Well folks, the last time I posted was back a ways. That was shortly after we started out on our new quest for rest. We told you of our time at Oliver and what we were doing there as far, as work goes, but had not done any touring at that time. Since then we made a couple of side trips one of which started in Oliver and traveled along a very rough dirt road up a very steep mountain for what seemed to be for ever, often turning corners that were almost too sharp for the truck and climbing steep hills that made us wonder if we should have invested in a 4X4. The low fuel light came on halfway up but we figured that if we climbed far enough there should be a point that there would be enough downhill to get somewhere even without fuel. Sure enough we finally found a place where some people had gathered with their Quad runners and other off road vehicles. They told us that it was all downhill from there in whatever direction you should chose so we carried on down equally steep grades and around equally sharp corners for an equal time but using much, much less fuel until we descended into Keremeos  BC. We got fuel and went for supper at a little restaurant called the Ranch Café on the main street. If you ever go through Keremeos  stop there, you get more than you can possibly eat at a price far below the norm. I had my favorite, liver and onions which was so awesome I thought I might just move to Keremeos  forever. Gail had something she said was real good but I know it couldn't be anywhere near as awesome as the meal I had. We returned to Oliver by way of Osoyoos which was somewhat longer but much, much faster. A few days later we made an excursion down into the United States of America to a small town called Orville WA,  we filled all the fuel tanks at a price the people there think is excruciatingly high but which we found was far less than anywhere on our trip to that point. The trip was not quite as exciting as the last one but was nice. Of course, I find that any time I can be in the presence of the awesome Mrs. Seabrook, all is nice.

We finished off our commitment to The Gleaners in Oliver on the 12 of July and set our sails for Saskatchewan. The first stop we made was at the Bulk Barn in Penticton,  because we had not seen one since the last time we were in Saskatchewan and they sell an awesome French Vanilla Cappuccino mix that we are both fond of and had run out of sometime before.  That was the first of the incidents of the trip. While looking for some shade to park in I got the camper to close to a tree and tore some patches out of the roofing material and cracked the bedroom window. But, hay, fixing things is not beyond my capacity so we carried on. Not too far further down the road, and I might add that it is a good road through some fairly rugged mountains, running at just a spot below the posted speed limit we came around a sharp corner to find a line of traffic stopped in the lane ahead of us. Even though all the wheels on the truck and the trailer were locked up and sliding it quickly became apparent that there was not adequate stopping distance in the lane ahead of us and that a lane change was the only option. I attribute everything that happened in the following few second to the Gracious hand of our awesome God as he guided us through each split second of an incident that had the potential of becoming an awful, if not fatal accident. God opened a space in the left lane large enough for the rig we were in and I was able to release the brakes long enough to fill that space and bring the unit to a screeching halt just before the space ahead of us was depleted. Following a quick moment to rescue my heart from my throat and to utter a quick prayer of thanks we carried on with our adventure that proved to become less adventurous for the rest of that day.

We spent the first night in a campsite on the east side of the Rodger’s Pass and stopped again in the small town of Hanna AB the following night. We spent a couple of days with Gail’s wonderful Aunt (Winnie) in Landis SK before reaching Saskatoon where we camped at an awesome campsite on the west side of the city.

We visited there with family and friends for one week. But our Granddaughter Angelica somehow thought it would be more fun to go to Japan than spend time with her amazing grandfather.  I fail to understand that.

Because we were not going to stay in our camper while in Meadow Lake Sk we left it in Borden, a town near  Saskatoon, and headed for the great white North ( not white yet, but it is known to have its days). We stopped in Turtleford for a two day visit with my Uncle and Aunt (Ralph& Joan) then moved on to Meadow Lake where I hunkered down for a period of time to try to bring together a message for our church in Rapid View for Sunday the 27^th. God gave me a message that had the potential to be good if only delivered with some sort of competence. More nervous than a long tail cat in a room full of rocking chairs I delivered the message and nobody said it was a disaster, with the exception of myself, so it may not have been the disaster it had the potential to be.  

That, my friends was yesterday and now I can relax. In the past I have commented on how a preacher only has to work 20 minutes a week and I want to take this time to apologize for those comments.

Well folks that brings us up to date. We will be here in Meadow Lake visiting with friends and family until the 12^th of August when we will drive to Calgary and fly the following day to The UK to begin our whirlwind tour of England, Scotland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland and France. So, you just keep praying for us and we will keep on enjoying all the things God provides for us through those prayers.

If for some reason you would like to continue to receive notice when we post further blogs then find the location just left of this writing on this page that says Follow by Email follow your nose through the process and you will receive said notices. And make a comment while you are here. We love to hear from you.

May God make you a blessing to the people around you as you are a blessing to us.

God bless each and every one of you, we love you all

Erwin & Gail 

Well folks we promised not to bother you until we were underway. We have now been underway for five days and we have successfully kept that promise. On day one we pulled out of Gateway in Langley at about 9:30 AM and traveled to Oliver BC where we set up camp and began our long awaited rest the next day by volunteering at the Okanagan Gleaners. The Gleaners, for those who do not know of them, is a not for profit organization that gathers leftover produce, that is produce that is second grade and can't be sold in stores. The volunteers cut away any bad parts and then it is diced up and  dehydrated and eventually packaged in 100 serving packages of soup base and transported to needy people around the globe. We have for the past four days been pitting and cutting and drying tons of cherries that will go with the soup base as a bit of a treat for the recipients.
We really don't have a lot to tell you so far and things won't change much for the next week or so when we pick up stakes and head to the place God made just for the perfect people . For those who are not sure, the place to which we refer is of course Saskatchewan.
Gail does more of the pitting and cutting than Erwin does. All Erwin gets to do is fix lawn mowers and do some plumbing and a little welding, and drilling and digging, OH,so pretty much what he always does.
It appears that after four nights in the camper that we still like each other just about as much as we ever have so this trip still has a good chance to work out well.
Just a couple of things you could keep in mind if and when you pray for us . 1. pray God will continue to open our eyes, our ears, our minds and our hearts so the we will be able to see, hear, understand and love all the things he has in store for us. 2/ Erwin will be speaking at our church in Rapid View Sask. on Sunday the 27th of July, so pray that God will lay something on his heart that would be a word from Him to  those that are unable to find something, or some other place to do or be that day.
Also, you will notice that just to the right of where you are now reading there is a section of this blog that contains some info. such as our profile and more important a little gadget that says "follow by email". If you should click on that gadget, and I hope you do, your computer will dissolve before your very eyes, just kidding. What will really happen is that you will have the opportunity to enter necessary info so that you will be automatically notified, by email. each time I publish a new post such as this, sometimes even better and that will make it not necessary for me to send out notices myself which I will stop doing soon. Also note that at the bottom of this post there is a place to leave a comment and we would love to hear from you so if you should find something nice to say please do. well even if you don't,  do it anyway.
God bless each and everyone of you. We love you all.
Erwin & Gail