Hot Peppers anyone?

I got to know Kyle while he was a student at Prairie College in the Explore program. I was the director of the program at the time and had invited a group of guys over to my house to hang out. On the menu that night was a chance to sample some home grown hot peppers. The pepper was said to be very hot and the guys were all taking an extremely small sample quickly followed by bread and milk to sooth their burning mouths. Kyle on the other hand took a completely difference approach and grabbed an entire pepper, popped it in his mouth chewed and swallowed. Still to this day I don’t know what inspired him to do that, but the forever smile that was Kyle’s badge, got sidelined by the pain of what a truely hot pepper can do. For the next hour or two Kyle sat on the couch with milk and bread in hand, a red face and a slight flow of tears running down his cheeks. The next day we were all scheduled to compete in a 5k fun run in Calgary, and Kyle had been training hard and was poised to do very well. Unfortunately for Kyle, the ferocity of that pepper wanted one more opportunity to show its might. With a 15 passenger van full of eager and slightly late runners on the way to the race, Kyle urgently requested a “pit stop”. As Kyle gingerly walked back to the van 10 minutes later that beautiful smile was once again missing. To my knowledge Kyle still completed the race, although his performance was nowhere near his pre-race expectations. Kyle, a man with a positive outlook, a constant smile, a willingness to try something new, and deep faith in Jesus, and a sincere and genuine friend to everyone around him. Kyle, you will be missed.