and then there were two...

“If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.”
1 Corinthians 13:2

It is a horrible predicament to be in, when God has worked in such amazing ways in your ministry that you struggle to narrow down just one thing to write about. As I was reflecting on what to write about for this, my second blog post, I felt an urge to be simple, and so simple I shall be.
The other night I had the privilege of heading out to the local swimming pool/ water park with some of the kids from youth as part of a Cowichan Valley inter-youth night, involving most youth groups in the area. Since Duncan is a fairly small town, it seemed like most of the kids already knew each other and so, regardless of youth group, kids would pair up with friends from school or extracurricular teams that they were on. Not that I’m against it, it was awesome to see the youth really come together as one big body, but what this did is reveal to me those to whom youth group was all they had. They didn’t have those school friends, they couldn’t afford those extracurricular activities, and it broke my heart. I then saw what an amazing opportunity it would be for me to spend one on one time with these kids, to get to know them in a way I knew I wouldn’t in a group where their voices would be lost. And so we played, and the strangest thing happened.
The love became infectious. At first I shrugged off one new kid joining our posse as an attempt to steal my flutter board, but by the end of the night I saw the people who had come and gone as huge blessings. No matter how small an impact they might be to the casual onlooker, to this kid, they meant everything.
As I continue on this journey I would again like to ask that you remain in prayer. That you continue to hold up the youth I work with, without you guys, this would be next to impossible. So thank you, thank you, and thank you...much love.

Until next time,

Jake

In the beginning...

Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."
1 Peter 5:5

Since my time here at Kaleo I have been looking forward to the ministry aspect of the program. I’ve yearned to put into practice the head knowledge, to put deeds to my faith, not because it helps my faith but because it is my faith, so that I may be alive in Christ. This year I have chosen to spend my time in church ministry at an Anglican church, somewhere I never thought I would be. If you know me, and most of you who are reading this do, I am very strongly opinionated, and more often than not, wrongly so. It is one of my passions to seek out new and exciting teachers of the Word of God...the Rob Bell’s, the Mark Driscoll’s, and the Francis Chan’s. I knew going into my ministry at this church that that would not be what I would get from my time at this church. After two Sundays, one youth service, five cups of coffee, and more handshakes I can count, I am more than ever reassured that God works in mysterious and powerful ways. I have been reminded of the need for a humble attitude, for a reverence for authority, when I sometimes, and I mostly don’t, agree. I am sustained, and only sustained, through my hope in Christ Jesus my Lord and that he is a God of great might, and he is faithful. Do I waver? Of course, I am a young man, and am constantly reminded by that from the wisdom of the older men, (one of the benefits of an Anglican church) but I must constantly, “come to myself” as the prodigal son does in Luke. This means I assess my surroundings, my reactions, and my heart. I act not on impulse but on wisdom and discernment, none of which is my own. So for this year the Lord is telling me to stay, to be in this community, to love these youth, and so I trust that God works. I cannot tell you how much it means that you are in prayer for me, thank you. Your persistence is felt tangibly in my day to day goings out here. Until next time,

Love

Jake