Merely His Vessel...

She said these words facing the rolling camera... 

God has used gifts and interests I already have to bring hope to dark places. ~ Alyssa.

I listened to my girl say those very same words as I watched the pilot video clip a few months after that segment was originally filmed on that beach where oceans rise, and this mama couldn't help but weep... deeply grateful for God's grace which truly is a beautiful thing!

Watch that same video segment with me here...


This motherhood gig, it surprised me... it surprised my man! And while many might say we did good raising this girl and her baby brother, I can't hardly even start to agree.

Because you see, their Heavenly Father did good as it's only purely solely by His grace alone and He. is. always. good.

This motherhood gig, it wasn't really my gig to start with. I am merely His vessel.

It was His gig all along! 

And by His amazingly wild grace, He's allowed my girl to be a huge part of this amazing project called "True Story: What God wants us to do about poverty" --- a video-based curriculum made available for free by Compassion Canada to churches, schools, ministry groups, families... and anyone who wants to use it, really! And everything, I mean everything --- videos and accompanying resources --- are all downloadable for free from the website!

Earlier this month, True Story officially launched!

The week it launched, I had the honour of writing about it on the blog, Compassion Family. And that weekend, my girl and I embarked on a road-trip to represent Compassion Canada in promoting True Story at three youth conferences!

#1000gifts ~ Road-tripping with @_godsgal4ever on this long weekend and driving through old downtown Cambridge. We are headed to three youth conferences where she will be speaking about Compassion Canada's #TrueStorySeries! #proudmama

A photo posted by Aimee Esparaz (@mama2greatkids) on May 16, 2015 at 9:02am PDT

First Event: Pitch and Praise

#1000gifts ~ Super proud of this girl as she speaks to her peers this weekend challenging them to live a life of Biblical justice & compassion! #TrueStorySeries

A photo posted by Aimee Esparaz (@mama2greatkids) on May 16, 2015 at 11:48am PDT

Second Event: All Ontario Youth Convention

Third Event: Overflow Youth Conference

I prayed and she bravely shared her story to 4,000 of her peers... 
Of once living a boring check-list faith kind of life and then experiencing an overwhelming helpless faith and of finally discovering the beauty of living out God's story of redemption and being empowered to spread His love, light and hope to this broken world.

#1000gifts ~ God is good! @_godsgal4ever did awesome sharing her story at #OFLO15 this morning. A few @compassion children sponsored already! Yay!!! #TrueStorySeries #proudmama

A video posted by Aimee Esparaz (@mama2greatkids) on May 17, 2015 at 9:06am PDT

And God used her greatly over that weekend... 
More than what we asked for or even imagined... not only did many youth groups express interest in True Story, we had the immense joy of seeing 76 children, yes seventy-six!!!, released from poverty in Jesus' name at those three weekend youth events!

I am humbled. Floored. Deeply grateful for grace.

On that same weekend... 

The men in our family were on a road-trip of their own for my boy to compete at the National Capital Region 2015 speed-cubing competition where he got his very first FIRST PLACE podium finish since he started officially competing!

Here's the video of that first-place solve {wearing his Compassion shirt and lanyard, no less!}:

You know that quote I started this blog post with above?

God has used gifts and interests I already have to bring hope to dark places. ~ Alyssa.

It isn't only true in his sister's life. It is also true in this boy's life.

God's goodness and His faithfulness truly never cease to amaze me. I am continually awed that He would invite us to join Him in life-changing Kingdom work. 

I am awed that He can use something such as speed-cubing to build His Kingdom!

In recent days, God has allowed my boy to be a part of an amazing initiative --- helping out at a Rubik's Cube club in an inner-city community, inside a local public school, through the ministry of UrbanPromise Toronto, a ministry that our family has long loved and supported!

And it is UrbanPromise Toronto's hope that such clubs can be established in all three communities where they minister at --- to help them "reach a child, raise a leader, restore community." And they would like my boy to be a part in making that a reality!

To reach children in Toronto Community Housing with the love of Jesus, and raise them into leaders, who restore their community.

Don't you just love UrbanPromise's mission and vision statement? I do!

I am excited for what this next season holds for our family in terms of being Jesus' hands and feet. God has been intensely showing us, in more ways than one, how He would like us to continue joining Him in His Kingdom work.

