Our 2008 Christmas letter

Where has the time flown? It hardly feels like a year since Maarten and I survived Christmas in Canada and 1 week in Portland Oregon where he attended some meetings regarding an American dredging ship. We had 6 days at the Marriot Waterfront – what an amazing hotel with amazing views of Mount Hood. We felt very spoiled by our visit. After having a year like 2007 with Maarten having an aneurysm it was a nice way to begin 2008, in comfort!

Maarten returned to work full-time in February. I’ve missed having him home, life kind of gets boring and uneventful. Over the year I’ve been teaching English 3-4 times a week, singing in a choir, going to physio, baking Linda’s famous chocolate cakes, endless Dutch lessons… visiting people (I’m very good at that!)


My Wednesday Morning English Group!

June 10th we flew to Canada and went to Caronport for my half sister’s high school graduation. She sang in the high school musical called, “Forgiven.” It was very appropriate under the circumstances, as her mother was also there!
Here I am at Caronport with my brother Mark and my birthday present from him!
From Caronport we rode with my youngest brother Mark and his family back to Edmonton where we visited with Tony & Donna. We went to Fort Edmonton for a day, what a wonderful experience that was! From Edmonton, we flew back to Winnipeg and spent the day with the Uttley’s and then went North by bus.

We were planning on heading South in time to celebrate our 7th wedding anniversary in Winnipeg, only to cancel our plans and wait and ride South with my mom who had an appointment to see a neurologist. She is still waiting to hear the results of her last tests in November.

My sweet husband made a huge sacrifice – he wants you all to know! I had promised him that we would attend some sort of game, the Goldeyes, or the Blue Bombers, but because we stayed in Thompson longer than anticipated, he gave up what would have been his 7th wedding anniversary present! We ended up staying at a Bed & Breakfast with my mom, and then we went to stay with Dr. Kati and his family. We attended a Schutzenfest with them. (It’s a German celebration in a town called Little Britain. Someone had a sense of humour!)
Maarten and I had invited my 11 year old niece Lenea to come to Holland for the summer. It was hectic to arrange her ticket not even knowing if my brother was going to allow her to travel or not. We didn’t do it until the last minute, what a nightmare that was! God really made a way for it to happen! I was amazed once again at how He continues to meet our needs when we are at our wits end! My brother Keith came to Winnipeg with his family, and we all stayed at the Holiday Inn Airport West. They have a massive play structure there that the kids had a great time on!
Maarten flew off to Oregon for work on July 9th and Lenea and I left for Holland on the 11th. We had a good trip and arrived safely in Holland. Maarten returned to Holland the following week. Lenea had a great summer and we had a great summer having her.It was frustrating for me though, about the third week in July I got an infection in my leg. One that my GP treated with a low dosage drug, after three more weeks and a tummy full of antibiotics later, I saw my specialist who gave me two courses of high dosage antibiotics. That got me up on my legs again, but all this to tell you, I sat on my butt all summer – and was very angry about it! It was nearing the time we had to return Lenea to Canada (although she made it known loud and clear she would love to live here!)
Lenea with a friend, brought home a baby duck!
The last three weeks of August Maarten was again in Oregon and I was alone with Lenea. Thankfully she was here to help when I was so helpless! Thankfully, the families in our church stepped up to the plate and took Lenea out to the sea side, boating, swimming, and just doing fun things with her and for her. Lenea also had the opportunity to have riding lessons at a stable in the next town. She had an English speaking instructor.
One of the most difficult things for me was to find out how poor her eyesight is. I struggled with this too in my growing up years. Not nice! We were going to get Lenea glasses, but the eye specialist said that she needed contacts and glasses would not do. His price, 375 euros. I talked this over with Maarten who suggested we leave this to her parents (as he had already paid so much for her to be here!) I agreed (and that was hard for me to do!) and I prayed that God would take care of things as my hands were tied! While Maarten was still away in Oregon, we were invited to friends for supper. This family, after hearing my story of Lenea needing contacts, offered to pay the difference between what we would have paid for her glasses and the price of the contacts! How amazing that God answered prayer, and so quickly! I was so incredibly thankful that I wrote an e-mail to all my friends about this event – one person wrote back that I shouldn’t be begging overseas when Canada has a good eye care health system. I suppose what this person doesn’t know, is that Lenea is under Medical Services and they DO NOT pay for contact lenses, especially for children!

I am extremely thankful to the Lord and the kind friends who gave! It was also interesting, that when I went to pay for Lenea’s contacts, the doctor gave us an additional amount off the cost! We were amazed at God’s blessing for Lenea! Don’t get me wrong – but how come God couldn’t have been a little quicker on the uptake with my infected leg and healing so I could have done more interesting things with Lenea? I felt robbed!
I started walking with elbow crutches her last 2 weeks here. Over the summer she read a book called, “The Watchmaker’s Daughter,” the life story of Corrie ten Boom. I took her to Haarlem to see the museum in the house of Corrie, and to see Corrie’s bedroom with an opening in the wall showing the hiding place. It is so impressive. Rosa, Lenea, me and Anne at Corrie's door.Maarten and I also took her to The Hague, where the government of Holland sits, and we wandered through the tweede kamer. (The Dutch houses of Parliament.) One thing Lenea did, and I was very proud of her, was she wrote in a journal every day! Mrs. Kati had given her a book and pen, and told her that it would be a good thing to do. I had to encourage her on occasion but she did a fine job! When she is old and grey I hope she can look back at it and remember her time with us.

September 3, Lenea and I returned to Canada and stayed with George & Bessie for a couple of days before heading North, Auntie Colleen took us out for supper then took us to the bus (and Uncle Grant took us out for lunch at Smitty’s and bought Lenea a pair of jeans at Wearhouse One!

