Recap of the week!
The last week has been a blur of events….
Firstly, I found a place to volunteer my time!! Big giant praise for God for the opportunity! It’s been a long stretch of patience and perseverance, but trusting that God is faithful. I’m volunteering at a place called the
Social Justice Committee of Montreal, and it’s a mostly a human rights advocacy organization. It’s pretty small but I like the environment a lot. Except for two staff, everyone working there are volunteers like me, so they are really there because they want to be! And they’re mostly students or at recently graduated… anyways around my age, so it’s a fun place to be. I’ll be working there Tuesdays to Fridays. Mondays I’m volunteering at a drop-in refugee/homeless centre near where I live. I went for the first time this week to the centre... it wasn’t really what I had originally had in mind, but it was good... just chatted with/listened to the people who came in for soup. It also turns out to be an open, “easy” opportunity to talk about God and share the gospel.
Backtracking to Saturday, we went to the campuses in the area again. I went to McGill, and Steph and I had a chance to talk with a couple girls. In particular we had a really awesome conversation with a girl named Christina. After talking about a couple “spiritual interest” questions like, “If you could ask God any question, what would it be?” I asked her what she thought Jesus’ message was during his time on earth, she said “I really don’t know… would you like to enlighten me?” It was so clear that God had been working in Christina’s heart for a long time. She even said “It’s funny you guys are talking to me about this today, because its something I’ve been thinking about a lot in the last 6 years or so!”
She really understood how our sins and our falling short of God’s perfectness separates us from God and that’s why we can’t know Him personally or have relationship with Him. But she also had a lot of doubts, like whether Jesus existed, or if someone just made up the stories later, especially about Jesus coming back to life. But when we shared with her in the Bible how the Old Testament foretold the events that would happen, and they actually did when Jesus came, and that books in the Bible were written by Jesus’ disciples themselves or at least at the time when witnesses could testify to its accuracy, and read verses from the Bible like
“Christ died for our sins…. He was buried… He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures… He appeared to Peter, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred…” 1 Corinthians 15:3-6… A few times, Christina would just say “Huh...I didn’t know that… that’s… pretty… convincing.” We talked for a long time with her too, and she had lots of questions about our life as a Christian so we had a chance to share with her the ways that God has changed and continues to change and give meaning to our own life as we live out what we were created for, to know God.
I think the coolest thing was that as Christina thought about Jesus, she said “It’s kinda like the whole world was going bad… and then Jesus was like the reset button to start over!” I thought that was so cool how she just thought of that! And that’s exactly it!! We left off bringing the point home that although Jesus was like a reset button, it’s only true for our own lives as we choose it. She really thought about the things we talked about, and said she’d really be continuing to think about them. Praise God for that!! And do pray with us for Christina that God would really give her a full understanding of these truths, and that they would sink deep into her heart, and also for the courage to accept Jesus when her heart becomes willing. She’s also dating a Jewish guy who she really loves, and said that the religion issue has already come up as a bit of a conflict zone with the potential in-laws. Pray that this would be a time where both her and her boyfriend will seek and find God in their spiritual journey. And pray also that we’ll have the chance to get together again, have coffee or dinner or something so that we can continue to encourage Christina, to talk about questions that she might have, or just to be a support to her.
Sunday… I went to a church and it was their annual “Parade of the Nation” where they had one person from the church from each different country carry a flag for their “parade” down the centre aisle of the church as they announced the country. There were over SEVENTY different nations from ALL OVER the world represented in the congregation, it was awesome! The apostle John, foreseeing the end times, wrote
"After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne in front of the Lamb (Jesus)." Revelation 7:9 So church on Sunday was definitely a little bit of “heaven on earth!” Anyways, Montreal in general has been really awesome for that, super multicultural. Right now, I’ve made friends at work or in my residence from Antigua, Maurishis Islands, Germany, Jordan, Ukraine, Pakistan, Venezuela, Haiti, Lebanon, Spain and Italy… wow, really, if we (by God) can have an impact on the city of Montreal, we can really have a huge impact on the rest of the world!
Please pray for me!
