Double Death Raises Suspicions!

A second death on Edward Street has raised great concerns within the Morpeth region. Two weeks ago we received reports of the demise of Fred the Diver in the establishment known to locals as The Fishtank. It seemed believable at the time that Mr. the Diver suffered a tragic accident whilst cleaning was taking place. Miss Holt, the only witness and current manageress of The Fishtank, stated when interviewed that Mr. the Diver had been taking on too much drink and as she was cleaning he slipped and damaged his flotation device. We can only assume that as he went on another dive, he drowned unable to regain buoyancy. No suspicions were raised at the time, but the second death has definitely changed things.

Fish, the fancy tailed shubunkin

A fellow frequenter of The Fishtank, a fancy tailed Shubunkin called Fish was 'found dead' by the same Miss Holt at the beginning of this week. Trying to keep things quiet, it is alleged that the mysterious internationally renowned 'Agent Dollface' was hired to dispose of the evidence including the body. Little is know of this shady character of whom there is only one known photo when she was much younger, only that she speaks with a foreign accent, possibly North American, and that her calling card is a red maple leaf, which has caused much confusion for investigators. The British intelligence unit MI5 have refused to make any comment and the FBI are totally stumped as to what the red leaf might represent.

A possible photo of Agent Dollface and
The Confusing Maple Leaf

No signs of the body were found by investigators, but a significant number of cats have been noticed congregating close to the garbage bins close to The Fishtank. The Cats Protection League has been quick to squash all rumours that any felines were involved in the appalling death of Mr. Fish and Mr. the Diver or the subsequent disappearance of their bodies.

Steve and Heather Belleguelle, close relatives of Mr. Fish and owners of The Fishtank were contacted and asked for their thoughts on the matter. Mr Belleguelle, who is currently living in Canada (reputedly a country somewhere north of the USA) stated, "We had just started to get used to the fact that Fred was no longer with us when we received the news about Fish. It has really knocked us sideways, we are gutted." When asked if he considered it to be foulplay, Mr Belleguelle responded instantly, "When Fred went we believed it was simply an accident, but at the tragic loss of Fish within two weeks, our suspicions were raised. We definitely believe something fishy is going on. The Fishtank has always been a clean family place and we had wanted it to become a name that people across the nation would love and cherish. These incidents have really thrown cold water on those dreams." Asked about the future of The Fishtank, he replied that it would be closing down for the time being and that there were currently no plans to reopen in the foreseeable future.
Mr Belleguelle apologised that Mrs Belleguelle was unavailable for comment explaining that she was feeling pretty washed out by the whole experience.

Investigations are continuing.

Steve

My God Reigns

I've been struggling to post lately, both from time pressures, but also because my heart has been heavy. Many of the psalms start off sad but by the time the writer has finished, they have set their eyes on God and lifted their hearts and their eyes to Him. When you look upon Him, your problems and pains get set into the proper perspective.

Sometimes things just overwhelm you, you feel “Hey, I’m doing okay!” and then you get a whammy from behind and you just feel overwhelmed.

I had that tonight as the result of an accumulation of things. Heather and I have decided to return to Morpeth at the end of June for various reasons including flight fares, my Dad’s 70th birthday, hopefully being in Ottawa for Glenda’s birthday, seeing Jenny in the summer on the chance that she might be going off elsewhere after this year, being settled in for the new IBOLT term starting in September and other reasons.
We’ve been talking with various friends over here about our future and that we really don’t know what will happen once we return home – whether we stay and get involved back in the church, or come back over to Canada for another long term stay for who knows how long.
Then I read Jenny’s latest blog posting and it just knocked my heart sideways again! It’s so tough when your heart is torn between two places and you don’t really know what you want to do. All you know is that you have people in both places that you love and want to be with. I’d written a posting on similar thoughts a few months ago about the pain of loving and the reward and I realised my heart is straining again at the pain of being apart, and the future prospect of being apart from those I love.
It seems to be a very familiar place for me to return to, probably one of my most familiar places since coming to Canada. The tough thing is that when I wrote the blog on 6th September, we didn’t know many people here very well, now we have many friends and many people we will miss dearly when we leave. As I wrote in my blog, I knew this would happen, but it doesn’t make the prospect, or the decision of where I want to be any easier and, of course, it is a decision I make with Heather, not on my own. Would I rather that I had stayed in Morpeth and never had this dilemma? Never, God has taught us so much over the last eight months and will continue to do so over the next four while we are here, I wouldn’t miss it for the world. Not to mention joining our hearts with so many wonderful people. Yet, I still sometimes find myself overwhelmed by sadness that we’ll be away from people we love whichever way we choose.
My personality type would like to focus on this and remain sad, and yet I realise that God has given me a big heart that loves so many people, and even if I’m not with all of those people, I shall always have people I love around me, even if He sends us to totally new places. He has given me a heart that loves people and He shall always provide people for me to love and those who will return love in response. I know that I shall spend eternity with those I love who love Him and so I’ll have forever to spend with them as well as with Him. The time we’re apart now will seem as nothing! Should I focus on missing the people I'm away from or enjoying the people I am with, whilst happily remembering the others and working to stay in touch with them? Why so downcast my soul?

I can trust God with my heart. He knows the needs of my heart and it is He who will satisfy them. If I try to do this myself, I will almost certainly end up hurting my heart and others’ hearts, yet if I leave my heart in His hands, though it may hurt at times, my heart is in the hands of the one who loves me more than I can imagine, and more than anyone else can love me. My heart is safe in His hands, and when it does get hurt and torn, it is He upon whom I can depend to heal it.

