Change of Address

On Saturday, September 17, 2022, as family members lovingly watched over her, Betty Engler changed her permanent residence from Barrhead, Alberta, Canada to Paradise.

Betty Engler 1930-2022

Betty has changed addresses many times in her life. She was born on the island of Rügen off the northern coast of Germany in August, 1930. A couple of years later, her family moved to Groß Zastrow, near Greifswald, on the mainland.

The House on Rügen

In 1950, Betty married Werner Engler and moved back to Rügen, but only stayed there until 1952 when they moved back to the Greifswald area. They were only there a few months when they decided to sneak out out of what had become communist East Germany. In West Germany, after a brief stay in a refugee camp, the Englers lived in Lünern for a while but later settled in Lerche.

The House in Lerche

In 1963, Betty and Werner, along with their four children, moved to Alberta, Canada, living on a farm in the community of Freedom, near the town of Barrhead. It was during this season that I became a part of the Engler family.

Farmstead in Freedom, Alberta

The Englers lived on the farm until about 10 years ago, when they moved to a house in the town of Barrhead. However, for the past two years, Betty has been staying at Shepherd's Care in Barrhead.

The House in Barrhead

It seems Providential that we are here in Canada at this significant point in our parent's lives.

For some time, I had been feeling weary from our work, and have desparately been in need of a break. We planned to make a trip to Canada to visit Ingrid's parents. But there was a lot of uncertainty about when the best time would be. Our preference would have been earlier, but circumstances on the Canadian side caused us to plan a trip for September.

Our idea was to be here to help Ingrid's dad move into some senior housing in Barrhead, and then help get his house ready to sell. After that, we planned to get a few days of actual vacation in the mountains. On our first Sunday here, Betty came out of Shepherd's Care to have dinner with all the family that had gathered. However, she wasn't doing very well. Early the next morning, she was sent to the ER. and later that day she was admitted to the hospital. After a 92-year run. it looked like Betty was getting ready to change addresses for the last time.

As word got out, many family members gathered to help Ingrid's dad move to his new address and to be with her mom as she moved to hers. While her body may eventually lay in Manola Cemetery, Betty lives on with Jesus in Paradise and in the hearts of all who knew her.

Betty with her Husband, Three of her Daughters and one of her Sons

Dad's New Apartment

Many years ago, before I was married, I heard advice something like this: if you want to know what your wife will be like in the future, look at her mother. When I was thinking about marrying Ingrid, I followed this counsel. I saw in Ingrid's mom an intelligent, multi-talented, hard-working woman. I figured if Ingrid turned out like that, that would be awesome. And the sparkle I once saw in Betty's eyes, I continue to see in her daughter, my wife.

Betty's smile and laughter will no longer grace our dinner tables. But the physical challenges she faced in the past few years are now vanquished.

Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.  For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.  When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:
     “Death is swallowed up in victory.”
     “O death, where is your victory?
       O death, where is your sting?”
           1 Corinthians 15:51-55

When the Rooster Crows on the Manure Pile

Weather forecasting is an interesting science. In Thailand, we live close by the provincial meterological station. I've never gone in there, but we do look at the weather forecasts, though I'm not sure why.

We moved to Kamalasai in the dry season. One really doesn't need to look a a weather forecast in dry season, because it doesn't rain. And the temperatures are relatively similar each day. But as rainy season approached, I started to look at the forecasts more. For many days on end, there would be a probablility of precipitation between 30 and 35 percent. One would figure that it would rain about once every three days—but it didn't.

Later I figured that the forecasters must just be good statiticians, because as long as you predict a number between 1 and 99 percent, you're never wrong, you're just playing the odds. You just might not want to bring these people along as consultants when you go to the casino.

But then this happened: they predicted a 100% chance of preciptation for a certain portion of one afternoon, but then they changed their mind and lowered it before the time came. This has happened on more than one occasion. Are they allowed to do that? I mean, I think that if you predict a 100% chance of something, then you are committed to the outcome.

My wife told me an old German saying that seems to be a good weather forecasting tool:

Kräht der Hahn auf dem Mist, ändert sich das Wetter oder bleibt, wie es ist

Which roughly translates: When the rooster crows in the manure pile, the weather will change — or stay the same.

We're fortunate that we have a weather forecaster that lives across the street from us. This cockerel belongs to the proprietor of a coffin maker, and it hangs out in front of shop all day and all night, every day. It may not have a manure pile, but this prognosticator of precipitation starts his forecast about 3 am each day: the weather will either change or stay the same.

This Storm Passed us by to the North

This Storm Passed us by to the South - with Lots of Thunder

This Storm Finally Brought us Rain

Online Dating

Whenever I hear people talking about the dating scene these days, it seems that so many people meet their significant others though online dating sites or other online activities. For someone my age, this system can be hard to understand.

Except that I met my wife this way as well.

Kind of.

Back in the early Late 1970's and  early 1980's there wasn't an internet to speak of, at least not like what we think of these days. But we did have computers. I know, hard to believe that dinosaurs coexisted with computers. Just a few days after I graduated, I attended the Urbana missions conference. Included with our conference admission was a job search through and organization called InterCristo. InterCristo was an organization that did computer matches of people looking to work in Christian ministry with organizations looking for workers. (InterCristo has since been acquired by Salem Web Network which runs the Christianjobs.com website.)

What was nice about this is that many of the organizations in out InterCristo report had booths at the conference, so that we could meet with representatives of different organizations. One of the organizations on the list was called Emmanuel International. I talked with some of their reps at the site. A few weeks later, someone from that organization was in Massachusetts, so I went to chat with them more. I applied to Emmanuel International and was accepted, so that fall I ended up at their office and training facility in Ontario. While I was hanging out there, a day or so before the training was to begin, Ingrid walked in the door.

(Ingrid's route there was a bit different. She had met representatives of Emmanuel International at a missions conference at a Bible school.)

And the rest is history. I met my wife through a computer matching service—though we never really dated. And they did a good job, because we're still together and like being together. Technology may have changed, but our love remains the same.

Emmanuel International Office in Ontario