Now with a volunteer job as well as project stuff, my day pretty much goes nonstop from 6:30am to 10:00pm… and often til 11 or 12 when our team hangs out together after the evening’s events. Its been really great, but also completely exhausting. In Tanzania I would spring out of bed every morning because I was so excited for the day ahead, but now I’m so tired, today my alarm went off and I really just didn’t want to get up because I knew that once I did, the day would never end! Pray for me to be able to have quality rest both physically and spiritually too, and to be able to choose wisely how to spend my time so I don’t get burned out!
Pray also for me as I'm working at the Social Justice Committee that I will be a good witness for Christ, for boldness and courage, for the opportunities to share the love and truth of Jesus with a group of young people with a heart for global social justice, and for Holy Spirit to guide me in knowing how to effectively, sincerely and with love, to reach them.
Robert!
A couple of us took a break from job hunting this afternoon to go to the Concordia University campus for sharing the gospel. Jessica and I met a guy from Africa, named Robert, and had a really amazing conversation with him!
Robert was so open and honest, and we talked with him for a long time. He had grown up going to church, but in recent years had become busy with other things but tried to go sometimes. He knew that “Jesus is our Saviour” but when I asked him if he himself was “saved”, he said probably not, because he didn’t go to church enough and did too many things that he knew he shouldn’t – and when he’d been out drinking and partying on Saturday night, he couldn’t go to church in the morning as if nothing happened the night before. He said that the Bible was confusing and hard to live up to, and that he wasn’t ready to leave his “fun life” behind to follow God… but in maybe 4 or 5 years when he’s ready to settle down, get married, have kids… then he would follow Jesus and be saved. He also mentioned that he feared that he would make a decision to follow God that he couldn’t follow through on, so wanted to wait until he was ready to make a real commitment, like in marriage. We shared with him that God is not about church, nor about being a good person, but about having a personal relationship with God, and He has made these promises to us in the Bible.
“For it is by grace that you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9
and “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8
What a promise! And what love! That it was BECAUSE of the very fact that we are not perfect and are unable to be perfect by our own efforts that Jesus chose to die in place of us for our sins. If we wait and look for the moment that we are perfect, for life circumstances to be “just right” or until we are able to know we are able in our own strength to make a decision that lasts, we would never be able to come to know God. But in faith we can know that God can, does, and always will give us HIS strength so that we can follow Him for a lifetime when we choose to commit our lives to Him.
It’s so awesome to see how God has been working in Robert’s heart for so long now, and how although he is still seeking to know God and be right with Him one day. Do keep Robert in prayer that he would continue to reflect on the things he has heard maybe for the first time today, and that he would really come to understand that God loves us deeply and wants to have a personal relationship with us… without us first having to have a clean slate. Pray that he would also come to know not only in his head that God isn’t a kill-joy! Committing ourselves to Him isn’t to give up the good things in our life – it is actually allowing us to experience the greatest things that God has in store for us. And I think Robert knows that, because he sincerely plans to follow God later in life… but he would be missing out on so much between then and now. Pray that Robert would come to understand this, and for the courage to take the step of faith (and it IS a big step!) to turn towards what he knows deep down is what is important to him and what his heart really desires. Join me in committing to praying for him unceasingly!
Random Kodak Moments
Montreal by day...
... and night!
Me and Julie, my disciple group leader… who I also went to Tanzania with 2 years ago!
Sunday adventure to the “Biodôme” (an ecosystem-y zoo!)
with Janice who I met at the Global Leaders Conference, and her
boyfriend and Steph and Jenny.
Proud to be Canadian! =)
Girls justa wanna have fun! ~ Selene, Steph, Emily, me and Jess
Da Vinci Update!!
Sorry for the delay… I haven’t been home much since the outreach! But it was great!! We had a chance to talk with people briefly as they came from seeing the movie, 372 people filled out a survey, we gave out 360 magazines that discuss the truths and mistruths behind the Da Vinci Code, and 40 people left their emails to be contacted for more information about Christianity! I’m not too sure what’s happening media-wise, but still definitely praise to God for using this movie to turn people’s hearts towards Him! =)
So far this “Missions Trip” to Montreal has been totally unlike what I had imagined, and our ministry here is quite different than "just evangelism". But it’s been a growing experience to be faithful in serving God in these “less overt” ways, and trusting Him to use these things in big ways for His glory, whether or not we witness it here right away.
