Back in the mid-nineties, when I was a youth minister, I traveled to Canada quite a bit. A good friend pastoring in Toronto, Anthony Does, became a ministry partner and friend. We often visited each other others churches as speakers, took our youth on mission trips together and shared in each others victories and personal woes. To this day, I consider Anthony a dear friend, the kind that will lay his life down for me at the drop of a hat. Anthony is boisterous with his love for Toronto, Ontario and all things Canadian. He never failed to share his country’s historical tales or find a hidden little restaurant that only the locals knew of. He taught me about the profound cultural diversity of Toronto and the pleasure of diving into the multitude of world cultures that filled every neighborhood in the city.
One day we traveled to Niagara Falls. The town is a kitschy nightmare but the Falls themselves are a world-wonder. I took this picture from above the falls. The sheer power of a million gallons of water flowing over the falls every minute was frightening from up here. Once you jumped onto the boat below and experienced, up close, the mega-cascade you never forget the pounding mist that punches you in the face. You are in the hurricane. Though I’ve visited magnificent falls around the world, nothing compares to Canada’s Niagara.
I want to thank Anthony and every friend who has lovingly shared their country with me so effectively that I leave in love and longing to one day return.
