“The Long Way Home”
September 4, 2009
Greetings from a windy and rainy Edmonton,
AB, Canada! Well, it’s taken a while to
get here but I have finally “arrived”. I
believe it was back in May when I last sent out an update so this is long
overdue. I’ve had a chance to update
some of you in person recently which has been great but I realize there are
some whom I haven’t had a chance to see yet.
For those who have felt neglected I apologize. I’ve tried to make time for everyone but the
reality is it just can’t be done. Thanks
in advance for your understanding. So
without further ado, let’s get you caught up!
Back in June, when I was still in Botswana,
there were a few tasks that needed to be completed before I was able to take
off my Flying Mission IT hat. The first
task was quite a large one, rearranging the town office. With a bunch of people coming and going the layout
of the office had become obsolete. So,
it was decided that the best course of action would be to arrange the office in
such a way that it would be beneficial for all of those needing to use it. Our Short-Term Coordinator, Stephanie
Boogaard was given the daunting task of reorganizing the office and I’ll tell
yah, she did a fabulous job. So, with a
new blueprint in place it was now up to me and Richard (FM IT Manager) to
ensure that we would be able to set up each persons desk, computers and phones
to work in that configuration. It was a
long process but after about a week of work the office was not only looking
great but was functional as well.
Once that large task was out of the way it
was on to the next office. This task was
smaller as far as workload but was just as important to accomplish. Flying Mission reopened there Maun Base a
while back and was now in need of a proper office to operate from. I was given the task of setting up an office
computer, wireless network, and also getting a phone connected as well as an internet
connection. With less than a month to go
until my departure this was going to be a difficult task. I was able to get some success with the local
telecom company and a phone a fax line were up and running. With the hope that the internet connection
would be coming soon I headed up to Maun to setup the computer and wireless
network. Things ended up running quite
smoothly but unfortunately the internet connection folks never showed up. Actually, I’m still uncertain as to whether they
ever did show up. My guess is that it’s
up and running by now. Special thanks to
Colin & Julie Brown for being my hosts while I was up in Maun.
The last task was relatively simple in
nature but was also quite an important one.
With me leaving, our operations in Botswana now had no physical person
doing any of the IT work necessary to keep things running smoothly. Richard (FM IT Manager) is able to do alot of
things remotely from Zambia but there are some problems which require you to be
onsite. With no IT person in Botswana
this would make problems difficult to solve.
So, the fix for this problem came in the form of one of our pilots,
Andrew Anstey. Andrew has fooled around
with computers in the past and was willing to help where he could. It was up to me to give Andrew a “crash
course” on how our IT operations worked.
After thoroughly melting Andrew’s brain with information and giving him
tons of notes and checklists, I felt confident that Andrew would be able to
help Richard in a pinch if a physical presence was required for the fix. As it turned out, I heard from Richard that
one of the hard drives in our server crashed while I was in England. This repair got Andrew’s feet wet almost
immediately but I was glad to hear that things were up and running quite
quickly. Great work Andrew!
Once those last few tasks were completed I
was finally able to hang up my Flying Mission IT hat and get busy saying
farewell to all my friends. My last week
in Botswana was a bit of a blur with all the get-togethers and business of
moving everything out of my house but I think everything worked out quite
well. I’m really going to miss all the
friends I’m leaving behind, but who knows, perhaps we will be meeting up again
in the future.
So, on June 25th I boarded a
plane and headed to Johannesburg, South Africa.
After a short layover I boarded another plane, this time heading for
London, England. There to meet me in
England was my friend Rory Parkinson.
Rory and his wife Beth invited me to stay with them at their place
in Bedford. We also planned a
holiday into the southwest corner of England in Devon. We spent a week in the county of Devon and
had an absolute blast. The Parkinson’s
and I were joined by 5 of Rory and Beth’s friends and together the 9 of us
stayed in a lovely cottage near a small village called “Drewsteighton”. Rory and Beth’s son, Reuben, was also turning
1 during my stay so we were able to celebrate his birthday together during the
trip which was really special. One of
the highlights of our trip was the way we prepared our suppers. In the UK there is this show called “Come
Dine With Me” and in that show contestants make dinner on different nights and
then judge each other on how well they performed as far as taste, presentation,
service, etc. For fun, we decided to
pair up and compete against each other to see who could make the best meal
during our holiday. This may come as a
surprise to some (me included) but the team of Beth and I took first place in
the competition! I made the entree
(Chili Con Carne with basmati rice) and Beth took care of the appetizer
(Bruschetta) and dessert (Banoffee Pie).
Very tasty! Other highlights during
the trip were going to Stonehenge, Windsor Castle and Blackpool Sands. I also got to experience true Devonshire
cream which was marvellous. In summary it
was great just to relax with friends and take a break before heading home. Thanks to Rory and Beth (and little Reuben)
for the fantastic time in England!
