This gentleman made quite the impact this week when he showed up at the pastor’s convention we were attending. You probably don’t need me to tell you that he looked like he’d landed on the wrong planet. I mean, everything about him was out of place at a pastor's convention! It took us a few moments to get over how he looked on the outside but once we did, we discovered someone amazing on the inside. Amazing, because he loves people. I think he rather revels in the impact (both shock value and otherwise) he has on others, because it proves his conviction that every life is valuable and can make an impact on our world.
Heather posted a great photo this week that reminded me of the impact people can make. These ladies receive help that enables them in different ways. The young lady on the right receives sponsorship, which enables her to remain in school and further develop her potential. The granny on the left receives support, which enables her to be a caring “mom” to children who need her.
The little one being held is Tendai, who is in the process of being adopted by Rick and Heather Neufeld.I'll include a few photos that Barb Wayner sent this week as well. Thanks Barb for keeping us in touch while we're so far away. Progress on the Mercy Air house--looking good!
Ron taking a few minutes break. 
Ron and Barb are staying in our house while we're gone. Apparently, they came across this large scorpion on the veranda so they took photos of it then swooshed it back off over the edge. Eeeek! (Personally, I tend to squish scorpions rather than swoosh them. Impact or no impact.)
Anyway, back to our week and the pastor's convention.
For the first few days after we arrived in Edmonton, we took a bit of time to reconnect with our kids. They had to study for final exams and we had errands to run and items to prepare for use on our display table during convention. But just talking was important too!
Once we were ready, it was off to Red Deer for the convention.
This is our promo/display table with pictures and brochures on both the Mozambique and Brazil fields. It was a great place to hang out and chat :)
I decided to get a quick photo between sessions. Left to right: Carole Argo (school sponsorship coordinator), me, Arthur Lagore (S.A.M. president), Patti Green (S.A.M. office administrator), Pastor Lorne Fischer (from Richfield, our home church), and Bill Green (S.A.M. vice president).
My parents were at the convention too, so that made it especially fun. We attended sessions together, handed out brochures together, ate together, and talked and talked and talked.
On Friday, right after convention, I wrote my statistics midterm exam, and on Saturday we got packed up and headed for BC.
Along the way, we stopped to visit my grandparents' (on my dad's side) grave. I don't remember my grandpa very well since he passed away long ago. But my grandma was a remarkable woman, small though she was. And as I thought about her life, I thought again about the impact a life can make.
And yes, I thought about it again as we drove through this pass which was literally carved out of the mountain side to better enable the flow of traffic.
And again, as we went over this amazing bridge just beyond.
(Oh, and by the way, the mystery person in the first photo was really Pastor Dave Neufeld in disguise. He pastors a vibrant church in Grunthal, Manitoba and is Rick's dad. :) )
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