Update Tuesday 12/7/11

This past Sunday was the first Sunday that I can remember where I was at home (as opposed to on vacation or traveling) without a church to be at.  I must admit it felt weird.  I had a late show the night before and so I slept in a bit, past the time I would usually get up to make it for an 8:30am trailer unload.  I did not mind missing that part so much.  But soon after waking up I realized that there was a certain purposelessness to the day that was setting in.   We decided that we would do a small service here at home for ourselves later in the afternoon and spend the morning touring the area and getting to know a bit more of the city.  I have had the thought that the easiest way to find and connect with unchurched people is to be out in the community during the hours that most churches have their services.  Chances are, if they are out and about on a Sunday morning they are not church goers.  So we headed out to explore a bit, fully intending to see lots of people who were not in church.  It was no surprise, therefore, when we saw lots of people.  What did surprise me was the heaviness that I felt seeing so many out in the community with no thought of Jesus on their minds or in their hearts.  It affected me more deeply then I would have expected.
Last Tuesday, we had the privilege of showing some great people from Hertford Baptist Church around the city.  We started with a brief driving tour heading out to the east end and making our way back through the city towards our neighbourhood in the west.  We were able to see some of the diversity and some of the more obvious physical needs in the city as we talked about the future opportunities for our new faith community.   We also managed to make a stop at the original Tim Horton's over on Ottawa Street.

My favourite part however, was being able to take the group over to Stanley Street and show them the street that they have been praying for these past few months.  It was exciting for me to see how interested they were to see it and to get over and prayer walk the street.  Some of the group helped Kim with some baking to take over the the Ronald McDonald room that is in MacKids (the children's hospital that my son, Liam was treated at).  It is a great room that provides a bit of an oasis for those parents staying with sick children.  I know we used it a lot when we were there and so appreciate any opportunity to give back.  While delivering the baked good we found out that while the Ronald McDonald House is under renovations the room is in need of meals for parents.  This was a great piece of information for us and a need that we hope to be able to address as a part of our outreach.   All in all it was an  encouraging day as we were reminded that there are people praying along side of us with a genuine interest, who would make the trip all the way from North Carolina to spend time baking and praying for a single street.
On another note, in speaking about Hamilton, especially in light of having come from Milton where growth and  ethnic diversity are so much the story, I have gotten used to saying that Hamilton does have ethnic diversity but that the greatest diversity is socio-economic diversity.  Although this is true, I have been reminded this past week not to underestimate the ethnic diversity.  This is a link to a story in our local newspaper about a school that is just a few neighbourhoods over from my own.
The Spec
This morning I was reading the story of Zacheus from Luke 19.  This is another great example of Jesus spending time with and impacting the life of someone whom most of the "religious" people thought was unworthy, complaining that Jesus would go to the home of such a sinner as this tax collector.  I was once again struck by the phrase "the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost." (Luke 19:10).  Please continue to join us in prayer that we might be living out this verse and that God might use us for this purpose.  Pray that we would be among the lost and that God would lead us to those whom He has chosen for us to begin discipleship.  Please also continue to pray for our family as we face the inevitable spiritual push back that comes with this endeavor.