Job hunt…. still continues. The refugee worker place decided that it wouldn’t be feasible for me to get involved this summer since I’m only staying for 2 months. So I’m making a more phone calls and sending some emails to organizations in search for another opportunity. An older and wiser staff member Selene (hehe just wiser, not that much older!!) reminded us today that as we’re praying and trusting for God to provide jobs for us, we aren’t just praying as a means to an end, but that our prayers are an end in itself, because we are communicating with God, dwelling in our relationship with Him and growing in our FAITH during this time. And that’s exactly as God would have it, and it’s a time to treasure! =)
Other adventures!
- Me and Steph, my roomie are doing great... even (and especially) in the mornings when we force each other out of bed to go running! we've consistently gone every other day since we've arrived, and we're trying to make it up the whole Mont Royal mountain... we'll see how it goes!
- The joys of rez... I did my laundry late last night, but then realized that Steph had gone to bed and a friend of a friend was crashing in our living room for the night. So I chatted with my sister on the phone while folding my laundry on my lap in the hall at midnight! =)
- After the Da Vinci outreach, we were tired and hungry... a friend Mike invited the whole project home for dinner... and his mom cooked for all of us along with the family! Great big giant thank you to the Dytynyshyn's for your hospitality! =)
I have a couple pictures to post, but my internet's too slow to load the pics right now... I'll try to go to an internet cafe sometime soon and get the pictures up! =)
Da Vinci Outreach!
As I mentioned briefly last nite, we are having an outreach tomorrow for the Da Vinci movie. We'll be going out to four different movie theatres in Montreal, and asking movie goers to take a survey about the Da Vinci Code... what they thought of the movie, if the movie encouraged them to think about God, etc... and also to direct them to a website to discuss or ask questions:
www.discussdavinci.comAlso exciting though, is that our outreach tomorrow is getting national news coverage! It was in the Globe and Mail today, in particular mentioning John Bellingham, one of the staff on our project! (see the article at
www.sfu.ca/~rainbowc/DaVinci.doc). I think there's going to be some sort of press release with the survey results sometime tomorrow night.
I've only gotten halfway through the book but went to go see the movie today. And twisted as some of the story is, it does of course talk about Christianity, and does bring up some questions of faith. Do pray for people to not blindedly think that the movie is portraying truth, and that they would be prompted to seek for real truth, and for us that as we speak with people and potentially the media, that we would be wise in our words, to uphold the true heart of Campus Crusade and our mission to show who Jesus is. Also do pray for the weather... it has been POURING RAIN (almost breaking the record for most rainfall ever in Montreal in May!), and we'll be having our survey booths outside all day!
I'll let you all know how it went soon! =)
Top of the World
I went to a conference yesterday… it was called Global Leadership or something, and I thought it would be about International Development since one of the workshops was from CIDA (the Canadian International Development Agency), but the focus of the day was actually about international business… or rather, more like how to be the best business leader, succeed, and get to the top of the global ladder ASAP!
The day was also a bit of a competition because they would be choosing just 32 students from across Canada to go to Hong Kong and China in August as a part of a business marketing venture (which I have no intentions of taking part in!). The guy I was sitting next to said he’d just graduated with a business degree and would be starting a company in Hong Kong. I told him I wasn’t planning to apply for the trip, and he was like “Then WHAT are you doing here???” I said I just came to get another perspective on international development, and he kinda just raised his eyebrows and turned away. I said with his plans and background that would be great for the Global Leadership trip. He just looked at me pointedly and said “I KNOW.” Oookay then!!
We got a brochure with the bio’s of last year’s project participants… their plans in the next 15 years? “Executive at large Global Corporation”, “International Lawyer at the Hague”, “Canadian Ambassador”, “President and CEO of a Global Corporation”.... I was talking to Selene (one of the staff on our trip) after the conference, and she said I should have put up my hand and said with a straight face that my 15 year plan is to be a successful International Bum, just to give everyone a reality check!
