Volunteer Transitions

Spring is slowly making its way into Toronto bringing long-awaited change to our daily lives and our Volunteer Program is in transition. A couple of our Volunteers are reaching the end of their service with us, one has been added to our team, and one has had to return to Germany to attend to a family concern. Thanks for praying that the Lord will continue to bless us with great unity of purpose as we manage day-to-day affairs.

Andreas and Marcel, our volunteers at the Moffat Liebenzell Mission Centre have completed their service here in Canada and are presently on holiday for a few weeks before returning home to Germany. We appreciate the work they were able to accomplish at the Mission Centre-- chopping fire wood, felling trees, caring for the grounds and facilities. They were a key component in making our ministry to immigrant congregations an ongoing  success! The Mission Centre serves smaller church groups that need a place for retreats and personal get-aways.

We added Sara to our ranks in February! She has come to care for several children of our missionary candidates during the next five months. Sara has been able to integrate quickly despite some tough paperwork challenges that we are still working to resolve.Please pray with us as we work with Immigration to give them all the answers they are seeking.

Finally, one of our Volunteers serving UrbanPromise Toronto flew home urgently to attend to his father who suffered a serious heart attack. We continue to pray for Micha O, his father and his family. We hope and pray first that his father will make a full recovery, but then that Micha will be able to return to Canada and continue the great work he is doing with the after-school programs among at-risk kids in Toronto. We miss you, Micha! [Update: Moments after initially posting this we received news that Micha's father passed away. We are deeply saddened by this news. We take comfort in that his father was a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ and is now in the Lord's presence.]

In the next several weeks, we have a busy schedule. One of our Volunteers is off to Haiti with his church on a short-term mission trip. In April, all the volunteers will gather for a two-day retreat. After that, Spring will be fully upon us and we will be looking towards a great finish in June and July.

Thank you for your continued prayers and support of the work of Volunteer Year Toronto.

Suffering and Grace

This past week Donna and I grieved with a friend who lost his 22-year-old son to a motorcycle tragedy. We cannot begin to imagine the hurt that accompanies a loss like that. On our drive back from the funeral home, Donna and I were reflecting on our own lives and the perspective that losing a loved one brings.
No one seeks suffering, but Scripture teaches us that there is much to be learned when tragedy strikes.

A few weeks ago I quoted from a book Donna and I have been reading, and I return to it because of what it has taught us as we prepare for minstry in Toronto. Colin McCartney is the author, and he was newly acquainted with suffering when he wrote this:
"For the one true God to fill our souls, there must be a destruction of any false gods that are present. Before God can inhabit a soul, it must first become fit for divine habitation.Only empty vessels can be filled. Our souls were made only for God and the Holy of Holies cannot and will not tolerate any other rivals that inhabit our souls. God is a jealous God and rightfully so. He states that we cannot have any other gods before Him." Ex 20:3-6

That is a profound teaching for us in all life situations, but the practical matter of purging our souls comes only through deep suffering. This is what the Cross teaches us.

He goes on...
"In our own strength, we can only do so much to purge our flesh. The real purging comes when God allows us to suffer. In this way, suffering becomes an incredibly beautiful tragedy of grace-- a beautiful disappointment. This is why it is important not to run away from trials and tragedies, but to actually embrace them. This is why we must not ignore suffering." 

In our own experiences over the past 28 months, we have suffered-- in a different way than my friend, his wife and their daughters-- but we have suffered none the less. Early in the experience we were told to be on the lookout for God and His lessons. We were told that He will use it to strengthen our future ministry. As we are about to launch into a ministry of Pastoral Care in Toronto, we are convinced that God has been with us throughout.

"Praise be to God for His indescribable gift!"

(Italicized quotations are from "The Beautiful Disappointment - Discovering Who You Are Through the Trials of Life." by Colin McCartney, p.150)