Christmas in Canada

Carina and Lina Sophie arrived in Canada this past September as missionaries from Germany. They came with the Liebenzell Mission of Germany for their gap year (between high school and university) to serve God. While here in Canada they are serving with Toronto City Mission (TCM) and a church planting project called “Reach North York”. TCM is blessed to have Carina and Lina Sophie serving with us this year. Here is a reflection by Carina and Lina Sophie about Christmas traditions found in their hometowns and what they have discovered about Canadian traditions.

“Christmas Songs are played on the radio, Christmas lights can be seen everywhere, people begin to wear their “ugly Christmas sweaters”, these are signs that the Christmas Season has started.

Coming to a foreign country to celebrate Christmas is something that both of us have never experienced before. Usually, our Christmas celebrations consist of the following:

Throughout the month of December, every day we open a new window on our advent calendar, and every Sunday we light up a candle on our advent wreath... While we wait for the big day, we go to various Christmas markets or bake an assortment of Christmas cookies. On Christmas eve, which is celebrated in Germany as the actual Christmas Day, we go to church with our families, have dinner together and spend the evening unwrapping presents that were placed under the Christmas tree.

Coming to Canada this year, we knew one thing, our Christmas would look different. Some differences included: a plastic Christmas tree instead of a real one and less variety when it came to baking cookies. We immediately noticed that homes were covered in Christmas lights and other decorations and Christmas is mainly on the 25th.

While our Christmas traditions are different, one thing remains the same. It is love, joy, and happiness that fills our hearts during the Christmas season. Celebrating Christmas in Toronto this year is an exciting experience for us because we are able to gain insight into different Christmas traditions due to the cultural diversity. It is such a privilege to get to know so many brothers and sisters in Christ with different cultural backgrounds, to see their way of celebrating Jesus’ Birth. No matter how big the cultural differences may be, we all celebrate Christmas for the same reason: to celebrate Jesus Christ, who was born into this world to bring salvation to all of us. Moreover, we are so thankful to share that joy that fills our hearts with the kids from our communities. To show them that there is a gift for them that is much greater than the most awesome present they could ever wish for.”

“The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world.” - John 1:9

Blessed are the Poor in Spirit

By: Dorothy Wong | Manager of Operations

A few years ago, it was common to hear young people say “blessed” or post #blessed when they received or experienced something good.  It may be getting their favourite drink or spending time with friends.  However, it would be very unlikely that you would see a post about someone facing life challenges or financial difficulties ending their post with #blessed.

So why does Jesus begin the sermon on the mount (Matthew 6:3 NIV) with “blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom.”?  Perhaps the NLT translation can help us understand better what it means to be poor in spirit.  “Those who are poor and realize their need for him.”  So anyone who is lacking (which I may be bold saying is all of us) and that because of our limitation, we need God.  This may be the most important acknowledgment for anyone of the Christian faith.  We need to recognize that we are sinners, that we are not perfect, and in order for us to have a relationship with a perfect God, we need Him to make things right for us.  

Oftentimes, when things are going well and we don’t have any immediate needs, we tend to focus more on ourselves and just go through life without any real dependence on God or anyone else.  Yes, we can also say that in times of trouble, we can also focus on ourselves and the barriers before us and not look to God or others.  However, it is in those times that we generally will reach out to God for help.  So it is out of our poverty that we are able to find our greatest Treasure.

It is our hope that the families that we walk along with will recognize that they can find hope in God.  That despite their financial poverty they have a God who wants to bless them.  Not with things of this world but of things unseen.  We are blessed when we have a right relationship with God.  We are blessed because we have been redeemed by the blood of Christ and have the gift of eternal life.  Even though our time here on this earth is only temporary we are blessed because He is right there with us during our joys and sorrows.

This also reminds us (me) that in God’s eyes there is no differentiation between those that have or have not.  We all need Him.  So we are not the saviors going into communities impacted by poverty to make things right.  We are simply broken people that have found hope in Jesus, a people with a passion to share this hope with a community that is also broken, and to build up Christ-followers that will transform their community with this hope.

