Canada Mission Trip Summary

My summaries always end up being longer than I intend but here is the summary of the week in Canada
Ontario – May 10th-16th, 2009
Liberty Baptist Church College Ministry

Day One: May 10th, 2009
The day started out early! I had just driven back from school the night before and got in around 7:00pm. I had just enough time to say hello to the family, throw my college stuff in my room and pack a quick bag or two for Canada. We (15 of us) met at the church at 4:40am to load up the trailer that we had attached to our mini-bus. We left Hampton, VA at 5:00 am, beginning the LONG drive to Canada. We stopped at Niagara Falls (Canada side) for some sightseeing. God's creation is so breathtaking!

After dinner we loaded back into the 15 passenger shuttle bus and drove for about 2 more hours. We stayed at Dalton’s dad’s house in Listowel, Ontario. He has a beautiful house with a lot of land. After we settled in, met his dad and ate some ice cream, we all took a walk down to the water. By this time I think it was around 10:00pm and it was completely dark outside. I couldn’t see a thing. We stood under a tree to pray out loud for the week that God had in store for us. We thanked God for the opportunity He had put before us, we prayed for the people we would be meeting and we prayed that our hearts would be ready to be used by Him. It was very cloudy and we couldn’t see a single star or the moon. We all finished our prayer time by singing “I Can Only Imagine” and “God of Wonders” a cappella. When we had finished singing and praying we opened our eyes and it looked as if God had pulled away the clouds; the stars were so clear and the moon was full and bright. It was amazing and a beautiful picture of God’s awesome creation and His control over it. It truly was one of the most moving things I had ever seen. It was as if God was telling us that we were right where He wanted us to be. Our walk back to the house was clearly lit by the moon and the stars. It was a great way to start out the week.

Day Two: May 11th, 2009
We all woke up the next day excited for our first full day in Canada. I slept on an air mattress in the living room and somehow still managed to be the last person up. I woke up, in all of my morning beauty, to a room full of people eating breakfast and someone shaking me and calling my name out a hundred times. I guess I was pretty tired. I quickly showered, got dressed, blew a fuse (I didn’t use a hair dryer for the remainder of the trip) and ate breakfast. We all met up for our first day of morning devotions. The theme for the week was leadership and how to grow as a leader through difficulties and through victories. We looked at the life of David in I Samuel. On this first morning we read from I Samuel 16. Verse seven says, “For God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance but the Lord looks at the heart.” How true is that? How often do we judge one another by their outward appearance? I know I do it so often without even thinking about it or realizing what I am doing. God doesn’t see things the way we see them. We can see a good looking, intelligent, confident guy and think he has it all together and look at the ragged, poor, quiet guy right next to him and, for some reason, assume that God can’t use him to touch another life. Another verse that came to my mind as we were reading in I Samuel was I Timothy 4:12. “Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.” It is so encouraging to me to know that God can use anyone at any age. Even as a young, college kid I can still be setting an example for those around me and influencing them just by how I live my life. It’s an encouragement and a challenge.

After our devotions we loaded up the bus again (we spent a lot of time in that bus) and headed for Toronto. I was told that Toronto is the most culturally diverse city in the world which is very evident as soon as you arrive. Just looking out the window of the bus I could see that there are all different races and religions represented. We met a guy we would be working with at the Salvation Army. We all settled into a conference room and he gave us an overview of what to expect for the day. He told us that his friend Abu, a Muslim who lived in the area had agreed to come and talk to us about Islam. We would be encountering many Muslims throughout the week so we wanted to be sure that we were informed before we tried to share Christ with them. He said that they were good friends and had many discussions and debates although neither was willing to change their beliefs. I thought it would be interesting because it seemed to me like Abu was a “missionary” to us, at least in his mind. I was also nervous. I have studied Islam a decent amount and wrote my final religion paper on the five pillars, but I had never been in a situation like this before. Abu gave us a presentation of the similarities and differences between Christianity and Islam. At the end of the presentation we were allowed to ask some questions. Everyone was very respectful but you could feel how uncomfortable we were. We knew he was wrong but we didn’t want to “attack” him and create a bad name for Christians. It was very informative and eye opening to see where Muslims stand and what they think about Christians. For example, many Muslims think that Christians have three gods and that we “stole” this concept from the Hindu religion. He also told us that Muslims are most fearful of the Day of Judgment because they will not know for sure if they will be let into heaven (Paradise) until that day. This statement stuck out to me the most and it is something that I will always remember. There is no security in Islam. You can spend your whole life praying to Allah and fulfilling the five pillars but at the end of it all, you may or may not be allowed into Paradise. I can’t imagine being so unsure about my eternity. It made me sad to think about it. After the presentation and Q&A session, they told us he had a confession; “Abu’s” was not his real name and he is actually a Christ-follower, not a Muslim. We were all stunned as we realized we had just been duped. They said that they use this strategy because it is more effective than having a lecture on Islam (good strategy, I know I tune out as soon as a PowerPoint is turned on). It took me a while to get over the shock of the situation but it definitely was an effective way to teach us about Islam. It wasn’t boring at all and we all were engaged and paying attention. It was very interesting to see how we all reacted to who we thought was a real Muslim attacking our core Christian beliefs. It made me realize that I need to make sure I’m ready and that I know my Bible.

After we left the Salvation Army, we walked around the neighborhood praying for the people of the area and for the interactions we were going to have with them. We walked by the biggest elementary school in North America. I forget exactly how many students were there but it was a lot! It was right as school got out and we could see the diversity of the students. There are hardly any Caucasians in the whole school. In fact, the “white” people they refer to are Iraqis. While we walked around we also prayed for the ministry that they currently have in the area and that God would bless them and keep them safe. They have made so much progress and God is really moving in that neighborhood. His Word and His love are being spread to all of the people.

