My life has been getting very busy over the last few days. Lots of preparations for the English for Kids camps are filling up my email account, things that should have been done a few weeks ago need to get done now, organizing applications, answering questions, seeking answers, it all seems to be happening at once. My family is coming for a visit soon and I need to prepare for their stay, but that means getting a lot of things for the camps done before their visit. Life is just seeming very stressful at the moment. But I realized it isn't, at least it shouldn't be.
Almost every week I babysit one of the kids from the church so that his mother can learn how to drive. The father of the house is teaching his wife how to drive a stick-shift, and have asked me to watch their three year old son while they take an hour to practice her driving skills. The unique thing about this is that the child doesn't speak any English or French. They speak Russian in the home, and that is the language he speaks and understands. He is starting to learn some things in French, but he still mainly talks in Russian. So he sometimes doesn't understand me, but I definitely don't understand him, especially when his parents aren't around to translate. He is a talker and he likes to talk. And of course he talks in Russian, of which I know nothing except "good-bye."
Sometimes I am able to actively play with him, chasing balloons and toys and cars around the room, and other times I have tried reading to him in French. But today he was pretty content to play by himself and let me observe him. Even though I could not understand what he was narrating, I was still able to watch as his toys scaled mountains and ravines, built boats and bridges, created races and accidents and saved each other. I couldn't understand his words, but I could somewhat follow him and see his imagination take him anywhere.
Just watching him gave me time to think. I slowly forgot about the hassles that have been going through my head, and my stress levels went down as I quietly watched him play. His imaginations, his beliefs that these things in his head are happening made me think. What happened to our imagination? What happened to our faith? Children have such a strong faith in things and in people. When they believe something, they believe it. Even if you try to prove them wrong, like persuading them that unicorns and that Santa Claus doesn't exist, they will fight you so hard against what you say. They will very often believe something with no questions asked, they usually don't need proof to say it really exists or not. Yes their arguments can be faulty or weak, but their faith in that fact is so large that it will take a lot to persuade them otherwise.
Jesus said, "Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it." Luke 18:16,17
"Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 18:3
I believe that our faith in God and his salvation has to be like that of a child. But I think we forget that our faith in God for other things need to be like that of a child as well. Does a child worry about what he will eat later that day, or even tomorrow? Does a child worry that he/she has too much stuff to do in one day? Is a child worried about where he/she will be in their life in the next month, year, five years? The answer to that is no, but we as adults do worry and stress ourselves over these things. But if we put our childlike trust and faith in God during these times of stress and worry, we will be reminded that He is in control and that He will take care of us.
"Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, not about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more that food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seed after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." Matthew 6:25-34
(I added my own stress to certain aspects of this scripture passage.)
This is a lesson that I am in continual need to be reminded of. God is taking care of me and I do not need to worry about it. I may have a lot to do and "a lot on my plate," but if I bring my childlike faith to God, I know He will bring me through it. When we bring our stresses to God, he takes them away. We do not need to worry because we have an all-powerful, all-mighty, and all-loving God watching over us.
"What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?" Romans 8:31
" In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?" Psalm 56:4
I hope you all have a good and stress-free weekend.
In Christ,
Jennifer
Quebec City
Friday, May 22, 2015
Saturday, May 16, 2015
Ottawa- March for Life
This last Thursday, May 14th, I had the opportunity to be a part of the large March For Life that happens every year on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, the Canadian capital. On May 14, 1969, abortion was made legal in Canada and in 1988 all laws regulating abortion were omitted. (You can read more on that here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R_v_Morgentaler ) There are basically no laws against abortion right now. Since 1998 there has been a march through the streets of Ottawa in protest to these laws for abortion. This year was the 18th anniversary with an estimated number of 23,000 people.
This topic of abortion has always been a topic close to my heart. My church back home in California has always been very supportive of the local Pregnancy-Care Clinics and the Pro-Life movement. Within the last five years, my involvement and knowledge of this issue has increased. I am more aware of the sad truths of abortion and of the lies these clinics tell the world. It is a difficult topic to bring up, but the sad truth of the matter is that abortion is murder. I pray for those who do not realize this truth.
