Hello everyone, it is evening here in Montreal, but Janice has just squeaked in under the wire and we can still call this “Wednesday” Words! I’m sure you will enjoy this post (I’m trying to disregard the reference to “fun”!) WELCOME Janice!!
7 years ago, I was packing my bags and getting ready to leave home for 6 weeks for the first time in my life. My first year on Travelling Team, I was sent on a special mission to First Nations in Saskatchewan. 2 years later, I went back to Saskatchewan, this time as a Team Leader!
And now, amazingly, I’m heading BACK to Regina, Saskatchewan to serve full time as an intern missionary for a whole year. How did I go from a stay-at-home Sunday-school goodie-two-shoes living off of my parents’ faith, to a full-time missionary ready to say YES to whatever God is calling me to? It all starts with a small step of faith.
My first ever step of faith was to sign up for Day Camps. As a kid who grew up going to the same small, Filipino Baptist church for 16 years, Day Camps was a huge culture shock for me. The food was different, the people were different, and the churches were different. To my surprise, even my experience of God was different – in a good way! I experienced a God who would provide for us in so many different ways, who would change plans and circumstances to make them work out so much better, a God who was present and a God who was FUN (too bad, Valerie, this is my blog post). You see, when we step outside of our comfort zone, we discover new and beautiful things. God has made us in His image, but we are all different! Each person you meet, each church you visit, each community you join will have something different that was given to them and that you can learn from.
So these are my challenges to you, wherever you are.
1. Love others: Invest in your relationships with people of all ages, from completely different backgrounds, and from other denominations. We are God’s creation and to have a richer understanding of the people around you gives you a richer understanding of who God is.
2. Love God: Love God by saying YES when He calls you! Take a small step of faith. Your steps will grow bigger and bigger because the joy that comes when you risk things for Jesus is really addicting (and contagious).
Doing these things has changed the trajectory of my life. I’m so thankful that Day Camps and Crosstalk Ministries have been the places where I got to learn these lessons and exercise them.
