Trip to Orlanda

I had an interesting week as I travelled to Orlando Florida for the FETC conference.  It is a conference promoting the use of technology in the schools.

On my way to Saskatoon I had to pull over on the highway as there was a semi on the side of the road totally in flames.  There was one other vehicle stopped and others just drove by the burning vehicle.  Eventually the gas tank blew just 5 seconds after a car had passed by.  I couldn't believe people were flirting with disaster by passing on by.

The traffic was backed-up for a lengthy period of time and 3 firetrucks and a police car showed up.  I was stuck there for an extra 30 mins.








I had planned to get there a little early and go to a movie but this slowed me down enough I missed it.  I decided to stop at McDonalds for a vanilla shake and when I did there was a guy begging for change near the door.  I told him I don't handout money but to come on in and I would buy him whatever he wanted.  We had a great conversation, he told me all about his life and how he came to live in Saskatoon without a home.  I warned him that a cold front was moving in and that he should find some shelter.  He said he had been to the shelters and they were all full.  He was spending his time hiding in apartment buildings to stay warm.

As I listened to his story I was evaluating what I believed was true and what was not.  After I finished supper and was getting ready to leave he began to collect anything I had left behind, the fries that fell on the table, anything that fell on the table or tray I didn't eat.  I asked him what he was doing and he said he was saving the rest for tomorrow morning.  I went to the counter and picked up a gift card for him.  I again warned him about the cold coming and told him that he could use this card for food or just to come in and get out of the cold as some -40C temperatures were on their way.

I have no idea what, if any, impact this had on this person's life.  I hope he made it through the cold.  The interesting thing is that God has put us in places for a reason.  Sometimes they may not be the places you want to be but throughout all things I want to be someone who is a light in this world.  Buying some food for someone who has none is a ridiculously small thing.  I have money.  Even if the guy was scamming me worst case scenario he got away with some food and I had some company for supper.  Fair trade.

As a follower of Jesus I should live a life thinking of others.  In order to do that you have to meet people which was what I did the rest of the trip.

The night I lost my shirt because I left it at the bar.

In Florida I sat with a group of people that were in the same business as me.  We had a great time at a vendor event where there was an open bar and supper.  It was very interesting to hear what they were doing in Florida.  After the event they wanted to go out to a club called Howl at the Moon so off we went.  It was a lot of fun.  There was a great band playing and they were filming a promo video.  I haven't checked to see if I made it into the video, that would be very funny as I am not really a bar going person usually.  We had a great time there and I soon learned that the crew I was with loved to drink and party.  This is where I lost my shirt.  the vendor had given me a t-shirt and when I went back to the hotel I forgot it at the bar.

I know not as interesting of a story as I made it sound in the title.

After the conference was over we had some time to go to the Tampa Bay Lightning, Winnipeg Jets game.  Tickets were cheap and it was interesting going to a game in a new city.  One of the interesting elements was that when we walked in the front door I was given a hug by a cheerleader and had my picture taken with a couple of them.

The funny thing was again this was a tiny little gesture on her part.  She is paid to be there and greet people as they come in but this tiny little gesture put a smile on my face for the rest of the day, on a day when I was very tired and feeling stressed out.







We don't know the kind of impact we have on people but it is important that I learn to let God's love flow through me wherever I am.

My prayer is that God would keep building a better me.

Our mission trip to Romania from my 9 year old's diary

Day 1 

We just arrived.  We are sleeping in an apartment.  We arrrived at 3:00 AM.  We all slept till supper then we went to a church, my dad did a little speech(with a translator).  We all made some new friends.
Lesson:  Even if you can't speak the language you can still make friends.


Day 2
Today we went Christmas carolling with the people we met at the church.  Then we went back to the church to warmup.  We had lunch but I didn't have any.  Then Vanessa, Cole and our translator practiced some music together.  They played at the church in Roseti.
Lesson:  Even if you can't speak the language you can still learn.


