Experiencing a Pow Wow in Edmonton - Day 1 of Our STM Trip

We met up with our STM trip teammates in Edmonton

A Pow Wow in Edmonton


We met up with our STM team members at the Edmonton Airport.

Since it was lunch time, P. took us to the Lee Garden, in Chinatown, Edmonton for a Korean lunch.











This was the first time our entire team sitting down and shared a meal together. We had  a great fellowship and got to know our team members a little better.

We went to \a Pow Wow at the Edmonton Stadium

Since we are going north to a reserve, P. felt it was important that we learn as much about the cultures and traditions of the aboriginal people as possible.

It happened that there was a Pow Wow in Edmonton this weekend, so the entire team went to the event.

Pow Wow is a big event for the aboriginal peoples in Canada!  It is their way of meeting together. The first nations people participate in dancing, singing and competitions.  First Nations people come from afar visiting others,  renewing old friendships and making new ones at this event.

We heard a lot about it and looked for one close to Toronto to attend.

A few years ago, we drove about 300 Km north of Toronto to a town called Owen Sound and attended a Pow Wow close by.














It was a good experience, something new to us and we enjoyed it.  But I remembered it was a big event for many of the aboriginal  people in the area and we had a very hard time finding accommodation for that weekend.

 Eventually, a kind heart motel owner took pity on us, and found us a bed and breakfast place for the night.

It happened that the couple of days we were in Edmonton, there was a Pow Wow held at the Edmonton Stadium.





Since many of our group members never attended one our leader decided we should go and learn more about the culture and traditions of our aboriginal people.

This Pow Wow was a huge event as it was held in the Edmonton Stadium.  The place was packed with first nation peoples from all over the areas.



People of all ages took part in this big celebration. Many brought their own lawn chairs, found a good spot and and parked themselves there with members of their families.

Dressed proudly in their traditional resplendent costumes decorated with colourful feathers, beads along with their beautiful headgear, many aboriginal people were there to compete in dancing as well as taking in the sights and sounds of the event.

Boys and girls were strutting their traditional costumes proudly!

We watched some dancing competitions, with boys, girls, women and men's team from various regions and communities

There were displays of native arts and crafts. beaded jewelry , clothing and other items.

We saw some creative aboriginal beaded jewelry and some women in our group got excited about them.


The Pow Wow in Edmonton was big in size compared to the one we saw before.

The only thing I could not find was the delicious seafood that we tried at our last Pow Wow, But it was a good learning experience.

R.T.
Edmonton, Alberta

Visiting the Biggest Mall in Canada - WEM - West Edmonton Mall

The Airport Shuttle Bus dropped us off at the door of the West Edmonton Mall 

We are visiting Alberta and staying one night in Edmonton.

We took this opportunity and visited the most famous and biggest mall in Canada - The West Edmonton Mall.

Since we were staying at a a hotel right by the airport, there was no need to rent a car as we could take the Sky Shuttle and go straight from the airport to the West Edmonton Mall. We were dropped off at the Fantasyland Hotel connected to the mall.



It cost $30.00 per adult for a return trip, not bad at all!

We visited the WEM about twenty five years ago and at the time I thought it was an extremely huge place.

As soon as we entered the mall, we were greeted with the Saint Maria - a replicate of a tall ship with sails placed in the middle of the mall.

If I remembered correctly, years ago when we visited the first time, that was where the indoor skating rink was located.

 This mall has been well maintained and offered many attractions catering to families, ages young and old.

An indoor wave pool in the West Edmonton Mall

Some of the attractions we enjoyed visiting were:

A Water park with a huge water slides zigzagging down into the Wave Pool.

Visitors to the Edmonton Mall can go on the giant water slide, relax on lounge chairs or splash in the pool

This must be a very popular place to go for Edmontonians in the winter when the temperature could be freezing cold but visitors can still enjoy the tropical hot weather activities such as water slides and a cool dip in this wave pool.

Food Court, Edmonton Mall

We got hungry after walking and went for lunch at the Food Court.

Lovely eating area at the West Edmonton Mall, Edmonton, Alberta

Samples of Crepe sandwich & desserts one can order

This was not your usual eat and run fast food place but an elegant eating area with ample seating and furnished with modern and comfortable chairs.

The difficult part was deciding what to order from the great variety of choices of food offered.

I chose a  Ceasar Chicken Crepe while my husband ordered some noodle with chicken from another food counter.

