Guest Post by Kathy: Loving Your Cross-Cultural Neighbour with Your Whole Self

   One of my first friends in Kitchener/Waterloo was Kathy, a woman who is so intentional about reaching out to people who are culturally different than herself.  She and her husband are church planters who settled in a high-density area of the city that is home to immigrants from every continent.  In this post, she explains how following Jesus’ directive to “love your neighbour” takes on special qualities when that neighbour is of a different culture.  It has also helped me to exercise the true tolerance that thinker and writer Chawkat Moucarry defines as follows:  “True tolerance is to accept the other, not by ignoring the distance between us, but by measuring that distance accurately and by recognizing that whoever want to cross over has the right and the freedom to do so.  Only love can create the necessary conditions for the truth to emerge.”

   Loving our neighbours is a whole body experience.  It is more than warm feelings or attitudes.  It involves crossing the bridge between us on every level.  We honour God when we honour our neighbour.

Eyes

• Different cultures dress differently.  When we see how another person is dressed, we can choose to appreciate the style as having a form of beauty and also functionality for the country of origin.
• The colour of skin can be seen with the eyes, but true love sees the person.  We are all made in God's image.  Just as a prism disperses light and shows all its colours in a spectrum, so the human race makes visible the complexity of God through skin, culture, language and gender.
•  Scarves are worn by women of some cultures.  Understand that modesty and honour are communicated in this way and is not necessarily imposed upon them.
• When we observe cultural practices, it is OK to ask about them.  Some appropriate questions that build bridges could include “Do you eat with a spoon and fork/fork and knife/fingers?”  “Do you have children?” “At home, how do you sit for a meal?” “What is the name for your outfit?"

Ears

• When we listen to others with an accent or with names that are difficult for us to pronounce, it is OK to say, “I’m sorry, can you repeat that” as many times as you need to.
• Permission to laugh at ourselves as we try to understand and say things that are foreign to each other.
• Give yourself permission to not understand everything, especially when they are not able to say much.
• Taking the time to truly listen means so much.  When you hear the person’s story, it can teach us who they really are and what’s really happening globally.  Their homeland is not just the setting of a fictional novel or an item on the news.

Mouth

• Smile and laugh.  These are universal languages that don’t need translation
• By our willingness to try to pronounce their names properly, we give dignity to another.  We try instead of settling for a shortened nickname that is easier for us.
• Take time to speak with them.  Ask them how they are doing, how their family is, how school or work is going. Share the same with them.  Even with basic English, we are able to ask the simplest questions.  We just have to be willing to take the time.  They appreciate the practice.
• Be prepared for new tastes.  If you try their cooking or baking, it gives them honour.  We can learn to smile, chew and smile no matter what we are really thinking inside.  Find a creative way to say “no thanks” if they offer more of something that does not suit you.
• Beware that in some cultures, “No” does not really mean no.  For example, if you offer someone a cup of tea and she says, “No,” this may be her cultural way of being polite until you ask a second or third time.  Finally, she intends to say, “Yes,” but we may not ask enough times because we don’t know the unwritten code.
• Kissing on the cheeks is a type of greeting in some cultures.  In some cultures it is acceptable or unacceptable depending on the genders of those being greeted.  If you are not sure, ask.

Nose

• Be prepared for new smells.  If you visit in their home, a different smell may cling to your clothes when you go home.
•  Some things will require time to get used to.  God did create our noses to become desensitized over time.

Feet

•  Go! Go to them.  Take the initiative.
• Go to their homes if they welcome you in.  Eat and celebrate occasions with them
• Invite them to events or places that are important to you, for example, family birthdays, shopping, Christmas pageants, a walk to the park.
• Take one step forward from where you are: that is the measure of progress.

Hands

• The gift of receiving.  So often we think we have to give, but all of the earlier types of love really are gifts.  Accept when they want to honour you with a gift or with hospitality.
• If you give a tangible gift, it may dictate to them a cultural responsibility to give a gift back to you, even when they cannot afford to.  That being said, a small hostess gift (flowers, a plant, candy or a fruit basket) can be appropriate.
• Host the neighbour in your home, but be prepared for a no show.  Some cultures it is shameful to refuse your invitation in person but other cultural barriers may stand in their way of actually stepping through your door.  Don’t be offended.  Ask ahead of time if there are things they cannot eat (special diets), so that you can accommodate.  Be yourself.