And as He's clearly shown us in recent months and days, He is actively using gifts and interests that my kids already have to bring hope to dark places.

And for that, this mama is deeply grateful and is thoroughly enjoying this wild ride. 

After all, it's His gig and not mine.

I am merely His vessel...

Compassion is a command, an act of worship, a song of thanks to Him.

Do justice. Love mercy. Walk humbly with God!

Memories of Christmases Long Ago...

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas...
I learned this well-known Christmas tune when I was just a child. Yet, I always wondered what the words meant. White Christmas? Just like the ones I used to know? Tree tops glisten? Sleigh bells in the snow?

Hmmm... what might those words mean? I didn't know! Because... you see, I grew up in the Philippines and all our Christmases were green, sunny and warm!

Christmas Paróls. Photo Credit: Wikipedia. 

Christmas meant decorating our home with these colourful star-shaped paper lanterns, called paról, which we bought from vendors who came knocking at the gate of our house.

Christmas also meant carolers frequenting our house to sing Christmas tunes right outside our gate... many of them children who live in poverty, in hand are their makeshift instruments made from aluminum bottle caps strung on a wire, looking to make a few extra pesos during the Christmas season.

Christmas also meant parties... with special yummy food reserved only for occasions such as birthdays and Christmases. Foods like the famous lechón (roast pig) of Cebu; like the delicious dessert known as food for the gods; and of course, the Filipino-style Christmas ham!

Thinking back...
My most favourite Christmas memory hands-down, more than the decorations and the carolers and the food, would be helping my mom shop for and wrap Christmas presents! 

My sister and me, a 70s Christmas!

You see, my parents owned a factory back then and there were hundreds of people who worked for them. Each and every one of them were on my mom's Christmas list! 

Come Christmas-time, my mom became Santa! She made sure to start her list early and checked it twice... and oftentimes, I was her trusty elf... er, I mean assistant! :)

After the shopping was all done, she and I would stay up late for at least a week and wrap presents. I remember taking the time to wrap each present nicely, making each one special with a bow and hand-labeling each card.

As a young child, to me Christmas became all about giving... and not at all about getting.

Every Christmas, I looked forward to the big Christmas party where all of our factory workers and their families were invited to! My favourite memory of those parties is when I got to help hand out the Christmas presents!

When I was a teenager...
My parents moved our family to Canada... right before the Christmas of 1988. That was when I experienced my first white Christmas... when I finally knew what glistening tree tops look like and what sleigh bells sound like!

My two younger sisters and I. Our first white Christmas!

That was also when Christmas became all about getting.

It was so easy to get sucked into the commercialization of Christmas that this first-world society so readily promotes.

The flyers. The sales. The promos.

The crowds. The hustle. The bustle.

And Boxing Day. Yes, that! Upon arriving in this country a mere few days before Christmas, we were quickly schooled about Boxing Day... not about its true origin and meaning, but about its commercialization and how we are to participate in it!

It's The Day everyone goes shopping, we were told. Bargains and amazing deals will be hard to resist, we were told. You have to beat the crowds and head to the mall early, we were told.

And that we did. We did what we were told. We didn't question one bit where the true meaning of Christmas disappeared to...

Even after hubby and I got married... after our girl came along... even after our boy joined our family, we did Christmas no differently. We were totally sucked into the whole commercialization of Christmas!

Oh yes, all those years we packed Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes and volunteered at dinners for the homeless... but at the same time, we also used Christmas as an excuse to lavish extravagant gifts upon ourselves.

We weren't celebrating Christmas meaningfully and we weren't giving generously. Sadly, Christ wasn't at the centre of our Christmas. 

But God's grace...
It relentlessly pursued us and slowly changed our hearts. Today, Christmas for our family looks much different than the Christmases of long ago. It has done a total about face. We now celebrate an upside-down Christmas...

Be brave enough to return the fake CHRISTmases and only bring home the real one that has CHRIST at the center of it.

Be brave enough to return any Christmas too small for the size of your soul — and only wear a Christmas large enough for real joy.

Be brave enough to turn Christmas upside down because this coming Christ ushered in the Upside Down Kingdom where

less is more and

weak is strong and

least is greatest and

consumers can get consumed and

giving is greater than getting.

