Life lessons

On this trip, we've driven an estimated 20,000-25,000 kilometres, flown 8595 kilometres, been in nine provinces, performed about 90 times in front of 8000 people, Jonathan ate 190 Nutri-Grain bars, we drank hundreds of cups of coffee (mainly Tim Horton's), stayed at ~150 houses (between the five of us), saw the Parliament, Niagara Falls, Montreal's bascilica, the Green Gables house, Cavendish Beach, Hopewell Rocks and the Bay of Fundy, the Red River, Frank Slide, the world's biggest truck, Eaton Centre, Yonge Street, the Much Music Studio, copious amounts of farmland, and the Rocky Mountains. We've eaten Atlantic fish in a fishing town in New Brunswick, poutine and tortillere in Montreal, Beaver Tails and maple taffy in Ottawa, Mennonite cooking in Steinbach, and fresh cherries in the Okanagan. We've been in schools and Bible colleges, Christian Reformed, Pentecostal, Mennonite, Alliance, Mennonite Alliance, Missionary Alliance, Evangelical Friends, Evangelical Free, Baptist, Gospel, Church of God and non-denominational churches. Many things happened that didn't make it to this blog, but I hope you appreciate that which did. And through all this, here is some of what I've learned:

• I will not live forever. Sarah's death was totally unexpected and really made me think. Not just that, but staying with elderly couples who have lived most of their life, are in their fiftieth year of marriage, and have volumes of stories and pictures of grandchildren has been a glimpse into my future. I won't stay young forever, either. I refuse to waste my twenties thinking that I'm old, because if I do I'll regret it when I'm fifty.
• There are no trees in Southern Alberta.
• How to roll up the rim "Atlantic style."
• Really fresh fish tastes really good.
• I will work in missions for at least part of my life, if not all of it.
• Fear has no place in me. I've held on to certain fears for a long, long time, even fifteen years. God has released me from them all and given me amazing joy! He used Reneyah to help me realize that his perfect love drives out all fear.
• To quote an Ontario Wycliffe rep; "Don't go for a guy. Hold out for a man."
• Canada is stunningly beautiful.
• I can learn so much from those older than me. Never having developed strong relationships with anyone outside my generation (excluding my parents), I never realized how true this is. I can't say I've developed strong relationships with my billets, but my eyes have been open to the untapped wisdom of those in my parents' and grandparents' generation.
• How to make small talk. And how to turn that into something more meaningful, beyond "where are you from?" "where do you go next?" etc.
• How to knit. Between Rhonda, Jonathan and I, this trip has produced four pairs of mittens, five dolls, a finger puppet, a teddy bear, two hats, two afghans, a belt, a bag and two pairs of slippers.

So here I go back to Edmonton, six months older and wiser. After some deliberation, I've decided to continue blogging; check out my new blog here.
And that's all, kids.
Ciao.

...the end.

On Saturday, we did some shopping and packed and stuff. We played this fun game called Whoonu, from the Cranium people. You basically have to guess what a person's favorite things are. It wasn't too hard for us, since we've been around each other for a while now. The next day, after church, we went over to the house of one of the church members for our cast party. They served us a five-course meal. It was VERY good and VERY filling. Later, Barrett debriefed Reneyah and Jonathan, after which we had one last game of Wizard. The next morning, we dropped Jonathan off at the Calgary airport for his 10:00 flight, and Reneyah at her house. None of us cried; at least, not when we said goodbye. Our drive to Calgary was quiet, and had an air of finality to it. I just kept thinking, "This is it. This is the end. I'm saying goodbye today." The rest of us were debriefed that day. It was good to talk to Barrett about the tour; it kinda gave me perspective and closure. He hasn't made it to my blog very often, because he wasn't on the road with us, but I really enjoyed working with him during rehearsal.
Later, we went and played Frisbee golf, which was less Frisbee golf than it was Human Pincushion. There were SO MANY mosquitoes. They're out in droves because of all the wet weather in Southern Alberta. I didn't win golf, but I might have won the mosquito bite competition.
The next morning, Jeremy and Rhonda took me to the bus station in Claresholm, where we said goodbye. When the bus stopped in Edmonton, I remembered six months ago going the opposite direction, nervous and apprehensive, getting ready for whatever God was planning on doing in me.
It's pretty crazy, having travelled for six months across Canada with four former strangers. I was thinking about how well we know each other, and I think that can be measured by our stories. We know each other's stories; the funny ones, the sad ones, the ones we consistently repeat, our life stories. I was thinking, too, that I know how each of them tells a story. Jeremy; fairly matter-of-fact and concise. Rhonda; with copious detail and precision. Reneyah; constantly searching for dates and names, with bursts of emotion as she remembers each detail. Jonathan; eyebrows raised, eyes wide, using his hands for emphasis. Myself; well, apparently I can get pretty excited.
Then there's those times when you just know what someone else is thinking, and you look at each other and burst out laughing, and everyone kinda looks at you. Even better is when you know how someone's going to react before they do. One prime example; we were driving past an old, ivy-covered building that I knew Reneyah would just love, and as soon as she saw it, would exclaim how beautiful it was. So I pointed at it and said "Reneyah, freak out over that building." I was not disappointed.
Now, our paths have diverged again as we go on with our "normal" lives. I'd say mine is probably the closest to normal; I'm going back to school, whereas the other four are all continuing in missions work. I can't wait to hear their stories, to see how God uses them. Maybe we'll have a ten-year reunion. Regardless, I have a feeling I'll see all of them again someday.
One more entry coming, stay tuned...

Invasion of the campers

On Friday, we were supposed to have a show in Penticton, but it got cancelled at the last minute, and we were in Kelowna trying to find something to do for five hours. We decided to go bowling. I got one of my best bowling scores ever (111!) in 5-pin. Did you know that in the States they don't have 5-pin bowling? We ended up going to Vernon to stay with friends of Rhonda and Jeremy's. Jonathan, Reneyah and I were at one house, and after dinner we were discussing what we wanted to do. Of course, the idea of going on a hike came up. As soon as it came out of Reneyah's mouth, the lady we were staying up leaped out of her chair and nearly shouted "Hike? Yeah, let's go on a hike!" She was sooo excited about the prospect of a hike. We headed out with storm clouds coming our way, but we didn't really care. We climbed up the side of a mountain (which the locals call a hill) for about 45 minutes until it started coming down. We got soaked. My shoes still smell. It kept raining as we went home and into the hot tub. Despite a cancelled show, it ended up being a pretty good day.
If you ever go to Vernon, you ABSOLUTELY MUST go to Davison's orchards and buy yourself a pie. And by "yourself" I mean just you. You might not want to share. It is the most unbelievable pie I have had in my entire life. Trust me. You won't regret it.
On Sunday, in Vancouver, we did three shows at two venues in one day. The first one was at a Korean church. At one point, I left the room we were in and walked out to the foyer into a sea of Korean people. I have never before been the only white person in a crowd, and it was kind of an odd feeling. I stuck out like a sore thumb.
That night, Reneyah and I stayed with a Korean family who spoke very limited English. We had a great time watching tapes of a Korean drum ensemble, of which the wife had been a part. She then came out with boxes and got us to try on traditional Korean costumes and play her drum. It was interesting, because we could barely speak to each other, but they were really a blessing to us, and I hope we were to them.
At our next billet's house, Reneyah had a life-size cardboard cutout of Indiana Jones in her room. I decided to steal him, but it was kinda creepy having Harrison Ford standing at the end of my bed. So we left him in the living room.
For the two of us, that was the last time we stayed with billets. Our final night, the church put us up in a hotel. After our last show, the team dropped Reneyah and I off at our hotel room, and we decided to celebrate by going out to eat. Our first night on the road, we stayed in a hotel; our last night on the road, we stayed in a hotel. The next morning, Canada Day, we headed out of Vancouver at 8:30 for 16 hours on the road. We stopped in Cranbrook for dinner at a hilarious restaurant called Perry's. You could tell Perry had been doing it for a long time. And that he really liked boxing. He had a punching bag right by the entrance. We continued on Highway 3 and caught about half of Sparwood's fireworks show. Not bad for a town of 10,000. Later, we had an extensive conversation about the nature and measure of coolness. Rhonda came to the conclusion that touring with Spread the Word is cool.
When we finally arrived in Barons at 1:30, the school was besieged by campers and RVs. We had no idea what was going on. One guy was out with his dog, and was probably really confused as to why we were carrying large suitcases into the school. This morning, it looks like they're having some kind of softball tournament. Why in Barons of all places, I couldn't tell you.
And that is it. No more shows. We're being debriefed, having a cast party, and then being sent our separate ways; Jonathan and Reneyah on the 4th, myself on the 5th. Exactly six months ago, I had just met Jeremy and was on my way to the airport in a strange van to meet Rhonda and (I thought) Jonathan. We have done so much together. More on that later.
See you guys in three days.