While I was in Canada for four weeks I had the opportunity to attend a women’s retreat in the Whiteshell, the food wasn’t great but it was a lovely weekend, and I got to go canoeing!

I returned to the Netherlands on October 1st.

Maarten was supposed to write the letter this year, however, as a result of work commitments he is in Oregon and I’m writing…

My legs are doing ok, I got new liners today and I hope that in a month or so the skin will be better, it is very fragile and breaks down easily. As a result, I am hardly walking and not even exercising which is something my body needs badly – the kilos keep creeping on, and I hate it.

Maarten is healthy as a horse and except for being tired sometimes in the evenings when he comes from work; he helps out a lot with cooking, he cooks on weekends, does all the laundry, takes out the garbage, does some grocery shopping during the week, and we go grocery shopping together on Saturdays – regular life things in a country where there is no Sunday shopping and no Wal-mart! I’m kind of getting used to the way they do things over here – I suppose I am a bit of a slow learner.

Today I shared a Charlie Brown Christmas with my students. I hoped that it would give them something to think about as the real meaning of Christmas might be missed in this day and age. When Charlie Brown complains about the overwhelming materialism that he sees amongst everyone during the Christmas season, Lucy suggests that he become director of the school Christmas pageant. Charlie Brown accepts, but it proves to be a frustrating struggle. When an attempt to restore the proper spirit with a forlorn little fir Christmas tree fails, he needs Linus' help to learn what the real meaning of Christmas is. It was a good reminder for me too!
One thing I know for sure, God has given me a great husband and I am thankful – he is a great guy! Maarten has bought a book (in Dutch) about immigrating to Canada! We’re not sure what is ahead – but we are seeking God’s will, and if you could take time to pray for us, knowing what to do about our future, we would appreciate it.

I’ll close with a quote from Wilda English, “God grant you the light in Christmas, which is faith; the warmth of Christmas, which is love; the radiance of Christmas, which is purity; the righteousness of Christmas, which is justice; the belief in Christmas, which is truth; the all of Christmas, which is Christ.”

Wherever you find yourself this Christmas have a happy & blessed one.

P.S. Linda allowed me to write the closing paragraph of this year’s letter. I think she did a great job! This year once again flew by at 100km/h. At least that is how fast it seemed. I am feeling much better, though different. Being that close to the call home has changed my focus on life and what is important in life. I strongly feel and believe that Linda and I are at some turning point or crossroads in our lives. We pray a lot for wisdom and guidance in this matter, feel free to join us. We need it…. The difference between the choice of the heart and the choice of the mind I guess. Hmmm I see I have two lines left ;-)) Must close, so to speak. My prayer is that all of you may find a very peaceful, warm and wonderful Christmas. We will think of you and if you think of us then through distance we will be together in mind. Love you all, Maarten. Gezegend kerstfeest!! (That’s Dutch) ;-))
Just a picture of our enormous tree!

Christmas letter 2007

December 2007

Dear Family & Friends,

Here we are on Canadian soil for Christmas! Our first Christmas here since 2002. What a year it has been. On February 22, I flew to Canada to be with my mom for her 70th birthday – she doesn’t want anyone to know her age (so don’t tell!)

I enjoyed my 41 days in Canada and Maarten missed me terribly. He has decided that I can never be away from home (or him) so long ever again… For those of you we will have the privilege of seeing over this holiday you will get to see the book I made of “My Visit Home.”

The year has gone quickly and for the most part, un-eventful.

Maarten’s mother turned 81 in May. I turned 45 in June. Birthdays are a big thing in Holland – and we enjoy them. My friend Esther took me to a real lived in Castle for my birthday - it was a special treat!

June brought Canadian visitors from America. We only had a weekend to squeeze in the best we could to show them what life is like in the Netherlands. Lots of bike riding did the trick, and they enjoyed their time with us. Although I must say, it was way too short.

Maarten and I spent our 6th anniversary at the Westin Hotel in Rotterdam! That was special. Everyone spoke English, and we had a grand room – beautiful views – huge windows! A lovely time!
As many of you know August 21st, Maarten was just about home from work when an aneurysm that he had in his head since “who knows how long” began to leak. He had an instant headache with neck cramps; he was sweating profusely and weak with clammy hands. My response was, “Do you want an Advil?” This was the sort of thing I was unsure of. I grabbed an ice pack and put it behind his neck – grabbed the phone and called Dr. Penner. He wasn’t home, but his daughter Catherine was, and she suggested I take him to Emergency.

We called friends, who took us to the hospital, and after the first doctor saw him, she called the Neurologist. What ended up happening was, they did a CT scan, and sent us off to The Hague in an ambulance. Maarten was not allowed to walk again. The following day they tried a procedure known as “Coiling” where they inserted a catheter in his groin area and pushed a wire thread into his brain to fill up the 1.5 cm aneurysm. This did not work and after 2.5 hours they brought him back to Intensive Care. The following day they took him into surgery again, and opened up his head to “clip” the aneurysm. Maarten is now safe! (They used 2 clips!) Photo of MCH Westeinde Hospital in The Hague.

Someone asked me if he is “alright,” Maarten is exceptional! He naturally had moments of being afraid throughout this ordeal, but he also had a dependence on God, that everything would be ok.

My biggest prayer was that God would bring him through this still Maarten. In February 2002 Maarten’s oldest sister had a stroke and she has been left changed, living with a disability, right arm and leg not functioning and she cannot speak in sentences. I was afraid I would end up with a husband with a disability. I really pleaded with God, that one person in a family with a disability was enough – and I had that position! God really has changed us – I am more thankful for my dear hubby! He has a thankful heart to God for giving him more time. Looking at the statistics, the number of people with aneurysms who do not even make it to the hospital is around 50%.

