Mark Cole Personal Timeline Highlights

This timeline was born out of remembering the favor and blessings of God in my life. Here are the main milestones, photos and links (to the stories from this blog) from my life and adventures so far…

Every good and perfect gift is from above,
coming down from the Father
of the heavenly lights

James 1:17

VANCOUVER, BC – THE EARLY YEARS

1954 – Born to Bud & Margaret Cole, December, Vancouver, BC. 9 lbs, 6 oz.

1955 – Here is my first church, Glad Tidings, my parents attended here when I was born and we attended here till it burnt down when I was 7 yrs old.

1959 – My Dad, Bud Cole, took our family on a two month car trip across Canada and the US. Dad sold a taxi he owned, bought a new Oldsmobile convertible and took our family of five on this extended vacation to Florida and back.

1960 – Grade 1 – Captain Cook Elementary, Vancouver, BC. My first day of school I fell asleep at my desk watching a welcome video.

1961 – My family moved in with my grandparents, David & Velma Cole. We lived in their basement suite in Richmond, BC for 4 years. I have fond memories of my grandfather’s Sunday lunches and his backyard vegetable garden. I also recall fun times playing ditch tag and building hay forts in the farmer’s field behind our house.

1961 – I start taking piano lessons from Doug Moody (our Worship Pastor). I continued to take piano lessons with Doug till I was 18 years old.

1962 – Grades 2-4 – Bridgeport Elementary, Richmond, BC. I once had to write 100 lines on the chalk board, ‘I will not chase the girls.’ 🤓

1962 – Make a decision to follow Jesus at Sunday school (GT Kingsway Theatre). I still vividly remember God forgiving my sins and coming into my life at that young age.

1962 – I became an avid reader. I ended up reading through the whole sixty-six book series of the ‘Hardy Boys’ mysteries. I am still a fan of mysteries, both in book and film.

1963 – My Grade 3 teacher reported to my parents that I needed glasses. My poor parents constantly had to fix the glasses the I would break playing sports.

1963 – My parents taught me how to water ski. We used to ski with the Peterson family at Cates Park in North Vancouver, BC. It was one of our usual summer Saturday activities.

1964 – My parents build a new house in Coquitlam, BC. At the age of 9 years old, I helped my Dad put in drain tiles around the foundation of the house.

1965 – For many years, our family summer vacations were going to Glad Tidings Family Camp for a couple of weeks at the end of July. We lived in a kids dorm and cooked over an open fire. We also used to go fishing and digging for clams. We used the camp rowboats and sailboats and did lots of swimming off the docks. I also remember my Dad taking me fishing in a small motorized dinghy and catching Red Snapper. Those summer vacations were so much fun!

1965 – Porter Street Elementary, Coquitlam: Grade 5 Chess Champion.

1965 – I almost burnt down our family home. I added gas straight out of the can to revive our basement fireplace. Big mistake! (I had seen my dad do a safer version of this). Fortunately, our neighbours saw the flash of fire and called the Fire Department. We lost a couch and a carpet and there was lots of smoke damage.

1965 – My most successful ‘Sports Day’ – Porter Street School Grade 5: I won 6 Gold and 1 Silver Ribbon.

1966 – My father, Bud Cole, passes away in an industrial accident – July 8, 1966. I still vividly remember my Grandma Cole coming to the house to tell us the traumatic, life-changing news.

1966 – My mom moved the family to Nanaimo, BC for 6 months to pursue a possible marriage. I took ice-skating lessons and built model airplanes while we lived there.

1967 – Started hiking with the GT Boys Club. The guys in the picture above (front to back) are James Layzell, Wayne Erickson, John Skidmore, myself, Dan Burr, Bob Wagar (leader), Steve Peterson, James Tarnowski and Ron Millsip (leader). My love for hiking grew out of going up mountains with this group.

1967 – Water Baptized – Glad Tidings Temple. We weren’t allowed to get water-baptized till we were 12 years old. I remember how nervous I was to go in front of the whole congregation and get baptized. But I was proud to publicly declare that I was going to follow the Lord.

1967 – I received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit at GT Kids Camp (Salmon Inlet). Late night prayer meetings were the norm at kids camp. I remember ‘speaking in tongues’ for the first time there. ‘Speaking in tongues’ is still a part of my prayer life to this day.

1967 – 7080 km/4400 miles return train trip: Vancouver – Ottawa with Mom Preston/Cole & kids. We stayed with my Aunt Dorothy and Uncle Gerry Dodd in their house. I still remember how loud the thunder storms were in Ottawa. They scared the ‘willies’ out all of us kids.

1967 – My Mother marries Ron Preston: The Cole/Preston Clan begins. I remember all of us going to the pastor’s office to witness Mom and Dad getting married. Our family grew from 5 to 8 people: Dad Preston, Mom, myself, Cherry, Lorna, Les, Kevin and Shawn.

1967 – We move to the Victory Street House – South Burnaby – Cole/Preston Family.

1967 – One of my first paid jobs was cleaning bricks (a penny per brick) with Steve Peterson. I had one of my first real fist fights with Steve and gave him a bloody nose. Even though I won that fight, I did not enjoy fighting and rarely fought my entire life.

1967 – I start working in my parents Dairy Queen. I did this for 5 years. I worked at the DQ most Saturday’s growing up. I would also work there most of the summer and I even helped manage it when my parents went on vacation. Our Saturday night ritual was taking a DQ order (custom cheeseburgers, fries, onion rings and shakes) for the whole family and taking it home for our family meal.

1967 – I bought my first 10 speed bike with my DQ earnings and so began my love of biking.

1967 – Grade 8-10 – McPherson Junior High School – Burnaby, B.C. My favorite subjects were Band, Sports and Math. To my surprise, I even achieved 97 percentile on a nation-wide math Grade 10 test in Mathematics.

1967 – I started playing alto saxophone in Grade 8 (I now have a Music Degree in Saxophone). I started playing the sax because my parents played the sax and a number of guys at church played sax.

1968 – I took Gospel Piano lessons from Doug Moody (Worship Pastor & Mentor). I still use the skills I learnt from Doug to this day. I took lessons from Doug from the ages of 8 to 18.

1968 – GT Boys Club Day Hike up the Hope Lookout Trail. We even got to go to the top of the lookout.

1968 – I learnt how to skateboard. My parent’s Dairy Queen had a skateboard promotion and the family got a couple of the newest skateboards. We were the first kids in our neighbourhood to own skateboards.

1969 – My first girlfriend was Sheila Westerlund from Grade 10 at McPherson Junior High School. McPherson’s most famous alumni was Michael J. Fox from ‘Back To The Future’.

1970 – My love of racquet sports begins with playing my 3 brothers ping-pong and tennis.

1970 – Grade 11 Burnaby South High School. My extra-curricular activities included gymnastics, badminton and band.

1970 – My main friends from church were Steve Peterson, Dan Burr and John Skidmore. My main friends from school were Rick Epp and Ward Tetreau. I also started dating Glenna Cowan from church around this time.

1970 – I applied for my driver’s licence on my 16th birthday. I received my full licence 10 days later.

1970 – I traveled to Hawaii on Christmas Break with John Skidmore and his parents. It was my first experience of flying on an airplane. His family had a condo in the Ilikai Hotel on Waikiki Beach.

1970 – John and I saw ‘Andre Crouch & the Disciples’ live in Honolulu. This was an amazing concert and it fueled my passion for Gospel and Soul music.

