Further Up and Further In

2008-08-04T15:05:00.000-07:00

Believing It Right

Does God care more about whether we believe everything correctly about who Jesus is or does he care more about how we live and treat others? Or does he care equally about both?
Recently I felt that I was caring too much about figuring out my theology. So much of Jesus's message was about a new way of living within his kingdom, doing good, and having compassion on the poor and oppressed of our world. I think I got sidetracked. Not that theology isn't important, but I have found in myself and in other Christians that we are perhaps overly concerned with teaching our doctrine correctly and missing out on God's heart for justice and righteousness.

Perhaps God is much more gracious than we think, and most definitely more gracious than we as believers are.

2008-07-26T07:55:00.000-07:00

Christians

I recently spent a week at Plover Lake Bible camp near Youngstown, Alberta as a counselor. It was my first time ever on that end of things at camp. What an experience! My girls were the youngest at camp and probably the most boy crazy! I had a few girls that spent most of the week “hating me” with lots of attitude. But I also had some girls that were really excited to learn about God and to have a good week at camp. This made for some awesome discussions in our cabin devotions time every day. The questions some of them asked were so honest and candid. It was beautiful to watch the Lord soften their hearts and teach them over the course of a week.

There was one thing that I noticed throughout my time there that kind of bothered me. I can say this because it was something the Lord convicted me of myself previously. As believers we tend to have categories for all people. They are either Christians or non-Christians. Some of the counselors would say “that kid isn’t a Christian” without giving it another thought. One of the guys they spoke of this way spent most of his week hitting on a number of girls, getting into fights with other guys, and all sorts of other stuff. During chapel sometimes I would watch the kids singing and the way they reacted to songs and the messages being spoken. This particular guy was so into this part of camp. I felt as though he was on a journey towards God. There were areas of his life in which God had not dealt with him yet, but there are in all of our lives. But I think he was becoming a Christian.

It reminded me of something that C.S. Lewis wrote in Mere Christianity:

The world does not consist of 100 percent Christians and 100 percent non-Christians. There are people who are ceasing to be Christians but who still call themselves by that name. . . There are other people who are slowly becoming Christians though they do not yet call themselves so. There are people who do not accept the full Christian doctrine about Christ but who are so strongly attracted by him that they are his in a much deeper sense than they themselves understand. There are people in other religions who are being led by God's secret influence to concentrate on those parts of their religion which are in agreement with Christianity and who thus belong to Christ without knowing it.

So perhaps we should not be so quick to jump to these conclusions about the hearts and salvation of others. Some people are somewhere in the middle. I know I have made this judgment in the past, but I really desire to avoid it in the future. I look back on the journey God has taken me on and I can see more clearly now how gradual my journey towards realizing I was known by him was, though there was a specific time that I felt I was choosing to follow him.

2008-06-25T18:08:00.000-07:00

Summer Thoughts

Many of my friends are at camp this summer, which I spent a few weeks being jealous of. I would love to be at camp...or working with people at all! The Lord showed me recently why he has me working by myself doing manual labor. I have the time to pray really specifically for my friends at camp. In a way I am part of it. And there's more.

This past year I've spent lots of time asking questions about the Christian faith and the gospel. The Lord really humbled me in that I feel as though I don't know much anymore. So I have all summer really to think through things. Also it is a gift from Him that I have been made aware that my thoughts need to be disciplined.

Here are some of the things I've been thinking about.

God doesn't just (though he does) save us so that we can go to heaven. He blesses us so that we can be a blessing to others. He wants to make us good...why he does that seems obvious at first...because He is good and we are to be like him. Maybe it is so that we can change things around us for the better....which is probably connected to being like He is.

In my History of Christianity class this year my prof made a comment about the followers of religious movements. Because the leaders were the ones that were so inspired with the real vision for the movement, when they died or ceased to be involved, their followers tended to take the theories and doctrines to unhealthy extremes or go off on tangents. This could be seen with many groups like Lutherans, Anabaptists and many more. As I sat varnshing a log the other day this concept came to my mind for some reason. It dawned on me that followers of Jesus are the same way. How have we missed the point as followes of him?

2008-05-17T15:07:00.000-07:00

Work

So I've been home for about three weeks now and I've worked for two of them. I'm working for a man named Jim Proudfoot that goes to my church. He builds log homes. I've known him for as long as I can remember and he's kind of like another father to me. Last week we worked together a bit while I learned how do some stuff. It is a blessing to have a Christian boss. We talk lots about the Lord, theology, and basketball. I'm sure by the end of the summer he'll be sick of hearing the question "So Jim, what do you think about this?" coming from my mouth! I've learned from him though. Some guys we worked with last week got so mad when things went wrong with the building, but not Jim. He was so calm about it. He was quiet and just worked hard to fix it.

Now that I (more or less) know how to do the majority of the work I'll be doing for him, I work by myself. It means that I have loads of time to think (sometimes too much) and pray and sing. I have been thinking about my friends at school and things that I've learned. Sometimes I catch my mind wandering to where it shouldn't. I think the Lord is trying to teach me (again) to take every thought captive to Christ. It is hard.

The other day it was freezing outside (in my opinion) and I was pressure spraying logs and getting soaked in the process. I came home miserable and not wanting to go back to work the next day. That night I had a dream. I don't know if you believe that God speaks to us through dreams, but I think I have experienced that a number of times. In this dream I was in Uganda encountering all sorts of suffering people that were poor, limbless, and the like. I woke up in the middle of the night wondering why I live here in Canada and have such a good lot in life. At times I've forgotten how real poverty and suffering is because I am not directly faced with it everyday like I was in Africa. I was made by God to repent for being so ungrateful for the job I have and my life. The next day I read in James to consider trials pure joy! God really has a way of disciplining us.

2008-05-03T00:13:00.000-07:00

Compassion

The day after I got home my mom asked me to come and help her at the school. I didn't really feel like it, I just wanted to unpack, but I decided to go anyways. It turned out to be a huge blessing!

My cousin Marie who is in grade 9 at my mom's school, and her class were doing a fundraiser for cancer research. All the boys were shaving their heads, along with Marie and one other brave girl. So I was able to witness the "head-shaving" and it was so great. I was so encouraged to see 15 year olds actually caring about people and wanting to help people they've never met. The best part was when their principal shaved his head as well. What a good example. I was very blessed to see what I did and by the fact that so many people from the community came to support the class as well.

2008-05-03T00:06:00.000-07:00

Calgary

I spent the weekend before coming home from school with my sister Louise and her husband Brian. It was Brian's birthday and last exam for his engineering degree ever, so we decided to get together. It was truly great to see the way they have grown in the past year. I had the best talks with them that I've ever had about the Lord and what he is teaching them.

One of the nights, while we were out for dinner for Brian's birthday at a tiny little Italian place, we ran into some people from Pincher Creek! It was awesome to see them, and they told us about an church event concerning peace in which a woman from Uganda was going to speak about her experience of having her daughter abducted into the LRA. It was totally God. We went to the event and I was able to speak briefly with the woman. . . it was SOOOO good to hear a Ugandan accent again! It was also a good reminder about what really matters. I can get so caught up on life here and all that comes with it, that I forget about the rest of the world.

2008-05-02T23:33:00.000-07:00

Finished School!

It is sad, but also good to be finished the school year. It did go really fast though. It was a challenging year both in the classroom and out. I am very thankful for the classes I was able to take this past semester, especially the History of Science and Religion class. The final paper I wrote was so interesting. I researched B.B. Warfield, the man that wrote most clearly and precisely about the Inspiration of the Bible. He was a fundamentalist, but also an evolutionist. Most would ask "how is it possible for him to be both?" I discovered (in many of the books that I read) that it was the very way in which he viewed Scripture that allowed him to accept the theory of evolution.

The Bible is a completely human document. . . it is also completely inspired by the Holy Spirit of God at every point. (Just as Jesus was fully man and fully God). God did not bypass the limitations and characteristics of humans when the process of Scripture took place. Warfield called this concursus and saw the happenings of the world occurring in the same way. The events of history and what takes place on our planet are a result of the action of humans and the hand of God at every point. God works through and with humans. Therefore, perhaps there is room for the best theology and the best science. So if there is much evidence for evolution, would not Christians seem kind of ignorant to claim that it is a lie? Is there a need for the current war between science and faith? It is all very interesting to me. Of course God created in the beginning, but maybe we don't know exactly how!?

So these were some of the things on my mind within the classroom. Outside of it, the Lord really challenged and convicted me of my pride. I began this school year with such gratitude to Him that I get to be at Bible college. I just couldn't get enough of reading for my classes and learning as much as I could. I really did not want to take my time at school for granted. . . so I studied quite a lot. Of course, when a person spends that much time on their studies, it usually shows in their marks. I had never had marks like that, and while I knew it was all because of the Lord's help and that it all came from him, I slowly began to take more and more pride in how I did in my classes. Of course I always wanted to do my best, but it became less and less about simply seeking the face of God and learning about Him and more about keeping my grades high.

Just as the Lord began to point this out to me, a couple of my friends called me on it. Praise the Lord for friends who will be honest...and that loved me enough to point out my sin! How awesome. So I spent the last few weeks very humbled and getting back on track. So that was very hard, but our heavenly Father truly loves us when he disciplines us like that for our good.

2008-04-08T20:35:00.000-07:00

Biblical Studies Teacher

Yesterday was such a great day. Our school is looking at hiring a new Biblical Studies prof who just happens to be a woman. She was here for a couple days being interviewed for the job. (We currently don't have any women Biblical Studies profs at school). She taught our John class. Up until yesterday I didn't think many people (besides my Greek prof) could read in English from the Greek text. She proved me wrong! She was very knowledgeable and qualified to teach the Bible...she was a very approachable and vibrant woman, full of the Spirit. It was so encouraging.

I had the privilege of joining with about 15 other students to interview her. We got to ask her all about her education, her walk with the Lord, and her vision. It became so clear to us that she had a heart very soft towards Him, but was also very academic. It was a breath of fresh air for a bunch of Biblical studies students that spend so much time studying the Bible in an academic setting, to encounter someone that still lets the Scripture inpact her life profoundly.

The cool thing was that as a woman she didn't have an adjenda. We didn't get the impression that she felt she had something to prove. I was so excited to meet a learned woman that didn't have one. Two of my girlfriends who happen to be quite feministic were also blown away by her, because they thought every woman in this position had to have one! We were all very encouraged in our work. It is sometimes easy to get bogged down in all the details of our study, but the Lord really used this woman in our lives, and she doesn't even have the job yet!

2008-03-26T08:32:00.000-07:00

Beautiful Things

As I reflected on the past weekend as I laid in bed the other night, the Lord really showed me some wonderful gifts that he has given me. I went home for Easter weekend and brought 3 of my friends from college with me. It was good to spend some time together with my family.

The list of little moments or things that happened could go on forever, but here are a few:

Everytime we began to talk about God my little brother's ears and face perked up and he listened intently. He also recited to me some verses he'd been memorizing. His soft heart towards the Lord became more evident.