Reneyah

I feel that, out of any of my team members, my blog has portrayed Reneyah the least accurately. Not that she doesn't say or do all these hilarious things I've told you about, but they are the surface aspect of her personality.
Reneyah is a very passionate person; passionate about God, about teaching, about missions, about horses, about building, and anything else that she chooses to focus her life on. She's an incredibly deep person; even after living with her for four months, I was still finding out new things about her. She's the type of person who, when she has a goal, will not stop until she's acheived it or discovered that it's not as important as she originally thought. When anything goes wrong, she's eternally optimistic and finds the remotest positive aspect to dwell on. She treats everything as a learning experience.
At most of the places we stay, I am billeted with Reneyah. She's gregarious and outgoing, so if I'm ever tired or don't feel like talking, I just close my mouth and let her talk to our billets. If we're walking in a crowd or at a church or something, somehow Reneyah makes a friend; either in line, in the foyer, or just walking down the street. It amazes me, how she can just...talk to people. Like she's known them for ten years. She's so incredibly genuine in everything; one thing she always insists on is honesty. She can also read people very well, which I suppose is the reason why she can talk to everyone so easily.
As for her dominance in the quotebook; Reneyah sometimes says the very first thing that pops into her head, making for very good quotes. She's fun-loving and is easily excited, making every moment with her quite interesting. She's the kind of person I'd love to go on a vacation with, because she wants to do EVERYTHING. If something fun is happening, she'll jump at the chance. If Reneyah and I were ever in a survival situation, like a bear attack or something, I'm convniced that she would be 10 kilometres away before the bear finished eating me. Not that she wouldn't try to help me, she's just very jumpy; if you sneak up behind her and scare her, she'll jump away five feet.
Like Jonathan, she loves being outside and going hiking, though her idea of camping is probably a little closer to mine than to his. I love finding trails with the two of them; we've had quite a few opportunities to do so. And, since they're both basically fearless and will go anywhere, I try not to miss out.
God has blessed me so much by bringing Reneyah into my life. We've had so many great late-night talks about everything, and over the last six months have become very close. I never cease to marvel at the joy that God has given her in the face of the trials and tragedies that have occured in her life. She has shown me so many things about myself and challenged me to change what needed to be changed. I could write a book on her, but I always tell her she should do that.
She has become my mentor and one of my best friends.
I love you, Reneyah.

Jonathan

Able to sand any wood silky-smooth in a matter of seconds...able to solve any wood-related problem...swims like a fish, crochets like a grandmother, eats like a health nut, remains positive in all situations...he is AMAZING MAN!
There's a reason Jonathan got that knickname. If you see him staring at something, he's either zoned out of the conversation or trying to figure out how that something works. One of my first impressions at how handy he really is (aside from building all our boxes) was in Winnepeg in February. He fixed his billets' stove. And not like just plugged it in; he pulled it out, looked behind and found out that some of the wires had fused together or something. Then he repaired it. And it worked. And I had been proud of myself that day for cleaning my room.
Jonathan is the type of person who leaves everything and everyone better than when he first came on the scene. He's extremely positive, and sees very few things as an obstacle, be they mountains, rivers, lakes, broken flour containers or broken stoves. He's not outdoorsy; he's a bushwhacker. His idea of camping is a sleeping bag, matches, and a machete. By contrast, my idea of camping is an RV. I have to say, his love of hiking has actually rubbed off on me. Maybe it's because of the way he hikes; he's not one for sticking to trails or taking the easy routes. However, by his definition, we haven't been on a real hike on this entire trip. He could hike eight hours a day and be deliriously happy.
I can't describe Jonathan without telling you about his passion for God. Whenever you ask him about the future, he never fails to talk about God's will. He's a very dedicated, hardworking guy, and it doesn't fail to transfer into his spiritual life. It's not uncommon to find him reading his Bible in the mornings, and he'll often tell us about what God has been teaching him of late. In his bio on our program, he wrote that "nothing thrills him more than stepping out in faith and trusting God," and he lives it.
Jonathan's a pretty quiet guy. He seems to prefer situations with smaller groups of people. Once you get to know him, he starts to pull out these joking little comments that you'll miss if you blink at the wrong time. He'll just kinda smirk to himself until you turn around and ask; "Are you making fun of me?" Then he grins mischeiviously.
In Ontario, we had the opportunity to stay at a camp. We had the whole place to ourselves and bought groceries for the days we were there. Jonathan couldn't sleep one morning, so he decided to get up and bake bread. From scratch. By memory. No big deal for him; apparently he makes seven loaves a week for his family. No wonder they miss him so much. Last I heard, they had two hair dryers and a rocking chair for him to fix. I'm pretty sure there's nothing that he can't fix, given enough time. Most of his billets have wanted to keep him, marry him to their granddaughters, or both. Most of you back home thought I'd come back engaged to him, but sorry guys, that's not gonna happen. I'm crazy enough NOT to like him.
Though if he's ever in town I might get him to fix my hair dryer.
I love you, Jonathan.

A $14 can of water.

In Trail, Jonathan, Reneyah and I were all staying at the same house. In the morning, we decided to go for a walk by the Columbia river, which, at the mouth, is one of the widest rivers in the world. We ended up going down the banks and onto some rocks in the middle of the river. We were actually standing in the middle of the Columbia river! A couple days later we all hiked around another river right near the US border. We went through old abandoned railways, climbed up rocks past the rapids, and sunk our toes in some of the softest natural sand I've ever felt. I actually drank some of the water, too...it tasted pretty good and I didn't get sick.
I've discovered that some of southern BC and the Okanagan is desert. That's weird, because as a kid we used to always visit my grandparents in Kelowna, and I had this picture of the Okanagan as a paradise, an oasis from the normally cold Alberta weather. It's all irrigated, and that's the only reason there's so much fruit grown here. We seem to have brought the rain with us from Alberta, though; everywhere we go it rains.
First was Osoyoos, where Reneyah and I hung out with cherrypickers in the park. Cherries aren't in season yet, plus it was raining, so they seem to hang out there a lot. Before we found out what they were really there for, we called them "hippies," because they look like hippies. They're very transient people; some were from Ontario, some from Quebec, just looking to experience western Canada or make some money. They were sitting in a bandshell, jamming on a guitar and an accordion. It was an interesting aspect of BC that you'd usually miss as a tourist.
Today we're in Vernon. It's the first day of summer, we had the day off, and it was 32 degrees out. So, of course, we went to the beach! Jeremy and Rhonda were visiting friends, so the rest of us lazed around in the sun all day, swam, and ate ice cream. We are all now a toasty shade of red. Ah, I love BC. The fruit, the sun, the water, the mountains...so great.
And yes, we have had shows the past week. Nothing too different about the show, except the one volunteer who "threw up" on the airplane during the kazoo sketch. I was the stewardess, and supplied the towel to clean things up.
I could not believe what I saw today. I was in London drugs and I saw a display for a new product; a spray can of Evian water. Oh, but it's "mineral" water, and is apparently very soothing.
Please, for the love of all that is sane, DO NOT buy Evian spray water. It's water. Go jump in a lake, or take a bath, or make your own. Distill your own, if you need to, and spray it on yourself, but whatever you do, don't waste fourteen dollars on three conveniently sized bottles of conveniently bottled mineral spring water to soothe your poor skin. And don't be deceived by the elegant French name! It's water!
Yeesh.

Jeremy

Our fearless leader. Jeremy was the first one of the team that I met, and he struck me as...well, a strange guy holding a sign with my name on it. Then I went into a strange van with him, recognizing only his name and that he knew mine, and praying that this wasn't a scam or a cult. Looking back, I laugh, because I was so nervous to meet everyone and they were such odd circumstances under which to meet someone.
As soon as I found out that he wasn't going to brainwash me or steal my money, Jeremy turned out to be a awesome guy. He's really funny; both goofy and witty, with his fair share of lame jokes. Along with his humour is a stunning memory and intelligence. Jeremy reads a lot, he reads fast, and he absorbs everything. He knows random facts about pretty much the entire universe, particularly music, history and theology. He lent me a book called Salt:A World History. That's the type of book you'd typically find him reading. For fun. It turned out to be really interesting.
Of the 12000+ kilometres we've travelled, Jeremy has probably driven about 90% of them. You'd think it would get tiring, but whenever someone mentions it he just kinda shrugs and says "Meh." And he's consistently a good driver, too, even after five hours of incredibly stimulating prairie roads. The secret, I think, lies in stimulating himself otherwise, particulary by teasing Reneyah. On any rare occasion that they sit beside each other in the van, there is not a moment of silence the entire trip. But even from the driver's seat, Jeremy has an uncanny ability to push Reneyah's buttons. I have to admit, however, that he can get me just as bad, though maybe not as often.
In most of my major roles in the show, I was cast opposite Jeremy. He's a very talented actor and it has been great to work with him. And not just on stage; he's been a good tour manager as well. In countless situations where a more volatile leader would have worried, panicked, or flipped out, he's been totally cool and relaxed. I think back to the time that Ajeeb had bad gas; our first day on the road, and we were stuck in Revelstoke. My first reaction was to panic, but Jeremy calmly dealt with it appropriately and the next day we were on our way. He tempers everything, even the inevitable frustrations of leadership, by trying to see outside his own perception. Over these six months, this has definitely helped him develop as a leader.
Of anyone I know, Jeremy reads the most, plays the most Playstation, has the most powerful voice, and is one of the least materialistic. He's good with kids, and they love him because he's really just a big goof. He always says that his and Rhonda's kids will be awesome. He's a man of strong convictions, is a very interesting dancer, and has given me some of the most profound advice of my life; "Get married."
I think you're right. Your kids will be awesome.
I love you, Jeremy.

BC: for your viewing convenience

At my junior high school, every year the seventh graders take an overnight trip to Frank Slide. For those of you who don't know, Frank was an Albertan town that was completely buried by a landslide in 1903. Unfortunately, to my great disappointment, I was not able to go on the trip with my classmates. So on Saturday, eight years late and without adult supervision, I finally got to see it. It is a stunning sight; a sea of rocks on either side of the highway. Even a hundred years later, the rubble remains, sitting under a smooth mountain face where it used to be securely attached.
This was on our way from Pincher Creek to Cranbrook. We also stopped in Sparwood to see the world's largest truck. Let me tell you, it is a large truck. It was a mining truck designed to carry350 tons of coal (or whatever), holds something like 3600 litres of gas, and, when the load is being dumped, is 56 feet tall. I could stand inside the tire. We climbed up the treads and had our picture taken on top of one of them. It's a large truck.
When we made it to Cranbrook, we rolled into the church parking lot where a treacherous puddle resulted in a flat tire. Poor Ajeeb. We put him through a lot. I don't think they've used the spare before; it was rusting and caked with dirt. We managed to get him fixed today at no major expense.
And I am pleased to announce that yet another team member is learning to knit! Jonathan has already started a project, and Reneyah continually said that it wouldn't happen; she would not learn to knit. Then she made the mistake of walking down the yarn aisle with Rhonda and I, where a ball of yarn leaped out and grabbed her heart. "Maura," she asked me, "how long would it take for me to make mittens?" Four down, one to go. Pretty sure he'll never go, though. Jeremy's not exactly the knitting type.
Today, I was sitting in a park in Creston looking at the amazing scenery of British Columbia. Oddly enough, I found myself not looking at the mountains but at the sky. And I thought to myself; really, the mountains just make for easy viewing of the scenery because they're elevated. In Alberta, you have to work for it; you either have to go up high or travel far to see much of it. But in BC, you look around and there it is, all in one place for your viewing convenience; rocks, trees, rivers, sky, lakes, everything! So I really must be a prairie girl, because even with all that convenient scenery, first and foremost I notice the sky.