Womb

• So many doors are opened through children.  Show an interest in their babies or children; let your children play together.

Knees

• Pray for your cross cultural neighbour.  There are resources available such as Operation World that can help you understand the spiritual realities and needs in many countries/cultures around the world.  http://waymakers.org/pray/30-days/ has prayer guides that allow Christians to pray specifically and knowledgeably for Muslims during their holy month of Ramadan (June 18-July 17 this year).

Guest Post by JungSeong: Great Love

Charcoal briquettes

This Easter reflection will be preached on Easter morning in Michigan by a young man born in South Korea.  He gave me kind permission to share it here.  I really enjoyed his image of the charcoal briquette applied to the life of Christ. 

Ephesians 2:4

I want to introduce one item, which is a charcoal briquette.  Nowadays, few people use this item. However, 20 years ago, many Koreans considered it indispensable for their families during winter season. This is because it was able to make the room warm and therefore keep the body warm. But today we might think that a black, dirty, and ugly briquette is worthless.

However, the briquette has another meaning.

When the briquette catches on fire, it sacrifices itself so that the ice-cold room becomes a warm room.  A chilled body becomes a warm body. Also after the charcoal briquette is used up, the ashes can be spread on an icy road or path to make them less slippery. In this way the charcoal briquette completes its mission.  

Now, in our Bible reading, Paul described how God showed His great love for us through giving His only son Jesus Christ. In fact, Jesus took on flesh like us sinners, was born in a manger and lived as the son of a carpenter.

We find that Jesus knew his mission on earth, and he did it.

This mission required Jesus has to sacrifice Himself on the cross, to die and rise up again!

His suffering on the cross shows us sinners His great love.

In Ephesians 2:4, it says, “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions – it is by grace you have been saved.”

What does the cross show us?  We surely know "it is that through Christ’s death on the cross, our old nature is crucified, put to death, and buried with him so that the evil desires of the flesh may no longer reign in us, but that we may offer ourselves to him as a sacrifice of thankfulness" (Heidelberg Catechism Answer 43).

What does the cross show us?

In our greatest sorrow and temptation we may be assured and comforted that Jesus Christ, by His unspeakable anguish, pain, terror, and agony, which Jesus endured throughout all His sufferings 
but especially on the cross He has delivered us from the anguish and torment of hell (Heidelberg Catechism Answer 44).

We see that Jesus cleaned up our all sins, our all shame, our hurt and whatever pains we have. 

Then Jesus accomplished His mission, died and came to life after 3 days!

Jesus Christ shows us through his resurrection life that he has overcome death, so that he could make us share in the righteousness which he obtained for us by his death.

By his power we too are raised up to a new life.

Christ’s resurrection 
is to us a sure pledge 
of our glorious resurrection. (Heidelberg Catechism Answer 45)

Just as Jesus shows us His great love with warmth like a charcoal fire!

His sacrifice for us like the briquette sacrifice to warm our bodies.

And Jesus Christ made a way in the world through the resurrection just as the briquette’s ash can assist people to walk safely on an icy road.

Brothers and sisters in Christ,

Through His resurrection, God raised us with Christ and seated us with Christ in the heavens: it is past, present, future, and forever.

Let us pray.

Thank you for your message. Your great love brings us from anguish and torments of life. And your resurrection changes us into your people. It’s all by your grace. Thank you for your great love. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen

Guest Post by Samuel: The Fable of the Fox and the Hare

I am grateful to Samuel and his parent who gave me permission to share this original fable he wrote for my Grade 4 writing class.

