Terrace and The Mills

Terrace is the town I grew up in. Many of my relatives live there and I have lots of great memories. My Dad was a builder and some of his work still stands -- he worked on church buildings, houses, schools.

Terrace is a hard working town dependent on the forest industry. Growing up in Terrace I had an uncle who was a millwrite, a friend whose dad own a logging company, a buddy who worked the green chain, and logging trucks outnumbered pickups. If a sawmills slow down, so does the town.

When I read articles like this one, that outlines the challenges that Terrace faces when the mills close, my heart aches.

... The city (Terrace) is a regional hub for social services, drawing people from Prince Rupert to the west, New Aiyansh and Iskut to the north, the Bulkley Valley to the east, and Kitimat to the south.

"The society service industry is one of the biggest employers in town," asserts Ksan executive-director Carol Sabo. "It used to be mills."

The community continues to struggle from a downturn in the forest industry, most recently evidenced by the indefinite shutdown of West Fraser's Skeena Sawmills facility last October and the closure of Terrace Lumber Co. in 2006.

The economy has bred a new type of poverty. Sabo cites the blue-collar worker who dropped out of school in Grade 8 to get a good-paying job in the bush and who now is faced with an annual salary of $25,000 and no prospect of paying the mortgage.

"It's a different type of poverty," she says. "They don't know how to be poor. It's a lifestyle change, a huge difference."

To make matters worse, it's getting harder for the poor to find decent, affordable housing. Within the past two years, she says, one apartment building that catered to single moms burned down, another was torn down, and a third was closed for an upgrade.

Read the whole article from the Vancouver Sun here.

Pond Hockey

James has never been in that cold of weather. It was minus 15 and he didn't notice. That is what pond hockey does to you. The smile on his face was so constant that it could have been frozen in place. He got 4 goals, one of them a one timer. He hasn't stopped talking about those 3 hours on a frozen pond with 15 other warm hearted people. Don't get me started about how well our team started to gel. Those passes from Dorthy were tape to tape. Stan was seemed to always be in the right place and Levi was relentless on the forecheck.

If the lake had good ice that year, we would be there every weekend putting on our skates and playing till it would get dark. "The Lake" is where I learned to play. It didn't matter if the skates were 5 sizes to big, or the toes were cold, or the ice was bumpy and covered with snow, it was pure fun. More fun that xbox, wii, ds, psp, or Halo III.

Pond hockey is about the only thing I miss about cold winters. But I do miss it. All ages play together. The older enjoy seeing the younger ones succeed. The younger still have a shot at the NHL, the older know better. Where else do 3 to 60 year olds play together in the same game and no one keeps score? Cookies and hot chocolate just taste better after pond hockey. Everyone smiles and great memories are created.

I wish there were more things that brought all ages of people and families together like pond hockey does.

The Weight Of The Church

The following is a speech written by my dad for the occasion of my ordination on Sept 16, 2007:

Dear Brothers and Sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ:

We, the speakers are only a link in the chain of people God uses to encourage you on your journey through life. It's the Spirit of God who wishes fellowship with you. Life lasts only a short time when we are allowed to become old and look back.

The question we are confronted with is simple. "What is life all about?"

God connected with us in the garden of Eden and will live with us again in the new heaven and Earth. In the meantime we have "God with us" through Jesus Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit. God looks for us and wants us to reach out to him. We call on the name of Jesus; have mercy on us. We need thee every hour.

The message is the task of all of us. We are the witnesses of this glorious gospel. It's amazing when we live in the faith how life can take its twists and turns.

Let me tell you a story. The story was played out and created in the year 1967. It was the centennial 100 year celebration of Canada. There are 3 main players in the story. One was 3 years old the 2nd was 18 years old and the third 36 years old. The Terrace Christian Reformed Church council appointed a centennial committee with the task of creating some ideas how we as a church could help celebrate Canada's 100 year anniversary. It should help bring the gospel, remember the pioneers who came before us, and serve the public.