Haha… well, jokes aside, I was really glad to be at the conference. It’s only been in the last 2 years or so that I’ve really realized what it means that I was created for a purpose, that one purpose being knowing God and making God known (see my first blog post “Why am I even in Montreal?”). God had always been an important part of my life, but that my life is wholly because of God and for God is in the scheme of things, a relatively new understanding. And all my life, I’ve always been reaching for the top of the ladder – whether in academics, in snowboarding, in my school, in volleyball… I’ve always done everything to be “the best”… and always basking in the fame and glory that comes with it. And for sure, that hasn’t changed overnight. There’s still times when I get the urge to be someone great, whether it’s a snowboard competition, or even when famous development economists like Jeffrey Sachs makes headlines for his projects in Kenya. So actually it was a good chance for me at the conference, to observe other students’ attitudes and also that of some successful international business leaders that were there to offer their “advice for how they got where they are today”… and to see that that’s really how I think sometimes… and how I don’t want to! I know it’s a point of weakness for me (and Satan knows it too!), so the more I recognize that, the more I am able to surrender that to God and ask Him to help me keep my eyes on Him.
Okay… well that’s just some thoughts I’ve been having. I wanted to tell you a bit more about what’s going on with the project, but it’s almost 1:30am… and I’ve got to get some zzzz’s! So I’ll have to share with you more about other things later!
Quick thing you can pray for:
- We will be having an outreach on Saturday about the Da Vinci Code movie – talking with movie-goers outside the theatres. Pray for people watching the movie that they wouldn’t be misled by false ideas, but that the movie would “serve as an open door to begin their own explorations and rekindle their interest in topics of faith” as Dan Brown himself said. Pray for us that we would be able to speak the truth of Jesus confidently and effectively (and even through language barriers!). Pray also for good weather, as I’ve apparently brought the rain with me from Vancouver and it’s been pouring all week!!!
- I also got to meet 2 girls at the conference from Montreal that were super friendly and offered to show me around the city (Janice… and I can’t remember the other girl’s name right now!). We might go visit some touristy stuff together this weekend. Pray that we would be able to build on our friendship in the next couple weeks and that God would use this opportunity to speak His love and truth into these girls’ lives this summer!
- Job search… still looking. I’ll share more details soon, but do keep this in prayer!
Bonne fête des Mères!
Merci beaucoup for all your love and support, Mommy, your care and your friendship! I thank God so much for you!
Happy Mother's Day!! =)
Just "availability" for God
Today was definitely a lesson in humility.
We went out today to four different campuses in Montreal (yes, there are FOUR universities here within a few subway stops of each other!!) to talk with students and to share the gospel.
I guess after my experiences in Tanzania two years ago, evangelism (fancy word for sharing the Gospel with other people) it’s become something that is in my “comfort zone” and even something that I love to do - whether on my campus at home or when I meet someone on the bus, the opportunity to share the Gospel hasn’t fazed me, probably because the Gospel and the process of sharing it has become pretty familiar. And I guess I even take confidence in my friendly personality and ability to relate to and talk with new people I meet. My friend Debbie even says I have the “little people advantage” of coming across as “small and harmless” when I approach strangers! So as we headed out today to the campuses, I was feeling pretty good and excited about the day ahead, the first day of campus outreach here in Montreal – that’s what I’m here for!!
But actually…. I can’t tell you too much about the people I met today… because I’m not too sure what happened! For most of the day, all of the people we met spoke only French. Oh dear. My French has been getting better each day since I’ve arrived but I’m still far far far from fluent! We had a survey with questions to begin asking people about spiritual things, like “Do you believe that God exists, why or why not?” and “If you could ask God anything, what would it be?” and “Do you think there is something after death? What, or why not?” Trusting the power of God's Word to touch and change lives, I really just read the questions in French, and let the girls we met reply in French. What they actually said, I’m not sure! My partner Emily and I had the opportunity to share the Gospel with one girl by explaining four
"spiritual laws" that summarize the message of the Bible. We also just read through the French version of this booklet, and prayed for the girl’s understanding! And in the afternoon, I went with Julie (a born and raised Quebecoise!) to UQAM, a French campus, and met with one student there and talked with him for almost 45 minutes... and when I say talked, I mean that Julie talked with him while I sat with them, completely lost in the conversation, and prayed. But as Paul, the greatest evangelist of the Bible said
When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified… my message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom but on God’s power. 1 Corinthians 2:1-5
It was a little frustrating but very humbling day, finding myself seeminly largely useless, literally unable to say anything other than the words on a page! But a BIG reminder that I’m not any more adequate or qualified to serve God at any other time, that I am ALWAYS completely inadequate on my own. It just so happened that I REALLY noticed it today! And that even Paul resolved to know nothing except Jesus Christ. I’m not sure who once said “God asks not for our abilities, but for our availability.” With that truth, I trust that what very little I had to offer for God today, He has used for His purpose – to draw people to know Him, even if just a little more!
