Oh Canada!

Coming back to Canada

Feeling the kindness
the friendliness
the warm welcome
in their eyes

Coming back to Canada
seeing the most dramatic skies
seeing the rolling fields
seeing all the beauty
unfolding before our eyes

Coming back to Canada
reconnecting with friends so dear
special times spent reminiscing
all the years and space between us
just disappears

Coming back to Canada
wrapping myself in
each embrace
fills my spirit
with their love and grace

Coming back to Canada
reminds me of
everything I hold dear
people
peace,
freedom to be,
celebration of diversity,
kindness and hospitality
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Our first stop was a quick trip up to see my mom in Dapp, AB

Mom and I (Mom's doing pretty well for 92!)

My mom (Margaret) looking pretty dubious about all that hair on JaredAh, now she's okay with this hairy grandson!My brother Ken's family. This was our first time to meet our new nephew-in-law, Philip, Mandy's husband (the really tall one!)Benno playing with the kids! Megan is giving Benno a ride on the quad.

~~~~~

Next stop was to visit with friends from way back in Barrhead, AB. This was a special time of getting reacquainted and caught up on people’s lives--people who are like family-- our friends from long ago in Barrhead, but when we get together the years just disappear...well, other than in how much the kids grow! Thanks so much for the wonderful time we could spend with you. God continue to bless you!

Friends

Isn’t it amazing
Isn’t it ironic
that we can be years away
miles apart
and still hold each other
in our hearts

Isn’t it awesome
Isn’t it wondrous
that there’s a bond
that ties us tighter
than time
and space

There’s this magical place
within our hearts
that holds us together
even when we are far
apart

The space inside us
knows no time constraints
no place restrictions
no limitations
to the strong connections
of the heart

We stayed with Gary and Judy on their farm, and Judy and I went quadding to check out the crops. Here’s Judy by one of their Canola crops.Gary and Benno “Talkin’ Farming”

~~~~~

Stop #3: Benno’s ‘Fath Family Reunion’ with his immediate family, to celebrate Rose and Gavin’s 25th. Anniversary--various pics
Rose, Deb, Linda, Benno, Dale, Ruth, and Mom in the center of it all!
The kitchen elves/real men DO do dishes! Jared and Glen
Benno and Jillian with their twins, Mac and Mac
It was so wonderful having Jillian with us for 10 weeks in Lesotho. We brought her back to Canada, but we surely will miss her!
Just good times to be together--our niece, Melissa and Linda
Melissa is doing much better than two years ago, after having surgery which relieved a lot of pressure on her brain, greatly reducing her seizures and other side-effects of the brain tumor. We just keep praying for God's grace on her and her mom, dad and brother.

Getting to meet my our first grandnephew on Benno's side was a bonus! He is SO cute and just such a sweet kiddo. (Steve, Jen and Jesse)