My sister Mallory has a big heart for people and is interested in justice and things being right. We watched the movie Amazing Grace about John Newton, Wilberforce and the slave trade in Britain and we were all very moved, her in particular.

The way one of my other sisters is being changed gradually. It is no longer painful to be around her, but more of a pleasure.

The way my mom and aunt both slaved away in servant hearted kind of way cooking for all of us brats over the weekend. Myself choking back tears as my aunt and I did dishes in the kitchen having conversations that we can now have about the Lord ever since I began asking questions about their church. It seems that there are walls being broken down.

The sheer joy it was driving back to Caronport laughing at the way my friends interact with one another one minute, and the next listening intently to the Word and its implications for our lives.

The joy that it is to be with people you love and genuinely care about. What a joy it was to come back to school after only three days of being away and dying to hear how people are doing.

I saw something beautiful yesterday - one of my friends helping a younger student with his paper. Taking the time out of his packed schedule and intense work load to make sure the other got books and figured out how to write his paper. It was beautiful. God is changing people.

Something else. . . I thought I was being so thoughtful when I brought some really sugary cookies (which I actually didn't like much anyways) to my friend Craig in Greek class. When I got to class he had a couple of "healthy" muffins that he brought for me (which he didn't much like anyways). It was funny that we both thought of doing that on the same day, both with maybe not the best or the worst intentions. It turned out well!

Another thing - to be reminded of the deep love our professors have for their students and the Lord. We all listened intently as our chaplain spoke to us in chapel about living in the power of the resurrection of Jesus, his love for us so evident. After he had delivered his whole message, I watched him as he sat down in his seat and coughed up a storm.

2008-03-15T10:46:00.001-07:00

The Kingdom

A few weeks ago in my Bible Synthesis class we critiqued a book by Craig Bartholomew called The Drama of Scripture. We concluded that we didn't really like it, that the problem was not what they said, but what they didn't say...what they left out of their biblical theology. The funny thing is that this past week Craig Bartholomew actually came to our school to deliver a paper and he spoke in chapel! It was weird to see someone who's book we critiqued...never imagining we would meet him.

So he delivered his paper on the theme of Place in the Gospels. It was SO interesting. In the Old Testament the land had a big part in the story. But the land was only holy because of the relationship the Israelites had with the Living God. In the New Testament, Bartholomew claimed, place (land) is not forgotten. It has to do with where God's reign in the Kingdom of God takes place. He said that most people teach about God's reign in a very spiritual way, not about the realm of his kingdom. He said heaven is all around us and that we need to redeem creation. He is teaching that the kingdom is already, but not yet. That is fine. What I was wondering was the means in which God's kingdom will come about. He said that the kingdom is not just about saving souls and the people, but it is about redeeming creation. We need to be good stewards of the land in which we live (which I thought was awesome). But what are the implications of this? What happens if we are not good stewards of the land and our place? Will God's kingdom not come? Perhaps this view puts too much emphasis on us. God's kingdom will come regardless of us...while we do need to do what he has called us to do, it does not depend on our efforts. We live in a sinful, fallen creation, that no doubt needs to be redeemed. Will not the return of Christ bring this about? Is the New Heavens and the New Earth described in Revelation be this very earth in which we live, or will the earth as we know it be destroyed and then recreated?

This is something to think about? It's cool...it means we get to think more about his kingdom...focus on heavenly things instead of earthly. Not sure what that actually means now!

2008-03-03T17:11:00.000-08:00

The Little Things

The past few weeks have been SO busy with tons of assignments and lots of reading for class. It was amazing the way God gave me strength as well as helped me with my assignments. There were a few assignments that I prayed specifically for...like what to write about etc. The Lord really gave me direction and tied things together for me.

Yesterday morning I began to pray about a summer job. Because I am trying not to take out loans for school, I need to work tons. So after church I was talking to one of the men in my church about school and summer plans and he offered me a job! The very same day. It was really awesome to see the way God has been taking care of little details as I place things in his hands.

2008-02-13T20:26:00.001-08:00

Learning

I learned something today in the span of 2 minutes. I had a conversation with a Christian accquaintance (I wouldn't say we are close enough to be friends). This person asked me how I was doing, so I told him. After I had barely finished explaining what I was going through, he immediately tried to fix my problem and give me advice. I know he meant well, but sometimes simple answers like that aren't helpful. Then the Lord pointed out that I try to do that all the time. The reason it bothered me is because I do it myself! So I must be more mindful of how I listen and react to people's problems and simply love them, not try to have all the answers and thus be wise in my own eyes!

In my history of science and religion class we've been looking at arguements of natural theology and using science to prove an "intelligent designer" or basically God's existence. It is all very interesting. I think I've come to somewhat of a small conclusion on the matter...it may not be right, so correct me if I'm wrong. Some people say that science proves God, some say that it disproves him, through things like natural selection. The debate seems to be leading nowhere. Perhaps both of these exercises are not helpful. Maybe our heavenly Father's existence is not something we can prove through human reason. When the Lord reveals himself to a person by his Holy Spirit and brings him into his kingdom...you just know it's true. The kingdom is not of this world. The truth and reality of God just don't make sense unless the Father gives you birth from above (John 3).

I am also taking a class on John's gospel this semester. John 6:44 says "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him...". It is a blessing the way the Lord has woven my classes together. The fact that some scientists like Richard Dawkins say that they can prove God doesn't exist through evolution, a fact that would have at one point created a crisis of faith for me, is not an issue. While we can't be ignorant of science as Christians, we can be comforted in the fact that spiritual understanding cannot be possessed unless it is given by God. It is not of this world. Once you hear the claims Jesus makes, you must respond. I know there's a tension between God's part and ours, but I don't have it all figured out yet! Praise him for giving me birth from above and the gift of his Spirit.

2008-01-30T19:09:00.001-08:00

God did something really cool yesterday. On Monday we had a Jewish man that became a Christian come and speak in our chapel about his conversion and ministry to fellow Jews. That night a storm came in and the airport closed down. The man had to stay in Caronport one more day. It just so happened that our in Bible Synthesis class we are learning about Romans 9-11 and God's covenant with Israel, as well as how to relate and understand the New Testament in light of the Old. This man was able to come and speak to us about his knowledge on the subject and we were able to ask him questions and listen to him the entire class. I'm pretty sure my teacher was convinced that the Lord did that just for us!

2008-01-18T13:40:00.000-08:00

New Semester!

It has been quite awhile since my last post...but I thought it was time to update it. I have been back in Caronport for almost two weeks now. We seemed to get into our new classes so quickly. I have really good classes again this semester. I have John, Bible Synthesis, History of Christianity, Greek, and History of Science and Religion.

The science class is SO interesting. My teacher is extremely passionate about the topic. We have the most reading I've ever had for a class, but in the first class he just described each book and told us all about the authors. His excitement even about making us better writers was enough to motivate most if not all of my classmates.

My Greek prof gave us kind of a lecture (even though he said he wasn't lecturing) about the rigorous work it takes to prepare for ministry and how we should expect learning Biblical languages to be hard. The Lord revealed to me his faithfulness after class. In the summer he told me to study Greek and I had no idea why. Now that I have realized the importance of being able to read the Bible in its original language I am so thankful that he led me that way. I would not have chosen this path on my own. He is faithful in the little details.

Tonight some of my friends and I are going to listen to the African Children's Choir in Moose Jaw. I am so exicted, but also afraid I will want to go back to Uganda.

2007-12-09T23:20:00.000-08:00

Saskatoon and Good Friends

This weekend I finished this huge paper on Friday worth half my grade for one class. It felt really good. The Lord really gave me perseverance. I also had a couple days before I have to start my last assignment, so I decided to go and visit my lovely friend Denise in Stoon for the weekend. First of all, I love driving by myself. It's such a good time to think and get your head straight. You can tell what you need to pray about by where your mind wanders.

I think it was just being removed from the place (school and my house) that helped me to see something that was keeping me from God. There was a sin that I needed to confess and just be honest with God about. (It's not like I can hide it, I don't know why I ever think I can). So it was something I did that really needed to be confessed to a person that it affected. I love that if you ask the Lord to show you what it is that is hindering your relation to him, he will.

Today I went to church with Denise. It was very encouraging. They talked about what Biblical worship is and how that is different than what we think it is or what it as become in our churches. A response to the living God. The pastor gave time to respond...like getting on your knees or on your face. It was cool. Just to see the congregation being led biblically. It's rough being at Bible school - the church gets disected and picked apart and slammed even, so to see a church seeking after God's heart is always exciting and encouraging.

It was nice to talk to Denise and be honest with each other about how we are doing and what God is teaching us. Thank God for friends that are striving for the same thing.

2007-11-30T22:18:00.000-08:00

The Father is Always at His Work

This week has been one of reflection and God revealing to us the ways he is at work in our midst. Through conversations with one another it has become evident the ways in which God has changed us just over the past couple of years.

One of my roommates here just totally confessed sin in her life to a couple of us...it was the most encouraging, freeing thing that could've ever happened! It opened all of us up to confess the sin we had in our lives. Repentance is something that is becoming more of a regular occurance in us. We realized the lies Satan tells us when we know we need to confess something; that people will look at you differently or that you will lose your friends. Of course the opposite is true - we all thought the better of her for having boldness to be vulnerable and honest with us. It was like the ripple effect! But wow has the Lord changed this girl so much in a matter of months. It's like night and day.

One of the guys who started Bible college the same year I did has also changed tons. I remember he used to be so mean and cynical and we just never got along. The Lord has been softening his heart like crazy over the semester. He is beginning to care so much more about the things God cares about and to have a hunger for the Word.

There's many more stories about what he is doing in the student body, but I could just write a book! It's really exciting to be apart of it.

One more thing! There's a girl here that I met a bit ago who is a very new Christian. She was telling me one day that she wished she could have a friend that she could just ask tons of questions to about God and the Bible. It made me think of the Experiencing God Bible study we did at our church in Pincher Creek last spring. We learned that God's revelation to you about what he is doing is his invitation for you to join him. So we have been getting together once a week just to pray and read the Bible together and talk about what we are learning. It is so refreshing...it makes me so much more hungry to learn what I'm learning in my classes. To learn this Bible more and more.

2007-11-15T19:47:00.000-08:00

Love the Lord....Love your Neighbor

This has been the theme at our school the past week or so. After day of prayer there was some disagreement or controversy about repentence, and the way things were done. It seemed to me that after the Lord did so much good on day of prayer, the devil just got right in there and caused division between us. People were asking questions about repentance, salvation, whether the Lord was actually present, and other things that are hard to judge at a corporate level. Yesterday our student body president ran our chapel. We read a lot of 1 John about loving one another and we took Communion together. It seemed very fitting. God tells us to love him with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength. I always wonder how that actually looks or plays out in one's life. I think in one aspect it is simple....love our brothers and sisters. Love the people right in front of us that are made in His image.

