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June 30-July 2, 2009

Tuesday morning, June 30^th, we set out for a new province. There are no interstate highways in Canada but the main 4-lane highway going across the middle of the country is Highway 1 which doesn't always bypass the city your driving through. We left Portage la Prairie and drove back to Brandon and beyond on Highway 1 but then it was 2-lane highways the remainder of the day. All day we saw nothing but rolling fields and an occasional small 1-horse town. We stopped in one of those towns to buy a loaf of bread, a jar of peanut butter and a quart of milk. With a plastic spoon I spread peanut butter on bread on my makeshift lap table, wrapped sandwiches into paper towels and handed them back to the kids. A cup of milk in a paper coffee cup complete with protective lid followed that.

We arrived in Estevan, Saskatchewan late in the afternoon. Wayne and Cathy Daae (pr. Doe) hosted us via the Perfect Inn in Estevan and lavished us with a suite that contained a queen and pull-out couch in the main room with a king-sized bed in an adjacent bedroom. It's always nice when no one has to sleep on the floor. I set into the laundry upon arrival and finished up just before leaving to go eat. We found an A&W and experienced Canada's extra sweet ketchup and slightly sweet brown gravy with french fries. Very rich food. I'm surprised. I thought Americans ate the richest, highest glycemic index foods.

July 1^st is Canada Day and it gives people reason to take a day off from work and have parades. It is very similar to our Independence Day celebration. However, I didn't see the passion in Canadians for Canada Day that I see in Americans for the 4^th of July. Maybe it's because I'm not Canadian. Or maybe it's because we remember the hundreds of thousands of men who gave their lives to fight for our freedom to become an independent nation. Declaring ourselves free from a king and his tyrannical leading. Unfortunately, there are many Americans who are not passionate enough about our Independence Day, what it's about and why we celebrate it. Those who are passionate about it, are so because they understand that freedom is never free and someone before them paid a very great price.

The Daae's have organized and hosted the Gospel Music Jamboree at Oungre (pr. Unger) Regional Memorial Park since 1993 and it has grown a little every year. However, after listening to several talk about it, it sounds like 2009's jamboree was nearly twice as big as the previous year. It was a bit humorous to me to drive mile after mile and see nothing but fields and farmland, turn off the main road and there see a park complete with campground, hockey rink, cafe, ball diamonds, fishing, indoor pool, billiards, miniature golf and playground. This park is the hub of Oungre's activities and social events all the year long, and understandably so...there's no where else to go.

We arrived around 10:30 for a soundcheck and the concert began at 1:00 p.m. It was rather comforting to see Aaron Wilburn, a fellow Cornerstonian and Nashvillian, and Bobby had waited a long time to introduce the Hunter Family to me. A few years back while on a Canada tour with Heritage Road, he called and told me about the Hunter Family and how unique and interesting they were. I first met J.J., the oldest of the five boys, then Dusty and his wife Suzanne, and parents, Lorne and Norma. There are 3 more boys, Luke, Brock, and Tye and the seven of them sing and “move” on stage performing and ministering through Southern Gospel Music. They, like most Canadians in the area, are mega farmers from Shaunavan, Saskatchewan. This is how they make their living but how they have their fun and where they believe God has called them as a family unit is in music. J.J. was recently called by the NHL to train but believes his purpose in life is to minister through song with his brothers and not to play professional hockey.

In visiting with Norma I learned that her oldest son was twenty-eight and each son after was two years younger than his older brother. That was the pattern for the first four sons anyway. Six years after Brock, the fourth son, Tye came along who enjoys referring to himself as “The Tye-breaker,” taking the number of family members from six to seven. All the boys assist their dad with the farming throughout the week and on the weekend their dad (and mom) assists them with singing Gospel music.