We learnt a new song at LGF, one that Tom Steward from Tamworth, England (brother of Chris who we went out for supper with this evening) had written and taught us soon after he arrived in Canada a few weeks ago. It made me cry at first as I realised the pain in my heart over all these things, and over uncertainties over my church in Morpeth, it so resounded with the tears my heart was crying. Then I focused on the truth that it was saying and realised it was a source of comfort and strength through the toughest times. Now I find it makes me rejoice, even as my heart resonates in pain with the second part of the chorus. My hope is in the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth. Here’s the chorus from the song (without permission - hope you don't mind Tom!) …

Our God reigns over everything,
He reigns over earth and sky and sea,
Over all the universe, our God reigns.
Yes you reign in my darkest hour,
You reign when my tears are falling down,
When I’m lost tired and alone,
Yes You reign.

I rejoice in the friends and family God has given me, they are so precious and I thank Him for them and would never be without them, even if I am apart from them. God has given me an extended family that spans continents!

The decisions we will have to make are still not easy, but there is no need to feel overwhelmed, my God is with me.

My God Reigns!

Poisoned!

Well, it’s a bit of a dramatic title, but it did make you read at least this first line!!

So we didn’t get poisoned in a disastrous fashion, but for a pair of decaf only drinkers, the coffee we were given on Tuesday morning did give us both the shakes, made my heart pound like crazy and send me into an emotional dive!
One of the young adults was making coffee and poured some into one of the flasks before realising it was the decaf flask. He decided he should make some decaf for the flask, but rather than emptying out the full power stuff he’d already put in, he simply poured the decaf in on top. About an hour and a half later Heather and I became rather suspicious when we both realised we had caffeine highs! Thankfully it dispersed after about three to four hours, but it did make preparing for the IBOLT fellowship group interesting – one effect on us both is that our heads feel like they’re on another planet making coherent thought more than a little difficult.

A Short Weekend in Edmonton

The other weekend, Heather and I went with our Bible study group to Edmonton. Well it was supposed to be with the group but by the time different couples realised they couldn’t make it, it was down to just three couples. We still had a fun time though. Setting off from Lloyd at about 8:00am, we arrived at around 11:00am and dropped Heather, Marea and Tina at the West Edmonton Mall – the largest shopping mall in North America and probably the world, and then Keith, Rory and I went off to the Harley Davidson shop and drooled over bikes. Well they drooled cos they knew what they were looking at; I got to sit on a real motorbike for I think the first time ever. I’d sat on my Dad’s Honda scooter many years ago, but it can’t really compare to a Harley! I’m not yet converted, but they sure were nice looking machines. Keith and Rory came away with various bits of literature, I came away with the knowledge that I had now sat on a motorbike! :-)

After lunch at Swiss Chalet we too went to the West Ed Mall and came upon hordes of people wearing large five digit numbers. Had we been unaware, we could have looked more closely to find out what it was about, but Leslie at church had already warned us that the Edmonton try outs for Canadian Idol were taking place the weekend we had chosen to visit Edmonton.
One delightful surprise for Heather and me was to bump into our friend Norma who was also sporting a number. We stood and chatted for a while, catching up a bit which was really enjoyable. I think there were another six hundred hopefuls to go before Norma was on, so what time she actually got a chance to sing I don’t know, but I do know that she sadly didn’t make it through – never mind Norma, we think you’re great anyway!

Whilst in the mall, Heather was able to pick up a couple of serious bargains as early birthday presents. She got this fab top (I asked her what it was called and am still unclear – fashion terms – bah!) and a hat that suits better than any hat I have ever seen her in, here she is posing. Sadly she was just developing a cold and very sore throat when I took the photo which is why she may not appear on her top form. :-(

After our visit to the mall, we checked into the hotel and then went to Moxie’s where I enjoyed a steak and then joined Heather in sharing a small portion of White Chocolate Brownie, which really is so good. If you’re ever near a Moxie’s I can’t recommend it highly enough! Fair praise from someone who’s usually not too fussed on desserts.

A few days before our trip, Heather sent an e-mail to Gord and Glenda Mosher and mentioned that we were in Edmonton for the weekend to which Glenda swiftly replied telling us that Gord was currently working in Edmonton and would still be there on the weekend. Gord and Glenda live in Ottawa, Ontario, about five hours flight away, so for Gord to be two and a half hours drive away, in the very city we would be visiting was amazing. We got in contact with him and were able to meet up with him in the Denny’s restaurant adjoining our hotel. It was so good to be able to chat and catch up with him for a couple of hours. The Moshers really are our Canadian family, so although it meant that we missed the hot tub and swimming pool, it was a tiny sacrifice compared to being able to spend time with Gord – God is SOOOO good!!! YAY!!! :-)

Sunday morning we went to Central Pentecostal Tabernacle which we enjoyed. The church was extremely welcoming and on Tuesday we found a letter from the church with a handwritten note on it from Pastor Bob Jones who had come up and spoken to us while we waited for the service to start, that was such a warm touch. We pray God’s richest blessing on them. It was great to see Steve Hertzog the principal of Vanguard College there and Ron Powell, one of the IBOLT instructors, with his wife Anna. The other couples in our group also met people they knew so we hung around for quite a while after the service.

On our return trip we passed through Vegreville and after some food in Dairy Queen we went to see the largest Pysanka in the world. A Pysanka is a Ukrainian Easter egg, and this one is enormous. Despite living nearby for all his life, Rory had never been up to it either, so the three of us made our pilgrimage and we all posed for photos in front of it. We didn’t stay too long though as it was perishing cold and a wind was whipping around making it colder still.

And so we returned to Lloydminster, having had quite an eventful and very enjoyable weekend.

More Snow

Last night saw some more snow, so we had to sweep four and a half inches off the truck this morning, with another six inches forecast for today!

And Finally...

For those who have been holding their breath, here on March 1st is...

Mr. March

God bless you!

Steve