Sabbath

We did manage to sleep in a little bit on this Sabbath morning, waking somewhere around 7:30. We were glad for the opportunity to have a relaxed breakfast (with delicious cinnamon rolls!) and then to catch up on our e-mail and whatnot.



We got dressed for church and left the hotel at about 11:00 to go out to lunch. We chose a nearby A&W, where they seemed to be having some communication problems. Andy had decided that he wanted a plain hamburger, and we had to take the proffered burger back twice because our definition of plain (“he doesn’t want anything at all on it”) didn’t seem to gibe with their definition of plain (which seemed to be, “leave some of the stuff off”).



We arrived at the Howard Johnson’s in plenty of time for services. We were glad to see a few other people arriving just as we did, and so were able to get started on introductions early. The Regina congregation is very small, with fewer than 20 members. What they lacked in numbers they made up in warmth. We were very glad to meet everyone, and especially happy to see our friends, Lloyd and Helen Teetaert again. We had first met them (and last seen them) at a leadership workshop in 2006.

I’d been a bit nervous about meeting everyone, and Chris had encouraged me to just be myself. In my case, this translated to dashing out of the room to powder my nose just before the beginning of services, only to discover on my return that I was locked out of the room and that services were already beginning. For an awful moment as I stood there tapping and trying to get someone’s attention, I thought I would have to go up to the front desk and try to convince them that I really legitimately belonged in that room and they should unlock the door for me!

Happily, someone did hear and let me in. As it happens, the songleader had started services a couple of minutes early, thinking that everyone was already sitting down. I was a bit embarrassed, but nothing breaks the ice quite like a harmless mishap, so all was quite well.

Chris gave the first message, and Chris and I had the chance to sing special music as well. It’s always fun for us to sing together. Mr. Teetaert gave a very enjoyable look at friendship as revealed through the Bible. After the service had ended, I was able to chat with a few of the ladies about music before we headed back to our hotel room to change.

The Teetaerts hosted us and with their congregation at their house with a barbeque. It was an absolutely perfect evening for it, not too hot, too cold, or too buggy (until about 9 p.m.). We were sorry not to have anything to contribute to the supper, but there was plenty to enjoy anyway, and we were very glad to spend time with our new acquaintances.





Chris and I were the last to leave—the poor boys had been sitting in the car for half an hour waiting, as we talked and time slipped away. Although there hadn’t been any sight-seeing, this was definitely one of the most deep-down enjoyable days of the trip.