Loggy Cabin Mountain

We just came back to Barons from our second show in Rocky Mountain House. For the life of him, Jonathan could not get the name straight. Mountain Log Cabin...Rocky cabin house...loggy cabin mountain...When you get there, there's no mountain, nothing that should necessarily be described as rocky, and there are houses. There must be a logical explanation behind their name. A house that looks like a Rocky Mountain, maybe?
We performed at a Christian Reformed Church there last night. One thing we've found with the CRC is that all their churches look very similar. High, pointed ceilings, wooden pews with a centre aisle, and a big cross right in the middle of the front wall. This one was a little different, but churches in other denominations don't necessarily follow that pattern. Check it out next time you go to a CRC church.
We're back in Barons the next few days then head to BC at the end of the week, with some Alberta shows in between. The end of tour is coming soon, and I feel mixed emotions. I'm excited to be home, but I'm really gonna miss the team. Well, we have three weeks left! In BC! In June!

Rhonda

I've been telling you a lot about the things we do, and most of you who read this know me on some level. However, I haven't really told you much about the people I'm with. So, here they are, in no particular order, an entry for each of the four people I've lived, slept, played, driven, laughed, cried, prayed, danced, sung, driven, argued and eaten with the last five months. They all have their strengths and weaknesses, but these entries are meant to be an encouragement, so I will not post their faults on the Internet for all to see.

The first thing I can say about Rhonda is that she's thoughtful. She's the type who notices how people in the group are feeling, and pays attention to what they say. She always does thoughtful little things; like buying tzaziki (sp?) for me, standing in line twice so she could make some maple taffy at the sugar bush when I couldn't make it, going to "Tim Hortons" and surprising Reneyah by getting her a beloved caramel macchiato from Starbucks, letting me cry and cry the day I found out that Sarah had died, and many other little things. She taught Jonathan to crochet and me how to knit. She's knitting these little dolls of us in costume; they're so cute. When we were in Ontario with Jonathan's family, she decided to make his little brother an "ultra-mini-Jonathan;" basically a finger puppet. Just whipped it up while we were all sitting there talking! No problem!
Before most shows, Rhonda and I sit backstage for about half an hour. We often dance at some point in that half hour; not really for any particular reason. She recently came up with a move she calls the “washing machine;” I’ll let your imagination run wild on that one.
I’ve mentioned before that Rhonda is very patriotic. She really loves Canada as a whole, especially her hometown of Ottawa. Whenever someone visits Ottawa, her goal is to show them enough to let them fall in love with it. It definitely worked for me; Ottawa is a beautiful city. I think it was even better having a tour guide like Rhonda, because she’s passionate about it. She’s really affected my view of Ottawa and Eastern Canada. Albertans generally have a feeling of animosity towards the Canadian government, and we usually make Ottawa the direction in which we point our frustrations. “Ottawa” is the enemy. But it’s really not. It’s just the city housing our elected MPs. A gorgeous city, I might add.
The second week of rehearsal, I asked Rhonda how she and Jeremy had ended up together. She talked for about an hour and a half, telling the story in exquisite detail. I asked Jeremy the same question a few days later and he told his side in about two minutes. Time permitting, Rhonda leaves nothing out of important stories. And I do mean nothing.
Interactions in our team sometimes reach a certain heat level at which things start to get uncomfortable. These are the moments, particularly those involving Jeremy and Reneyah, when Rhonda steps in as the diplomat. Her attention to detail allows her to adequately explain the viewpoints of either side, usually resulting in dissolving the disagreement and everyone going on their merry way. Then she shakes her head and sighs at our silly miscommunications.
Then there was the time she wore a shirt on her head, there's her passion for theatre, particularly directing, her passion for children and definite anticipation of having her own, her desire to get closer to God, how she sings to her kazoo backstage, how collapsible she is, her mad sale-finding skills, her discovery of Ajeeb, our East Indian van, and a zillion other funny little things she does that make her Rhonda. Before she and Jeremy were even dating, she had said "It will take one special woman to be married to Jeremy."
Well, it did.
I love you, Rhonda.

Hit ring tone

Our week in Edmonton has opened the team's eyes to how great it is, myself included. I realized how much I love Edmonton, and how beautiful it is. They went to a cafe called "Vi's for pies," and Jeremy said that it caused Edmonton to go up eight notches in his opinion. Reneyah even admitted that there are some parts of Edmonton that are better than Calgary, and Rhonda says she wants to move there. I didn't even push it on them; it sold itself.
You know what we heard on the radio the other day? The top song on UK pop charts is a ring tone. It's called Frog something or other. A ring tone! They played it on the radio, and if anyone I knew had that ring tone I'd probably destroy their phone after the first few rings.
Yeesh.
These Brits are crazy.

Blaireigh O'Faerie

I forgot to tell you about the odd ferry we used to cross the Red Deer river. Just before we got into Drumheller, we went on a ferry that was about half the width of the actual river and took about three minutes to cross it. It was the Bleriot Ferry, but before we got there Rhonda had mentioned to Jeremy "Oh! We need to show them the Bleriot Ferry!" except to me, it sounded like "Oh! We need to show them Blaireigh O'Faerie!" I was wondering - who the heck is Blaireigh O'Faerie? I was picturing some kind of statue of an Irishman. Nope. Big wide flat slow metal boat. Named after a Frenchman.

odd

Today we went to Drumheller. It’s an odd place, but not odd in a bad way. I really liked it. I didn’t really understand what it was like until I saw it; the whole town is in a big valley, along with a few other little towns. Drumheller is home to the world’s largest T-Rex and Alberta’s largest (24-hour) IGA. They have an odd fascination with dinosaurs, which does make sense because of the fossils discovered in their area. The reason it’s odd is because they have statues of dinosaurs all over the place. And murals. And, of course, the Royal Tyrell Museum. We didn’t go there, but we did see the hoodoos. Hoodoos are odd rock formations that are wide on top and thin out near the bottom. They sort of look like mushrooms. They're very cool, and they're all over the place if you take a walk through the badlands. Well, you can't really walk through the badlands, you really have to hike. And jump, and slide if necessary. It's very odd terrain; soft, loose soil, shale, grey clay-like rock, loose grey clay-like rock, hoodoos, endless hills of layered rock, brush full of cacti and prickly plants, interspersed in an odd, seemingly random array of colours and shapes and vegetation. Jonathan, Reneyah and I hiked over the terrain for an hour and a half with a single goal; to get to the odd, 30-foot statue of Jesus on top of one of the hills. I mean, how random is that? Badlands, badlands, badlands, Jesus, badlands. Even more odd is that no one really knows how it got there. It’s at least 30 feet tall, if not 40 feet. It was made with some kind of wire mesh and plaster; someone had to lug all of those supplies up and over the terrain to get it all there and build it in the blistering sun and powerful wind. It can get pretty windy up there.
We also ate at an odd restaurant, where the lady serving us was upset with us for not having bills smaller than a twenty. I mean, she was pretty ticked. We apologized and she told us "Sorry's not good enough!" Maybe she was having a bad day.
Rhonda gave us a tour of the Canadian Badlands Passion Play site; she and Jeremy have worked there the past two summers. It’s quite the site; it’s set in a natural amphitheatre and designed to look like Isreal. It seats three thousand and has a cast of two hundred. I’m hoping to go see it in July; it seems like it would be a great show. I’d have to say that was the least odd part of Drumheller that we saw today.
But you know, I really liked it. It felt real, a little rough around the edges, and oddly endearing. Maybe that means I’m a little odd myself.
I’ve recently bought the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series and am enjoying it immensely. It’s hilarious. If you appreciate wacky humour, you would enjoy it too. In fact, you should go buy it right now. Why are you still sitting there? Go!

There's water in Edmonton, too.

On Wednesday we performed at a funny church in Edson with a funny pastor whose redneck jokes were not so funny. I wore my Birch Bay Ranch hoody and three people asked me if I knew someone they knew from the ranch. Small world!
Thursday we did another Cafe Wycliffe in Spruce Grove. It wasn't as big as the one in Calgary, but I met some great people, one of whom was a female youth pastor in an Anglican church. This trip has really opened my eyes to other denominations; I'm embarrassed to admit that previously, my attitude towards them was flippant at best. I now realize that my ignorance is no excuse to write off an entire section of church history, and that just because a congregation is not Pentecostal does not mean that it does not contribute to the kingdom of God.
Our next show was today at YC. It was so great to be there, cause I saw sooo many people I know! People from the ranch, people from nursing, people from high school, from junior high, from church, from other conferences, from Edson, from Calgary, from Claresholm, from everywhere! I guess it's cause it's home. I've discovered that I really like Edmonton. It's a pretty city; not too busy, but not really sleepy. Lots of festivals, artsy, fairly warm summers. I'm not as familiar with all the nooks and crannies of it as much as I would like to be. When I'm back for good, I think I'd like to learn more about my city. It's definitely not a bad thing to find out that you like your hometown.
It's been a great week in Edmonton. Tomorrow we head to Three Hills. And Reneyah takes quote of the week:
"I love Toronto! There's water there."
Yup. There's water in Edmonton, too.

