back in Tofino, from Alan

Hey All

We just got back from Ahousaht. Instead of a two small fast boats we took on big, old, retired fishing trawler named the Command Performance. It was a slower, more quaint ride...kind of interesting if you are looking from the other boats.

Saying our farewells to Asa and his family was hard. Also the kids got attached or rather should I say this dog Tayla got attached to our kids and she saw us off at the dock...she practically went everywhere we went...she was our island escort/mascot. Also Grandma Inna and some of the VBS kids were at the dock to see us off.

The experience in Ahousaht was...I was a bit nervous the past week when we arrived in Tofino. I knew Canada Day and staying in Tofino would be fine, and it was fun enjoying Canada Day with the other leaders and kids, having lots of fun and laughs in this small, cute town. But on the trip to Ahousaht, I didn't know what to expect. When we got there, we were greeted by Asa, Marty, Colin, and a few other locals with trucks to help us transport our equipment and luggage to the Asa's house, or the lighthouse where we would stay. A short bumpy dirt road and we had arrived.

Now people are saying Ahousaht is like wet Mexico. But only in looks, with dirt roads and older houses. The village has some money flowing through it, people work hard for a living and the community has made wise choices. People have ipods, cell phones, and other electronics. And all communication locally is by VHF radio. However, to our delight, they did have a town wide free Internet that was actually quite speedy! And that is why you are able to see our blog from a remote locale! Also most locals have satellite TV too. Alycia, Asa's wife says that a lot of the locals keep more in touch with things that happen in the United States than in Canada. For instance more watched our last presidential election than Canada's own Prime Minister election.

The VBS the kids ran went really well. We were super heroes again and we ran a program similar to that one in Ucluelet in 2006. We didn't have the mass of kids we had last time in Ahousaht in 09, but we had about 40 kids, which made it manageable. The superheroes, the kids, were able to also better speak to the kids and get to know them better.

The Ahousaht people depend on each other for many things. The one is food. The fishermen usually give out their extras to the neighborhood and since we had a group of people in and everyone knows Asa, we had fresh caught salmon and bread for at least 5 meals! A lot of houses on the beach have their own smoke houses, so we had salmon smoked and baked to order and it was so good! And better yet, it was free! Loved it!

Anyhow, time to head back to the community center for our dinner time. Hopefully Ill have time to blog later, otherwise, we'll see some of you at home soon!

Yours Truly,

Alan