Celebrating my 50th. BD one year later!

~~~~~

Next we headed down to the Coast to visit folks there. The visits were wonderful, and the weather was gorgeous—HOT temperatures of 36-38C

We visited with my brother, sister-in-law, niece and nephew in Maple Ridge... Meg and Yuka

My brother, James and Megumi
I sure enjoyed getting to play with Meg and TowaTowa with kid-sized Basotho hat from Lesotho

Meg and Me swappin' sunglasses (her's were way cool!)

A Tribute to my Lovely Niece, Megumi
Thanks for reminding me that PLAY is a highly worth endeavor

Realizations come
unexpectedly
when we are placed in situations
unbidden
yet not unwelcomed
surprising
yet fortuitous

Joy comes
unexpectedly
when we are placed in situations
unbidden
that unravel us from
the everyday routine
from the mundane

When a little girl says,
‘Play with me’
unexpectedly
I discover joy
when placed in a situation
unbidden
yet not unwelcome
surprising myself
with the rediscovery
of joy
in play


When it was time to leave, Megumi just wanted me to stay and play and I chuckled and told her that soon enough she’d be all grown up and would not have any desire to spend time with an ‘old lady’. She insisted that she would, so I wrote up an agreement that we both signed. I kept half and she has the other half. It’s an agreement that even when she’s older she’ll still want to play with me.
I’ll hold her to it!

Seeing Mamoruti was a pleasure and a relief! My Basotho gal who got a scholarship to UBC IS surviving and thriving there!
We also got to spend time with my friendly giant son, Byron. He was down in Chilliwack doing some of his military training.


My sister, Maureen, Randy, Joe and Cody made us so welcome and we really enjoyed some relaxing times at their place and traveling to some recreational spots around and about Kamloops.

Me just chillin' in a lovely lake in the BC interior.

Staying with my sister, Laurie and bro-in-law, Bob always is just a pleasure—so relaxing at their cabin high on the banks of the Frazer River in BC. This was a great time to seeing our nieces and nephew and growing grandnieces and nephew too!

Hot tubin’ it in the summer? Why not! Just add some cold water and enjoy!

Great day at the DUNE at Farwell Canyon in BC…with Bob and Brooke
‘Grandnephews’ come in…hmmm…different forms it seems! Brooke’s baby, Kaos is much gentler than his name would suggest!


Benno and his aunt, Grace -- visit in Surrey
We managed to visit quite a few of Benno’s extended family and catch up on family news.
Dear friends, Tom and Monica, whom we’ve known since shortly after we were married—back to our Whitecourt days and the days of our small black angus cattle herd.


Our wonderful friends and partners in the journey from CrossRoads Church in Red Deer.

LEAVING THOSE I LOVE

How do I say thank you
and I love you
to those who mean so much more
than they will ever know

Leaving behind me here
So many who are so dear
Taking you with me in my heart
Wards off the fear

of leaving you
of knowing that I am far away

How do I leave
but how do I stay
when there is more need to go
and there is a voice calling
that I must obey.

Flying away
Flying to

Away we go
off to destinations
and destiny
we’ve been called to

Far from those
we love
Near to others
we love too

Feeling
torn in two
yet whole in knowing
that this going
is the right thing to do

God’s given us this time to go
So we will not stay…
Flying away
but closer to0


~Wendy~

Reflections from Canada 2

A question we were often asked when we were home in Canada was, "How did we now view Canada and things Canadian, having been away.?" This question prompted a lot of thoughts and reflection. The question was first posed in Barrhead, AB, and our next stop was Whitecourt.

Whitecourt was where we lived 30 years ago, when we were first married. Visiting there brought up thoughts and reflections on meaning and purpose. What were my dreams and aspirations back then? What became of those dreams and aspirations? Are they still important to me today? Or have they long ago been abandoned, or forgotten, or accomplished and then forgotten. Thoughts that began a process of reflection about the meaning and purpose of my few years, my brief flicker “under the sun”¹. Experiences and sights, as we traveled along, continued to prompt reflection about meaning and purpose.

For example, I came upon a marker commemorating Father Leon (Leo) Fouquet, an Oblate priest, who in 1861 founded a mission and a school for native children, a school that continued for 100 years. The ‘mission’ lent its name to a city, Mission City, just east of Vancouver on the Frazer River. But how many people remember Father Fouquet? He is buried in a vandalized cemetery where the cross above his grave marker has been broken away. What were his dreams and aspirations? What would he have thought of a city being named after him? Would he mind?

Or Silver Valley Stables? Once the home of Canadian champion horses, but now overgrown, decaying, championship ribbons hanging, forgotten, in an abandoned and cobwebbed tack room. What were the aspirations and dreams of those who lived and worked there? What transpired that the ribbons, which must have meant so much then, now hang abandoned and discarded?

Silver Valley Stables

Canadian Grand and Reserve Champion ribbons.

I walk past homes where people once lived and loved, yards that were carefully tended, someone’s ‘new’, maybe even dream, home a scant 50-60 years ago. Today they lie overgrown, neglected, on the edge of a new, ‘modern’ development - waiting to be demolished to make way for someone else’s dream.

Awaiting demolition, making way ...

... so someone else can live their dream ...

... in what someone referred to as a "McHouse".