Bill! Bill! Bill! Bill!

And....I'm back in Edmonton. We had the last week off in Barons, with one show in Medicine Hat. It was a relaxing week; made food, ate food, watched movies, walked around Barons, played Risk, went to Calgary, went to Lethbridge, made up a game called Whack the Pin...and other stuff. Sunday morning we went to a church in Claresholm, and Sunday night we performed at Southside. It was a good show, and I got to see my friends! It was so good to see everyone again. It's interesting to observe how people change and how much I've changed in relation to them. Some a lot; some barely at all. Definitely a difference; but I guess five months would do that to anyone. Monday I got to hang out with my family; it's so great to see people I know. We're in Edmonton all week, so if any of you Edmontonians want to see a show, check out our schedule.
Monday afternoon, we went to my brother's house, and as always, any opportunity to play Settlers of Catan was met with enthusiasm by the team. But this time it was SIX PLAYER! Great fun. I didn't win, but somehow it was easier with six players. Maybe because I was a hopeless case both games.
Today I had the SUPREME priviledge of dealing with school administration. It's been about five months since my last encounter at Grant MacEwan College; now, I have to face the U of A, which is a zillion times bigger. I've already spent five and a half hours trying to fit in the classes I want and I still only have nine courses! Errrg!
I forgot to mention a great moment in my life from last week. I have always loved the show Bill Nye the Science Guy, generating patronizing looks of pity or disgust from my family and friends. Somehow the show came up in conversation, and in fear of the team's disdain, I tentatively mentioned that I liked it. To my exuberant surprise, I found out that both Jeremy and Rhonda like it! And they didn't think I was ridiculously geeky for liking it. So there! To all of you who made fun of me! I'm NOT the only one!
So we hop over to Edson tomorrow, then back in Edmonton area until Sunday. It's been so great to hang out with everyone again. Hope to see you later in the week!

Cafe Wycliffe

After four months of performing the show, you start to notice little differences in each performance. We feel confident enough to laugh at them now, and they're usually small enough that the audience doesn't know the difference. We did, however, have one where a zillion things seemed to go wrong; we were forgetting lines, breaking the stage, adding lines, forgetting entrances, and I was trying to figure out why we were doing so badly when I realized that we hadn't prayed before. I'm convinced that that's why, though it wasn't bad enough to ruin the show or our message. At another show last week, Reneyah thought it would be funny to make me laugh while on stage. Oh, it was hilarious.
I have to say that one of the coolest things on this trip is meeting other missionaries. They tell so many amazing stories and shamelessly promote Wycliffe or mission work in general. We were talking to one man who was telling us about jungle camp in Cameroon, where you camp on the beach and live in a village and all this crazy stuff. He also told us about an area of work called ethnomusicology. These people go and help minority language groups to put scripture into song in their own muscial style. Apparently the music varies hugely over cultures, with things like 12 part harmonies and 7-note scales. Can you imagine? I thought that was the coolest job description; not that I'm a musician or ever will be. Who would have thought that you can do that for a living?
Though I know I'm not called to ethnomusicology, I have rediscovered my calling to missions through this trip. It's not really a question in my mind; I'm going to work on the mission field, either in Canada or elsewhere, with some kind of missions organization. Maybe not for my whole life, but at least for part of it. How awesome is that? I'm so excited about it!
Last Saturday we did a performance for Wycliffe campus ministries; they put on an evening called "Cafe Wycliffe" promoting different areas in which you can get involved. It was a really great evening with a lot of missionaries from all over Wycliffe, targeted at young adults and youth. Plus they had cake and chai tea! They're putting on the same thing in Spruce Grove this coming Thursday (the 26th), 7:00 at Spruce Grove Congregational Church, so if you'd like to see us perform, I reccommend that evening. The rest of our schedule for the week is at the Spread the Word site. We're coming to Edmonton on Sunday and I hope to see you guys there!
Ciao!

awesome.

Friday; a triple-awesome day! We drove out to Calgary and set everything up as usual. I was a little nervous because I knew that Barrett (our director) would be coming to see the show. The show went great, and the audience applauded one of my roles! (awesome #1) I was so excited because that's never happened before. We finished our show, and afterward the missions pastor called us up to the front to pray for us. She dismissed the audience and was thanking us for the show when all of a sudden I saw my sister Erin barreling down the aisle! I screamed and started hugging her, the kind of hug when we knock each other over. Then my long-lost brother Dave (who I hadn't seen in four months) comes and hugs us both! By then I was crying. I was soooo incredibly happy to see them. (awesome #2) Reneyah says she wished she had a video of our reunion. They had driven from Edmonton with Dave's girlfriend, Tessa, and Erin's friend Jeanne (Jeanie?) to see our show. They helped us clean up and gave me a Krispy Kreme donut and we went to Peter's Drive-In and took pictures and Erin gave me a freakin' awesome Jimmy Neutron compass and it was GREAT to see them. And after our show, Barrett said he was really happy with it. (awesome #3) So it was a great day!
This morning we left Calgary bright and early (10:00) and drove to Olds to set up for tomorrow morning's show; then in the afternoon we head to Ponoka. Woohoo!

Alberta!

On our way to Guelph on Friday, we had some time so we stopped in Toronto for a movie. Rhonda had a completely private screening of Miss Congeniality 2 (there was no one else in the theatre) and the rest of us saw Sahara. I really liked it; it was pretty good for a fairly mindless action movie. I mean, don't expect too much more than entertainment. I LOVED the character that Steve Zahn plays in it, but then, I always love the quirky sidekick. We decided that in the Spread the Word movie that will be made about our trip, Jeremy will be the hero, Rhonda will be the love interest, I will be the quirky sidekick, Jonathan will be the gadget guy who can do anything, and Reneyah will be the comic relief.
The next day, we drove through Toronto's Chinatown on our way to Knox Presbyterian church. I've never seen so many people on a street at one time! Maybe on Yonge Street, but somehow this seemed busier. There were street vendors all along the road; selling fruit, vegetables, clothes, pillows out of the back of a van, and a zillion other things with a zillion people milling around and speaking Mandarin. Or possibly Cantonese. At least 95% of the people were Asian.
We performed that night at Knox Presbyterian. This church was something else; it was over a hundred years old. The sanctuary had huge vaulted ceilings and stained-glass windows, with a pipe organ taking up half of the front wall. We didn't perform in the sanctuary, but we did go to church there the next morning. We sang hymns from a hymn book to a pipe organ. Crazy! I'd never done that before!
After church we drove up to Ottawa, stayed the night at Rhonda's parent's place, and flew out the next day. Back to the homeland, where there's no PST or HST, where the oil flows like water, where the trees are few and far between, where the highways are straight and long; that sunny province we call Alberta. There's something odd about seeing something that has always been familiar and yet seems out of place. After two months out east, I was used to seeing blue and black Ontario license plates. Now that I'm in Alberta, the red ones look so weird! But I've been used to them my whole life...it shouldn't look that strange. It's a very odd feeling.
Anyway, we're in Barons until our next show on Friday. It's great to see a familiar building with familiar people for a few days. It is such a blessing for people to allow us into their home, but after a while it's hard to answer the same questions people ask when they first meet you. (where are you from, what do you do, how long have you been on the road, etc.) Eventually I realized that everywhere we go we meet strangers, and we are strangers to them. And I can't wait to go to Edmonton, where the city and the people are familiar! We actually get to spend a whole week there, from the 22nd to the 28th.
As of May 2nd; four months down, two to go.

The universal constants of Canada

Before I begin, I should apologize for the eclectic of this entry. It's been a few weeks and all my stories are a little jumbled. So please bear with me.
Well, in Toronto I got to spend time with even more family, this time my mom's side. It was great; I met three cousins I'd never met. That was the week of April 10th; we continued on to do shows in London and St. Catherine's. On the 17th, last Sunday after a show in St. Catherine's, we decided to go see Niagara Falls.
It was about 10:30 when we went. There were about ten huge spotlights on either side that kept changing colour from green to purple to blue. It would have been interesting to see red...
The falls are amazing. As we walked along the railing toward the Canadian side, the mist got thicker and thicker until we were all dripping wet. When people used to tell me about the American and Canadian side, I always pictured one big waterfall with Americans on one side and Canadians on the other. But they're actually two separate falls. It was really cool at night, because no one was there and the river was dark except for the falls.
The next morning we went again to see it during the day. I'd like to say that Niagara Falls is a nice town, but it's sort of a cross between a miniature Vegas and a permanent fairgrounds. Not bad, I guess, if you like that kind of thing. We did go to the Hard Rock cafe, which was cool. We also went on a tour behind the falls, which I must say was not worth the $8. I might have paid $4.
I am not an overly patient person. I'm also not very crafty. Despite these setbacks, I have decided to take up knitting. I have a project that I'm working up to, and I decided that I should learn patience and perserverance, so here I am learning to knit. Rhonda is the mastermind behind all this, and has taught me everything I need to know so far. She taught Jonathan to crochet and me to knit; we're becoming the Spread the Word textile factory.
Unfortunately, while we saw the falls and I learned to knit, Jeremy began to get sick; in fact, sick enough that he couldn't perform one night. In our show, it is impossible to do a normal performance if one person is missing, and Jeremy plays key parts in our sketches. So we figured out a way to juggle roles well enough that people asked us what parts Jeremy usually did play. It was pretty nerve-racking, but it went well.
Now, I mentioned in my last entry something about myself getting sick as well. I was backstage with Rhonda as Jeremy was introducing us when all of a sudden I felt sick. And I needed to find a washroom...fast. There was no way I could get through the show, but it was starting and I didn't know what to do! I looked at Rhonda with desperation; she grabbed my hand and led me off the stage past a bewildered Jeremy straight to the washroom. The whole time I was begging God to make me feel better so we could perform, and he came through. I was okay. The show went well. I felt fine the rest of the night.
There are two universal constants in Canada; the CN railway and Tim Hortons. I was fortunate enough to have been on tour when Tim Hortons started the beloved Roll up the Rim contest; by fortunate, I mean I bought a lot of coffee. Possibly too much coffee. The contest is more addictive than the caffeine! I drink my coffee with a feeling of expectation that at the end, I'll be able to roll up the rim and maybe I'll win something...and then I realize I'm drinking Starbucks. And then I think, "Why didn't I go to Tim Hortons? I could have won an Envoy!" They're brilliant, those Tim Horton's people. I should go buy another cup just to prove it. And if all they have left is extra large Roll up the Rim cups, I will buy an extra large. I am that addicted. Sadly, the contest is coming to an end, and I'll soon have to give up rolling the rim. But there's always hope; next year, I just might win that car. If not, there's a 1 in 9 chance of winning some kind of food every time.
As for the CN railway, I don't have any stories about them. Reneyah does like taking pictures of trains, though, because she thinks trains are romantic. But they are everywhere. Reneyah also loves hot tubs. Now when I say love, I mean that if those two words cross your lips, she perks up in excitement and will start asking questions. She jumps at any chance to use one. We even went to a public pool one night and went from the sauna to the hot tub three times. The lifeguard thought we were crazy.
Well, that's sort of a sketchy view of how our last few weeks have been. We also got to meet Jonathan's family, who are pretty awesome. We have two more shows in Ontario; Guelph on Friday and Toronto on Saturday. After that, we fly to Alberta on May 2. Please have good weather for us! I've been missing home the last few days, so it will be good to be in familiar territory. And our show at Southside is not far off; May 22! Can't wait to see Edmonton! Thank you all for your prayers and keep praying for us. God bless!