The Lord has given me a friend in the seminary. There was an old, retired school teacher that decided to come to seminary in my modular class a few weeks ago. I saw him in the library everyday since, and one day we ended up talking. Now he gives me advice about life, my walk with God, school work and is just really cool. It's nice to have someone older to go to. I mean my friends are wise...but most of us are lacking the life experience!

Yesterday something really cool happened. Every few weeks a couple of our profs eat a meal in the cafeteria so students can talk to them and ask them questions. Yesterday my friends and I got to sit with them (these are some of our favorite teachers). We got onto the topic of Catholicism because of some questions we have had lately. At the end of the conversation one of our teachers noticed that all the students left at our table were either Catholic, previously Catholic, or raised Catholic at one time or another. It was so interesting. It was good to get some things cleared up. For example; Catholics and Protestants are both Christian...unfortunately many evangelicals do not think this way.

2007-11-07T14:39:00.000-08:00

Freedom

Yesterday we had day of prayer at school. This means that all classes shut down for the day and the student body comes to the chapel to pray, sing, and just be together. It was really good. A lot of students felt like the Lord was telling us to repent...I think most people that were truly participating agreed on that. Unfortunately it seems like we are just scared of confession and being honest and open about our sin. I suppose people repented in their hearts, but it felt like we were just afraid to just go there! I don't know...I could be way off.
The awesome part of the afternoon was during our time of singing. One of the students spoke to us last week about what was on his heart....pleading with us not to pass over the simple but huge truth of the Gospel, to fear the Lord, be zealous for his honor, to let the reality of God and the fact that we know him really sink in. So yesterday during our time of singing, there was definitely a breakthrough. We realized the reality of the living God. He told us to wait on him, rest in him and trust him. There was freedom to worship him like there has not been in that chapel so far this year.

I am realizing that God can teach me all the time if I have eyes open to him. He has shown me that I'm not that good at loving my neighbor. This is the most important command, but I don't act like it is. My roommate Jenna does this. I have been convicted by the way she loves her friends. The Lord humbles me often when I think that I am more "spiritual" than others, he tears that right down. Good thing.

2007-10-28T19:39:00.000-07:00

Basketball

This past weekend I was asked to play basketball for the women's team at my college. "Just for the weekend". I have been struggling through what I think about Christians in sports at this level this semester. Maybe that is too general...in my own life, I can't tell others what is right for them based on my convictions. So I travelled to Lethbridge with the teams to play. It felt normal...I've played games and camps in Lethbridge since grade 7, so it was nothing new. There was a change though. I don't care about it anymore. I still enjoy the game, but it's different now. It has grown dim. It was really difficult for me to get excited and fired up to play. And to learn the plays....reminded me so much of how much time I used to spend on the game. It would consume my thoughts not just while I played but it ran my life! Is it wrong for me to want to "flee" from it so to speak? It is a battle....especially when I am constantly asked to play. Is it bad that I want to just tell them I don't want to play and can't spend my time like that anymore? It's hard because if it wasn't for basketball, I wouldn't have come to Briercrest and I feel the Lord used basketball to draw me to himself. So maybe it's good for some people to play sports. I need the Lord's wisdom.

This past week I took a hermeneutics class on the Current Issues in Biblical Interpretation. It was so good. Things I believe every church should be teaching....I wish I would've known some of this stuff when I began reading the Bible. Our prof was really good. He challenged us all week long. The most impacting thing he said was "do you believe in eternal life?" We all said yes. He then said "If you truly believed in eternity you would live out each hour of your life a lot differntly". (Not an exact quote, but you get the idea).

I think since I've been at school, reverse culture shock is starting to hit me. So many of the things we do here seem trivial. It's a really difficult place to be. I don't want to judge others at all, but I find myself sinning in this way often. I just feel as though we are distracted by things like movies. Please pray that I would fix my heart and thoughts on Christ. I can't look around so much.

2007-10-18T22:59:00.000-07:00

Learning Lots and Lots

It has been a challenging week of class. In chapel the theme seemed to be repentance and waiting upon the Lord. Our student body was very humbled.
In my Christian worldview class our teacher basically ripped apart our understanding of the North American church in terms of it's functionalist "program" approach to solving problems that came from our understanding of the nuclear family as opposed to the household. We are still waiting to hear what his approach to ministry is. I absolutely love the class, but I'm starting to feel a heaviness in my heart for the state of our church in North America.

At the beginning of the year Jenna (my roommate) and I started praying and reading Scripture together at night. Occasionally some of our friends would drop in and pray with us. Now on a given night there will usually be 4 or 5 girls gathering with us to pray. It's exciting to see hunger for God growing and a desire to be in the Word together.

Today the Lord gave me the opportunity to speak to the whole student body during chapel. Cal (our chaplain) asked me to speak about my trip to Uganda as well as a message to the school. It was also a way to introduce a fundraiser called Schools for Schools to help rebuild schools in Northern Uganda that Briercrest will become apart of. I was so scared to talk in front of 800 students...and not just any students, but people that are very well trained in the Bible and theology. I know that I've become critical and I know that a lot of my peers are (I know it's not that good). So once I got up there...the Lord totally took over, seriously. I just felt like I had so much confidence and I knew it was his Spirit. I didn't care what the people thought, I just spoke the words the Lord gave me.

2007-10-11T14:04:00.001-07:00

Love the Lord your God

I've been feeling very busy these days with all my assignments and how much these classes are challenging me and changing the way I think about the world, the Bible, myselt etc. Please pray for me...I've been feeling like I wish I could take way less classes and really be able to soak up all I've been learning and let it shape the way I live., instead of cramming all this stuff into my head to learn it for tests and assignments. This of course would mean I would take even longer to graduate than I already am!

We had a greek midterm yesterday, so I am thankful that is over. Before we wrote the quiz our prof. prayed for us. The end of his prayer was "Lord, help us to love you even while we write this quiz". It just made me smile. He summed up in that one sentence what I've been feeling these days.... what is the point of all this learning if I don't learn to love the Lord more deeply?

This past weekend I was able to go home for thanksgiving with two of my friends from college here. We had a really good time with my family and visiting some friends. We went to the Catholic church with my mom one night. I really appreciated it. The Lord has humbled me once again with the way I think about the Catholic church. There is so much richness to the litergy and the way in which they revere God. We were also able to go to my church on Sunday. It was awesome to see everyone again and to hear of what the Lord is doing in their midst. It was a refreshing time, but I also feel now like I'm further behind in my school work...not as much work got done as planned!

2007-10-02T21:39:00.000-07:00

Humility

I have been so challenged by the study of Matthew 6:5-8 and the words of my Greek prof. God sees what we do in secret. We can't manipulate God by our many words and we don't need to because he knows what we need before we ask! Praise the Lord. This is probably the most enlightening thing I have learned thus far at college. Simple, but so good. It is tempting at a place like this (or in any church setting I suppose) to do things to make ourselves look more spiritual or for men's praise. Our teacher pointed out that we also need to identify our motives for studying an ancient language...

As I asked the Lord to show me my sin last week...he did. I am taking a class on interpreting the Bible and the current issues in this area. One of the books we must read is a "Primer on Postmodernism". Our prof told us not to get bogged down with the details, but to try and understand the bigger picture. As I read his advice I thought to myself "oh I won't get bogged down, I'll be able to understand it all!" Well I read the book and got COMPLETELY bogged down with the details. God really humbled me and put me in my place. I have also been shown many godly examples in my teachers about how to approach the text of the Bible humbly.

I need prayer a lot - at times I have lost focus on why I am here. The past few weeks I have been sidetracked. I want to get equipped and understand God's word more. We just have so many assignments! I feel like I don't have enough time to get the questions I had when I arrived answered because I'm just doing the work to get it done. I want it all to soak in! Please pray that I will really learn this stuff and get the most out of my time here. I really need God's help in my studies!

2007-09-19T23:22:00.000-07:00

Haiti Arise!

So the theme at college this year is from Isaiah 60:1-5..."arise, shine for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you..." We have been discussing in chapel (we have chapel every day of classes for half an hour) what this means and also what it means to live as kingdom citizens right now! One of our profs challenged us with the question "what is the kingdom...what does it mean to seek first the kingdom?" It's pretty exciting stuff. Then just yesterday we had a man from Haiti and his wife (who is American) come and talk to us about their mission in Haiti. It is called Haiti Arise. The Haitian man discussed the very same verses in his sermon to us...he also preached from Matt. 13 (lots of parables about the kingdom). So it seems that God is really speaking to us about deepen our understanding of his kingdom. When the man from Haiti prayed for us, he prayed that we would not conform to our culture, get distracted by material things, and for the Lord to send out his army from this place to reach our very postmodern, dry nation. It's good to hear from someone removed from the problem.

I had an awesome opportunity last night at Joe's Place (the youth hang out in Moose Jaw) to talk to a very troubled girl that just left home. Our Bible study topic was anger, and it seemed very fitting for a lot of the kids there (all of us leaders too, if we're honest). I am very excited to develop a friendship with this girl. She used to be a Christian, but has totally turned her back on the Lord and her family. The fact that she even comes to Joe's is crazy, but God's hand is in it.

Still plugging away at Greek...it's getting tougher, but it is still rewarding as we got Greek Bibles given to us last week and to be able to read more and more every day is so cool! I know it will pay off in the end, but at times when we're memorizing all this vocabulary late at night, it's tempting to be satisfied with the English translations we have!

2007-09-12T21:37:00.000-07:00

Digging In

So classes have started up full time and chapel has been amazing this week. On Monday we had a woman come and speak to us. She has been walking across Canada (from Burlington to Melfort) because the Lord told her to. Along the way she is stopping at various places to encourage people and minister. She and her husband have been pastoring here in Saskatchewan but have been doing missions in Burkina Faso on a regular basis as well. She challenged us so much about letting go of material things and just being free from all of it! It was such a timely word to us as it is easy to become distracted by all the stuff out there that consumes our thoughts instead of the things of the kingdom! We are at a training ground at Briercrest, but one can forget that easily.

I had the opportunity on Tuesday night to go to a youth hang out place in Moose Jaw called Joe's Place. It was started by a Briercrest graduate for kids on the street to come. Many students from out school go and spend time with the kids and just love them. Tuesday nights are always a "Bible Study". I think this is something I really want to get involved in every week. We had great conversations about the Lord with some of those kids. I think it's a really powerful ministry.

My roommate and I both received an email from a guy at our school looking for people to help keep score at the sports games. At first I just brushed it off, but the more I thought about it the more I feel it is a good thing for me to do. I realized my pride in the situation. Now I am so excited to get invovled and serve in this way. When I played basketball here, I didn't think much about all the people that did so much behind the scenes work for our teams to actually be able to play and for things to run smoothly. They are just servants! So I need to humble myself and serve in this way. It would be much more fun and I'd be give more attention to play, but I would be getting the glory and not giving it to God. It is so exciting to have this chance to serve the athletes now instead of being one of them.