An indoor  miniature golf playing area in the E-Mall

Father and son time on the mini golf course

Mini Golf - a place for fun and for families to enjoy and spend some quality time together.

European designed shopping and resting area

Europa Boulevard - shops and stores with designs of European buildings.

Some of the colorful buildings reminded me of our visit to Venice!

Ample benches in the dining area of the Mall

To rest our tired feet and quench our thirst, we headed over to the eating area of the Western Edmonton Mall.

Beautiful decorations throughout the E Mall

Unlike the fast food take out places one normally finds in a shopping mall, there were numerous nice restaurants and hostesses waiting to serve their tired and hungry customers.

The restaurant area of the mall was a welcoming place, with wide walkway and beautifully decor.

We took advantage of the Happy Hour special and ordered some bear and tasty bites.

Alberta is a province famous for cowboys and beef. We love trying local cuisine and local produced food and we ordered;

Crackling Sirloin Beef, Mini Mikes ( delicious beef sliders) and a spinach dip.

We enjoyed the Happy Hour special featuring Alberta beef

We were not disappointed at all!








For less than$40.00, we satisfied our hungry and rejuvenated  ourselves with delicious good local food!

We could easily find a bench or two to sit and rest 

What I really like were the beautifully designed benches and seating areas placed throughout the mall.

A perfect place to rest and  have a good view of the E Mall

Shoppers and visitors to the mall could take a break and find a place to sit easily anytime they need a rest.

|Displays abound around the E Mall

Besides shopping. there were a lots of things to see around the mall.


There was a display of a super modern design car worth at over half a million dollars.

Fresh and creative floral designs at the flower shop

Some floral displays with fresh cut flowers, miniature plants potted in unique colourful planters.

A huge Chinese vase on disdplay

Anywhere we turned in the mall, there was something that caught out attention. It could be:

A huge Chinese vase standing in the middle of the mall

Exotic animal sculptures greet movie goers at the entrance

 Interesting, exotic creatures perching on tall pillars guarding the entrance to a store

A modern bold design entrance to one of the shops

Stores with modern, bold and loud designs

A calm, quiet and soothing oriental garden

A creative jacket made of recycled calendar pages

A unique jacket fashioned out of recycled old calendar paper

Even the elevators in the mall  have been dressed up and beckoned visitors to enter!

The sliding doors to the Fantasy land Hotel  connected to the WEM

I loved how  ordinary everyday objects  such as the sliding doors have been designed to look so pretty in the mall












 We also appreciated the efforts which the mall designers and management have put forth to accommodate the little ones.

 It was evident in the bathroom where an under the sink stool could be pulled up for little people as well as a tiny toilet seat installed beside a regular one. So that so mother and her little one can visit the bathroom at the same time.

There is something for everyone at the West Edmonton Mall! It is more than  a mall!

It is a meeting place, a family place.
It is a beautiful venue where friends can meet; families can enjoy and easily spend a whole day to have some great fun together!












For anyone visiting the city of Edmonton, this is a must do activity!

R.T.
West Edmonton Mall,
Edmonton, Alberta

I Felt Blessed with My Friends as Our Prayer Warriors!

We left Toronto early this morning .

Our plane flying near the city of Edmonton, Alberta

As our plane was flying towards Edmonton, we could see the dust and smoke from the uncontrollable wild forest fires from the distance.

We could see the dust and smoke of the wild forest fires from the distance 

We just checked into a hotel in Edmonton. 

We will meet up with our Short Term Mission Team and drive to a native reserve located in northern Alberta of about 2000 people, tomorrow morning.

The aboriginal people on this reserve have experienced many tragedies and hurt. There have been many suicides among them recently.

We need our Christian family members and friends' earnest prayers and support. 

I sent them an email asking them to pray for the health and safety of each one of our short term mission team members.

Every mission trip is a spiritual warfare and we need our prayer warriors to counter the dark forces.  

This is very personal for me as my husband suddenly got very sick during my mission trip to Cambodia two years ago. 

But praise God! Through our incessant prayers, he is getting better and is on his very first mission trip with me!!!

However,  we need to have people's permission in order to put their names on our prayer warrior list. As a prayer warrior, they will receive update of our trip throughout the duration so that they can pray for us and the mission.

I feel so blessed! Minutes after I sent out my emails, I am getting replies from my friends who are support us and encouraging us with their kind words and prayers.

I also pray that God would bless and use us in this mission trip to glorify His name!

R.T.

Edmonton, Alberta