One summer, two young cousins were visiting me and my husband. One adventure that we dreamed up for them was a three-day trail ride in the mountains. None of us had really ridden horses before, but the guide assured us that each of our … Read more

When my husband and I volunteered at the Youth With a Mission (YWAM) base in Kona, Hawaii, a few years ago, we would walk by a huge plumeria tree on the way to work every day. Hundreds of blossoms lay scattered on the sidewalk, and I … Read more

On this Canada Day, I think back to when our family became Canadian citizens. Having come to Canada from Singapore, which, at that time, was a British colony, we were British subjects, so transferring our citizenship to Canada, with its … Read more

Our first American SOWER (Servants on Wheels Ever Ready) project was at Gospel Rescue Mission, in Tucson, Arizona, USA, which is a shelter for women, some with children. My husband and I had just retired from teaching. We hadn't yet reset … Read more

"I'm supposed to bring a plate to the hockey banquet next week," my young son announced. "Bring a plate? What do you mean, Stephen?" I asked him, perplexed. "That's what the coach said." I wasn't familiar with the idiom "bring a plate", … Read more

Today, Canadians observe a day named in honour of Queen Victoria, who ruled the British Empire for 63 years from 1837 to 1901. The holiday is celebrated as the official birthday of Queen Elizabeth II, the currently reigning monarch. As … Read more

One spring, the neighbours down the street were having a swimming pool built. The tiny village of New Denver, British Columbia, Canada, where we lived, lay nestled on the shores of the deep and clear Slocan Lake, where we could swim any … Read more

Whoo—who-who—whoo "Terry! Wake up! I hear the owl!" I had been hearing this sound every night from inside our cabin at Camp Loma de Vida, in south Texas, USA, during the winter months this year. We had never actually pin-pointed its … Read more

Uniforms were required in the Christian school that my boys attended. They looked smart in their navy-blue dress pants and vests, crisp white shirts, navy socks, and black shoes. School uniforms were part of their training to grow in the … Read more

"What's that?" I asked my friend as we strolled through the market in the Rio Grande Valley, Texas, USA, near the Mexican border. She had just bought a cone-shaped object, shrink-wrapped in cellophane. "It's piloncillo, raw sugar. … Read more

My friend sat in her living room and watched as a small Downy Woodpecker flew towards the netting that she had put into place in front of the window, intended to keep birds from hitting it. Instead of coming short of the barrier and … Read more

Three years ago, I volunteered at Gleanings for the Hungry, a mercy ministry in Dinuba, California, USA. One of my jobs was gardening. I like weeding, usually. I like the way that a neat and tidy garden looks, as a result of pulling up … Read more

At the restaurant, I handed out little bags of candy hearts, the kind with words printed on them, to each of the volunteers with whom we were working for the month of February in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. Valentine's Day was a good excuse to … Read more

I remember a dream that I had when my oldest son was nine. He and I and two angels dressed in white were standing in heaven beside a giant Bible, taller than we were. The pages of the Bible had fallen open to these words: In the dream, I … Read more

These days, there are few daylight hours. Here in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada, at latitude 52 degrees, 16 minutes north, on the winter solstice, December 21st, the shortest day of the year, there were 7 hours and 41 minutes of daylight. That … Read more

Last year, COVID-19 restrictions made life tough for all of us. Here in Alberta, Canada, we couldn't get together for Christmas with our family as usual. Our visits were limited to brief encounters outside as my husband and I delivered … Read more

When my son was little, he and his brother had an Advent calendar for a month before Christmas. Every day, the boys would open a window and see the picture and verse inside — no chocolate in those days! As Christmas approached, they would … Read more

When my brother was young, he would be the one to check the family before we went away on a holiday. "Did you unplug the iron?" he would say to our mother. "Is the stove off?" We could go once he was satisfied that nothing was left … Read more

This time of the year reminds me of the weeks when my husband and I volunteered at North Okanagan Valley Gleaners, a non-profit organization near Vernon, British Columbia, Canada. We spent our mornings cutting vegetables into chunks to be … Read more

One fall day, just before Thanksgiving, my husband and I were driving by a large organic food market. It was lunch time, and we were getting hungry. "Look! People are sitting outside with plates of food. Maybe we could get something at … Read more

When I was thirteen, our family visited Czechoslovakia, but I developed pneumonia after a lingering cold. Treatment there in those days was cautious: bed rest and penicillin shots. I was in bed for a month! I had never met any of my … Read more

Our youngest son, Nick, invited his parents on an annual family hike. His family likes to hike to waterfalls, and they have found new waterfalls to explore for the past several years. The hike has to be in the easy-to-moderate category to … Read more

It should have been easy to back the Ford Escape out of the garage. After all, it's half the size of our former Ford Expedition. With that big vehicle, I had figured out when to start and stop turning in the eight-metre space between the … Read more

My grandchildren and I were playing with a new set of Play-Doh the other day. The modelling compound was satisfyingly soft and pliable, and it was fun to work it into people and animals. Moulds came with the set, to be turned out into … Read more

My husband has a moderate-to-severe hearing loss and wears hearing aids. At first, they were the basic kind. As we drove in the car, he would complain, "You're talking to the windshield. I can't hear you." I would get impatient with this … Read more

Looking at a first-level workbook in the Accelerated Christian Education system, a high school student exclaimed, "Mrs. B, I want to do this work. It looks so easy!" To him it appeared easy, but to the first grader whose book it was, it … Read more

When my husband and I received our teaching degrees after five long years at the University of Victoria, we became qualified to teach at schools in British Columbia, Canada. We were able to sign up for interviews and to look for jobs in … Read more

Since my father's birthday falls on Father's Day this year, I'm doubly remembering my dad, who has been gone now for 37 years. When I was a child, my dad was my hero. We formed an early bond when I was a baby. My dad was ready to be a … Read more

I was struck by an unusual sight one day as I walked by the kindergarten room. There was Sophia sitting in a little chair right in front of the gerbil cage, in a world of her own. The rest of the children had gone for the day, but for some … Read more

Having grown up on the west coast of British Columbia, Canada, I'm somewhat familiar with ocean tides. Sometimes, we could swim easily, but other times, we had to walk a long way to reach the edge of the water. In 1972, my husband and I … Read more

For the first two weeks of my life, I was not called Alice, my present name. My parents were trying out the name Helen. They must not have been sure about it, because there was no definite mention of a name in the early letters to my … Read more

My husband had been having a hard time at the school where we worked together. He was letting the overwhelming needs of the students, both academic and emotional, get to him. Our school was small, and students of all ages were rewarded … Read more

A stone wall was planned as a retaining wall above our house to keep the sandy bank from eroding. A lovely, mature cedar tree grew there, and we didn't want it to topple onto our house. My husband hired a skilled local mason, and prepared … Read more