We left Logan Lake at 8:30 a.m. thinking we might need extra time if there was fog or snow, but the sky was cloudless and the roads were clear and dry. We were an hour and half early for our appointment with the Consul General of the Republic of Kenya! So we dropped in to see Egan and Lee and their daughter, Darlene. They have another daughter in Burundi and a couple of grandchildren in Kigali, Rwanda. Had an inspirational visit and received some gifts to take with us for them via the "Two Harry's International Courier Service".
Our next stop was at the Consular offices, out in the countryside of Abbotsford. We got there with three minutes to spare. While the Consul General was preparing our visas for Kenya, we chatted and got to know him. In just a few short minutes, we discovered jewelry had graduated from a three year course at Columbia Bible College, had another two years of seminary, worked on his degree at Trinity Western University, worked for the United Nations and now as a representative of the government of Kenya. His octogenarian parents are still alive and reside in Kenya. He himself was born in Canada.
Our conversation turned to matters of faith and health. His words, "Five hundred people a year die of Aids in BC, but that, any die EACH DAY in Kenya. In contrast, there is spiritual poverty in Canada where there might be a handful who attend any given church, but in Kenya faith is alive and vibrant!". How's that for a commentary?
He also left us his personal cell number so that if we had ANY problem in Kenya, we could text him, even if it is on the weekend, and he would see to it that we had the attention and help of the right people ASAP! Wow!
Just 25 minutes later after he had given us a blessing, we were in the parking lot with visas glued into our passports and heading for Surrey for the night to bunk in at Branden's other grandparent's home.
Oh, we went to Walmart at Guilford to print some photos. Coming up the escalator behind us were three young men speaking Arabic. I greeted them in Arabic and asked where they were from. All three are from Iraq and have recently emigrated to Canada. Two of them are cooks and the third is looking for work. One was wearing a gold cross on a necklace so I asked him about it. "I am a Christian!". "So am I! We are brothers!". We shook hands all around as we discovered a commonality of faith. I knew there was something different about them!
Another turkey dinner and pie for dessert!
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