Update Tuesday

Well, this week we decided to combine our advent experiment (during which we have been trying to do something each day to break the commercialism of the season and focus on the spiritual) and our Hamilton update. We had some free hours on Saturday and so decided to slip into Hamilton and spend some time there. We went to the Locke neighbourhood for a bit of prayer walking and while we were there managed to do a bit of Christmas shopping. Before we headed for that neighbourhood however, we made a quick visit to McMaster Children's Hospital. The girls had dance class in the morning, but while they were gone Liam and I took some time to bake some cookies. For those who may not know, Liam is quite good a baking cookies and it sort of became his thing. Each time he would return to the hospital for check ups etc. he would bring cookies for the team that he was going to see as a sort of the thank you and an encouragement. So even though he did not have an appointment we made a trip to the hospital to deliver cookies. Specifically, we took them to the Ronald McDonald Room which is just outside the Pediatric Critical Care ward of the hospital. This is a very special room, run by the Ronald McDonald House, but that is right inside the hospital. It functions like a little retreat room, furnished with a living room, kitchen and laundry facilities, it provides some moments of normalcy for patients and their families to help break the stress and intensity of a hospital stay. We found ourselves using the room a lot while Liam was there and are happy to give back in any way we can, even if it is just a small gesture of home baked cookies for the kitchen.
For those who may not know about our connection to McMaster Children's Hospital, our son Liam was there in November of 2008 for two surgeries to remove a brain tumour. God has used this experience in a profound way over the past few years. It would be hard to overestimate the impact that this time in our lives has played in our discerning where God may be calling us to plant a new church. For those of you who continue to support and pray for our work and who are interested in really trying to understand about us, our work and our connection to Hamilton, I would encourage you to visit my wife's blog. If you scroll down the page, on the right sidebar, there is a documentary as well as a label a bit father down, both of which will take you back to some of our experiences with the hospital and with Hamilton over the past two years. You can find it at the link below:

Kim's Blog