Stay tuned...

One unfortunate side effect of staying in other people's homes is possible lack of internet access, which is the reason that I haven't posted in two weeks. There will be one coming soon. I have stories of Niagara falls, Jeremy getting sick, hot tubs, knitting, me getting sick, meeting Jonathan's family, the slow and painful death of the Roll up the Rim contest, and others. Stay tuned!

Quotes of the weeks/month

Yes, we have new quotes. The first one is from Reneyah (what a surprise). We met her mom in Calgary a few weeks ago; she's a little old German lady who comes up to my shoulder and speaks with an accent. So imagine how hard I laughed when Reneyah said:
"Me and my mom always wrap together."
Say it out loud then think about it. I still laugh at the picture I get.
And the other one is from me. Yes, I got a quote of the week:
"My sister has an electronic Tetris game."

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.

To Sarah

This blog has been filled with stories. Stories of this trip, of our team, of our show, of the crazy things we see and do. I have a different story to tell you today.

I went to elementary and junior high school with a girl named Sarah Lopaschuk. I always liked Sarah, but then, everybody did. She was in a few of my classes throughout grade school, but I really got to know her in junior high. We went to separate high schools, and I think I saw her three or four times from the end of junior high until now. After high school, she went to school in the land she loved; Australia. On Thursday, she and two of her friends there were killed in a car accident.

Sarah had beautiful naturally red hair. She had a few strands that were white, and she didn’t quite know why, but she always found them funny. She was one of those people with a perma-smile, but somehow it never felt fake. You could always approach her without fear of scorn, rejection, disdain, or anything but genuine interest. There was always a new story about her many pets. One day she came to school talking excitedly about her new sugar gliders. I don’t think any of us knew what a sugar glider was, but she and wasted no time telling us all about the three she had.

She brought a strange lunch to school one day. It was a tortilla smothered in peanut butter wrapped around a whole banana. Eunice and I thought it was hilarious, but she insisted that it tasted good. So Eunice tried it and started laughing uncontrollably. Though this was not an uncommon occurrence, she just couldn’t stop laughing, and she began insisting that I try it. I did, and promptly started laughing my head off. From then on, Sarah’s weird lunch was known as the "laughing burrito."

When I was in junior high, the internet was a novelty to most. Sarah and I discovered email and found it to be great fun to email each other with the most postscripts possible. Our emails would end with something like this:
P.S.
P.P.S.
P.P.P.S.
P.P.P.P.S.
P.P.P.P.P.S.
P.P.P.P.P.P.S.
P.P.P.P.P.P.P.S.
P.P.P.P.P.P.P.P.S.
etc.

Sarah was athletic, and always beat me in running. Always a high achiever, she pushed to get herself into the IB program at Ainlay High School and got her IB diploma. I remember so many goofy times; making peanut butter cookies and chocolate cake for our English teacher, making up songs, making fun of teachers, saying "ew" whenever someone mentioned the name of a certain boy we didn’t like, playing baseball at lunch, playing in the park, the huge German egghead man who would talk to himself in the park, dances, reading YM magazines at lunch hour, and those funny smiley faces with huge mouths and tiny dot eyes that we always used to draw. I was fortunate enough to get to see her when she came home in December, before I left for this trip. She was full of stories, smiles and laughs. When I heard the news, I thought of us who knew her in junior high; Joyce, Eunice, Mei, Sally, Andrew, Paul, Janita, and many others. My little blog can never do justice to who she was, but I know that we were better off on this world having known her. She made our days bright.

Hot Diggity Dog

I forgot to mention a story from our tour of Ottawa. For lunch, we went to a hot dog stand in the middle of downtown Ottawa. The sign on the top of the stand reads "Hot Diggity Dog," and working the grill is a man known as Mr. Hot Dog. He's a short, stout man who looks he's from England but talks like he's from the States. He wears white pants with a shirt and a sweater with a massive hole in the elbow. If you could cast a hot dog man for a movie, he would fit the part perfectly. And he's been doing it for 22 years. He's made enough money over the years to be able to buy a house for cash. And he does it year round; at least until his mustard freezes.

Beaver Tails, Reese's cups, and maple taffy

Ah, Ottawa. The capital city of Canada. Home of the Senators. Rhonda's hometown. It's beautiful. We are touring at a sort of awkward time, since the 8-kilometre Rideau canal is no longer skatable but still frozen, the tulip haven't bloomed, the trees are bare, and the streets are somewhat dirty. However, the Parliament buildings still stand, along with myriad other buildings of every size, shape, colour, and even nationality. On Tuesday we wandered around Parliament Hill taking pictures with the statues, and Rhonda pointed out some of the finer sites of downtown Ottawa. We did our obligatory run of tourist shops and then bought Beaver Tails; delectable fried pastry covered in sugar and cinnamon. Mmmmmmmmmmmm. Rhonda and Jeremy stayed with Rhonda's parents, and Jonathan, Reneyah and I were billeted with another family. There I introduced them to Settlers of Catan. I won our first game, but ended up losing miserably the rest of the week. They loved it, and one night stayed up till 2:00 playing.
On Wednesday we went to a sugar bush. I think that's the right term...a sugar bush. Anyway, a maple tree farm, for the rest of us ignorant Westerners. Did you know it takes 40 buckets of maple sap to make a single bucket of maple syrup? And that Ontario and Quebec produce 75% of the world's maple syrup? And most of the rest is from Vermont? One of my grade school memories is learning about maple syrup and how people in Ontario have sugar bush parties and pour hot maple syrup onto the snow so that it hardens and makes maple taffy. I always wanted to do it, and I didn't get the chance this week. But that story is to be continued...
On Thursday we went to the Hershey chocolate factory in Smith Falls. Once you enter the building, the delicious scent of warm chocolate greets your willing nostrils. It gets even stronger as you go past the store to do tour the actual factory. We went during lunch break, so most of the machines weren't on except for the Reese's peanut butter cup line. You've never seen so many Reese's cups in your life. There were giant vats of milk and dark chocolate, a peanut roasting converyer bet, and gold chocolate bar foil on a roll. It was very cool. Whatever you buy at their store, no matter what the price, you get a free chocolate bar with your purchase. In my case, Reese's peanut butter cups. Yugh.
We went to a Good Friday sermon unlike any I've ever attended. It was a traditional service called a Tenebaum (I'm not 100% on the spelling), which involved about ten different sections. In each section, Scripture was read, there was time for personal prayer, and we sang a hymn. The whole thing followed the story of Jesus' crucifixtion. It was really interesting, and it really made me think about the price God paid for my salvation. This type of service has been practiced for over 1500 years.
I got to spend the rest of the weekend with family from both my mom and my dad's side. It was so good to see them again; some I hadn't seen for ten years. I went to Good Friday and Easter Sunday mass with them as well, which was a first for me. On Saturday (between families), Rhonda's dad drove us around the city to give us a more detailed view of Ottawa, complete with stories and more pictures with statues. And Rhonda brought me genuine maple taffy, made on snow, from the sugar bush! Cause she knew I wanted some! Isn't she great?
Last night, we got to watch the extended version of The Return of the King, but we also watched the first Superman movie. If you watch the first 20 minutes or so, and you get the the part where Clark is hanging at the football field at his high school, look at the school in the background. That is the headquarters of Spread the Word Theatre. I lived and rehearsed there for three weeks. Yep; it was filmed in Barons, Alberta. It's so weird to see it in a movie! And 25 years newer!
Well, that was our week in a nutshell. We begin a hectic performance schedule on Wednesday (and 11 of my family members may attend on Saturday night). I leave you with the quote of the week, wise words from Rhonda's father Dennis Kuz:
"To err is human, to really forgive is to travel across Canada with the same five people for six months."

