Canada

Sometimes people like to exclude you from their circles. We are not always sure why and sometimes we do know why. In any case it doesn’t feel good to be rejected by others. Some people reject you to make you feel bad. Some people don’t even think about how their rejection affects you.

I can’t help but lament the absence of divine justice. Thankfully God is not finished with us.  How much better will we do in the next 10 years?  Sometimes I think of the process of reconciliation as a dance. The question is, “How ready are we to make this an inclusive party. to turn up the music so that the dance can begin?

I am in a position where I provide support to survivors of human trafficking after they have already experienced trauma and exploitation. I am “down river,” in a position to provide assistance and aid after people have fallen upstream. With more awareness, I am hopeful that prevention efforts will make a greater difference in keeping youth safe. 

And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. - Matthew 14:19

Continuing prayers for Sudan

In violence between two rial military factions that has killed 400 people since April 15 and injured 1000’s, evacuations of non-Sudanese citizens have escalated. We pray for those trying to leave and for those who stay amidst water and power shortages.

In November 2022 I received my ancestral name Switametelót—a name gifted to my great-grandmother from her father Switamet.  When my great-grandmother married a non-Indigenous man, she was no longer considered Indigenous and her name was buried under the rubble of discrimination found in the Indian Act.  The name could not be passed to my grandmother nor my mother in their lifetime.  What an injustice to the matriarchs of my family!  Five generations later, I reclaimed our family name.  Through this reclamation, my connection to Squiala (my great grandfather’s traditonal territory)

The Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA) has been receiving increased attention as Canada recently announced additional protocol that came into effect on March 25, creating significant barriers to those seeking asylum in Canada. The STCA is an agreement between Canada and the US that was implemented in 2004. The agreement between the two countries recognizes each other as a safe country and stipulates that asylum seekers must make their refugee claim in the first safe country they arrive in. 

The other week, when I took my young sons to a children’s festival at a local church, it was joyous mayhem of the best kind. 

Throngs of youngsters jumped up and slid down the most enormous bouncy slide I’ve ever seen; bopped to a band playing at full volume in the sanctuary; ate a million sugar cookies; and raced between fun activity stations.

You answer us with awesome and righteous deeds, God our Savior, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas - Psalm 65:5

Ontario to see higher numbers of economic immigrants under federal agreement

Ontario is set to double the number of economic immigrants it welcomes to the province under an agreement with the federal government to boost the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program.

December 9th, I took a circuitous route to the airport making some last minute pick ups. It was the usual dark and cold of winter in the B.C. interior. I traced my way through the lamp lit roads of the city following Siri’s voice directing me towards a friend’s parents’ house where I would dig a plastic bag out of a storage box. I hoped the neighbours wouldn’t be concerned given the late hour.  All day I’d been sending a flurry of texts trying to arrange a collection of winter coats of various sizes and ensuring the final set up of the apartment was finished.