Oh my lanta, what to say? Well, Capernwray life has been really crazy this past week! I'm not even sure if I'll cover a majority of what's been going on.
Tuesday, October 18:
Outreach Ministries! Me and Katia (one of the staff members here) went and planted a whole bunch of plants in Pierre's garden (another staff member). We had SO much fun. We also got really really dirty. It started to rain in the middle of our gardening, but we kept on going. The rest of the team was at someone's house raking leaves, again (it seems like that's all we ever do here haha). Eric (the other community help staff) said we looked like we went rolling in the mud. My clothes are still dirty!
Wednesday, October 19 - Sunday, October 23:
Off to Ste Agathe des Monts! All of the 17 students this year got billeted out into local peoples homes. We then had classes every day on evangelism at this pastor's house (where I actually stayed). His name is Michael Gagnon. He taught us what evangelism really is. I think it's pretty important to know what it actually is, seeing as I come from an evangelical Christian background (:
On Friday, we were given a mission: to go out into the town of Ste Agathe des Monts and discover things about the town. Where there's spiritual needs; the things to do around the town; what kinds of people live there; what the youth do; what types of shops there are; the history of the town; the geography of the town, etc. Stuff like that. Because when you're going into a place to evangelize, it's really good to actually know the place you're going into. From experiment I learned: I really don't know Steinbach, my hometown, that well. I don't know what the spiritual needs are. Everyone is trying to evangelize in Steinbach, but no one really knows what kinds of things they should be doing. Who they should be reaching out to.
So this is my idea. When I get home at Christmas, I'm thinking about taking the time and some people (because it's more fun with more than one person) and walking around Steinbach, getting to know the place I call home. So that, one day, I can evangelize in my hometown. I think it's important to actually take the time to discover what needs we have in the town and just going out and talking to people! Evangelism can be as simple as just taking the time to talk to people around the town.
Simple ways to connect with people:
1) Instead of going to the ATM, go to the bank teller and actually have a conversation.
2) Doing the above at the grocery store, instead of going to the self-checkout in Superstore!
3) Talking to the person beside you on the airplane. You're with each other for quite a while, might as well spend the time getting to know them.
4) Strike up a conversation with someone who's sitting by themselves at a restaurant or coffee shop.
Someone once said (I don't know who, but I'm gonna quote them anyway, haha)... "Jesus did most of His ministry, on His way to doing ministry". Why can't we? Why can't we do ministry while grocery shopping? Why can't we do ministry while running errands? Why can't we do ministry while sitting down to have a coffee or a bite to eat? At our workplace? In our homes? In our schools? Also, ministry does not limit itself to the non-believers. We can minister to believers as well, by encouraging them in their walk and actually taking the time to walk with them on their journey towards God. As they do with you as well...
I'd just like to end off this blog entry by thanking some people. I'm sorry if I miss some people (because there's lots!), but just consider yourself included in this list if you're reading this blog entry. My parents, Abby, Missy, Mo & Karen, Melissa, Joylyn, Maddy, Amanda, Justin, Cynthia, Elya, Kaitlyn, Bobbi-Jo, Nat, and tons more! I just wanted to say THANK YOU for caring enough about me to not let me walk this journey of faith on my own. Thank you for always teaching me new things and guiding me along the way. Thank you for coming alongside of me in my walk with God. And I hope that I can do the same for you guys someday.
Love,
Janessa