Please pray for me: I need wisdom and understanding in my classes. I find my fourth year Old Testament class a little overwhelming at times. Greek is going really well so far, but I still need the Lord's strength and the right perspective.

2007-09-07T08:42:00.001-07:00

New Caronport address and phone #!!!!

My mailing address is:

Box 555
Caronport, SK
S0H 0S0

My phone # is 306 756-2461.

2007-09-06T09:48:00.000-07:00

Freedom!

It is amazing to be here at Bible College and to have the fellowship with people that I have not seen for so long. To be able to have conversations with people that are actually struggling through the same issues and challenges as you is such a blessing. It is cool to be in chapel and just watch other young people worship the Lord. Maybe in a few weeks this won't seem so amazing, but I hope it lasts. Something Mel and I have wanted to keep is our thankfulness for Bible school and the passion we came back with from Africa about it.

Jenna and I moved into our trailer and now we are just waiting to find some furniture! We have three chairs and a table at this point, so it has been an interesting few days. We've been able to have lots of friends over from the dorms for meals already, but that has meant eating on the floor and "living simply". It has been awesome to pray and read the Bible with her. It has brought us a lot closer and we've realized that we have a lot in common in terms of our background. It's exciting stuff!

Now...the reason for the title of my blog is to do with basketball. I decided right before I came to school this year to play. I have been struggling with the decision for the last part of summer. Since coming home last year, I realized that my priorities have really changed. I am over basketball, it just doesn't matter to me much anymore in light of eternity. Playing college ball is a big commitment of time - lots of hours spent in the gym and when outside of it, a lot of thought is put into it. So I began the year playing and went to the practices, and really spent a lot of the time convincing myself that I wanted to be there and really feeling like I shouldn't be there. So Jenna and I prayed about it quite a bit and finally I got to the point that I just couldn't play. I have been playing to please people. So I told the coach yesterday that I was quitting the team. It was like a huge weight just lifted off my shoulders and I felt free!!!! It's amazing. God has done a lot in my life to get me to this point, considering when I first came to college my life was basketball. It has been hard to tell people (especially on the team and the other athlete friends I have) that sports just aren't that important in light of eternity, but I pray that the Lord uses me in people's lives in that regard. So....I'm free!

2007-08-29T08:02:00.000-07:00

Reconnecting with Old Friends

This past week is my last in Pincher Creek, so I have been trying to pack, wrap my mind around the fact that I'm actually going back to Bible College and say goodbye to friends and family. This summer went to fast, I can't believe it!

I've been praying all summer for an opportunity to talk to this one lady at work about the Lord. It just never comes up with her and she has a really hard heart from what I can tell. Anyways, the last day we worked together she asked me some questions about Bible school and being a Christian. So I had the opportunity to share my testimony with her as well as two other girls at work! It was an amazing day, of course it had to happen on one of my last days at work though. It was weird though, even though I've been asking God all summer of an opportunity when I got it I was surprised and almost didn't know what to say at first. I shouldn't be so surprised when God answers prayers like that.

Last week I decided I wasn't going to play basketball (mostly due to the size of my Greek textbook that came in the mail). I told my coach, and whenever anyone asked me about playing I just said "I'm over it, don't care enough about it anymore, and my classes are going to be really hard". I thought I had my mind made up, but I just didn't have peace about it. So yesterday I just prayed to God and asked him for peace and for wisdom. Later that day I got some help with Greek from my friend's mom in Pincher Creek and she really explained a lot of things about it to me. I left her house on my way to the gym feeling a lot less overwhelmed about Greek. Then I ran into a girl that is playing ball at another college and is not a Christian. It was such an opportunity to share Christ's love with her because of the connection we have in basketball. I realized that's why I didn't have peace...so I went home and told my family and my coach I am now playing! I'm sure my family thinks I'm crazy!

So I'm off to Caronport tomorrow and I'm so excited...but still have so much to do before I leave.

2007-08-22T11:41:00.000-07:00

He is Strong

I thank God for his patience with me and the grace he has given me. I always try to do things in my own strength (for example - getting through the last week of work). This morning I just broke down. I've been trying to decide whether or not to play basketball at school this year. I thought I'd made up my mind, but after talking to the coach on the phone last night I wasn't sure again. But this morning it dawned on me that I hadn't been giving it to God because the stress just crept up on me and the slightest comment from someone at work got to me. So praise the Lord that he has patience with me when I don't bring things to him, but try to rely on myself.

I watched a very interesting dvd the other night about the mormon church. It was made by a group of Christians in Utah and it is very well done. They did a ton of archeological and historical as well as background research on Joseph Smith's life. Their hearts for the mormon people blow me away. It really touched me that they would go to all this trouble to reach out to the leaders and people of the mormon church. They are a precious people and worth fighting for! It will have to start with the leaders having the courage to admitt the are following a lie.

I went to play basketball in Lethbridge on Thursday with some college girls from there. It turned out that there had been a fight the time before so most of the gals decided not to come out this time. One of my best friends Kim from highschool was there, so those of us that were there played for awhile. Kim and I really wanted to catch up and chat, so we went outside and talked and prayed together for a couple hours. It was such a blessing...also to find out that one of my sister's former boyfriends had become a Christian this past year. At first I was disappointed that I drove all the way to Lethbridge for the sad excuse for basketball, but it turned out awesome! God brings good out of everything...

2007-08-16T22:41:00.000-07:00

Convinced through Witnessing

Despite the business of work and trying to get ready to go back to school, the past few days have been really awesome and of course challenging. I meet with a friend that goes to the Catholic church about once a week to read the Bible with her and just talk and pray together. It is always really good and a blessing. Last week we got on the topic of some differences of doctrine in the Catholic church vs. the Protestant. It was only a matter of time before this would happen since our conversations are about God and our theology always comes through. She did a ton of research about why her church believes in the authority of tradition as well as Scripture and had verses to back it up. I was just so humbled and challenged! All I could do was listen. So I have some research to do. I cannot wait to be in school so I can take the time to really get into the word and the history of the church! I have so many questions.

I had a HUGE opportunity to witness to one of my friends who is mormon this week. We hung out and chatted all evening. I just kept praying that God would give me boldness even to bring our faith up in conversation. Once I did, it was just amazing. God totally took over. We were able to compare their doctrine to the Bible and go through some of the contradictions. On the drive home she asked me "so what do you believe then"? What a beautiful question. My favorite one to answer. I shared my testimony of coming to Christ with her and just like verse 6 of Philemon, because I was active in sharing my faith I received more understanding about the good things we have in Christ! I pray that she will remember one thing that we kept coming back to...it's by grace we are saved through faith....and like James says in his book "faith without deeds is dead". We aren't saved by our actions, but our good deeds will be natural when we give our lives to Christ. May the Lord remove the veil from their eyes. Jesus Christ is the only way.

I hung out with a couple of friends who just had a baby the other night. I love that their baby is changing them. Her birth has made them more open to the Lord's hand in our lives as well as to me praying for their daughter. The gal just looked at her baby sleeping and said "all the pain was worth it". She didn't know it, but God taught me something through her. The Scripture in Romans 8 that talks about suffering on earth and the future glory that will be revealed to us. I love that Paul compares something as common and easy to relate to (for women I suppose) as the pains of childbirth to help us understand the endurance we must have as well as how it is worth it. I love that their baby is changing them.

2007-08-08T22:37:00.000-07:00

Worship

Church was really awesome on Sunday. It was very focussed on God's grace. It just blows me away every time. We were very blessed to experience my pastor's wife recite three stories right from the Bible in narrative form all pointing to the grace of Jesus. There is just something about hearing Scripture spoken aloud so naturally rather than simply reading it. It was powerful!

On Monday I went to Calgary with a couple of friends just to hang out and at night attend a church service called Tehilla Monday for highschool/college and career aged people. I asked the Lord in the morning just to show me someone who was on fire for Him, someone that feared Him and that was hungry for Him. During the worship time there I saw a girl that was lying facedown on the ground in worship. It was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen...and Biblical too. She got up after to speak and it turns out she was just home on a month break from teaching in Nairobe, Kenya. This gal was serious about the Lord and it was so refreshing and an encouraging answer to prayer.

Since taking the distance learning course through Briercrest this summer, it has made me seriously think about worship and the way I have disregarded the importance of Biblical Worship in the past. One thing I have learned is that worship is a response to a revelation from God. I have found in the past few weeks that when Scripture is read before a time of singing...it just means more. It is a response to what God has spoken in His word. After the message was spoken on Monday night at Tahilla (where Scripture was heavily referred to) there was much more reverence for the Lord than before when the band was going nuts and "rocking out" as they put it!

My mom and I had a good little chat yesterday about Bible camps. It was so interesting to me that we really agreed on the matter because it isn't always the case. She said something I thought to be very good: camp should not be about the hype, crazy games, and all the other stuff they could get at an adventure camp. It should be simple and about the message. Just Jesus. I loved that she said that.

2007-08-01T22:44:00.000-07:00

Still Patience (or Long-suffering)

If I let Him in, God just teaches me and shows me so much that I need to work on and where I am lacking....I need help! As usual, he is teaching me at work. There is one particular person that is very challenging to work with. Do you ever have those people in your life that make you act like that person you really don't like? This is me when I'm working with her. I just get so impatient and annoyed....really not loving. (Even after I was convicted of the verse "do everything in love"). I hate it!!! On the way home from work I find myself just praying about it and confessing because I just never act the way I want to or the way I know would please God.

This last time when I was praying about it God gave me the Scripture in Hebrews which says "for we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need". (chapter 4:15, 16) I know Jesus had to deal with difficult people while he was here on earth....but he was without sin! That just blows my mind....since a lot of when I sin is in my thoughts about other people. Jesus was perfect. How awesome. So he can relate to me in my temptations...but I can count on his forgiveness of my sins because he was the great high priest as well as the perfect sacrifice.

2007-07-25T08:01:00.000-07:00

Learning

Last week I was just minding my own business reading a book, when my sister Mallory came and asked me to help her with something. I knew she was chatting on msn, so I was immediately curious as to what she could possibly need my help with. It turns out she was talking to one of her friends from school that is mormon. Their conversation led to talking about their faith and eventually comparing Christianity to Mormonism. She knew that I had been reading a lot about mormonism so when he started asking questions, she asked me to help her answer them. After awhile of me telling her how to answer the questions we decided it would be better if I just talked to him. We gave him a website that compares the two faiths for him to see the differences. Of course he is a good kid, and believes everything his parents have taught him since he was small...like any of us would. I don't know if our conversation had much impact on him, but I do know that my sister realized a couple very important things. She said "Wow, I need to know my Bible so much better in order to talk to mormons". It was beautiful. The Bible is just so powerful...it all fits together in such a way. The second thing we both learned was that it's all God's power. We could try to convince her friend about the contradictions and false teachings of mormonism all we like, but the Holy Spirit is the one that will convict and teach him and only God can remove the vail. We need to pray for people who don't know the Lord! God is faithful.

