From Coast to Coast. An epic trip from Vancouver to Halifax

Isaiah 42:12 Let them give glory to the LORD And declare His praise in the islands and coastlands.

Our family recently returned from a beautiful trip to Halifax, Nova Scotia. That is a six-hour flight from Vancouver. We literally travelled from coast to coast, a fact that made the children so ecstatic. “We have seen the Pacific Ocean many times and now we get to see the Atlantic Ocean too” they exclaimed excitedly! It really makes a difference when you get to experience, in person, what you have been studying all year. This is one of the facts I love about homeschooling. Travel enhances our curriculum. It is an advantage to our school year because we are not skipping class or missing school when we travel, but instead the whole earth is our classroom. We get to experience this beautiful world that our God and Father created and learn more about it through lived experience in addition to book knowledge. I’m so grateful for that. I do not take it for granted.

The main reason for our trip was to celebrate the 5-year anniversary of Believer’s House Halifax. is a multigenerational, multicultural Church in the city of Halifax, Nova Scotia, called to lead people to Jesus, make them more like Him and see them lead others to Him. Our friends turned family Pastor Seun and Dorcas Salami were called by God to move from Vancouver to Halifax to start Believer’s House. It was such a great joy to fellowship with them again after 5 years and to see that our children’s friendship was not that much affected by the distance. Don’t you just love that about children? They pick up right where they left off! As parents, it warms our hearts to see our children have Godly friends that they can grow up with, serving the Lord Jesus together. God really spoke to us individually and as a family as we attended the 5-year anniversary Revive conference. On day one, we were asked to write our expectations down. I was so moved to see our daughter diligently write down three points in her notebook. I had come with my own expectations too, I was looking for God to confirm a couple of things to me and I’m happy to report that God did just that! Explicitly and clearly. Which is what our God does all the time. He says call on Me and I will answer you and show you things you knew not. Jeremiah 33:3. Thank You Jesus!

During the week the children and I explored Halifax, while my husband stayed at the hotel and worked remotely. Someone has to finance our vacations, right? The time difference between Halifax and Vancouver allowed him an early start and end of the workday so he got to join in on some fun activities in the late afternoon. Plus, there was the weekend. I prioritized the sight seeing that I wanted us to do as a family and saved those for the weekend when my husband was sure to join us. I really wanted us to see Peggy’s cove lighthouse and village together. The 45minute drive out from our hotel to see it was absolutely worth it. Nova Scotia’s most well-known and Canada’s most photographed lighthouse, built in 1915. We saw God’s favor upon us as we got a parking spot right by the village and did not have to park a long distance away like many others had to do.

Psalm 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge.

Let me tell you we all marveled at God’s wonderous creation as we sat on those gorgeous rocks and soaked in the breathtaking views, heard the beautiful melody of waves crashing and breathed in that fresh air. Indeed, all heavens declare the glory of our God who created the heavens and the earth. It was such an amazing experience that our son decided he would bring his children there to enjoy the beautiful view. He is 7.

The children and I also visited the Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia, which was like a homecoming for me, especially after our recently completed Museum Exhibit at Museum of Surrey: Celebrating Our Ugandan Heritage.

I have always felt like Halifax is the capital of Black Canada because of the rich history it carries when it comes to Black Canadians. It was so surreal for us to visit the Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia, whose goal is to educate and inspire and to protect, preserve and promote Black culture in Nova Scotia. I had emailed ahead and shared information about our recent exhibit, so we got to have a brief meeting with staff to discuss the possibility of future collaborations. We also got an amazing, personalized tour of the centre. I was particularly intrigued by the fact that the centre was founded by a Reverend because both my parents are Reverends. Reverend Dr. William Pearly Oliver’s vision for the creation of a Cultural Educational Centre was in order to meet the needs and aspirations of the Black Communities of Nova Scotia. I felt a very special connection on both a spiritual and cultural level and very much look forward to visiting again.

As a Mom who is intentional about both exposing to and teaching our children their culture, heritage and history both in Uganda and Canada, this was gold for me. I felt very privileged that our children are learning their black Canadian history from such a young age and I am hopeful that this will be the norm for all children in Canada, no matter their cultural background. Black history is Canadian history. It must not be boxed in a black history month box but rather be taught and experienced as mainstream history.

The children and I also got to visit the Museum of Canadian Immigration by Pier 21. You can sense the Museum theme, right? We love museums. Our family is actually in the process of building a Church History Museum in honor of my Dad Reverend Canon Professor James Francis Ndyabahika in Kabale, Uganda which is the historic center of the East African Revival that started in the 1930s. But that is a blog for another day.

On one of the days, we walked the scenic waterfront trails at Sir Sandford Fleming Park and climbed up the memorial tower. On the other side of the tower was a lovely waterfront playpark and beach that we got to enjoy as well. Such a wholesome experience for me and the children. Then it was back to our hotel to check on Dad and to partake in the children’s favorite part of the day: swimming int the hotel’s pool! We somehow managed to have it all to ourselves each time we visited, and the children played, swam, cannonballed and backflipped to their heart’s content. I on the other hand was mostly in prayer as their water adventures seemed on the risky side to this Mama. Praying to God to keep them safe helped me fight the urge to yell don’t do that, be careful, no thank you most of the time. It all turned out well in the end and I was most likely being overly cautious. Our children have been swimming since before they could walk, and I realize being in a swim club that prioritizes discipline and water safety has been a huge asset and great addition to their approach to being around water. They know their limits, read and follow the signage on the walls and stay safe.

On our last night in Halifax, we got a lovely dinner invitation from a family at the Church. Even though this was our first time meeting this lovely family, we hit it off really well. A testament to the truth that we are indeed one body in Christ. It does not matter the color of your skin or where you grew up. Once we are in Christ, we share a bond like no other. It is real when we refer to each other as brother and sister in Christ. And experiencing that pure love of God through others is such a blessing. Their house was by a lake and let me tell you my mouth was open in amazement half the time as we drove up there. I love the water, seeing those inviting beach houses, boats docked by the shore all made me start to seriously consider relocating. Yes, it was that beautiful, scenic and calming. Their house, which the husband hand built himself by the way, was stunningly furnished. My husband was particularly impressed by the sturdiness of the build. You could tell he put his heart and soul into it and did not skimp on building materials.

We had delicious food and great fellowship. What a joy to enjoy good food, fun company and enriching conversation with believers. We shared testimonies, talked about challenges that God had lovingly walked us through and just encouraged ourselves in the Lord as our children played together. It was such a wonderful time. Our cups were filled and running over as we experienced God’s love through His wonderous creation and His people.

It was hilarious when upon our return home, our children were expecting omelette, sausage, bacon, toast, hash browns, yogurt, juice, hot cocoa and fruit for breakfast like they had at the hotel all week. Adjusting from vacation mode to regular life is a trip. I don’t blame them. It teaches them that there is something to look forward to though. Not everyday will feel like a vacation, and that is ok.

Although grateful that we saw many amazing places in Nova Scotia, there were still many left unseen on our checklist. Another visit is defiantly on the books because Halifax is not a place you visit just once.