Squamish Adventure Centre, British Columbia

The Retreat was held at the Executive Hotel Suite in Squamish

Day 1 after  the Conference

Like they say, all things must come to an end!

We bid farewell to  the delegates at this spectacular mountain side hotel 

Situated among the majestic Rocky Mountains, the Executive Hotel Suite was a comfortable place to stay during our retreat there.

We were pampered at the retreat as the organizing team  looked after everything 

After our three days at the Squamish Executive Suite, we  had to bid farewell to all the delegates attended this year’s conference.

Great singing at the Retreat provided by various teams

We made friends, listened to great lectures and had wonderful sharing and fellowship with each other.

Thank you to the Vancouver Team that Organized the Conference

 At the conference retreat, we were pampered as the conference organizers looked after all the details and our needs.

Beautiful drive from Squamish to Vancouver

Though we didn’t have time to go sightseeing at this little western town, we left Squamish feeling energized and rejuvenated.

I would not be able to forgive myself if we didn’t even see one thing in uamish.

The hour and half drive is one of the most enjoyable ride we ever had

Squamish Adventure Centre, Squamish, British Columbia

We stopped at the Squamish Adventure Centre on our way back to Vancouver

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The Adventure Centre is a spacious round structure, nicely landscaped with some little wooden houses and a man made river around the building.

The Adventure Centre is nicely landscaped with a water feature  

The water feature with the canoe outside the building would look beautiful in the summer with green grass and a little bit more water.

Good selection of  arts and gift items in the Gift Shop

It has a nice gifted shop selling beautiful  clothing items with colorful native designs.

A play area for the little ones at the Centre

A small kids playing area to keep the little ones buys!

Enjoying a movie about the wild life in British Columbia in the Adventure Centre

The best part we enjoyed was the theatre showing a short nature movie featuring the wild life found in B.C.

Visitors can enjoy their coffee and the beautiful scenery at the Coffee Shop in the Centre

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An open café restaurant facing the mountain let visitors enjoy a cup of hot beverage while resting our tired feet. I could have stayed there for a couple hours reading my favorite book !

The Squamish Adventure Centre is a good place to stop by and look around for families with young kids and aduts alike.

It is another nice place to visit with free admission!     

R.T.
Squamish Advneture Centre
Squamish, British Columbia

Changing Lives One at a Time - Ministry Work in the United States & China

For the past few days, we attended  a CRRS conference about helping young people who needed help.. One of the highlights of this conference was listening and sharing the best practice of what others are doing in their region. Each group representing their region ( country ) took turn to lead singing and present their local projects.

The Toronto CRRS Chapter shared a presentation at the International Conference held in British Columbia recently

I learned about two excellent projects that have greatly benefited many others.

1. YL -  stands for Young Life - Andrew from the States shared with us about his work with the Young life Ministry.  YL is not associated specifically with any church,

In the YL club, young people get together and are encouraged to have club time. Young people play games, learn and perform plays from the bible such as the story of Good Samaritan,
Teach English, play drama from the bible such as the Good Samaritans, David and Goliath, Daniel and the Lions etc.
Andrew informed us that YL programs in Los Angeles have helped many young people and transformed their lives in his city. Having personally experienced the benefits of the YL program, Andrew was very excited when he learned that there would be a Yong Life program starting in China.  He recently quit his job in the U.S. and will work in the YL program there soon.

2. Project Shine  - Charles shared his experience with Project Shine. It is a project  which takes North American young people to China to teach English there for two weeks in the summer. Charles shared with us the impact Project Shine has on its participants and others directly and indirectly involved with it.

Impact on students - After leading a team and spending two weeks teaching high school students in China, some wrote him letters telling that his team gave them hope, open their eyes to their future. Tough these students had been studying hard, they asked themselves why and for what. Some even contemplated suicide, but the Project Shine team's presence changed their lives.

Impact on faculty members - A government officer was embedded with the team. Since her English was very excellent, she experienced, planned and taught with the Project Shine team.
After working and obsrving the team in action for 2 weeks, she asked Charles if he was a Christian and if she could join him in the Sunday Service..

