I AM A PRODUCT of SASKATCHEWAN and Proud of It!

I am not sure how I should approach this posting. There is too much to say and a bundle of emotions involved. Should I begin with…

• “You will never guess what happened to us yesterday…
• “Nobody will ever believe me…”
• “You won’t believe where we were…”
• “In all my years I would never have believed this might happen…”

Or simply…

• “Blow my mind…no way…cool…Holy Cow!....No Way Dude!!!”

All of these ‘hooks’ would open this posting easily…

I am from Saskatchewan. I am a “Made in Saskatchewan” boy 64 years old but still a boy! Conceived in southern Saskatchewan and born in Ceylon – a small town south of Regina. To be specific it was a nursing home where one of the Matrons had some midwifery experience and my mom did all the work with my dad holding a flashlight.

I am proud of my heritage to say the least. I am delighted with all of the training and preparation that Saskatchewan gave me. It may be the richest any one could have ever had.

• I am prairie,
• I am a dust eater,
• I am a stubble jumper,
• I am a prairie chicken,
• I AM A PRODUCT OF SASKATCHEWAN…(and also Canadian)…but the prairie dirt runs deep!

If you have followed this series of postings – you will know that my wife and I are on a vacation in the Regina, Saskatchewan area.

Yesterday Alida and I were invited to attend the session the Saskatchewan Government Legislature held in the Provincial Parliament Buildings. In fact we were Introduced and Honoured by the present Members of the Legislative Assembly. When the Member for the Yorkton riding, Mr. Greg Ottenbreit, rose to introduce us he read some of the things we have been involved with as community members and pastors over these past years to his fellow parliamentarians. Then they applauded us! Go figure – only in Saskatchewan do the highest positions of our government applaud their own.

I was overwhelmed to say the least. They actually showed that they appreciated what we had done over these years!!! I think that I will choose one of my opening ‘hooks’ here…
“Blow my mind…no way…cool…Holy Cow!....No Way Dude!!!”

I know… I know… don’t let it go to your head dude! They applauded three other people there as well.

One was the former Premier Peter Lougheed of Alberta, a small white haired man that has been a giant in his own right with all that he has done for Western Canada and Alberta. Peter was sitting with Alida and me… “Blow my mind…no way…cool…Holy Cow!....No Way Dude!!!”

When I got through some of the shock of what happened to this “Made in Saskatchewan Product” – me – I realized that not a whole lot of people from my home province will be introduced to this powerful body of men and women in their lifetime.

As I have been reading more about the place that we were in and the events that have happened in this great room of the legislature – this session we attended also happened 100 years ago now. On April 2, 1908 through to June 12, 1908 the third Legislature Session/Sitting of the first Legislative Assembly was held.

The magnificence of the beautiful building is awe inspiring. The architecture produces a reverence and respect. As we entered the great doors at the front the thought was there of the number of important people that have passed through these doors. It is staggering to my imagination. The heads of state, heads of countries and the monarchy of all kinds have walked where I walked! “Blow my mind…no way…cool…Holy Cow!....No Way Dude!!!”

Now…if you haven’t been asking yourself the question, “Why were Murray and Alida Lincoln in the Legislature April 16, 2008?” I will point it out that you should be asking that!

It all began in somewhere around 1991-92 in Yorkton, Saskatchewan when a young lady walked into our lives. Her name was Lauretta. She was facing some issues personally and had experienced a “God Moment” where she saw personally the power of very big and loving God. When she told us her story and what happened we were all amazed.

It was from that moment on that Lauretta became an important part of our lives. I guess you could say she was like one of our daughters.
Well you need to fast forward to 2008 – Lauretta is now an Executive Assistant to Mr. Greg Ottenbreit, the MLA for Yorkton. That is one of the reasons it happened…

Now if you are a Bible Reader, you may have caught the Esther and Mordecai story along the way….well…this has some of the same stuff in it.

I want to say thank you to Lauretta for this honor and the introduction you provided for Greg and me. You have a great boss there Lauretta – serve him well. I AM PROUD OF YOU – YOU GO GIRL!

~ Pastor Murray Lincoln ~

PS – Next question… "Did we enjoy the Legislative Process that we viewed?” Yah...it was great….the hollering back and forth was cool…not sure what was being said…or what some of the issues were…but it was fun.

At one point the former Premier of the Alberta Government, Peter Lougheed, was leaning forward fully engaged as he listened to the two sides argue a point… I placed my hand on his shoulder and asked if he wanted me to hold him down…to which he chuckled deeply. I mean he was a GOOD POLITICIAN and what politicians love is this banter across the floor!

Too funny…

http://www.gov.sk.ca/news?newsId=a2fb3916-8332-4c86-b4ef-17c73b2ceb27

SASKATCHEWAN
SESSIONS OF THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY AND THEIR DURATION
Legislature Session Opening Prorogation
1st Legislature ............................................... 1st Mar. 29, 1906 May 26, 1906
2nd Feb. 21, 1907 Apr. 3, 1907
3rd Apr. 2, 1908 June 12, 1908
Dissolution – July 20, 1908

Tour
http://www.legrehab.gov.sk.ca/panoramic/gallery6.html#Additional%20Instructions
Murray Lincoln with Greg Ottenbreit

Press Scrum with Premier Brad Wall Murray Lincoln as Speaker of the Assembly