December 25, 2001, marked the beginning of a new chapter in our lives. After graduating from the University of Calgary with a Bachelor’s degree in political science, our oldest son Jeff moved to Taiwan. He’d been unable to find work in Alberta with his degree and a friend from university suggested that he move to Taiwan to teach English as a second language to elementary school children. All he needed was a bachelor’s degree, it didn’t matter the discipline. Off he went to make some money and begin a career.
The friend that had invited him to Taiwan was a young woman that had also worked with him planting trees in northern British Columbia. The community of ex-patriate Canadians in Taiwan is relatively small, and they ended up spending a lot of time together. The relationship began to change. Soon friend Becky became girlfriend Becky then she became fiancée Becky. A date was set and when Jeff and Becky flew to Canada it was to get married. Becky’s parents lived in Cambridge, Ontario and the wedding would take place in their home on Christmas day 2001. Christmas Eve was the first time I had ever met Becky and she gave me a hug that told me Jeff had made the right decision. Being a pastor, Jeff asked if I would perform their wedding. Of course, I would.
My biggest problem was deciding what I would say during the ceremony. I asked myself if there was anything that I could say that would, in some way be different than what someone else might say. I realized that no one else could give this young couple a father’s blessing. And so that is what I decided to do.
The wedding was very small. Becky asked the women who came to the wedding to meet with her before the ceremony and give her a flower. She tied the flowers together and that was her bouquet. Just before the ceremony started, a song by Dusty Springfield was played – Son of A Preacher Man.
We had driven from Winnipeg, where I was pastoring. We rented a mini-van and off we drove. My mother joined us, and our son Steve and daughter Laura were also passengers. Ran into a lot of snow and Steve and I shared the driving. The return trip proved to be more interesting.
As we had on our trip to Ontario, we decided to drive through the United States. Our plan was to drive south and then to turn west toward Chicago. I wish I had done that. Instead, I took a wrong turn and ended up extending our journey by a few hours and driving through to Detroit. We could almost guarantee that as soon as Steve took over driving that the snow would increase, and the roads would become less pleasant.
We returned to Winnipeg with our family having been expanded by one. Jeff and Becky returned to Taiwan, and we didn’t know when we would see them again. In January of 2003 our family grew by one more when Becky gave birth to our first grandchild – Chandyn Jaya. She had beautiful, dark, curly hair and we just couldn’t wait till we could hold her and kiss her.
Within two months of Chandyn’s arrival, Iona and I boarded a plane that took us to Kaohsiung, Taiwan to meet our granddaughter. I had earlier told the story of my encounter with SARS, but I never mentioned how my heart had been captivated by this beautiful, curly-haired little girl. I could see her dad in her face. Our visit was very short, and it was marred by my broken ankle and SARS scare, but I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. It wasn’t very long before Jeff and Becky told us that another new baby would join our family. She was expected in mid-December, less than 11 months after her sister had been born.
Becky had decided that she wanted a home birth, something not usually done in Taiwan. She persuaded her doctor to allow her to do this. She also decided that she wanted to deliver her baby through a water birth. Iona was asked if she would be willing to fly to Taiwan to look after Chandyn when the baby was born. We made the decision that Iona would fly to Taiwan, and I would stay home. I spent Christmas that year without my wife, but I was rewarded with a beautiful granddaughter who was given the name Kalila Michelle. Our family had expanded by one more and I was learning another lesson in keeping the Son in my eyes.
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