Sunday, September 18, 2011

Gospel Giving

Wow it's been awhile since I have last written here! This is one of the main reasons why I knew it would be a bad idea for me to sign up for facebook...I would never have the patience to keep up both simultaneously. Well, a lot has happened in the last couple of months, nothing that a single post could tell. To sum it up, God has been working despite our crazy schedules and weary bodies...that's not any surprise!

My very first Island wedding was in July...congrats to Jennie and Troy Barton! With kindness and dedication, Jennie had driven me to Women's bible study each Tuesday night. When we are feeling hungry and don't want to go home right away after evening service, Jennie and Troy always ask if I want to join them a Wendy's for late night burgers or ice cream. Inevitably, it's an hour or so when Jennie, Troy, Peter and I just get a chance to share life with each other. In this small fellowship time, we end up talking about everything from geocaching to theology. Maybe it was the influence of a small town, a small guest list, or just a small family - but it's the first time I really loved the wedding celebrations because of the purity and simplicity of the reason for celebrating. Here, we witnessed the bride and groom demonstrate the action of their faith by showing their love through their actions...they walked around and served cake to each of their guests!

I am slowly spending more time with my housemates. They are not super touch-y feel-y be-my-best-friend type of people, but they certainly are generous and are willing to speak their mind. This picture was from awhile back now, and was of the first of a series of Tuesday nights that a local artist, Tim Chaisson, played at Peake's Quay with other Atlantic artists. Tim is definitely a pro musician, the best ears I have 'heard' at work in all the musicians I have seen perform this summer. His fiddling is amazing and his songs quite catchy. Below, Tim improvises on his fiddle to Chris Kirby (from Newfoundland) singing with his guitar.

In August, I had a few visitors :) One of my best friends, Melody, came for a short visit after driving with Victoria back to the east coast. It was so wonderful to spend time with Mel, catch up, hear about the ministries in which she is involved, break bread together, and explore the Island. Since junior high, we stopped seeing each other on a daily basis, but I am so glad we are bound by the Holy Spirit! Aside from Lilli, Mel is the only other person from Toronto who has hiked the path with me to visit the Greenwich dunes and white sands beach, one of my absolute favourite here (though I still have to see Lakeside!)
A summer wouldn't be complete without a birthday celebration either! We cooked up Sherry's favourite dishes, and as a farewell dinner we also cooked up something for Yao too. We also ended the night by watching Internal Affairs - I got so excited watching something in cantonese! It was such a memorable night :) These two girls are so sweet, I do hope one day they also find Christ. I know Yao is seeking to know who this God is with whom Sara and I have fallen head over heels in love, and would spend many a sleepless night serving. How I miss her! I am at peace to know that she has found a circle of brothers and sisters in Toronto...even if those Friday night bible studies just blow her mind and she ends up having to call Sara because there are just too many new and confusing notions presented to her. I praise God for working in her life and pray that she will continue to seek hard after Him!
Last, though not least by any means, is special mention of my family coming to visit me at the end of August. My brother and father managed a drive across to the Island, even though Mom really wanted to fly. They wanted to do everything and yet also wanted to relax. I didn't want them to be stressed, so they didn't wake up until late morning most days. I had so much I wanted to show them, there just wasn't enough time. I wanted to show my father the church communities God has given me, I wanted to attend the full Joshua Harris conference at Grace, I wanted to go hiking to show them my favourite nature spots, I wanted to bring them to see the Anne of Green Gables' museums, .... there was just too much for only 4 days! On the last day, we spent an evening just fixing bikes in the garage rather than going out anywhere...felt just like home :)


Before they left, I had a heart to heart with my family to tell them that I knew why God brought me to the Island and I didn't know what was next for me after my work contract expires in the new year. I truly believe that if God calls me, I can't just sit on my hands claiming my life is available for His work. I must then take action and go, go where He leads! I asked them to pray for me in this time of discerning God's will, not to think they must permit me to live in PEI forever. It perhaps was one of the hardest conversations I had with my family. So do I know what is in store? Nope. I will just have to continue to be curious about God's plan for me and keep searching for His will for me. Surely, He can use me wherever I am! I just want to learn to live a life that does not hesitate to go where He calls, to follow what He instructs, and to do what His Spirit prompts.

Today was run around crazy for, yes, another baptismal service at the PEI (chinese) church. God has been touching people's lives and we were able to share them with other believers and seekers in our community. The Murray Harbour church also came, how impressed I was to see them all there! The worship hall was packed; Wendy, Sara and I led mandarin and english music worship; youth stood up to translate their family member's testimonies into english; two boys who can never settle down helped Sara and I through all the refreshment prep, serving, and cleanup.... more than enough evidence for what we thought was impossible to be completed by our all-powerful God!

The final blessing of the evening that just added to the kickstart of this week was that I also managed to attend the evening worship service at Grace, even though cleanup at the chinese church ran late. We continued Pastor Richard's evening series on Gospel Giving, a few sermons dedicated to the church's responsibility in giving. Some thoughts to leave you with from Pastor Richard's sermon, which challenged me tonight:

If God measured my love for Him using only what I gave back to Him, would I be a great lover?

If God says, "I'm going to measure your love by what you do and not what you say," would I be a great lover?

If God evaluated my commitment to Him using only what I finish, not just what I start, would I be a committed disciple?

Labels: Church, Family, friends, PEI, Praise

posted at 9:28 PM by Jo -