God has been gracious to us. Thankfully he placed people in our lives to love and care for us through this. Géke and Geert, the couple who first took us to the hospital, did my laundry for two weeks, and drove it back and forth, to me in The Hague. They came to see Maarten and me, and to take me out of the hospital for a change of scenery. Laetitia, a friend who lives in The Hague, also came to take me out for coffee and show me around so I saw more than hospital walls. Maarten’s boss, Wim, a man who also loves the Lord, came every week to see Maarten and the company has been very good to us.

The Wednesday afternoon of Maarten’s coiling procedure, the mission organization that Maarten does the website for, “Children Asking” held a special prayer meeting at their office – and they were praying in Brazil too. Our church had a special Wednesday evening prayer meeting to pray specifically for Maarten and what he was going through. In fact, people were praying all over the world. Laetitia had put us on the Hour of Power prayer chain, and they pray through the time zones for two weeks! Maarten was covered with prayer. God heard!
This picture was taken on November 5th at a special Gala Evening in Rotterdam. It was a fund-raiser for “Children Asking” and over 45,000 euros was raised that evening. We had a lovely time, and it was Maarten’s first outing except for Physio.

On November 21st, Maarten returned to his work part-time, 4 hours a day. He loves being there. In fact, in January we are going to Portland, Oregon again, for his work. What a wonderful opportunity we’ve been given. We are so thankful! Photo is the view from our room at the Marriott Downtown Waterfront!

We expect to return to Holland around the 20th of January. We will be at home in Thompson, at my mom’s from around December 20th to sometime in early January, not exactly sure when.~

We are praising God and giving Him the glory, great things He has done!

Wishing you and yours all the best this Christmas, and in the New Year to come.
Pisew Falls, Manitoba

Okay, I am still trying to figure out how to use this blogging stuff... Here is the quilt that Jan made for us... You can read all about it in our Christmas letter!

Christmas Letter 2006

Okay, it is Christmas letter time again…. We’ve already received 4 Christmas cards from eager Canadians! I know mail travels by dog sled in Canada, but here things move so quickly.

Sinterklaas was over yesterday, I had one phone call from a Canadian friend wishing me a happy day…. The Dutch celebrate Sinterklaas’s birthday on December 6th, and they save Christmas for a sacred holiday. I suppose we could take lessons from them, as their major gift giving is done now, and not at Christmas.

This year seems to have flown by, I am sure everyone feels that way, and not just us. We booked our holiday from June 24th- July 29th and it flew too. We landed in Toronto on June 24th and stayed in TO for a couple of days, traveling to Niagara Falls on a day trip, enjoying the beauty around us immensely! We flew to Winnipeg and stayed our first few days with Henri & Esther, they treat us like royalty and we enjoy the restfulness of their home and their company! Esther is such a great cook, and we have such good talks, I miss her friendship living so far away.

We were treated to anniversary cake on June 30th at my mom’s cousin Vicki’s new home, and had a great visit with her and her husband Wayne. Aunt Colleen brought us there for the short but special visit!

We then went to George & Bessie’s for a few nights before heading North to Thompson. We had the opportunity to go to First Nations Community Church with them, and met some old friends that I hadn’t seen for ages. I always love visiting with G & B as I feel like I am at home again. They lived next door to our family when I was 3 years old, that is a long time ago!

Arriving in Thompson, we found the weather pretty chilly for the beginning of July, it was around 10C and we didn’t like it very much. Things were a bit crazy at my mom’s as my mom was caring for my brother Keith’s children, it was a bit of a zoo there. We saw friends, did a lot of eating, and visiting! After about 5 days we headed, (with my mom and my niece Lenea) for Prince Albert then on to Cold Lake, AB where my youngest brother Mark is now living. Along the way we had a bit of an adventure. Maarten was driving and somewhere around Simon House Bible Camp, (at Fiddler’s junction) we stopped for gas, and the car refused to start again. It had already been acting up the last 40 minutes before Fiddler’s, fortunately my husband had the good sense to keep on driving, until we needed to gas up that is…. We had to get a tow truck. Mom had CAA and one came from Flin Flon for us. The mechanic from Canadian Tire stayed late, and happily it was only a dead battery that was the problem. We got a new one and continued on our way.

We arrived at Mark’s during Hannah’s birthday party! It was nice to see Mark, his family and their new house. Two days later they were all off to family camp, and Mark dropped me and Maarten off at my friend, Donna in Edmonton (300 km from Cold Lake!). We got to meet her new husband, Tony, and what a delight he is. We’re thankful that God brought a good man into her life. We got to see my Aunt Marie, my dad’s oldest sister, she will be 77 this month! We then went to spend two nights at Gretchen’s house, her husband and 3 of the 4 children were off on a fishing trip. We got to visit with Jenny, Claude and their children (except for April who was off in Mexico on a missions trip!) and their brother Reg, as the day we arrived at Gretchen’s happened to be Jenny’s birthday! So we were all at Jenny & Claude’s for her birthday supper! We decided to fly to Regina from Edmonton, to save time, and Donna & Tony drove us to the airport at 5:00 am! What lovely friends we have!

Dr. Penner & Auntie Marnie, picked us up in Regina, took us out for a great breakfast and brought us the 100 kms back to Caronport. We had a lovely 3 days visiting with them, checking out the bookstore on campus, and having lunch twice with Bud & Marge Elford. During WWII Bud served in Holland and had a medal hanging on his wall given to him by the Dutch government. It was interesting for us! It is always great to be with Dr. Penner and Auntie Marnie they are two of the most loving people you will ever meet. She adores Maarten and showered him with kisses, asking me, “You don’t mind dear?” I don’t mind at all! Maarten had a great time watching football with Dr. Penner, that was a memorable time for him!

