Rest for the Soul...

Mmmmm.... I love the word, "REST." It is one of those words that gives humankind that sigh of relief upon hearing it and positive action upon applying it. Rest for the soul, more importantly, resting in God is THE most important thing in living the Christian life. During our free time at Niagara Falls, Shannon and I had the privilege of visiting St. Mark's Anglican Church. It was the church that Krystal (Shannon's sister) got married in and so we went in. It's an old church with traditional pews, pulpit and intricate stain glass windows. As we entered the empty sanctuary, we heard the organist playing (rather practicing) some hyms to play for Sunday Worship Service. We placed ourselves in separate pews and sat at the presence of God...stopping and being still before Him. As I opened my Bible, my cell phone rang and I went out to answer my phone. After getting off the phone, I realized that I was standing at the site of a cemetary. As I walked around, viewing (with morbidness) the tombs and grave sites of people who had once been living and walking on the earth, I realized how fleeting life on earth can be. It was a crisp cool day and my heart began to pray... The one thing I remember praying was that I would continually abide in Him. Abide in Christ always. It doesn't matter (really) what I "do" for Him. It doesn't mean that we don't "do" anything and sit still being lazy all day...but (as Shannon put it), actions should come as a result of our relationship with Christ. By being still before, abiding in Him and listening to His voice, we can be energized and refreshed daily to be a tool for Him to use. Action should come out as a result of our love for Christ. These principles are nothing new (for those that "grew up in the Church"), but truly living out the Christian life is impossible without the continual grace and mercy of our faithful Father.

Endless invention, endless experiment,
Brings knowledge of motion, but not of stillness;
Knowledge of speech, but not of silence;
Knowledge of words, and ignorance of the Word...

Where is the Life we have lost in living?
Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?
Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?

OMF Canada's National Staff Conference

I have to get going pretty soon to head off to Niagara Falls for our Annual OMF Canada's National Staff Conference. There are numerous people flying in to Toronto from all parts of Canada (our regional coordinators) and setting off to Niagara (leaving Toronto at 2:00pm) and spending three days presenting and listening to seminars relating to missions, global and local contexts, and OMF in general. For those of you that know OMF well, it is a fairly extensive organization, rich in history, background and experience. Known as one of the "successful Long-term Mission," OMF is primarily recognized by its founder, the great Hudson Taylor that coined the term: "God's work, done in God's way, will never lack God's supply." Since many OMFers have been with the mission for over 5 years (on average), I feel new to the group (even though I've been with them for over a year). Shannon and I are the "younger" ones, and there are lots of issues that need to be brought forth to the table regarding the mindset, attitude and actions of the younger generations. During this conference, we'll be discussing matters of mobilization and how to effectively respond to people, interested in both short-term and long-term efforts to "evangelize to East Asia's peoples."

Here is our schedule for the next week (if you feel led to pray for us):

Jan 11~13: Niagara Falls with sessions led by Bob Morris)
Jan 14: OMF Day of Prayer
Jan 15: Worship together at Chinese Gospel Church
Jan 16: Mobilization Sessions (All Day)
Jan 17: Day at OMF Canada's National Office
Jan 18: Conference Wrap-up

I attended this conference last year (at around this time) and it was such an encouraging time for me. I was thirsting to know more about cross-cultural missions and how God was working amidst OMF workers all over the world. We had a variety of speakers from different organizations, Urbana reps, etc. It was a great time of learning, vision-casting and brainstorming new ways of obeying His command to go out to the great harvest. This year will be a bit different (definitely!). This year, I'll have more input and say...I feel that I will be able to contribute a bit more. Please pray that we will be attentive to what God wants for OMF Canada and how to respond better to the constantly changing Christian Church context in Canada :)