Impact on the local church - Chalres went to visit a local church. When he walked into the church he felt the holy spirit. It was an example of the early church, with little resources. Church members memorized bible scriptures,and bonded together well with the team.

Impact on the police officer - Charles was walking out of the gate of the school one day after class. The police officer guarding the school came running towards Charles, shook hands and welcome Charles back to the school the second year he went back to China.  Though the police officer did not know Charles before, observing what the Project Shine and he was doing, he was touched.

Charles concluded that the work they did in China was not huge but its impact was significant on many people at different levels. Project Shine touched a lot of students and many others in the community.

Melvin shared with us a site for free Christian counselling for students who need help:

skyyin.org

Many people are involved in charitable work in Canada and many other parts of the world, Sometimes we wonder if what we do makes any difference at all..  Listening to sharing by our co- workers gave us a resounding yes and encourage us to keep doing what we can to make others' lives a bit brighter!

R.T.
International Conference
Squamish, British Columbia

Celebrating Success Stories and Sharing the Work of CRRS at the Squamish Retreat

We woke up with the view of the Rocky Mountains outside our hotel room window! They were majestic!!!

View from Our  Balcony at the Executive Suites Hotel Hotel in Squamish, British Columbia

Executive Suite Hotel, Squamish, B.C.

We had a good rest last night at the Executive Suites Hotel, Squamish, B.C. where we are currently attending the CRRS's  International Conference and Retreat.









The agenda of the day was fully packed with numerous workshops and activities.










The first activity was at 8:00a.m.- a Praise and Dance program led by Perry from Vancouver. I was glad that I brought with me some exercise clothes and was able to take part in this half hour event. It was a gentle exercise program. We were able to learn a simple but effective dance exercise routine in thirty minutes!

CRRS International Conference & Retreat - Day 1

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Some of the participants at the CRRS Conference

After singspiration led by members of the Toronto CRRS team, there was a sharing presentation by delegates from the various cities where CRRS has chapters established.

Freda reported on the CRRS work in Hong Kong

Each CRRS Chapter works hard all year to achieve the goals and objectives, however, this was the first time we had the opportunity to hear what others were doing in their own respective region.

Esther presented  CRRS's work in Los Angeles/ San Francisco

It was inspiring to hear  how much work has been accomplished by each chapter.

More importantly, it was heart warming  to hear the numerous lives touched and transformed collectively in China by the ministries of CRRS.








One of the important work done by CRRS Chapters is to organize workshops, seminars and conferences for participants in their regions.

Dr. Leung speaking at the conference

The main draw of people to these events is     

Dr. Leung, a scholar and founder of the CRRS charitable organization.                                                                                                               Many people love Dr. Leung and cannot get enough of his lively and informative lectures. Therefore, the concern of succession planning did come up and discussed briefly about assembling a team to continue the mission and work of CRRS in the future.

Forum discussions at the CRRS Conference 

Some CRRS members from the Vancouver Chapter 

Besides listening and learning what other CRRS Chapters were doing in different cities, another interesting and enjoyable aspect of the conference was the presentations by various groups.

This morning the Toronto CRRS team kicked off the morning by leading the singspiraton. Later on in the day, the U.S. CRRS team rejuvenated us in the mid afternoon. They were energetic, creative and enthusiastic.

The U.S. CRRS Chapters leading a lively singspiration

Enjoying and singing with a glow stick at the conference

                                                                                                             
 They pulled out the stops giving us each a glow stick while we sang, clapped and  moved to the rhythm of the songs. We were turned into high school kids again enjoying our time of singing and praising God. What a whale of time we had at the conference!

 Spencer & His Team organized an amazing conference!

Organizing an international event such as this one took a lot of work, efforts and dedication.

Spencer and his team from Vancouver rose to the occasion! They thought of all the details and gave us all the comforts as if we were in our own homes!

Hats off to everyone at the Vancouver CRRS Chapter! Our heartfelt thank you for making our time so educational and enjoyable here at beautiful Squamish!





I am so glad that we are here to attend this conference!

R.T.

