Arrived in Calgary

David and Michael were late getting into Brisbane and the check-in line was still long when they got there. They were the last to get on the plane, ending up about 10 minutes after the scheduled leaving time. I thought I would be coming alone.

I spent most of the trip trying to doze. I had no energy for reading, plus it was dark for a lot of the way. It's hard to sleep properly being upright and the constant noise of the engines reminding you you're not home.

We got to LA. US Customs is totally disorganised and chaotic. It's like they try to make it hard. Then you have to be fingerprinted and photographed- every incoming visitor does. Then it's another queue to get through quarantine. The worst thing is there is no obvious order to anything, and a lot of officials calling out conflicting instructions. Then having collected the baggage we had to lug it to another terminal and check it back in and go through the security rigmarole.

When we got to Calgary, Customs was every bit as chaotic, as they must have had two planes arrive at once. Then the unthinkable happened. I ended up in a different line to both Michael and David, and while they got straight through, after questions about why they were here, I was sent off to queue for another hour at the Immigration Desk. As I looked at what was happening to people after me, it seemed that this guy sent more than most of the others, so maybe I was unlucky. I thought well, I don't really care that much if they send me back home- at that stage it was 28 hours since I got on the plane at Newcastle and I was sick of the lines, the planes and the lack of sleep. But I prayed that God would tell me what to say and left it in his hands. I told the guy at the counter what was happening as far as I knew, and I told him I had return tickets booked and that I had money. He asked me a couple of questions about what I do, and what I would be teaching at the conference and then he said, "It makes it easier if you have a letter of introduction- remember that next time."

Then we met up with Ken Gill, who is a bit like John Alley, but a lot less serious. I'll write more about Ken in a later post. He's an interesting character. He took us out to a prime rib eatery. They had the most enormous salad bar I've ever seen. They carve off chunks of beef from the prime rib according to your desire. I had the smallest serve- 6 ounces which is about 200 g. It was too much for me to finish, and this morning I woke up to some complaints from the digestive system!

We had great fellowship over dinner ad then Ken brought us here to the Companions of Jesus Christian Life Centre, a Catholic retreat centre right in the heart of the town. It is really nice here. The rooms are simpe but nicely decorated. It's a really peaceful place. Apparently many of the people coming to the Apostolic school will be staying here, and I think we will be having the teaching sessions here.

It's finally Thursday, after a Wednesday that seemed to go forever. I think we had about 40 hours of Wednesday due to travelling backwards through time. I think we miss a day coming home so that will be literally a day off.

Today it's snowing outside, but nice and warm inside. We will have the day to ourselves, so I guess we go and have a look around the city. Tomorrow, we are going to the mountains to play in the snow and enjoy the rugged splendour of the Rocky Mountains.

Here is the view from my room:


Here is the inside of my room. It is very pleasant. However if I want the bed made I have to do it myself :)





We have wireless internet in the centre, which is really nice. Unfortunately I haven't been able to get the VOIP service working here on my phone. It rings but doesn't connect properly :(

Little known fact about Canada: they do not end every sentence with "hey!" or "eh!"- at least not here. I haven't heard it once yet.