The kids got their wish for snow. Thanks Banff!
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The morning after our performance at Rocky Mountain House saw us pack up and bid farewell to the beautiful cabin house. This was much harder than we expected, as many of the cabin house's items had been scattered around well beyond their original locations. It took some time to remember what went where. When we were finally ready, I introduced Minea to Street Fighter, which he played on my Switch for most of the bus ride to Calgary. The bus ride also featured Trakuan serving the kids full rice dishes with curry, creating a rather strange sight. Thankfully there was no spillage.
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We arrived at Foothills Alliance Church with plenty of time to set up. Our set-up was a little different this time, as our sponsorship and donation tables were set up in the same room we were performing in. This meant that I would be present for much more of the show, as I would not have to monitor the donation table. The church served us up a great supper where we got to choose between beef, chicken, or pork toppings for our rice. The kids overwhelmingly chose chicken, leaving a large amount of beef and pork for the adults.
The performance for Blaine, Shelly and I was extra special, as Calgary is our home town. Members of our family attended, including my grandfather, Mel Sylvester, who was celebrating his 92nd birthday. Talk about a good birthday present! Close friends of mine were also attending, which made me feel a little homesick and wanting to stay. Alas, the show must go on. Another noteworthy pair of guests were Paul and Liz Brandt. The Brandts have long been friends of Marie and supporters of Rescues, so it was only natural that they would attend the performance in Calgary. Paul briefly spoke to the audience towards the end of the performance, urging them to support Rescue.
The performance itself had no issues, which is surprising given how wild the kids were behind the scenes. Shelly and I tried our best to shush them, as they were frequently talking very loud right outside the door they were to enter from. If they weren't being noisy, they were barely making it to their que on time. They certainly know how to flip the switch when it comes time to perform.
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The next day saw the team do something very different. The Samaritan's Purse office/warehouse in Calgary had a recent dilemma where they were told that toothpaste could not be shipped as part of their Operation Christmas Child project. As they already had several small care packages that had small rolls of toothpaste inside, the question of what to do with them arose. It was decided that the toothpaste would go to Rescue.
To help with this transfer, the team went to the Samaritan's Purse building and into their warehouse. We all took seats and acted as an assembly line: open the package, remove the toothpaste, put the toothpaste in a box, repeat. I played music off my phone to keep myself motivated, which resulted in the kids teasing me about singing along to some songs. Rude. Once we worked for a while, we got pictures around the warehouse Christmas tree.
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After finishing up at Samaritan's Purse, the team hopped on the bus to go to Banff. Unfortunately I did not join them, as I needed to sort things out with the blog, and the Banff trip would cut into that time. From what Blaine told me, the team went for a hike around Vermilion Lakes, visited the Bow Falls, and took the gondola up to the peak of Sulphur Mountain.
It appears the kids got their wish of seeing snow and they were quite eager to touch it. From what I was told, they seemed rather perplexed by its properties. The bow falls also drew a strong reaction, although the cold temperature seemed to be a detriment that caused many of the kids to want back on the bus. Finally, the gondola ride was a divisive experience. Everybody appreciated the summit, but the trip to and from on the gondola was very intimidating to some. Poor Trakuan seemed to really not enjoy herself, as the photos below show.
God bless & Jesus saves.
Is that your Grandpa Sylvester with the four boys?
So glad they got to enjoy some snow!