This last week, the government of California was going to discuss passing a bill that would force all pregnancy clinics to tell their clients about all options, especially abortion options. This would be a large "game changer," so to speak, if this bill was passed. I do not know what lies ahead for California or the United States, but I pray that many hearts will be changed on this topic. The bill was supposed to be read for a third time and voted on on Thursday the 14th. That has been rescheduled for another time next week, but please pray that this bill will not be passed. You can read a little more about the bill here.
Thursday started with a five hour drive with Pastor Ben from Quebec City to Ottawa. We got there a few hours early to attend a prayer meeting. Many Protestant and Reformed churches gathered together to pray for an hour before the march. It was a good service of singing hymns, prayers, and a message. The pastor reminded us that Jesus brings life even in the midst of death. If He could do that 2000 years ago, He could still do that today. And that is what we prayed for, that God would change the hearts of the men in Parliament and that a movement to end abortions would happen.
Then we made our way to Parliament Hill where many people were gathering for the speeches before the march started. It was a large gathering with the news crews watching.
I was amazed at the size of this event. You could see it going down the street, and when we turned to make a circle, you could still see the crowd at the other end of the block. Traffic was stopped for a good hour to let us walk.
This topic of abortion has always been a topic close to my heart. My church back home in California has always been very supportive of the local Pregnancy-Care Clinics and the Pro-Life movement. Within the last five years, my involvement and knowledge of this issue has increased. I am more aware of the sad truths of abortion and of the lies these clinics tell the world. It is a difficult topic to bring up, but the sad truth of the matter is that abortion is murder. I pray for those who do not realize this truth.
This last week, the government of California was going to discuss passing a bill that would force all pregnancy clinics to tell their clients about all options, especially abortion options. This would be a large "game changer," so to speak, if this bill was passed. I do not know what lies ahead for California or the United States, but I pray that many hearts will be changed on this topic. The bill was supposed to be read for a third time and voted on on Thursday the 14th. That has been rescheduled for another time next week, but please pray that this bill will not be passed. You can read a little more about the bill here.
Thursday started with a five hour drive with Pastor Ben from Quebec City to Ottawa. We got there a few hours early to attend a prayer meeting. Many Protestant and Reformed churches gathered together to pray for an hour before the march. It was a good service of singing hymns, prayers, and a message. The pastor reminded us that Jesus brings life even in the midst of death. If He could do that 2000 years ago, He could still do that today. And that is what we prayed for, that God would change the hearts of the men in Parliament and that a movement to end abortions would happen.
Then we made our way to Parliament Hill where many people were gathering for the speeches before the march started. It was a large gathering with the news crews watching.
(Justice for the unborn child)
Pastor Ben and I in front of Parliament.
The crowd grew larger as the march began.
I was amazed at the size of this event. You could see it going down the street, and when we turned to make a circle, you could still see the crowd at the other end of the block. Traffic was stopped for a good hour to let us walk.
There were some outbreaks against our cause during the speeches at the beginning, and there were also a few standing against us along the walk. At one corner there was a large group of around 30 people (maybe more) yelling and screaming at us. They had signs and chants against our walk. I was surprised at how much hatred came out of that corner full of curses and rude gestures. Even the police were there to keep them away from us and from creating a disturbance. I have experienced some oppression before at Life Chains, but nothing like this. It was a really sad thing to see.
We could not stay for the closing time of more speeches and prayers, so we left early. But as we left the city and looked back at the Parliament building, I couldn't help but pray for Canada. Abortion is an issue all around the world, and not just in the country we are born in. The situation is possibly worse in Canada than it is in the US, I don't know. But both countries need prayer. All the countries of the world need prayer. That is something we forget about.
Do not forget to pray.
Matthew 5:44 "But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you."
John 16:20, 22 "Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy.... So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you."