~ Ann Voskamp, A Holy Experience.

The true meaning of Christmas...

It has come to stay at our house... and we are grateful that it has! It is upside-down, it is counter-cultural, it is cross-shaped. It is how Christ-followers are designed to celebrate Christmas!

It is looking more like the Christmases from my childhood days... where consumers aren't consumed and giving is greater than getting; where doing justice and loving mercy is at its core and where walking humbly with God is key.

Friends, will you join us? 

In making Christmas an upside-down one this year? Here are a few ideas...

:: The story of our upside-down Christmas last year.

:: Buy a Gift of Compassion and give it as a Christmas gift. {Hint: this is a great teacher gift!}

:: Check out Advent Conspiracy... because Christmas can still change the world.

:: Give the Gift of Mentorship... a gift for our friends at UrbanPromise, a gift that will keep on giving!

Because... one of the above idea just might transform someone's dark Christmas into one that is merry and bright... in turn making your Christmas truly merry and bright!

Because...

Your calling is radically this: Gloriously hijack every darkness with grace.

To love mercy and do justice and follow Christ means to be The Revolutionary Guerrillas of Grace — radically turning the fallen world Upside Down.

~ Ann Voskamp, A Holy Experience.

Compassion is a command, an act of worship, a song of thanks to Him.

Do justice. Love mercy. Walk humbly with God!

On Resting Yet Being Fully Engaged

It's the last week of summer...
School starts back up again for my kids next week. Ministry at church will ramp back up into a fuller schedule and work will pick up volume again for me.

It's been an awesome summer of rest for our family, one I am hesitant to let go of... I relished the lazy and unhurried days, the late mornings, the unscheduled weeks and the take-it-one-day-at-a-time disposition.

There were many things we thought we'd do, yet ended up not doing... because we chose rest, we chose to take it easy, we chose to just be. And, it honestly turned out to be the much better choice. 

Yet, in our choice to rest, we didn't disengage. 

I remember back to the teaching that our Lead Pastor gave us before the start of this summer season. He taught from the passages in the Book of John, Chapter 4, where Jesus ministered to the Samaritan woman by the well.

Jesus had just arrived in Sychar, a town in Samaria. Jesus, tired from His journey, sat down by Jacob's well to rest. Yet, in His time of rest, He didn't stop being on-mission. Through His conversation and ministry to the Samaritan woman, her life and the lives of the people in her community were radically transformed.

Our Lead Pastor urged us all to remain fully engaged and be actively on-mission as Christ-followers even during our time of rest this summer. And that is just what our family did! 

We just got back from our summer road trip...

It is the first day back to work for both hubby and me after being off for 10 days. As I sat down at my desk and logged on to my computer this morning, this news headline greeted me... of two teen boys, not much older than my own kids, shot to death. It is a sad and stark reminder that brokenness and hopelessness don't go on vacation, precisely why Christ-followers shouldn't take a vacation from being on-mission. 

To read this story on the CBCNews website, please click here.

This incidence of gun violence particularly shook me to the core because, once again, it happened in the Jane and Finch neighbourhood... where our friends at UrbanPromise's Camp Freedom and Ephraim's Place live!

It is the neighbourhood where our family went to help paint homes with Ephraim's Place at the start of this summer season.

It is the neighbourhood where my kids and I delivered fresh fruits and vegetables to UrbanPromise's Camp Freedom every Monday morning this summer season.

It is the neighbourhood where our church went to help put together an end-of-summer Community BBQ at Camp Freedom just this last week!

It is the neighbourhood God has most sent our family and our church to go and be the gift!

This incidence of gun violence propelled me to the start of our family's summer road trip, just 10 days ago. We started in Wilmington, Delaware... another city where UrbanPromise can be found, where we literally drove past a crime scene... cordoned off with yellow police tape, heavily swarming with police officers, with dozens of evidence markers right there on the sidewalk and on the street.

My girl has traveled there twice these last two years with our church's youth group in order to help UrbanPromise Wilmington with their ministry to inner-city children. She has told us story upon story about her experiences there and wished we could see the city with our own eyes.

So we decided to make Wilmington the first stop on our summer road trip this year!

