Weekly Social Event at the Knox Presbyterian Church Brings Much Joy to Seniors in Waterloo

We are forutnate to be able to travel regularly to the city of Waterloo, Ontario. Having a place to stay overnight in this university town of around 150,000 residents allows us to participate in community events more regularly.

  One of the events we enjoy tremendously is the weekly social event run by the wonderful people at the Waterloo Knox Presbyterian Church. It usually starts at around 11:30 a.m. when seniors are starting to arrive at the church. They register at the reception desk,pay the Can.$ 10.00, pick up their name tags, and head towards their seats.

  We try to make it to this event whenever we are in Waterloo. After paying the cost of the lunch, we go for a cup of coffee/ tea, head to our usual table and start chatting with our friends already sitting there.

  Lunch starts shortly after 12p.m. after some announcements and sharing by the chairperson. We enjoy the homemade lunch by the kitchen volunteers who cook with love and care. One week lunch could be a variety of sandwiches, or lasagna; the next week it could be pasta with chicken or chili. Each lunch comes with salad or carrot/ celery sticks and yes, always with delicious homemade cookies and some kinds of great desserts! Lunch is always an enjoyable event when accompanied by good conversation with other friendly seniors at the table.

Besides great food and conversation, what makes this weekly lunch event very special and enjoyable is the weekly speaker who shares his/ her special interest and knowledge on a certain interesting topic.

 The topics we had for the past few months covered a wide range of subjects such as beekeeping, walking the Camino, chocolate making, photography, meeting the housing needs in the city, preventing frauds etc.

  On some special occasions such as St. Patrick's Day, Christmas season, there were musical performances by the local musicians or talented individuals in the community.

  Last week, we had the final lunch meeting for the first half of 2026. A brass musical group was brought in and entertained the lunch crowd. Before the musicians played each piece, one of the musicians introduced and explained the meaning or the story of the piece so that the audience could have a better understanding of the music.

It was educational and interesting. We have been so fortunate and blessed to have this wonderful lunch event happening weekly!

  Thank you to the wonderful volunteers working hard and dedicating their time to serve the senior in the Waterloo community! We look forward to this Lunch Program as it brings people together and we have fun and learn something. We love you and appreciate your commitment to this great program!

  RT, Waterloo, Ontario

  042026

Remembering John Chen, the Brother We Loved So Much from Church

We all will die! Death is something every human being must face and cannot escape. However, when it happens to a wonderful individual at a not too ripe age, it seems untimely and tragic. We often ask the question:

  'Why? God, why did this happen to such a great person so early?"

 

I volunteered to serve on our church's Refreshment Team and last week I was at church, serving alongside John, getting coffee ready and preparing some snacks for the congregation after the service. John, a cheerful person and dedicated husband and father, always greeted me with a happy smile and a welcoming hello. We chatted briefly and went on our business of serving beverages and sancks to the people who came to us.

  Imagine my shock when I received an email informing me that John had passed away suddenly on Monday and there would be a funeral service for him on Saturday. I could not believe it and neither could I accept it. How could it be? I just talked to him on Sunday at church and he looked healthy?

 

We attended John's celebration of life service at church along with many others. John's life must have touched many people as there was not enough room to accommondate all the people who came to say their final farewll to this beloved Christian brother.

 

 

  Many of whom were John's colleagues and some were there to share their stories about their kind colleague.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  One thing that struck me was how well and brave John's widow and his only 12 year old son handled themselves at this service. For most people, there would be so much grief and probably uncontrollable outburst of crying at this service. However, S. and her son, though very sad, were calm and poised.

Most people could not hold back their tears, when John's wife, S. delievered her speech and did a handbell musical piece with her son and later played her favourite piano piece at the end to honour John. What a brave and strong woman steering through life's hardest storm!

I would not be able to say anything without breaking down had I been in her situation.

 

S.'s demonstration of strength might have stemmed from her unshakable deep rooted faith in God and her strong character. S.'s strength was demonstrated once again in how she planned the memorial service for her late husband.

 

 

 

  She organized a love potluck feast after the service encouraging mourners to share their favourite dishes along with the stories they remembered about John. This love feast provided an opportunity for John's friends and colleagues to get together to share a meal and memories of John. It was warm, welcoming and hospitalbe, much like what the character of John.