Day 3
Today we went to 2 church services.  The first one was like our services at church back home.  The pastor talked about how Jesus came at the perfect time, at the perfect place and died on the right day.  The second service was at the Hope Center where meals were served for the poor kids.  The leader there talked about the true Christmas story.  They we handed out cookies and Samaritan Purse boxes.
Lesson: Small things can make a difference.


Day 4
Today we learned the tradition that the Romanians do for Christmas.  They kill a pig in their own backyards and have it for Christmas dinner.After the first feast we split up, went to people's houses to pray for them.  Then we met up and went carolling again.
Lesson: Even if you are not the same you can still bless each other.


Day 5
Today, Christmas day, we had our own service at our apartment.  We talked about what happened in the last year that stood out.  Then we went to the Hope Center for supper.
Lesson: Giving is the best gift.


Day 6
Today, after lunch, we went to the Hope Center and played games with the gypsy children.  Vanessa taught the grade 4 kids the recorders that she brought.  Then after supper we went to some other houses to pray.  It was a nice short day.


Day 7
Today we went to a church, had supper, went for a walk before the church service.  We saw Bulgaria.  I am enjoying learning some of the Romanian language.  I am practicing all the time.
Lesson:  Learning is one of the keys to life.

Day 8
Our last full day here.  In the morning we went shopping to make food hampers for some poor families.  After we made up the bags and boxes we set off to deliver the food.  We prayed for the people when we delivered the boxes.  One of the houses didn't have any food or firewood so we returned with some firewood as well.  Then we went to a youth church service.
Lesson: Anything is possible with Jesus.

Good vs Evil

I have heard a number of people talk about how there is a spiritual realm to this world that we do not see.  In it there is a fight between good and evil.  The Bible talks about how there are forces up against us that we don't see.  Some people carry this thought too far and blame everything on external forces around them when sometimes troubles are just part of life.  My mistake is more that I ignore the fight going on around me and as a result I fail to adequately prepare myself to face these things.

The Bible warns us to be prepared to face these trials.

Ephesians 6:10-12 declares, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”  Notice that it is God's power that keeps us strong not our own.

I had the coolest Christmas ever this year.  We got to hand out Christmas boxes to children that have very little.  We got to hand out food hampers to families that had little or no food.  I can not think of a better way to spend the holidays than what we did in Romania this year.  I had my family with me and it was an amazing thing to share with them.

An interesting part of our trip though was on Christmas eve.  We had been having a great time helping and serving so far but for some reason that night I was left with this feeling of dread that I could not shake.  I didn't really talk to anyone about it and I'm not sure if I ever will, if you are reading this then obviously I made this post public.  For hours after everyone else was in bed I was filled with feelings of anger, sadness, despair, and a loneliness that I don't think I have ever experienced before.  At 3 AM I almost decided to go for a jog but being in a foreign country with dogs outside that seem to rule the night I couldn't even go do that.  I was stuck there and all I could do was pray.

I ended up getting about an hour of sleep that night.  The next day was Christmas and I was worried about how this day would go.  When I got out of bed Vanessa had put on a Christmas tree picture on the laptop and had a couple of gifts there for everyone.  Charity seemed to want to sit with me a lot and unknowingly was a tremendous amount of comfort.  Whenever we walked anywhere she would come grab my hand and we would walk together.

We continued to serve and help while we were there in Romania and had an amazing time playing with the kids at the Hope Center on boxing day, delivering more food, praying with people in their homes.  It was a great trip and I believe we were some form of encouragement to the people there.

I am still dealing with the effects of Christmas eve.  I am still trying to process what was going on there and my confidence (arrogance) is a little shaken.  

I end this entry with a warning.  Our church is sending some youth on another missions trip soon.  We need to cover them in prayer.  We need to make sure they are prepared for the trip before they go.  One of the girls from our church going can quote more Bible verses than anyone I know.  When Jesus was tempted he responded with quoting the scriptures and she will be able to do this.  We just need to be a support to them as they go.  We need to teach our children to draw near to God as that is the only protection they will have.