And so, being in Canada invited me to consider my dreams, my desires, my treasures. What really counts? Few, if any, people remember Father Fouquet. But really, how many of us remember, or really care, who won the Stanley Cup, or Grey Cup, or Super Bowl even three years ago? Or which film received Best Picture at the Oscars? Or who won what Grammy Award? Or how many people came and went in our own neighborhood? When he died, there was an outpouring of information and tribute for Michael Jackson, but who of us really thought or cared about him in the weeks and months before he died. Did his fame and fortune truly enrich his life. What really counts? Solomon again comes to mind, he who described all human endeavors and achievements as merely “chasing after the wind”.²

To be remembered, ... that a life would mean something, to someone,

but seemingly not, ... now just a vandalized headstone.

A young woman we visited in Canada shared her heart’s desire for her life - to love others and live generously in this world. Simple, yet what a difference it could make in our world if more of us were to consider her desire, or more challengingly for me, if “I” were to more deeply consider such a desire.

At the moment I am feeling both a sense of dread and a sense of excitement. I have a number of books that I had started reading and they keep reminding me of the young woman’s desire. I am being challenged, especially about being more generous, not only with my worldly treasure - my money, but also in my attitudes and judgments of others. How come I can be so miserly when it comes to being gracious or understanding or forgiving or appreciative with another? So I live with a bit of apprehension and dread, waiting to understand what more God is asking of me. I argue, “Haven’t I given up enough?” “What more do you want of my earthly treasure and in my relationships with those about me?” “God, are you never satisfied?”** Yet there is also a sense of excitement; excitement which arises from my confidence in God that if I have the courage to love more and live more generously, I will know more of the joy and blessing and purpose and meaning that the last two years have given.

So, back to the original question, "What is my view of Canada?" Canada is a wonderful place, a place of beauty and opportunity. A land blessed and a people blessed, my home and the best place in the world according to Maclean’s magazine. Being away and then coming home has reminded me of all this. The challenge is to guard myself from being beguiled by all that Canada offers, and from forgetting that Canada is part of a bigger world; a bigger world where others are often so less blessed; a bigger world within which God is inviting me to find purpose through living more generously and more lovingly. I am apprehensive about letting go of yet more, more security, more predictability, more of Canada. But if this life is just chasing the wind anyways, what have I to loose if I find the courage to accept God's invitation.

~ Benno ~

¹ A little phrase borrowed from Solomon and first appearing in Ecclesiates 1:3.

² Another of Solomon’s phrases, first used in Ecclesiates 1:14.

** Shane Claiborne writes in the Irresistible Revolution, "It's not hell that makes me shudder but God, because I have no idea what in the world God's going to dare me to do next. ... I have no idea what's going to happen next. ... That's the Jesus I love. And that's the Jesus who scares me to death."

Reflections from Canada 1

We are back in Lesotho. I began this entry shortly after arriving back in Canada, but only now, after returning to Lesotho, am I finding time to work on it more.

An often asked question when we were home was how did we view Canada and things Canadian now, having been away. It is an interesting question. How do I see Canada and things Canadian now? If I see things differently, is it because of being in a different culture for two years, or because of various personal experiences over the last two years, or just that I am now two years older. One thing is certain though, I enjoyed my time back in Canada - both my experience of Canada and my reflections prompted by being back. So how do I view Canada today. I will answer in two parts. To start, a bit of a travelogue of our visit home to Canada.

Hey, Canada has big game, too, eh!!

We landed in Calgary during a week of rain, the first real rain of the spring/summer we were told, and Alberta was beautiful. I marveled at the open spaces, the urban forests, the cleanliness, the helpfulness of people. Even the many inconveniences of dealing with road construction and repairs only served to remind me of the incredible efficiency and commitment to maintaining things that we have in Canada. I come from a beautiful and efficiently run country that I had taken too much for granted.

Our travels have took us from Calgary to Red Deer, Barrhead, Whitecourt, through Jasper, Vernon B.C., then to Vancouver. On the way back we stopped in Kamloops and Williams Lake. My brother so kindly provided us his late model, like new, truck to drive and we put on over 7500 kms. Along those kilometers Wendy and I have passed fields of canola, driven mountain highways, hiked short trails, visited with family, tossed snow at each other, wandered about the grounds of UBC, swam in clear mountain streams to escape the heat, and enjoyed quiet moments with friends and family. We live in a truly beautiful and bounteous land and Canadians are thoughtful and helpful people.

Fields of Yellow

Okay, not exactly Canada ... Mt. Baker, Washington environs.

Each time I had banking or other business things to attend to, I marveled at the helpfulness of people. The first week back I had some business stuff to attend to. I gave myself a number of hours to complete the tasks, but wow, in an hour and a half I was done, and each person offered a smile and “Is there anything else I we can do for you?”

