WHY?  What does God have in mind for this connection?
In preparing for the trip to Calgary, Walter asked himself that a few times.  Of all the ministries and missionaries that Samaritan's Purse has relationships and partnerships with, why have I been invited to present there?
We flew to Calgary Monday afternoon, arriving and assuming we would find our own ride to the hotel we were to stay at...after searching for the right pillar to wait for a shuttle to the Sandman Inn, we got a text that John from S.P. would pick us up!  So we loaded our overnight bags into John's little truck and headed to his home for supper.
John and Michelle prepared a wonderful Thai meal for us-being mindful of Walter's fat-free dietary needs-and we enjoyed our evening with their family.  They have two daughters, Aileen aged 12 and Vivian aged 10.  Delightful young ladies, busy with homework but trying to engage with us in conversation when topics were of interest to them.
John had to take a quick phone call, then drove us to the hotel for the night.  Although it was about 8:30 pm Alberta time, we were an hour later on our bodies' time clocks.  So we were thankful to relax a bit and get to bed at a decent time.
The alarm on Walter's I-phone went off at 6:15 am...7:15 am Sask time!  What missionary working in First Nations culture has early morning breakfast meetings?  Well, we do when we are connecting in a more corporate world with head office-types!  So we showered and dressed and met John, Fred and Larry for breakfast at the Moxie's Restaurant at our hotel.  It was nice to meet and chat with these key gentlemen in the Calgary headquarters.  John directed the conversation to Walter's presentation so they could all get on the same page for the morning's agenda.  Walter had met all three before and Larry, being the guy in the First Nations community they were beginning an outreach in, had spent some time with Walter back in April.  So it was a reunion, but also a deepening of the relationship.
By the time it was growing light outside, it was time for us to walk across the road to the Samaritan's Purse office.  How convenient!  So we hustled up to our room, finished packing and checked out to be at the devotional time at 8:45 am.
Back in September,we had toured the warehouse and offices, where all the Operation Christmas Child shoe boxes are gathered, repacked and sent out!  So walking in on Tuesday morning, we were greeted by Carolyn, who knew us before through Crossroads Community Church (Walter's home church).  And it felt wonderful to be recognized and welcomed.
We received visitor passes and quickly followed the others to the meeting room.
Walter shared a few thoughts from John 6 on inviting Jesus into the boat of our lives, into the storms of our lives.  The group of about 25 then shared some prayer requests.  That was amazing and challenging! The items I see on the news, the disasters and the crises, they translate into real people and needs that Samaritan's Purse staff seeks to bring help to.  So the prayer requests were global and incredible to Walter and myself as we sat there and listened.  Then we broke into smaller groups and prayed about Greece, Nepal, the Syrian refugees...it opened our eyes and hearts to God's work all across the world.
Walter was sharing his PowerPoint, speaking about dependency issues and the strategies for healthy ministry to the poor and broken.  While he was presenting, both he and I were still asking ourselves:  why are we here?  What is God doing?
We had a tasty lunch with Larry, and his wife Trixie, from Dease Lake.  It was nice to meet and visit with this couple, whom Walter had connected with back in April.  We felt a quick comraderie as we shared our common stories and experiences in ministry.  I asked lots of questions and they were so very open and transparent.  Definitely kindred spirits.  Lunch was over way too soon.
In the second meeting after lunch, a smaller group met and shared their specific ministries with us. Some had direct connections with First Nations and some had indirect relationships with the outreach in Dease Lake and/or Siksika First Nation.  One guy came in late, introduced himself and shared his ministry.  Then he asked, thinking he had missed some important links in the meeting, so what is the future relationship of Samaritan's Purse with Healing Hearts?  We all kind of looked at each other around the tables and John spoke up.  Shrugging his shoulders, he voiced that he didn't know but we will wait on God's direction.
And that is where it is at.  God has a plan and His sovereign will is all we need to trust for now.
We caught a ride to the airport, boarded our plane and flew uneventfully back to Regina.  Our car was parked in the overnight parking lot and we conveniently took our carry-on luggage directly to the car.  Within minutes of landing on the Regina Airport tarmac, we were cruising ring road to our home.
Another successful and safe trip.
Thank You, Lord, for knowing why!