I doubt this entry will ever be made public as I am still trying to make sense of it all but if you do read it be encouraged to draw near to God.  It is his power that will keep you strong in times of trouble.  The things of this world will fail.

Christmas in Romania by Vanessa

Christmas in Romania

For over a year, our family prayed, planned, and packed. Then we prayed some more, changed our plans, and re-packed. We knew we’d be spending a week somewhere (later we found out it was Romania) helping people and sharing God’s love. But we really didn’t know what to expect.

Just like that, it’s all over. What a great experience it was! So many awesome and new things happened. I feel like if we had stayed there longer we could have gotten closer to more of the people there.

My definition of a “mission’s trip” has certainly changed. I left home with the idea that I was going to do big things to really impact the people there. At first when we got there, I didn’t feel like I was doing big things. But it turns out that sometimes it’s the small things that make the biggest difference in people’s lives. What did we do, you might ask. Our week in Romania consisted mostly of travelling from village to village, praying for people, delivering food hampers, attending church services, and playing with the kids. I even got to take out my clarinet a few times!

I also learned that people in Romania are no different than the people at home in Canada. People everywhere struggle with health problems, grief, family separation, debt, abortion, depression—and the list goes on. People everywhere need the hope of Jesus—God’s Love. That means, as Christians, we need to be on a mission’s trip all the time, wherever we are. Right now for me, that could be Kindersley, Brandon, or Romania.

I think I left a piece of my heart in Romania. The amounts of blessings we have poured out on the people don’t amount to the expanse of blessings we have received from them. The Outstretched Hands of Romania team is a wonderful group of people. I’m looking forward to going back at some point in the future.

It’s hard to find words to describe this whole experience. I feel a lot like the lady who was so happy to receive a food hamper from us. She said she didn’t have the words to tell us how happy she was, yet she wouldn’t stop talking!

Coming all this way to see God work gives me a bigger picture of who He is. His love is bigger than I could ever imagine.

One day at a prayer meeting in Romania, Janelle brought this verse up. It has become a new favourite of mine:

Joshua 3:5 – Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.”

A Small Act of Kindness

We left for Romania two weeks ago with hearts full of love and hope, praying that we would find somewhere that we could make a difference.  A place that we could help others and share some of the blessings that our lives have been filled with to this point.

It was a great two weeks for my family and we wouldn't trade this experience for anything.  We are now back in Canada and while we were in Romania we were able to put some smiles on some people's faces.  The interesting thing though is that while we were attempting to bless people there they were blessing us at the same time.  I don't think it would be possible for us to have an impact on their lives as much as they impacted ours.  Three of my kids kept journals of our adventures and I asked them to share some highlights they had on my blog so that will be coming in the future.

Throughout our time their I was overwhelmed by a sense of inadequacy.  I wanted to make life better for everyone.  I wanted to help all the children.  I wanted to feed all the hungry, heal all the sick, mend the broken families.  I wanted to make this world a better place.  The truth is all I could do was this one small act of kindness.

We were able to make some people smile.  We made a number of new friends.  We played with children who couldn't speak with us because we didn't understand their language, they did know how to throw snowballs though.  We gave presents to some, food to others.  One lady was so happy we brought her a food hamper she said she was speechless, then continued to talk so long and fast that our translator gave us with a shrug of his shoulders and said, "she is happy."

At the same time it was heartbreaking  to see the brokenness of many of the families, the lack of hope many had with no work to be found, the struggles with addictions, the unusually high numbers of abortions.

It was also very humbling when you see the gratefulness of the people there.  One place where we dropped off a food hamper the mother was 35 years old.  She had 8 children and lived in a two room house.  The one  room was taken up by a sick grandmother so the rest of them had to live in the other bedroom/kitchen/dining room/laundry room.  She explained how grateful she was because she has been able to feed her entire family once a day all winter long.  I had a hard time getting over that comment.