One member of the committee was George Hiemstra, who's son, John Heimstra is Professor at King's College in Edmonton. He came up with the idea to restore an old broken pioneer church building along the Skeena river in a small settlement about 12 miles east of Terrace. The 2nd person of the committee who was a carpenter builder by trade was to give his assessment if the old building could be restored. It was decided to build a replica or a smaller scale and place it on Highway 16 as a roadside chapel. A suitable place was provided by pioneers of this settlement called "Usk." Then the carpenter was put in charge of building this chapel beside his house in such a way it could be transfered by truck to Usk.

The congregation helped with funds and labour and soon the little "way side chapel" was ready to be transferred to Usk. The carpenter had to jack up the chapel so a truck would fit under it, to drive over the Skeena bridge to Usk. While the carpenter was busy jacking up the chapel his 3 year old son was running around watching Daddy. At one point Dad had jacked up the building with a hydraulic jack and was busy putting a short stump of a log under it to hold it up. Then unexpectedly the building came down while the wood block was almost in place.

Dad has his hands around the round wooden block with both his left and right hand to push it in place. He managed to pull his right thumb out, but his left thumb got stuck between the building and wood stump. A pulsating pain almost knocked Dad out. Then he saw what had happened. His 3 year old son anxious to help his Dad had taken the bar of the jack and used it to turn the valve open of the hydraulic jack and down came the church on top of his thumb. Dad couldn't move. If he did he may break the bone. There was nobody else around so he decided to scream as hard as he could then someone may hear him. Sure enough. Here come his 18 year old neighbor boy running out of his house, beside the chapel. What happened? What is the problem? The carpenter, while feeling the excruciating pain explained pick up the bar. Put the end on the valve and turn clockwise tight, then jack up the building. Amazing, it worked. Dad pulled out his thumb. It was flat as you can imagine.

The reason I tell you this story is because the 3 year old boy is our ordained Pastor Michael VanderKwaak. The 18 year old boy is Dr. Martin Contant and the 36 year old man was Dad, me.

Here history repeats itself in a different form. Dr. Contant took the church off my thumb when he was 18. Now he lays the church on the 3 year old son who is the Daddy of 4 children and the Pastor of Heartland Fellowship.

What is so wonderful about this story?

It's amazing how the Lord's Spirit is faithful through all these years. All of us are getting older and what a deep down wonderful satisfied feeling we have when we have served our Lord and Savior in the place where he has put us and we have deep down satisfied memories. Then when we look back our soul found the answer to the question, "What is all the hassle? What is life all about?"

It's learning to serve our risen Lord and Savior to give Him the glory. He pleads for us to the Father and gives us grace to carry on in faith and trust. Michael, or Rev. VanderKwaak remember the story of the church. There will be glorious times but also excruciating pains of sadness when or Father in Heaven in his wisdom tries out your faith and courage. Be patient. May the trust given to you never be broken. May the grace of our Lord bless all of you in Heartland Church. Support your leaders, because they have to give account to the King of the Church. May love and faithfulness be your way of life and the joy of salvation give you rest and peace.

The Usk Wayside chapel is still standing along Highway 16, 12 miles east of Terrace. Through all these 41 years, thousands of people have visited it and where remains the presence of our Lord in a special way.

The three persons present who were present in 1967 are the same ones who are present on Sept 16, 2007.

Except all 3 are 41 years older. May we all be faithful and carry on with the work of the Lord and through it all give Him the glory.

Thank you.

Len VanderKwaak

Highway 16 Near Legate Creek Opens

From the Terrace Standard concerning the mud slide on Highway 16 near Legate Creek:

HIGHWAY 16 east of Terrace continues to be open at intervals each morning, afternoon and evening.

The times are 7 a.m. to 9 a.m., 2 to 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. with traffic going through in alternating single lane fashion.

The closures are necessary so work crews can continue to clear away a massive mudslide that came down and blocked the highway the morning of May 28.

There's no indication yet when the highway will open for good and to two-lane traffic.

Traffic has also been flowing over the only other east-west road corridor in the northwest, a logging road known as the Cranberry Connector.