Great Commission Awards

Two South West Ontario couples and a migrant worker from Cuernavaca, Mexico were honoured with the presentation of a Great Commission award from the Migrant Worker Ministry of WestPark Church in London, Ontario. Cleo Chavando has been coming to work near Grand Bend, Ontario every summer for many years and began attending a Spanish language church service for migrant workers on Saturday evenings. Cleo asked many questions about he heard and read in the Bible. About four years ago, he was baptized in Westpark Church and his mentors from Ontario joined him for a week of evangelism in his home in Mexico where they met and invited people people to his home and where a group of about forty people accepted Jesus as Savior. Cleo has always loved to cook and has prepared meals for Independence Day Celebrations in Canada and for the Workers Convention. Cleo has an infectious smile, a heart to serve and a love for Christ that merits recognition.

                Gord and Ruth Park from south of Sarnia have a heart for getting the scripture into the hands of people who have never had a Bible. They, through Sonshine Ministries, have made it possible for thousands and thousands of Bibles to be delivered to pastors in many states of Mexico. One pastor walked from his home out to meet Gord and explained that although he had been preaching for 30 years, he did not have a bible and there were no bibles in his church. The Parks also have arranged to get tracts and teaching resources into the hands of many pastors and leaders and to offer training workshops. Workers coming to Canada have also received bibles while here and beans have been distributed to workers in Ontario.

            The other couple, Lloyd and Barbara Peterson, has been working in ministry to Spanish speaking people for 31 years in the Dominican Republic, 13 years in Mexico and 15 years in Ontario. Barbara pastored a Spanish language congregation in Canada for several years. In the Dominican Republic, they have led mission teams doing street ministry, VBS and offering workshops and assisted construction teams. Most recently their ministry has been in mentoring leaders.  Tío Lloyd is known by many children for the bible balloon stories he tells. In Mexico, the ministry involved visiting the homes and families of men they met while they worked in Canada.  Their award reads “for your perseverance and dedication in Soul Winning in the Dominican Republic, Mexico and other countries.

Sunshine in My face

Sunshine in my face

Sano at my back

Cars passing by –

What’s it all about?

Looking forward

To a warm place

Going back to a great place

Leaving the cold behind

Tomorrow in the Dominican Republic

It can’t come to quick.

Written March 24, 2024

Give Me Your Eyes

Dame Tus Ojos is one of the songs we are learning in Spanish for our upcoming mission trip to the Dominican Republic. Dame Tus Ojos translates give me your eyes. It is an excellent song for missionaries.  Give me your eyes, I want to see, give me your words, I want to speak. Give me your feet, I want to go and your desires I want to feel.  Give me what I need to be like you. Give me your heart.

Our prayer is: give us your heart, Lord, give me your power and grace. Pray with us that we would have Jesus’s eyes and voice and heart on this trip as we speak with children, women and pastors.

Buttons, Bows and ….

Yesterday I spent several hours sorting and counting. I had ribbon, bows, artificial flowers, beads, bobbie pins, lace, small clothespins and needles and small pieces of paper with Proverbs 31:30 printed on them.  “A woman who fears the lord is to be praised.” Why?  Getting ready to do crafts and women’s ministry in several locations in the Dominican Republic.  The ladies will make bows for their hair, ribbon crosses to hang on the wall and /or small cards with bright flowers.

They will also hear stories of Mary. Elizabeth, Lydia, Ana and more. They will hear how much God values women and how they can serve God. It should be a lot of fun.

Seeing It Is Good

I love to work with a piece of aida cloth and watch what happens as I work. The cloth is white but with a few stitches colours emerge and with more stitches a shape emerges. I work until the design is complete. Many of the pieces I work become bookmarks and end up as gifts at women’s events in the Dominican Republic. I see it as good.

Recently I have developed an interest in painting. I have used pencils crayons, gel pens, water colours and oils. Again, it is good to see the canvas come alive and shapes appear which tell stories. Creation is captivating and life giving.