All I can give is a small act of kindness.  It sounds small but when passed on to others and more people join in then the one small act of kindness becomes a great thing.  That is how one small act of kindness changes the world.  It doesn't start or end with me.  I am just passing on the blessings that I have had because of my great parents, my family, my friends and because I have spent most of my life following the teachings of Jesus.

Best/Worst day ever

It was a lot of fun today, it was the toughest day yet.

We started of the day headed to meet some fellow Canadians today to work with them.  Along the way we took some pictures of a steel factory that once was booming here.  In its day it was rumoured to employ 40,000 people.  Now it is nothing but rubble. There are many factories that look similar, only smaller.  My pictures don't even capture the size of this factory.

 I was also told that when this plant was running all of Calarasi was covered in thick black smoke.

 Parts of this track look like they are almost ready to fall onto the highway.  I didn't get any good pictures of that as we were driving down the highway as I Cole and I are taking turns with the camera out different sides of the van.

Everything that could be taken and sold as scrap metal is gone.

Next we were off to do some shopping we were spending 1000$ at a grocery store to make some food hampers for needy families. 

During our trip we found these bacon flavoured chips that actually look like bacon.  They didn't taste very good though.

These are what the hampers looked like when we were done.  Then off to deliver them.  Along the way we ran into many of these things on top of poles.  The are stork nests.  The storks are south for the winter but there nests are left behind.

Then the deliveries happened, not the storks but our food hampers.  :)  Okay stupid joke but I am really tired so it seems funny to me.

This is where the day became the best and worst day at the same time.  It was great to deliver these and everyone was very excited to see us.  One lady was so excited she said she couldn't find any words but continued to talk so fast and non stop that no one could get any words in between.  Some of them had run out of food and didn't know what they were going to do.  Some had run out of wood to burn and were cold. Many had no men around.  It is common for older guys (20) to marry 14 year olds, have a couple kids then run away.  There is a lot of alcoholism, depression that comes from having no hope and no job.  Unemployment is huge.  One family had 8 children living in one room about 12ft by 8ft.  Another place had kids everywhere but no adults.  One of these places needed social services to step in as it was obvious that these kids were being neglected. 

I just hope that our tiny gesture will be enough to lift some of these peoples spirits.  It was a great pleasure to do this today but you leave wishing you could do more.

Oltenita bound

Today we spent the morning with Marcel and Ionela Ene.  They have a neat family and live in Calarasi.  He is one of the interpreters so he either makes me sound good in Romanian or he could be making fun of me but either way if it brings joy to the people it is okay.  :)  He is very musical and was one of the guys that was in our carolling group.  He also does a lot of our driving.  The driving here is much different in our country.  We like lots of space but in this country everyone is on the road, dogs, walkers, scooters, pedal bikes and vehicles.  The streets are narrow and in winter there are no shoulders so people walk in the street and we drive by them at street speed a foot of two away.  The vehicles use a combination of horn beeps and signal lights to communicate with each other and the whole thing runs very well.  They also fed us "CRAP" for lunch

Actually the food was awesome and the company was very welcoming.  They have the ability to invite total strangers into their homes and make us feel like family.
The crap is some kind of fish spread.



Later we drove to Oltenita a village near the border of Bulgaria.  We could see Bulgaria in the distance just across the Danube.  They call it a village but we were told it is closer to 30,000 people.  The group we met with here were working with many youth.  They had 130 youth but only 50 of the Samaritan purse boxes so they had to do some sharing.  The people here are extremely grateful and for most of those kids these would have been the only Christmas gifts they would receive.

This is a picture of some of the homes.  I would have more but I forgot my camera today.








The unemployment rate here is massive.  People consider themselves lucky to have jobs, something I have always taken for granted.