1970 – I took the Grade 5 Harmony Exam from the Toronto Conservatory of Music and received Honours.

1970 – I played drums for New Dimensions: the first Christian Band I played in. Members of that band were Dan Burr, Ian Niles, Dennis Hoggard, Greg Chapman, Howard Rachinski and Phil Burr.

1970 – I bought my brothers a monstrous truck inner tube for Christmas. We used to get inside it and roll down a huge hill by our house. Later we used to pull it behind our ski-boat and try to dump our friends into the water. Best Christmas gift ever!

1970 – I went on a 3 day hike from Woodfibre to Salmon Inlet, BC with the GT Boys Club and Wayne Stillings. We hiked across the top of a Mount Sedgwick and down the other side to Salmon Inlet where we were picked up by the camp boat. We camped at Henriette Lake the first night and Ron Millsup fell into the lake as we boarded a row boat. This and other boys club hikes began my love of hiking in the mountains.

1971 – I learned how to snow-ski on Grouse Mountain, Vancouver, B.C. I met David Young at the top and he gave me some pointers. I also remember walking up a ski lift because I didn’t realize my lift tickets were good for all the lifts that day.

1971 – Winner of Glad Tidings Youth Music Instrumental (Sax duet with Dave Young). This was one of the first instrumental arrangements I ever wrote.

1971 – My first driving vacation: Steve Peterson and I drove to Tijuana, Mexico and Los Angeles, California (Disneyland).

1971 – Captain of a Glad Tidings Youth Camp Team (we won 2 years in a row). The camp was split into 4 teams and captains and co-captains were chosen by the camp directors. GT Camp was where I first learned that I had leadership potential.

1971 – I joined the Glad Tidings Choir & Orchestra (first as a singer, then as a tenor sax player). The 120 voice choir and orchestra were a big part of my early musical upbringing. They used to do 3-4 songs every Sunday evening. Doug Moody was the choir director. When I was 27 I was asked to come home from touring in Europe with Living Sound and start conducting the orchestra and choir.

1971 – I joined the Gymnastics team at Burnaby South. I enjoyed time on the trampoline, parallel bars and tumbling mats.

1972 – My second driving vacation was with John Skidmore in his sister’s Chevy Vega. We drove from Vancouver to Banff and tented along the way.

1971 – I bought a used flute for $100 from a cousin and started teaching myself to play.

1971 – Dan Burr, Bob Niles and I drove down the Oregon Coast to San Francisco in the Burr’s VW. We got rained out while tenting in Oregon, so we ending up doing an ‘all nighter’ drive to San Francisco and arrived at Fishermen’s Wharf early in the morning. I still remember Bob telling us ‘ghost stories’ from the back seat to keep us awake! We also had a very memorable early morning ride on a San Fransisco cable car.

1972 – Burnaby South High School Graduation (Favorite subjects: Music, Math and PE). I was part of a huge graduation class of over 800 students.

1972 – I played sax and flute with New Dimensions and Liberty Brass. This group was directed by my good friend, Dan Burr. Members of that group included Dave & Alynne Shinnis, Eddie Pears, the Rubuliak brothers; Morris, Ed and Brian, Dennis & Ross Hoggard, my sister, Cherry Fransen, John Skidmore, Shawn Brown, Mark Maines and Gerry Paulson.

UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA

1972 – I auditioned on saxophone for the Music Department at the University of British Columbia. I started there in the fall of 1972 (Clarinet, Piano & Math).

1972 – I commuted to UBC daily with a fellow sax student, Mark Kowalenko, in my parents yellow Volkswagen Super Beetle.

1972 – Summer job truck driving for TransCanada Glass: I remember running out of gas in the middle of Lions Gate Bridge and gliding into Stanley Park. This company was owned by friends of ours at church. I vividly remember a huge accident in the warehouse one day when stacks and stacks of windshields fell over. There were hundreds of broken windshields.

1973 – Vacation in Hawaii with Glenna and my brother, Les. We stayed at Uncle Ernie and Ida Rachinski’s. We were attacked by an Asian gang and I received two black eyes and broken glasses after leaving a bowling alley.

1093 – Frequent ski trips to ski Whistler Mountain, BC.

1973 – I took the Grade 8 piano exam with the Toronto Conservatory of Music and received First Class Honours. I had two piano teachers during this period, Glen Geary (UBC) and Doug Moody. I was also practicing 3-4 hours per day. That intense year of music gave me the piano skills that are still foundational to my playing.

1973 – I was awarded the Moody Music ‘Student of the Year’. I still have that trophy.

1973 – Summer job: Bricklayers helper for John Layzell. That was an intense labor job that included packing bricks and cement blocks, shovelling sand, and mixing mortar. That summer we did a huge job down by Jericho Beach in Vancouver and spent our lunch hours at the beach.

1973 – Part way through my 2nd year at the UBC I dropped out because I thought I wasn’t good enough. I started praying and fasting about what God wanted me to do next.

THE WORLD – LIVING SOUND

1973 – I audition for the Christian Band, ‘Living Sound’, that came to my church. They asked me to join them six days later in Seattle, Washington to begin the Asian Tour.

1973 – November – Living Sound II – 9 month Asia & US Tour. I played tenor and alto sax, flute, clarinet, percussion and sang back vocals. I left home a month before my 19th birthday and it was an honour to tour with this 15 member band. This tour was lead by Jim Gilbert (Music Director) and Joel Vesanen (Road Manager). Members of that band included Chris Bauer, Barbi Cook, ReNelle Kultala, Tom Hall, Michael & Donnie Gossett, Tim Hoover, Rob Harmon, Mike & Nancy McKibben, Pete Sumrall and Nick Burt.

1973 – November – Play with Living Sound in Alaska: Juneau and Anchorage

1973 – December – Week of Asian Orientation: Osaka, Japan. This orientation was organized by ‘Asian Outreach’

1773 – December. I had my 19th birthday in Seoul, Korea. I had just joined the team a few weeks before and no one know it was my birthday until I shyly mentioned it that evening. They quickly ran off and bought some warm coke and cupcakes and we had an impromptu birthday party. A few days later we played at the world’s largest church, Yoido Full Gospel Church. (pic above: we’re on stage on the left) We were also privileged to have lunch with Dr. Paul Yonggi-Cho.

1973 – Christmas in Hong Kong with Living Sound II. I have a very vivid memory of eating a huge Chinese food feast (hosted by Paul Kaufman: Asian Outreach) in Hong Kong and the whole team coming down with the ‘runs’ while staying at the YWCA.

1974 – Played with Living Sound in Saigon, South Vietnam for South Vietnamese troops. I remember visiting the US Embassy and seeing bullet holes all over the side of the embassy from an earlier North Vietnamese attack.

1974 – We played 3 concerts per day all over Bangkok, Thailand with Living Sound. We would play at schools and outdoor venues and then perform at an outdoor stadium every evening.

1974 – We played in Kuala Lumpur and Penang, Malaysia. I remember an amazing day off on the white beaches of Penang.

1974 – Singapore: the team stayed in an old empty beach house. Singapore had strict policies on hair length and all the guys had to get short haircuts.

1974 – Living Sound played on Death Row in Manila, Philippines. When the team showed up in Manila, there was no one there to greet us. Fortunately, our sound man, Peter Sumrall, had relatives who took the 15 of us into their home and then later billeted us out to various homes. I stayed in a beautiful home with a swimming pool for the month we were in Manila. Our sponsor in the Philippines, had abandoned us, but God didn’t. We ended up playing for more people and seeing more decisions for Christ in that month than in any other month on that tour.