The Fox and the Hare

    One day the Hare skipped around the forest. It was peaceful during that day, until the Hare ran into the Fox.
   “Good morning Hare,” said the Fox
   “Good day to you too,” said Hare.
   “Do you know anywhere to eat?” replied Hare.
   “Well, there is one place I know where to get food,” said Fox.
   “Where?” said Hare. 
   Then the Fox replied, “In the bear’s cave.”
   The Hare asked, “How did you get the food from the Bear?”
   Then Fox replied, “The Bear always goes hunting in the afternoon, so when the Bear has a nap after hunting I can go in and sneak some food.”
   Hare said, “Can I try?” 
  “Sure,” said Fox.They both went off to the Bear’s cave, and Fox told Hare to go in quietly, “Hurry up or the Bear might hear you!”
   The Hare rushed inside without listening to the Fox and snapped a twig which woke up the Bear.
   The Fox thought in his mind, “This is perfect; I thought this would happen.”
   The Bear started to growl and scared the Hare. The Hare tried to run away, but the Bear chased him. 
   The Fox hid behind a rock outside the cave and then entered the cave. It was safe for him to eat the food, which he did while watching the Bear chase the Hare.

             Lesson: Never believe everything you hear.

Guest Post by Lyndall: Internet Wrangling

My niece Lyndall has written this thoughtful piece about how to use the Internet responsibly.  Her title offers a helpful metaphor when dealing with something in our lives that requires us to have the kind of discipline and purpose that are also needed when herding unruly livestock. 

I struggle a lot with getting distracted online. As I write this, I’m fighting the temptation to go check Facebook. I’ll often go online for one specific thing, and before I know it I’ve gone down five different rabbit trails and spent an hour online. This has been an ongoing struggle for a number of years, but I’ve come up with a few suggestions that have helped me manage my time online. I’d like to share them with you. Now, this absolutely does not mean I have everything figured out, but I am learning.

So here are some guidelines and suggestions that I use to help manage myself online. (Note that I call them suggestions. If I call them rules, my sin nature automatically wants to disobey them. And then I’m fighting both the distraction of the internet and the sin nature, which is exhausting.)

1. Be intentional. This is what I consider the most important point. If I think about why I’m going online, and actually have a plan, I’m far less likely to get distracted and fritter away time. If I connect to the internet mindlessly, I’ll use it mindlessly. Forcing myself to think beforehand also reveals when I’m going online out of boredom or procrastination, and helps me to reconsider my decision. Go online with purpose.

2. Write a plan to keep you on track. This is closely related to being intentional. I find a list helps me to not be as easily distracted by links or scrolling through home feeds on sites like Facebook.

3. Recognize that the internet sucks energy and creativity from you. Generally, the internet takes energy rather than giving refreshment. This is not true in all circumstances, but if I am passively taking in information, or mindlessly scrolling through Pinterest, I find it has the same effect on my brain as watching TV. Also, reading articles online requires energy to process and think about what I’ve just read. This leads me to my next point. . . .

4. Go online to contribute, not consume. What is my aim for being online? Do I just want to catch up with the latest happenings on Facebook, or will I comment on other people’s pages and encourage them? Do I read this article just to add to a bunch of random facts in my brain, or will I think about it, work to understand, and contribute to my store of knowledge? Am I just collecting these craft ideas, or will I actually use them in real life? This point is related to being intentional.

5. Set certain days or times to go online. If I don’t have a certain time to go online, I’ll connect whenever the whim hits. But if I know I’m going online after supper, this gives me time to think about what to do, and compile a list. I also try to set Pinterest and Facebook days, when I allow myself to go on these websites and scroll through the home feed, and do a bit more browsing. Usually, not a whole lot has happened on the sites in the past 2-3 days since I last logged in, and I didn’t miss that much.

6. Read home feeds backwards. Pinterest and Facebook both have annoying home pages. The home feed seems infinite, like you could scroll down for days. To keep myself from scrolling for hours, I will click down a set number of clicks first (say, three), and work from that point up to the top (newest posts). As a bonus, you’re then reading things in chronological order!

7. Tell your friends and family your internet-usage plans. I’ve posted things on Facebook that say things like “For the next while, I’m only going to be on Facebook on Wednesdays and Saturdays”. Then, when I think about going on Facebook on Friday, I think, “Oh no, what if someone sees that I’m online and I’m not keeping my word”, and that helps keep me in check.

