THIS SIDE UP

Life gets a little insane some days. Some days it seems very insane. Others make you wonder why we're not in the loony bin and visiting psychiatrists.

All last week we were packing to move to Caronport, Saskatchewan for Mark to begin studies at Briercrest Seminary for his Master of Arts in Youth and Family Ministry. We own a trailer there and are in the process of trying to unload our house. Unfortunately, the bank doesn't consider me employed and therefore won't give me a loan to pay for the trailer. Also, the house isn't selling because the Calgary housing market has dropped $30,000.00 in just over a month or two and is flooded with sellers (9000 homes on the market). It's hard to rent a place that you are trying to sell, and this is a scary enough scenario without adding someone else to it. But Micah needed to be in school, so we're moving anyways.

Of course, I'm working to cover two mortgages and Faith is frantically packing - with 3 children around. And canning peaches? And going shopping, and cleaning (again), and losing her sanity and health. I think we were all sick at least once in this last week - the stress of everything didn't help much. Our corrugated prison continued to grow up around us until the dam finally broke on Friday when we got the moving truck. It was a struggle right up until that moment. THEN, in Faith's words:

"I was going to have all kinds of pictures of the kids getting in the way while we loaded the moving van last night. Unfortunately I just didn't have time to take any, I'm sure that you will forgive me when you hear what happened.

At 5:45 last night I went outside our house and Aslynn & I drove the van around to the back of the house so that the moving truck would have room to pull in at the front. The moving van came, we ate supper, explored the empty truck with the kids, emptied the deep freeze out and sent it to the car wash to be defrosted, then Mark grabbed some of his tools to take out to the van so that they would be safe while we loaded the van. So before 7:00pm he went out to the back alley and the van was gone."

It vanished. I walked around the block searching for it, put my tools down, and dialed 911. Then I had to phone the non-emergency line to the police who put us on hold. OUR VAN HAD BEEN STOLEN. Unbelievable. Just gone. Poof. We were in a total state of shock. That morning I had picked it up from the shop after replacing the rear bumper cover that had been damaged in a hit-and-run while it was parked in front of our own house in December. The day I replace it - no more van.

Everyone else who had volunteered to help arrived to this scene of chaos and disbelief, and so many helped in the only ways they could. Coke delivery. Carrying boxes and furniture. Packing and stacking the van. Cleaning walls and floors and cupboards. Watching the kids. THANK YOU everyone who was there for us. It means so much. I haven't seen anything broken in a box yet. Faith may tell a different story later. After 10 PM we packed it in and called it a night. Berneda and I would return in the morning to disconnect the phone and computer, clean what remained, and load the last few items on to the truck which we safely locked and parked behind Len & Berneda's house.

I think what bothered us more than the missing van was the contents in the van. Faith was on the phone with the police, insurance, credit card companies and banks, everyone. Her purse was in there. Our jackets. As were the carseats for the kids. And all of their favorite toys and blankets and stuffed animals. Everything really important to them besides us was in that van. It was loaded and ready to go. We were crushed. How were we going to explain this to the kids? How would they sleep at night? I did an inventory because I couldn't sleep and needed a snack. None of us slept well. Berneda heard a Diesel start up around 3 AM and was afraid the moving van was being stolen - and found Dad's cell phone ringing.

They received a phone call from the Taber Police Service. They found our van. The following morning we found a message from the police placed at 10:30 PM that night.

The best we can gather from the information we have been given is this. The thief had found the van and found my key in the cup holder (where the mechanic had placed it that morning). The Taber Police spotted the vehicle and gave pursuit. There is no mention of why - whether it be erratic driving or speeds - but they noticed it and tried to pull the van over. They checked the plates and realized it was stolen. The van turned south on Hwy. 36 from Taber in a high speed chase. Those of us who know the area realize what the police deduced - the perpetrator was making a run for the border. The Taber police contacted the RCMP local detachments as they crossed jurisdictional lines, but no-one was available to pick up the pursuit, so they continued to within 10 kilometres of the US Border crossing at Coutts.

There they had placed a spike belt on the highway. I'm sure the Canadian Border Guards were involved in the set up and execution of this task. The van blew out the front two tires but made a valiant effort to escape the clutches of the police. Into the ditch, through fields and fences, back through the ditch with police in hot pursuit. It careened back onto the highway and almost rolled, after which the criminal finally came to a stop on the pavement.

The officer knocked on the window, followed procedure, and arrested the woman driving. A WOMAN. She isn't talking to anyone. Shortly after the van had disappeared, Brian, our brother-in-law, spotted a van like ours heading from our direction on 52nd Street and thought it was Faith, but realized it couldn't be when she started smoking. It could very well have been our van. The van was towed back to Taber and the woman was put in the clink while the they investigated her. She was using someone else's I.D., also stolen, and brought with her a bag smelling of beer and urine.

The next morning, Len went to Taber to see if there was anything missing and to assess the damage. He took some pictures and cleared out everything he could find from the van and met us in Medicine Hat when we arrived with the moving truck.





I went through every item that he had returned. Nothing was missing. Not a single thing. Thank you God. You answered our prayers. Blankets, jackets, teddies, toys, purse, wallet, and identification cards were all there. Actually, we had some stuff in there we hadn't expected. Someone else's backpack, a hardhat, someone else's vehicle insurance, a thermos and other little things that we assume were also stolen, since she had her personal belongings and someone else's I.D. with her at the station. We're returning those to Calgary so the police can find the owners.

AND THAT'S NOT ALL. There will be more coming with insurance and reports and victim impact statements and such following all of this - and figuring out whether the van is damaged beyond repair or not. I don't know how I feel about writing it off. I really liked that van, and don't have a lot of cash for a new one. The tow truck driver believes that the transmission is shot, oil pan is damaged, and obviously the front wheels are gone plus whatever damage there is to the tie-rods and such. Apparently if I tell the insurance company to write it off and replace it, they have to because it was involved in a high-speed chase.

I wish for one moment that our life wasn't more bizarre than the movies. All I can say is that this goes a long way for sermon material and a book deal down the road.

At least we're laughing again.