Pastoring at Oak Lake

I don't remember much about the first church service, but there was only 2 youth in that first service, they were Cecil Cairn & Clara Gompf. I could see that I must visit many homes to get in touch with the children and the youth. There were the Fred Cairns family, the Harry Gompf family, the Kennedy family, Mrs Minnie Daum, Grandma Paterson also a few others. A family of the Dueks were there for the summer months as they had Bee hives near Oak Lake with an extracting building for their honey in town. They had a family of 6 children. We were not very long in Oak Lake until Ernie got a letter in the mail which was a call for him to enlist in the Army. This was quit a shock to all. He tried to get ordained but Rev McVeity found out it was to late as according to the government he should have been ordained before he took his pastorate. After much prayer he decided to join up as a conscious objector. He was to be stationed in Vernon BC. Ernie & Clara had to pack up their things to head for BC. The church board asked me if I would take the pastorate of the church. There was a real shortage of men to minister in many Church's. I was given a church worker licence to take this pastorate for The Grace Gospel Churches in Western Canada. I believe I wrote Rachel to see if she would come to help me set up a Sunday school. Rachel was living with her mother near Parry Sask. I had to go to Regina to get my worker papers through Pastor Rev Hugh McVeity, who was the head of this movement for this area. I believe Rachel met me in Regina so we could take the bus to Oak Lake Manitoba to start our first ministry with children & others, with Gods help. We planted a garden, after we were settled in to pastor our first church. We found out there were a number of veteran wives with their family's living in the town as there were several homes for rent in Oak Lake. We started by visiting homes where these children lived, we also called on seniors in the town, I sent away for flannel graft material from a gospel publishing house in the States. Rachel would visit people one day, while I visited another day. Some days we went together until we got to know a number of family's & business's in the town. Many of the church people brought us food, off their farm produce like some meat, beef, pork or chicken. We took the chickens both dead or alive as we both knew how to clean & cut up the meat. Elmer Gompf had his farm next to the town. He often brought us milk or even cream. We were getting to know the church folks & some of the town business. Different men of the church would chop wood for our stoves, being women we were looked after in many ways. The Sunday school started to grow. The children love the Bible story's with the flannel board figures put on as we told each Bible story. We were only given a small amount of cash each Sunday I believe we received $4 a service each week. We would some times receive a money order in the mail from relatives or friends for both of us. We had a jar in the cabinet were we put our tithe money which we sent to other ministry's. We always had enough to live on. That summer we had the first daily vacation Bible school in the Church for children. We sent away for material. We had many Children come in from the country. Some times one of us would go to bring the smaller children to hear the stories. Rachel & I did all the Bible stories. That summer was the start of having a larger Sunday school. We had a programme put on by the children on the last day of the school. We had many of the parents come as well. This was the beginning of a yearly programme for the children which was well supported by all in the town of Oak Lake Manitoba.