Avec du crappy driving

Well, thanks to our friends at Jetsgo, we drove 12 hours on Thursday from Sussex, New Brunswick, to Montreal. The original plan was to fly, but that's hard to do without plane tickets. Or an airline for that matter. I was happy to drive, cause then we don't have to worry about shipping our set, we're in control, we have a vehicle, etc. So we headed from Canada's bilingual province to Canada's French province. At one of the stops, Jeremy and I headed to a restaurant to go to the bathroom. Ten years of French Immersion paid off when I asked the hostess; "Ou sont les toilettes?" Mme Warnery would be proud. Rhonda's French is infinitely better than mine, but Jeremy's French is far more hilarious. Basically, he'll preface English words with "Avec du." "Avec du go!" "Avec du right of way!" "Avec du loud!"
Something that has always bothered me is people who say that Edmonton is home to Canada's worst drivers. I don't understand their basis for saying this, and usually it's because of some obscure fact they heard once upon a time. So I decided at the beginning of tour to see if there was a city with worse drivers than Edmonton.
In Montreal, they don't believe in lanes. They believe in horns. Driving on the freeway is like a work of art; the lane changes are so fast, so frequent, in such tight places and so completely unannounced that it's a miracle that there isn't an accident every five seconds. Neither do they believe in signaling. Old Montreal is a series of one-lane, one-way streets with random pedestrians and double-parked cars. There's an advance green at every second intersection, you can't turn right on a red light, and few people care about either of those rules. Keep in mind we were navigating this whole thing in a fifteen-seater van.
You have to see it to believe it. So I've come to the conclusion; no, Edmonton drivers aren't the worst. Montreal drivers are FAR worse. Even the pedestrians are bad; I've never seen so many jaywalkers on the median.
So although being in a fifteen-seater was a bit of a disadvantage, it had some perks. One of them being the raspberry and cherry turnovers we found under the seat. Someone had left them from the last time it had been rented, and they were fresh, so...we ate them!
Regardless of their disastrous traffic situation, Montreal is a beautiful city of brick buildings and iron staircases. There's so much history. We visited the Notre Dame Basilica. It is AMAZING. I've never seen anything like it. It's huge and ornate, made almost entirely out of wood, contains a 7000-pipe organ and a smaller 2000-pipe organ, a 20-ton bronze sculpture, stained glass windows depicting Quebec's history, and countless sculptures of Biblical characters. And for four dollars, you can light a four-day prayer candle to the saint of your choice. Or Jesus.
If I could used one word to describe the feeling of Montreal, it would be empty. There's a spiritual desperation, a lack of hope that pervades the people there. It may be my own preconception of the culture, but I could sense it. I could feel how much they need God.
As is required for anyone who goes to Quebec, we ate tortillere and poutine for lunch one day. We took the bus home from the mall one day, which was an experience for Jonathan. Before that, he'd taken two city buses in his life. Two! I think I've taken 700. Then, on Sunday afternoon, our billet decided to make a drink for us. He blended fresh chopped garlic and ginger with water and a protein shake mix. Not wanting to be the wimp, I said I'd try it. Unfortunately for me, I got the bottom of the mix where all the garlic and ginger had settled. I braced myself, swallowed, choked, then almost threw it up. Uuuuggh. The thought still makes me nauseous.
Well, I'd better stop before I write a novel. That was Montreal, and we now have a week off in Ottawa. Should be fun! I'll keep you posted!

Big huge van

Sunday morning we performed in Charlottetown at a Nazarene church. It was very different than any Nazarene church I've ever been to (which is a total of one); it almost felt Pentecostal. It was a very good service, and I think one of the eleven-year-old boys who helped us strike our set had a crush on me. I gave him my address so he can write me in June.
On Tuesday we performed at a Christian school for seven students. It was actually fun; we played Knockout with them afterward. This was in Middle Sackville Baptist Church in New Brunswick, the first Baptist church in Canada. Their building was built in 1905, but the congregation was formed in 1763. Isn't that crazy?
Today was a GREAT day, because we rented a new van! Ajeep (actually his name is Ajeeb, I've just been spelling it wrong the entire time) is still in Alberta, and though we loved him, he's a 1994 Astro and three of us would have to squish on a bench seat to fit the five of us. Now, for a week, we have a FIFTEEN-SEATER VAN! 2004! It's SO big and SO comfortable and I'm so glad that we have it. We have enough cupholders for everyone! And a built-in CD player!
You know, I'd like to tell you some exciting stories, but we haven't had too many lately. We went shopping...we went to Tim Hortons...we did some shows...we had squares and coffee at the churches...Jeremy and Rhonda sat on me until I almost died because I couldn't breathe...I got ice cream...Reneyah talked about horses...Jonathan is halfway done his afghan...and that's it in a nutshell.
Oh, and Reneyah uttered the Quote of the Week:
"It's a good thing I have such a hard head."

True Patriot Love

It's amazing how the death of four RCMP officers will shake a nation. The team was in Sussex, New Brunswick, walking to Tim's for coffee, when a procession of RCMP and local police cars went through the city. Nearly every flag we see is at half mast, and I got to see the memorial service on CBC. It was somber, but seeing that black and red crowd of officers and mourners made me think of Canada as a country. Atlantic Canada was affected by a tragedy in my home province. Even over thousands of kilometres, Canadians pull together. I think, for the first time in my life, I'm feeling patriotic. Being among the priveleged millions who are citizens of this country means more than free health care and GST. Rhonda has made me think about this, because Canadians take (and dish out) a lot of crap because of the lack of readily identifiable culture. However, it takes a looooooong time to develop the culture of a nation. Canada has not even had 200 years.
And it is a beautiful country. Even in the winter, when everything is brown, it's gorgeous. We went to the Bay of Fundy and climbed through the rocks and caves on the beach. It was amazing! One cave in particular had red sand. Like, burnt red, not kind of organeish. We had a show in Saint John (which went really well), and today we drove to PEI. The soil is red. Just like in Anne of Green Gables (which borders on a cult here), just like in pictures. It's so weird; it almost feels like it's a joke. That suddenly it'll turn brown and God will laugh cause we fell for it. It makes you realize how many things get covered in dirt. Dirty snow is red, the cars have red dirt on them, dirty roads are...red. And plowed fields are the craziest. Kinda like a kid drew a picture but didn't have a brown crayon. We did go to the Anne of Green Gables house, but it was closed.
No quotes yet this week. We haven't been that interesting, I guess. We did go to a sweet 50s diner today, with a jukebox! And we took a picture of a giant lobster eating me...and against all reason, ran on a closed beach where icy cold winds almost knocked us over. We also drove over the Confederation Bridge from New Brunswick to PEI. It's 13 km long, was built in 1997 and cost $1 billion. Yeesh.

Christian chicken

In my haste the last time I blogged, I left out an important story about a Canadian icon; Tim Horton's. You see, I was talking one day about Tim Horton's claim that their coffee "never changes," and Rhonda said that the coffee out East does actually taste different. So I decided to test her claim. I bought coffee at the airport in Calgary and put it into my thermos and flew with it to Haliax. That same day, I went to a Tim Horton's in Dartmouth and compared the two.
And the verdict was; it did indeed taste different. The eastern coffee was fruitier and not as bold as the western coffee. I personally preferred Alberta's. Jeremy agreed that it tasted different, even without directly comparing the two. So Rhonda was right; there is a difference.
Our stay in Halifax was great. We got to stay with a great couple who were just starting up their own bed and breakfast. I love Maritime accents, especially the way they say "car." It almost sounds like "curr."
Halifax was our fourth Missionsfest, and so far I enjoyed it the best. Vancouver was the biggest, and we were busy doing shows the whole time. Winnipeg was much smaller, and Edmonton...well, it felt like home. But Halifax was the most personable in its management and had a relaxed, friendly feel to it. All of them were great, however, and we have one left in Toronto at the beginning of April. It was an interesting weekend; our props and set were sent ahead earlier this week, but didn't arrive until yesterday (monday). So we had to figure out a way to perform without props, set or costumes. But Rhonda and Jeremy, with Barrett's help, came up with a sketch list, bought a few extra props, and away we went. It worked great.
Those of you who are Christians in Edmonton know that Swiss Chalet is the place to go after church. If you're Pentecostal, it's a race to beat the Baptists there so you can get a table. This Sunday, I joined the Baptists and got there first. Apparently, Swiss Chalet is referred to as "Christian chicken" all over the country. Who'da thunk?
We left Sunday night for Sussex, New Brunswick, and are all staying here now. We had yesterday and today off, and have been relaxing and taking in some sights. Today it has been raining pretty hard, but we headed to the Bay of Fundy anyway. It's beautiful countryside, even on a rainy winter day. I can't imagine it in the summer and the fall. We ate fish in a little fishing town right on the bay, where the docks stand forty feet above the ocean floor at low tide. That was when we were there, and all the boats were nearly touching the ground. Later, when almost all the light was gone, we stopped at Hopewell Rocks. Even in near-total darkness, for a girl from landlocked Alberta, they were beautiful; a huge cliff overlooking massive rocks and a rocky beach, with trees everywhere. There was a big metal staircase heading down the cliff that apparently gets covered in water at high tide. Reneyah, Jonathan and I looked around for a while, made a video of us "singing in the rain," and ran back to the van soaking wet. It was a good day.
Well, my apologies for writing a novel, but I hope I kept you entertained. My team certainly keeps me entertained; I decided that I'm taking them all back to Edmonton with me. Oh and this book by Maura...I don't remember the title. Some children's chapter book about the Halifax Explosion, I think. Which is an interesting bit of history; a ship collision that wiped out a good chunk of Halifax.
Our Master Quoteswoman wins Quote of the Week again. Jeremy referred to Castaway in the process of somehow making fun of Reneyah. She came back with "Yeah, well, what about the soccer ball named Cooper?" That's right, Reneyah, you tell him.

And that is why I'm taking them all home with me.

Thought for the week.

After a couple relaxing days in Barons, we stayed the night in Calgary so we would be up bright and early for our 7:00 am flight to Halifax. We arrived at 4:10 pm Halifax time, and are now staying in a bed and breakfast. According to their license plates, Nova Scotia is "Canada's Ocean Playground." And I did see the ocean; while crossing from Halifax to Dartmouth. We're not here for very long, so I'm not sure how much sightseeing we'll do. We're only here for the Missionsfest this weekend.
I heard a very powerful sermon today from a man called "Brother Andrew," who makes no bones about what he believes. It got me thinking; if I truly believe that Christianity is the way, the truth, what am I doing about it? Why am I letting people choose otherwise without fighting for them?
Just something to think about. Maura's thought for the week.