In the beginning, God created light and darkness, water and land, plants of all kinds, fish and animals of all kinds. And God saw that it was all good. When he had made mankind and saw all that He had done, He saw that it was very good. What I do is small but results from the creative spirit God has placed in mankind.

A Chord of Three Strands

Yesterday I heard this scripture twice within a couple of hours from Ecclesiastes 4:12. “Though one may be overpowered. Two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” I was struck by the first reference which was part of a conversation with a brother in Christ. Then about an hour and half later, I heard it again at a wedding ceremony.  The bride and groom braided three strands.

 I had not seen this symbolism in a marriage ceremony before. One strand represents the bride, one represents the groom, and the other represents God. These three strands are then intertwined into a braid that is not easily unraveled. What a beautiful way to place God at the centre of a marriage!

Jewels and Crowns

I recently received a lot of jewelry, rings, broaches, bracelets, necklaces and earrings. All of it is beautiful and I was asked to share them with women in the Dominican Republic.  A thought came to me about a phrase of earning jewels in our crowns. I began looking in the Bible for a verse(s) about earning a jewel in one’s crown. I did not find a clear answer but I have some verses that I will use as part of teaching when the jewelry is distributed.

            Zechariah prophesies the Lord’s appearance and says in 9:16,17 “the Lord their God will save his people on that day as a shepherd saves his flock. They will sparkle in his land like jewels in a crown. How attractive and beautiful they will be.” How wonderful to think of ourselves as beautiful jewels in the heavenly Father’s crown.  When Jesus wrote through John to the church in Smyrna, he urged the people not to fear and stated “Be faithful even to the point of death and I will give you life as a victor’s crown. Revelations” The Lord our God wants us to be victorious and to have a crown.  Again, wonderful words of encouragement to share with Dominican women.

            As for the question of earning jewels in our crown, I still don’t know but I read in I Corinthians 9:24, 25 that we are compared with an athlete training to win a crown. But we train “to get a crown that will last forever.”   We wear jewelry but how much better to wear a crown gained by training and serving God.  And how much better to know that we are jewels in God’s crown.

Nutcrackers and Christmas

This year we have something new in our Christmas decorations – two nutcracker statues of about three feet in height. Nutcracker figures became part of Christmas decorations after an 1892 ballet set on Christmas Eve. There are two acts in the ballet: in the first, a young girl sneaks down on Christmas Eve to play with her favorite present and the nutcracker comes alive. The girl, called Clara, assists the nutcracker in a battle against an evil Mouse King. In the second act, a handsome nutcracker prince whisks her off to the Land of Sweets.

Nutcracker figures come in various sizes and prices. We acquired two nutcrackers at a fundraiser auction for Nightlight Sarnia. The figures have fascinated people. A young three- year-old visiting us wanted to touch them and ask questions. He was amazed when Lloyd showed him how the figure’s mouth opened and cracked nuts. A couple from Ecuador also tried cracking walnuts and laughed saying they normally cracked nuts by putting them in the door frame and closing the door on the nut. Although no one came out in the middle of the night to see or react to our nutcrackers, they have been a source of fun and laughter.

Blue Christmas

Blue Christmas is a term used to refer to a Christmas experience while grieving – especially the first year after the death of a loved one. Today during our morning worship, there was a time of prayer for people grieving, a beautiful video of children singing – children who had lost a parent or a sibling. They sang with joy and peace. There were unlit candles that people could take home as reminders the deceased live on in hearts as long as we believe and remember.

My husband and I experienced this kind of grieving 24 years ago. It was so hard to decorate the Christmas tree that year and see ornaments that she had made. We had a real tree that year because she had wanted a real tree. Our daughter died two weeks before Christmas; presents for her were already wrapped and some had to be returned. I still remember taking one gift back and having to answer the question, “Why are you returning this?  The Christmas cookies we baked together stayed in the freezer. People marveled at my husband and I at the visitations and funeral and the peace and strength they could see in our faces.

