The Fire ... Day Two ...

On a journey just begun ...

By the waters of Babylon, we sat down and wept ...
Okay, the waters here are a little frozen and hard, and we haven't sat down in the snow - but we have wept ... we've wept bitter tears as we've tallied our losses and begun to take stock of what we've lost.

Today we cleaned out the office space, moved our tables and chairs and began the slow arduous work of setting up a new office, two doors down the street.

My day began at 4 am when I awoke in bed and couldn't get back to sleep. Rather then peaceful dreams, in my mind I wandered through the building that now is nothing more then a smoking ruin.
I started in the top corner, in the cry room and took stock of the furnishings, the toys, the shelving, the pews, the hymn books ... I wandered down the stairs into the Fellowship Hall and noted the Memorial Plaques remembering the veterans of Both World Wars from Minnedosa and the Cameron District ... in the corner is the Bible remembering the six from Cameron Church who died in the trenches of World War One ... in the cupboard were some of the bells from the Bell Choir and hymn books from the Blue to the red to the green ...

The walk carried on until 5 am when I got out of bed and began my day - prayerfully, reflectively and thankfully that even with our enormous loses, there have been glimmers of hope and love from across Canada ... By 6 am, my inbox was abuzz with messages ... by 7am I had done my first interview of the day (my umptenth since the fire) ... and so my day went. At 8:30 my children wanted to go into what is left and see the place for six years they've called home ... My daughter is thankful that the pictures and notes I have put on my filing cabinet since 1997 were intact and okay ... they are the memories of the little congregants who have given me note, valentines, coloured pictures and handicraft treasures that I have had on display on the art gallery that is my filing cabinet ...

Then the day took off - a buzz of activity and phone calls and visits with hugs and tears as people came to SEE ...

An old friend is gone ...

Through the day we moved truck load after truck load to the new office space we've been so generously provided with ... the inventory of the mundane is startling. You don't realize how much you've accumulated until these moments ...

Without countless volunteers over the last couple of days, we couldn't have cleaned this up and moved the stuff we've amassed ... books, records, ... you name it - it's been picked up, carried out, loaded up and moved ... A HUGE thank you must go to those folks ...

Tonight the Board met and we began with a lament ... we reflected on what we've lost ... then we began to look to tomorrow ...

Mundane items were covered - hooking up phones ... fixing locks ... moving the last of the STUFF ... and planning for what happens next ...

Tomorrow will be a new day - we don't know what is will bring, but it can only get better from here, especially after yesterday ...

Thanks to all those who've sent notes, phones and just shown up ... the care and love is enormous and much appreciated. Thanks ...

Tomorrow will be a new day ... we'll talk soon ...