Oh, and I found a book by a woman with the first name Maura. First time that's ever happened!

Sexy Mama

Sunday:
We went to my Pentecostal church, which was not too shocking of an experience for my non-Pentecostal team. Actually, not shocking at all, but there was more swaying than they're used to. Anyway, afterward we went to my house, ate pizza and played Mario Kart...which I SUCK at. Well, I'm not too bad...I could learn. In the afternoon, we did what every Edmonton tourist must do; went to West Edmonton Mall. I never really realized how much is in the mall until I gave Jonathan a tour. Coming from small-town Ontario, this was not an everyday experience for him. Reneyah and I played Wac-A-Mole in Galaxyland and then I introduced her and Jonathan to DDR. Hehehehehe. DDR is great.

Monday:
You know, a three-hour drive seems a lot shorter now than it did on January 2. We breezed our way to Calgary and dropped off our set pieces to be transported to Halifax. Afterward, we drove to Three Hills to the place where Jeremy and Rhonda met; Prairie Bible College. We watched the Anne of Green Gables musical, then had a grand tour of the college. We headed home to Barons, bought some Pillsbury cookies, and spent the evening playing Wizard.
Jonathan decided to pull out a bag of big long pretzels before the game, and then started to pretend to smoke one like a cigar. We all grabbed a pretzel, and I all of a sudden became a chain-smoking, hardened cynic named Sexy Mama. Rhonda was my buddy Slick, Reneyah my nemesis Stubby, Jonathan the ruthless Wizard player Sport, and Jeremy the seasoned veteran Sparky. It was hilarious. Never mind the frustration of having 0 points at the end; having a character sort of softened the blow. We finished the night with The Princess Bride.

Today, Reneyah and I walked through farmer's fields for an hour. We crossed three fields and got to a fence, where she said "Maura let's keep going to the end of this field! I want to see what's on the other side of the fence." I looked around, and all I could see was fields. Then more fields. Some houses. Another field. "Reneyah," I said "when we get to that fence, there will be another field. Let's go back."
We did, thank goodness. It was nice to get out and move...it's such a nice day today! We're spending the rest of the day watching movies; Reneyah made a movie marathon schedule. And to think that in my normal life, I should be studying for midterms....
Lately I've been feeling the need to dye my hair three different colors...instead, I went out and bought hot pink pants. They're great. If you're ever bored with your wardrobe, go buy hot pink/green/yellow/blue/whatever pants. It feels really good to wear them. Reneyah got purple ones.
And quote of the week goes to Rhonda. We were in Red Robin talking about flirting with waiters:
"What's your favorite burger? Chicken, beef, or Reneyah?"
Worthy of mention is another from Reneyah:
"I like feeling like a beached whale!"
I'll let your imagination run wild on that one.

Theeeee End.

Paprika, Bruiser, Daisy, Amazing Man, and....

We've repaired our boxes, fixed our props, and are now in Edmonton. Edmonton! My city! My sister nearly attacked me when I came up the walk to my house; I hadn't see her for two months. I invited the team in and gave them a little tour of the house. Rhonda discovered a picture on the fridge and said "Oh, what a cute kid! She looks kinda funny...whoa, what's with the bruise on her head? Or is that a he?" To which I replied "That's me." Because of this and another baby picture of me blowing spit bubbles, Rhonda and Jeremy have affectionately nicknamed me Bruiser and Bubbles. Reneyah said she adds spice to everything (which is too true), so Jeremy decided to call her Paprika (we'll see if it sticks). Our fearless leader (Jeremy) is Daisy, and Jonathan is Amazing Man. Yup, he's actually a superhero. Have you ever noticed that Jonathan and Amazing Man are never in the same room at the same time? I also call him Mr. Fixit and Textile (he crochets a lot in the van). Rhonda...well, I can't think of any that have stuck so far.
On Thursday, I FINALLY got to see Lesly after six months of separation. I was so happy. She brought me a spear from Africa! It's so cool! I asked if it was a dart, and she gave me a look. Yes, Maura, a two-foot dart. Then we hung out with Sandy and ate junk food. Ahhhh, good times.
Friday was a long day. We did our game show sketch six times in a row; my throat was a little tired after that. Today we got to perform for kids, and did the kazoo sketch (one of my favorites). It's great fun. Involves volunteers. Reneyah got my sister (Erin) to volunteer another time today...hehe that was great.
Monday morning we're leaving Edmonton for another few days in Barons, after which we fly to Halifax on Thursday morning. The next time we're in Edmonton (so far) is on May 22 at Southside Pentecostal Assembly.

Etzikom

So we're back from Saskatchewan and Manitoba. You know, people say that Saskatchewan is flat, and it is, but really not much flatter than Alberta. Or Manitoba. Maybe just more of it is flat. Or something. But though it's quite beautiful, I think I'd rather live in BC. Maybe in a suburb of Vancouver. Or Hope or Mission or Vernon or Kelowna. It's so much warmer! And nice and humid.
Well, for now it's back to the homeland, and I'm very excited to go to Edmonton and see my friends and family...except for one. My brother decided he needs a tropical vacation or something...pfft. Whatever. I'm not jealous; who needs a tropical vacation when you just came back from Swift Current?
By the way, Alberta has some weird town names. Like Manyberries, Readymade, Bow Island (NOT on an island), and Etzikom. What a funny name. Etzikom.
And quote of the week goes to Jeremy;
"Look at the road. It feels like we're not moving and everything is coming towards us..."

So. Much. Food.

This week I've experienced some interesting billets; Reneyah and I went to the house of an old widow, and entered to find her and four of her friends talking in the living room. It was a very interesting evening; I think we were the event of the week. Our conversation consisted of Cuba, end times prophecy, and sex. They were great ladies, and we had a hilarious time.
We headed through rural Saskatchewan and stayed with a Mennonite pastor, where we were introduced to "night lunch." Apparently, every night they have...lunch. Oh man, we don't need it. When you stay with a different person every night, it's an event for them. So they put on a spread, as Christians do, with meat, potatoes, veggies, and always with dessert. Yes, its all very good, but food looks better on a plate than on me. I try to resist, but it's very hard to say no to what is likely the most delicious pie I will ever taste in my life. I keep telling Reneyah that we have to keep each other accountable, but so far...that hasn't really happened. If this continues, we're going to have to refit my costume.
Every Canadian who ever lives should watch Corner Gas. Especially while driving through Saskatchewan. It's hilarious. We got to watch it because Rhonda and Jeremy have a portable DVD player and the first season of Corner Gas. We've also watched 13 going on 30 and Pirates of the Caribbean (with the amazing Johnny Depp).
Oh, and good news on the juggling front! It only took me six weeks, but Jonathan and I are finally starting to get it down. We have rhythm! I have some hand-eye coordination! Yay!
In another week, we're in the City of Champions. From there, we fly to Halifax and spend two months out east, leaving Ajeep behind in Alberta. We get another van in Halifax. Let's hope it's as good to us as Ajeep has been.

Happy grapes

Throughout a lot of my life, I've mainly hung out with Christians. This has been a good influecne of my faith and the way I live my life, though it can limit your scope of thought, range of ideas, that kind of thing. Not until I came on this tour did I realize that not only have I spent most of my life with Christians, I've spent most of my life with Pentecostal Christians. Travelling with four non-Pentecostals, performing in Lutheran, Baptist, Mennonite, and Evangelical chruches, and meeting Christians from Greek Orthodox to Evangelical Free has opened my eyes. There really ARE other demoninations! And they have a different style of praying together, of singing, of worshipping. Yesterday, I heard a Mennonite pastor preach on tongues and prophecy. And really, what he said was not completely different from what I would have heard in a Pentecostal church, though there was no altar call.
In general, I try not to label myself as "Pentecostal," because that doesn't define my Christianity. It's interesting to watch myself react, though, to quiet prayer meetings and people who have only heard tongues once or twice in their life. Both are alien to me. I haven't asked about altar calls yet; I wonder how common they are in other denominations.
Life has been largely uneventful, though we did spend about half an hour debating the emotional, psychological, and biological aspects of a grape's transition into a raisin, based on Reneyah's statement that raisins used to be "happy grapes." But just so you know that we haven't gone crazy (yet), our conversations are generally intelligent and we don't always debate, unless talking about politics or Harry Potter. Rhonda decided that we should no longer discuss politics, because it gets a little heated.
And quote of the week once again goes to Reneyah. In her defense, I have to say that thoughts like these cross my mind, but anytime someone introduces a topic and I have no idea what they're talking about, I nod my head and pretend to understand, asking questions very, very selectively. If not, the quote book would be filled with my ignorant responses. I suppose this makes Reneyah more honest than me. Anyway, Jeremy was spouting yet another interesting fact; France was the first place where porcelain was made outside of China. To which Reneyah replied:
"China came from China!?"

A shot of maple syrup

This week, we had Monday and Tuesday off, so on Monday we decided to take in the many sights of Winnipeg. These include the legislature, the Golden Boy, and the Forks. The legislature was beautiful, but there wasn't much to see except giant bison statues (with which I got my picture) and the amazing architecture. The Golden Boy is a golden statue of a boy (who'da thunk) on top of the legislature, and there's a little one inside that I got my picture with. I also got a picture with a cutout of a Mountie.
Then we went to the Forks, which is basically the spot where the Assiniboine and Red River merge to become the Red River. Remember that from Social Studies, Louis Riel? And that was Winnipeg! I was surprised to find out that they have an Edmonton Street. They're one of the crazy cities that name their streets and don't number them. So confusing.
I spent Monday evening and most of Tuesday with some of the crazy people on my dad's side of the family. It was great to see them again.
Oh, and I've come to the conclusion that a specific requirement for every Canadian tourist shop is overpriced maple syrup. Three dollars for a bottle the size of a shot glass. You'd think it was liquor or gas or something.

