Update

Well, since I last posted, its been a bit busy. My grandmother's memorial went well, all things considered. I had a wave of emotion as I opened in prayer, but was able to make it.
I used 'The Dash" as a springboard into Luke 18:13 and '7 Little Words' that we need to understand for life -both now and for eternity. It was weird preaching in a church that I went to as a young teen. I got good feedback and sensed the leading and help of God.

We had a good time together as extended family re-connecting. Some of us had not really seen each other for 15 - 20 years! There are plans afoot for a family re-union...we'll see what happens.

It was also especially great to be together with all my siblings and parents in one place at the same time. It's the first time that that has happened since 2003 or so. Hopefully it wont be that long again! I'll try and post a pic later. FYI, I have 3 older brothers; Paul, Rob, and Dan; an older sister, Heather; and a younger brother, Tom. We range in age from 36 to 45.


We left Nakusp, BC on Saturday morning around 9 am. We took the first of our ferries for the day around 10:30. Here's a pic of the cable ferry across Arrow Lake (Columbia River). It takes about 7 minutes and its FREE! It is in a very beautiful part of BC - deep blue water and steep mountains rising out of the water.

We stopped in Kelowna for gas and a quick bite to eat with Shanda's brother, Steve. His wife, Susan, had a doctor's appointment so we missed her. Susan is the #1 rated morning show on SunFM in Kelowna! Our nephew, Silas, was down sleeping so we unfortunately did not get to see him and his momma, Allison (Tom's family).

Onward we pushed, going up Hwy. 97C towards Merritt. From 1/2 to the Summit until near Hope BC it was a blinding snowstorm with almost whiteout conditions at time...white knuckle driving. We were thankful for the 4 wheel drive as we needed it a few times!

Once we got to the Lower Mainland, it was heavy rain. We didn't stop until the ferry at Horseshoe Bay as we wanted to get back for Sunday service. We got there about 730 and were on the 9 PM.

This ferry wasn't free, although it is 33% off through the end of March! I enjoyed sweet potato soup with sweet potato fries -- mmmm! The best part was that on the new ferry they have satellite TV and I got to watch the hockey game! Awesome way to make the trip past faster. As usual we left late and arrived in Nanaimo late. After getting gas, we hit the road and got home about 1215 AM. We're thankful to Jesus for a safe journey and good connections and re-connections as family.