8. Set a timer, if you have to. I haven’t done this yet, since I don’t know where our timer is—but I’m sure it would be effective.

9. Don’t beat yourself up if you got distracted. Do better now.

10. Make it physically more difficult to go online. Turn off the WI-FI when it’s not in use. Log out of websites, so it’s harder to access them. I find that if I’m going on Facebook because I’m bored or lazy, then logging in can be a deterrent, or at least it makes me think about why I’m going online. Also, I changed my password to something that reminds me to use the internet intentionally.

11. Finally, and very importantly, Pray. James says, “You have not, because you ask not.” So many times I got depressed and upset that I got distracted again. But then I realized that I hadn’t asked God to help me use the internet intentionally. Try asking Him for help. It can be that simple.

Those are my suggestions. In short, Use the internet intentionally.  I’m still learning this. I hope you’ve found my suggestions helpful. What methods do you use to keep yourself focused online?

Guest Post by Lori: Find a Penny

  This post comes from someone I have never met, whose name is Lori.  She writes a blog entitled Hope Feathers, which is filled with insights about daily life, faith and hope.  Lori lives in Maryland, is married and has three daughters.  She has been a teacher and still works at a school, but not in the classroom.  She graciously gave me permission to include this piece that she entitled "Find a Penny."

Photo courtesy of Hope Feathers

If you know me well, you know that if I find a penny on the ground, I will hand it to you and say, “Don’t forget. God provides.”

You might be tempted to look at me out of the corner of your eye with that “OK, thanks, I guess. What happened to the traditional, ‘Find a penny, pick it up, all day long you’ll have good luck’ rhyme?”

When I was in college, I attended a women’s bible study led by an authentic, compassionate woman who loved teaching about the Lord. She felt such a calling to teach and lead women that she left her job to start a women’s ministry in Nashville. She spoke about the risk involved in this decision  especially in terms of a regular paycheck. Some months she wasn’t sure if there would be enough money to pay all of her bills, but week after week, month after month, there was always enough.  She still experienced days of worry when she questioned her decision and wondered if she was doing the right thing. One day in particular, she felt especially hopeless. As she tried to convince herself that a 9-5 job would be so much easier, she looked down and spotted a penny on the ground. As she bent down to pick up the coin, she heard in her head, “God provides.” She shook her head and walked to her apartment.  Waiting at her door was a bag full of groceries and a note of encouragement from a woman she hardly knew. A note was attached:, “I hope you don’t think this is strange, but I was at the store and felt like I should share these groceries with you for some reason…”

And so it began. Coins became a great reminder that God would help if she continued to trust Him. This didn’t mean that she would have all of the material things she could ever want. It didn’t mean she would never wonder about how she would pay her bills, but over and over again, she saw the truth in those two words, and she began to trust that God would provide for her.

I watched firsthand what it looked like for someone else to trust God and to see Him provide in ways that I never imagined possible. Every time I spotted a coin, I  reminded myself that “God provides.” My girls roll their eyes a bit whenever we are walking in the street, and I find a dime.

I gleefully do a little dance (for their benefit of course) and as I hand one of them the coin, I say, “Girls, you know what this means!”

They respond in that “WE KNOW, MOM” voice and indulge me a bit with “God provides,” but they giggle a little too, and they are also learning that it’s true. Not that God provides everything they want, but He will give them what they need.

We have seen it on the days when everything happened just like we hoped, but we have also seen it during times of struggle, days of uncertainty, and moments of loss. Even in seasons when we looked at each other through our tears and wondered about unexplainable suffering in the lives of those we love, we have been comforted by countless stories of God being close in the darkest moments.


Hoping the next time you find a penny, you might be reminded of something more than luck.

Guest Post by Erudina: The Meaning of Stewardship

Front view of Dios Es Mi Paz church, after the service

Erudina is an elder at Dios Es Mi Paz (“God is my peace”) church.  She has a Master’s Degree in Education and serves as the principal of a public high school in Santo Domingo.  She is a widow with three children; she has experience with community development and youth work. Erudina prepared and delivered this message on January 26, 2014 in Spanish. This post is based on notes I took from Pastor Mario’s phrase-by-phrase translation into English.