1974 – Living Sound played an outdoor concert in Baguio City for Easter weekend in the Philippines.

1974 – Living Sound played concerts all over the Island of Java, Indonesia for a month. At the end of that month we took an old yellow school on a crazy overnight 1000 km trip back to Jakarta. I slept in the luggage rack during this long drive.

1974 – April – Living Sound played on Waikiki Beach with Living Sound in Hawaii. We played in front of the Rainbow Hilton Tower for a Sunday morning service and also at Fort Derussy on Waikiki Beach.

1974 – I took Barbi Cook out for dinner in Honolulu. I inadvertently ordered escargot (snails) and loved it.

1974 – Living Sound travels to Vancouver, Canada and we begin our West Coast Tour of the USA with Living Sound II

1974 – Travelling on the Living Sound bus. (pic above) These are two of my friends from Glad Tidings, Greg Chapman (bass player for Living Sound I) and Theresa Baldigara.

1974 – September, Tulsa, OK. – I was staying with Larry Dalton and I had a ‘Dream from God’ about joining Living Sound I. I was about to go home for a break when I had a dream that sent me on a new adventure behind the ‘Iron Curtain’ to Poland, England, South Africa, Rhodesia, US, Canada and Israel.

“Without faith it is impossible to please God. Anyone who wants to come to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who sincerely seek Him.”

Hebrews 11:6

1974 – September – I flew to Chicago to get my Polish visa and then to Warsaw, Poland to join Living Sound I. I had the dream from God on a Tuesday morning and I was in Poland four days later.

1974 – October – Polish Catholic Revival – 18,000 people accept Jesus in 3-1/2 weeks: This team was lead by Terry Law (Evangelist) and Don Moen (Music Director). Members of that team included Wally Schellenburg, Dave & Susan Smith, Ross Andrews, Doug Bartlett, Bruce Dougal, Greg Chapman, Rob Harmon, Judi Omdahl, Laura Moen, Steve Merkel and Jim Barnwell.

1974 – The team had lunch with Polish Cardinal Wojtyla who later became Pope John Paul II.

1974 – Living Sound visits the Auschwitz Concentration Camp in Poland.

1974 – Picture of inside our Living Sound European bus in Poland. I’m sitting on the left, the third guy behind Don Moen & Ross Andrews. Our Polish interpreter, Richard, is sitting behind me.

1974 – We stopped on the way to Southhampton to walk thru Stonehenge (England). We got kicked out because we were there after hours.

1974 – Living Sound played on a cruise ship (the ‘Pendennis Castle’) from Southhampton, England to the Canary Islands and then on to Cape Town, SA (13,000 km/7000+ miles – 12 days). I vividly remember sailing into Cape Town and seeing Table Mountain for the first time. Later, we took the cable car up the mountain and hiked across the top and down the back of it.

1974 – Living Sound took a bus from Cape Town, SA to Salisbury, Rhodesia (2518 km/1565 miles). It was a small bus and my seat mate for the journey was Beverly Schmidgall. Bev was one of the founding members of Living Sound. Stella and Gordon Calmeyer were also on this tour with us.

1974 – Living Sound had a Christmas break & Safari in Kruger National Park, SA. (1st of 3 African safaris that I have done so far).

1975 – Eight members of Living Sound take skydiving lessons and I made 5 parachute jumps with Bruce Dougal in South Africa and Oklahoma that year.

1975 – Living Sound does major stadium services with Nicky Cruz (Puerto Rican, ex-gang leader turned Christian Evangelist). Hundreds come to the Lord all over South Africa.

1975 – I learn how to ‘body-surf’ on Port Elizabeth and East London, South Africa’s beaches. Amazing weather and beaches!

1975 – Living Sound vacations in the Drakensburg Mountains and we all go on a spectacular horse back ride through some African villages. Both Ross Andrews and I were dumped off our horses at a full gallop near the end of that ride.

1975 – Larry Dalton joins us in South Africa and we pull off a major prank of putting speakers under his bed and scaring him with howling noises in the middle of the night.

1975 – We go into the studio in Johannesburg and record an album of South African Favourites in preparation for our farewell tour.

1975 – Living Sound does a final farewell concert tour across South Africa. I start dating Michelle O’Reilly from Cape Town, SA.

1975 – We take the Blue Train from Johannesburg to Cape Town, South Africa: 1400 km. I was sick on this train ride and I remember Laura Meon looking after me.

1975 – Living Sound plays on a cruise ship from Cape Town to the Canary Islands (9706 km/5241 miles)

1975 – We continue our Living Sound tour across the US. (New York-LA, 4518 km/2808 miles)

1975 – I get to parasail behind a boat in Florida during a short vacation with Dan Cook’s family.

1975 – I travel with Living Sound across Canada (Toronto to Vancouver). We played in most of the major Canadian cities on this extended trip.

1975 – Living Sound ministered with Kathryn Kuhlman in Israel at the ‘Conference on the Holy Spirit’. We played at morning and evening sessions and toured around Israel in the afternoons.

1975 – The team gets to dance the ‘Hora’ in an Israeli Kibbutz

1975 – Living Sound has a day off in in Washington, D.C. and we get to tour the Smithsonian Institute.

1975: Living Sound has a day off in Oklahoma and we spend the day canoeing down the Arkansas River: so much fun!

1976 – Living Sound is asked to play at the Anaheim Booksellers Convention and Fletch Wiley asked if I could play flute with Grammy Award winning Gospel Artist Andre Crouch and the Disciples. One of the songs we played was ‘My Tribute – To God Be The Glory’. This was a huge musical highlight for me.

1976 – Larry Dalton takes us to see ‘Tom Scott and the LA Express’ play at the Hollywood Bowl. The members of that band were the studio musicians he hired to record our LA albums.

UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA

1976 – I return home to Vancouver and work at BC Packers during herring season to save money for travel and university. I used to smell so bad from handling fish that my family made me strip down to my underwear before I came into the house.

1976 – I flew to Cape Town, South Africa to date Michelle O’Reilly. I read the ‘Lord of the Rings’ trilogy for the first time on the flights coming and going to Cape Town.

1976 – I attend University of British Columbia for the 2nd time. Music Major & English minor. My goal was to finish my music degree and go back with Living Sound.

1976 – My parents gave me the family yellow 1972 Super Beetle to drive to UBC. It was my first car. I also used to drive all my brothers and sisters to church youth events.

1977 – I learnt to barefoot and slalom waterski at Samish Lake, Washington, USA. My parents bought a Ski Nautique boat and had a mobile home parked there.

1977 – I dated Suzanne Tim from church during this period.

1977 – I rejoined New Dimensions and Liberty Brass. Here we are playing at the PNE in Vancouver, Canada.

1978 – Summer: My church asked if I could do a 4 month ministry trip teaching and performing music in Taichung, Taiwan. Best Summer Job Ever. I also helped finish a music theory book in Mandarin Chinese that Bob Wagar had begun earlier.

1978 – I got my motorcycle license in preparation for my trip to Taiwan.

1978 – Brian Rubuliak and I take a motorcycle trip to the mountains in Taiwan. We ministered in mountain churches associated with Glad Tidings Missions.

