Through God's Transformational Power

“Through God’s transformational power, we build loving relationships to bring hope to children and families impacted by poverty.  ”

— TCM Mission

Since 1879, Toronto City Mission has held the blessing of participating in God’s good work in Toronto. Their vision, rooted in the hope of seeing families' lives transformed by the truth of the Gospel, inspired and encouraged me, showing me there was an organization in my own city that shared the same missional heart I felt God had planted in me. In 2019, God gave me the opportunity to join along into this blessing TCM held as well. 

These last four years with TCM have truly become a grand testimony in itself. There has not been a day where I feel as though my heart has ever shrunk for the children and youth I’ve been able to meet, serve, and grow alongside. Yes, even in the sunniest, sweatiest, whiniest, most challenging days, God sent me home each day with a heart so full of love and prayer for each of them. The greatest reward will always be the moments God allows me to witness some of the fruit from the seeds planted. In the youth who moved away a couple years ago joining us now to volunteer full-time for summer camp, in the unexpected bursts of worship songs coming from the kids during our walks to the pool, in the parents’ meaningful encouragements and support for me and my team, in having some of the funniest and some of the most heartbreaking conversations with a child but being able to rejoice in God with them the same in both – these are some of the greatest treasures I get to store in my heart. 

As much as our vision is to transform these families, I leave with the knowledge and experience that God has not left a day without transforming my own heart and spirit. With the TCM team, God offered me healing, genuine community and friendship, and in His careful and gentle ways, revealed so much of my own sins and shortcomings, never leaving me to face them on my own but to be met by the deepest grace and compassion, with such sincere love and care. In God’s work at TCM, we build loving relationships to bring hope. Though in our mission we state for whom this hope is for, I know firsthand that this hope and the loving relationships are built and offered to all who have the opportunity to serve with TCM. Through God’s transformation power, I am transformed. In the loving relationships built, I have been loved so dearly. In the hope offered, I leave with every bit of it. Thank you Toronto City Mission ♥️

Yet Not I

“When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces.
”

— Genesis 15:17

To make a covenant would mean to make a promise that tied you and another’s mortality to the survival of both of your integrity; this is the extremity and gravity to the covenant-making process shown to us in the Old Testament. The covenant God makes with Abram has always been my favourite. 

Working with kids, there is always joyfulness and playfulness. It’s easy to find laughter in any conversation and whether they’re making me laugh, or me making them laugh, my heart is full.

I celebrate the moments where kids, who’ve never even met but live so close by to each other, become friends. I cherish the moments where they practice Gospel love to each other without even realizing it, like offering their Pokemon cards to comfort an injured and crying friend, or holding their tongue when they know something terrible and unloving is going to come out (rare…but it does happen!). I carry dearly in my heart the moments of their eureka of God in their lives and in who He is. I get the privilege to witness and experience the work being done in their lives and hearts time and time again; to take part in it, to contribute something. Even still, there are many moments when my heart is heavy, often when they move away. I mourn the momentum we had with them, in growing our friendship with the family and making Christ greater known in their household, the lost opportunities, the unspoken and yet-to-be-had conversations, the stolen joys of what could have been – what I could have seen and been part of. 

It is in God alone that the fruition of the contract would be fulfilled

Genesis 15 shows us an incredible story of God, our truest and only hero, the one of greatest and perfect integrity. We see that in the act of the smoking firepot and blazing torch passing between the hall of animal carcasses, as Abram slumbers, the presence of God stamps the covenant closed with His own name alone. Whether Abram fell into that deep sleep on his own or by God’s hand, it relinquishes any responsibility of his to keep his end of the promise. It is in God alone that the fruition of the contract would be fulfilled, and in anything that is compromising, it would only end in consequence for Him. In the very next chapter, in Genesis 16, we see the story of Hagar and Ishmael, the fruit of Abram’s unfaithfulness and unbelief in God's promise to him. There would have been no hope for anyone if Abram had stayed awake the whole time of that covenant process. Our God is a faithful God; faithful to His promises, His people, so much so that He gave Himself mortality on this earth to be destroyed by our hands in fulfilling the covenant, not because of His broken integrity, but ours. It is in God alone, in Christ alone, that anything Kingdom related can ever be accomplished. I thank God that He has shared with me a piece of His heart for the families I’ve met. And even as life moves on and brings us to different places, would I remember that God is constant and at work not just in my life, but theirs as well. He is the one who calls His children home.

God's Love

By: Nuri Lee | Outreach Worker in Flemingdon Park

Since March of last year, I have felt so dead. It was because of so many different reasons -- things I was aware of, but also many things I’m sure I’m still unaware of today -- that contributed to my becoming of a blob. My thoughts were, “God, just show me that You love me, because I am not feeling it at all,” and, “God, I don’t feel loved. Therefore, I shall not love.” Even though these weren’t the things I was explicitly saying, it was ultimately what I said through my actions. Nothing encouraged me and I dragged my feet to everything I had to do. I’m very dramatic. But because of my melodrama, my emotions are so much more intense when I ride through them that I decide to just shut them off and not feel anything instead. Isn’t it easier that way? ← I don’t know why I believe this lie every time. I don’t have an exact moment in mind when I was reminded that God’s love for us is a choice He daily makes. It’s an active decision He chooses because it’s just a fact and by His grace that I can be loved -- especially by Him. Even though I was still having that struggle of not feeling loved, this reminder of choice was truth enough for me to know that I am loved, even if I wasn’t constantly feeling it. It also made me remember that my love for God and others is also a choice I need to daily make. Why do I think pure love is a natural thing to flow from a sinner like me? 