We sat at the Christmas Eve service with tears in our eyes. I heard someone ask “Why are they here?” The answer was special. They are here because this is where they need to be. We knew that both the peace and strength we needed were given by God.

Luke 2:14 (KJV)states “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, good will toward men.” Those words sung to the shepherds by angels are still the good news of Christmas. The shepherds declared the birth to the town of Bethlehem. The three kings came and worshipped.  The baby who was the King of kings and Prince of peace comes today to bring peace to those who are hurting.

What is Christmas?

In a period of 24 hours, Lloyd and I were part of 3 Christmas experiences, each quite different from the other. First, we attended a family Christmas with a gift game and great food, pinwheels appetizers, turkey and ham and great desserts.  We enjoyed the Belgian cookies made using grandma’s recipe. Travel was good and we saw a new baby for the first time. There were laughs and memories shared and concern expressed for a variety of health concerns.

The next morning, we enjoyed a church service. Lloyd made a balloon story for the carol Away in a Manger. It was a bit of a challenge because one little girl wanted the balloon before it was completely shaped.  We sang a lot of traditional carols, listened to special music and then I gave a message. These days in December are advent days, advent candles are lit and it is a time to focus on quiet searching and waiting for the birth of Jesus once again.

 Two hours later we went to the nursing home down the street. Our friend led us in singing about 20 carols and the residents listened, moved with the music and/or sang. Some of the residents come in wheelchairs and a staff members helped them find the pages so they could sing along. When our caroling came to an end, each resident who came to the service and the helpers received a gift.  A lot of pleasure is found in dollar store decorations.  We had about six different types of ornaments and one woman received a small ornament – a church. She was so touched because it reminded her of the small church where her father had been a pastor. Another woman whose first language is Spanish had tears in her eyes as Lloyd and I sang Feliz Navidad. She held my hand and hugged me tightly as I prayed with her in Spanish. More than thirty residents will hang an ornament in their room or on their door.

Can you guess which of the three experiences touched me most?

Knowing Zion

My husband challenged me to write about Zion and it is quite a challenge. The name Zion comes from a Hebrew word meaning “highest point.”

My computer tells me there are 52 verses with the word Zion and another site says there are 87. The prophet Joel in chapter 2 twice calls the people to “blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm in my holy hill.”  Near the end of the chapter, he again states, “Blow the trumpet in Zion, declare a holy fast, call a sacred assembly.” These two verses tell us a lot about Zion. First, Zion is a mount or “holy hill. Mount Zion is one of two hills in Ancient Jerusalem. Second it is a holy hill; it is the place where Jawheh (God) dwells. It was a place for holy fasts and sacred assemblies. Zion is described as a city of holiness.

God speaks through Isaiah several times about Zion telling us that the Lord dwells on Mount Zion and that He will reign on Mount Zion with great glory.  King David was installed as king on Mount Zion. Zion is a place of glory, splendor; a place visited by travelers to see the burial place of David.

Zion is also described as a place of strength and of support according to the psalms.  And a seat of action of God. It is a place that was said to be unshakeable.

 Both the Psalms and the prophet Isaiah also see Zion as a place of refuge. Zion is a place where God protects his people. Zions was a place of towers and ramparts and citadels. Psalm 48 and Zion is a place of joy; Psalm 48 declares “Mount Zion rejoices.”

Isaac Watts wrote a hymn with this chorus: We’re marching to Zion, Beautiful, beautiful, Zion:
We’re marching upward to Zion, The beautiful city of God.

What does Zion mean to you and me today? Many are unfamiliar with the references to Mount Zion in the Bible.  And this short piece does not do justice to a complete understanding. However, we can and should think of holiness, refuge, glory, strength and joy. We should also be challenged by the words of Joel. Blow the trumpet – Sound the alarm – Declare a holy fast – Call a sacred assembly.   We are challenged to speak up to get people’s attention. We are called at the same time to seek God collectively and individually in fast and gathering in God’s holy presence.