Has there been a time in your life when you experienced God’s goodness in the midst of a challenging time?  Write this experience down and use it as a reminder of God’s promise to bless those who are poor in spirit, when you face a difficult time in the future.

What is Your Calling?

By: Mila Abellera | Outreach Worker in Kingston-Galloway

At one point or another, you have probably asked yourself the question “What is my calling?”. For me, I have spent the majority of my life preoccupied with seeking God’s purpose for my life as I yearned to hear God’s call and to know His specific plans for my life. I knew that I wanted to live this one life I was given to serve God, yet I did not know what that practically looked like as you can literally glorify God in all that you do. John Piper said that “the only way we can make our lives count is by making Christ known”. I yearned for clarity as to how I could make Christ known in my life as I wanted to be a good steward with the gifts He has given me. What I learned over the years was that God does not often give us a map with exact coordinates, but rather a compass to direct our paths as we follow Him faithfully. What is faith? “Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1). 

Sometimes I wish that God would show me the plans He has for my life. Yet if God told me explicitly what He wanted me to do in the future would I run the other way like Jonah? Would I let my fears of inadequacy consume me and make excuses like Moses? Or would I serve Him faithfully like Abraham? “By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God” (Hebrews 11:8-10). The truth is I am not sure what I would do if God told me what I would be doing now. I would have most likely not believed Him or felt inadequately prepared for serving Him in this capacity. Yet that is why we must trust in God’s sovereign will who prepares and refines us through various experiences and reveals new opportunities in His perfect timing. 

It is wise to seek God's call and direction for your life in order to serve Him intentionally with this short life we are given. Ephesians 5:15-17 says, "Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is." Scripture also assures us that God will make our paths straight if we trust in Him. Proverbs 3:5-6 says “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight”. 

As you discern your calling here are some helpful questions that you can ask yourself. Do you have the knowledge, skills and competency to fulfill your calling? Are you practicing your calling? Have you spent time in prayer and fasting meditating on the word of God? Is your calling affirmed by fellow believers? Has God provided opportunities and opened doors to serve in this capacity?

It is wise to seek God’s direction in life, yet we must not let fear of the unknown paralyze us from serving God faithfully as God does not expect us to discover our calling before we act. It is only when we step out in faith and obedience are we able to see him at work in our lives after the fact. I learned that I had to seek first the Kingdom of God and then trust that He will take care of our needs before we know what they are and where we are going.

What is my calling? After many years God answered my prayer in which I believe that I am serving God in the right place at the right time for this specific season in life. God has equipped me with various experiences, knowledge, and skills I believe can be used effectively to serve at TCM as an outreach worker. God has also given me the heart to serve Him locally in the Kingston-Galloway community which fellow believers have affirmed. 

Through years of discernment, I have found freedom in knowing that God does not expect us to find His specific will for our lives before we do it. What God requires of us is our obedience in faith and trust in His sovereign will and perfect timing. Although we may not know our specific call, we know that God calls us to obey his explicit commands. God left us with commands to follow such as to love your neighbor as yourself and to go and make disciples of all nations. We are blessed to be a blessing in which we have both the privilege and responsibility to share the Gospel with those who have not heard.

Instead of being preoccupied with asking God to show us the future let us be instead confident that He holds the future. 

God's "Plan A"

Written by: Alana Ngo | Intern at the Office

Perhaps there has never been a year with as many plans changed as this past year. The NBA was cancelled for a while, the Olympics were postponed a full year, and everyone experienced some sort of change in routine when lockdowns came into place. However, even in the midst of changing plans, we often forget that they aren’t surprises to God at all.

