A day to make pies

Homes are to be shared, to laugh in, to share in and to create in. Today was a wonderful day; I was able to have 5 of my young 14 year old friends over to my home. We were able to share lives, conversation, learn how to make apple pie, create a huge mess of crumble all over the floor and laugh an awful lot.

As I walked them home quite exhausted we stopped to play at the park. As I watched them race for the swing, screaming at the top of their lungs through the rays of light streaming through the trees I just breathed in deep. I love seeing those moments of complete freedom and live bursting out of them. They are 14 years old and far more adult like than I desire. In these brief moments of child likeness I find great joy as the fully abandon any image they strive to keep, all pressure from peers and just release in abundant joy and freedom.

As I was busy washing a counter full of dishes and vacuuming up about a half a bowl of crumble from the floor I reflected on the afternoon and was grateful for not only the time I could have them in my home but relationship I have with each of them. For the truth they are eager to receive, for the curious questions they have, for the countless times I remind them to lower their voices, for the amount of times we are able to laugh together. For the moments of trying to get them to leave when they discovered the Q-tips in the bathroom and are all over excited to clean their ears. I am thankful for the hugs goodbye at the end of the day, and for the fact that I get to journey with them not just today but tomorrow and the day after that. 

First encounter with Easter

Most of the children and youth that come out to our after school programs have some understanding, some history and some form of experience with Christianity. Catholic school, family influence or church attendance or having grown up in UPT after school programs are all factors in this.

Often kids know about Jonah and the big whale, David and the giant, Noah and the big boat and other biblical historical figures. Often times what I find our time of studying the bible together does is it teaching them about having a relationship with  Jesus Christ rather than having the title, label or identity of being a Christian because they were born into a Christian home, taught to be a Christian or have attended a church or catholic school. It is a lot of conversations around it being personal, live changing and real, relationship rather than religion sort of stuff.

Last Thursday we shared the Easter story with our kids and youth through reading the story and having hands on activities to have an opportunity of experiencing the Easter story. They got to taste vinegar, hammer a nail, carry and cross and other tangible things like that. At the end of the day Sonya ask if we could talk because she had some questions. Sonya has been coming to camp for just over a month now and she is believes in the Muslim faith. She had some questions about Jesus and we talked for over a ½ hour about Jesus, sin, result of sin, death, a merciful God, how we can receive life in heaven and so on. As we stood at the bus stop on the way home she said to me, “I knew what Easter was about until today, and I still don’t really understand it”.

Five days later we sat down together and read through the entire Easter story. Her questions astonished me and we didn't have enough time as we talked through all the significance and meaning in just a few short chapters. Please prayer for Sonya as we continue to reading through and discuss the truth of the Bible and Jesus Christ.

A day of open doors and answered prayers!

Today was a beautiful day of experiencing the amazing ways God can work, opening doors and bridging a community together through ways we don’t understand.

This morning our team gathered together to pray, talk and share about our different ministries. We spent time lifting up our community as well as the local Warden Woods Community Center. This community center is in the heart of the community and is a location we would love to be able to run our programs out of and be more connected with to work alongside.

There is a bit of a court battle currently going on to do with this community center and we have continued to pray for opportunities to partner with them. This morning we were particularly praying for the youth worker who is being forced to leave (due to contracts) even though she had a heart to stay and continue working with the youth people. We prayed that she would not be discouraged and that God would provide for her as well as for her salvation for my co-worker was going to present the gospel to her.

Next in the day I headed over to Warden Woods Public school to run a cubing club over lunch hour for grades 4, 5 and 6. Recently I found out that the vice principle of the school is a Christian and attends the church we run program out of. As I walked through the hallways of the school I was filled with joy as kids ran up to me, boys I suspended from camp for Tuesday and Thursday (due to them fighting) came running to tell me that they were for sure coming on Friday. I was amazed at the open doors and networking that was happening as we met new kids.

After camp tonight as we met back at the community center to debrief the team where we heard from the youth worker that at 2 p.m. that afternoon was called into the office and was asked to stay. She agreed! What a complete turn around! 

My co-worker was able to share with her that we had prayed for her early that day. She was amazed and asked why and then proceeded to go around telling everyone that we had prayed for her. Kind of reminded me of how the lame man went into the temple courts praising God! She wants to meet with my community center and discuss how we can work together more and do big things in this community!

Such a quick obvious answer to prayer that had others giving thanks to God! Please continue to pray for Warden Woods Community Center. For more opportunities to work together, please pray for this woman’s salvation as we desire to share the gospel with her! Pray for big things to come out of the bridges forming within this community! 

Join me in praying for Warden Woods Community

God I ask for your surpassing peace

To cover this community

For a peace they do not understand

To be upon this morning

Father hear the cries of fear

The pleads of the community

For safety and peace

Heal their hearts Lord from the pain and hurt

For the mere boys

Who resort to guns and violence

May the living truth spoken to them in past

Be heavy on their hearts this morning

Would it deafen their ears to the lies

That compels them to fight rather than forgive

May your children live in the confidence

That nothing can separate them from your love

Neither life nor death.

By: Nick Westoll Staff Reporter, Published on Sat Feb 28 2015

Two men were taken to a trauma centre Saturday afternoon with gunshot wounds.

Toronto Paramedics were called to the area of Warden Ave. and Cataraqui Cres. around 1:45 p.m. According to a spokesperson, crews took both men to a local trauma centre in serious, but non-life-threatening condition.

