Hunting

I decided to go out hunting this afternoon. I found my moose tag and I already had my deer tag in my pocket. I took the snowmobile and went East on the old railroad bed. I hunted in some of the cut over areas along the railroad bed.

There were very few tracks from the last 24 hours. I saw very few deer or moose tracks. The freshest tracks I saw were wolf tracks. The wolf and I were probably looking for the same animals.I didn't get anything, so I guess they are still out there for the wolves.

I did see some great winter scenery though. The snow is beautiful and the old railroad bed provides some great views. I went about 20 miles East and then returned to our house. So, in spite of not seeing any animals, I did have an enjoyable afternoon.

This is a river that the railroad bed crosses. Two years ago Brian Rae and I saw a cow moose here. Today there was nothing there.

This is a view along the old railroad bed. This railroad bed goes for miles and miles. The bridges are all still intact, so it is usable for snowmobiles all the way.

This is another view of the railroad bed. The snow on the pine trees looks just like December ought to look doesn't it? Now, it sure seemed to me like a deer or a moose could appear just around the next bend. But they weren't willing.

Medical Supplies for Cuba

We are still collecting medical supplies and equipment for Cuba. This morning I picked up another stack of things to be sent to Cuba. We are still in the fund raising stage to buy a container. We hope to have the money for a container by the end of this year.

With the way things have been coming in, we could have our first container filled by Spring. I think it is pretty exciting to see equipment and supplies that would be discarded here being made available to a place where there is so little.

Over the next two years the Hospital here in Sioux Lookout will be preparing to move into the new hospital building. The official move date for the hospital is January 2011. With the move coming up, we think there may be several containers full of supplies and equipment to be sent to Cuba.

Here are some of the things that we have in storage waiting for a container.

Senior Benefits

So, I have been a senior citizen now for about 6 months. At least at age 55 I qualify for senior benefits and prices at many places. I can get a "senior coffee" at McDonalds. I always wonder how old a "senior coffee" really is. At some restaurants I qualify for the senior discount. Also at the gym I get a lower price because I am 55 years old. Well, I might be getting older, but I don't want to fossilize, so a regular exercise routine helps with that. I also get a discount on my home insurance policy. So, there are financial benefits to getting older.

Edith and I are members of the Canadian Association of Retired Persons. It is called CARP for short. I always hope that as older people we are not seen to be always carping about something. Anyway, CARP is going through an image revision. They used to publish a magazine known as The CARP News. Now it is much flashier and is called Zoomer. Zoomer is a term that the new CARP director has coined for seniors. Apparently we do not like to be called seniors, or older people, or retired persons, or even baby boomers. He took the Boomers term and changed it to Zoomers.

I am fascinated by the way our culture glamourizes youthfulness. Getting older is now something to be avoided at all costs. The last issue of Zoomer had an article about medical research that may be able to halt or reverse the aging process in the future. If some of these ideas work, we could stay the same age physically, and postpone death indefinitely. Much of the magazine focuses on how to keep looking younger and live like a much younger person would live.

Now me, I kind of like being 55. I am much more comfortable being 55 than I was being 25. I wouldn't want to go back to being 25 again. Being a good Mennonite, of course, I like the senior discounts, but it is more than that. I feel much calmer now. I don't need to prove anything to anybody. I don't need to wonder what God might have for me to do in life. I have already lived over 50% of it, so I have a pretty good idea. I know Edith better than I did at 25. Our marriage is richer and deeper than it was at 25. We have faced, and are facing challenges together and those shared experiences have deepened our relationship. I have friends that I have known for 30 years. It was impossible to have relationships like these at age 25.

I have memories of things that God has done in the past that give me hope for the future. I have thought about a miniscule amount of the really big questions in life, and have found answers that work for me for a few of the questions. I'm more convinced about a few things, and more puzzled and unsure about others. I'm more certain than ever that war is a real tragedy, and breaks the heart of God, whenever and wherever it happens. I'm more sure that we can do something about poverty in the world. I'm more certain that the church is God's program to bring change to the world. I am convinced that Jesus Christ was dead, then was raised to life, and is our living Lord and Saviour.

