n the new year of 1947, the days took on a certain routine. This was my third year in a

four year program. The class was permitted to work on projects without supervision and

we all worked on specific projects that we had selected. I became involved in a singing

group in the Ukrainian language to produce taped material for a student who would work in

British Columbia among the Dukhobors a religious sect that had migrated to Canada from

Russia. I also enrolled in an evangelism class to prepare for work among children doing

Daily Vacation Bible School, as well as Gospel preaching. At this time I owned a guitar and

that took time to practice as well. By March, we began our written exams, term papers, and

book reports on Bible books we had studied.

The Annual Spring Missionary Conference took place as usual in April around Easter.

The Bible School year ended with the close of that conference. People from all over the

world came to P.B.I. for that conference. As guests, there were given food and lodging, the

students having vacated their rooms so that guests could use them. Students then slept in

classrooms which afforded little privacy.

At the close of the conference I stayed for a couple of weeks for further instruction by

Canadian Sunday School staff, then traveled to Edmonton and on to Neerlandia for a visit

with the Lievers family. I returned to Edmonton in time to meet Don Castleman.

Our objective that summer was to work in the Lac La Biche area. Some people in the

area had invited the Canadian Sunday School Mission to send workers into the area. They

were few in number and limited in resources, but very zealous for the Lord. We had

surveyed the area and found that there were plenty of religious institutions. They included

Roman Catholic, Anglican, and United churches, plus even a mosque at the south end of

town. Lebanese people had established businesses in the area and had built a place of

worship for themselves. In Hylo there was an abandoned Baptist Church that had fallen into

disrepair.

We stayed with the Guinand family in their "home" which was really a barn fixed up

to be a home. We did our best to help the family both on their farm and inside their home

while we stayed there.

We asked for permission from the local authorities to hold D.V.B.S. in the local

school. There was some community opposition, but eventually permission was granted. The

Lord blessed this work, with good attendance, and we had the privilege of leading several

people to the Lord. One of the young men who accepted the Lord was Ron. Ron was one of

two young men who happened to be in the area, digging water wells. The following day, Ron

returned to work with this friend and was overcome by natural gas in the bottom of the well

and died. The R.C.M.P. was of course called, and helped to recover the body. What a shock

to the community! The following Sunday a boy was saved – we believe through Ron’s death.

I was asked to take Ron’s funeral. Even though I had never conducted a funeral

before, I did so, with some welcome pointers from Don Castleman.

This event continued to ripple through the community. In subsequent weeks, as

people reflected on the brevity and fragility of life, they continued to turn to Christ.

Some of the fruit of the seeds planted in this period I witnessed exactly forty years

later, in June of 1987, when I was invited to the dedication service of The Evangelical Free

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Church of Lac La Biche. This was a beautiful new building, built by a growing and healthy

congregation that had it’s beginnings with our work there. What an honor to be part of the

work in that community!

At the end of summer I decided to leave the area. I had learned that my father was

very ill and in hospital. I made my way to Calgary, where Francis joined me with her two

children for the train trip to Calder. My mother was glad to see us, especially her

grandchildren. We visited dad in an extended care hospital a couple of times. He had lost a

lot of weight and was now confined to bed. It was very hard to say goodbye to him when we

finally left, because we knew it would likely be the last time we would see him alive – and it

was.

Since Francis could manage quite well with the children by herself on the train, she

returned to Calgary, and I went to Edmonton with Lindy in his truck. He had decided to find

work in B.C. While at Edmonton, I took the opportunity to go to Barrhead by bus. After my

visit in Barrhead and Neerlandia was over I returned to P.B.I. for my final year.

My last year at P.B.I was an intense period of advanced study, which left little time

for anything else. By the time Christmas 1947 arrived I was looking forward to the break

when I would travel to Neerlandia to visit Alice. It was at this time that I asked Mr. and Mrs.

Lievers for permission to marry their youngest daughter, Alice. They both agreed.

After Christmas, it was back to my studies at Three Hills. The weeks slipped by until

graduation arrived, after which it was time to find some temporary employment. I traveled to

Edmonton where I rented a room in a private home for $35.00 per month. The room was

furnished with a single bed, a table, and a hot plate which served as my "kitchen". A shared

washroom also provided my water for cooking.

I found work as a door to door salesman for Maple Leaf Milling Ltd. selling cake

flour directly to homes. The pay was 5¢ per sale plus 5¢ per delivery of each item sold. I

used my own car for the deliveries. On a good day, I could sell a hundred cake flour boxes.

Some families purchased more than one at a time. This job lasted until May 13, 1948.