Welcome to Canada

We had just arrived at Vancouver International Airport and Ingrid's sister was driving us to their place in Langley. As we were driving we passed a field where they were picking blueberries.

Now we haven't had fresh blueberries in 3 years and we really like them, so Lore was more than happy to turn around and inquire about buying blueberries.

 

The people picking the blueberries appeared to be Indo-Canadians and the ones we first tried to speak to hardly spoke any English.  We did find that they were not selling the blueberries there, but one of the pickers loaded our hands with some fresh berries.  They then pointed to a fellow back down the row of bushes a bit who did speak some English.

We chatted with this fellow a bit and then enjoyed the fresh berries.  While we were still back in Thailand we had talked about things we were looking forward to in Canada.  Ingrid was looking forward to being with her family.  As for me, I was thinking, "I think we will get in on the end of blueberry season."

This gift of blueberries was a nice welcome to Canada, given to us by those who have been welcomed to Canada themselves.

As Christians, we are to ones that welcome "aliens".  I think about all of those verses in the Bible that walk about welcoming the sojourners that come to our lands:

 

You shall not wrong a sojourner or oppress him, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. (Exodus 22:21 ESV)

You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.  (Leviticus 19:34 ESV)

For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe. He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing.  (Deuteronomy 10:17, 18)

Thus says the LORD: Do justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor him who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the resident alien, the fatherless, and the widow, nor shed innocent blood in this place.  (Jeremiah 22:3 ESV)

do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart. (Zechariah 7:10 ESV)

Most of all, we thank God that he welcomes sojourners like ourselves into the kingdom of God.