Last month I visited the graves of my parents. I haven't been there for a while. As I stood there on a Sunday afternoon, I thought about my life, and what God has given me opportunities to do in the 15 years since my last parent passed away. I had to say thank you to them for what they did to contribute to my life, to help prepare me for the opportunities that God has given me. I wanted to tell them how satisfying life is now. How much joy I find in life. Someday, in Heaven, I will get to tell them all about it. But in order to do that I need to die first. So, I think I will pass on the genetic alterations that I would need to halt or reverse the aging process. And who knows, 75 might be more enjoyable than 55!

Snowmobiling

Here is Dallas, the snowboarder, going down the hill.

The dog loves to go along on the snowmobile too!

Here we are ready to head out for the trails.

Today we did our first snowmobiling. We got a second snowmobile this Summer. We have not been able to use it until now. We have been eager to get out and try it out. I got it licensed and insured this past week, so now it is ready to go.

We have barely enough snow for snowmobiling, but it does work. Elaine and Dallas took their snowboards along and they did a little snowboarding too. I'm sure that for the next few months the snowmobiles will be a regular part of our recreation.

Influenza Immunization

Edith, Elaine, Dallas and I are going in for our Flu Immunization needle this afternoon. Do you get a flu shot? I get one every year because I feel that even if it helps me avoid one bout of the flu, it is worth it. I don't like being sick, it makes me feel bad. It also helps that the Ontario government provides free flu shots to the general public.

I heard last week that the Center for Disease Control and Google are doing a co-operative study to map the spread of the flu. Often the first thing that people do when they wake up and don't feel well is google "flu symptoms". Google is mapping all the searches for information regarding flu and then the Center for Disease Control is going to see if actual flu cases follow in the areas where people are doing the flu searches. They think that this may be the best way to predict or track outbreaks of the flu as soon as they are occurring.

When the Man's Away, the Cat Preys!

This morning, soon after Merle and Dallas left for Iowa, Elaine and I sat eating breakfast together. We noticed two Ruffed Grouse browsing around outside. I thought to myself, "They're lucky Merle is already gone!" I pushed a chair closer to the table. The movement or sound frightened them and they scurried off.

Soon after, our Siamese cat, Bozzy, came to the door of the screened in porch, wanting to be let inside the house. We declined when we saw what he had with him---a Ruffed Grouse! It must have been a lot of work for him to drag it that far!

We were in the GET READY FOR SCHOOL mode and I wasn't sure what to do with the grouse. About that time, it started flopping around. Bozzy seemed alarmed and didn't know how to handle such a large victim. Elaine got a knife and was going to cut off it's head and finish it off. However, it was soon obvious it was already dead. The flopping around must have been it's death throes.

Now what to do? Merle usually butchers/dresses wild game. I'm a bit removed from my farming roots and haven't butchered chickens for years. However, Elaine has gone hunting with Merle enough to know what to do. She took charge. She brought the bird in, stood on it's wings, and tried to skin it. She soon decided it would work better if she had her boots on! That helped do the trick and she got the job done. We have grouse in the frig for supper and she even got ready for school on time! Between the cat and Elaine, we won't lack for meat! ~Edith

IGo Board Meeting

Tomorrow morning Dallas and I are planning to leave for the IGo board meeting. No, Dallas is not an IGo board member, he is my traveling buddy for this trip. The meeting will be held in Leon, Iowa on Thursday and Friday.

I am pretty excited about the things that are happening at IGo. We have 22 students this semester. They are serious students that are committed to being involved in God's Kingdom work. As time goes on there are more former students who are now involved in ministry, some serving under the administrative oversight of IGo.

We have Becky Stoltzfus working with women who are seeking a way out of prostitution. Dru Lattin and his wife, and Kris Schrock are teaching English. We are currently in the beginning stages of starting our own English program for Thai people at IGo. Darren Sommers and Brian Ranck are living out in a rural area of Thailand and working with a tribal village.