Things for PRAISE
Everyone had a great day during our day of evangelism, learning and witnessing God work in mighty ways, and evidence of His working in people’s lives long before we arrived in Montreal. See Brad’s blog
Brad's blog (under “Montreal day of outreach – Awesome day!") for one amazing story in particular! Praise God for that! And also keep those we talked to in prayer, that the truths or questions that came up today would continue to be in their hearts and thoughts.
Something to pray for:
I met with Murielle, the lady doing the intercultural ministries. She’s a wonderful lady, enthusiastic, so friendly and passionate about her work… but it turns out she doesn’t have something I can help her with on a regular basis this summer. So I’m back to looking for somewhere else to invest my time. And its also been a bit frustrating because no one will return my calls! It’s especially frustrating because I’m not even asking to get paid, I just want to offer my help. Please continue to pray for a good, worthwhile volunteer opportunity, and pray for me to be patient and to resist arrogance as I keep searching and waiting!
P.S. about Solin Hall
and how could I forget the most important part?? ;-)
My address here is
#105 3150 Lionel-Groulx Avenue
Montreal, Quebec
H4C 1M7Care packages welcome at all times =)
Solin Hall
We had our first day of “outreach” tonight, just getting to know some of our neighbours in the building - Solin Hall. I baked up some chocolate chip cookies and we spent the evening hanging out with other students in the residence lounge in the basement – played some fooseball and air hockey, watched America’s Next Top model with some other girls and basketball with some guys. Having never lived in rez before, I have no idea what ministry will be like – definitely a different context than say meeting students on campus or in a rural village! But for tonight, I really enjoyed chatting with some of the students that I’ll be sharing a building with for the next little while, it’s like we have already common bond even though we just met! Everyone was really friendly and was curious to know what we were doing in Montreal for the summer. I had a chance to share a little bit about our group, how we are all Christian students that enjoy talking with other students about God and spiritual things, and how many people might think about God but never talk about it because it’s not “politically correct.” Some of the guys we were hanging out asked if people found it weird when we talk with them, but were pretty open when we were chatting. It’ll be cool to get to know them and our other neighbours better over the next couple weeks, as we’re living with each other and becoming friends. It really reminds me of Paul’s ministry in the Bible, when he said to the people in the city of Thessalonica
“We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well.”Pray that we'll be
delighted to share our
lives as well as the gospel with those we meet here at Solin Hall!
Things to keep in prayer:
We’re having our first weekly coffee house tomorrow in the residence lounge, a time for friends, music, hanging out and exploring spirituality. Pray that students would hear and be interested in coming! We also have a TBA (to be announced!) outreach event coming up this Saturday. I'm not sure what we're doing yet, but do pray for us as we prepare for it!
I’m meeting with the lady from SIM’s intercultural ministries tomorrow, to see if what she is does is what I might be interested in doing this summer. I’ve also applied for a job, although I probably won’t be able to work there because it doesn’t start til mid June goes until August but I’m leaving at the end of June… but it’s a position as a refugee worker, to support refugees (and there are a lot of them here from French-speaking parts of the world) and help them to get settled and integrated into the community. It sounds pretty neat, so I might see if there is an opportunity to volunteer with the organization during May – June. Do keep both of these potential opportunities in prayer, and that God would provide and help me to choose a place where I can joyfully and passionately serve Him.
Things for praise!
Me and my housemates have been getting along great!! (sorry my photo isn't uploading right now!)