We decided to take the bus from Moose Jaw to Winnipeg, and arrived in time to go to my old church, South Side Bible Church, and enjoy the annual barbeque at Tina & Lawrence’s house! Hilda and Susan were there, but Randy was on the missing person list! We all used to attend the same bible study, way back when! Oh how I miss those days! We stayed the last few days with my Aunt Colleen, had the only swim of the summer in her pool and the last two nights we stayed at the Holiday Inn Airport West. We got to see many dear friends, and enjoy many meals together with them!

One highlight of the trip was a gift from Jan U. We had a meal in their home and she showed us a quilt she was making for us. It mixed Canadian and Dutch colours as well as symbols, tulips, and the maple leaf! She put her heart and love into it, and the day before we flew back to Holland she gave it to us. I want to enclose a picture of it. In the top triangle, she put two hearts, with my and Maarten’s name sewed into it. It is now hanging in a very prominent place in our living room, you are all welcome to come and see it first hand!

Well, except for our vacation there has not been very many special things happening here in Holland, mostly I have been homesick and missing Canada. In September, I went to a concert by a man named Adrian Snell, and it really did my heart good. I felt like God healed my hurt, the pain is not totally gone, but I am surviving daily better than I was before the concert. I am continuing with Dutch lessons, but will probably soon put a stop to it. I took a course to be a volunteer with a group called, “buddyzorg” and they care for people who are in their last stages of life as a result of cancer or HIV. So far, I have not been given a client as my Dutch skills are not good enough. There were 3 clients who spoke English but all died before I finished the program. We have monthly update meetings to see where everyone is at.

Maarten has not traveled far from home this past year, which affects our pocketbook somewhat! He continues to work on several websites all gratis! He has spent a million hours working on www.childrenasking.org (maybe I am stretching his time involvement a bit…) and created two other websites that he is also webmaster of, www.wensontbijt.nl which is a breakfast service and the third is the website of an artist we know. I’m also a volunteer translator (me and my walking dictionary, Maarten!) with an organization called, Christians for Isreal. I don’t get a lot of request for translating from them, but it is nice to do.

I still sing in the choir and we still attend the Maranatha Church. I made several cakes this year for the fund raiser for Romania, and in September for a separate missionary trip to Romania.

We had hoped maybe to visit a friend in England for Christmas, but we may go for the New Year if things work out.

Hope to hear from you over Christmas at least, I send many birthday cards throughout the year but few seem to remember us. Even my mom forgot to phone this year!

Wishing you all the best, this Christmas and for the New Year!

The story of my plane crash

My story: (I originally wrote this for a writing contest a couple of years ago.)

God’s Answer
It was a simple prayer, and straight to the point, "Rescue me before noon, or let me die!" I was 19 years old and this day and all it held for me had started me on one huge life changing experience. Thankfully, I knew God heard me and because of this I did not feel alone.

Our family went to church and as a child at the age of seven, I had prayed and asked Jesus to forgive my sin, and acknowledged that I would never be as good as He is and that I wanted to spend eternity with Him. Making this commitment to Christ put me on a path that was not free from trouble, but connected me with the One who would help me, comfort me and be with me through it all!

When I was a toddler my dad bought his first airplane. I grew up living in Northern Manitoba enjoying the freedom that flying brings.

At the age of 15, I went to Caronport High School, a Christian boarding school in Saskatchewan. The Northern community we lived in didn’t offer high school and so we had to go elsewhere. I graduated from Caronport in 1980 and continued there for another year in the Bible College program. In September 1981, I began a nursing program at the Thompson General Hospital. My life’s dream was to become a nurse and work in the North. I wanted to use my skills as a nurse, and also looked forward to spending time with the children in these communities, baking cookies, reading stories, valuing them! I wanted to share God’s love with them, without "officially" being a missionary and having to raise support.
The next winter I felt I needed a break from studying! On the last weekend of February every year, Caronport had an annual youth retreat called, "Youth Quake," I was determined to go and visit with my friends who were still students on campus. James, a friend from church, had his own plane and decided we could fly there for the weekend.

We flew there and had a wonderful time. The theme that weekend was "The Race of Life." Little did we realize what our race held for us.

En route home from the retreat, we refueled at Swan River. The air was crisp and cool, the sky was bright, but snow was starting to fall. I felt apprehensive as I trailed about six feet behind James and climbed aboard the low-winged Piper Cherokee, for the last leg of our journey home.

We chose to fly as the crow flies, across country from Swan River to Thompson. It was a shorter but more hazardous route than the one we had flight planned because it didn’t follow the road system. Twenty minutes after departing from Swan River, James and I flew into a "white out." We had just flown past two islands on Lake Winnipegosis and James was looking out the window instead of watching his instruments. Since I had grown up with a bush pilot for a father, I had learned the function of various instruments. I had noticed that the artificial horizon was doing funny things. I yelled, "James, watch your instruments! James! Watch your instruments!" Seconds later, the plane crashed onto the surface of the frozen lake.

Six hours later James woke up and weakly called my name. I came to and the first thing I thought was, "my mother’s going to kill me." My mother had a hard time letting me go with James. I was only nineteen and he was twenty-three. My parents thought that he was too young and inexperienced to take their only daughter hopping across the country.