I learned another valuable lesson at work on Monday. This past weekend my family went to church in Calgary with Louise and Brian. We picked up my mom from the airport and then spent the day together. At church the sermon was about Philippians 2 and that our "attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus". It really hit home, being a waitress where you serve people all day even when it is hard. I had this in mind on Monday when I read another passage about Jesus' unlimited patience in 1 Tim. 1:16. This just blew me away - the Bible really says that Jesus has unlimited patience. How awesome is that!!! I wanted to remember this Scripture all day at work. So at night it was just me and one of the newer girls at work on Monday night. It got very busy and intense. Basically I did lose my patience with the girl working with me because she made lots of mistakes (I always make them too!). It wasn't until later that night I realized the Lord was trying to teach me that I am not very patient. Praise the Lord for his "unlimited patience" with me, as slow as I am.

2007-07-18T20:31:00.000-07:00

Every Day is Exciting With the Lord!

My friend from highschool just had a baby on Sunday. Today I got to see her and hold her...she is beautiful and tiny. What a miracle...God is good. She's completely healthy and I can tell already that her mom is changing because of having her.

I got to work on Monday only to find out that the kitchen at Denise's was closed due to a fridge breaking down over the weekend. Denise and her family had just got back from their holidays to a broken fridge and a huge cost to fix it! If you think of it please pray for her and her husband Luc. It is a huge testimoney to us to see the way they are handling it - God has really given them the grace and perseverance. Also please pray for the provision of workers. At the end of the summer at least two of us (who put in quite a few hours at the moment) are going back to school.
Sidenote: for anyone that lives in the Pincher Creek area - did you know there was an international prayer center in Bellevue?? (I hardly ever drive through Bellevue). I sure didn't until this Sunday when I stumbled upon it with a friend. It was very interesting; the old couple that run it basically live there. Their house is attached! I think they were very excited to have visitors and gave us the whole tour. So you never know what is going to happen - as Josie Erickson always tells me; "everyday is exciting with the Lord!" She's right.

I've been thinking about taking Greek at Briercrest in the fall. The other day I was talking to a friend that just got home from Morocco. We were discussing the Bible and the English translations we have and apparently there are some passages that we really don't have a good handle on because the Greek has a deeper meaning. Besides, if you're going to go to Bible school for 5 years, you should be able to tell people what the word is in the Greek!! So God really confirmed it I think. Today I signed up and I am really nervous, I think it will be tough. I even get to go to school a few days early and go to a "Language Camp" as introduction! Sounds like a fun time!

The Lord has really been speaking to me through the book of Exodus lately. I was reading chapter 19 the other day and was struck by how much preparation the Israelites had to go through in order to be ready for the Lord to come down to Mount Sinai. They were to consecrate themselves and wash their clothes...and they weren't even allowed to touch the mountain where God was! This makes me think we should prepare ourselves much more than we do for worship on Sundays. How does this look today?

2007-07-11T08:30:00.000-07:00

Reverence

This has been a very interesting week. There is a little second hand shop across the street from my work, so one day I got to take a break and go check it out. It turns out they have tons of books and old Bibles. I've been wanting to find some Bibles to give away for a long time...anyways I got four and two were free! So after an opportunity to speak to a coworker, she said she didn't have a Bible, so I had one to giver her. It was awesome.

This past week I read a book called I Dared to Call Him Father written by a Muslim lady who became a Christian. It was so powerful and really helped me to understand just how Satan keeps them believing certain lies about the Lord. If you get the chance...check out this book. It's really cool! So I've been doing lots of reading lately about the various world religions out there...this really interests me. The more I research, the more I am convinced that Christ is the only way. Salvation is nothing we can accomplish on our own like most other faiths teach...I'm realizing just how passive our culture is about religion and as Christians we can't compromise or be luke warm anymore! What a challenge.

On Sunday I had the opportunity to attend a Mennonite Church with a girl I work with. I don't know much about their particular stream of Mennonite. But anyways the women do wear head coverings for church (and outside of church) and the girls sit on one side of the church and the guys on the other. Suzy also told me that once a person is born again and baptized that is when they wear the head covering. They have a deep reverence for the Lord in that church...the Pastor said "let's pray" and they all got down on their knees and bowed down. I just about cried. It was awesome. They truly view God as holy as He is. And can they ever sing! WOW...it was beautiful. So it really got me thinking about head covernings for women in the church. Should we be doing this in our churches? I've never known how to interpret that passage. Maybe it's a personal decision...I don't know. But the Lord will show me I do believe.

I want to encourage anyone that works in secular work places...your Christian witness does make a difference. Really....when I look around at work when it is a hectic crazy day or when there is conflict, I can see the difference in the Christians and the unbelievers. Denise's niece Reann reminded me at work that we are thermostats - we can't let the circumstances and situation rule how we react, but we can have joy and peace and patience despite what is going on around us. People notice how we handle things...if Christ is truly in us then we have something different...his power and strength is available to us!

2007-07-04T23:02:00.000-07:00

The Little Things

This has been a week of the little, mundane things of life. Just the day to day details. I've been realizing just how important those are...God does care about every little bit, he wants to be Lord of it all. Again I find that hard to fathom....he cares that much! I read Psalm 101 earlier this week and it really spoke to me about how we are to be careful to live a blameless life (v.1). Check it out! The day I read it God really spoke to me because I had been in a situation the day before that I hadn't been blameless in. He really has a way of correcting and teaching us.

I've had the opportunity to hang out with my brother lots lately. He has been on a movie kick since school ended. We watched a couple of movies together...I was reluctant at first, but when he chose The Prince of Egypt and The Chronicles of Narnia I decided I could handle it. Every time I watch movies like that new things speak to me. I was very struck by two things in Narnia. One - in an early scene Mr. Tumnus has an encounter with Aslan in the fireplace while he has Lucy at his home. As a result he was convicted of the wrong he was doing in kidnapping Lucy and then confessed to her. This is what happens when we have a true encounter with God; we are humbled and brought back down to where we should be...we must confess our sin! Secondly...when Lucy's siblings think she is lying about another land in the wardrobe they go and talk to the old professor in the house. He reasons with them and states that Lucy is either crazy, lying or telling the truth...just like Jesus is either crazy, lying, or telling the truth about being the Son of God. It was probably obvious to many of you out there, but I never got that part of the film before!! The things God will use to speak to us.

God taught me another lesson at work. This is a hard one to face. Words. They have such an impact on the people around us. Build people up or tear them down. Proverbs 18:21 says "The tongue has the power of life and death...". There is someone I work with that from time to time picks apart any job I do and always seems to find fault in me. When I let it get to me it hurts...so I was praying about this and then I realized the disgusting thing. God used this person to show me my own sin. I had been doing this very thing to someone else without even realizing it. We must speak as though we are speaking the very word of God. Sin is so ugly but so a part of our nature. I can't even wait till the day I don't have to deal with sin anymore. Praise God that this is a reality for those who choose to walk in Christ's light. The grace of God is a beautiful thing.

2007-06-27T18:34:00.000-07:00

God is Faithful

God is just so awesome. I need to spend more time with Him. My good friend Denise from Briercrest mentioned this thought to me: in every situation whether it be Christian or not we can pray this prayer - Lord teach me and help me to teach others. I really was impacted by this and began to pray it every day. Well of course God wants to teach us. I was teaching someone at work to make a certain type of coffee. I realized as I was explaining it to her that it was helping me remember how and learn it all over again. In that moment I believe God gave me the Scripture in Philemon verse 6 which says "I pray that you would be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ". How awesome that He would remind me of that at work, the very place I need to focus on that!

This past Sunday at church was so encouraging. The Lord truly moved in a very unexpected way. A woman in our congregation has been thinking about going to Cameroon, Africa to teach missionary kids, so she was talking about it during the service. It just so happened that a missionary couple that attended that very school showed up to church that day and it was just beautiful confirmation for her! Oh the little details the Lord puts into place.

On Sunday I had the opportunity to speak at the Mormon church. It was a youth night. As it got closer I was getting kind of nervous. I kept praying for the right message because I just couldn't think of it on my own. The Lord truly spoke to me through a person whom I've only met over the phone. But she told me what I should say. (If you are reading this, thank you so much Faye). It was TOTALLY it. The mormon church tends to focus on works rather than being saved by grace through faith. I am not a "good person" but I have Jesus Christ in me! That is the only good thing about me. So they all seemed to really enjoy it. I have no idea what the Lord's plan is with that...for "his ways are not my ways". And I do know that His word will not return to him empty, but will accomplish what He desires and acheive the purpose for which He sent it (Isaiah 55:10, 11). I just pray for more opportunities to share Christ with the mormon church! God is beginning to break my heart for them.

Work is still going quite well. I met a man from England on Monday who's travelling the world on his motorcycle! On Monday also Denise (my boss) and I spent some time praying for a co-worker. I am so thankful for that - praying with your boss doesn't happen for everyone!!

Just a closing thought...there is a lot of power in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth (Acts 4)! It keeps coming up whenever I read the Bible. Have an awesome long weekend everyone!

2007-06-20T21:53:00.000-07:00

June is flying by!!!

I decided that the Lord just does too many cool things around me not to share them with anyone that wants to take the time to read. So I am going to do a blog as often as I can about what he's doing here in Canada (in my tiny little sphere of influence)...it doesn't just have to be a missions blog. Our mission is where God has placed us right now!

These days I am working at a restaurant in town (Pincher Creek) called Denise's Bistro. It is seriously such a fun place to work. I really love it...the people are great, Christian bosses, the Lord gives me many opportunities to bless and serve people as well as talk about him. It's been awesome to build relationships with coworkers and really just be a hard working example.

Last weekend I went to church in Nanton just to check it out and see how our church (Pincher Creek Baptist) can pray for them more specifically. I brought along a friend from Bible College who wants to be a pastor, so it was awesome for him to see a small church in action and realize that what is being taught in his classes is definitely relevant!

Last week we just had an outreach through a movie called Facing the Giants made by a pastor down in the states. If you haven't seen it, seriously check it out...it's in movie stores and especially if you like sports and have a heart for sports min. you'd love it! So we showed it at the Pentecostal church in town and invited anyone and everyone to come. It went pretty well...quite a few people came out, but as our new youth pastor reminded me - "don't judge the success by numbers". We are trusting that God brought those that needed to hear the Good News out! He's in control.

I've been learning lately more about loving people....again. This is never ending it seems, but refining at the same time. It's hard to love difficult people, but if we rely on God to do it...he does it, it's not something we have to do in our own strength. Praise God! Loving him is walking in obedience to his commands....so challenging.

One more thing. If you think of it, please pray for me this coming Sunday as I have an opportunity to share about Uganda in the Mormon church. I need wisdom and courage from the Lord. I have no idea what to talk about...God will have to take control. Pray for God to open their minds and prepare the hearts and for the Holy Spirit to be at work in their hearts.

So that's what I've been up to. There's much more that God is doing and he's always at work (John 5), but it can't all be written down...it would fill books and books!!! That's hard to wrap your head around! Have an awesome week.

