Okay. I Think I'm Finally Back. With A Huge Announcement.

So, are you all itching and dying and wondering what is going on around here? The wait is over. Here is the big news:

The company I work for has gone bankrupt.

Yeah. Bet you didn't see that one coming. Neither did I.

I'm sure most of you know that I work as a receptionist, but you don't all know where. And that's on purpose. (Most of the people who read this probably know me, so those people know where I work.) I'm not going to reveal the name of the place that I work at, but I will tell you more about it.

The company I work for is (was?) in the Swine and Poultry industry. Pigs and chickens. Hundreds of farms across three prairie provinces. Agriculture rules these provinces. And we were a big partner for a lot of them.

I don't know much about politics or economics, but now I know just how much it affects me (and other people). The Canadian dollar got really strong last year, stronger than the US dollar, and we Canadians thought that was a good thing. But at our company, we knew that was bad news.

You see, any pigs that are born and raised in Canada eventually end up in the States. They need to be slaughtered and prepared for grocers, and once upon a time, a decision was made to shut down all slaughter houses in Canada. So the pigs must go to the States. But if our dollar is suddenly stronger, we can't sell our pigs across the border, because there won't be a profit there.

Another thing along that line is a policy that the US is going to implement soon, that won't allow Canadian pigs into the States at all, because grocers don't want to sell pork that has the Canada label on it. They only want to sell American pork.

Take these two issues and add to that the ever-rising cost of feed for these animals, and you have a recipe for disaster. The Canadian Hog industry is going down the hole. Hundreds of barns being closed, farms being lost, and families who are out of an income, and a livelihood.

The company I work for is severely affected by this. Our executive team and our CFO have been meeting with an accounting firm to look at everything our business is doing, and what changes need to be made in order to move forward. They've actually known, for months, that it might come to this. But they only announced it to our office last week Wednesday.

I suppose a lot of people suspected that this might happen, but I am naive when it comes to how a business is run, so I had no idea.

So we're bankrupt. We have been received by another company. But we're not closing our doors. Well, we kind of are. As far as my understanding goes, the company still wants to continue, and it is possible to do that. It will be a lot smaller though, and probably at a different location. Very likely, in fact.

You may or may not have noticed that I didn't say I was out of a job. I'm not out of a job yet. I was told yesterday that I'll probably be around for another week at least. As long as the phone rings, somebody needs to answer it, and that somebody is me. But others will be out of a job. At some point.

Today was still business as usual. There is a lot of activity around here as we are figuring things out, shutting things down, or transitioning. It's a little tense (okay, sometimes it's a LOT tense) because everyday, everyone is wondering if they will suddenly be told that they don't need to come in the next day.

I know this post is long, I hope you're still tracking with me. I must tell you that I am optimistic. I'm not worried about anything. I am surprisingly encouraged. The men who own (owned?) this company are quality, upstanding, Christian men who have conducted their business with the highest moral standards, and they care about the industry, about our customers, and about the staff. I respect them and admire them both professionally and personally. I trust them with whatever decisions they make regarding my job. I would trust them with my life.

Even more so, have an amazing, loving, caring, personal God who has never let me down, and He isn't going to start now. I know that He will always take care of me. He always knew this coming, and He has always had plan in place. I don't know what that looks like yet, but I'm not anxious.

Of course, the fact that I have a savings in place, only a few months left in the country anyway, and no expenses also helps me cope with this situation. Others that I work with are not so lucky. They have bills, rent or a mortgage, or family to take care of. I've heard a few people say that they will probably have to move. Two of my coworkers are also planning weddings: one for herself, and one for her daughter. They are downright scared, and I completely understand.

I have no right to complain at this point, and I don't want to anyway. I thank God everyday for the earthly provisions He has made that will keep me safe for the next little while, and for the provisions I know He is making for me out in Washington. I can see very clearly that I am extremely blessed. Now it's my job to pass on that joy and optimism to everyone I encounter. God definitely deserves the glory on this one!