So, with the visit in England complete it
was finally time to return to Canada. My
first stop was in Toronto to visit the SIM head office. I spent a few days debriefing with the SIM
team and then it was off to Edmonton to see my family. I officially arrived home in Edmonton on July
9th. I stayed with my parents
who live in Fort Saskachewan (about 30 kms northeast of Edmonton) for the
duration of the summer when I wasn’t travelling elsewhere. I visited two of my supporting churches in
Fort Saskatchewan, my home church Fort Saskatchewan Alliance Church, and the
church my parents attend Fort Saskatchewan Fellowship Baptist Church. The rest of the month of July was mostly
filled with visiting friends and family.
In early August I ventured out to my hometown
of Fort McMurray with my parents and my brother. I went there to visit another of my
supporting churches Fort McMurray Fellowship Baptist Church. I was amazed at the change in my hometown and
was also amazed at how many people I still knew there! There has been alot of change in that town
but it was good to see some familiar faces.
I returned to Edmonton for a day of rest
and then it was back on the road to the west coast of British Columbia. I stopped in Langley for the night and then
took a ferry the next day to Vancouver Island.
I visited the last of my supporting churches, Parksville Fellowship
Baptist Church, during my week on the island.
I had a great time visiting friends there and even had a chance to go
out and do some ocean fishing. Special
thanks go to Jerry and Dorothy Phillips for their hospitality while I was on
the island. Also, special thanks go to
Russ Phillips for letting me use his “bullet lure” to catch my very first Red
Snapper. Couldn’t have done it without
yah buddy! J
After a week on the island I took the ferry
back to Vancouver and stayed with friends in Langley for a week. I was able to meet with different friends
almost every day so I felt really lucky to see as many people as I did in such
a short time. Special thanks go to Jason
and Susanna Lavergne for hosting me while I was in Langley.
So after all that you think I’d go home
right? Wrong! I still had a few people to visit so I drove
from Langley to Calgary, AB. With all
the forest fires going on I was glad that I was able to make it back to
Alberta. The only major problem was a
car accident that blocked both lanes of the Trans-Canada highway. I ended up having to backtrack a little to
get around that but after 13 hours of driving I was safe and sound in
Calgary. My brother met up with me in
Calgary and together we visited with some family and friends. It was a really great time of
reconnecting. Special thanks go to Kevin
and Jayme Crawford for hosting me while in Calgary.
So after travelling nearly the entire month
of August and putting over 3500 kms on my Dads truck, I finally arrived back in
Edmonton. This left me with just over a
week before school started. During this
week I was able to settle into the place I’ll be calling home while I go to
school, my brothers house. My brother built a house in southeast Edmonton while I was in Botswana and agreed to let me stay in one of his spare rooms. It’s
a nice place and I’m glad I’ll be a little closer to school while living here.
Well, this pretty much takes us up to the
present. So, if you were wondering why
I’ve been silent since leaving Botswana, it’s because I’ve been travelling
pretty much the whole time! As fun as it
was to travel it’s good to finally “drop anchor” and prepare for school. Please pray for me as I transition into school
that things would go smoothly.
Ok, I haven’t had many stories in this letter
so let me tell you one that really encouraged me recently. Before I left for the west coast I was
looking on the internet for possible cars to buy. I need a car to get me too and from school
and church and such and to tell you the truth the prices of used cars were
starting to depress me. With my limited
budget it appeared I’d have to give everything I own for a barely working car. I was praying that God would lead me to the
right car and well, God did just that.
As I was looking online at car ads I got a Facebook message from my
friend Mike Rachul who just happened to ask me, “Hey, are you looking for a
car?” I almost wanted to turn around and
look behind me. How did he know?! As it turned out Mike’s sister Christen had
just bought a new car and needed to get rid of her old one. Here is the kicker. Her older car had been given to her for free by
another friend with one stipulation; she would have to give it to someone else
when she was done with it. So, long
story short, I now have my very own car...for free! Granted it’s an older car with high mileage
(94 Ford Escort with 297,000kms), but wow, I’m still amazed at how this car got
to me just in time for school. To God be
the glory.
So with that story of encouragement I think
I’ll close this off. Before I do though
let me leave you with a few prayer requests.
1)
School – Transition into life as a student can
sometimes be difficult. Pray that I
would transition well.
2)
Car – Praise for the free car
that God dropped into my hands. There
are a few minor repairs that need to be attended to, so pray that those would
get fixed before the business of school hits.
Pray that the car would continue to run well during the school year.
3)
Mom – Please continue to pray
for my Mom. She is still undergoing
tests to confirm whether she is eligible for a heart transplant. Pray that here health will remain good while
the doctors decide.
Thanks to all of you who continue to
support me prayerfully and financially as I attend school. I look forward to connecting with more of you
during my time here in Canada. God
bless!
Peace and prayers,
Graham Crawford <><
For more info on SIM Canada visit: www.sim.ca.
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