November 2012 Luncheon

Jennifer Bisson is a prairie girl with a passion for Canadian history, architecture, travelling, and prairie life. Born and raised in Saskatoon, Jennifer spent her first four years on the family farm, where her passion for rural life and prairie history was born. She spent her Sundays, her youth, and College and Career years at First Baptist Church, coming to know God personally at Christopher Lake Baptist Camp at the age of eight. She attended BLTS after high school. After completing her BA in History at the U of S, she spent three months backpacking through Europe, where she discovered her love of architecture.

In 2003, while finishing her Master’s degree in Canadian History, Jennifer and her husband moved to Regina where she began work in heritage conservation with the Government of Saskatchewan. Jennifer coordinates the provincial and municipal designation programs, advising on heritage planning, designation, conservation, and long-term management of historic places.

In 2010, at 37, Jennifer was diagnosed with stage 3 ovarian cancer. Among many emotions and fears, it was also a time of contemplation and, strangely, renewal. While God had always been somewhere in her life, He hadn’t come first in many years. Now, God was alive again, present, close, and He answered prayer. After six months of treatment, Jennifer was cancer-free. But just six months later, the cancer returned and her trust in God was shattered.

Now one year cancer-free, Jennifer will talk about her work and life’s passion, and about her cancer journey, her walk with God, and how He rebuilt her trust after the second diagnosis.