And the drivers. They must have sensed our tentativeness when we waited to cross the streets. It was not uncommon that a driver would stop their vehicle some distance back from the sidewalk, just to assure us that it was safe to cross, it seemed. Then, when I was driving everyone else obeyed the rules of the road, (other than speed). It was almost boring not having to regularly adapt to some other driver’s improvised road rules. A few times I also had to remind myself that this was not the place for me to practice some of the improvisations that I have come to think as normal. Oops … .

The 'Friendly Giant' and his mom.

My old alma mater. Mamoruti did not share my enthusiasm for the

Mathematics Bldg where I spent many hours.

Our friends and family were most gracious and genuinely interested in our work and lives in Lesotho. Visiting my former colleagues with the Alberta government was just one such highlight. Many of them regularly follow this blog and they were up to date with what I am doning and asked very specific questions. I was honored and encouraged by their informed and generous support for, as one of them put it, my “new GIRL POWER endeavor.” She even provided a website which highlights what many NGOs have learned; that investing in girls has a greater impact on the economic and social development of a struggling society than almost any other intervention.

Where we spent a few quiet and peaceful nights.

Chilcotin sand dunes. The dot, centre top, is me.

Relaxing.

Yes, being home reminded us both how incredibly blessed we are. We were surrounded by caring friends and family, kind customer service most everywhere, and by the beauty of our country. Wendy’s remarked often of the ephemeral, beauty of the ever changing skyscapes in Alberta. Thank-you family, friends, and strangers for a wonderful experience back in Canada.

Aww, family.

Alberta skies.

So how did I find Canada? Beautiful, clean, welcoming, and as a June 2009 Maclean's headline opines, "The best place on earth". I will add a second, more reflective, answer to 'How did I find Canada?' in my next entry.

~ Benno ~

P.S. It is a beautiful time of year back here in Lesotho. The air is crisp and warming, the peach trees are blossoming, and leaves are beginning to show. Yes, there is still the grit and the grim and the garbage, but this is home, and right where I belong at this time in my life. It is good to be back. ~ B

Greetings

Greetings folks. The last month has been a blurr. First I spent some time in South Africa with my niece, and one of our Masotho friends. It was a good trip with lots of adventure to go along with the lots of driving. Then the last weeks have been a flurry of wrapping up loose ends before our trip back to Canada. We fly out of Johannesburg tomorrow evening, July 04.

On our trip to South Africa I was reminded that when driving in a game park, watching where I am going takes precedence over watching for animals. I dropped a wheel into a washout, right beside the lion warning sign.
We were not going anywhere though, and with the memory of a friend and his calm when a tough job needed to be done, we turned my bad driving into one more adventure.

18 inches over and I would have been fine.

Fortunately the lions were elsewhere, we saw a couple up close later in the day.

But before the lion encounter we had an elephant encounter of a close kind. We spent about 20 minutes just sitting with the engine off, going nowhere, with elephants on the road ahead, behind, and coming in from both sides. Again not much we could do but sit patiently and savor the moment.

It was so tempting to just reach out and touch one.

But now it is the final packing and tasks before heading for home. On this point I was recently reminded that maybe I have not done a good job of explaining our plans. Someone asked what about our plans for when be move back to Canada.

Well, the plan is to only visit Canada at this point. We will be home for six weeks and then will be returning to Lesotho. Wendy will be teaching for another two years at Machebang College, and I will be volunteering with a fledgling organization called the ‘Mustard Seed’. It is a small group with a passion and burden for girl orphans and the challenges and needs they face. We have no money, no office, no programs, just a passion and a belief that God is asking us to do something. So, we are planning activities and programming and trusting that God will provide in his way and time.

The Mustard Seed team.

In addition to working with this small organization, I will also be pursuing funds and support for another venture here. We have established a trust here in Lesotho. The aim is to provide concrete supports for needy individuals, again principally girl orphans. Supports will include long term, safe and secure housing. At this point the trust, Hope and a Candle Lesotho, is in the process of purchasing a house that will provide a home for a family of orphans. So the challenges for the trust will be to develop local trustees who will be able to administer it when we eventually return to Canada as the commitments will be long term.

But for the moment we are looking forward to getting home and visiting friends and family. Then, when we return, I will need to roll up my sleeves as there will be lots of work to be done.

One result of not serving with a YWAM affiliated organization, is that any funds that folks will wish to donate can no longer be challenged through the YWAM office in Vancouver. When home, I will be chatting with some friends about the possibility of establishing ties with a charitable organization. The hope is to provide an alternate organization for those who have been supporting our efforts in Lesotho to continue to contribute to needs and lives here in Lesotho.

Hoping to see many of you over the next six weeks.


~ Benno ~