We moved ourselves from the front to the back seats. James lifted my legs while I cried in agony. He dropped them again, that hurt worse! I screamed at him, "just do it! Do it!" He lifted my legs and I lifted myself into the back seat. My legs were stretched in front of me. James wanted me to move over so he could join me in the back seat for the long night ahead. It was weird to see my left leg conform to the pilot’s seat as I moved to my left. I had never had a broken bone in my life until today. It was wild!

James tried unsuccessfully to close the only door in the plane. We covered ourselves with a sleeping bag and talked about the conference we had just attended. We prayed together and talked some more. About midnight, James asked me for my gauntlets. I felt his icy hands and fear grabbed at my heart for him. I knew then that something wasn’t right. It was cold, yes, -21 Celsius, but my hands were warm, I was warm.

One thing I learned from growing up in the North, was if you have a survival problem, you must keep your head covered. They say that 80% of body heat is lost through the head. I kept covering James’ head and he would uncover it. James started slipping in and out of consciousness. It felt like the biggest fight in the world for me. A fight that was lost about 4:30 that morning.

I turned over and gave in to much needed sleep. It is hard to describe how I was feeling at that moment. I had lost a friend; I had failed to keep him alive until help came. I was a nursing student who just completed the unit on ‘death and dying’ with an A+, but lost in the real world. I was crushed. James’ race was finished here on the ice of Lake Winnipegosis. Would mine end here also?

I woke to another bright clear and cold day. James’ lifeless body was beside me, confining me to the small area I had been in for the last 14 hours. This is when I prayed to God to rescue me or let me die. I didn’t want to just sit there and sit there and sit there. Believe me, by this time I was bored. It is hard to explain this feeling any other way. I was alone, yet I knew God was with me. I waited, knowing and expecting my dad to rescue me. Waiting was very difficult, but I always had hope that things would be ok. Waiting was boring!

Around 11:30 I heard the familiar drone of the plane my father flies. I had a 12" by 12" piece of a space age tinfoil blanket, to help keep me warm. I stuck my arm out the glassless window and waved the foil. The plane circled three times and then landed.

This plane was not my dad’s. He was looking further North from where we were, closer to the filed flight plan.

The first man to the plane was James’ brother-in-law, Lorne. I joyfully exclaimed, "I have never been so glad to see anyone in all my life!" He asked, "Is James unconscious?"
"No, he’s dead," I replied.

Lorne stepped back, and the other men got to work right away. The plane was like a badly banged up tin can and it took little effort for the men to tear the roof off and lift me out into the Cessna 185. As I greedily demanded more coffee, we departed Lake Winipegosis for the safety of St. Anthony’s hospital in The Pas.
These four men who rescued me, were told by Canada’s Search & Rescue, not to come and look for me. These dear men ignored the order and had me to the hospital before Search & Rescue was even in the air that day.

This event had a huge impact on my life. I can now say I am a survivor. I have stamina. I spent 23.5 hours on a cold and frozen lake. I can say these things but it cost much. James’ life, my legs and right eye, my nursing career.

I am a better person for it, inside. I know what it is to look death in the face. I now see the beauty in the little things. I learned the value of relationship and to not waste time. Even my belief in God changed. I grew up attending church and Sunday school and from a very young age believed what the Bible said about Heaven and Hell. Up until the plane crash though, everything I believed about God I had inherited from my parents, and not because I chose it for myself. But many of the circumstances surrounding the crash reinforced in me the knowledge that God knows best, and that I can trust Him.

I am not a better person for it outside because of the damaged eye, the scars to my forehead, the loss of both legs below the knee, and the weight gain that comes from inactivity. I don’t like them. I can change only my weight and here I have had little success. Through it all, I know that God says I am valuable – not because of my outward appearance, but because of my heart and the changes He has brought.

Behind these clouds there is a silver lining.

During my time in Rehab and different visits back to the hospital I have had the pleasure of being an encouragement to others. Most often the amputee is an older person who has one limb off. They see me with both off and are inspired to press on.

People ask me if I can visit a friend or relative who has lost a limb too. In 2 Corinthians chapter 1, the Bible says, "We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is our Father who shows us loving kindness and our God who gives us comfort. He gives us comfort in all our troubles. Then we can comfort other people who have the same troubles."

In spite of not becoming a nurse, I have a connection with some patients. My desire to help and meet their needs can’t be satisfied as a medical professional but is as a peer who cares and really does know what they are going through.

God’s answer came that fateful day, March 4, 1982 via the rescuers, 11:30 that morning! The trust in God that was instilled in me by my parents carried me through this horrific time. No matter what we go through, no matter what the prayer, God does answer and we are never alone!

My dad passed away February 7, 2004

How do you condense 67 years of life into a eulogy?

Henri Jean Baptiste Thomas Fortin was born November 2, 1936 at South Knife Lake.

During his growing up years dad was taught by his father. He never had any formal education and yet he, as one Northern Affairs official stated, was a mechanical genius. At the age of 10 years old, dad could take apart an engine and put it back together. He learned so much growing up in the North. He learned how to hunt and fish and in turn shared those skills with his younger siblings and children. Aunt Marie told me, that she would chop wood, and as a real little guy dad would carry it piece by piece. From an early age he learned positive work ethics.

I remember him telling me that at the young age of 7 he would check the trapline by dogteam and he would be so exhausted he would fall into the sleigh and go to sleep and the dogs would bring him home.

His sisters and brothers were always watching, never really knowing what stunt Tom would pull next. He was such a big tease. Even the family cat enjoyed his cuddling until the cat realised dad had walked to the end of the dock and was about to drop it in the lake.

Another story I remember hearing was when Uncle Wilfred was on the beach and dad decided in his mischievous mind to run down and push him into the water. Aunt Bert was up near the house, saw what was about to happen and let out a yell, Wilfred moved, and dad tripped and ended up sliding out on the lake and sinking.

