Okay, this is not exactly about having a shower, but about fitness. As I have mentioned, I have the privilege of playing drop in hockey 3 mornings a week all year round (for free), playing on a team in hockey season, and roller blading when hockey doesn't work out and the streets are dry.
There are several reasons why I chose not to move to Abbotsford when I accepted the calling to be the Executive Minister for Mennonite Church BC. The most prominent one was the reality that the life of my family was in the Vancouver area. This included the fact that all three of our children were still living at home, Diane had a job within walking distance of our home, and we had no interest in changing churches.
Another reason I wanted to stay in the Vancouver area was to keep one foot in this area. The MCBC congregations are fairly evenly distributed between Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley. I knew I would be putting one foot firmly into Abbotsford and the Fraser Valley, but I still wanted to keep the other one where the other 1/2 of our congregations are.
Lastly, and the least known reason that I wanted to stay in Ladner, is that I had a very good fitness option here of playing drop in and team hockey. The early morning drop in hockey is my greatest place of Christian witness. There are at least 30 guys that come out regularly. They come from all walks of life. Some are Christians, but most are not. We have a bbq every summer. A bunch of us went out for sushi around Christmas.
When going to hockey doesn't work out, roller blading is a great option. Ladner is probably the flattest place in the Lower Mainland, so I have found some routes of nice smooth pavement. I don't know how it is in Abbotsford or elsewhere where you might be, but in Ladner (part of the Fraser River delta as it flows into the ocean), when the wind is blowing, it seems to blow from three different directions. When I am roller blading and it is windy (like today), I go some of the distance in all four directions. I know when the wind is at my back, but I certainly also know when it is not.
All this said, I really try to not have a shower unless I have completed one of the excersie options!
About Me
- Garry Janzen
- Diane and I have been married for 32 years. We have 3 children - ages 27, 24 and 20. Our daughter, Jill, got married in April of 2009 to Andrew Goertzen. They live in Vancouver. She is the Executive Assistant to one of the Presidents of an oil and gas shipping company called Teekay. Our son, Mark, got married on August 7th, 2010 to Lisa Guptell. He is the Assistant Sports Information Director at Trinity Western University in Langley, BC. Our youngest son, Jonathan, is in his third year of studies in graphic design for marketing at Kwantlen University in Richmond, BC. We live in Ladner where Diane is working casual as an admitting clerk at the Delta Hospital and is working one day a week at a plastic surgeon's office in Richmond. We are on our 4th assignment as servant-leaders in the Mennonite Church - mission workers in Botswana (1985-88), pastor in Langham, SK (1989-98), pastor in Vancouver, BC (1998-2007), Executive Minister with Mennonite Church BC (2008- ).
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