Goodbye My Friend

Dear Ronnie/Pomaron/Ronstars,

It's been a while since we've had time to catch up. I still remember what a pleasant surprise it was to see you at S.N.O.W. last Christmas. Ever since you left for Edmonton to do pharmacy, it's been tough to keep in touch. I wish I could have met up with you before I had to jet off to Australia again. You've got me in this deer-caught-in-headlights shock man and I don't know what to do. I don't know what to write or what to say but I can't help but remember our time spent together...

Much of my time yesterday afternoon and evening was spent looking through some old photos that Nathan had uploaded from the good 'ole days at Evangel Alliance Church. We were the 'Evangel Boyz'. What a memory explosion and how thankful I am that Nathan was so good at diligently photographing everything throughout the years. I don't know how I would have survived all those years without you there. Not officially, but you were the leader of that small handful of us that made up the EAC youth; and not just by default either but deservedly.

You were so cool and mature. As a teen I thought you were so lucky to live with your sister and have your level of independence. I remember getting into Gran Turismo 2 because of you and giving the Final Fantasy games a shot (never really caught on to the FF series). Remember that choreographed Matrix-style fight scene you had with Gabe at EAC's 10th Anniversary celebration? I wish I knew karate or kung-fu or some form of I-can-kick-your-ass-art like you.


There weren't many people I looked up to but you were one of them. You were the closest thing to a goh-goh or "older brother" that I had. It was awesome having you a couple years ahead of me to light the path ahead of me in many ways. Asking you about school stuff like whether I should take IB in high school. Bugging you about university and eventually choosing to major in biochemistry - just as you did - and then realizing how freaking hard it was to memorize all that crap and spend all that time in labs (I didn't realize that because you were so stinkin' smart and chill playing foosball throughout uni - you made it look so easy). I still have your chem 201/203 and bio 231/233 labs and notes in my room back in Calgary. Wouldn't have gotten A's in those classes without your help.

I remember how we were the first of the next generation to get baptized at EAC. I wish I had a copy of your testimony saved somewhere.

But by far the best memory I have is how we both started really getting into worship music. Neither of us were satisfied with the simple piano accompaniment our church had been using for years and years and we wanted more...we wanted to start a revolution that would introduce guitars, drums and just a modern sound into our church music. And so we set off to learn the instruments ourselves...starting with the guitar. I still remember how nice your guitar was (a Simon & Patrick) compared to mine (my uncle's old Yamaha SJ-180 that I was borrowing - no offense uncle!!). We set out to teach ourselves chords and for the purpose of playing in church. You were the sifu and I was the todai trying to learn whatever I could from you.

Do you remember the first song we led together on the guitar? I remember this set that we led back in June of 2001. I was playing keys and you were on the guitar. I'm pretty sure we did "Open The Eyes of My Heart" and "Every Move I Make" among others. I remember Every Move because we were trying to teach people the part that goes "La la la la la la la la la la la..." and when we got there nobody knew how to time the 'las' and nobody could sing it LOL. At that point I had managed to learn the chords for "Lord Most High" and that was the one song we both played the guitar for - you leading and I struggling along with you trying to keep up.

It was so cool to see you this past winter and to see that you were still passionate about worshiping God through music (and through the rest of your life). I'm still playing the guitar now and I thought I'd play that first song we learned together. It sounds a bit empty without one of us singing the echo parts or maybe doing a bit of harmonizing during the chorus. But that's okay as long as God gets the glory. If I close my eyes I can almost hear your voice singing in the background...

You were a true friend and I count myself blessed to have known you. I'm going to miss you heaps. Your selfless, caring attitude will never be forgotten. I look forward to seeing you again when my time here is finished. Rest in peace.

Your brother in Christ,
Matt