CRRS International Conference & Retreat, 2016

Squamish, British Columbia

Attending a CRRS Retreat in Squamish, British Columbia, Canada

An Aerial View of the Rocky Mountains in British Columbia from a Westjet Plane in the Air

CRRS is a charity organization started and registered in 1994.

Vancouver, British Columbia

Its headquarters is located in Vancouver, British Columbia. Since its inception, the work and ministries of CRRS have inspired
many across the continents. Consequently, its work have grown and other chapters have sprouted.

The works of CRRS focus on culture exchange between the west and the east as well as promoting and fundraising rural education for poor children in China.

 Many people from various background and different cities in North American and Asia are currently involved in this organization.

A Drive to Squamish, British Columbia

A few years ago, my husband saw a little advertisement in a community newspaper about the annual fundraising gala held in Toronto. He brought two tickets and we attended the event.

Deeply touched by the work presented at the CRRS, Toronto Chapter gala, we took part in the mission trip the following spring to Guangxi.

From then on, we have been involved in the CRRS charity and our involvement starts to deepen.

Two years ago, CRRS held its first international conference in B.C. but we didn't attend the event.

This year, we are here!  We took the 10:30 a.ma WestJet flight and arrived four hours later  to the city of Vancouver.

Perry picked up us and Andrew from San Francisco and drove to Squamish for a three day retreat.

Spectacular scenery on route to Squamish, B.C.

The hour and half ride from Vancouver to Squamish was beautiful!  We admired the spectacular scenery on the way to our destination.,

Day 1 Evening Meeting at the Retreat

The theme of this year's conference is:

" Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good. pleasing and perfect will. " Romans 12:2




We arrived at the retreat site about 5p.m., rested a little, had our dinner and attended the first meeting in the evening to kick off the conference.

We are really looking forward to this event and being connected with other CRRS family members!

R.T.
Vancouver & Squamish
 British Columbia

Dinner in the Dark at 105 Gibson Centre, Markham!

I admire the spirit of courage and independence in people!  Each one of us is born with certain strengths and limitations. However, through illness or some unfortunate situations, some of us may bear a bigger burden of physical challenges.

 For many people, these physical challenges may cause them a lifetime of misery, self pity, dependence, social isolation and unhappiness. Fortunately, for some, their physical challenges can be a motivating force in their lives, enabling them to create new opportunities to help others.

Pastor Danny & the Joy Beyond Vision team run the Cultural Cafe at 105 Gibson Centre, Markham, Ontario

Pastor Danny and the Joy Beyond Vision Team are shining examples of the latter. They are my heroes!  I love meeting up and talking with Pastor Danny and members of the JBV team. Pastor Danny, the founder of the group, projects a feeling of confidence, independence, zest and enthusiasm for life, and yes his creative ideas and entrepreneurial spirit inspire many to no ends!

I screamed out in delight when I saw this invitation in my inbox email!

Dinner in the Dark - What a smart, creative and great idea to give people with normal vision an opportunity to experience how  people with impaired vision deal with their everyday life situations!

My husband and I will definitely be there to support this unique and meaningful event organized by Pastor Danny and the team members of Joy Beyond Vision.

I have already circled and marked my calendar. I am really looking forward to the Dinner in the Dark experience at the 105 Gibson Centre, Markham!



I do hope that if you are in the GTA area, you would join us in this very worthy dinner!

R.T.
Toronto, Ontario

Welcoming Year of the Monkey in Toronto, Canada

A Lunar New Year Dinner at Home

Canadians love to celebrate! We love to party and find any excuses to get together with friends and families to eat, drink ( except us) and be merry.

A Lion Dance at a Lunar (Chinese) New Year Dinner in Markham, Ontario

Last Monday was the Lunar New Year! Chinese communities around the world rang in and welcome the Year of the Monkey ( an animal has been designated to represent one of  the twelve years on the Chinese Zodiac ).

Out of the blue, a few of our good friends started calling us to get together to celebrate the Lunar New Year. Starting last Monday, everyday during the week of the New Year, we got together and party with our good Newfie friends ( Newfie - an affectionate term for Canadians from Newfoundland, a small province on the Canadian east coast.), an Indian Canadian from Guyana, a Scottish Canadian, Indonesian and Malaysian Canadians as well as new Canadians from Columbia, China, Serbia and Canadian born Canadians.