Toronto police said one of the victims — both in their mid-twenties — suffered a gunshot wound to the buttocks, while the other was shot in the back of the leg.

Police didn’t have information about potential suspects, but earlier tweeted for the public to “use caution” in the area, as the suspect or suspects in the street shooting hadn’t been taken into custody.

Mar 10, 2015 | Vote0   0

Man shot numerous times on Burn Hill Road, rushed to hospital in serious condition

Scarborough Mirror

By Andrew Palamarchuk 

A man is in serious condition after he was shot multiple times in southwest Scarborough Tuesday.

Emergency crews were called to Burn Hill Road near Warden Avenue and Danforth Road at 4:42 p.m. on March 10.

Toronto Paramedic Services said paramedics found a man with at least four gunshot wounds.

The victim was taken to a trauma centre in serious condition.

Police are asking anyone with information to call 41 Division at 416-808-4100.

The Wondering Woman of Warden

As I think of Moses and the Israelite as they wondered through the dessert for 40 years it amazes me just how often God had to remind them that the dessert was not their home, it was not where they were to dwell. He did not want them to settle, to save manna, to depend on even a stream for water. He had so much more for them beyond the place they wandered throught for 40 years.

The whole journey of the Israelite through the dessert is an amazing journey of God's provision and faithfulness as he cared for His people but He always had more for them, they were on a journey and there was a destination!

Often as I serve along side my team of 6 woman in the community of Warden it is not uncommon for us to feel like wanderers. The programs we run vary in terms of location, some days we are at a church, others in a park, community center, in the homes of the families, or inviting them into our homes. We meet at Tim's, libraries, Mc Donald's. Basically we meet were ever we can find a place. 

Some day's begin by simply walking into the community and knocking on doors, praying for open doors and opportunities. Last week I met up with one of my co-workers who had picked up some fresh fruit intending to bring it to a particular family she had it mind. By the end of the day it ended up in a different home that we had been welcomed into and spend an hour visiting with both the mom and her child. We listened as she shared her struggled and frustrations as well as the joys of her children and were able to provide encouragement and love.

I am so blessed in experiencing the provision of God for open doors, opportunities and places to meet to run programs. I am thankful for his lessons along the way of depending entirely on Him, the constant reminder of not growing accustom and comfortable here, because this is not our home. We are not there yet,there is a destination and we are simply on our way. I am thankful that we can be an example of a body of Christ without walls, doors and ceilings, simply demonstrating the love of Christ no matter where we are. I am thankful that we can invite others into this journey on our way to our heavenly destination! 

Laughter

Laughter is good medicine and laughter is often the tool that I find most helpful in working with easily frustrated youth. Jamal is 12 and often begins his day with us very moody and upset. Anything and everything we have planned for the day is in opposition of what he wants and that He isn’t even sure about. With every passing instruction is mood often sinks to a put where he hides his face away and sits motionless.

Homework time is something that causes frustration for a lot of the youth, let’s face it, no one wants to leave school and come to camp for the purpose of doing more homework. The other day one of my interns cleverly tricked them into a writing a story by first getting them to write a word on a page, then to write 6 words that come to mind when they think of the first word. Then to finish, write a story including all of these words.

Jamal avoided the work as much as possible till I sat down with him and he continued to make up excuses. Finally one stuck, his right hand was still slightly swollen from hurting in on the weekend and he figured this was a good enough excuse since he couldn't write. I dramatically told him that I would give of myself and do the writing portion of it for him, but he had to tell me what to write. He thought this was great and we began. “Orange” he said, “How do you spell it?” I asked. Bursting out laughing at the fact that I didn't know how to spell orange he helped me out. “Round, orange, sweet, tree, delicious and green” he said. I asked again “how do you spell that?” His laughed spilled over and he got the words out slowly between his laughter, “r-o-u-n-d, o-r-a-n-g-e”. This continued on as he spoke his story out to me. By the end he was lying on the floor laughing when he realized and I written everything that had come out of his mouth including his laughs creating a very humorous story.

Laughter so often can change the course of a day! 

The best moments are the ones unplanned

Wednesday's tend me be a bit of an unstructured day for me, sometimes it's a day to catch up on paper work and all the tedious things that get pushed to the end of the list, or being involved in the Mom's Uphold program while other times it's means walking through the community with no plan just waiting for opportunities for relationship building.

This past Wednesday was one of those days. I went to the Warden public school to run into some of my kids, to maybe meet some new faces and to just be present and see what would come from it. After wondering through the hallways and catching up with different kids, figuring out why some of had been missing from program due to being grounded and such I wondered outside to find two of my super loyal girls complaining about having to walk home. I told them I was going that way and would love to walk with them and so we started on our way trekking through the snow.

It wasn't long before they both began chattering away telling me about the latest cutest boys, their first kiss's and all the drama and so and so dating so and so and then that other person and so on. The whole way home they talked and talked. I told know if reading this you understand the significance of how happy this made me. You see I don't always have these moments and the kids don't always want to talk or share whats going on in their lives. You can't plan something like this, but the fact that I had no where to be except walking them home just because created a time of openness and relationship building that I treasure greatly.

A normal interaction as I hang around the public school on at random times such as this my kids will run up to me whether they are 5, 8 or 14 saying "Jello, what are you doing here", to which I love to respond, "I'm here to see You" whatever that means in that moment, whether it means we talk for a few moments of I spend the next 1/2 hr walking them home, it's exactly what it should be.