An old friend in Kamloops, Canada

Friday morning, July 23, Young-il and I left the campsite before 6 am so that he could catch his flight back to Oakland. Then I went back, broke camp with the kids, and we headed east for Kamloops in central BC. First, however, we had to stop by a local farm and buy a couple of boxes of fresh blueberries. Mmm! Kamloops is half-way between Vancouver and Banff and is where an old friend of mine from Fuller days pastors a church.

It was good to see Harold again after 20+ years, get to know his wife, Charlene, better, and meet their three grown sons. Harold was a great support and and real friend to me when I went through a difficult period in my life; he has a real pastor's heart in caring for other people.

What an interesting time we had with them! We had bear meat for dinner--from a black bear that Harold had legally hunted and killed himself, cherries from their own cherry tree, grape juice from their own grapes, and lots of other homemade delicacies. In fact, most of their food they hunt, harvest, and preserve themselves. Charlene is also a musician--choral director, voice teacher, and pianist--and leads all of the music programs at the church, as well as a literacy program, among other things. Afterwards, Lisa and I commented to each other that we felt sorry for the boys. They are going to face major disappointment some day when they discover that women like their mother are one in a million.

We were sorry that we didn't get to attend a worship service with them and hear Harold preach but we did get to see the church building. After a warm send-off, we headed off for Banff: six hours to the east in neighboring Alberta.