The KG intern team in summer 2019

After a wonderful first experience as a TCM intern at Kingston-Galloway in 2019, I was looking forward to coming back in 2020. I had my summer all planned out. But of course, due to the pandemic, all of that was cancelled. Fast forward to this year, I was trying to decide how my summer would look again. I considered several options of what I could do, but I realized that I just wanted to be back with the kids again. Around the same time, I was actually already volunteering with KG online with their KIC and Youth Extreme programs. So, I decided to apply once again to be a Summer Intern for Sonshine Day Camp at KG. I sent in my application, did my interview, and thought everything would be fine. I thought, “This must be God’s will for me if I am serving him right?” But when I told my parents it was an in-person day camp, they were surprisingly against me doing it. They were rightfully worried about COVID at the time, and certainly did not want me to be around so many kids and staff each day, so they did not want me to work in this position. However, I had really thought that this was where I should be this summer, so I was very disappointed and taken aback at my parents’ decision. Why couldn’t they support what I thought was God’s will for me?

As I wrestled with their decision that night, I did realize that TCM was still hiring for their Office Intern position, and I could potentially do that instead. The Spirit was definitely the one who put that on my heart, because it wasn’t something I had considered before. The problem was, I really felt like this was just a Plan B for me.

However, I expressed this to one of my mentors the next day, and she encouraged me, using Scripture, to change my whole perspective on the situation. In Acts 16, Paul wanted to preach the Gospel in the province of Asia, but “having been kept by the Holy Spirit,” he ended up leaving for Macedonia after receiving a vision of a Macedonian man begging Paul to come and help them. Paul’s plan A was to go to Asia, and that was definitely out of the intention to continue to spread the Gospel. I can imagine he might have been discouraged that the Holy Spirit was preventing him from doing that. However, he listens to the Spirit and goes to the Macedonian church. Then, later in Acts 19:10, we see that Paul was finally able to go to Asia and that “all the Jews and Greeks...heard the word of the Lord.” In verse 29 of that chapter, we see that his travelling companions, Gaius and Aristarchus, were from Macedonia, and it all comes full circle! Even though going to Macedonia may have seemed like a plan B, Paul realized it was God’s plan A, and in the end, the Macedonian church was part of Paul’s mission in Asia.

After reading through these passages and getting to know more about God’s will, it was amazing for me to see that when things don’t turn out in our way, God truly has a better plan for us. Three weeks into my office internship, I have realized how blessed I am to be in this position. I am able to learn more about the behind-the-scenes work at TCM. I have had the opportunity to visit all the sites, not just KG, which has been really special. Most of all, I know that I am still working for God’s kingdom, and what an honour that is! 

Learning to Love a Community

Written by: Jungsoo Shim | Intern at Willowtree

Time goes by so quickly. As I reflect on the past two weeks of Sonshine Day Camp at Willowtree, I realize how blessed I am to serve there. 

Willowtree is a neighbourhood of housing complexes provided by Toronto Community Housing. There are multiple low-rise buildings, 4 parking lots, a playground, a swimming pool, and 2 basketball courts. It’s a little confusing to navigate through the area, but I have grown accustomed to it. The community is small and friendly. I learned not to be so shy whenever I walked around the neighbourhood. People are welcoming, they like to smile and greet one another. I was encouraged to initiate greetings with people I’ve never met before.

The kids love coming to camp and are always eager to join. On Mondays and Wednesdays, we have two sessions. For each session, we start with a fun activity, then go into our Bible lesson and activity, and end with snacks. On Tuesdays, Katherine (the Outreach Worker of the Willowtree site) teaches the kids to play ukulele and I would play basketball with the kids at the court (2:00PM - 4:30PM). On Thursdays, we meet with the kids online (4:30PM - 6:30PM) to tutor and play some games.

I think the most rewarding moments come from spending time with the campers. Whether it be listening to them speak, playing games with them, or teaching them something new - these moments allow me to get to know them and build a relationship with them. 

I have a desire to pray for the kids in Willowtree. I pray for their relationships, future, and their intimacy with God. It also motivates me to develop my relationship with God, so that I am able to share the joys of knowing Him and being in a relationship with Him.

May God continue to work in the Willowtree community, so that more would experience His goodness through hearing and reading the Word. May He become the center of their lives.