Raymond Burkholder is doing extension teaching from IGo. He travels to other countries in Asia and teaches in training sessions for Pastors and Christian leaders. His teaching has been very well received.

This winter we are planning to offer a Bible Institute term for Thai students. We are also planning to offer a one week Institute for Thai Pastors and church leaders.

It should be an interesting board meeting. Lester Weiler just came back from Thailand a few weeks ago, so he will have a fresh perspective from the field.

I am grateful for the things God has allowed me to be involved with at this stage of my life. IGo is one of those things. May we be faithful to follow His leading as we meet later this week.

Pancake Breakfast Tickets

I spent yesterday afternoon and this afternoon at Johnny's Supermarket, with Elaine and Dallas selling tickets for the Cornerstone Christian School Pancake Breakfast. The breakfast will be held next Saturday November 15.

We set up a table and sold tickets from 1 to 5 PM both days. I think they did really well. We sold over $300.00 worth of tickets. It is also a way to meet a lot of people from town. The money will go for the students trip to convention in the Spring.

The next fundraiser will be a bake sale. The bake sale will be just before Christmas. Then we have the spaghetti dinner and auction. It sounds like that event will be in February 2009. We are starting to collect stuff for the auction already. I was at one business in town this week and they ask me if we are having the auction and said they want to donate again this year. It is nice when people ask if they can contribute.

Another project I am involved in is the MEMO Cuba project to get medical equipment to Cuba. We are still working on getting the funds to buy a container. We already have a lot of equipment and supplies. I just heard that the hospital in Fort Frances has quite a bit of equipment they would like to donate to us as well. We hope to be able to purchase a container soon. When we have the container we will be able to begin packing things for shipping to Cuba.

Birthday Lunch

Edith and I had lunch today with Lois Land to celebrate her birthday, which was yesterday. I'm not going to tell you how old Lois is, but it is the start of a new decade of life for her. In other words, she has two digits in her age and the last one is a zero. I'll let you guess what the first digit is.

I am proud of Lois and her accomplishments in the last year. She passed most of the sections on the exam for her GED. She has also been working at Johnny's Supermarket since May. Lois is a person with a generally positive attitude toward life. She faces challenges with courage. Raising two sons and two daughters as a single mother is not easy.

We have been giving her daughters a ride to school the last few school years. One morning this week, her six year old daughter suddenly said, "Okay, Everybody freeze! Don't anyone move! I just dropped my brain on the floor!" Lois said it is a line she got from The Pirates of the Caribbean.

Here are Edith and Lois at the Lamplighter just before lunch was served.

Staff Fellowship

Here is lunchtime at our staff fellowship. This also gives you an idea of what the basement looks like since it is finished. It is very nice.

Here are Freida Herschberger and Esther Bontrager in the kitchen. Willis and Esther Bontrager are on the MIC board. They were attending the staff fellowship and Esther was helping in the kitchen, which was a blessing.

We had a really good staff fellowship. The fellowship with other staff was good, the food was good and the spiritual input by Don Showalter was excellent. We started Thursday at supper time and finished Friday night.

Don Showalter, from Plain City, Ohio, was sharing the spiritual input. He shared some material on relationships. It was very practical and profound. One statement he made that sticks with me is that "God's forgiveness is not about who we are, but is a statement about who God is".

Another thought he shared was that relationships tend to work when we come into relationships with nothing to hide, nothing to prove, and nothing to lose.

We had Steve and Ellen Beiler and their family staying with us during the staff fellowship. We enjoyed some extra time of visiting with them as well.

Today we are going to Dryden for Elaine and Dallas to get the braces on their teeth adjusted. They have had their braces for over a month now. I think their teeth are starting to move into the right places.

Also, I am getting new winter tires installed on the front of our car. The tires that are on now will have almost no traction when it snows. Since snow should be just around the corner, it really is time to get this taken care of.