We were deeply touched and were honoured to have been at John's memorial service. I promise that my husband and I will be by John's wife and her son's side and lend our support to them for as long as we can.

  May John rest in peace and may God be with S. and her family!

  RT, Toronto

  032026

Canadian Medical Care - A World Class Medical Care System for Canadians

Yesterday I went for a medical appointment at the Scarborough Health Network in Toronto. I was there to see a specialist for a medical issue. Though I had to wait for more than an hour for my appointment, I had no problem with that as I was looked after very well by the specialist. The doctor explained my medical issue to me clearly and gave me three options from which I could choose dealing with it. I was grateful for the excellent care I received.

My visit to the hospital yesterday reminded me of another medical incident which again was handled very well by the medical staff in Toronto.

  An evening last fall, my husband and I were walking on Bloor Street in downtown Toronto towards Koerner Hall for a concert starting at 730pm. It was around 720pm therefore we were rushing a bit trying not to arrive late for the event.

  All of a sudden, my husband fell forward landing flat on the ground with his face hitting the concrete ground. A few kind passersby rushed up and helped him up. My hubby was not bleeding and said he was OK so we continued walking to the music hall.

About half an hour after sitting down for the concert, I noticed a bruise and a big bump right under my husband's right eye. During the intermission I went to the bar to get him some ice and told the usher what happened. The usher immediately referred us to Security. Seeing the big bump on my husband's face, the Security personnel asked us if we needed medical assistance and we decided to call 911.

  The Toronto Paramedic Team arrived within 15-20 minutes. Two paramedics, Ethan, the paramedic personnel and his teammate carried my husband on a stretcher into the ambulance. While waiting for his teammate to locate a hospital to admit my husband, Ethan asked my husband many questions trying to understand his situation and medical background. This paramedic personnel was very polite, considerate, patient and thorough. A true professional indeed!

 

  At the hospital after registration and within minutes, my husband was hooked up to a machine monitoring his blood pressure. A short time later he was seen by a nurse who checked his eyes. In less than 20 minutes, he was hooked up to an ECG machine and had the assessment done. The Paramedic Team stayed with my husband during the admission process, until he was seen by a nurse from the Emergency Department and well taken care of by the Emergency Team.

 

After that we waited in the waiting area. We were grateful that my husband was looked after and had these crucial assessments completed at the Western General hospital.

 

  We were also impressed by our Toronto Paramedic Services Personnel who carried out their medical services with genuine care, sincerity, patience and thoroughness. A shout out to the Toronto Paramedic Team!

  My husband and I were grateful for your timely medical service and assistance performed in a world class and professional manner.

  You are the best and we are fortunate and proud to have an outstanding medical team like yours serving us in Toronto! Thank you to the staff at the Toronto Western Hosptial and grateful to our universal health system in Canada where every citizen is entitled to FREE and fair medical treatment! Canada, we are so proud to be Canadians!

  RT, Toronto Western Hosptial, Toronto, Canada 2025/26

Passing on the Chinese New Year Traditions to Next Generation, Toronto

Shortly after coming back from our Asian trip, we celebrated Chinese New Year, the year of the Horse in Toronto!

 We always celebarte Chinese New Year no matter where we are. In Toronto, where many of our friends and family members reside, it is a must observed tradition for us. We invite relataives and friends to come to our house for the celebration.

  Invited relatives are pretty well the same every year, but with friends, we try to invite those who are in need or have few friends or relatives in Canada.

With the younger generation, we try to keep our traditions going by sharing with them what our grandparents/ parents did with us for the New Year celebrations such as preparing and enjoying a feastive dinner with friends and family, giving of the red pockets to kids/ young people who are single and blessing them, while the person receiving the red pockets wishing the parents some traditional Chinese New Year sayings in return.

After dinner and the exchange of good wishes to each other, we relaxed, enjoyed some desserts, chilled, played with the dog and enjoyed some fun games. It was such a lovely time spending time together and carrying on the Chinese New Year traditions with the next generation!

 We also were invited to a New Year party and we had a celebration with many community members who all brought delicious homemade dishes to a potluck lunch.

After lunch, we played some games with the kids, shared stories and heard a powerful testimony from a former medal winning athlete who has been suffering from a serious illness and bravely fighting the disease and carrying on in life with faith and much positivity. We prayed for him and encouraged him and his family.