   Stewardship is a universal principle, but it is even more relevant for believers.  The Greek word for stewardship is oikos, which means “household” or “disposition to care for a household,” and “one who is in charge.”  Christian stewardship is watching over God’s belongings.  We are heirs in Christ of all God’s belongings.  In our lives we are stewards of the following:

• money
• physical and mental health
• work
• entertainment
• time
• skills
• spiritual gifts

   Stewardship is a very wide topic, but we will focus on one aspect—skills and abilities.  There is a variation in the amount of skills people have.  Some think it has to do with our IQ, but skills go beyond that.  God gives us each talent that we have.  The parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14 –30 teaches that the quality of our service is how we use our skills and abilities.  According to Scripture, everyone has some skills.  We are born with natural skills through our genes, but our upbringing affects the development of our skills.  As we grow up we may barely notice our skills due to our external conditions.  When we develop our skills (through education and experience), we expect to be compensated for that, but whether paid or not we are to use these skills for service.

   Some special skills are given to do special work that God want us to do.  In Exodus 4:10-17 Moses protests his inabilities, while God emphasizes His own power.  Sometimes, like Moses, we think we don’t fill the shoes or fit the requirements.  But God will give us what we need.

   I Corinthians 12 mentions gifts of the Holy Spirit.  They are supernatural gifts to expand the church and spread the gospel.  Some people do not have much formal education, like Peter and John, but they can do wonderful things through the Holy Spirit.

   Sometimes we are tempted to bury our talents, but we should not give in to these temptations. We need to use these gifts in the church.  We can discern God’s will through the Holy Spirit, reading His word, seeking advice from brothers and sisters in Christ, pastors and leaders.

   We need to avoid selfish desires and any sins so that we can use our gifts.  Open your eyes to the opportunities.  How can we help those who are in need of healing, encouragement and care?  We are called to shine in our community as true representatives of Christ:

·        Being faithful in daily life, getting rid of pride and selfishness

·        Do what’s right without being conscious of it

Don’t waste your talents and gifts by getting involved in sinful activities.  This can happen when we use our skills to accumulate wealth.  “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness” (Matthew 6:33 NIV).  We need to follow God’s lead.  When we waste our skills we lose out.

   Our work will be revealed by fire, as it says in I Corinthians 3:10-15.  Let’s use our skills to build things that will last and are worthwhile.  Some problems in the church are the result of wasting gifts.  Some examples are:

• seeking compensation and advancement in careers rather than service
• seeking spectacular gifts without having victory over sin in our lives
• false worship that is actually religious entertainment

   The parable of the talents shows that the one who had five talents multiplied them to become ten talents.  When we develop stewardship in our lives, it will help us grow in Christ.  Then we will hear these words at the end, “Well done, good and faithful servant.  Enter the joy of your Lord.”

Guest Post by Matthias

This piece of writing is in my possession due to providence.  Matthias composed this poem/lyric on a French study sheet in May of 2012, when I noticed it and copied it in a notebook without his knowledge.  The sheet had to be handed it on the day of the test, but somehow it was never returned.  If I had not copied it then, I would not have it today.  For the record, Matthias did give permission for its publication here.

 

As in a surprise, glory will rise

And with faith beyond the shadow of a doubt,

Many will yet cry out.

But even in that hour

His healing power

Come down to shower

To those who cower;

And lie in wait for him,

Admitting their sin.

Through disaster will bring faith

And the knowledge of escape

Will bring to know

That through the one who sows,

There is fire

And light amidst the seemingly all-occurring darkness.

That still small voice that whispers through the grass

Will not let a single soul pass,

Without the chance to receive everlasting rides in the home he has prepared.

And when all is at doubt

Let Him in, who has always been pushed out.

When lives are at stake,

Many will awake

And question the meaning of life.

Guest Post by Janessa: Kindergarten Connection

This is the true story my daughter penned for a school assignment. Enjoy.

In 1949, schools in Holland would put candles on the desks to decorate for Christmas.  Although this was a fire hazard, it was still a common practice for all ages.

