Rhea works at the COOP.
She comes from Winnipeg and is a film and drama student at University here in Montreal. About 3 weeks ago she approached me to see if I would help her with a film she wanted to submit to a Festival. The topic this year was “Chance”.
Rhea had been talking with Lou, another worker at the COOP, saying that she really wanted to enter the Festival this year but she could not think how to make a 1 minute film on “Chance”.
Lou had said to her ” you should interview Valerie, because she doesn’t believe in it”
All the employees at the COOP know what I do and I’m not shy about explaining my faith to them. I’m not the “shove a tract in the face” type but I believe in always sowing seeds, randomly, because there is no point trying to live as a Christian and not telling anybody about it;- ” Ephesians 6;19-20″
Often when I’m leaving the store with a bunch of groceries for some project or other one of the girls will say “Good Luck” and I always say .’ I don’t believe in Luck” so mostly they remember that now and they try to come up with creative phrases like “I hope things go well” etc. so it was perfectly justifiable that Lou should say. ” Ask Valerie …”
However none of them know about my HUGE aversion to(and fear of) cameras.
So when Rhea approached me my immediate reaction was “NO WAY”!!!!!
However I asked her if I could have a day to think and pray about it.
Of course she was near the deadline for entering but she said “yes”.
As I was walking home I was wrestling with the Lord about it. There I was ,nearing the end of a Day Camps Summer, in which I encourage young people to step out of their comfort zones, to get up and speak for the Lord in front of huge groups of children and adults, to live out of suitcases for 6 weeks in the homes of total strangers, and basically witness for Christ in all sorts of difficult circumstances .What sort of role model was I for them if I was not willing to speak for 1 minute about my faith?
I knew the Lord wanted me to do it. If even one person watches the film and begins to ask questions about being a Christian ,if even one seed is sown with it and even if none of those things happen, I would still know I did the right thing, honoured Him, and perhaps it would even touch Rhea too.
So I emailed her and said “yes” . My only condition was that she come to the house and film me while I was “doing” something…cooking, knitting etc. there was NO WAY I was going to sit at a table in the COOP with a microphone stuck in my face.
She had trouble borrowing a camera because she had dropped out of a course so they wanted 40$ instead of lending her one for free, but a third COOP worker, Jacqueline, lent her one and she came to the house and we did it, while I made cucumber salad.
She very kindly sent me a copy but I have neer been able to open it so I did not even know if ,the way, it is edited, I will look like a complete lunatic, or maybe, just maybe I have been able to witness in a positive & clear way for the Lord.
You know when I was wrestling about it, I also thought of one of the Evening Speakers at the Team Training Retreat who’s message really touched me and how he had been willing to move out of his comfort zone both to do Day Camps ( about 20 years ago!), and also to come and share about it by speaking at the Retreat Several of the Team Members also told me, over the Summer, how they thought about his “Mountain Top and Valley”analogy and how his talk had impacted on them. So he inspired me too!!.
So for those of you who never thought you would see my face except in person ( or for those of you who are very clever and have identified me in numerous Liturgical Dance Instructional DVDS!).
Here I am……
See what you think about “Chance”………
And thanks, Rhea, for challenging me, even ‘tho you didn’t realize it, to step out of my comfort zone and to speak in boldness for the Lord!
Well everyone, I guess you won’t be seeing my face for a while because I’ve been holding this post all week waiting to get the film copy!!. hope you enjoy the story, minus the film. Ha! Ha!, I’m STILL not on camerea!!!!!