1978 – I played on my first radio show in Taipei, Taiwan with Overseas Radio and TV.

1978 – I bought my first acoustic guitar in Taiwan.

1978 – Organize and lead a Praise Band Tour in Taiwan. I preached this short 2-3 week tour and we saw hundreds of Taiwanese come to know the Lord. Members of this team included the Rubuliak brothers: Morris, Brian and Ed, Doug Moody, John Skidmore and Debbie Mante.

1978 – I stop in Hong Kong on the way back to Vancouver and enjoy a great Chinese meal on a floating restaurant in the harbour.

1978 – Drive taxi in Vancouver for Blacktop Cabs to pay for university

1979 – UBC Graduation – Bachelor of Music (sax & piano), Minor in English. I also studied flute, voice, composition and clarinet while attending UBC.

1979 – During these years I would often get hired to play sax, piano, flute, harmonica and other instruments for various Christian recording projects. I also produced Dean & Cherry Fransen’s first album ‘Expectation’.

1979 – I get hired to produce the Christian album, ‘I Shall Arise’ for Dan Burr.

1979 – I went to Israel for my second time to play sax for a Glad Tidings Choir Trip. I also got to jog around the walls of Jerusalem as a Rabbinical group of students were singing and dancing their way to the the Western Wall – Wailing Wall.

1980 – I worked for Canadian Linen for a year after graduation from UBC – I bought a Datsun 260Z – my first and only sports car. I traded in my 72 Super Beetle and got $2000 in the trade-in.

1980 – I lived in Dean and Cherry Fransen’s (my sister and former brother-in-law) basement suite close to our church, Glad Tidings and I produced their album, ‘Don’t Give In’

THE WORLD – LIVING SOUND

1981 – Don Moen hires me to be the Music Director of Living Sound III and we do a year long tour of the US, Canada and Europe. Members of that team include Gregg Johnson, Dan Cook, Kristi Zwick, Matt Dailey, Becky Mourer, Kjell Lundstrom, Mark Wilson, Russel Davie, Steve Norman, Pam and Randy Fay and Bill and Laura Phares.

1981 – I dated Becky Mourer on that tour and Becky later recorded a number of my songs on her solo album. You can hear one of my songs and tenor sax playing on ‘Yours Completely’

1981 – Spiritual encounter with God & His Word in Austria. This changed my heart and gave me a passion for spending time with God in prayer and reading the Bible daily. I also made a vow to God to read the Bible daily.

1981 – I read thru the whole Bible for the first time. And also begin to read thru the whole Bible yearly (now over 42 x’s)

1981 – Living Sound II brass section with Steve Norman and Dan Cook. I’m on tenor sax.

1981 – Watched ‘How To Find A Wife’ video and made my 19 point prayer request for a wife.

1981 – Christmas in Sweden with Living Sound III. A bunch of us guys stayed in a cabin on a frozen, snow covered lake for Christmas that year.

1982 – Slept overnight on a park bench in Trafalgar Square, London. I helped a friend get his forgotten passport and ended up in London with no place to stay. It was a warm summer evening, so I slept on the bench.

1982 – Take a hovercraft in a gale force weather across the English Channel to France

1982 – I see the ‘Mona Lisa’ at the Louvre, Paris, France with Matt Dailey our drummer. Matt and I also toured around Paris for a 3 day mini-vacation.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.

Proverbs 3:5-6 NKJV

VANCOUVER, BC – GLAD TIDINGS CHURCH & MARRIAGE

1982 – I was hired by Glad Tidings Church, Vancouver, BC to come home and be the GT Choir & Orchestra Director (My first paid church position). Staff members included Kirk Duncan, Dan Burr and Steve Voros.

1982 – I meet Anna Foti at Glad Tidings Church around Easter and we are engaged in September that year.

1982- Attend ‘Basic Youth Conflicts’ seminar in Seattle, WA with Anna. We stayed at my Uncle Ernie and Aunt Ida Rachinski’s place.

1983 – February marriage to Anna Marie Foti, Hawaiian Honeymoon: Kirk Duncan officiated.

1983 – I produce and conduct my first ‘Easter Passion Play’ (1st of 12). Michael Gossett played the part of Jesus and Steve Schmunk built our amazing set.

1983 – All my woodwind instruments: Selmer Tenor, Alto & Soprano Sax, flute, clarinet & harmonicas are stolen from my car. Fortunately they were all insured and I bought all new Yamaha instruments.

1983 – Play with Grammy Award winning artist: Phil Driscoll (California). I had to play with borrowed instruments because this happened just weeks after my instruments were stolen.

1983 – Have dinner with Anna at the top of the Seattle Space Needle.

1983 – I start playing racquetball for the first time. My main partner was Stan Livingston from the Royal Bank.

1983 – December – Our son, Joshua David Cole, is born

1984 – I take the family to see the Montreal Jazz Festival & the ‘Tall Ships’ in Quebec City

1984 – We take a trip to the ‘New England’ states to finish visiting all 50 US states (Bucket List)

1984 – Anna and I drive to New York City to see Radio City Music Hall and numerous Broadway shows.

1984 – Take a flying lesson and I take off from Vancouver International Airport and fly around Vancouver.

1984 – I help conduct the ‘African Children’s Choir’ very first performance at Glad Tidings.

1984 – I was asked to be the Chairman of Music for The Billy Graham Crusade. I even got to have dinner with George Beverly Shea and Dr. Billy Graham.

CALGARY, AB – FIRST ASSEMBLY

1984 – December. I was hired by Alvin Lewis to be the Music Pastor of First Assembly, Calgary, AB. Staff members included Claude Hazel, Dennis White, Alex Leech and Leona Eagle. Later, Bill Prankard and Marvin Wojda joined out staff.

1984 – I was asked to conduct ‘The Singing Christmas Tree’, Calgary, AB (first of 4x’s). We used to have 12 packed out performances every December.

1984 – I lead worship for the first time (age 30) at First Assembly, Calgary.

1985 – Third Anniversary Trip to Hawaii with Anna (pregnant with Stephanie)

1985 – June – I take the ‘First Assembly Youth Choir’ to Hay River, NWT by bus. We were there for the longest day of the year and played tennis at midnight.

1985 – July – Daughter born – Stephanie Anne Cole

1985 – Bungee jump off a bridge (backwards) in Nanaimo, BC. Steve Schmunk and I did this trip together.

1985 – Pilot an airplane (Vancouver). This was part of my introductory flying lesson. On the first lesson the flying instructor gets you to do everything except land the plane.

1985: First Assembly Staff: Alving Lewis, Dennis White, myself, Alex Leech, Leona Eagle, Claude Hazel: Great team!

1986 – Produce and arrange a children’s album: ‘Here We Come’ for Maralee Dawn with Butch and Suzi. We recorded this in an Edmonton studio with a string quartet, woodwinds and rhythm section.

1986 – Take Youth Choir from First Assembly to ‘EXPO 86’ in Vancouver.

1987 – Take a First Assembly Music Team to Kenya and Uganda: Members of this team included Ryan Jaworski, Kerry Harder and Sharlaine Taylor.

1987 – Holiday in Italy and I meet Anna’s extended Italian family in Reggio, Calabria

1987 – I lead a choir tour to Vancouver, BC and we perform at ‘Christian Life Assembly’. The power went out during our ‘Passion Play’ entrance and the choir kept on singing.

