Better than Grandma

Twenty minutes after learning of Sarah's death, we drove to a church to set up for a show Saturday night. I was pretty numb, but by the grace of God I made it through and our show went well. I cried the whole way home. Over the last few days, the joy of the Lord really has been my strength. I've really been okay, though sometimes I'm hit with the sobering reality and need a couple minutes to recuperate.
After a marathon of nine shows in five days, we left Ottawa for Peterborough. There, on Wednesday, we did one of our more memorable shows to a gym full of kids from K-8. I love kids; I love playing with them and making them laugh. Man, did we make those kids laugh. They laughed so hard at the kazoo sketch, more than any other audience we've had. And think of how kids laugh; high-picthed and without really worrying about whether or not others are laughing. Adults would probably laugh just as much if they let themselves. The whole performance went very well, much better than any of us had hoped, since our sketches are not directly targeted to children.
To all my friends back home still going to school, with lectures and exams and papers, I felt a tinge of nostalgia and a hint of sympathy later that day when we attended a lecture at Trent University. Yes, we went to hear Joe Boot at Trent. He's an apologist for the Christian faith, and he discussed whether or not Jesus is God. It was really good; he spoke very well and impressed me with his answers. I bought the book.
Man, Ontario is wet. I suppose that to an Albertan, most places are wet, but we saw farmers' fields flooded! Rhonda noted that if Alberta farmers saw that, they'd drool. At the house of Wycliffe reps in Peterborough, there's a "creek" in their backyard that floods in the springtime. Looked more like a lake with trees.
On Thursday we headed to Wycliffe's Toronto office to have lunch with the staff, and later we set up our booth at Missionfest. That evening, we played Rook. It seems that every time we discover a new game, we find a new way to get mad at each other. Some people you might meet could possibly describe me as a little bit competitive. Maybe. So it's possible that I'm the only one who's really mad. But don't worry, we don't carry any of our emotions outside of the game. Jonathan won both rounds. The jerk.
And Friday was our tourist day. Having no performaces at Missionfest, we went to the famous Eaton Centre on Yonge Street. I have to say, though it was a beautiful building, the stores didn't do much for me. It was pretty much like every other mall we've been to. And the only word I can use to describe Yonge Street is "overwhelming." There were so many people and so much to look at. It was so crowded it felt like walking through the halls of my high school between classes. We went through what I guess was the red light district, or at least part of it. There were a lot of sex stores and peep shows, strip clubs, night clubs, bars...the type of thing you're not really exposed to when on a trip like this one. We just walked. We didn't go into any stores, even in the more reputable parts of the street, because there was just too much to see. Then we crossed a street, and all of the sudden the buildings were not dingy, there were no more huge video ads, there was actually a little bit of open space, and the streets were far less narrow and crowded. I felt so relieved. That's something I don't think I ever need to experience again; walking along one of the worst parts of Yonge Street.
On Saturday, we spent the afternoon at Missionfest, where Jonathan's friends decided to show up and surprise him. He, Reneyah and I spent the afternoon with them and had a great time. We went on a dramatic simulation (I guess I can call it that) called the Refugee Highway. Basically, we pretended we were refugees on our way to Canada, and the actors along the way guided us through as soldiers, smugglers, and customs officials. It was really interesting, because it's not something you think about very often. We went through minefields, got shot at, went to a prison camp, were smuggled across the border, stayed in a refugee camp, got false documentation, and got to Canada to find a homeless shelter in which to sleep. Not so great. My leg was blown off. I had to hop around for a while, till we got to the end and had cookies.
This morning, we went to a church next door to where Reneyah and I were staying. We literally walked through the backyard gate and were at church. And we managed to be late. Who knew we had such talent?
We were getting ready for our show this evening when Jonathan's brother and sister showed up at the church. They hadn't seen him for three and a half months, so needless to say they were pretty excited. None of his family knew he'd taken up crocheting, or that he'd finished an afghan. His brother's first comment upon seeing it was "It's better than Grandma's." So Jeremy decided that would be Jonathan's new nickname; "better than Grandma."
Well, that has been my week! We have a couple days off, so Jonathan, Rhonda and I are all visiting family while Jeremy and Reneyah hang out in Oakville. We'll see how that turns out. Hopefully they're both alive when we get back. Not that they don't like each other, they just...have an interesting rapport, one that I find to be an endless source of amusment.

Please pray for us. God has been changing all of us, and through that I want so much for our ministry to be effective. We've both failed and succeeded, but please pray that we will learn to rely on God in all things; our show, our relationships with each other and with the people we meet, travelling, bookings, everything. And that we'll be a support to each other when we need it.
I find that lately I've become more and more self-centred, because we are the event, something new, the centre of attention. People ask me questions about me, give me food, don't ask me to help with dishes, ask me what they can do for me, drive me places, etc. Few people love attention more than me, but I know that it's bad for me, too, because it makes me consider myself better than others. Some of the team has noticed this, too, so pray that God would teach us humility and to be servants.
That's all for now, kids. Keep Edmonton together while I'm gone.