IT was in 2009 when my wife and I were led to move into the country with our eight children. It was with mixed emotions that I left the small town where we were living… but it seemed that God was leading us. We found a remote farm in the middle of Saskatchewan, Canada lodged between vast treeless tracts of land, accessible only by dirt roads. Really, we couldn’t afford much else. The nearby town had a population of around 60 people. The main street was an array of mostly empty, dilapidated buildings; the schoolhouse was empty and abandoned; the small bank, post office, and grocery store quickly closed after our arrival leaving no doors open but the Catholic Church. It was a lovely sanctuary of classic architecture — strangely large for such a small community. But old photos revealed it brimming with congregants in the 1950s, back when there were large families and small farms. But now, there were only 15-20 showing up to the Sunday liturgy. There was virtually no Christian community to speak of, save for the handful of faithful seniors. The nearest city was almost two hours away. We were without friends, family, and even the beauty of nature that I grew up with around lakes and forests. I did not realize that we had just moved into the “desert”…Continue reading