1987 – Conduct and produce a choir & orchestra album for First Assembly, Calgary. Soloists included Barb White, Debbie Cousins, Kerry Harder and Claude Hazel.

1988 – Anna and I celebrated our 5th anniversary in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico: We took in a Bull fight (not my favorite experience). We also did a horse ride to a waterfall. (fun story.. Anna freaks out on horses) I also went scuba diving.

1988 – Experience the blessing and hard work of Calgary First Assembly growing from two Sunday services to five Sunday services. (3 Sunday morning services and two Sunday night). During this period we lived in the renovated church parsonage across the street from First Assembly.

LANGLEY, BC – CHRISTIAN LIFE ASSEMBLY

1988 – Don Cantelon hires me to be the Music Pastor at Christian Life Assembly, Langley, BC. Staff members included Brent Cantelon, Dave Demchuk, Bob Long, Brian Pearson, Gwen Schmunk, Graham Hanson and Neil Leonhardt.

1988 – Dad Foti builds us our first home – Langley, BC.

1988 – Our family vacations in Italy and we visit the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel in Rome and the ‘Statue of David’ in Florence, Italy.

1988 – Produce and conduct the Christmas Show at CLA (1 of 12 Christmas shows)

1989 – Record: ‘Silence The Rocks’ – CLA Choir and Orchestra. Soloists include Phil Dobbs, Laurie Kennedy and Sherri Rempel.

1990 – We take a May Long Weekend, 5 day onboard sailing certification course, with my brother Shawn Cole, Jim Moore & Dave Peterson. We started in Granville Island, Vancouver and sailed to Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands.

1990 – Take my family house-boating, Shuswap Lakes, BC (1st of 5x’s). On some of these trips we sometimes had 3 full houseboats with 10-12 people on each boat. We also usually had a couple of water ski boats with us.

1991 – Larry Turner invites me to do a weekend worship seminar at his church in San Francisco. I wrote musical arrangements for Larry for many years. After this weekend, Anna and I drive up to Carmel, California to celebrate our 8th anniversary.

1991 – Arranged and record two Mandarin Chinese Worship Albums at Gotham Studios in Vancouver.

1991 – I organized a sailing trip to the San Juan Islands, Washington State, US. The sailors included Dave Peterson, Shawn Cole, Josh & Stephanie Cole, Steve Schmunk and Ron Toothe. We see the Killer Whale Super-Pod (over 100 killer whales that are migrating up to Alaska for the summer)

1992 – I take a group of 8 sailing in Desolation Sound, BC. We chartered a boat out of Campbell River (Vancouver Island) and spent 4 days sailing. Great wind, fast boat. The crew included Shawn & Chrissie Cole, Dave Peterson, Ken Stankievich, Ron Toothe, Jim Moore and Mike Axton. Here’s a link to the Youtube video from that trip.

1992 – Take the family to Disneyland & Sea World.  LA Riots start while we’re there!

1992 – I switch from playing racquetball to playing squash with my friends from Christian Life Assembly. Partners include Brent Cantelon, Don Elving, Herb Mast, and John (inspector for Langley)

1992 – I lead a Christian Life Assembly music team to Kenya and Uganda. Members of that band included Shawn Cole, Rod & Shawna Melnyk, Sherri Rempel, Leanne Starrett, Bruce Dougal, Jane & Phil Dobbs and Linda Criss. Great trip!

1992 – Take the family and band from Nairobi to Mombassa, Kenya by train. We got to go camel riding on the beach in Mombassa.

1992 – Here’s a Youtube link to our concerts, safari and camel rides (30 min) on that trip to Kenya. Great shots!

1992 – Take the family on an African Safari – Masai Mara, Kenya

1992 – Fly around the world: Vancouver, London, Kampala, Nairobi, Mumbai, Calcutta, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Taipei, Vancouver

1992 – Visit Hulda Buntain and Mercy Mission in Calcutta, India.

1992 – Produce and record 3 worship albums in Mandarin Chinese in Taipei, Taiwan. Taipei was my final stop on my trip around the world.

1992 – I take an intermediate sailing course (Night Sailing) in the islands around Nanaimo. Shawn Cole, Ron Toothe and Dave Peterson were also on this trip. That night sail in rough weather was one of the only times that I ever got seasick.

1992 – See over 370 people water baptized at CLA during this year. (1+ per day)

1992 – Conduct for Dove nominated Alving Slaughter with CLA choir (1st of 3x’s)

1992 – I buy a Takamine acoustic guitar and start taking lessons from Tim Olsen.

1993 – 10th Anniversary Cruise with Anna – LA to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Stops included Cabo and Mazatlan. The company was Carnival Cruise Lines.

1993 – Organize double sailboat trip – San Juan Islands (great water balloon fights). People on this trip include my kids, Josh & Stephanie, Dave Peterson (with Mattie), Shawn Cole, Dave Grapentin, Les Cole, Ron Toothe and others (16+ in total)

1993 – Take a CLA music team to Buenos Aires, Argentina. Members of this team included Sherri Rempel, Laurie Kennedy, Dallas Bidell and my wife, Anna.

1993 – Visit the “Christ The Redeemer’ statue in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil

VANCOUVER, BC – GLAD TIDINGS CHURCH (2nd time)

1994 – Hired by Ernie Culley to be the Worship Pastor of Glad Tidings Church. Staff members included Merrilyn Culley, Kay Gordon, Velma Freeman, Kevin Preston, Jonathon Culley, Cheryl Rubuliak and Rod Forrest.

1994 – Anna and I take the family to Rome, Verona, Naples, Capri & Reggio, Italy.

1994 – Visit Juliet’s Balcony in Verona, Italy

1994 – Attend an outdoor opera – ‘Madame Butterfly’ in the Arena di Verona (1 of 2x’s)

1995 – Captain a 40 ft sailboat with 4 couples in the British Virgin Islands. (Top 5 vacation). The four couples were Dave and Nola Peterson, Ken and Carol Stankovich, Shawn and Chrissie Cole and my wife and I.

1995 – Anna and I lead a missions trip with Pacific Academy students to the Philippines.

1996 – 33 km Cross Country Ski Trip to Egypt Lake, Banff, AB. (The night I almost froze)

1996 – Music Director for Canada Arise Worship Conference-Vancouver (1st of 3x’s). Some of our special guests included Alving Slaughter, Ron Kenoly, Billy Funk and Lamar Boschman.

1996 – Write and Produce CD: ‘To You, Lord’ – Glad Tidings Worship Band. Soloists included Gina Bellemare and myself.

1996 – Blaine Eagle starts hiring me to write charts for his choir and orchestra in Saskatoon. (I have since written more than 100 music arrangements for Blaine)

1996 – I write one of my most popular songs ‘God Is My Rock’ at GT Kids Camp while listening to Cheryl Rubuliak teach on that concept from the Psalms.

1998 – I write the song ‘Psalm 139’ while helping Josh memorize that chapter for his school project. This was a very spiritual, moving experience for me.

1997 – Daytime Music Director (International Worship Institute- Dallas, TX) (1st of 5x’s) Worship leaders included Paul Baloche, Lamar Boschman, Ron Kenoly and Alving Slaughter.

1997 – Write and produce my CD: ‘God Is My Rock’ – Glad Tidings Worship Band. Guest soloist Hiram Joseph.

1997 – Larry Turner hires me to write dozens of charts for his church in California.

1997 – Hike the Juan De Fuca Marine Trail with 4 friends: (5 days – 47km – Vancouver Island, BC) We started the hike with a few more but a few left the trail and went fishing instead. This is a great hike!