He was never short of antics! One story I remember him telling me was when his mother wanted the dogteam hitched. He had the idea to put some fast dogs on a fast sleigh, next thing he knew, his mom had gone very fast down the path, and coming around a sharp curve was hurled into the snow. Next thing he knew, his mom, wielding a frying pan, was chasing him! Of course he could outrun her.

After his father passed away dad moved the family to Churchill. He took on the responsibility of caring for his mother, brothers and sisters.

In 1959, he met my mother and they were married on December 27, 1960. During these early years dad worked as a garbage collector for the Department of Public Works, as a mechanic in 1959 for COMSTOCK, For the Department of National Defence as a driver and then he won a millrite competition.

During this time he also built a house for us. He did all the carpentry, built the cupboards, all the woodwork, the electrical and plumbing. He put in the furnace and heat ducts, a flush toilet, running water and a bathtub. Not many homes in Churchill could boast all this!

He not only had an aptitude for electrical and plumping, but also was a mechanical genius. He had changed my grandma's car from a standard to an automatic! He was a really smart guy!

He also had a love of flying and during these early years took his pilot's license. He had this in 1963-64 and soon after purchased his first plane. (Stinson, CF-EYD.)
By this time my brother Eric was born, missionary neighbour’s we had, George and Bessie McPeek, told of one occasion mom was away and dad was caring for Eric and me. They invited us for supper and I could feed myself, but dad fed Eric. George recalled dad saying, "Here have a bite, ok, have a drink and wash it down... Here have a bite, ok, have a drink and wash it down." Dad loved his children.

He also told of a number of times when those fledgling missionarie’s oil in the furnace was either too thick for the furnace to work or the oil had run out. Dad would go in the wee hours of the morning to get it started again. He was always helping missionaries.

The next one on the scene was Keith, born in 1967. In 1969, Dad decided to move south to Thompson and was hired by INCO as a first class mechanic. It was not long and dad was working as a foreman. People recognised dad's ability to see a problem and see the solution to the problem.

During all the years since he had his pilot's license, dad was motivated to help missionaries. John Goodrich, a missionary with Continental mission said, "Tom was a very good friend; he let us use his plane many times. He flew for Continental Mission on a number of occasions. I had many good times with Tom. He died doing what he liked to do - hunt."

He would also fly people from the Gideon's to deliver Bibles to places like Thicket Portage. Dad never stopped helping missionaries. One time dad was flying, and he had a passenger from Winnipeg, the man asked, "Who has the map?" Dad's answer? "Who needs a map?" He could fly all over the North without using a map.
Helping missionaries didn't stop at just flying, but he helped Bud Elford with translation of New Testament books of the bible, and also he translated half of the hymns in the Déne hymnbook into Déne. One of his favourite being, "How Great Thou Art."

Dad was such a hard worker, that in Thompson, he decided in addition to his job, to start a business called, "Tom's Appliances." After work and on his days off, he would repair other people's washing machines, dryers, furnaces, and stoves.

In 1971, my youngest brother Mark was born. Dad would take us skidooing, out for wiener roasts, berry picking, and in Churchill years before, whale watching. As a family we went on a canoe trip from Setting Lake to Ospewagon Lake.
He was a real outdoorsman and loved doing things with his children. He would fly us to bible camp in the summer. Instead of us having to take the train and long boat trip to Midway Bible camp.

In 1974, Dad won a competition with Northern Affairs to be the town supervisor of South Indian Lake. The family moved there in 1975. It was a real outdoors experience. The boys got in more hunting and fishing with dad. I remember going with him in his Cessna 180 and he let me take off and fly. The time spent in South Indian Lake was special although dad worked even harder there.

I remember when I went away to Caronport High School, he wrote me a couple of letters, but he would send me dried caribou meat, while my classmate’s parents were sending them cookies! He wrote in his letter how much he missed my cooking. I remember when I would make cake donuts, he used to love that!
And he continued to help missionaries. Judy came to South Indian Lake as a Baptist Missionary with Baptist International Missions Inc. That is when our family first met Judy.

On November 23, 1986 dad divorced mom, on December 26, 1986 he married Judy.

Almost a year later, Mary came into the world. Two years later, Amy came into the world.

Dad had bought property in Grandview and moved his new family to Grandview. He still had good contact with my brothers.

It took me almost 5 years for God to work in my heart to come to a place where I could accept what happened. Dad was sensitive to my feelings and continued to "be there" for my special days. He wasn't one to easily say, "I love you." But he made an effort to be at all my graduations, from Caronport High School and Briercrest Bible College, to my BA degree from the U of M, and in 2001, from a Bachelor of Social Work degree at the U of M. He also attended my wedding.

One year after our wedding, dad visited us at the Holiday Inn, and after a good conversation with my husband and I, decided that we needed to be friends and start with a clean slate.

Last year, I wrote him a letter from America, where my husband was working for 4 months. I expressed to him, things he did that hurt me, and also things he did that helped me. I learned stick-to-itivism, and I learned to work hard, even though it was a different kind of work. I have many characteristics that are like my dad, some good and some not so good.

I suppose the stubbornness characteristic is most like him, in me. It stood me in good stead when I was a passenger in a plane that crashed. Dad helped to look for me, and found me in The Pas hospital. I remember him holding my hand, telling me not to talk so much, and telling me, "I love you" for the first time in my memory. I always thought he loved the boys more.

Reconciliation is a wonderful thing. The last time I spoke with my dad was almost three weeks ago. He was in a coffee shop, and he said, "Love you" and my response was, " love you too."

