"No Snow" November...Old Friends and Time to Rest

 In our part of the world, we are lucky to make it to Halloween without snow. I remember many times as a kid wearing a big winter coat under or over my Halloween costume as I went out for treats in the cold and snow. This year has been very unusual...in a few more days, we'll have lived through a November with no snow at all. The snow we got in October has gone away. The temperatures have slowly dipped and winter may be on its way, but this month has been unusual. 

Things in November started off with a real treat for me and my wife Lynne. We were able to head down to Rocky Mountain House, Alberta and stay with our dear friends Mike and Marie. I worked with Marie for many years at Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church in Rocky. Mike also served in leadership at the church and they remain special people to us and our family. On the Sunday of that weekend, I headed to the church to help with worship music for the service that day. That was something I used to do as part of my work there...it was wonderful to sing songs and hymns with the congregation again. Pastor Brian Amison preached a wonderful sermon with an "All Saints" theme. After worship, we headed to the church basement for a tasty "potluck" dinner followed by a chance for me to do a presentation about my new job at LAMP. It was good to see old friends and to feel their support and interest in this new work. It was also great to reconnect with Pastor Bill Kronen, a former pastor-pilot who served with LAMP in northern Alberta, and with Jerry and Debbie Reglin, who had served as missionaries in residence for LAMP in the past. Here's some photos from our time there...








November also gave us the opportunity to get away for a short holiday together. With all the busyness of the summer and the job transition for me, this was a great time to unplug and recharge and check in with my favourite person. We love road trips and we had a trip to Seaside, Oregon on the Oregon Coast. We were thankful for warm weather and good roads as our car puttered through the mountains and across the central plains of Washington. We had camped on the Oregon Coast for our honeymoon and this trip brought back lots of good memories. We loved walking by the ocean and exploring the communities in that area. A highlight was a visit to the Tillamook Cheese Factory in Tillamook as well as a concert in Portland. So good to have a break by the ocean!!




As you can see, we also ran into some strong winds on our trip!


We headed back to work after some fun time away and I'm working on plans to do some community visits in December in Saskatchewan...I might finally find some snow!! I am also hoping to meet with some LAMP team leaders and members (past and present) to continue learning about the communities I will be serving in over the next few years. As we head into Advent once again, we are excited to wait and prepare our hearts for our coming King!







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