My roomie Steph and I are having a great time together too – we’re both early birds which is a blessing for our sleep schedules! And we both like to run, so twice this week we’ve gotten up together at 7 to go running before our team prayer time at 8. Jenny’s from UBC, which is awesome, because I was also praying for some “local” friends through project, because although I have a lot of great friends across Canada and overseas… the friendships are really exhausting to keep up with sometimes! And Jessica’s hilarious and brings a lot of fun to our room, AND she studies international development too!! Very very cool. It’s been great, so PRAISE GOD!! Thanks for praying for us and do continue keep us in prayer as our quirky habits might start coming out as we get to know each other better!! =)
Meet the team!
Voici le Montreal Project 2006 team! 14 students, 2 staff interns and 6 staff. I wonder if I would have been less inclined to come had I known beforehand that our group was so small? (I’m glad God made sure I didn’t!) I’m really enjoying the team here – we’ve had a chance to get to know each other and build up our *team* here this weekend as we share in learning in our sessions, being stretched in our French, taking personality tests for they way we work in a group, food shopping (and grocery-carrying-home-ing!) together, cooking together, eating together, exploring the city together… the picture here is at the top of Mont Royal after a scenic hike up the mountain.
At the top of the hill we had a time of worship and vision-casting for our time here in Montreal. I think that my time in Vancouver before arriving was so rushed with getting things done and ready to go that I really wasn’t really ready spiritually for this project. In some ways, like being away, and being supported and supporting new friends in Christ, being ready to share the gospel with a place that really “needs it”, yes… but being moved by compassion and grieving as God does over a place that has blatantly rejected Him… no. And I still don’t think I’m quite there yet, though I’m not sure why. As we were standing at the top of the hill praying for the city… whose culture is “le bonheur" … to run after happiness, pleasure and satisfaction… I could see the need with my head but not so much with my heart. I feel a bit like Jonah when he was called by God to “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.” For Jonah, he “ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish”, another city, before getting on a boat, being thrown overboard, swallowed up by a whale and deciding to obey God… while for me it’s like I’m one step ahead, I’m already here! HAHA!!! But my heart’s been left behind somewhere else… pursuing friendships, looking to find a good job experience for the summer, having a good ol’ time on project… not why God has called me to spend the next 8 weeks in Montreal. And going through the motions isn’t meaningful, to me nor to God. Do pray for me this week that God would bring to light whatever in my heart is keeping me from His, and that the things that break His heart… would also break mine.
Many thanks for your prayers and encouragement! Very tired and off to bed for now, but will be in touch again soon! =)
Ps. I’m also beginning my job search tomorrow… I have one contact with Serving in Missions’ Intercultural Ministries with a lady who does “race relations” (not sure what exactly that is yet!), but will be trying to scout out what else I can invest my time in this summer. Do join me in prayer for a good investment of my time in a job, paid or not, related to my International Development studies, that I might be able to get a glimpse of something I might want to do in the future, or give me some sort of direction or next step for what I want to pursue!
Safe and sound!
Hello all!
I’ve arrived safe and sound in Montreal, as of 4:30am Vancouver time this morning! =) Me and my 3 roommates – Steph, Jessica and Jenny have all settled in to my new home for the summer, and we’ve met the rest of the team for a fun evening out on the town.
A prayer request…
There are 3 rooms in each apartment suite, and since I’m only here for 8 weeks instead of 13, they’ve decided to put me and another girl together in one room for the summer. We’ve met and seem to get along well, but it might be a stretch at times this summer not to have any personal space at all. Please pray for both me and Steph that we would be humble, forgiving and loving to each other as we share our little room, and that we our friendship would really grow and that we would be a joy and blessing to each other this summer!
Just a quick update, but we have a full day ahead tomorrow! Thanks for your prayers! Love you all!
Thank you all for your support!! =)
Thank you so much all for being a part of God’s answer to my prayer. Your partnership in finances AND in PRAYER is a huge encouragement for me, and it really means that we’re all venturing out to Montreal together, and we’ll all be a part of God’s work there as a team! =)
I have to say, raising support for finances and prayer is a humbling experience. And also a huge way to see God work! I had a bit of a late start to my financial support raising, but no worries… “God would provide” as we ask in faith. But when two-weeks-to-departure day came and went, and I had raised only 10% of my support, I was like… oh dearrrr. But I serve a God who is bigger than I know! In the span of one week, God provided 120% of the funds I needed for the trip! I was blown away!! Praise God! It’s funny, even though I was expecting God to provide, I am still completely amazed.