And, my girl is right... her stories from Wilmington pale in comparison to seeing this city with our very own eyes. Trust me... God has truly gifted my girl with words. She writes with emotion and tells stories with zeal. Yet, her words... both spoken and written, could not have prepared me for what I saw in Wilmington. 

Because I don't think there are words that can adequately describe brokenness and hopelessness. It is something to be seen by the eyes and felt by the heart. 

As we drove through Wilmington's most poverty-stricken street, where the UrbanPromise children live, my heart broke... for the things that break God's heart. I couldn't even lift my camera up to take pictures. I felt that I would be invading these people's privacy and dignity by taking photos.

This one photo, which isn't even from that one street, somewhat paints the picture: people walking aimlessly, pushing empty grocery carts looking for recyclables they can resell, eerily quiet streets, people sitting on porch steps with empty stares, children wandering the streets on their own...

As much as my heart was broken, I gave thanks to God for the ministry of UrbanPromise. We got a tour of their facility from a staff member, Laurie. She so graciously welcomed us even though we dropped in unannounced.

I love UrbanPromise's vision and mission:

Our vision is to be a community in Christ of servant leadership and transformation, seeking a full life for all involved: urban youth, families, staff, and volunteers in the neighborhoods of our city.

The mission of UrbanPromise Wilmington is to equip children and young adults through Christ with the skills necessary for academic achievement, life management, personal growth and servant leadership.

~ from the UrbanPromise Wilmington website.  

They are equipping children and young adults, building character and teaching skills, through Christ! Yes, through Christ... which I believe is the most essential ingredient of all. Don't you?

Brokenness and hopelessness is only redeemable through Christ. This is true in the Jane and Finch community here in Toronto. This is true in the inner-city neighbourhoods of Wilmington. This is also true in all of our lives!

As we journeyed on with our summer road trip...

We continued to look for opportunities to be on-mission. Interestingly enough, we found God giving us more opportunities to learn about being on-mission, more than opportunities to be on-mission. We soaked in the opportunities... being fully engaged, and open to learning:

At the Wilmington Riverfront: Learning about our responsibility to care for and not abuse the land
which God has provided for our good.

By the Christina River: I was reminded once again... that "time flows like a relentless river."
We must not waste opportunities to be on-mission for Jesus!

At The Amish Village: Where we were inspired by how the Amish people
live simple and generous lives, in community with fellow Christ-followers.

At The Sight and Sound Theatres' production of Noah: We were inspired, yet again, by Noah's story of faith and radical obedience to God, even amidst mockery. He lived counter-culturally, as an ordinary radical!

Along the Susquehanna River: Again, "time flows like a relentless river."
Live an abundant cross-shaped life today! Now, today... not tomorrow.

At the Habitat ReStore in Lancaster: Where hubby had an opportunity
to offer some IT help/advice.

Yes, this! "Count your blessings, not your problems." Be the gift.

At an old 1800s school house, where this antique Bible was flipped
to Isaiah 58, "the fast which God accepteth."

Still at the old 1800s school house...
"Open your heart to the poor. Pray to do right."

Target gift cards, left in our hotel room for the cleaning ladies! 

At the Mennonite Information Centre in Lancaster:
"True evangelical faith cannot lie dormant."

Still at the Mennonite Information Centre: Let's pursue this dream, too!

All in all, this summer's been great and we had an awesome time of vacation!

We rested, we spent quality time as a family, we soaked in the learning, we remained fully engaged and on-mission for Jesus, we were indeed, truly blessed... just like what it says in these verses from Matthew 11:28-30:

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. (NIV)

Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me — watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly. (The Message)

Now, if summer could linger on for just a few more weeks...

:: :: ::

As I continue to count grace-gifts, with unending thanks... to The One who is always good and who always loves... these are the things I am thankful for this month... #3041 - #3054:

:: The blissful weeks of summer.

:: Time spent on vacation as a family.

:: Our family starting a Kiva account!

:: Some time spent with my entire extended family as part of our vacation in Lancaster, PA.

:: The opportunities God gives to be on-mission with Him.

:: How He loves relentlessly, always pursuing us and never letting go! 

:: Dinner with a young family from our church, and being inspired by their hearts' desire to be on-mission! 

