Nearly 300 people attended a life celebration on Saturday for Marnie Scott, a Saultite who died last month in Kanchanaburi, Thailand.
Speaking Saturday at a celebration of the life of his late wife Marnie, Joe Scott recalled a time more than three decades ago when they were both teenagers attending Bawating College and Vocational School.
Marnie and Joe had been best friends for four years, when Joe was involved in a serious motorcycle accident.
He spent a year convalescing in the hospital and at home.
Every day of that year, Marnie would bring her homework and sit down to do homework by her side.
“I was a fool and I didn’t realize I was interested for the first two years,” he tells SooToday.
“At the beginning of our relationship together, I had a life-threatening bicycle accident. It was the catalyst that consolidated our purpose in life,” Joe told nearly 300 friends of the Bible Church. from the Fellowship to Landslide Road.
“We realized that life is short and that God has a purpose for us. We need to do it. We need to act, not stay on the sidelines.”
“As a family, we have always lived this way … Whether backpacking around Europe, Africa and the Middle East, teaching bravely in church programs locally, seeking justice for the needy, moving to the on the other side of the planet to help the persecuted or feeding the stray dogs “.
His passion for service led the Scotts and their daughters Kiera and Maija of Sault Ste. Marie in Thailand, where they ran Victory Bible Academy, a ministry of Christian Freedom International and the Growth and Opportunity Foundation of Thailand.
Marnie died in that country on June 18 when her bicycle was hit by a pickup truck.
“She knew there was always someone who needed it, someone with a lesson to learn, or someone who needed a helping hand no matter what was going on,” Joe said Saturday.
“He never conformed well enough, neither in fitness, nor in faith, nor in cycling, nor in love.”
Her daughters inherited this approach from life.
“Kiera and Maija have always pursued life instead of letting it float. You don’t experience life by staying on the couch. You go out and do it. Sometimes these lessons hurt. Sometimes they seem unbearable. Sometimes we’re gone. remember we can’t do it alone. “
“The time has come for Maija and Kiera to stay in Canada. I will return to Thailand on my own.”
“They’re going to work on their own ministries, their own education and their own path. It’s not going to be easy. It’s crazy that most kids think about moving to the other side of their parents’ planet, but I “I don’t care about my girls. They have that.”
As for Marnie, Joe added, “She never lost a moment in her life. I wouldn’t want you to either. Pursue life, live it, enjoy God’s beautiful creation, and be good to each other. the others”.
Brent Meyers, president of Christian Freedom International, based in Front Royal, Virginia, sent a message describing Marnie’s passion for teaching at Victory Bible Academy in Mae Sot, Thailand.
“I can still see his animated gestures, standing there … emphasizing the truth I was sharing,” Meyers wrote.
“Life was a creative adventure for Marnie Scott. She turned the broken into beauty,” Christian Freedom International’s website said.
“Marnie fed the dirt in flower gardens. Blank pages in artistic photos and poetic stories. Teaching life-changing mentoring.”
The school is located near Thailand’s border with Myanmar (formerly known as Burma), which is currently a global hotspot due to political tensions and the high risk of civil unrest.
The school educates students from refugee camps and impoverished villages in Myanmar.