The thing that this reminds me of the most is, Ephesians 4:20-27. (The Message)

But that's no life for you. You learned Christ! My assumption is that you have paid careful attention to him, been well instructed in the truth precisely as we have it in Jesus. Since, then, we do not have the excuse of ignorance, everything—and I do mean everything—connected with that old way of life has to go. It's rotten through and through. Get rid of it! And then take on an entirely new way of life—a God-fashioned life, a life renewed from the inside and working itself into your conduct as God accurately reproduces his character in you. What this adds up to, then, is this: no more lies, no more pretense. Tell your neighbor the truth. In Christ's body we're all connected to each other, after all. When you lie to others, you end up lying to yourself.
Go ahead and be angry. You do well to be angry—but don't use your anger as fuel for revenge. And don't stay angry. Don't go to
bed angry. Don't give the Devil that kind of foothold in your life.

It was so good, and it was too short. We were friends. And I loved him.

After questioning different family and friends these are the one or two word answers I received.

What made Tom special?

• He was smart
• A big tease
• A sense of humour
• Showed a concern for others
• Conscientious worker
• Anything he did he could do well
• Good at cheering people up
• Made others feel welcomed
• Very versatile

His talents?

• Mechanical genius


• Translator


• He had many talents!


• Flying and not getting lost!
  
• Fixing anything mechanical, electrical etc.
  
  Dad was even a hero. He rescued different people in different situations that I don't know the details of, but one story I remember was of someone who was overweight when he got lost, and when dad finally located him, that man's belt had lots of space!
  

What little characteristics did dad display?
* He used to tug on my hair
* He gave whisker rubs
* Playfully choked
* Always would tuck Mary's hair behind her ears. Mary says it must be a family trait because Uncle Wilfred did that to her also.

• Dad faced challenges in his life and over came them.
• He had no formal schooling but excelled in anything he put his heart and mind into.
• My plane crash was a trying time for my family.
• Didn't like Polar bears, or any kind of bears really.
• He Didn't like the city.
• Probably his biggest challenge was the fight with the Manitoba Government and the highways department. This fight caused him a lot of stress as he put so much into it, only to be screwed by the Manitoba Government.
  
  He even faced discrimination from bankers. I remember once when he went to try and get a bank loan and they wouldn't give it to him, and mom went and she got it.
  
  Where/when was he happiest?
  When we were young children, we went on picnics and whale watching, skidooing, picking berries, fishing and flying.
  When he was story telling. He always loved telling a good story.
  
  What gave him pleasure?
  His children and grandchildren
  His work, flying and hunting
  Music, he loved singing and fiddle music
  Festival de Voyageur
  

How did I feel about dad?

• I was proud of him, and of all he accomplished
• I loved him
• He was special
• He was looked up to, an example
• Colleen said he was like a second father to her
• Mary says he was her best friend

How would Tom like to be remembered?

• By the way he was
• As a simple man who tried to do what was right
• Honest in business
• A man of integrity
• Good provider
• Hard worker
• Helpful
• A blessing
• Friendly and kind
• Story teller
• Family man
• Outdoorsman

My dad's life was not a wasted one. He didn't sit on the sidelines and let it pass him by. He was active; he loved life. He loved…

Our Christmas letter 2005

Christmas letters…. I have been putting off writing this for far too long, we’ve had several letters already from Canada, and I know this will be late. Maarten and I have been married 1626 days today.

One of the reasons that this has been so difficult for me is, on August 7, I heard that my Aunt Lorraine was very sick. She had a whipple operation in January 2004, and seemed to recover from it. I guess in March this year she started having pain, and has been in the hospital since June. She is in her last days, and I find myself wishing God would take her, if only to relieve me of my suffering, grieving for her. I know life isn’t fair, but here was a woman who spent her life working so hard to provide for others and care for others. She was my biggest fan. Maarten and I received many cards, and little surprise packages since I have been married and living here. I think one of my favorite presents, was a sign for our garden (I am sure it was meant for Maarten!) It reads, "Don’t just stand there, WEED!" My aunt was an avid gardener. I bought a willow tree angel called Angel of the Garden, to remember her by. It is sitting on my table. My heart still mourns the loss of her, and I have had such a difficult time asking God why does it have to be this way? I know he can heal her….

Our year has been one of ups and downs. Maarten’s year began with 2 operations, the second only because the first was not done properly enough. This required a hospital stay, which he hated. He has had a couple trips abroad, one to America again for a ship, his last trip was 11 days in Spain. He got an MP3 player for his birthday in April and he loves it! Going back and forth to work on his bike (even in wet and windy weather) takes quite some time and is made pleasurable with music. He has been busy with making websites. He made one for a mission organization called Children Asking and you can look at the site, http://www.childrenasking.org/ the Dutch site is only working at the moment and the English site is in the works, hopefully it can be done in the new year. The other site he did was for a friend of ours from church. She started a breakfast service, so now people can look online and see what she offers, the cost and of course they can order breakfast to be delivered for a special occaision! I was feeling a bit like a widow during the months that Maarten worked on these sites, it was 2 and a half months on the one for Children Asking. The breakfast site took him 35-40 hours. But when you are working full-time, and then you come home, eat supper and sit at your computer till 1:00 am there is not much left over for the mrs. (ME!)

My year has been spent with Dutch lessons, phsyio (and lots of it), I lost 8.6 kilos and found them again sometime after Easter. I’m feeling a failure these days, especially with this never ending battle over what is good for me, and what isn’t. The doctor is suggesting a "magband" which doesn’t make me very happy at all. I have been enjoying doing scrapbooking, although it makes me sad when I see all the photos and feel very homesick for home and family.