:: Awesome planning meeting with our Lead Pastor and looking ahead into the Fall months and anticipating what God has in store for our church in terms of compassion and social justice initiatives!

:: A Compassion child sponsored!

:: Sleepovers! 

:: A surprise birthday party! 

:: Optometrist, dentist, orthodontist appointments. It is a gift to have access to these medical professionals!

:: The start of a great teaching series at church called "Mind The Gap". 

:: This finale, from the previous teaching series at church called "One Church"... called "Live A Salty Life!"... have a watch:

Hello Monday!

For true evangelical faith cannot lie dormant; but manifests itself in all righteousness and works of love. ~ Menno Simons.

Choosing to live a surrendered life... because Christ's love compels me... and giving thanks for everything that my good God so freely bestows, so lavishly gives and so extravagantly showers!

Compassion is a command, an act of worship, a song of thanks to Him.

Do justice. Love mercy. Walk humbly with God!

On Being The Gift

So, how is it mid-August already?!?

As our family winds down for some vacation time, before the summer ends, I can't help but reflect back on just how fast this summer has gone by for us!

I'm glad that we took is easy... didn't plan so many structured activities... and just let lazy days go by, one by one.

We did do one scheduled thing, every Monday morning, for six weeks this summer. We shopped and delivered fresh fruits and vegetables to UrbanPromise's Camp Freedom, a ministry for under-privileged children living in government housing.

Towards the end of the ministry year in June, our church was able to bless this ministry with all of their snacks and supplies needs for the six-week summer camp. What a blessing it was for me to coordinate for all of this to happen! It truly is so awesome to be part of a faith community that truly gets what it means to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with God!

Peeps from one of our Home Churches shopping for craft supplies!

Camp Freedom interns in their fully-stocked storage room.

Snacks for the entire summer!!!

However, there was still a gap. Camp Freedom still needed fresh fruits and vegetables to supplement their snack time with all summer long. Our family decided that we would be the gift and fill this gap!

Each Monday morning, my kids and I went grocery shopping... and drove into the Jane/Finch neighbourhood to deliver the fruits and vegetables. I would say that those Monday mornings count as the most meaningful and memorable moments of our summer!

Camp Freedom kids!

A week's worth of fresh produce for Camp Freedom.

As we head off for a short vacation, a volunteer team from our church family will be at Camp Freedom tonight as we help them out with their end-of-summer Community BBQ! Our church has budgeted to provide all the food for this evening's event which my kids and I went shopping for yesterday!!! You should have seen the looks we got at Costco with our cart full of 200+ hot-dogs and buns, among other things! :)

Hot-dogs and veggie trays!

Ice cream sandwiches and frozen juice.

And, all the other stuff... buns, chips, condiments!

We are sad to be missing the party tonight... 
But watching this video will help us feel better... as we party along with all our friends at Camp Freedom! Don't you just love their energy?!?



My favourite blogger, fellow Compassion Advocate and friend, Ann Voskamp, just celebrated her 40th birthday by being the gift. It is such an inspiration!!! It spurs me on toward more love and good deeds!

We are bringing these along on vacation to look for opportunities to #BeTheGift!

Friends, will you join in and be the gift too?
Go out on a limb and be the gift today... because...

We are the ones who look at the calendar, who see time passing by, who want our lives to add up to more meaning than some tacky glitz in our closet or some egotistical gleam in our garage, who want our lives to add up to an eternity of loving God. We are the young and the old and in between who are the Esther Generation who have been called for such a time as this – to risk our lives, to go out on a limb right now, for our family outside the gate. If you really are part of the family tree of God – you have to go out on a limb. You have to be the Giving Tree.

~ Ann Voskamp.

I had an interesting conversation the other day with someone who is on staff at a local church. When she found out that our family attends The Meeting House, she asked me a question. She wanted to know how people are responding to our church's "heavy emphasis" on compassion because, according to her, "It is always part of your teaching pastor's sermons."

I don't know the reason behind her asking me the question. Perhaps she is just genuinely curious. Perhaps she is wanting to implement something similar at her church. Perhaps it's just a topic for conversation and nothing more.

I couldn't help but "listen between the lines" though and feel that she yearns for more, of doing compassion more... perhaps in her own life or in the life of those who are part of her faith community.