Let us rejoice knowing that Christ is coming and his coming will bring victory over death and sin forever. His coming will turn our sorrows into gladness because He has won.
Saturday, May 2, 2015
English Conversations
For the last several months, since November, I have been organizing events that we call English Conversations. Once a week, we have been offering a free, relaxing evening where Francophones can practice their English. It is a time of making conversations in English and, if necessary, help correct them with their grammar or words.
At first I had not idea what to do. I didn't know what to expect, or how I was even going to get people to come. I was able to receive lots of help from the pastor here, and also from a member of the church who teaches English. She has done events like this before and was able to really help me understand how it had worked in the past. Since then, it has become much easier for me to organize and prepare for, but I know I wouldn't have been able to get this started without their help. They both come to the groups when they can, but I can still come to them for help if I run out of ideas or questions to ask people. Every week I am so thankful for their help.
Our schedules for the evenings are pretty simple: we start with social conversations, people mingling when they come in, we will most often have a game of some sort, and then we split into smaller groups to discuss the subject for the evening. Subjects have ranged from talking about the upcoming holidays, to local new reports to general topics such as family, culture, technology, music, and comedy. We never know who exactly will show up for the evening, but we have seemed to always have a decent amount of people. Some people come for a few weeks, but slowly don't come back. Some come for one week and don't come back, with or without an excuse. Some people contact us ahead of time to get more information, and sometimes they show up that week or they don't. Some people are disappointed when they realize it is not an actual English class, and others don't come when they find out we meet in a church. But we still have those people who keep coming back. We can't get rid of them! :)
The size of our groups vary every week, but God has been faithful to us and we usually have between 6 to 10 people every week. We are thankful for all who come, not matter if they are new or a "regular" person.
This week was our last session for a while. We decided to take a long break for the summer in preparation for the long week of kid's camps this summer. I was very encouraged by the fact that a lot of the people who have been coming, still want to try and get together a few times this summer. They love practising their English and want to see more of each other as well. Hopefully I will be seeing some of them this summer.
I am very thankful to God for our success in this, and I pray that we will be able to reach even more people next year.
Here are a few pictures from our last session.
At first I had not idea what to do. I didn't know what to expect, or how I was even going to get people to come. I was able to receive lots of help from the pastor here, and also from a member of the church who teaches English. She has done events like this before and was able to really help me understand how it had worked in the past. Since then, it has become much easier for me to organize and prepare for, but I know I wouldn't have been able to get this started without their help. They both come to the groups when they can, but I can still come to them for help if I run out of ideas or questions to ask people. Every week I am so thankful for their help.
Our schedules for the evenings are pretty simple: we start with social conversations, people mingling when they come in, we will most often have a game of some sort, and then we split into smaller groups to discuss the subject for the evening. Subjects have ranged from talking about the upcoming holidays, to local new reports to general topics such as family, culture, technology, music, and comedy. We never know who exactly will show up for the evening, but we have seemed to always have a decent amount of people. Some people come for a few weeks, but slowly don't come back. Some come for one week and don't come back, with or without an excuse. Some people contact us ahead of time to get more information, and sometimes they show up that week or they don't. Some people are disappointed when they realize it is not an actual English class, and others don't come when they find out we meet in a church. But we still have those people who keep coming back. We can't get rid of them! :)
The size of our groups vary every week, but God has been faithful to us and we usually have between 6 to 10 people every week. We are thankful for all who come, not matter if they are new or a "regular" person.
This week was our last session for a while. We decided to take a long break for the summer in preparation for the long week of kid's camps this summer. I was very encouraged by the fact that a lot of the people who have been coming, still want to try and get together a few times this summer. They love practising their English and want to see more of each other as well. Hopefully I will be seeing some of them this summer.
I am very thankful to God for our success in this, and I pray that we will be able to reach even more people next year.
Here are a few pictures from our last session.
The people
The food
Socializing
Group discussion
I will miss these people, but Lord willingly, I will see them again later this year.
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