Posted on November 1, 2017 under News & Updates with no comments yet

Christmas morning 2016 at DARE

 

Please join myself and Father Abhi this evening at People’s Place Library ( Wednesday, Nov.1^st. ) at 7:00 p.m. in the small meeting room to see a short 20 minute film about DARE, an organization in Varanasi, India that rescues and rehabilitates young children abandoned at railway stations.

As many of you know, I traveled to India this past year and had an opportunity to spend some time on Christmas Day with these children. I was very inspired by the work being done by DARE to give these children a decent chance at life by providing food, shelter, educational and recreational opportunities.

Following the film, Father Abhi will answer any questions that you might have.

Hope to see you.

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Posted on June 4, 2017 under News & Updates with no comments yet

Please join me today at St. James United Church and support a family who is going through a tough time. The Eee family came to Canada to visit our good friends, Melvin Tan and Cathy Lin ( Little Asian Food Truck ). While here, Bella Eee delivered a premature baby, James which required expensive hospitalization at the IWK.

Today, June 4th. from 2-4 p.m., a group of talented performers will gather at St. James to raise some money for the family. I will be the Master of Ceremonies.

This is a ” family friendly” event so please bring the children along.

Posted on May 5, 2017 under News & Updates with 8 comments

After six months… and a few extra  days (!) , I arrived safely on Canadian soil on Thursday, May 4^th. I had planned on kissing the ground at Pearson airport in Toronto after a 14.5 hour direct flight but our flight was delayed leaving Delhi leaving me forty five minutes to make it through Canadian Customs and security in Toronto. I literally ran from the plane and made it just in time.

Never was I more happy to be in my “home and native land.”

I will spare you the details now but on the very day that the picture above was taken ( April 10^th. ) at the Taj Mahal with my brother Don, I discovered to my horror that my Indian visa had expired. Don and I spent the past three and a half weeks in Delhi ( in 40 + degree temperatures ) dealing with Indian Immigration officials. It was quite an experience. Of course, I documented every bit of it and I am trying to decide how to publish it so that my faithful readers don’t fall asleep wading through 6500-7000 words. I will be talking about this at my presentation at the library on May 17^th. Stop by and say hello.

If you are going to get caught up in a big mess half way around the world, having a brother who is a lawyer, a great friend and a warrior, is an unbelievable blessing. If he wasn’t by my side every step of the way, I’m sure that I would have been humming, “ I’ll Be Home For Christmas”! We had some tough days to be sure. These days were usually mollified by dessert at a restaurant!

Of course, my soul mate back home, Betty, was also a key player in providing me with information and advice… and an unending well of support.

Thanks for all the welcome home messages.

As challenging as the situation was, I still felt thankful every day ( especially when my plane left the runway in Delhi! ). On the days when I encountered setbacks and discouragement, I thought of our Syrian friends. Comparing my situation with theirs is ludicrous. My respect and awe for these people grew by leaps and bounds as I tried to imagine what it must be like to flee for your life and then have to deal with the additional burdens of going through a bureaucratic process. I had a safe place to live. My life wasn’t threatened but merely inconvenienced for three weeks. I knew I would eventually get home while the Syrians had no idea if or when they would find a new home. I’m sure glad that they came to Antigonish.

I hope to resume my regular columns and stories in the next few days.

Have a great weekend.