James & Carolanne

"As a child stands in awe of new discoveries may we rejoice together in the limitless depth of our Saviour's love." - Staff Conference '08

As you may know, we recently returned from our annual Power to Change Staff Conference.  This year the conference was held in the beautiful town of Whistler, BC.  The theme of the conference was "Captivated", focusing on what it means to be wholly captivated by Jesus.  As you can see in the picture, Ben was also "Captivated" but possibly for different reasons.

Over all, it was a great time of refreshing and renewal, with many opportunities to reflect on the greatness and majesty of Jesus, along with opportunities to share His love with those around us in the village.

One of the unexpected events which occurred was the rock-slide which closed the Sea-to-Sky highway the second night of our stay.  This highway is the only direct route to Whistler from Vancouver, and as such, it's closure was somewhat disconcerting.  Unfortunately, it prevented many of the P2C salaried staff from attending.  There were also concerns about fuel shortages in the area, however by the time the conference was over, most gas stations had been refueled and we were able to take the longer northern route back home. *

Having Ben along for this conference was quite an interesting adventure.  Although there was childcare available for most sessions, it was fairly expensive so we decided to just take care of him ourselves.  It was also very useful that the conference staff set up a parents area separate from the main sessions which allowed us an area to let him play, while we were able to watch the main sessions on TV.  As a result, he met some interesting people, and learned to do some interesting things along the way.  He even started walking with only holding on to one hand.

Ben was also able to make some new friends while we were there. Some of them were stranger than others...

Unfortunately, most of the time we were there the weather was overcast and rainy so most of our time was spent indoors or wandering along the covered areas in front of shops.  (or running between covered areas)

Thank you all for your ongoing prayers and support of us in this ministry.  I know that both Carolanne and I really appreciate all faithful friendship and support that you have shown to us.

Wishing you all the best in Christ,

James, Carolanne and Benjamin Warkentin

* Rockslide photo credit to nationalpost.com.