The Hunter Family has an unusual way of including choreography into their songs which is entertaining and refreshing. They've grown up doing this and after I asked how this came about I was told that they, like many people felt a little awkward just standing there when the tracks they sang to, played in between the chorus and second verse. Somebody started moving and it just evolved very quickly and naturally. In recent years we've seen groups like Signature Sound go with this choreography trend but this is something the Hunters have been doing for at least a decade. A perfect example of “being all things to all men that some might be saved.” (1 Cor. 9:22) What was so funny to me is the realization that the churches they sing in welcome this – even the Mennonite churches. I've never been a dancer myself but I thoroughly enjoyed listening to and watching the Hunter Family.

Bobby sang at 2:15 and 6:55...yes, a very long concert, indeed. He had the children come up on stage for both sets so 30 minutes before it was time for him to sing, I was gathering them in from their playing, dusting off their feet, combing their hair, washing their faces and struggling to get clothes changed in a hot van. Before the second set, I took Hope and Faith into the shower room adjacent to the pool so we had running water and more room than in the van. Norma offered their bus but with 2 large families, I felt like an intruder. We did just fine, except for the fact that I forgot to bring socks for Hope to wear under her pink and white cowgirl boots. We powdered her feet down real good and then pushed and pulled and cried and tugged and yanked and shoved and took breaks, panting until we finally got those boots on and then off again...and we had to go through that twice for the two singing sets.

I watched Landis as he giggled listening to Aaron Wilburn and then I smiled when I saw how the kids were all impressed with the Hunter boys. Landis, Hope and Faith really enjoyed the whole day, from playing hours of miniature golf to riding their bikes and trikes to singing on stage. Grace had a great day too. She sat listening from 10:30 until about 3:00 when I finally got her to the van to lay her down where she could change positions and get a necessary change. She had eaten half of her lunch but she was not happy about breaking from the concert. She made it clear that she wanted business taken care of quickly and wanted to get back in to hear some more music. I gave her another break at 7:00 and finally after the finale at 9:00 and some packing up, we were rolling out of there by 10:00. What a long day!

Estevan is only 10 miles from the U.S. Border so after sleeping in on Thursday, eating our usual big breakfast and packing up, we approached the border patrol around noon. The officer was very nice but very thorough. He opened every door and looked in every corner of the van and trailer. When he first approached the passenger side of the van, I rolled my window down and we greeted each other. He was looking down at our passports and birth certificates when he heard Grace give one of her happy screams. He slowly looked up at Bobby with a suspicious look on his face as if he suspected we were carrying an exotic animal, which was the last question he'd just asked us to which our reply was, of course, no. When he gave us the funny look, we just smiled at him and told him that was called “a happy scream from Grace.”

When he finally finished searching us we told him he had really been a pain in our butts but we were very glad of it. We told him that we felt a little better about our national security knowing that people like him were doing such a good job at our borders. “Just doing my job,” he said.

Bobby said it and I had been feeling it. In spite of the fact that we had a great time over the past week in Canada, making new friends and reuniting with old ones, there's just something about coming back into the United States that sends a feeling of relief over you. I don't think I felt safer when I came back onto U.S. Soil, but just a sense of feeling like, “Whew! I made it!” Silly, I know. The only other time I left the country for an extended period of time was in 1993 when I went to Australia for three weeks for ministry. But that was totally different because I was engaged to Bobby and was lovesick, so that messed with me anyway.

We sang Thursday night in Minot, North Dakota at Minot Baptist Church. Pastor David Miller and his very sweet wife were very kind to have us come even though they knew nothing about us. We ministered to a smaller crowd but we did minister in Jesus' Name. Pastor David's wife was of particular interest to me and I sensed in her a woman who has a sincere and yearning heart for more of God.

It was our assumption that as soon as we crossed the border on Thursday that we'd pick up our voice mail messages, return phone calls and send greetings to family and friends. We were disappointed, however, when we realized that trying to get an AT&T signal in sparsely populated North Dakota is like trying to pick up a grape with a tooth pick on a paper plate. I've learned to just make phone calls and send emails when I get an opportunity. Opportunities are not plentiful but I appreciate them when I get them. Thank goodness for Skype!