HMCS St. John’s – A Great Crew

 It was a better day today. You can have a lot more fun with a wallet. I had a retless night nonetheless but I could at least function today.

As much as I am having a better day it has been also a day of much thought and prayer. I printed a photo of Andrea ands Becky (my twin great nieces in NL) that my sister had emailed to me. It was their photo from their preschool graduation.  It is a beautiful picture of two beautiful girls.

Those little girls have touched so many people. They were diagnosed with Batten Disease a year ago today and we have had to watch so much change in their lives and in the family’s life since that time. Yet, in the middle of all of the hurt there are moments of such hope and joy.  I thought today I would share one story with you. I have tried telling it to a couple of people and I have a hard time getting through it. So I’ll blog about it!

HMCS St. John’s is a Canadian Frigate. She is named, of course, after the oldest city in North America – St. John’s, NL. Some of the crew of the Ship ran across Newfoundland this past month to raise money for the Children’s Wish Foundation. This past year our family has come to appreciate the Wish Foundation in ways that we could have never imagined. Last November while Becky and Andrea were still getting around they went to Disneyland with their sister Leah and their Mom and Dad as well as two respite workers who were working with them. It was wonderful. The photos and the stories they returned with were truly amazing. I love hearing Annette and Gary recount how fond the girls were of Shrek.  In any event, my Brother-in-law Gary went to the highway to sponsor these guys on their run and he told them how wonderful the Wish Foundation had been to Andrea and Becky. They asked to meet the girls and Annette obliged by bring them out to the Trans Canada Highway. When the sailors saw them, they held them, they wept they smiled, their  hearts were taken with those little darlings. When they did their radio interview they talked about Andrea and Becky, when they did their TV interview they talked of Andrea and Becky and they requested a photo of the girls to take onto the ship. This was all very touching for everyone.

Catherinanne serves in Her Majesty’s Canadian Forces as a Naval Chaplain. Her heart filled with pride when she heard the story. To often we do not give the respect to our CF personnel who do so much more than peace keeping and disaster management. The spirit of love and care that the crew of the St. John’s to the wider community is remarkable. Their efforts for the Children’s Wish Foundation will bring a dream to a child and a family’s heart. They acts of tenderness and love on their run with Andrea, Becky and I’m sure other children along the way are good models for tomorrow. My congratulations and my thanks go too the crew of HMCS St. John’s. Well done – mission accomplished. Carry on!