2007-03-23T08:31:00.000-07:00

OH CANADA!

I'm home! It feels good for the most part. There are things I miss about Uganda (not the heat) but the simplicity of life, very joyful people among other things. But it was amazing to have my family waiting for me at the airport and to be back in my own bed. No more mosquito nets!! I watched my sister's last basketball game last night which was amazing...mostly cause it made me want to play. It has been a bit tough going into grocery stores and realizing how much things cost here, and also getting used to the richness of Western food.

This is sadly my last post on here for now. I want to thank all of you for praying for me, sending me emails with encouragements and Scriptures. You don't know how much it helped...every chance I had to check my email in Uganda always resulted in me feeling rejuvenated and ready to keep serving Him, so thank you SO MUCH. It's time to move onto the next thing God has planned for me - I don't quite know what that is yet, but I'm sure he will let me know! Take care.

I will try to post some pictures on here another time.

2007-03-18T13:26:00.000-07:00

Safely Arrived in London

We are back! Not yet home, but officially finished our time in Uganda. We had a debrief session on Friday and Saturday in Uganda which talked a lot about reverse culture shock and how to prepare ourselves for being back in Western Culture. It was very insightful for all of us I think as well as a good time to reflect on what we have actually learned here...and what we will tell people about our experiences. I realized I have no clue what I want to say to people that ask about it...there's just so much, but what is the most important that I share? Thankfully the Lord will send his spirit to be with me as I give testimony to the amazing things He has done in Uganda while we were there and my personal life. I'm so excited to get back and share everything! I'm sure people will want me to stop talking...

So for now I am just hanging out at Dan's house (a teammate) meeting his family, seeing his church and spending some last days together before I fly home on Wednesday. Already a few things have been a shock to me - first of all how cold it is! When we stepped off the plane the crisp air in London just hit us...I can imagine it will be much worse in Calgary. Second of all seeing a sea of white faces everywhere! We aren't in Africa anymore. It's also weird to drive on paved roads, see tons of shops everywhere, and I have to admit the hot shower I had this morning felt absolutely amazing....along with Dan's mom's cooking! It still hasn't really sunk in that we are back, but at the same time it feels like Uganda was just a long dream and that nothing has really changed here. Thanks to all of you that prayed for me. It was probably the hardest time I have ever had in my life, but I just give God all the glory for carrying me through it and for teaching me so many lessons of perseverence along the way. He truly is so faithful to me who is so unfaithful.

2007-03-12T03:12:00.000-07:00

Last Week In Uganda!!!

So we have about three days left of work in Uganda. It's really exciting and sad all at the same time. It has been quite the experience. Trying to put into words all that I've learned in my time here will probably take some time. I have no clue what it will feel like to be back in Western culture. I'm sure it will be quite the shock.

This past week we had our last kids club so we threw the children a huge party planned by myself and Dan. We had 70 kids turn up, so the games we prepared didn't quite work (bobbing for apples, eating dougnuts on strings, pin the tail on the elephant etc!) but it was nice to be able to pray for them all at the end.

Yesterday we had our last chapel with the students at Grace High. It was really sad, we always loved chapel. Simon preached and we all did "specials" (that means we sang songs for them before praise and worship starts). All the students perform specials at the beginning of chapel. We gave our overseers some gifts for putting up with us for 5 1/2 months and then took them out for lunch to Kampala. It was such a good day, but the reality of leaving these people who have become like family to us is starting to sink in...Not to mention getting to England and separating from my teammates who have also become like my family. Tonight we are having a team awards night...it will be interesting!

So we fly home on Saturday - please pray for journey mercies and a safe flight. See you in a couple weeks!!!

2007-02-26T00:06:00.000-08:00

Best Week for the Team

We had a really good week as a team. Even though it was very hot and we were really busy, God gave us the strength and ability to get through it. Our work at the schools was a lot more fun than ususal, so that was good. I've had much more opportunity to spend time in the girl's dorms during the week and make some good friends. It will be hard to leave in less than three weeks now.
This school term we decided to do some community work. We have been working mostly with children so far in Uganda, so we figured it was time to go and visit their parents in the village surrounding the highschool we stay at. We had the opportunity to meet some really neat people. A lot of the people in Uganda if they are not born again, they are Muslim, so the first two people we met this week were Muslim and they invited us into their house to chat with them. It was cool to sit down and find out about them, we were able to give one couple some Bibles to read. They were really open to it as well. There are two children in our kids club that are always causing problems because they don't listen, but they are really cute and hard to get angry at...anyways we met their mother and were able to pray for her! It was really cool to see where these children come from. The last place we went on our walk around the village was a church in the center of the village. It is the smallest place I've ever seen for a church...it has about 20 members! As soon as we walked in we could feel the Spirit though. It was amazing. We are hopefully going there on Sunday.
On Saturday night we got back from our kids club in the slum just in time for our overseer's graduation party. He just got his Masters in Education on Thursday so they had a big celebration in which all his family, church members and highschool students were invited. It was quite the big deal! He is one of 23 children!! His mother is a strong woman, let me tell you. I realized last night how much I'm going to miss Fred and Juliet. We had a really good conversation (which always leads to reading the Bible together) and then they prayed for me. I am going to be a wreck when we leave. They've really been such a huge influence on my Christian walk.

2007-02-19T04:34:00.000-08:00

It Sure Is the Dry Season!

So we have a month left here in Uganda and it is going to be intense I think. I really appreciate prayer to be able to endure the rest of the time here. It is really hot and that makes playing outside with children quite a challenge. Some of the things that I love about being here still and that I still look forward to are the Bible studies with the highschool students twice a week in the evenings and teaching the children at Zion school (all orphans). Some Scriptures that have kept me going the past few weeks are 2 Cor. 12:9, 10 as well as Heb. 12:5-11. Check them out!

God has really challenged me on making the most of every opportunity while I'm here and one of the opportunities I have is to pour into my teammates while we are still together. Ross and I began on Feb. 1st reading and studying a chapter of Acts every day for this month since there are 28 chapters. It has been so awesome so far and I wish all of you could meet this kid...he asks SO many questions about God and he challenges me so much to know my Bible more. It's great. Emma and I have also been doing a Bible study every sunday afternoon so that has been good bonding time for us. It has been absolutely amazing to see the way God has changed all of us on the team....he is definitely at work in our hearts.

Since the highschool students got back Grace has been a lot busier and lively! They basically only have Sunday afternoons free, so that is when we get to hang out with them and get to know them. It's a blast going to their dorms and just chatting with the girls. They just ask so many questions!!

There is a supermarket my team goes to for food once a week and there's a girl that works there. I said hi to her every time but didn't actually stop to talk until a few weeks ago. Anyways, it turns out she's a Christian and she's a really great girl but beign Ugandan, doesn't have the best family or background. So we've started getting together once a week. It's just sad we didn't meet earlier, but I suppose a month is still quite awhile.

Some prayer requests - please pray that I could endure the heat!
- unity on my team, and that we would be able to love one another in this crunch time!
- we would be able to focus and not think of home so much
- that I would really make the most of my time here and every opportunity I have

2007-02-12T01:36:00.000-08:00

Best Birthday Ever!!

So it's back to our regular work routine for the last 6 weeks...and it's pretty hot! This past week we got right back into teaching at three schools and our kids clubs. The students are all returning to Grace High, so it's been nice catching up with them about their holidays as well as getting right back into evening devotions and Bible studies. I have a different group this term - the S4s (grade 10 age) and they are lots of fun. We are studying the book of Philippians for the next two weeks.

It has been really hard for us as a team to get back into working mode after the holiday....especially since we only have a few weeks left. It's hard not to think about home a lot. We have grown a lot closer in the last two weeks by doing more regular Bible studies together as well as just prayer and worship times.

Last Monday I had my birthday...my first one ever in Africa! So that was pretty amazing. Mel came over to our place and then she took me out for lunch in Kampala and then to the coolest place ever! She had come across an Invisible Children sign on her way home from Jinja over the weekend so we decided to check it out. It turns out this was the place where they make the bracelets for their bracelet campaign that you can buy online!!!! We got to meet the people of the Acholi tribe from Gulu sitting in a circle making bracelets! It was so amazing....and then we met two guys from California that actually work for Invisible Children and live in Gulu. They took us around the whole place and even let see the screening/storage room of the bracelets. They gave us some for a REALLY good deal....it was an awesome afternoon. (This is hopefully going to lead to Mel and I working with some people that live in a refugee camp from the north in a nearby village to where Mel lives every Monday until we go home.)

Then we went back to Grace where it turns out my team and the family we stay with had been preparing a surprise party for me....which if you know me you know I don't enjoy surprises all that much. But they really put a lot of thought and effort into it. They gave me the most amazing, thoughtful, funny gift that meant a lot and will remind me of all the good times we've had here in Uganda. It was a great day.

2007-01-28T22:15:00.000-08:00

What a Big God

So Mel and I were not able to venture up to Northern Uganda this past weekend. Oasis UK eventually said no and the funds just didn't come in for our mission, so it just didn't work out. We had a lot of peace about the decision and we had been asking God for grace if things did not go the way we wanted.

Instead we had time to just read the Bible, and think and pray. We also had the opportunity to listen to some amazing sermons sent to us by some amazing friends back at Briercrest! We were so challenged and God spoke to us so clearly about some things throughout the week. This would not have happened if we had gone up North, so the Lord is good. Some of the things we have been learning about are prayer (I don't think I ever stop learning about this) and how big God is. We've been wanting to understand fearing the Lord on a deeper level and reading Isaiah 40 really helped. To be in awe of God who created everything and who does so many wonderous things should cause us to obey him out of reverence and awe. This is just one part of fearing the Lord that he's revealed to us....there's still so much more to learn. We really just need a hunger and a thirst for him.

We were so blessed to have been invited over to Nick and Helena's house for dinner and a "sleepover". They are the couple that met with us at our retreat. So that basically meant we got to soak up some of their wisdom and get fired up about the rest of our time here in Uganda.

We had a great "holiday" which is coming to a close today with work starting again tomorrow. Only about a month and a half left here!

2007-01-22T02:29:00.000-08:00

The Best Part of Uganda

I think I forgot to mention on my last post that Mel, John, and I went in a bat cave in the mountain we were climbing last week.....I never thought I'd have an experience like that.

We just got back yesterday from a place called Kisoro in Western Uganda. It was absolutely amazing!!!! We left at 6 am Thursday morning for a district called Kabale (for those of you that know Jesse Thiessen and Derek Burning, that's the district they are living in). It was such a sweet town and the people were very friendly, although they don't speak Luganda which is the language of our region. There are over 50 different tribal languages in Uganda! We stayed the night in Kabale to break up the 11-12 hour trip to Kisoro.

