Christmas, 2003
Hello all!
Isn’t the Christmas season an exciting time of year? It is a time when we celebrate God’s gift to us of Christ, and give gifts to our friends and loved ones. I find it a great time as well to look back at the past year, and see all the great gifts God has blessed me with.
It was a year ago that I finished my job in Ottawa, and made the leap into full time ministry with International Teams. There have been some real blessings. I imagine that as I continue looking back in the coming months and years, I’ll see even more things God has been orchestrating in this time. Isn’t it great how God knows so well what He’s doing – what He has for us, and how best to bring it to fruition?
My time back home has been good in many ways. While I grew up in the Waterloo area, living in Ottawa for the last 5 years has resulted in being much less connected back in Waterloo. I’ve been blessed with a great network of friends in Ottawa, but now that Waterloo is my other home-base, being connected here is an important thing too. Praise God for this time that I’ve had to reconnect with people, build new friendships (even unexpected ones), and become better connected with the church I’m going to here.
The whole year has been a great stretching and learning time as well. I’ve had a lot of fun opportunities to spend time with many children – both in Chicago, and back here in Waterloo. My time in Chicago was a great time of learning lots of stuff – both in, and out of the classroom. In Waterloo, I’ve had the opportunity to get involved in youth ministry at the church I’m going to here. Volunteering at Oasis in Kitchener has been a great opportunity to develop a relationship with a local ministry. It’s also been a good way to learn more about drop-in ministries – good preparation for my time working with refugees in Athens in January.
As the year draws to a close, this is also a great time to be able to look forward to the year ahead. It will be exciting to see how God continues to shape things for His purposes. I’m looking forward to spending a month in Athens, working with refugees. Seeing God bring together the summer Encounter Team will be another exciting thing for me. And through it all, having the opportunity to invest in the lives of others will be an awesome privilege.
Thank you so much for standing in the gap for me, and this ministry God has called me to. Keep praying for us.
- Pray for those God has called to be a part of the next team. This is a key month for those thinking about the summer team, as they need to apply by early January.
- God is continuing to stretch & mold me. Pray that I would be receptive to all He’s trying to teach me.
- Pray for wisdom for Craig (my co-worker in Encounter Teams) and myself as we continue to develop this program and talk to various people about it
- Praise God for His provision so far. Keep praying that additional resources needed by May would come in, in His time.
Again, thanks so much for your involvement in my life & ministry. May you have a blessed Christmas season.
For His glory,
Steve
