2017 has come and gone, and what a year it was. Over the
past three years, it has felt like each year brought exponential transformation
and growth, and that has shown no signs of slowing down as we have begun the
new year. Jessica and I are both deeply thankful for everyone who walked with
us through the last three years, and for the amazing experiences and the
resulting changes in perspective and lifestyle these experiences have brought.
A couple things that happened throughout the last year have
stood out that I feel are worth sharing on this platform.
First, seemingly randomly I received a text from my brother
about a downtown outreach ministry being started by a local contractor. The
timing was nothing short of predominant; three days before that, I had stepped
down from another ministry responsibility, and was asking the Holy Spirit where
and how He wanted me to serve. This was obviously the answer. Once a week, we
have brought food, clothes, hugs, Bibles, and the love Jesus to the poorest of
the poor in Winnipeg. God has used every week’s ministry to reveal His goodness
and His heart to me, and I have been so privileged to watch Him work as we rest
in His ability to minister through us. One encounter I will never forget was a
First Nations man who walked up to me in tears as I chatted with another girl
in front of a pizza shop on Osborne. “Help me!” he begged, almost choking on his
tears. I told him softly that I didn’t have any cash when he looked into my
eyes, put his hand on my chest over my heart, and said “I don’t need money… I
need what you have.” We looked into each others eyes for a second before he
exclaimed “It’s Jesus, isn’t it?! I need your Jesus!” We had a beautiful time
sharing the Gospel with him and praying for him. I haven’t seen Him since, but
I am trusting that the Holy Spirit will weave that experience into the tapestry
of God’s saving work in his life.
A second experience, also in Winnipeg, occurred this summer,
while I was out walking with another group that ministers downtown. A
thirty-something man was pushing his girlfriend in front of him in a wheelchair
towards us when a young man in our group boldly asked if she wanted to be able
to walk again. Our group laid hands on her, and without any prompting (or
warning) she climbed out of the wheelchair and started screaming, “I’m walking!
I’m f***ing walking! I can walk!” Her boyfriend was so touched by the love of
God that he asked for us to pray for his addictions. As we prayed for him, he
slowly collapsed onto the sidewalk in tears, clearly overcome by the presence of
Holy Spirit. The team ran into the couple again the week after- this time,
without the wheelchair! I have lost count of the number of healings and
miracles we have seen this year, but there are some, like this, that I could
never forget.
The highlight of our year was the opportunity we had to
travel to Hong Kong, the Philippines, and Thailand to serve, minister, and explore.
For almost two weeks, we sat under teaching of the unadulterated good news of
God’s grace in Christ. On numerous occasions, as we took in the teaching, I
felt like I was meeting Jesus again for the first time. During our stay in the
Philippines, we quickly developed a friendship with the twenty five or so
street kids who roamed the area around our group’s bed and breakfast. All
between the ages of five and ten, these kids were left to their own devices,
day in and day out. Each child absolutely basked in the love and affection we
were able to give them- our days were filled with hugs, kisses, games, and
children constantly climbing into our arms one after another and throwing their
heads onto our chests. I pray for those kids every day; I pray for the
opportunity to go back and sit in front of Jollibee’s and play Mister Shark
with our new friends. I pray that they learn to receive from the Father the
love and care they experienced with us, and I pray for the local church to walk
in God’s heart towards these children who are otherwise invisible in their
society.
It is such an amazing gift to go into the new year with so
many amazing memories from the year past, and with such hope and anticipation
for the year to come. While our circumstances fluctuate and vary over time, (they
weren’t always bright in 2017, and probably won’t always be bright in 2018
either) the Gospel, the goodness of God, and the finished work of Jesus Christ do
not. Whether we recognize it or not, we have a rock-solid foundation for joy
and hope. We have a hope and a confident expectation that, in any circumstance,
Jesus will make Himself known in and through us. We have assurance that the
Father of Jesus does not look different from the Son- that there is no dark or
angry God hidden behind Jesus’ back. We have confidence that we are who the
Father has said we are: pure, holy, and righteous children of God in Christ
Jesus. We have confidence that we can experience every circumstance with
contentment and joy through Him who gives us strength.
My “prophetic word” for 2018 is the same Word that was with
the Father in the beginning. It is the Word through whom all things were made.
It is the Word through, in and by whom all things exist and hold together. His
name represents our inclusion in His saving and redeeming work- that in Him our
humanity has been cleansed from every contamination brought about by the fall
of Adam. His name signifies that we have been freed from every definition of
separation or distance between man and God- that He, in His very being, is our
reconciliation with God. And it is in his name that I wish you wholeness, peace, and a year of hammered-drunk intoxication on the bliss of the New Covenant! May God bless you until we participate in
His fellowship again face to face!
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