1998 – Fast 40 Days while helping to lead a high school missions team to the Philippines. (Getting ready for the next level) 

1998 – Conduct a Worship Seminar: Watoto Church, Kampala, Uganda and lead worship at Kampala Full Gospel Church.

1998 – Guest lecturer at Rhema Academy of Creative Arts in Johannesburg, South Africa

1998 – Take the family to Disney World with Anna’s parents, Giuseppe and Pauline Foti.

1998 – Overnight Cross Country Ski Trip to Egypt Lake, Banff, AB. See ‘The Night I Almost Froze To Death’

1998 – Ryan Dahl starts selling my charts online and I become the founding arranger of Praisecharts.com. During this period I write hundreds of orchestrations for churches. This was my main income from 1999-2006. This income helped support my travelling ministry with Charles Ndifon.

1998 – Take the family on motorhome & whale-watching trip to Tofino, BC. The motorhome broke down on the highway back from Tofino and we had it towed back to Nanaimo. Despite the problem this was a great vacation.

1998 – I was the music arranger for Hillsong concerts in Vancouver, BC. Ed Wilson-Lui put together an all-star band from Vancouver and we brought in Steve McPherson to lead some Hillsong worship events.

1999 – March, Anna’s Dad, Giuseppe Foti, unexpectedly passes away from a medical error. Our family flies back from a Malaysian missions trip for Dad Foti’s funeral. I wrote a song for the funeral (I Trust You Lord) and did the eulogy.

1999 – Lead worship and go hiking and camping with Josh’s Pacific Academy class on Galiano Island off the coast of British Columbia.

1999 – We take the family (Anna, Josh & Stephanie) to see the Statue of David in Florence, Italy and then visit Rome (where I climb to the top of St. Peter’s Dome), Naples and Reggio Calabria.

1999 – Write and produce my CD: ‘Move In This City’ – Glad Tidings Worship Band. Soloists include Debbie Kennedy, myself, Rachel Forrest and Tracey Rubuliak.

1999 – Music Director for Vancouver Promisekeepers

1999 – Experience 50% growth at Glad Tidings and see the mortgage paid off.

THE WORLD – CHARLES NDIFON

2000 – Copenhagen Revival with Charles Ndifon – hundreds healed, 15,000+ people saved. For more of the story please read my blog entitled ‘Can God Touch A Nation?’

2000 – Saw my first bona fide miracle in Copenhagen

2000 – 20+ trips to Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland and Holland with Charles Ndifon

2001 – Josh graduates from Pacific Academy

2001 – Go for a weekend of sea kayaking and worship leading with Stephanie and her Pacific Academy class on Galiano Island, BC.

2001 – Complete 10K Sun Run in Vancouver, Canada. (1st of 3x’s)

2001 – Visit the source of the Nile with Josh (Lake Victoria, Uganda). Josh and I almost get swarmed by bats, which was a bit terrifying!

2001 – 25 trips to Europe & US with Charles Ndifon

2002 – Teach Worship Seminars: Finland, Denmark and Sweden

2003 – I take Anna with me to meetings in Holland and Belgium.

2002 – I take Anna to Paris for Mother’s Day and I walk up the Eiffel Tower. We had an incredible day of visiting the Louvre, Paris Opera House and the Eiffel Tower.

2003 – Take Anna and Stephanie to the US Virgin Islands to teach a week long Worship Seminar in St. Thomas.

2003 – Anna and I take Ballroom Dancing lessons: I’m terrible at dancing.

2003 – Stephanie graduates from Langley Senior Secondary

2003 – Record my live CD: ‘Healing In His Hands’ Copenhagen

2003 – Take Anna to Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen, Denmark for our 20th wedding anniversary.

2003 – I take my son, Josh, to Legoland – Billund, Denmark. Afterwords he plays bass for me at Charles crusade in Aarhus, Denmark.

2003 – Climb the dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral* (London, England)

2003 – Friends give us a free condo and car in Palm Springs for a week. Dave and Nola Peterson join us for a week of tennis and fun.

2004 – Go snowmobiling in the mountains (Whistler, BC) for our 21st anniversary.

2004 – Visit Sydney (Hillsong) & then we do a week of meetings in Adelaide, Australia with Charles Ndifon. I was also able to teach a worship seminar while in Adelaide.

2004 – See an opera in the Sydney Opera House and take a cruise of the harbour.

2004 – Take Anna and Stephanie to New Orleans and Mississippi for a week of meetings with Charles Ndifon.

2004 – Ministry trip to Iceland and I proof-read the new book: ‘The God of Miracles’: The story of the amazing miracles and healing we saw in Denmark and Scandinavia from 2000-2004.

2005 – Personally healed of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome – Ndifon Crusade, Denmark

2005 – Stephanie & Ryan Iverson married: June 2005

2005 – Visit Edinburgh Castle (Scotland) while doing meetings with Charles Ndifon.

2005 – Watch live jazz with Josh at the Blue Note Jazz Club in New York City after doing meetings with Charles Ndifon.

2005 – Visit the Wimbledon tennis tournament while playing on a TV show with Charles Ndifon in London, England. I got to see Rafael Nadal play on Center Court.

2005 – Missions trip to Zimbabwe and Uganda with Charles Ndifon, Josh Cole & Ben Cantelon. Paul and Bonnie Weetman also joined us on this trip. The infamous rat story was part of this trip.

2005 – Anna and I meet in Italy and visit the Amalfi Coast.

2005 – Lead my neighbour, Nancy, to the Lord in Walnut Grove, BC

2006 – Play at the largest church in England: Kingsway International Christian Centre

2006 – Josh graduates from Capilano College with Music Performance Degree-Bass

2006 – Anna and I holiday in Calgary and I hike Cascade Mountain (2,998 m/9836 ft) with friends. Great hike but that was a very long day and on the way down I had to find ways to walk that didn’t hurt.

2006 – Lead worship and tour Berlin, Germany by bicycle

2006 – Lead worship with Charles Ndifon and I get to ride an Icelandic Horse* (Reykjavik, Iceland)

ALBERTA

2006 – Lee Primeau hires me to be the Worship Pastor at Midpark Assembly, Calgary. Ryan Iverson (my son-in-law) joins me on staff.

2006 – Hike Black Tusk (18km – Squamish, B.C.)

2006 – Scramble Hart Mountain with Dave Peterson, Stephanie & Ryan Iverson and the hiking group from MidPark Assembly.

2007 – Rick Hilsden hires me to become the Worship Pastor for The Park Church, Sherwood Park, Alberta. Rick had a serious stroke my first Sunday there.

2007 – 24th Wedding Anniversary, Dog Sledding in Canmore, AB.

2007 – Yacht vacation with Grant & Cherril Holcombe – Princess Louisa Sound, BC (1 of 4x’s)

2008 – We celebrated our 25th Anniversary on a 10 day cruise from Puerto Rico to the Southern Caribbean on Celebrity Cruise Lines. Stops included St. Lucia, Barbados, Grenada, Curacao and Aruba. We went for a submarine ride in Barbados.

2008 – Conduct ‘O Canada’ – Calgary Stampede (10 days – 220,000 people) (1st of 3 times). Soloist: Christine Chester.

2008 – Day Hike up Heart Mountain, Canmore, AB with hiking friends and family.

