Happy hot summer time to you all!
It’s a privilege to fill you in on a few of the goings on at HMI Pacific. Here goes…. Just before the West Kelowna Warriors left for home after the Covid shortened season, I was grateful to be included in their annual team picture. It was so weird wearing masks for this shot, but it was still a great honour. Now that the season is over, and protocols have loosened up so much, it will be nice to get back into the arena for more normal chapels, games and for closer relationships.
I recall that it was 15 1/2 months ago that I was on the Kelowna Chiefs bus, heading for a playoff game. (It was March 12) I had just posed for this fun picture with the Chiefs marketing director Alex Draper when our phones started to buzz and within minutes, everything was cancelled. We thought that maybe this virus would last for a few weeks or possibly a month; nope…. try almost 16 months. I am sure we can all say that it is WONDERFUL to be on the right side of this pandemic!
I have been able to connect with people on a regular basis throughout the past year. (I always have my lawn chair in the trunk so I can have a socially distanced coffee outside anywhere.) Just recently I had an outdoor lunch with my good HMI friend, Murray Fairweather. I am so grateful for people like Murray and so many others who have stood with me for years and years. Also, I have included a picture of myself with Shane Farkas, a young WHL goaltender. Shane played for Portland and then Victoria, but has battled an injury recently. I’ve known Shane for quite a while and it was so good to sit down for a J&J time with him. It is thrilling to finish off a coffee time with a prayer, and I honestly feel that the Lord uses that prayer long after the coffee time is over.
Summer brings weddings, and just recently I was glad to be able to officiate the wedding of the very first West Kelowna Warriors head coach, Mark Howell. I pray for Mark and Kerry as they begin their lives together. Again, what a joy to join them in marriage and to lay my hands on their shoulders, praying the blessing of Almighty God upon them.
One more somber note: last but certainly not least. Lorraine and I have been saddened by the awful revelation of unmarked graves at Indigenous residential schools in Kamloops and now in Saskatchewan. We all know that these are the first of many more to come. As a child, i drove by one of these residential schools and never had a clue what was going on there. I shake my head at the injustice and cruelty that went on, and yet life just continued on. Lorraine and I bought orange shirts to wear as a sorrowful memorial to those who lost their lives in schools like this. and as you can see, we didn’t really smile for the picture, as we were sorrowful in our hearts. As the bible says in Romans 12, rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn. We just didn’t feel like as followers of Jesus we could ignore such a horrific tragedy, and an untold story of Canadian history. So we pray and ask the Lord for strength and compassion.