Darkness made it difficult to make me believe it was actually morning.  Our packing routine had become very streamlined and we were dressed, wheeling our luggage and checking out of the hotel in half an hour.  Skipping the breakfast buffet, we chose instead to join the throng of early morning commuters.  Traffic wasn't too heavy as we followed the GPS instructions to the airport north of Halifax.  Half an hour or so had us at the airport.

A lonely employee of the Park 'N Fly stood in the lot to direct us to an open parking space.  We had repacked to have overnight bags only for our two-day stay in Happy Valley.  The shuttle was waiting for us with only one other passenger sitting near the driver.  We placed our bags on the luggage rack and sat on the other side of the bus.  Away we went about a mile or more to the actual terminal.  The airport was not busy but we still had to get through security and find our departure gate.  By this time in the journey, I was not nearly as stressed about flights or travel.  We were settling in to the pace.  Today marked the half-way point in our two week Maritime adventure.

We were plenty early for our flight so I took the opportunity to have my devotions.  It is kind of distracting with various people milling about, having random conversations and the announcements being broadcast throughout the waiting area.  But I sat in a wooden rocking chair - an unusual piece of furniture in an airport - and faced the eastern sky.  As the dawn broke, I felt overwhelmed by the beauty of the miracle of sunrise.  God's faithfulness to bring evening and morning, summer and winter reminded me that He is faithful to me, to us.  I wrote a few notes in my journal, read a small passage of Scripture and prayed through my daily list.  On Fridays, I pray specifically for our Bible camps, Tribal Trails and Generation Hope (a new initiative on YouTube for First Nations youth) besides my regular prayers for my husband and family.  By the time we were being called to board, I felt relaxed and ready to go.  

It was beautiful rising in the early morning sky, seeing the sunlight reflect off the Atlantic Ocean below.  We saw shoreline, some farms and roadways as we flew over Nova Scotia.  Soon, I was dozing as I listened to music on my phone through earbuds.  Next thing I knew, they were serving refreshments and I had water and some pretzels.  We would have a layover at our next stop so we would have time to grab coffee and food then. 

And then we landed at Saint John's, Newfoundland!  We have now been to every province and territory in Canada except Nunavut.  I was quite excited to land here - if only to spend our time in the airport - but it was fun all the same.  We walked to the seats at our next gate and settled in to wait for our next flight.  I offered to get coffee and breakfast for us at the Tim Horton's so walked back down the corridor.  I noted a couple of gift shops and planned to do some shopping for souvenirs before we left.  After eating, I wandered around and took pictures of the airport, since that's all we would see on this trip of Newfoundland.  They had puffins painted on the walls and a play area with other ocean critters in cartoon form.  I snapped a few more shots, including a selfie, and then headed to the gift shops.  

I selected several postcards, a puffin Christmas card and decided on a coral/pink coloured t-shirt with Saint John's NFLD on the front!  Then I returned to our seats while Walter took a stroll.  He needs to move about and keep the circulation going as 30+ years ago he had blood clots and could still have the risk of DVT's (deep vein thrombosis) from prolonged sitting.  Our flight was delayed about 30 minutes but there isn't much you can do by worrying about it.  We would get there when we got there!

The next flight was less than an hour - making a quick stop at Gander to drop off five passengers and taking on about the same.  Many people were military or miners on these flights.  The final leg of this journey was just around an hour long, so we enjoyed our complimentary beverage and snack and read or played games on our phones.  I was getting tired and it was only early afternoon!  How would I be able to visit with our next missionary couple and have any energy for engaging?

But somehow, the excitement of seeing our friends, Carl and Laura, and the adrenaline of landing and disembarking the plane gives that extra boost.  With our carry on luggage over our shoulders, we walked straight out and saw our friends waiting for us.  Hugs and hellos followed by stepping out into the fresh air woke me right up!

The sun was low in the afternoon sky.  Being late November, sunset would be about 4:30 pm.  So we had a very short drive from the airport in Goose Bay to the missionaries' home in Happy Valley.  They seem like one big community but they are separate.  We passed the airbase, some businesses, a Tim Horton's and the local highschool before turning in to a residential area.  We had been here to visit Carl and Laura back in 2018 but there had been snowbanks six feet tall that winter!  This year the snow was only six inches.  It was lovely to enter their home, put our bags in the guest room and sit in the kitchen with a hot drink while Laura prepared supper.

We had taken our missionary training back in 1990 with this newlywed couple.  They had served in the Maritimes all their career, raising a son and daughter.  Carl shared about his ministry in the local prison and the programs developed to help inmates adjust and be successful on the outside.  Laura and I talked about our children and family topics.  This is where Walter and I feel our sweet spot is in ministry: visiting, listening, sharing and building relationships.  Having a history with this couple helped make the conversation flow.  Carl brought out some old pictures and we laughed at how young we all looked back in our missionary training days!  

Saturday morning we slept as long as we wanted, made our own coffee and ate muffins and fruit that Laura had left out.  By mid-morning, we all met in the kitchen again for a second cup and to plot our day.  After a bowl of homemade soup for lunch, we set out for a drive.  Carl and Laura pointed out people's homes that they knew, lookout spots over the river and a port where goods came in to the community by ship back in the day.  Now that roads and highways have improved, they felt less isolated from the rest of the world.

Walter had brought his drone along, hoping to get some cool footage of this area.  But being in proximity to the airbase, we would have to drive an hour outside the area before we could use the drone.  With daylight being so short this time of year, it just didn't work out.  So we settled for a couple of pictures on our cell phones.  

We had offered to take our friends out for supper, so we could spend more time visiting and touring.  Laura was fine with that!  So they took us to the Moravian church where Carl preaches regularly and they consider their home church.  The Moravian missionaries who came from Germany back in the 1500's or so brought the Gospel to the Newfoundland/Labrador region before the Anglican or Roman Catholic churches arrived on Canadian soil.  Carl said the Moravian church would be considered the Indigenous church of Newfoundland/Labrador.  The simple beauty and reverence of the building with an old pump organ and hymnbooks in the Inuktitut language impacted us with the rich sense of history.  A tradition at Christmas is to have a Moravian Star decoration on the Christmas tree.  So Carl and Laura purchased one for us - sold by the church - in a small version that would fit in our luggage!  We felt very honoured to receive such a special souvenir.

As the sun was setting, we drove outside of town to a spot where the view would be lovely over the river. We enjoyed a brief sunset, then headed back to town.  They chose a favourite restaurant and we continued to visit and fellowship over our meals.  

Then back at their house, we watched the movie "Jesus Revolution" and had an encouraging discussion afterwards.  How we long for such a move of God in our day and especially among the First Nations people of Canada!  To see Jesus bring hope and life to so many who live in depression, fear and at best apathy to the Bible and the Church.  We need a revival!

Morning would come early as we caught a flight back to Halifax.  We said good night and set our alarms for 5:30 am.