2008 – November – First grandchild born to Ryan & Stephanie Iverson – Berea Anne Iverson

2008 – Steve Munshaw hires me to be the Musical Arranger for ‘Heaven’s Rehearsal‘ – Toronto (this took 2+ months of writing and arranging)

CALGARY – EASTSIDE CITY CHURCH

2008 – Ron Leech hires me to be the Worship Pastor for Eastside City Church. Anna organized the office and the Senior’s Ministry. Staff members included Jon Guilloux, Karen Leech, Rob Martin, Frank Moody, Todd and Jan Swisher, Michael Poulin and Peter Mathieson.

2009 – Take a hiking group from Eastside City Church up Mount Yamnuska. 25% of the hikers weren’t fit enough and had to turn around and wait for the rest of us to finish.

2009 – Cross-country ski to Skoki Lodge, AB (28 km return) with Dave Peterson and Cam Wallace. We started with a few more but one of the guys had heart problems so a few of the team turned around to help him.

2009 – Visit the ‘Leaning Tower of Pisa with Anna.

2009 – Jog and Hike Cinque Terra, Italy with Anna and Dave & Nola Peterson

2009 – Driving vacation from Rome, Italy to Pisa, Cinque Terra, Monte Carlo (Monaco), Eze Village (France), Nice, Avignon, Andorra and Barcelona, Spain

2010 – I was hired by Victory Church, Singapore to do worship seminars and consulting at their 5 campuses over a month long period. Anna came on this trip with me.

2010 – Visit the Night Safari Zoo, Singapore

2010 – Celebrate my 27th Wedding Anniversary with Anna in Phuket, Thailand.

2010 – Hike the ‘Grouse Grind’ to the top of Grouse Mountain in under 1 hour. The hike is a very steep trail nicknamed ‘Nature’s Step Climber’. It starts at 300 metres/980 feet elevation and climbs to 1,100 m/3600 ft over a distance of approximately 2.5 km/8200 ft.

2010 – Overnight Cross-Country Ski Trip to Bow Hut, AB. Scariest night of my life. Other members of this trip included Dave Peterson, Mike Stewart, Chunlee Jackson, Cam Wallace and 4-5 other adventurers.

2010 – Hired by the ‘Calgary Stampede’ to arrange & conduct ‘O Canada’ with a marching band and trio. We performed this for 10 nights in front of more than 250,000 people, Trio members: Leon Leontardis, Dianna Moore and Ora-Lee Somerville with the 140 member Calgary Stampede Marching Band.

2010 – Complete a Sprint Triathlon (swim, bike, run). I trained for 4 months. Swimming was the most challenging of the 3 disciplines.

2010 – Hike the West Coast Trail with Mike McGee. (7 days-72 km) – this was the first of 2 times. Incredible hike! Highly recommended if you like a challenge.

2011 – March – Grandson born to Stephanie & Ryan Iverson: Ezra David Joseph Iverson

2011 – Anna and I visit Josh in Toronto and we go the top of the CN Tower. The tallest free standing structure in the Western Hemisphere.

2011 – Stephanie graduates from Athabasca University- Psychology Major. This was the fulfillment of a promise that Stephanie made to me to finish her degree even though she got married when she was young.

2011 – I travel to Hyderabad, India with Ron Leech for a week of teaching and meetings. This is my 2nd of 3 trips to India.

2011 – Anna and I visit Naples and Pompeii, Italy

2011 – Climb Temple Mountain with my neighbor, Dave. (Lake Louise, AB) 11,624 ft. We started with 6 hikers but 3 didn’t make it to the top because of the demands of the hike.

2011 – My son, Josh & Sonia get married in Washington State, USA.

2012 – My neighbors Dave, Brenda and myself (plus 3-4 other Rocky Mountain Ramblers) drive to Banff and snow-shoe for the day.

2012 – I am hired again by the Calgary Stampede to conduct ‘O Canada’ nightly at their 100th anniversary (10 nights – 280,000 people), Christine Chester was the soloist with our 200 voice choir. Linda Bakken was the organizer. This is Canada’s largest sporting event.

2012 – Ryan, Steph, Sabrina, Mike and I hike Nihahi Ridge, near Bragg Creek, Alberta.

2012 – I hiked the Chilcoot Trail with Dave Peterson, Ray Baillie and Cam & Patrick Wallace. This is the beginning of the Yukon Gold Rush Trail and it starts in Skagway, Alaska and then crossed over into the Yukon. (5 days – 53 km). We flew into Whitehorse, Yukon to commute to the trailhead.

2012 – Grant Holcombe treats me to a day of learning to shooting shotguns, high powered long distance rifles and hand guns. I don’t own a gun but it was a lot of fun.

2012 – Go to the top of Mount Etna, Sicily with my niece Sabrina Locicero and her friend, Joy. (tallest active volcano in Europe).

2012 – Anna and I attend the Blues Festival in Chicago while on a trip to a music seminar at Willow Creek Community Church.

2012 – Hike to the top of Mount Indefatigable in Peter Loughheed Provincial Park with Dave & Cam. (2,227 m/8750 ft).

2013 – Anna and I teach at a youth conference in Haiti for Marc and Lisa Honorat (Haiti Arise). Anna teaches on dating and relationships and I teach on worship.

2013 – 30th Anniversary Caribbean Cruise from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Stops included the Cayman Islands, Bahamas, Grand Turk and the Dominican Republic.

2013 – Hike up Ha Ling Peak (Canadian Rockies) for the first time with Chunlee Jackson and Shawndra Sheahan.

2013 – Knock out my four front teeth on a mountain bike trip in Banff National Park. I was riding with Tom Morris on this back country trip (Rundle Riverside Trail) from Canmore to Banff.

2013 – Experience 50% growth at Eastside City Church.

2014 – Anna and I celebrate our 31st Wedding Anniversary on a two week cruise from Miami (Anna wins free air tickets) Ports of call included: Jamaica, Cayman Islands, Cozumel – Mexico, Belize, Honduras, St. Martin, Bahamas, St. Thomas, San Juan and Puerto Rico.

2014 – Start blog: markcole.ca – ‘Following God: The Grand Adventure’. I felt compelled to write some of the stories from my travels. To write about the miracles and faithfulness of God that I had experienced and also the things I had learned from leading worship for over three decades.

CALGARY – CONSULTING

2014 – Publish Book: ‘Leading Worship: Notes from a Grand Adventure’. Jeanne Gossett Halsey was the organizer and editor behind this project.

2014 – 320 km bicycle trip from Jasper to Canmore, AB with Tom Hall. Tom and I travelled together on the Living Sound Asian trip back in 1974. ‘The Toughest Day’

2015 – C3 Church Calgary – 10 month worship and staff consulting assignment. Lorne Tebbut hired me to help organize the staff and worship department.

2015 – Mountain Bike from Banff-Canmore return with Rick Henders (43 km – Rundle & Goat Creek Trails). I had a crash at the beginning of this trip and it was a very hot and challenging ride.

2015 – Cumulative sales of over one million dollars in Worship charts & CD’s thru Praisecharts and my own CD sales travelling with Charles Ndifon.

2015 – The whole family vacations together in Reggio, Calabria, Italy

2015 – Watch an outdoor opera in Sicily with Anna: (Carmen – Teatro Antico di Taormina)

2015 – My brother Shawn makes guitars from the church pews my late father constructed in the 60’s and gives them as gifts to Les and I.

