One always has to be prepared for the unexpected...

Here we are into fall already! Our summer was so very hot and dry, and BC had over 1,900 forest fires this year, we broke all records. Some days it was so smoky, we couldn’t see the mountains or the trees. Our weather has actually turned cold, especially at night. So, we are having to harvest our tomatoes and anything else we don’t want to freeze. We’ve had a few emergencies in the family recently. Earl’s brother Elmer had a heart attack and landed in the hospital, where he had a stint put in. My brother-in-law Lorne, had to be flown to Victoria and also had a stint put it, but thankfully he didn’t have a heart attack. He is now back at work and doing great. It will take Elmer somewhat longer to recover. We made a trip to Vancouver to visit Elmer & Marlene. Took the ferry to the island and visited one of our supporting churches in Chamainus. After that, we drove down to Seattle for four days to visit Ruth & Royden. Earl did some wiring in their basement, which they are renovating. It was such fun to be there, and we so much enjoy our granddaughter and her husband. Managed to get in some shopping and then headed homeward. We had hoped to get home before dark, but stopped too long at Costco, in Kamloops, so by the time we hit the road, it was already dark. We were clipping along following another car when suddenly he swerved off into the oncoming lane, and for a split second we wondered if he was drunk. The next split second, we knew why he did what he did! About a fifty feet in front of us was huge pitch black Angus bull was standing right in the middle of our lane. Earl hit the breaks but just the same, we broad sided him and knocked him down before we could stop! Our car unfortunately got the worst end of the deal. We were unhurt and believe it or not, the bull got up, stood there for ten minutes in a daze, and after that his owner came and chases him home. But there was quite commotion on the highway, just the same. We’re going to make doubly sure that we don’t travel after dark again. It’s just too dangerous. So often the unexpected happens, as it did this week. We got a message on facebook from a young man in England that had been adopted by a British couple from the Mount Horeb orphanage when he was just under two years old. He said he had been riffling through his documents and found our name. He punched it in on the Internet and found our blog. We were so amazed to hear from him after so long, and like most adopted children, he was most anxious to learn something about his biological family, and was hoping we could help him make contact. We are in the process of writing letters and sending pictures, etc. etc. between him and his family. If we are happy and surprised, imagine how his mother and sister, uncles and aunts, etc. will be. It’s just another one of the wonderful surprises that come our way from time to time.

Elmer & Marlene

Pleasure Boats in Vancouver

Our Granddaughter Ruth & her hubby Royden

Jeremy & his girlfriend Carey

Summer is coming to an end.

Wow what a summer we’ve had, at one point there were more than 800 forest fires burning, and some days it was so smoky we couldn’t even see the outline of the mountains around us. As each summer approaches we hope and pray the rain will fall at just the right time, in just the right amount, so we won’t have to deal with the frightening wildfires. The last three or four years have been pretty bad and the doomsayers tell us we can look forward to much of the same, but I think when it comes to predicting the weather or natural disasters that might occur, it’s anybody’s guess. We decided to do make some finishing touches on the back yard this summer, it’s nice to have a large lot, but it takes a lot of time and money to make it look good and keep it that way. Earl got material and recruited Luke’s help, and they really got into it. But it really does look better, even though it looked pretty good before we started. There have been a few upsets in our family recently. My brother-in-law Lorne Plett (Jenny’s husband) went for a stress test, and they wouldn’t even allow him come home, they flew him to Kelowna, did all the tests, and then flew him to Victoria where he had several stints put in. Apparently the quickest route to getting treatment is when the Dr. treats it as an emergency. Lorne was up and back to work in a few weeks. My grand niece Eric Vanderbrink has Hodgekin's disease and is undergoing chemotherapy treatments. She has two young active children so you can imagine how hard it is to be there for them right now. Then we got the news that Earl’s brother Elmer from Ladner also had a heart attack. Fortunately it happened at home and Marlene called emergency right away and got him into the hospital, hopefully not too much damage was done to the heart. He had a stint put in as well, and has to take it easy for a few months. Things in a family can change so quickly. We are going out for a visit this week. Will visit a church in Victoria on Sunday and then drive down to Seattle to visit Ruth & Royden. Grandpa will do some wiring, and grandma … well, she’ll do whatever her hands find to do. They were just here visiting Royden’s dad who is suffering from colon cancer. We would really appreciate your prayers on behalf of these suffering relatives. Royden’s sister from Seattle was here to see her dad as well. She brought little Vincent (the Lepp's first grandchild) much to grandpa and grandma Lepps delight, and they weren’t the only ones to enjoy him, so did the rest of us. What a sweet little fellow he is.