September 6   Day 8

Today was a day of rest for Tom and I. God’s presence was apparent right from the beginning. The highlight of the hotel breakfast for me, was a plate of gluten free bread at the buffet. I greeted the woman who was replenishing the sausages with a smile and a cheery, “Good morning. I want to thank you for the gluten free bread.”

Her face lit up with satisfaction as she said, “You are very nice. They’re not all nice here but you are.”

Well, that made my day. I sat down, ate a few bites and then went back to her and said, “It’s easy to be nice when you are so nice to me. She reached out and gave me a hug.

“Thank you,” she said.

It was just a simple, tiny interchange and God was there.

We went to Charleswood United Church. The minister is a former classmate from seminary, Michael Wilson. Wow, he has become a fabulous speaker over the last 25 years. The service was based on Mark 7, the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman. Michael connected the world’s dilemma about the continuous waves of refugees coming out of Syria and other places with Jesus’ compassion fatigue, concern for his own people and his eventual caring response to the Samaritan woman. He talked of the need for our compassion in this world crises. He challenged us to live out our faith as individuals and groups by sponsoring refugee families here in Canada. God touched my heart as Michael spoke and during the Sacrament of Communion that followed. I am grateful for my desire to worship God even on holidays, and for our choice of Charleswood U.C.

This afternoon we went to the Winnipeg Museum. Arriving at 3:30 meant we had only 1 ½ hours before closing. Such an amazing place needs an entire day. We were impressed by the dioramas crafted by local                                          artists. Certainly I heard God speak of the need to treasure God’s world that took billions of years to create. Afterwards we walked through the ruins of St. Boniface Cathedral which we had seen from yesterday’s boat cruise.. The colossal façade adds beauty and majesty to the city.

We had supper and searched out an ice cream store in “the Forks”. Mine was triple chocolate brownie. Wow! It sure was good. I pictured God smiling and having a taste. After all the Bible tells us Jesus enjoyed good food. What could be better than an ice cream cone. A perfect ending to a restful day.