Beauty at the Berry Barn

Last week we visited a beautiful place called the Berry Barn. It is a restaurant, but most visitors spend time walking around outside first, before going in to eat. The flowers are beautiful, and the place is located beside the river. So lovely!


This last photo may not seem beautiful to you. These flowers were at the Berry Barn, but they aren't part of the gardens. They are weeds, really, called clover. But they are beautiful to me, because they remind me of my childhoood. These little white clover flowers grew all around the house where I grew up.

Happy 100th Birthday, Lanigan!

I've been to many places in the last three months. I stood on the banks of the Mekong river in Vientiene, Laos and prayed for God to raise up workers in that communist land. I flew over the beautiful harbor in Singapore, one of the most densely populated cities on earth. I wept in a Buddhist temple in Northern India as I watched people prostrating themselves in front of idols. I ate delicious grilled shrimp and squid with our friends in bustling Bangkok. And now we are in Saskatchewan, surely one of the least densely populated places on earth! But we are enjoying the quiet pace of life here with the wide open spaces and big sky.

James grew up in a small town in Saskatchewan called Lanigan. It's one of my favorite places to visit on furlough, not because of all the exciting things to do there (the population is less than 2,000 -- truly a small, small town) but because of the dear people who live there. We have been adopted by a wonderful local church and we always feel totally at home when we visit. Yesterday we drove to Lanigan for its 100th birthday party! Below are some photos from the parade. I was astonished at the large number of entries, but I have selected just a few to give you the "flavor" of the parade.

The festivities started off with the local detachment of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police leading the parade.

There were lots of old cars, trucks and tractors -- this old Chevy farm truck was a classic.

The local quilters' club had a float.

All the local churches had entries -- this was from the United Church.

And this one was from our church. This tiny town has FIVE churches!

Of course, a parade should have horses.

I liked these miniature horses!

And a birthday cake!

I think this was my all-time favorite parade entry -- walking mailboxes from Canada Post, along with a large furry postman!

We watched the parade with our good friends Bal and Marilyn Nievares. We often say that we have traded places in life with them. They are Filipinos who have lived for almost 40 years in Saskatchewan, while we have lived for almost 30 years in the Philippines. When our kids were little, they loved to visit Lanigan so they could eat Filipino food at Uncle Bal and Auntie Marilyn's place. Spending time with them is always one of our best furlough highlights too. This fun day definitely qualified for the One Thousand Gifts list!

Oh, Canada!

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People who have blogs should update them regularly, don't you agree?!? The last two months have been very hectic, and my blogging has suffered. I will try to get back into the habit of updating you. Since I last blogged, I have been in six countries, visited countless friends, and packed and unpacked my suitcases numerous times.

Several of the friends I visited are doing ministry that requires careful security, so I have been hesitant to post pictures and articles that might be seen by the wrong people. So, if you want to hear about my travels, contact me directly and I will email or chat and tell you my stories.

I can summarize by saying this: I am greatly encouraged by many of our graduates who are doing very strategic work in bringing the Gospel to Asia. I often found myself bursting with pride (a good kind of pride!) as we talked with our friends who focus their efforts on specific unreached people groups with very few opportunities to hear about Jesus.

We had a few very good weeks at IGSL as the new school year started. It was hard to say goodbye to the new students, before we even got a chance to know them!

And now, we are in Canada! We are in Saskatchewan, where James comes from. Every place has its traditional post card, right? In India it's the Taj Mahal, in Laos it's a famous temple, in Nepal it's Mount Everest. Well, in Saskatchewan, it's a grain elevator. This photo is a very typical one. Saskatchewan is famous for wheat farms, and after the wheat is harvested, it is stored in grain elevators. Every town in Saskatchewan has an elevator similar to this one! I love seeing this scene as we drive around the province.