  We had a wonderful time sharing and celebrating the Year of Horse with family, friends and our community!

RT, Toronto, Canada, 022026

A Hotel Review in Hong Kong - Sheraton on the HK Waterfront

Sadly, our Asian holiday came to an end. We flew to Hong Kong, stayed for a couple of nights and caught our flight back to Canada. We liked staying at the Sheraton so much last time when we were in HK that we returned to the same hotel this time. The reasons for our returned stay - excellent customer services as well as the following:

1. Free shuttle bus picking us up from the Hong Kong Airport straight to the hotel 2. Proximity to airport - this Sheraton Hotel, only about 10 minutes shuttle bus ride to the airprot 3. Waterfront room, spectacular lovely oceanview

A stonethrow away from the Citygate Mall, we could walk there anytime we felt like having a coffee at a cafe or doing some shopping. With a few restaurants close by, just right across from the hotel, we had no problem finding a place for breakfast or dinner.

4. The best part we liked about this Sheraton was leaving some of our lugguage there for storage while we were travelling in Vietnam for almost two weeks. This was an excellent customer service for its guests! This was important and convenient for us as we didn't want to carry any unnecessary lugguage all over Vietnam. Two thumbs up for the Hong Kong Sheraton near the airport! Highly recommend it and will definitely consider staying there again next time when we fly into Hong Kong!

  RT, Sheraton Hotel, Hong Kong, 022026

A Two Day Whirlwind Stop in Hong Kong

Before going back to Canada, we stayed in Hong Kong for a couple of days.

This gave us sometime to slow down a bit after a busy holiday in Vietnam. It has been a tradition for us to give Christmas gifts to our family members. Though Christmas was long over by the time we saw J. we had brought gifts from Canada for him. After retrieving our stored luggage from the hotel, we were able to present the gifts to him. We bought some skin care products and hope that these gifts would make him feel better.

 

We went to see a movie , something we loved to do when visiting China. After the movie, we went for a Japanese Sushi lunch with the dishes delivered on a moving conveying belt to the customers' tables. Interesting indeed!

The next day, my hubby wanted to show J. the quieter side of Hong Kong. We went to Tai O on Lantao Island as J. had never visited this place before. We toured the island, watched the locals make their fishballs and other snacks, paused at the edge of the water to watch the little fish swimming under us and enjoyed the small village atmosphere.

We also visited the little Tai O Museum where we read about the past history of this island and saw displays of old fishing gears and some tradional clothing.

A former fishing village, Tai O is famous for its seafood. Off course we needed to try some of the seafood dishes. We lunched at one of the well known restaurants and ordered their famous oyster pancake along with other dishes. It was delicious and went well with the cold beer!

  Taking advantage of our time in HK, we made arrangement and had dinner with our new friend, L. and his wife, who were happy to see us again since our last get together.

Using the GPS, we were still unable to locate the restaurant and we were late; our friends had to wait for us for more than 20 minutes before our arrival. We felt so bad about being late. However, they were gracious and were happy to see us again and meet J. as well.

 

 

It was a whirlwind two day stopover in Hong Kong and time to say good bye to J. and head back home! Thank you, God, for your protection and mercy and for giving us a great holiday with our loved one and meeting up with friends!

  RT, Hong Kong Last day of Our Asian holiday 022026

Good Bye Vietnam! Thanks for a Fantastic Vacation

Our holiday in Vietnam came to an end and we were sorry to leave this beautiful country!

We have seen and learned a lot about this Asian country once ravaged by a horrific war and had suffered so much. Like a phoenix rising up from ashes, Vietnam has rebuilt itself and has been developing rapidly in the past decade.

The country is developing economic success is evident everywhere.

Young people are hardworking and are optimistic about their country. The people are enjoying life and are out with families on playgrounds, in restaurants and shopping malls.

Vietnam is a country blessed with a long coastline, an abundance of natural resources, stunning beautiful scenery, rich history, resilient, hardworking and friendly people.

Like the other 20 some millions tourists who visited Vietname, We have enjoyed our vacation in Vietnam tremendously!

Thank you to the Vietnamese people who were welcoming and providing us with outstanding services in all the places we have stayed.

We enjoyed what this wonderful country has to offer and are planning for a return visit in the near future!

RT, Vietnam, 022026