Getting a New Year Red Pocket from a Family Member 

In our younger days, we were always busy with our lives, our families and careers. It was a constant go, go, go, non stop activities, responsibilities and commitments.  Once when we are in retirement, things do slow down a lot and often we lose touch with old friends and colleagues.

 It feels good that our close friends remembered us. The Chinese New Year (as many call it ) was a good excuse to reconnect, get together, enjoy some good food, fun time, conversations and catch up with each other's lives.

On the first day of the Monkey New Years, I was invited to a group luncheon buffet. The second day of the New Year, I had brunch with a good friend from Collingwood, then ran along to meet a friend  from Stoufville. In the evening, it was a big feast at a restaurant in Richmond Hill!

Lunar New Year dinner with family & friends

Wednesday evening, we celebrated the Lunar New Year with Herb and R. at a Hakka Indian Restaurant. Both of them took the subway all the way from downtown to party with us. I could not remember the last time we laughed so much with our friends. The three hour dinner flied by just like a minute and we had a blast!

Thursday, we had a family dinner with Mom and a few family members at home.

Thank God for family, great friends and friendship!

R.T.
Toronto

A National Tragedy & Disgrace for Canada - The Alarming Rate of Suicide Among Aboriginal Youths

"We've had another youth hang himself yesterday and much prayer is needed to fight against any ensuing copycat suicides and attempt from other youths. The youth group is devastated by the sudden suicide and equally concerning is the enormous attention this youth is receiving for the act.

After all is said and done, the only thing we can do is continue to pray and beg the Lord for intervention.

Thank you for prayers."  From a Youth Pastor in a Canadian Reserve

It was such a tragic piece of sad news and a big shock for me when I opened my email and found this sitting in my inbox. I was in tears as I thought of the parents' enormous loss and sadness. As a parent, I could not imagine greater suffering than experiencing the death of your own child.Yet, youth suicides are happening at an alarming rate and frequency in native reserves across Canada. According to a recent article reported in the Globe and Mail - Canada's leading national newspaper:

"...the infant mortality rate on aboriginal reserves is 14 deaths per 1,000 births – nearly double the national average? How can it be that life expectancy among the Inuit is 15 years shorter than the Canadian average? Can it really be possible that suicide rates among Canada’s aboriginal youth are up to 11 times higher than the national average?"

The plight of our aboriginal people, the hardship and discrimination faced by them is a national tragedy and disgrace!

Since native reserves are usually quite far away from the cities,  most Canadians do not have a lot of contact with our aboriginal people. So when we hear tragic news like that,for most Canadians, it is just another news item reported on the evening TV news broadcast.  

Many years ago when I first heard of the unusually high youth suicide rates and the numerous challenges facing young people in Canada's native population, I wondered about the causes of these tragedies. As I heard  more about the stories of these youths in our nation's reserves, I started to have a burden and desire to do something for them.

A few weeks ago, we attended a presentation by a youth pastor from a reserve about his commitment and work in that community. This youth pastor's work challenged us and touched many of our hearts. Plans and ideas of lending a hand to this reserve are starting to germinate.  We thank God that finally my husband and I will have this opportunity to serve God and our aboriginal youths. Hopefully, with God's grace and mercy, we will have good health and strong bodies which will enable us to commit our time and effort to connect with and help our first people.

We look forward to working with our short term mission team and serving the youths in one of the reserves in western Canada.

I was invited to do workshops for youths in Cambodia and I did a few of them on communications and building positive self esteem. These workshops were quite well received and the young people there told me that what they had learned helped them. I hope that I can take my experience working with Cambodian youths and in Ontario and offer my services to youths in the Canadian reserves in the near future.

R.T.
Toronto, Ontario
p.s. I was saddened to learn today that at Cross Lake, Manitoba, there were six suicides within two weeks at that community and 140 students are currently on suicide watch. How tragic is that! What is our government to help these people?