I didn't know quite how to answer her... except to say that it really isn't seen, by the majority of our faith family, as an add-on to our lives but rather, a lifestyle, and that it saddens me to realize that it isn't so for many fellow Christ-followers today. Yes, "following Jesus includes serving and experiencing life among people who are on the margins of society. It’s a command that God doesn’t take lightly." It really isn't just something randomly taught by our teaching pastor. It is a command that God doesn't take lightly!

Nowhere is Jesus saying that the work of social justice is how you work your way to Christ.

Everywhere Jesus is saying that the work of social justice is the sign that Christ is at work in you.

~ Ann Voskamp.

So, why isn't this a lifestyle more commonly adopted by today's Christians?!?

This Tim Keller quote from Ann Voskamp's birthday blog post the other day struck a chord with me...

"This is a great shock to the people in the Bible-believing churches,” offers Tim Keller, “because they've always thought that, even though it’s nice to take care of the poor and it’s good to take care of people who are needy, and it’s a nice thing if you can get to it, almost everybody in the Christian church thinks of it as an optional thing. We should all worship. We should all evangelize. We should all have fellowship. We should all sit and listen to the Word of God. But social compassion is optional – Do you see how that’s not true?”

It's the last few weeks of summer, friends!!!

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds...

~ Hebrews 10:23-24, NIV.

To sit in the theater of God and see His glory crack the dark, to open the eyes of my heart to see the fountain of His grace, 1000 and more, I have to split heart open to more and more of Jesus. Who can split open the eyelids but Jesus? He tears the veil to the Holy of Holies, gives me the only seeing I have. I have been lost and now I am found and I sing it softly, before the flying of the flocks south, "Be thou my vision, oh Lord of my heart."

~ Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts.

"My counsel for you is simple and straightforward: Just go ahead with what you’ve been given. You received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live him. You’re deeply rooted in him. You’re well constructed upon him. You know your way around the faith. Now do what you’ve been taught. School’s out; quit studying the subject and start living it! And let your living spill over into thanksgiving."

~ Colossians 2:6-7, The Message.

Compassion is a command, an act of worship, a song of thanks to Him.

Do justice. Love mercy. Walk humbly with God!

Summer Monday Mornings

This is a wondrous thing: We all make a mark. We can either mark the world or mar the world. It behooves us to leave a trail behind that leads to the better - greater life, deeper joy, more Truth.

Christ didn't leave this world until he showed us his scars and we won't leave this world until we leave our marks.

A gift never stops being a gift. A gift is always meant to be given.

~ Ann Voskamp, in the book What's Your Mark? by Jeremy Cowart.

Yes! Another summer Monday morning...

You see, my kids and I... we have this routine on Monday mornings this summer. So, this morning was no different. Yet, after this weekend's Zimmerman verdict, this particular Monday morning seems a bit darker even when the summer sun's yellow rays streamed brightly into my bedroom, gently waking me.

We discussed this verdict quite a bit over the weekend here at our house, because my girl has recently came to the realization that she might want to be a lawyer one day.

We live in a broken society... where guns are legal... and venturing out to buy a pack of Skittles isn't particularly safe. Friends, I am not even sure that there is a need for me to choose a side... George Zimmerman's or Trayvon Martin's... what I do know for certain is that we live in a broken world.

A world so broken... Christ had to be broken to redeem it.

My kids and I, we load up the trunk of our station wagon... 

Watermelons, oranges, apples, bananas, cucumbers, baby carrots, breads and bagels... and we drive into the Jane/Finch community, a neighbourhood located in the northwest end of Toronto where UrbanPromise has a community called Camp Freedom. 

This is the Jane and Finch neighbourhood in a nutshell:

The community has one of the largest concentrations of criminal gangs of any area in Canada. It also has "one of the highest proportions of youth, sole-supported families, refugees and immigrants, low-income earners and public housing tenants of any community in Toronto”. (Source: Wikipedia)

We pull into the parking lot of Christian Centre Church, the place where Camp Freedom calls home. Our family loves Camp Freedom and we have been frequenting the Jane and Finch community for a few years now. 

Yes, poverty is clearly evident and it definitely feels like an inner-city community. But over the years, the gangs and the violence have become less and less of a deterrent for our family venturing into this community. In fact, I can say that today I don't even think about that aspect of Jane and Finch anymore! 