My Oma, Jannie, was in kindergarten and it was Christmas time.  Even in kindergarten, there were candles on top of each desk.  She had leaned back into the candle on the desk behind her.  Jannie’s hair caught on fire and it was frightening for everyone present.  Luckily, they got the fire out in time and her hair was only slightly singed.  My Opa, Rinus, was in the same kindergarten class and felt bad for the girl whose hair caught on fire.

When Rinus was 12 years old, he immigrated to Canada with his parents, four sisters and three brothers.  Some family members occasionally returned to Holland for visits.

About 20 years later, Rinus’ sister, Ann, was spending a year in Holland.  Ann and Rinus were close in age and close in their relationship as well.  While Ann was in Holland, she met up with Jannie.  They spent much of their free time together.  The more Ann got to know Jannie, the more she thought her brother, Rinus, should meet her.  

Ann came back to Canada and when Rinus was going to visit Holland a few months later, she purchased a present for Jannie and asked Rinus to deliver it.  Ann was hoping that the two of them would get along well.

Rinus went to Holland and then he realized that he should deliver the present as his sister had asked.  So he went to visit Jannie and she invited him in for tea, joining her friends and relatives who were also at the house.  As their gathering came to a close, Rinus asked Jannie if she wanted to go sightseeing with him the next Saturday.  She accepted and they got together on the Saturday.  Rinus noticed her kindness and realized how she was much different than other girls who he considered to be “arrogant”.  After their sightseeing date was over, Rinus proposed to Jannie since he was leaving to visit another province of Holland.  That gave her some time to think about it while he was away for a bit.  When Rinus came back from the other province, Jannie accepted his proposal;  they got married in Canada on December 19, 1969.

It wasn’t until after they were married that Rinus realized Jannie was the girl whose hair caught on fire in kindergarten.

Guest Post by Darren: The Doors at Wittenberg Still Cry Out

   Almost five hundred years ago on October 31 something happened that means more to me than Hallowe'en.  In order to draw attention to Reformation Day, I asked my pastor* for permission to share a slightly shortened version of his Sunday evening message.

   It happens every once in a while, when the simple truth is brought back to God's people like a stone being tossed into the middle of a pond...creating ripples for a generation to come for a people negatively affected by their culture around them telling them half- truths, or dismissing the truth, or not pursuing any truth at all.

    Such was the case for a young man born to peasant parents in the Saxony region of Germany. He would become a poor monk and yet also the spiritual and moral conscience of an entire nation and the continent of Europe.  His name was Martin Luther. He rediscovered a truth - Romans 3:23,24 - and spoke about it so passionately that it upset entire governments.  It reads: “…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” (NIV)

   At the Castle Church at the centre of Wittenberg people would be gathering on All Saints Day to pray for dead relatives, paying large sums of money to supposedly spring them out of purgatory, an invention of the church of the day.  On this door, Martin Luther tacked his 95 sentences, statements to lead the common people back to what the Bible taught about salvation.  These written words caused a stir and eventually led to a wide Reformation of the church through other leaders of courage.

   Sometimes, it happens, every once in a while, when a common person gets back to the simple truth that changes generations.  Such was the case hundreds and hundreds of years earlier. We go all the way back to a simple leader named Joshua.  In Joshua chapters 23 and 24, we understand that the broader culture had led the common person astray.  Joshua had seen it when the Israelites had formed a golden calf to worship instead of their God, the complaints about food and water in the wilderness, the constant doubt.

   In the speech he gives in these two chapters Joshua still had to tell the people to put away their idol gods, which they had still left over from their days in Egypt! Were they in their handbags? Back in their tents?  And Joshua knew the consequences- they would be driven out and remembered no more in the promised land.  So easily were they swayed from the truth and bought into the lies and half-truths of the people around them.  But Joshua called them back - Grace alone, by God alone, through faith alone.  He challenged them to make a clear commitment, to renew the covenant.  They responded, “We will serve the LORD.”

   It happens every now and again.  A simple man...with a simple message creating ripples in generations of people and influencing nations.  Around the first century, Greek philosophy was dominant in the remnants of the Greek empire.  To protect the Jewish faith some its leaders became hyper-legalistic so as not to lose their people to the culture’s reliance on human truth and persuasion. The Romans brought their might and dozens of personal gods to a morally empty culture.  There were half-truths and no truth at all.