The scenery is so different from the rest of the country. It was much cooler and there were hills and mountains!!! I almost felt like I was back at home for a minute. The purpose of our trip was to visit the brother of Juliet (Fred's wife) and his Compassion project for children. His name was David. He picked us up from our guest house and took us by motorcycle to the project which includes a church and a school. It is for orphan children (most of them have 1 parent however). There are 250 of them!!! The cooking staff feed every single When we arrived they almost knocked us over. It was quite overwhelming. So our plan was to just hang out and entertain the children for two days basically. We taught them some songs and told some Bible stories and played games with them. The project was so obviously built on the love of God and the staff all work so hard for these children. They each get medical attention as well as spiritual impact. The verse 1 Cor. 15:58 was what came to our minds, especially - "...for your labor in the Lord is not in vain".

I think the most encouraging part of my weekend in Kisoro was seeing the way Mel interacted with the children. God has really given her a passion and a gift for working with children. It was amazing to me to see someone know exactly what the Lord has called her to until he comes back. It was a joy to be involved...which is not a feeling I've had in recent months about children's work.

To top off the weekend David took us up the mountain he climbs to pray. It was gorgeous and you could see a huge lake and the whole town of Kisoro. I once again felt very small, but it was very powerful. I definitely found the best place to go in Uganda!

2007-01-17T00:44:00.000-08:00

His Majesty

This last week my team got to work at the Bambeija Project again, but this time not painting....we actually got to spend time with the girls. Emma andI both got to teach the girls aged 13-18 about Boy- Girl relationships! It was a lot of fun and quite funny! I really enjoyed it despite the whole teaching aspect....We found it interesting that they asked us Westerners to teach them this topic considering the extreme differences in culture. Ugandans are very conservative when it comes to relationships. To see a couple kissing is basically pornography to them, but on the other hand it's normal for two friends of the same sex to hold hands in public!
I got to speak to them about setting rules and being accountable to someone for boy girl relationships. The girls were so talkative and lively about this subject, our discussions were so interesting. We did a Bible study at the end of each lesson as well. In the afternoons we did crafts with mostly the younger girls and just spent time talking to them.

On Saturday we had our kids club at Grace High as well as in the slums. Our team acted out an evangelistic drama, which we hadn't done much of up to this point, so it was a good day. I think the kids really learned from it. We got to pray with some children at the end about giving their lives to Christ. It was cool to make an impact for the kingdom. It is always very sad to send the children home at lunch time on Saturdays...you can tell a lot of them don't want to go home. God only knows what they are going home to. We only work with most of these children once a week, so it's tough to think that we could actually do anything or get involved.

On Monday all 3 teams began the two week holiday. Mel, John, and I have decided to visit a few different parts of Uganda over the two weeks. We went up to Sipi falls in Eastern Ug. for two days and climbed the base of Mt. Elgon. It was awesome to see more of God's beauty. The village surrounding the falls was amazing as well...it wasn't all touristy. We had an amazing guide that helped us out a lot and we got to talk to him all morning. Now we are back at Mel's place for today. Tomorrow we are leaving for Kisoro district in the west to work with a company called Compassion for a few days with children. I think we will be doing Bible Studies and games with them. Next Friday we are hopefully headed up North to Gulu to visit people in camps and give out food etc. I am so excited to have the opportunity! I'm sure it will really change my life.

2007-01-08T01:57:00.000-08:00

Time to Reflect

This past weekend all 16 of us went for a retreat to a guest house in Jinja. I really didn't want to go very much before hand because I felt like we hadn't been doing anything for the past week besides relax....but God had other plans. There was a really nice couple from the UK called Nick and Helenna that were our guest speakers for the weekend. They are living in Uganda for 2 years, not with an organization or any other project, but they have a really inspiring ministry. They are basically here to mentor and disciple pastors and their wives. In Uganda because of the great need many pastors preach the prosperity Gospel and it is so common in the city of Kampala. Nick and Helenna have a great vision to change this, but on an individual basis rather than a big project. They have an open home and basically just share their lives with these pastors, so that their love of Christ can spread to the churches! I was so inspired by this. They really had a lot of wisdom to offer our group and they challenged us quite a bit. They even lent me a book about revivals which is the most intense thing I've ever read!

It was such a refreshing weekend. God really taught me a lot about what I'd learned over the past three months and I've been shown that I need to go way deeper with Him. He really used the passion of the UK couple to start bringing back my passion for the Gospel and for lost souls. My life is not about me....

2007-01-02T01:59:00.000-08:00

2007....We Just Need to Seek the Lord

Happy New Year everyone! New years was really great in Uganda. Fred and Juliet got back from their village a few days ago and then we started preparing to have all 16 of the oasis people over for a few days. It was a lot of fun cooking and preparing with Juliet and the girls that work for them.

Mel and I got to spend New Year's Eve together praying in a classroom at Grace High. Africans do things a bit different than we do in the west on New Years. They spend it at church praying and worshipping God on the 31st and New Year's day. It was a good experience. I will never forget it!

God has really been moving a lot on our team the past couple days. Basically I've been hearing a lot about the revival that's been going on at Briercrest this last semester and I've just been realizing that God has so much more for us if we just seek Him and believe! The things happening at my old college are not limited to just that place. The Christian life is supposed to be abundant, one of freedom, rest and peace in Jesus Christ....we just need to seek His face and desire Him. God has put this same message on Simon's heart the past few days also and it's really exciting! WE have been realizing the need to pray specifically and well....let's be honest - we just need to pray! Please pray that we would be bold in sharing this with our teammates, as we aren't always on the same page spiritually. We have tended to become a bit passive as to try to "please everyone" on the team.
I'm really excited about the rest of our time here....I am really expectant of what God is going to do and reveal to us.

2006-12-27T23:41:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

I hope everyone has had an excellent Christmas with family and friends. It was different being in Africa, but an experience I will never forget.

It has been an interesting week once again. We had a bit of a malaria scare after being home from the village. Ross did have malaria, but it is now cured and Emma also got tested. Thankfully, they are both fine now.
We spent a few days working on one of Oasis' projects near Kampala called Bambeja, which means princess in Luganda. It is a school/boarding house for female orphans. Since it is the school holidays we got to do some painiting of classrooms!! It was a laugh and a nice change of pace for us.

We spent the next few days getting ready for Christmas. We held Xmas parties for both of the Kids Clubs on Saturdays. It was a lot of fun to celebrate and talk to the kids in our community around Gayaza as well as in the slums about the birth of Christ.

Christmas Eve was really cool - we went to the the church in Wandegeya that has sort of become "our church" during our time here. To celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior in another country was so cool! It was one of the hottest days of the week on Christmas day. I spent the morning helping the girl who cooks for us preparing the meal. Since Fred and Juliet stayed on in the village after the conference we were at Grace High alone with a couple of Fred's nephews. It was a fun time - just a bunch of young adults hanging out together!

New Year's will be more of the same as we have the other two Oasis teams coming to our place for New Year's Eve. Happy New Year everyone!

2006-12-19T01:46:00.000-08:00

God is Moving

This village conference has come and gone, but it is just the beginning. It was quite an experience to see people live so simply. Most people in the village of Kamuge live is mud huts with grass tops. It was so amazing to experience the hospitality they showed us visitors. We got to take bucket showers outside at night and eat a lot of mangos and jack fruit! We saw lots of pineapple plantations as well. Very cool.

The conference was held in a huge field. It was our job to teach and play games with almost 500 children and about 200 youth. I got the privilege of working with the youth for the week. Each day we did sessions from 11am until 1pm and 2:30 until 5:30pm. It was tiring but totally worth it. In our sessions we taught them a very brief lesson on the Old Testament and Creation, Jesus' birth, death, resurrection, the story of Jesus calming the storm, God's love and ours, idols and wealth, suffering, and what's next after making a commitment to Christ. It was a lot of fun to play games with these kids and try to help them understand more about the Lord. 9 of them made commitments to follow Christ as well as about 40 children!! It was awesome to be apart of what God is doing there.

I think the highlights of my time there was getting the privilege of speaking at one of the adult sessions about the development of Canada's economy (yes, I even did some research ahead of time). Everyone here is so interested in development and wealth. I ended my talk with comparing the wisdom and knowledge we have in the west to the knowledge of Christ, which is better by far. For believers this world is temporary, so I took the opportunity to encourage the building of the kingdom of God.
Another highlight was hearing that 4 men came to Christ in one of the adult sessions. It seemed very significant. It seems like when you do altar calls at things like this there are many women and children that come, but often it's harder for men. It was beautiful! I was also blessed to meet an amazing woman of God called Sister Hope. She was one of the preachers with the adults. She is a prayer warrior! Everynight when we prayed together she led us and often I would wake up to her at early times in the morning praying for the people of the village. Witchcraft, idol worship, and shrines are a big distraction for them, so she was very dedicated to praying for them. Sister Hope lives the kind of life that just wouldn't make sense if God didn't exist. It really encouraged me that prayer is so important.

Overall the week was very fun and rewarding, but also so humbling. I was humbled every day by watching the others on our team of pastors, preachers etc. and their devotion to spreading the word of God. Who am I that I get to be part of it?

Merry Christmas to everyone!! Enjoy the snow and cold weather...it just doesn't feel like Christmas season when it's plus 30 outside. God bless.

2006-12-04T03:59:00.000-08:00

Conference Crazy

This past week was amazing, probably the best week we have had as a team so far. It was somewhat relaxed ...that's not why it was good....but we had a lot to work through as a team. There were some disciplinary issues that we placed in God's hands and he sorted them out. I won't go into a lot of detail with this, but God definitely used the situation to bring our team much closer. We had the best team meeting the next day! It was good.

We have been planning like crazy for the conference in Fred's home village all week. Simon and I have been planning for the youth part of things and the other three are in charge of children. Please pray that the rest of planning goes well for us and that God gives us the message he wants us to share with these people. It will be an intense week, so if you think of it prayers for strength, energy, enthusiasm etc. would be amazing. We leave in a week today!!! It has come so quickly. Basically, we will be in a field with about 100 youth for about 4 hours every day for a week with not many resources. It has been a real challenge planning our talks also because many of them will not speak English. Lord willing we will have translators from the local church in the village. I am really excited about this opportunity to spread the Gospel, but also scared and we don't know what to expect!!!

This week we ran our kids club at the church in the slums again on Saturday. We were telling the parable of the Good Samaritan and loving your neighbor as yourself....the kids loved acting it out, but when it came to thinking about practical ways to love your neighbor it was a different story. Ross and I couldn't get our group to stop beating each other up!!! Ironic, I know. I'm sure God still used it, but it was a bit discouraging for us.

I think my next post will be after the conference, so I will update you with how it went! Please pray for us!!!

2006-11-26T22:28:00.000-08:00

I Don't Know Anything!!!

Since I have come to Uganda there have been a few thoughts developing in my mind about the culture and their mindset. I think I'm beginning to grasp some things slightly in regards to Christian ministry here. Just as there are many warped things about Western Christianity, I have begun to see some faults in the African Christianity. Due to the financial, material situation here, many pastors preach the health and wealth/prosperity gospel. The cost of living for Christ or suffering for Christ is very rarely preached. This has helped us to understand the people we are ministering to greatly. It is all very interesting.