2016 – Josh and I do a worship seminar and training in Chennai, India with Christo and Sarah Emmanuel.

2016 – Interim Worship Pastor & Choir Director at ‘Centre Street Church’. This church has a huge staff of over 160 people. I mainly worked with Jason Erhardt, Val Lieske, Kent Priebe, Ashwin Ramani, Elmer Reigel, Henry Schorr, Jennifer Beacom and some of the main worship leaders and sound staff.

2016 – Producer and Conductor: Centre Street Christmas Production

2016: Hanging backstage on my birthday with the main soloists from the Christmas Production: Joy Robinson, Kristal Chalmers, Hayan Jeon, Leon Leontaridis, Sam Osmond, Ora-Lee Somerville & Justin Lee.

2017 – Friends give us a free week in Puerto Vallarta in their beautiful beach condo.

2017 – Experience Centre Street Church go from decline to growth. Over 350 people were water baptized in that year.

2017 – Worship Leader at Evangelical Missionary Canadian National Convention: Team members included Crystal Chalmers, Frankie Lutz, Jay Vedoya and Eli Meija.

RED DEER – LIVING STONES CHURCH

2017 – Paul Vallee asked if I would come and be the Worship Pastor of Living Stones Church in Red Deer, Alberta. He later asked my wife, Anna, to oversee the woman’s ministry at the church. Staff members included: Mark Stevenson, Darren Aucoin, Brenda Boyce, Carter Hanson, Jennifer Barritt, Vicki Gabor, Kathy Stalwick and Hanna Miller.

2017 – 7 day hike on the West Coast Trail with Mike McGee and 4 of his friends from work. – 72 km (2nd time doing the hike)

2018 – #1 Player: ‘Regular Guys Squash Ladder’ – Red Deer

2018 – Go to Toronto and Niagara Falls to visit with Josh & Sonia

2019 – Red Deer Tennis Club 3.5 Champion

2019: Week long leading worship at FCA National Pastor’s Conference in Richmond, BC. Worship team members included: Shawn Cole, Tim Olsen, Ryan Dahl, Layla & Angela Harder, Doug Reid & Mark Fitz

2019 – Trip to Reggio Calabria, Italy and Mediterranean Cruise

2019 – Anna’s Birthday Cruise: Ports of call included: Sicily, Malta, Greece, Croatia, Slovenia, Venice and then we took the fast train to Rome.

2019 – Travel to country #72, Slovenia (on the way to my goal of 100 countries)

2019 – Experience 16% growth at Living Stones Church – their best church year ever. The church grew from 700 to 1000 while Anna and I were there.

2019 – Lead outdoor worship at the Canada Winter Games, Red Deer, AB: Vocal team was Layla and Angela Harder, myself and Stirling Larwill.

2020 – Launch Covid Online Services at Living Stones Church

2020 – Worship blog, markcole.ca, reaches over 1 million readers in 180 countries

2021 – Drive from Red Deer, AB to Kenora, Ontario. One week lake vacation with the whole family.

2021 – Start a ping-pong club in my garage during Covid. I invited my squash and tennis partners to play 3-4 nights a week.

2021 – Josh and Sonia move from Toronto to our home in Red Deer to have their baby girl

2021 – January – Granddaughter born in Red Deer to Josh & Sonia: Josephine Grace Cole

2021 – Lead Special Night of Worship at Red Deer Dream Centre

2021 – Win 4.0 Tennis Tournament, Red Deer

Calgary: Love City Church

2021 – Join ‘Love City Church’ staff, Calgary, AB. Staff members include Ryan & Stephanie Iverson, James Pelias and Britney Ling.

2021 – Teach piano & guitar to my grandkids, Berea and Ezra. It’s been a joy to see them develop a passion for playing, singing and worshipping with their instrument.

2022 – Dad Preston passes away at the age of 92. Beautiful ‘Celebration of Life’ service in Vancouver put on by the whole family!

2022 – Blog: markcole.ca has 3.2 million visits from over 1.2 million visitors

2022 – Love City Church Sunday attendance doubles.

2022 – Climbing Mount Yamnuska (my 3rd time) with my grandson, Ezra and neice, Sabrina Locicero.

2022 – I bought a used Yamaha bass and I start learning and playing at church

2022 – Lead worship with my daughter and granddaughter on Father’s Day 2022

2022 – Celebrate Thanksgiving with the whole family in Calgary: Josh, Sonia, Ezra, Jose, myself, Berea, Stephanie, Ryan and Anna.

2022 – Anna and I celebrate our 40th Christmas together by visiting our kids and grandkids in Toronto and Calgary.

2022 – I sell my Yamaha YTS-62 Pro Tenor Saxophone (I hadn’t played tenor sax since 2000) and buy a Taylor 214CE acoustic guitar.

2022 – Retire from tennis and squash and I start playing pickleball 3-4 x’s a week.

I said to the LORD, “You are my Master!
Every good thing I have comes from You.”

Psalms 16:2

2023 – Anna and I celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary with dinner at Japanese Village, a big band Valentine’s concert and a special breakfast at Linas.

2023 – Start working 20 hours a week as a private music teacher teaching piano (classical, jazz & worship), acoustic guitar, flute, sax and voice to 25+ students. (Online, in students homes and my studio) – ‘Teaching the next generation’.

2023 – I travel to Vancouver, Washington with my Mom, Margaret Preston, and Shawn & Chrissie Cole to attend my Uncle Ernie Rachinski’s celebration of life. The Rachinski family did a great job honoring their father and grandfather.

2023 – Teach worship leaders and teams all over the world through the blog ‘Worship Leaders University’ (markcole.ca). So far, I have had 4.4 million reads from 1.6 million readers from over 200+ countries in the world. In the last 12 months alone, the blog has had 550,000 reads.

2023 – Continue working part-time for ‘Love City Church’. Attendance is up 250% since Anna and I started helping in 2021.

2023 – I begin to help my wife, Anna, with her wedding officiating in Calgary and the Rocky Mountains around Banff, Alberta Canada.

2023 – I write Anna a website to promote her wedding officiant business: WeddingsbyAnna.ca

2024: Worship blog: ‘Worship Leaders University’ has 4.6 million reads by 1.6 million readers. It is currently averaging over 500 reads per day. ‘Teaching the next generation’.

2024: Join the staff of Neighbourhoodchurch.ca (SE Calgary, AB) as the worship pastor. The pastors are Chris and Lisa Gorsky.

2024: Anna and I vacation in San Francisco and visit our children in Napa Valley, California.

2024: Anna and I vacation in Vancouver and have a wonderful 10 days with family and friends.

2024: Anna and I vacation in the Canadian Maritimes with my son, Josh, his wife Sonia and our granddaughter Josephine (Jojo). Visiting the 4 eastern provinces, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island has been on my bucket-list for 40 years. Now I’ve visited all 50 US States, all 10 Canadian Provinces plus the Yukon and the NorthWest Territories.

2024: Blessed by my mother, Margaret Preston, with the gift of her 2009 Toyota Avalon. Mom retired from driving and gave me her reconditioned and newly wrapped car with low mileage.

2024: Visited Napa and Lake Tahoe with our kids to celebrate our granddaughter, Berea’s 16th birthday

2024: Celebrating my 70th birthday with a Candlelight string quartet concert, two hours of intense pickleball with some of the best players in the city, a great Facetime call with my kids and grandkids and a progressive dinner with 14 of our closest friends.