I made a friend, she came to the Netherlands from the Dominican Republic on April 30 to marry a Dutchman on May 18, and I crashed her wedding just so I could meet her. She is a lovely Christian girl named Minerva, and we have become good friends in her short stay here. She speaks 5 languages already, and now is hard at work learning Dutch. We pray together every Tuesday morning and that has been a special answer to prayer for me. We have seen some amazing things already… One friend of ours became a Christian when I was still in Canada this summer, anyway, he was baptized last Sunday, December 4th, and he wanted his parents to attend. They are the type of people who never darken the door of a church. We were praying for them, and the evening before the service, they changed their minds and they were in church on the Sunday. It was so amazing!

Our visitors this year…. Angie in March, a friend from England! She came to visit and keep me company while Maarten was away overseas. It snowed that week, and we had fun biking in the snow!
Audrey in April – she came from Ladysmith, British Columbia and we enjoyed her visit so much.
Theresa & Meghan in May – two Canadian girls out to see the world! We felt a bit like parents worrying over our children… they pitched in and helped with gardening and dishes. They were great houseguests and would be welcome anytime!
Dr. & Mrs. Kati in November – It was less than 24 hours and was just too short…. Although the shortest visit has to be from my youngest brother Mark. Mark came in July, we picked him up at the airport, which is 100 km from our house. He then had a shower, ate some breakfast with us, we went for a bike ride to see a little of Ambacht, and 2 hours and 45 minutes later, a friend was here to drive us back to the airport to see him off again. We wish people would come and stay a little longer….

Well, I have one happy thing to tell you…. I won a toaster this year, actually I won two things. The toaster was from Philadelphia Cream Cheese. The other thing I won was a "wijn proeverij avond." That was a very interesting evening. A lady came with 9 bottles of wine, and I had invited guests, and we tasted the wine with things she brought to eat, like strawberries, cheese, pate & bread. I had made a pumpkin cheese cake for the evening too. It was a lovely evening and before it happened we had no idea what to expect – it was a learning experience. Just for your information, she also brought buckets for spitting in, so no one left walking funny!
Our summer vacation this year started with an 11-hour wait at the Toronto airport to catch our next flight to Halifax, that was horrible. (Especially having already flown into TO from Amsterdam!) We had a lovely tour of the East Coast with a tour company called Salty Bear Adventure Travel. We got to go canoeing, and we saw a beaver dam – we had raspberry pancakes with chocolate inside…. So yummy! We visited Peggy’s Cove and then the memorial site for Swissair flight 111. We visited Mahone Bay, Lunenberg and other little places up the South Shore. We stayed the night at an old farmhouse in Annapolis Royal. They say it is the oldest permanent settlement in Canada.

On our 6-day tour we went 2 different directions, the first 2 days we went to the aforementioned places, we returned to Halifax and then with a different tour driver, we went to Cape Breton Island along the Cabot Trail. We went whale watching, then from Pictou, NS by ferry we went to PEI, and Charlottetown, saw Province House, where Canada was born, stayed the night at University of PEI, the following day we visited Cavendish, the home of Anne of Green Gables. When leaving PEI we crossed the Confederation Bridge, opened in 1997, spans 12.9 km across the Northumberland Strait. It connects with New Brunswick and then within a half-hour, you are back in Nova Scotia.

We also enjoyed our time touring Halifax, although I had previously visited the city, I forgot that they had hills – boy do they have hills! Poor Maarten had to hold on tight to my wheelchair going downhill, and going up, well that was a struggle too. We spent most evenings in an Irish Pub for supper, the music was live and mostly excellent. We stayed at a Hostile for most nights in Halifax, that was a new experience for us – but it worked out well. We visited the Maritime Museum, which was a great place! We had a ride on the Harbor Hopper, a great big green amphibious vehicle, which not only goes through the streets of Halifax telling about the city, but also drives down into the harbor to give us a view from the water! Was very exciting for us! I suppose Maarten’s favorite place was visiting Alexander Keith’s Brewery, the tour was done as if we were there 142 years ago, they dressed in period costumes, sang period songs, and danced whatever jig was hot at the time! It was very impressive and well worth the time and effort to see this part of history.

All in all our 10 days on the East Coast was the highlight of our year. It was on our last day that I found out how sick my aunt was, and then all joy left me. I’ve been told it will return… but it is difficult to be joyous when someone I love dearly is in such a state, and I am so far away. When I heard the news, I wanted to go right away to her, but Maarten is not so fond of hospitals, so instead we went to Thompson and spent our time with family. We returned to Winnipeg for Maarten to fly back to Holland, and then I went with my mom’s youngest sister, to Saskatchewan where we visited my aunt on a daily basis, but even then she was in so much pain, you couldn’t sit and visit. I returned to Thompson by VIA rail, which was a 14-hour trip. I stayed 9 more days, returning to Winnipeg, and then flying back to the Netherlands. It was so hard to leave. Even now I wish I were in Canada, even though there is nothing I can do to help.

Thankfully we know that one day, when death separates us here on earth, we will be together again. That is the hope that we as Christians have. Thankfully Jesus was willing to come to earth as a little baby, during this time of Christmas we celebrate that coming! What a world we would live in if he hadn’t chosen to come! This world seems to be getting worse and worse with so many things happening effecting countless numbers… One day, when the rapture happens…. What a day that will be!

Yes, I know in Philippians 4:4 it says, "Rejoice in the Lord, always, and again, I say, Rejoice!" Sounds like a command to me, and not a, "If everything’s going well, and you feel like it, Rejoice…" I don’t feel like it, but I must!

Blessings on you this Christmas, and always. Linda for us both….. (I hogged all the space!)