Something that bothers me, even though it shouldn't is that the people here refer to white people as Mzungus...I know it is just the word for white people...but there is a minset attached to it. They view us as rich people that can solve their problems. I know in comparrison we are very rich materially, but it is hard to make them see that riches and money never satisfy the way God does. I've been thinking about how this mindset can be changed. It is a challenge in ministry as well.

Every Tuesday all three Oasis Uganda teams meet up at a school called KEST which stands for Kampala Evangelical School of Theology. It is so great....mostly because it reminds me of Briercrest. We are taught about African worldview, Christianity and the Bible in general. We even have chapel and they have an awesome little library!! It has for the first time made me realize that I may actually want to go back to Cport and learn even more and take it more seriously. I took all those good things about Bible College for granted...so Kest is great.

My team has been super busy the past week getting ready for a evangelical conference/crusade that will be taking place from Dec. 11-18 in a deep village called Kamuge. Our overseer grew up there, so we will be staying at his old home there. The conference is for children, youth and adults. We are in charge of children and youth. I am so excited about this because I get a break from children's ministry to work with youth!!! It should be an intense experience. Please pray for my team as we prepare. It is a lot of material to prepare adn we don't have much time.

2006-11-13T00:28:00.000-08:00

To Desire God

I am learning so much in this beautiful country...it is a hard balance between wanting to help the poor and just giving money because you feel guilty about the wealth I have. Is giving money alone really helping? Does the money we have in the West really helping us? These people need God....just some things that have been on my mind.

The past few weeks have been good. The kids club in the slums church has started to really take off. On Saturday we had about 100 children, which was quite hectic but cool to know that we can have an impact on that many children for Him. It was a real struggle for us the night before to decide what message to share with the children, but late that night he showed us to tell the parable of the Lost Sheep and share how much Jesus loves all of us....God really had his way.

The family I live with continues to show me more of what it means to desire God all the time. It's actually quite amazing....I've had the privilage of praying with them for a few nights now. It has been amazing and brings us so much closer. I will miss them so much when I leave, they are really like family to me now.

My team has been relatively healthy the past little while, except Simon continues to be ill off an on. It might just be something we are eating!!! We have all gotten a lot closer, so that makes it easier to live with one another day after day. Emma is becoming like a little sister to me now.

Mel and I just found out last week that we are not able to go to the North as long as we are working for Oasis, so that felt really unfair at first, considering all the contacts I've made with people from there. Oasis obviously knows best though...we have to respect their authority and guidance as long as we are working with them. We are continuing to trust the Lord with this because I don't think He would have put the North on our hearts for no reason. His plans are so much better than ours anyways!! It may mean staying later in March, but He will have his way.

So i gave the wrong address before. This is my address in Uganda for anyone that feels so inclined as to write to me! I do love getting mail...

Miriam DeCock
Grace High School
c/o Wakida Fred
P.O. Box 16210
Wandegeya - Kampala
Uganda

Take care everyone!

2006-10-23T04:54:00.001-07:00

Relax, God is in control...

It has been an interesting two weeks. We dove right into our regular schedule which we have for the next couple of months until the children and highschool students leave for summer break. We are teaching at 4 different primary schools doing games and teaching Bible stories and activities. The children are so adorable and energetic! I have come to the conclusion that I am not and will never going to be a teacher (Lord willing that is). It has been hard for me to understand why God brought me all this way to Uganda to do mostly teaching when that is not my passion at all. I know His ways are not my ways, and He is sovereign, so that is encouraging.

We are also leading Bible Studies with the highschool students here at Grace High...I really love that part! We run a kids club at a church in the slums of Kampala on Saturdays. It is interesting. That and the primary school for orphans are probably the best projects we are doing so far.

As most of you know, I felt quite called to go to Northern Uganda where the people are suffering because of a civil war. As my team is in South Central Uganda, I was beginning to think I wouldn't get the opportunity to go to the North this time around........but there have been a couple promising developments in the past week!
Last Sunday I met a pastor who is planning a 2 day visit to minister and bring aid to people living in camps in November sometime. They seemed excited that I wanted to come along.

THEN on Saturday my team and I went to a big supermarket in Kampala. I saw a family in which 2 of them were wearing Invisible Children tshirts so I decided to go and talk to them. (I nearly didn't). It turns out the mom was Jolly from the documentary!!!! I burst into tears when I saw that it was her. These were the people that showed the film makers the suffering children in bus parks. We chatted for awhile and they gave me their phone number in Gulu so that I could get in touch to plan a visit to the North. I really believe that this wasn't a coincidence. God's word says that there is a reason for everything. Now I just have to make sure Oasis will let me go. I know that if the Lord wants me to go, we will provide the way. So I am extremely excited and re-energized about being here!!!

Please pray - for Simon's recovery as he was in the hospital yesterday on the drip for 2 hours.
- for the health of the whole team, we've all taken turns being ill!
- we need engergy and joy to work with children every day, I find it absolutely draining.
- a spirit of unity among us, we see a lot of each other
- against distractions, I've been kind of homesick lately

Here is an address that you can reach me at: Miriam DeCock, Grace High School, c/o Wakida Fred, P.O. Box 16210, Gayaza - Kampala, Uganda.

2006-10-09T05:47:00.000-07:00

Uganda is Amazing!!

I have now been in Uganda for a week. It is pretty awesome though. We spent the first few days in orientation, just getting used to the food and learning a bit about the country and language. On Thursday we all split up into our teams to leave for our placements. It was a very exciting day! My team is at Grace High School right next to a village called Kasangati. The people there are amazing....they treat us very well, too well in fact. For this month Emma and I are living with the headmaster and his beautiful family in their home. Fred is such a godly man...the past few days I have gone to sleep and woken up to the sound of him praying (quite loudly) in his living room. It's amazing. The students are so friendly. We first got introduced to them at their assembly, there are 600 of them. We had to introduce ourselves to them, all...it was very overwhelming. They have such love, faith, hope, joy.....they made us feel right at home. They have a fellowship/devotional time every night in which they sang for us and performed some dances for us. They may be materially poor, but spiritually they are so rich.

So far our team has performed some English songs to them and we've each had a turn speaking to the group. The first time was quite nerve racking, but they make you feel so loved that it gives you confidence. We have been to an African wedding.....so cool, as well as a really long, but good church service yesterday. The days here seem so long. They get up when the sun does and go to bed when it goes down.

Please pray for our team though. We have already had our hearts broken about the way we live in the West as well as the lack of faith and reliance upon God in comparrison to these people. It was quite the wake up call. We have gotten closer since we now realize that we need the Lord and each other to do anything. Quite humbling and good. Emma has been sick the past couple of days wiht a bacterical infection, so please pray for her. Our leader Simon feels I think helpless in terms of our mission at the moment and Dan is learning a lot about being strong and courageous. I am still a bit nervous about the teaching aspect, so any prayers would be appreciated. Praise God that Melissa and my visas worked out well.

I will not be able to post photos on here as the internet is not very good, so my words will have to be enough. I wish you could see what it is like here though. I can see why people often want to stay here. Take care.

2006-09-30T14:22:00.000-07:00

Leaving London When I Finally Know My Way Around It

We are finally leaving today for Uganda!!!! These last few days have been great, but it's definitely time to go. I met up with Mel and her dad at the London airport on Wednesday and on Thursday we said goodbye to him and we were on our own! We basically just wandered around the city looking at some of the sites (Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, London Bridge) and tried to figure out where we were going to stay for the next couple of days.

We found the Oasis office and the people there were great. They sent out a 'Homeless Canadians' email to our teammates and we simply just waited until one of them called with an offer. Our teammate JJ offered his home and so the Lord provided us with a wonderful place to stay with an awesome, funny, laid back Christian family called the Wyatts. They fed us and made us feel right at home. We even got to celebrate with them last night as a sort of going away party.

Mel and I (mostly Mel) have become experts on the fast paced underground train system in London, just in time for us to arrive in the relaxed atmosphere of Kampala, Uganda where it won't matter one bit. This has been a wonderful experience so far in that we have been learning more deeply to commit all of our ways to God and to trust Him with little things; finding a place to stay, being lost at times in London, finding the cheapest pair of shoes possible on Oxford Street, and much more! Today at church we met a lady who has been a missionary for 40 years and she gave us some words of wisdom about getting your rest on the missions field. It was very inspiring and encouraging to meet someone that has given her whole life to the work of the Lord.

We have spent last night as well as today repacking our bags as we just found out that our suitcases must weigh ten kgs less than we were told originally. It has been interesting and hard to decide what to leave and what we feel is the most important to take along. Please pray that Mel and I will both be able to get our "work visas" figured out when we arrive in Kampala. Our extra bit of travelling in our time off meant that we could not send our passports in with the rest of our team. Next time you hear from us we will be in Uganda!!! God bless.

2006-09-24T11:24:00.000-07:00

My time in Switzerland is quickly coming to a close. It has definitely been an experience that I will always cherish. It was so nice to be with family (away from home) before moving on to the next part of my adventure. Louise, Brian, and I visited some beautiful Swisse towns. Today was probably the best day so far. We went to an international church in Zurich that spoke English. This particular church was so full of love for the Lord and we could tell that the people were really a family. This was a wonderful answer to prayer for Louise and Brian as they have been looking for a suitable church to attend during their time here! We met a missionary couple also visting from Ontario...what a blessing they were to us.
We went for a "hike" (in flip flops) and boat rides. I will not miss taking the crowded train to every destination here, but I will miss Louise and Brian. Please pray that Melissa and I will find a place to stay for our last few days in London!

Hanging Out in Switzerland

2006-09-21T11:16:00.000-07:00

My journey to Uganda began on September 9, 2006 in Calgary, Alberta where my parents dropped me off and I met up with Mel Jennings to fly to London, England.

We arrived safely and began training with Oasis UK in Leicester, England. It was an awesome, but challenging week. We had sessions every day about cross-culture living, focussing on Christ, teaching, health and safety, and HIV awareness to name a few. It was great to finally meet the other 14 people that are going with us to Uganda. I found out who I will be on a team with and we all got to know each other as well as we could in 5 days! My team consists of five people; myself, Emma, Simon, Daniel, and Ross.

I then said goodbye to Mel and left for Zurich, Switzerland the day after training ended to visit my sister Louise and her husband Brian. It is so beautiful here - very clean and green! It's has been relaxing so far and we've seen some nice places on Louise's days off. We went to Bellinzona and went for a boat ride in Interlaken yesterday. It was probably the most beautiful place I've ever seen in the world (keep in mind I haven't seen that much of the world). I took a picture, but it just didn't quite seem to capture it. It made me think of the reality of John's word to us in Revelation about the Lord creating the new heavens and the new earth.

I will be going back to England next week to meet up with my team again. We fly to Uganda on Sunday, October 1st....finally! I can't wait to get started.