It truly is a beautiful thing when God leads us to step out of our comfort zones. If you asked me just five years ago if I would venture into this community with my children in tow, all by myself, without hubby... "No way!" would be my emphatic answer!

The kids and I, we unload our car... 

As we were carrying the food into the church, a young man was exiting the front doors at the same time. Having been frequenting Camp Freedom for a few years now, what the young man said to us actually threw me off a bit. He said, "Good morning! Are you donors?"

  

Donors?!? I wasn't quite sure how to respond... I said something along these lines, "Yes, we're here with this week's supply of fruits and vegetables for the Camp Freedom kids."

Ann Voskamp wrote this today...

A sunrise like that could make you believe.
Could make you believe that color is real.

Yes, like that sunshine that woke me up this morning. And yes, color is real... in the larger Jane and Finch community, and particularly in the Camp Freedom family, it still is real.

Some of the Camp Freedom children.

Yes, my color labelled me as "donor"... but our family's goal is to be more than donors... we want to be known as friends, as family, as community. And our color will not stand in the way... but that love will show the way.

And the beautiful thing is this: We are friends and we have become family to the Camp Freedom community. Those who know us would say so, at least I hope they would. :)

Ann Voskamp further writes this morning...

You could believe in a world where families living in gated communities of middle class burn with the fire that they are the Esther Generation, light with the purpose that they are here for such a time as this, ignite with glory that they are here to risk their status for those outside the gate — or what will be lost isn’t just your chance to change the world — but your own soul, the soul of this land, the soul of the next generation.

There is the believing something.

Then there is to Be Living It.

Yes, I desperately want to burn with this fire! I desperately want to live it.

As we were pulling into the parking lot, a little boy, no more than 7 years old, was walking towards the front doors of the church. He was there to attend Camp Freedom. I've never seen him before. He must be new to Camp Freedom. 

As we entered the gym, he came in as well. I said, "What's your name, buddy?" He said, "Jeffrey."

Jeffrey came into the kitchen just as we were piling the fruits and vegetables onto the counter-top. He needed a drink after walking in the scorching summer sun to get to Camp Freedom. As we were leaving, I said to him, "Bye, Jeffrey! Have fun this week, OK?"

To which he answered, "Yes, I will. See you again next week!"

I love it! Jeffrey looks forward to our returning next week. Perhaps, we can linger a while and play with him? Perhaps, we can help him with a craft? Perhaps, then we will become his friend, his family, his community? Perhaps, then we will leave a mark?

As long as darkness exists...

Friends, as long as there are Jeffreys... as long as there are George Zimmermans... as long as there are Trayvon Martins... as long as color is real... as long as our world is broken... Christ-followers need to bring Christ's light into this dark world. 

We have a calling... not to mar the world, but to leave a mark in this world.

As Ann Voskamp further writes in her blog post from this morning...

I am oppressed by gratitude.

That I breathe, that there is light.

That there is always hope.

A life oppressed by gratitude lives unbound, lives broken and given.

When your life’s oppressed by gratitude — you can’t help but make your life about freedom for the oppressed.

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”

The light keeps driving up the greying sky.

You could watch the sun rise and know that we will rise to this.

We will do nothing less than rise.

:: :: ::

As I continue to count grace-gifts, with unending thanks... to The One who compels us to love beyond our comfort zones... these are the things I am thankful for these two weeks... #3011 - #3021:

:: Slow summer days!

:: Lunch with a girlfriend.

:: Writing our Compassion children.

:: Awesome medical and dental care.

:: Dinner out with hubby... yummy Korean food!

:: Awesome personal best results at the Canadian Open speed cubing competition for my boy!

:: A completed building for Patnubay Child Development Centre, the Compassion project where our Florianlyn belongs to... still in awe that God would use our family to accomplish this! 

:: Hanging out with my niece and nephew as my sister is away on a missions trip to the Philippines.

:: My sister meeting our LDP student, Rechelle, in the Philippines!!!

:: Goodbyes... our youth pastor leaving.

:: Our friends at Camp Freedom!

Hello Monday!

Choosing to live a surrendered life... because Christ's love compels me... and giving thanks for everything that my good God so freely bestows, so lavishly gives and so extravagantly showers!