FishingFest

Well, it's been a week since I last wrote, and we've driven a lot. After Revelstoke, we drove to Barons and slept at the headquarters (doesn't that sound cool, "headquarters"?). Dale asked if I used my scarf to "scarf" down my food, and Barrett told me that I'm "phlegmy;" so they're both in fine form. I'm not sure if I clarified, but Dale is our administrator and Barrett is our director. Anyway, they stayed in balmy Alberta and we continued on to Regina, where I was reminded that it's still winter. In Regina, our team discovered a sport called shuffleboard. I had never played before, and our host asked if we would like him to teach us. Jonathan, Reneyah, Jeremy and I played against each other while Rhonda sat back and watched (smart move). I used to think shuffleboard was only for people over fifty, but let me tell you, this was intense. I'm a fairly competitive person, as most people will tell you, and this game brought out the worst in me! I was on edge the whole time, and there was a feeling of tension in the air. And when Jeremy started doing a victory dance, ooohhhh I could have punched him. But I (graciously) restrained myself and won 2 out of 3 games, each with a different partner.
After Regina, we headed to Steinbach and did a couple sketches at the Bible college there. Then off to the Winnipeg Missionfest! That took up our weekend, but we did get to perform at Church of the Rock. It's an interesting set up there; it's an non-denominational church of about a thousand people, and they outgrew their old building and moved into a warehouse. They've redone the warehouse and it looks really good, but it's so huge! Seriously, they should start an electric cart ministry to get from one end of the building to another. So this Sunday morning we performed in front of 800-1000 people, including my aunt and cousin. I'm meeting up with some family over the next couple days, so that will be exciting. I realized that I have a LOT of family all over the country. Hopefully I'll get to see some of them while breezing my way through!
I would like to announce to everyone reading this that I, Maura, have watched an entire Superbowl game. AND enjoyed it. AND correctly predicted the winning team in the first quarter (not period, they call them quarters in football). Go New England Patriots! I also know the key differences between American and Canadian football. And that some really big guy on the Patriots makes 2 million a year. And I know what a field goal is. Trust me, these are giants steps for me.
Oh, and I'd just like to say, for the record, that I am travelling with an awesome team. They are GREAT people and I'm so glad I met them.
Quotes of the week
Reneyah: "It looks like a residential homeless cat!"
Jeremy: "Missionfest!?? I thought this was FishingFest!"
Pastor of a church in Winnipeg: "You win the Quacker award for the week."

P.S.: I highly recommend NEVER watching Dodgeball to the very end after the credits.

Quote of the Week: "Luke Skyscraper"

Vancouver is big, beautiful, and seems to be very proud of their history and heritage. The humidity definitely agreed with me. It was ridiculously warm and there was grass on the ground. In JANUARY! There's something seriously weird about that. We went to Gastown, which is like Whyte Ave times ten, and Granville Island, which has some amazing artistry shops. Things like fabric painting, glass art, crafts, etc. If you're an artist and you ever go to Vancouver, spend some time in Granville Island.
We performed several times at Missionsfest this weekend, spending a good chunk of our time lugging props and costumes from one end of the convention centre to the other. If you've ever been to The Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre, I'm sure you understand. Let's just say it's a little bigger than the Shaw Conference Centre. The shows went well, with no major screw-ups. On Sunday, our last night, I got to hang out with some of the young adults from our billets' church. It reminded me of after-River outings with the Southsiders...good times.
So now we're on the road again, stopped in Revelstoke on our way to Winnipeg. Under Rhonda's tutelage, Jonathan has learned to crochet. She brought a giant ball of yarn the size of my head, and I'm convinced that by the end we'll have an afghan. The unofficial score of the "Name that Band" game is Maura: 6, Jeremy: 387509. We've named March 2 "Reneyah day," since she is the only team member who is not celebrating a birthday or anniversary on tour.
At some point in the last week, we decided that our many brilliant and funny comments should be recorded, and we now have a quote book. Reneyah has dominated the quotes with such sayings as "Give me an arm" and "Mic me! Mic me now!" However, the official quote of the week was when she said:
"Didn't Harrison Ford play Luke Skyscraper?"

Don't assume that snow will hold you up

Monday:
Today we said goodbye to Barrett, Elaine, Ella, Dale, and Barons to put 600 kilometers under the wheels of the van. It's actually nice to relax after a very, very stressful week. I'm gonna miss Barrett, cause he's freakin' hilarious, and Dale, cause he thinks everything is freakin' hilarious.
One thing I will miss from the prairies is the sky. It's so huge and moody. You go outside, and all you see is field and sky. Every kind of cloud in every size and shape blankets the pale blue. And the sunsets...oh, the sunsets. The entire sky comes alive with colour; golden fingers of sinshine painting orange, pink and gold in the west while an audience of pink-tinged clouds watches from the east. You just want to stand there and spin so you can feel all the colours. It's beyond words.
I think this tour will be a lot of hellos and goodbyes, meeting a lot of people and maybe even making some friends. The only constants will be us (the team, the family) and God. Already I've been blessed by the hospitality and generosity of God's family...it's amazing. They feed you and bless you...and feed you, and feed you... Last night, I met a couple with a very interesting story; he had grown up in Saudi Arabia, she in India. They met in India, married in Switzerland, moved to the States, then to Canada, lived in many different cities, and are now pastoring in a tiny little town in southern Alberta. Pretty crazy.

Tuesday:
Well, Ajeep (the van, who is East Indian) made it from Barons all the way to Revelstoke, where we stopped to get gas. Ten feet from the gas pump, he stalled and refused to start again. Every time we tried to start him, he sputtered and sputtered but didn't go. We ended up calling AMA and getting towed to the nearest mechanic shop. Jeremy and Rhonda went in the tow truck, while Reneyah, Jonathan and I headed to a restaurant to get some comfort food and wait for their call. When they called and gave us directions to the shop, we stepped out of the restaurant and stared down Trans-Canada Highway 1. We needed to cross it in order to get to our destination, but the crosswalk was an entire block away. So, of course, we jaywalked. Unfortunately, another obstacle lay in our way; the median. I didn't want to go around it, and it was directly in our path, so the obvious choice was to cross over the waist-high snow. So, disregarding Reneyah's protests, I climbed over the big pile of dirty snow that had been plowed off the highway and promptly stepped into snow that came up the middle of my thigh. I had nowhere to go, so I took another step forward and couldn't move. "I'm stuck!" I yelled. "I'm stuck!" Reneyah stared laughing, and Jonathan came to help me out. We were almost successul when I noticed vehicle coming around the corner. "Car!" I yelled. "Jonathan, A car!" I pulled him a little further up the bank so that he wouldn't get hit (cause that would really suck). All of a sudden, Reneyah ran toward the vehicle shouting " A bus! It's a community bus!" I finally made it over the snow, and we all hopped on Revelstoke's only bus. We met a little old lady who had just come back from bowling, who told us some of her life story before the driver dropped us off at the auto shop, where we got some strange looks from Jeremy and Rhonda.
The moral of the story is: don't assume that snow will hold you up. Turned out that the van had bad gas; well, not so much gas as it was water. We stayed the night in Revelstoke and continued on the next day.

Wednesday:
We've gone through the Rockies, and I feel inadequte to describe them to you. This is partially because I saw them from the back seat through the cracked windshield of a semi-clean van, but also because they're just hard to describe. They're more majestic and impressive than they are beautiful; no one colour or characterisitic defines them. On our way back through, I'll take a window seat and try to put some words to them. If you haven't seen them, do.
I'm not sure who said it, but this is a paraphrased quote from one of the Christy videos:

"A girl can be beautiful like a mountain or a tree or a river. She doesn't have to be a flower."

God is not safe

Sometimes, I go to church and completely zone out during the sermon. Correction; a lot of the time. The times that I don't are directly correlated with the level of interest and excitment of the preacher, or if it's something God specifically wants me to hear. Then, there are those preachers who really, truly hear the heart of God and convey it with passion. I heard a sermon like that this morning. In one sentence, it was "God is not safe." When you enter the presence of God, nothing is safe except you yourself.
Too often, the North American church has reduced God from the Lion of Judah to a cute teddy bear. Jesus is an Anglo-Saxon with a long straight nose, a hint of a smile, light glowing all around him as his blue eyes stare meaningfully (insert desired meaning here) at a fixed point in the sky, his head slightly tilted with flowing, light brown hair and a neatly trimmed beard. I don't like this picture of Jesus. He didn't go around staring meaningfully at things. He probably didn't wear white. He wasn't white. He was Middle Eastern. Jesus called out the hypocrisies of the pious Pharisees; he rampaged through the temple, turning over tables of those who were blatantly disrespecting God's temple. He said outrageous things, made mud out of spit, got up early to pray, saved a woman from stoning, ate with the "bad guys," invited himself over to other people's houses, and finally allowed himself to be hung on a cross. Jesus was not safe. Christians are called to be like Christ. And still, for some reason, he's widely used as a security blanket.
For anyone who is not a Christian and is reading this, I hope that your conception of Jesus is not characterized as a white guy who stares at things meaningfully. He's so much more than that.
Well, we had our second dress rehearsal last night, with an audience. It went well, but our backdrop fell down a couple times. The roads to Vancouver were closed last week, but they're open now and we should have no trouble getting there. Tomorrow is our final dress rehearsal in the city of Champion. Well, technically, it's the village of Champion, but I just like saying city of Champion. What a good name for a city. And Tuesday morning we're off. Our set is made, our props are ready, our lines are memorized, our van is clean (on the inside), I can sort of juggle, and there's very little to do in Barons other than rehearse. We have a few last minute details and we're on our way!
Oh, and for my family and friends back in Chinookless central Alberta; it's ten degrees here. Reneyah and I cleaned the van for two hours outside with all the doors open, wearing sweatshirts and jeans, and I wasn't cold. There's hardly any snow left. I can't believe it's January!