Vacation Day 7 - Completing 57 Loving Years

Vacation Diary Entry: Day 7 – Completing 57 Loving Years

So many memories flooded into my life yesterday. This was the farewell day for my mom from Southside Pentecostal Assembly and her friends of 57 years.

57 Years ago a young family; a dad, a mom and three kids – a 6 year old boy, a 4 ½ year old daughter and a baby boy of 1 year old, came on the city bus to 2070 Broad Street in Regina to attend the new Bethel Temple Church. The bus ride was about 30 minutes long but required a 7 block walk to the bus stop and then a wait that could be 20 minutes or more.

The church had perhaps one of the best young preachers in all of Canada who helped spark the growth of the assembly in the next few years. This young preacher was Rev. H.H. Barber. Most importantly Bethel had a Sunday School that would provide the beginnings of Christian education for their family.

The young mom was Nell Lincoln and the 6 year old boy was me.

The 57 years are filled with huge memories for our family. Sunday School first with classes for everyone. Then a great morning service flowed by Sunday evening services that we came back to at 7:00 PM. That was followed by a long prayer meeting in the prayer room which was the basement of the church. The same basement of the church was the site for the Bethel Temple Crusaders – an active boy’s club conducted by two men in the church – my dad being one of the men.

The years came and went until the old Bethel was sold and the new Southside Pentecostal Assembly would be built. 20 years ago it was burned to the ground by an arsonist and the present building became the home of the Southside folks.

When mom stood to thank these wonderful folks – it was from her heart that she spoke.

I had the strong sense yesterday that with the transitions we go through are very much like reading a book – we progress one page at a time. We arrive at the next chapter after we have finished all the pages in the last one. And the thought is so powerful as we go through the book – the story just gets better.

A Long Time Ago…
About 100 years ago when my great grandfather came to Saskatchewan he went to establish his new home. He built a very large house on high point of land a few miles from what is now Truax. The house over looked the good prairie land surrounding it. In the photos it shows the old house first and then the scene out front of the house of the winding prairie ‘crick’ – a small waterway that flowed through his property that would help to water his animals. The ‘crick’ was crowded with tall prairie willows and other trees that crowed the water source.

The vast expanse of fields that would grow good grain was the drawing factor for this family long ago.

My great, great grandma on the Kirkpatrick side traveled to Saskatchewan to live with her family. As she did she left all that she had known in Iowa to begin a new life. The world she left could not be much more radical in difference as she came from rich valleys and large trees of Iowa to the new prairie setting in southern Saskatchewan.

Now my mom will do a similar thing again – the difference is that she will go from prairie to rich valleys and large trees of Ontario.

Hey mom – you are going to love it.

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Transitions in life are not as easy as turning the pages of a book. The story however is far more exciting as we walk through the days together.

Thanks for the prayer and the support for our family.

~ Pastor Murray Lincoln ~