Right now, the kids in TCM’s KIC programs are going through 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. They’re understanding God’s love for them and how they can also show God’s love to others. They’re starting to grasp how to apply aspects of God’s love like patience, kindness, and humility in their everyday life. Just this past Valentine's Day, the kids were given the opportunity to participate in a video that you can check out down below!

I praise God for the reminder of his love through my times with the children, youth, and parents, and in my personal life. That He humbles me in such gentle ways every time. It is a choice to love and seek joy in all circumstances, and I pray that this is what you and I can continue striving towards daily.

Crafts At Home!

By: Nuri Lee, Flemingdon Park | Outreach Worker

It’s difficult being at home all the time with nothing to do. I’ve been finding it really easy to just turn on YouTube in all of my spare time to relax and shut my brain off. But at the end of most days, I still feel drained because of the screen I’m always staring at! Maybe you’re also feeling this way. If you are, I’ve created this list of activities just for you so that you could find creative ways to spend your time without looking at screens all day. These crafts are made with simple materials you can find at home, so go take a look around your house, find your materials, and come back to do some crafts :D

Pop-up Cards / Book
Holidays are coming up soon, and if you like to make homemade cards for your loved ones, you can easily take some extra time to make your card look extra fancy. You can follow this tutorial, adding your own personal touches and pictures -- and if you stick a whole bunch of them together, it can even become a pop-up book!

Rock Painting / Colouring
Rocks are everywhere and already made so unique. Pick up some that you like and get painting! You can paint anything you could ever think of -- a creature you made up, your favourite animal, a character you like from a book, a quote you love, the options are endless. If you don’t have any paint at home, you can try using some crayons or coloured pencils. It’ll take some more time but it’ll be just as fun! Here’s a Harry Potter example my little sister made at home:

Leaf Animals
It’s Autumn season -- my personal favourite season. Look outside your door and see all the different shapes and colours of the leaves that fell off the trees. Find some that you like to use in this craft!

This website shows you how to make cute animals out of the different leaves you might find outside. If you can’t find the perfect shaped leaf, you can always use some safety scissors to cut the shape you want. Then, you can stick all your shapes onto a piece of paper to make an animal, or just a nice design! This can be as simple or as complicated as you’d like :)

Flip Book
If you don’t know what a flip book is, you’re missing out! The link below shares information about how to make your own and a video showing you what they are. If you don’t have a sticky note pad, you can always use regular paper that you cut and staple/tape together -- just make sure the paper you cut ends up being as similar in size as possible. With these, you can make any type of action happen on paper now like it’s a movie itself!

I hope you can find something that catches your attention here, and that you can spend the next while having some fun off-screen :) Stay safe!

Israel in Quarantine

By Nuri Lee, Flemingdon Park | Outreach Worker

What would the Israelites be like during this quarantine? Based on when they wandered in the desert for 40 years, it doesn’t look like they do so well in times like this, where there’s so much uncertainty, suffering, and seemingly no end. They struggled, complained, and they were bored, annoyed, impatient, and miserable. They even wanted to go back to Egypt where they were ruled by a king who didn’t care for them and would work them tirelessly as his slaves. They would choose to go back into slavery where they had zero freedom because at least then they could predict how their next day would look and have a little more control over their lives. They lost sight of God’s goodness and faithfulness (EVEN AFTER SPLITTING A WHOLE SEA FOR THEM IN FRONT OF THEIR EYES), let alone care to remember it. 

I didn’t understand the relevance of the Old Testament until reading it consistently this year, but one of my biggest takeaways is seeing how I am Israel in their unfaithfulness and complaining, but how God still chooses to stay with me. Our quarantine reminds me of Israel’s 40 years. With so much loss in our spring and summer plans, our jobs and graduations, and even our relationships with and the lives of people, there is a lot of despair. I would never discount these things, and I think it’s important to recognize our losses. The Israelites felt they had nothing -- even food and water seemed so difficult to come by at times. I think most people are just longing to get back to their pre-quarantine schedules and leave this unpredictable and cooped up lifestyle. 

But unlike the Israelites, let us not lose sight of God’s goodness and faithfulness in this time. Let us stay in His Word and remember His truths and His love for His people. Let us look to the cross in repentance and thankfulness, knowing God hears us complaining, crying, and in any sort of pain and be confident He deeply cares for us. We can trust God is mourning these many losses beside us. Let us reflect how our old schedules enslaved and prevented us from seeing and worshipping our God. May He reveal many blessings to you and transform you in this quarantine so when we return to our more regular lives, it won’t go back to our pre-quarantine schedules, but we would go into our newly transformed, God-filled, post-quarantine lives!

During this lockdown, one way Lincoln and I have been staying in connection with the families is by sending them weekly devotionals. Our hope is for them to read it as a family or individually and remain hopeful in Christ during this pandemic. My most recent one is also about how I continue relating with the Israelites (can you tell where my heart has been this whole lockdown?) and you can read it, as well as all of our other weekly devotional, here! May they bring you Christ’s hope in these crazy times as well. <3