Reunion in Sussex

Back in 2003, six friends, 3 Canadians and 3 Americans, all single with one being a fairly new widow, met together for six wonderful days in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains near the Kananaskis River. We had an amazing time hiking, animal watching (including sighting a grisly bear), touring Banff and Lake Louise, viewing the Colombia ice fields, and marvelling and savouring God’s creation together. It was amazing to think that such a fantastic vacation worked out for all of us…what would be the chances of it ever happening again?

God did just that, allowed it to happen again this past week. Last Monday, June 3, four of our friends arrived here in Sussex, NB, coming from Toronto and Maine; the next day the 6^th friend joined us from Moncton. I, along with Ruth, had the special joy of hosting this special group here in Sussex. We had an amazing 4 days of enjoying the local sights as well as touring St. Martins, Saint John, and Moncton. We sampled authentic Maritime homemade fish cakes and fiddleheads, enjoyed ice-cream on several occasions, sampled a Ugandan bean recipe and haystacks (curried chicken and rice with toppings), plus Donairs and Macarons. But the true joy was being together and catching up on each other’s lives, praising God for his faithfulness over the past 16 years. Lots has happened…back then all of us were actively serving the Lord in full-time Christian work. Now, two have retired and another two are close to that milestone (us), two transferred membership to another organization, one moved from western Canada to eastern Canada, and for Ruth and me, we moved from the Philippines to Uganda; back then, VOICE Philippines wasn’t even thought about yet, never mind VOICE Africa! We each face our challenges but rejoice to know that our God never changes and He is actively working together all things for good…even the opportunity for six friends to be reunited. Praise Him!