with inches to spare on either side.
Our love to you all,
Leigh and Irene