The wind whipping off the ocean left a salty taste on our lips.  Gentle waves lifted the ferry up and down, not enough to make me seasick but to give a little butterfly sensation in the tummy!  Walter and I sat looking out the front of the ferry's lounge area, pointing out other ships and noting the sea birds dipping and diving for their breakfast.

We left Regina on Sunday, November 12 and drove as far as Brandon the first night.  With going to church, packing and all that goes with being away from home for a couple of weeks, we decided not to push the first day.  Monday morning we got an oil change in Brandon, then drove the one hour to Gladstone, MB (well, to Mark and Amy's country home).  Kaira had grown in the two weeks since we had last seen her!  So glad we could see her and Amy - Mark was still working some hours as the weather was mild enough for concrete pouring.  After some wonderful snuggles with baby Kaira and a nice visit with Amy, we reluctantly left for Winnipeg.

Best Western has been our hotel of choice and we are Diamond members now!  So we drove to the hotel and made arrangements for leaving our vehicle there for the duration of our trip.  They offer a deal for parking and a night's stay which is definitely cheaper than leaving the vehicle at the airport Park N Fly.  After a decent supper at the restaurant, we relaxed in the suite before getting to bed early.  The 4 am alarm/wake-up call would come way too soon...

Standing in the dark, chilly, pre-dawn hours waiting for the shuttle to the airport made me wish for the warm and comfy bed again!  But we endured the cold, thankful for the comforts of modern travel.  By that evening, we would be sleeping in a warm bed at Arrowhead Native Bible Centre in New Brunswick.  

The first leg of our journey went from Winnipeg to Calgary.  What????? Yes, you read that correctly!  We flew to Calgary, with a short layover, then a direct flight to Moncton, NB.  The flights were both smooth and uneventful.  Since we hadn't flown since February, 2020, we wondered how the airlines and connections would work out.  Thankfully, we had no issues and all our luggage arrived.  

Grant Fawcett greeted us in the Moncton airport, and drove us to the camp (Arrowhead) which is about an hour and a half.  We stopped first at the Irving restaurant (in Salisbury, NB) on the way back as we were good and hungry!  Grant gave us the keys for the camp truck - a Dodge Laramie - that would be for our use during the next couple weeks.  After settling us in the suite in the camp's lodge, we turned in early for a good night's sleep.

The Fawcett family have been directing the camp and bible centre ministry for 11 or 12 years, I believe.  Their three young daughters are sweet and love to be involved in camp life, as well.  They had just completed a chapel building project that they were able to use this past summer.  We arrived just as they were preparing for the annual "Christmas Craft Sale" to be held on the Saturday.  More about that later.

On Wednesday, November 15, we had a lunch meeting with our first missionary, Venus Cote.  By the time we got up, had our showers and coffee, it was time to drive the hour or so to Fredericton.  Venus lives on the St. Mary's Reserve (Wolastoqiyik - Maliseet nation).  She is a Saulteaux woman from Cote's First Nation near Kamsack, SK.  Stay tuned for our adventures with Venus!