Compassion is a command, an act of worship, a song of thanks to Him.

Do justice. Love mercy. Walk humbly with God!

Our March Break

It's back-to-school Monday... 

Another March Break has come and gone. It started with Spring-forward Sunday, when we had to get up extra early to drive across the city to our church's main site so that my girl can meet up with the youth compassion team for their week-long compassion trip to UrbanPromise Wilmington.

We woke up at 5:30am, which felt like 4:30am with the time change! Lots of coffee kept me awake that day for sure! :-) I am, however, loving the fact that it is still bright at 6pm nowadays. Yes, Spring is finally coming!!!

My girl had an awesome week! She was assigned to update the youth group's blog with a couple of posts about their week. 

When we picked her up last night, she told us story after story about her week... talking non-stop through dinner and on the drive, all the way home! Yes, our chatterbox girl is definitely back! :-)

Seriously though, I see evidence of God opening her eyes even more to the things that break His heart, as evidenced by her Facebook status update upon returning home...

my heart is so unbelievably full. Jesus is doing amazing, wonderful, beautiful things through UrbanPromise Wilmington and i am so blessed to have been a tiny part of it. i don't even know if i'll be able to put it all into words but i'll try over the next few weeks and months.

God is just so good and that's all.

So, back to the start of our March Break, it was pretty quiet around here {with our Miss Chatterbox being away :-)}... it just wasn't the same without her! But, we had a good week nevertheless... mostly, my boy and me, as hubby was mostly working.

This is why I love the flexibility that my job offers. I was able to work less {I'll have to catch up a bit this week} in order to spend some time with my boy. The highlight of his week was definitely getting to meet Eric Limeback, one of Canada's top speed cubers at a cubing demo event at our local shopping mall.

Another highlight of his week would definitely be the fact that hubby drove him literally all over the city to find a special lubricant for his cubes. A lubricant that has managed to trim off a few seconds of his cubing time --- this is huge for speed cubers! ;-)

While at the speed cubing demo, my boy caught the attention of a local news reporter which resulted in a video of him posted on their Facebook page, yet another highlight of his March Break! Here's that video:

I also had the opportunity to bake over the March Break! Baking is one of those things that I love doing but don't often find the time to do so therefore this was such a treat for me. Having an actual reason and purpose to bake helps, too.

My sister had a fundraising event for her upcoming July missions trip to the Philippines and I'd organized a bake sale at church for Sunday in support of our AIDS Care Campaign. Three cheers for reasons to bake!!!

And, can I just add that the bake sale was overwhelmingly successful? I had a goal of raising $300, but was secretly hoping for $500, which I thought was hard to achieve. Well, at last count, we had raised $600! I am still waiting for the final count which should come sometime this week. God is just so amazing and so awesome like that!!! 

As I continue to count grace-gifts, with unending thanks... to The One who is so amazing and so awesome... these are the things I am thankful for this week... #2876 - #2883:

:: An awesome week for my girl, being Jesus' hands and feet at UrbanPromise Wilmington {Delaware} with our church's youth compassion team.

:: The stories that she has been telling us of her experiences this past week, ones that I suspect have been etched into her heart for eternity.

:: A quiet and beautiful and fun week spent with my boy.

:: Sharing dinner with our Home Church peeps.

:: Some time off work.

:: Baking, baking and more baking!

:: Overwhelming response to the bake sale at church in support of our AIDS Care Campaign... I am blown away by God's goodness! 

:: Seeing the Body of Christ come together to make "portable church" happen this past Sunday {the regional site that we attend meets in a movie theatre inside a shopping mall} despite the late arrival of all our equipment due to the truck and storage trailer being stuck and frozen in mud! What a Sunday! So humbled to be part of such an amazing faith community!

Hello back-to-school, back-to-work Monday!

There is a way to live the big of giving thanks in all things. It is this: to give thanks in this one small thing. The moments will add up.

~ Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts.

Choosing to live a surrendered life... because Christ's love compels me... and giving thanks for everything that my good God so freely bestows, so lavishly gives and so extravagantly showers!

Compassion is a command, an act of worship, a song of thanks to Him.

Do justice. Love mercy. Walk humbly with God!