Have we been living a double life?
Sometimes I feel like I am leading a double life.  Our home and ministry in Regina has been our base, our reality for 28 years.  For me, it has been 30 years since I graduated from Nipawin Bible Institute and made my way into First Nations community to serve.  We have been married and established our family here.
In the past six or seven years, the ministry of Healing Hearts has grown beyond Regina...to Nipawin, SK, Dallas, MB and Big Valley, AB.  And our retired evangelical sister, Gisela, has taken the Healing Hearts model and spirit to Germany!  So our life has expanded to the prairie provinces of Canada.
Now since March, Walter and I have packed our bags and been developing a new reality in Prince Albert.  Our involvement has meant adapting to a more organized and mature mission body, with traditions and history that is both rich and settled.  We go from a fairly relaxed ministry environment with HHM to a more formal culture with NCEM.
Yesterday, our daughter Caylea came up to Prince Albert to visit some friends.  We invited her to tour the NCEM office, print shop and Tribal Trails department.  I was so excited to have her see our new reality and meet the folks we work with these days.  Literally, I watched the clock in my office; finally, I went to town (about 10 minute drive) to do some errands and visit our bookstore manager, Lydia in Prince Albert.  I could hardly wait for Caylea to arrive!
At just after 3 pm, Caylea walked in the main office, past the reception desk and around the corner to where Walter and I have our office spaces.  It was like linking our two worlds as we introduced her to the various financial workers, toured her around the printshop and finally brought her into the Tribal Trails TV studio.  Many of them have prayed for Caylea, as we shared her cancer journey and her recent trip to Europe.  She engaged them well and it warmed my heart to see our new coworkers connect with our family.
The last part of our grand tour of the NCEM Headquarters was our little suite.  Walter had to take a phone call, so I led her across the parking lot to the mobile home trailer to the west of the office building.  She immediately opened the bathroom door, all the cupboard doors, even the fridge!  She explored in the bedroom, and I commented, "Boy, you're a snoopy Gus!"  Her reply, "I love checking out houses and apartments!"  A girl after my own heart!
In chatting with some of the staff, mostly she joked that she wanted to check out whether we were really "working" when we went away for several days at a time!  She was impressed with her Dad's spacious office, even putting her feet up on his desk!  We laughed a lot.
With Caylea's visit and tour, it helped link our two worlds.  Our family and our ministry roots in Regina are such an integral part of who we are.  And now we are learning so much more!
Maybe someday, our Healing Hearts reality will meet NCEM ~ now that might be an experience!