I am so blessed by all of you, but just have to mention one story in particular. Auntie Christine helped me to raise more than half of my funds by sharing about my trip with patients at her doctor’s clinic. She told me about how many people had money but not the means to be take part in a missions trip right now, and so were delighted to support me! They don’t even know who I am! God really showed me that
it’s not about me… in everything, He is the one that provides!
Alritee, well, here I am after a tizzy of post-exam trip preparations... all my bags packed and a-ready to go! Thanks again to each of you for your support, and I'll be in touch again soon... in MONTREAL!
Some Requests for Prayer“Have faith in God,” Jesus answered… “I tell you, whatever you ask for it in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”For me:
o I haven’t even left yet, but I am exhausted! Please pray for a good night’s sleep on the plane, quick adjustment to the 3 hour difference, and the energy for a great start to the project!
o That I would be seeking God moment by moment starting
now! The last few days have been so busy with getting things ready that it’s been a fight not to leave God behind in the process!
o My project in Tanzania in 2004 was definitely a huge picture-perfect blessing. Please pray that I won’t be comparing any aspect of this Montreal project to Tanzania, because it’s not the same trip… and God has new and
different blessings for me this summer.
For the team:
o That our team would become a TEAM quickly, and that we would bond together, united in Christ, and truly love each other with God’s love and enjoy each other’s friendship.
o That we will especially be able to get along well, and overcome any hindering differences, with our roommates!
o That we would all adapt quickly to the French language and culture of Montreal.
o That we would eagerly work together and let God work through us, to bring God glory!
For the people of Montreal:
o That God would be preparing now the hearts of those we will be meeting this summer… that hearts, eyes, ears, and minds would be opened to receive and understand the Gospel of Jesus.
Why am I even in Montreal this summer?
Those who know me even moderately well know that I’m always on the run. My crazy gong-show of daily life aside, trotting the globe will soon barely be an understatement… life is always on the go. But… what am I running for?
The answer to that depends. It depends on what the purpose of my life is. And that, surprisingly, isn’t so complicated, although I've often been challenged to make sure my activities really reflect my life's purpose.
When I was in grade 10, parties and drinking became the cool thing to do among my friends. We were amazingly great, close friends…until I made a decision not to join them. The painful fickleness of those friendships set me off on a hunt for something more certain. It was then that I really “found” God. All along, I had unshakable faith in His existence… but that year, I began to understand that knowing God is so much more than just an understanding or a set of beliefs but it is what truly living is, and experiencing life just as God intended, the best and fullest life beyond imagination. He has since become the best friend, the greatest friend I would ever know.
"Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent." John 17:3My first purpose? To know God more and more deeply, because that is what brings me true joy - it is what I was created for; I have experienced for myself that it really
is life.
Two years ago, I had an amazing opportunity to travel to Tanzania, East Africa, also with Campus Crusade for Christ. For six weeks, I met with students, or went to villages, and talked with them, and shared with them what God has done has done in my life, and
the gospel of Jesus . As I saw people come to know God and to see their lives changed continually as I keep in touch with them, I have never been the same since.
My Tanzania journal reads… “I set out to change the world, but more so, AFRICA CHANGED ME! I’m not the same little girl I was 6 weeks ago. I’m still a little girl, but with a whole lot of LIFE! I learned a LOT during this trip, but most importantly I learned that the “Christian life” is more than just being a good girl, more than following rules, even more than just being set apart. It is more than peace in my heart and hope for the future. It is even more than a promise for salvation at the end of this life. It is serving the Lord with all my heart and experiencing the JOY & fulfillment that comes with that, and THAT is living the life that God created me for!”
“I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.” Philemon 1:6My full purpose? To also share God’s love and the joy of knowing Jesus with others, so that they may experience the abundant life that Jesus promised, and so that I myself may have a fuller understanding of the awesome life I have in Christ.
So that is why I am in Montreal this summer with Campus Crusade for Christ. We seek to share bring hope and life through the message of Jesus to the city of Montreal. There is a purpose to my running, and Montreal is a part of that journey towards an ultimate end: To know God and to make God known.
