Summer Assignment 2010

Yesterday was the announcement of annual moves in The Salvation Army in the Canada & Bermuda Territory. A number of officers received phone calls informing them that at the start of July they are expected to relocate and commence service in a new location or role.

It was also a very exciting day around the College for Officer Training in Winnipeg, where Second Year Cadets received their very first appointments as Salvation Army officers. After 22 months of training these individuals and families are being given responsibility for leading a Salvation Army unit. You can see a list of where the cadets are going on the College's website.

Also announced at CFOT were the summer assignments for the First Year Cadets - a group that I belong to. While the Second Years were given private visits in their apartments to break the news, we were summoned to the College for a light lunch and told in front of the entire College community where we would spend the summer. When my name was called it was announced that I was spending the summer in Bay Roberts, Newfoundland.

I am looking forward to the summer and the time I am going to spend in Bay Roberts. Summer assignments are an opportunity for cadets to gain experience in ministry under the supervision of a more experienced officer. Going to Newfoundland will also give me the opportunity to experience a different culture and expression of the Army from what I have grown up with. Of course I've been to Newfoundland a few times since Susan is from the island, but two months doing ministry within that context will be a new experience and fantastic opportunity.

You can check out the full list of summer assignments here.

I leave you with a picture of me and some friends taken in Bay Roberts when I was there in 2001 on a band trip.

Back together in Edmonton

Many people may be aware that I spent two weeks in Galveston, Texas with The Salvation Army on disaster relief deployment in the wake of Hurricane Ike. I left Edmonton on October 6 and got back home on the 19.

It was an interesting experience for me. It was my first time being away from home since we got married and it was difficult at times, but the work was rewarding (and very tiring). I was able to participate in a variety of duties during my time there including distributing food from canteens, cleaning canteens, cleaning Cambro containers (used to keep the food hot), driving a shuttle van to pick up new volunteers from the airport in Houston, and distributing food hampers and cleaning kits at a social service centre.

I also spent one day in Cyrstal Beach, a community on the Boliver Peninsula - a ferry ride from Galveston. The Boliver Peninsula was hit particularly hard by Ike and the communities are devestated there. It was a very difficult day that I will not forget any time soon. Click here for a USA Today news story from Crystal Beach.

I am glad to be back home now, but will hold on to this experience for a long time. It was a valuable time for me and I learn a lot from it. It affirmed the value of the Emergency Disaster Services ministry of The Salvation Army in me, and I feel privileged to be a part of that ministry.

One month since the big day

It has been a little over one month since we were married in Grand Falls-Windsor, Newfoundland, and a very busy month at that. We have flown back to Alberta, drove down to California, spent a week near Malibu and then drove back to Alberta.

The wedding went extremely well, with an intimate group of family and friends joining with us to celebrate the beginning of our lives as a married couple. My grandmother, Commissioner Margaret Waters, conducted her very first wedding. We were very greatful to her for making the journey out from Ontario for the day. Others from both Susan and my families traveled to be with us, and we are greatful to everyone who could be with us. We have our photos back from the photographer and will be posting them on Facebook shortly.

Our trip to California was lots of fun. We drove south via Idaho, Washington, Oregon and California. We were able to visit with Susan's cousin Tammy and husband Jeremy near Portland on our way down. We also met their two children Maya and Declan. We had a great evening together. We also camped in Humbolt Redwood State Park in northern California amongst the world famous Giant Redwoods which was an amazing experience. If you happen to be passing through Miranda, CA make a stop at the Avenue Cafe. We had an excellent supper there.

During the last day of our drive south we passed through San Francisco, crossing the Golden Gate Bridge on our way into the city. Our GPS then got confused and took us back across the Bay Bridge to Oakland.

We stayed at the Salvation Army's Mt. Crags Conference Centre near Malibu. We were able to go for a nice walk through Malibu State Park (formerly 21st Century Fox's Century Ranch, where classics such as Planet of the Apes was filmed). We swam in the pool (getting pretty bad sunburns in the process). We spent a day at Disneyland where we braved such adventures as Star Tours, Indiana Jones and Splash Mountain (I didn't particularly enjoy the 50 ft. drop). We also rode the SS Mark Twain and I got pulled into a street performance. Susan also enlarged her hat collection at the Mad Hatter. We stayed into the evening and enjoyed the parade at the end of the day.

Our trip north took us through Arazona, Ohio, Idaho and Montana. Our longest day was a decent 1200 km drive from the camp to Ogden, Ohio just north of Salt Lake City. We enjoyed a nice relaxing stay the Great Falls KOA camp ground before coming back to Canada.