Update Tuesday 13/12/11

Have you ever had one of those days?  You know the one in which nothing seems to go well, everything is a struggle and it leaves you questioning just what it is you are doing and why you are doing it?  Sometimes church planting provides those kind of days.  Yesterday, was definitely NOT one of those days.  In fact, it was quite the opposite.  Yesterday, was a great day, and it comes on the heels of a pretty amazing week as a whole, in which we saw God do some amazing things and we truly feel blessed.
Yesterday, I began my Monday morning, as has become my routine, by taking coffee and sandwiches to the beer store and meeting with the bottle collectors.  I got to connect with a few of the regulars and chat about life.  I also had the opportunity to connect with Steve.  I had met Steve once before, albeit briefly, when he shared that he had just recently been laid off and so he was collecting to make some extra money until other things come into place.  Yesterday, we had even longer to chat, and when it came out that I am a pastor of a new fellowship he began to open up.  He shared that he had been thinking about going to church, about his family situation, about the suicide of his teenage son a year and a half ago, and about many other things.  He spoke and I mostly listened.  I shared briefly about the hope that I believe Jesus brings into such brokenness.  I shared that I would love to talk further if he was interested, that he was always welcome to join us when we meet or that I would be more than willing to meet him where he is at any time.  He left me his contact info, and I left him mine with the intention of connecting again soon.  I intend to follow up in the next few days.
I was pretty excited about the privilege I had been given to hear from Steve as I made my way to the local bakery where I try to stop in for a coffee almost daily.  I have begun to meet some of the staff and some of the customers and I am on a first name basis with a few of them.  To be honest, however, the last few times I have been a bit discouraged.  There have not been that many good conversations and  I have been feeling like there has only been small talk and only when I initiate.  Yesterday, was much the same, until just as I was contemplating leaving, in walked John.  John is there everyday, and strangely, he is there almost every time I am there, even if it is at completely random intervals throughout the week.  I know John's name because everyone seems to know his name and I have tried making small talk on a few occasions.  Yesterday however, John came in and as he was getting his coffee he noticed me, came over and said hello.  I had noticed that he always has a crossword puzzle on the go and so have used this to make small talk on occasion.  Being a Monday we had the opportunity to chat about a specific Canadian themed puzzle in the Saturday Spec.  At the end of the conversation he was intentional about asking my name and introducing himself.  Although it may seem small, this was the kind of breakthrough that I have been praying for.   It seems like an actual relationship is beginning to form and one with a guy who knows so many of the people that are in and through this popular establishment.
As if those two conversations where not enough to cause some excitement from the day, I had another great phone call that left me quite excited.  My colleague Jim Danielson met a photographer in Milton while having some portraits done.  As they were talking, this gentlemen shared about how he felt his family was being called to move to Hamilton, that as a photographer he is interested in the arts community and that he and his wife had noticed some of the poverty and homelessness and were wondering if God might be calling them to be part of making a difference.  My good friend Jim was pretty excited to share about what we have going on and that we had just moved here from Milton as well, for some of the same reasons.  Yesterday, I finally connected with him personally by phone and chatted a bit.  We are arranging a time to get our families together soon.  As I heard him share his story and about preparing to come to Hamilton I could not help but be a bit excited.  It seems that we have similar hearts.  This may be a great addition to our fellowship and another set of eyes, ears and feet to reach into the communities of Hamilton.
I finished off last night by heading into Toronto with my family where we took the opportunity to go skating at the famous outdoor rink at Nathan Phillips Square just outside Toronto City Hall.  We also had the opportunity to see Betty our Korean student again.  Betty left our home in early December to head out to her next adventure.  We were sad to see her go, especially as it was few weeks earlier than we had expected and just at a time when she had been asking some great questions about Christianity and faith.  We were really hoping for an opportunity to walk with her just a little while longer.  So it was great to see her again, it was great to introduce her to the great Canadian sport of ice skating and it was even greater to hear that she continues to read a bit each day from the bibles we gave her, in English and Korean.  God is still at work!  There is a great connection between Betty and our family that continues even as she lives in Toronto.  She has been sharing that the program she is in now is not really what she expected and that the home she is in now is not all that great. We are actually praying through the possibility of getting her back to Hamilton so that we can work with her again.  We would have her back in our home in a minute, but she enjoyed being with us so much she wrote a friend in Korea and suggested that she contact us about coming, and so we have already made plans for her to come and stay in our spare room!  We, our family and Betty herself with her new developing faith,  continue to pray for a solution as we would love to connect with her again here in Hamilton.  It was a great end to a great day, and one that came at the end of a great week.
There are many other things I would love to share, but seeing as some of you are probably reading this at work I don't want to get you in trouble as this update has already been long enough.  I will simply have to write again tomorrow with some of the other blessings that we are giving thanks for.  Check back tomorrow afternoon for another quick post about the week. 

The honest truth is that not every day is like yesterday, not every week like this past week.  We know that there will be some of those days yet to come.  That is why it is important to stop, remember, reflect, give thanks and share these days when they do come as they are what will sustain us through the other not so great days.  We also truly appreciate all of you with whom we can share.  It is always comforting to know that we are not alone but have those praying with us in tough times and rejoicing with us in the celebrations.