Be Olympic
Are you an Olympic junkie? The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics are promising to be a 16-day adrenaline rush. (more…)
Bob JonesFebruary 6, 2022
The Garratts, Gravy and Thanksgiving
How does it feel to be on Canadian soil for Thanksgiving weekend? "So grateful." Only if you’ve been held for 775 days in a foreign prison, with no family contact, sleep deprivation, rationed food, death threats and relentless interrogation, can you understand the depth of emotion behind those words. (more…)
Bob JonesOctober 1, 2021
The Michaels Are Home
Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig will forever be known as “the Michaels” in Canadian culture. For almost three years they longed for home. (more…)
Bob JonesSeptember 25, 2021
MR ROGERS WOULD BE PROUD: CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE
Fred Rogers’ is famous for the advice to look for the helpers. “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news,” Mr. Rogers said to his television neighbors, “my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’” Cue China. Compassion knows no borders or ethnicities. Helpers are popping up everywhere following the early January Coronavirus outbreak in the Chinese province of Wuhan. Mr Rogers would be proud. On February 1st, ten or so trucks that were Wuhan-bound had been festooned with red banners that read, “Pull together in times of trouble, go Wuhan!” and “The people are united, fight the epidemic together.” Several said they had…
Bob JonesFebruary 2, 2020
THE GARRATTS: TIME FOR FREEDOM
The clock on the wall recorded the time as 09:37. For Kevin Garratt time was something he had lost. (more…)
Bob JonesJanuary 5, 2020
GARRATTS RECOUNT DARK ODYSSEY WITHOUT BITTERNESS
Kevin and Julia Garratt are surprising Canadians. The CBC and CTV have listened to their ordeals under Chinese arrest. The Globe and Mail published a feature length interview with the Garratts. What's so surprising is the interviewers' unexpected encounters with grace. (more…)
Bob JonesNovember 6, 2019
THE ROLE OF PRAYER IN THE FREEDOM OF KEVIN AND JULIA GARRATT
Who better to ask than Kevin and Julia Garratt about the power of prayer. For 775 days people prayed for their release from Chinese imprisonment. Nothing changed. The world watched as Kevin faced isolation, failing health, death threats, and despair. Where was God? Kevin and Julia share their answer. "Prayer is and was our lifeline." During those 775 long days we turned to God multiple times a day. He heard our cries and answered every time we called. At times it was a verse, a song, or an overwhelming sense of peace that truly surpassed all understanding. You Prayed, God Answered It wasn't the answer we were hoping for - prison doors to open and to walk free - but God…
Bob JonesApril 2, 2017
THE GARRATTS: HOLDING ON TO HOPE
Canadians Kevin, 54 and Julia Garratt, 53 have been detained under arrest in China since August 2014, accused of being spies disguised as "ordinary citizens." In the mid-80's I met Kevin and Julia in Montreal. They were newly married and envisioning their future. Their dream was to move to China. We've become long-distance friends since then. They are good people, now parents of four children, and looking forward to being grandparents. For three decades, the Garratts lived and worked in China. They are entrepreneurs at heart, initiating projects like, "Kingdom of Hope," which helps special needs children, and most recently operated a café they named after their son, in Dandong. They love China and have poured their energy into making…
Bob JonesJanuary 11, 2015
GARRATTS ARRESTED IN CHINA
Its not everyday your friends make headlines. I wasn't expecting to see Kevin and Julia Garratt on the front page of the Globe and Mail newspaper...or any newspaper for that matter. But there they were. Couple Detained By China. Never did I think that they would be making International news. (See update below) Not that what they've committed their life to isn't news worthy. I first met them in Dorval, Quebec. A mutual friend introduced us. Kevin and Julia shared their passion of moving to China and raising their family there. That was thirty years ago. A Coffee Shop in China April 2014 was the last I heard from them. Julia was teaching courses at a University. They were owners…
Bob JonesAugust 6, 2014