   Into that world a simple Messiah came to proclaim "by Grace alone, through faith alone." Jesus died to bring the simple message of salvation, and its impact has continued for a thousand generations. We are its recipients.

   A simple message, a simple call. Sometimes things happen that way. Is our own culture due for such a reformation? We are living on half-truths and no truth at all. Who will it be and how big a ripple will it produce?

   Maybe we don't need one person as influential as Joshua or Martin Luther. Perhaps we simply need a clear message spoken in the middle of a family, or in a neighbourhood, or a workplace. Perhaps that is simple enough and big enough to begin calling our culture back to the Reformational truth of Grace alone, by Faith Alone, In Christ Alone.  Maybe it just needs you and me living in the spirit of renewal and reminding the people around us of the simple, clear message we cherish.

   It does happen every now and again.

*Rev. Dr. Darren Roorda gave this message on Sunday, October 27th, 2013.

Guest Post by Darlene: What God Can Do with Obedience

This story was shared at the church I attend on Sunday, June 9th by Darlene.  She gave me permission to shorten it a little and share it here.

This is the amazing story that happened as a result of my volunteering to help out at VBS in a small church, which we were attending about 15 years ago.  I have always enjoyed teaching children and doing crafts. Plus having young children at the time going to VBS would give my young children something different to do in the summer.  Oh and did I mention it was free.

   We were encouraged as church members to invite our neighbours and, of course, I did.  I mean who wouldn’t want some free time from their kids.  I even had a great deal going with one neighbour.  I would take her two boys to VBS in the morning and she would take my two boys in the afternoon.  I still think I had the better deal!  I also apparently took a little girl from across the street along.  I say apparently because I truly have no memory of taking her. 

   So VBS week came and went and life continued and we eventually moved to a new town and a new church.  And I never saw the little girl or her mother again.

   At the next church I was really involved in VBS – having a great time each spring and summer planning it.  It was a busy but so satisfying time to see all of the hard work and creativeness pay off with a successful week.

   Then we moved back to our previous town and church.  Now, times had changed and this church did other outreach programs. Although I missed the craziness of racing out the door during summer vacation to go to church to sing, to tell stories, to have snack, and do other fun things with the kids I found other activities to do and I worked during the day at times.

   One of the places I worked was in a group home from Christian Horizons.  I enjoyed talking with the other staff about their churches and faith and what program they did. 

   On one of the last days I worked there a new staff walked in the door.  Now this was about 10 years after I had taken a little neighbour girl to VBS.  This new staff looked at me and said, “I know you!” 

   Okay, I thought, I have no idea who you are…

   This lady – who by the way I still have no idea what her name is – told me that we used to live across the street from each other – ahhh – way back when the kids were small… now I remembered – sort of….This lady continued, “You know, you made a Christian out of me…”   I will never forget those words. WOW! Seriously! How did that happen? I wondered

  She continued, “You remember taking my daughter to VBS?”

   Nope

   Well she remembered and this little girl bugged her mom about going to church after VBS was done. Her mom let her go with her grandmother. But that wasn’t good enough, so this lady told me. The daughter wanted Mommy to come. So she said, “I went along a few times …. then the other children came along and eventually my husband came along. And eventually we all became Christians and now here I am!”  As simple as that.

   And all because, way back when,  I took her daughter to VBS.   Now don’t get me wrong--I know that God had many, many other people involved in their lives.  I believe that God is the one who does the planning for VBS – we just carry out his plan to the best of our abilities. I believe that God is the one who nudges us to invite a child or befriend a neighbour.  I believe that God is the one who gives us words to speak and the opportunities to do His work.

   That encounter at work was the only time I saw my former neighbour lady because shortly after that we moved here. 

   I still don’t remember this woman’s name.  I don’t remember taking her daughter to VBS but I do remember being totally blessed that God choose to let this conversation happen.  It reminds me that we may never know how God will use us or a ministry, such as VBS, to touch or to change a life.