After the events of the morning we headed to Ajax, Ontario where we met John and Summer at a local Baptist church. John is the youth pastor at this church and a friend of Dalton’s from college. Summer is his wife. Dalton led the youth group lesson and we got to hang out and interact with the students. We also played an intense game of Cat & Mouse! It was fun spending time with the Canadian youth group, teaching them and learning from them. We finally headed for dinner at about 10:00pm and went to a restaurant called “Kelsey’s.” We got to try “Poutine” which is big in Canada. It is French fries covered in cheese and gravy. I had never even heard of it. It doesn’t really look tasty but it was pretty good, even though I’m not a big gravy fan..

Day Three: May 12th, 2009
I would consider this day to be the most eventful, informative, draining, and interesting. It was also my favorite day of the week. In morning devotions we read in I Samuel 17 about David & Goliath. I’ve heard the story so many times that I sometimes overlook how amazing it is! We really can do great and amazing things through the power of God. We had breakfast at Tim Horton’s (a popular Canadian “Panera” type place…but better & cheaper!)

After breakfast we met two men, Peter and Seneal at a Hindu Temple in Toronto. Peter lives in Toronto and has committed his life to reaching the people in his area for Christ. He is a great guy who has denied himself a “comfortable” life in order to meet these people where they’re at. Seneal is a converted Hindu from South Asia.

We were told that we were actually going to go into the Hindu temple and walk around praying silently for the people. It seemed a little weird at first, even to me, and some people in our group had some reservations about walking into a Hindu temple, being a Christian. They told us that although it was a temple that worships idols, no one can stop us from constantly worshipping and praying to Jesus Christ while we were there. The temple was so beautiful and ornate. One of the most beautiful buildings I have ever seen! The details on the outside of the building were truly amazing. When we walked in we had to take our shoes off out of respect. The temple has heated marble floors, which are beautiful as well. Seneal led us around the temple explaining things to us and answering questions. We were able to go into the “worship center” of the temple and see all the gods and altars that they have set up. It is a big room with different “cut-outs” in the wall; each designated to a different god. There were boxes in front of each god that you could put donations into. We were very silent and respectful as we walked around praying, not to these manmade gods but to the One True and Holy God. I prayed for the people that were in there with us. They are in so much bondage. The feeling in the temple was eerie; I felt as though I could almost feel Satan’s presence and power over the people worshiping in the temple. In the middle of their temple we all sat and prayed silently for them.

The temple also had a museum attached to it so Seneal led us through the museum giving us a history of the Hindu religion. He is an ordained minister and he had his “priest” clothes on so many of the visitors to the temple actually jumped in on our little tour. One woman came up to Seneal assuming he was a Hindu priest and said it was her first time at the temple and she wanted to know how to pray. I could see the brokenness and longing for hope in this woman. He gave her his contact information and told her that if she called him he would tell her how to pray and worship. Wow! This woman was obviously searching for something in her life and God placed her in Seneal’s path. What an amazing God we serve. His timing is perfect. When she contacts him he can tell her how to worship Jesus Christ and not the gods of the Hindu religion.

After we left the temple we headed to a Sikh temple. I had never even heard of the Sikh religion but it was described to us as being a combination of Hindu and Muslim beliefs. Sikh’s place a high emphasis on cleanliness so when we arrived we removed our shoes and washed our hands. Seneal also washed my feet. It was the first time that I have ever had anyone wash my feet (pedicures don’t count). To me it is one of the most selfless and humble acts and a wonderful representation of Jesus. We also had to borrow scarves to wear as a head covering. It was really hard to keep a straight face seeing all of the Americans with these scarves on; we looked like pirates. The people at the Sikh temple were very kind and welcoming to us and even said we could eat there. They run a “soup kitchen” type service. The meals served there are open to the worshippers and are all free. When we walked into the cafeteria we had to wash our hands again and were each handed a metal tray and cup. We had to walk over to the mat on the floor and sit cross legged. They came by and filled up our trays with different dishes. Nothing they serve has meat in it. It definitely was not my favorite type of food but out of respect I ate it, well most of it anyway. The only thing I couldn’t eat was the “yogurt.” That is what they called it but it was the most horrible thing I’ve ever tasted. It is a combination of flour, curds, chick peas and some other things. Oh, and it was cold. I wouldn’t recommend it. Seneal loves that stuff though and had us all pour it into his cup. I turned to Zach, sitting next to me, and said, “If he drinks that, I’m going to vomit.” Well, he did drink it. I didn’t vomit, but it was disgusting.

The high priest of the temple led us into the worship area and a man described the basic tenants of their religion. In the temple they have a shrine built with their “guru” (a book) covered up and placed in the middle. In the history of the religion they had many gurus but the last guru said that after him there would be no more human gurus and the book would be the only guru. Smart thinking on his part; to preserve his position as the final human guru. The book has to be covered at all times unless it is being read. Before it can be opened and read the worshipper must take a feather duster type thing to wave over it to avoid even the slightest piece of dust from touching it. One of the saddest things I saw was a very old woman come in dressed in all white. She laid face down in front of the shrine, in such sincere worship. She walked over to read it and waved the feather duster over it for a few minutes before she would even open it. She seemed so humble and fearful at the same time. I felt so burdened for her. In just watching her I didn’t see any happiness or contentment, just fearful practice of the rituals of her religion. I am impressed by their dedication and respect of their beliefs and I really wish more Christians, including myself would show the same respect and love to the True God who loves us and sent His Son for us so that we can have a relationship with Him. These people are so lost and need Jesus but I don’t think it is wrong to say that we could learn a thing or two from their dedication.

After we left the Sikh center we went with Peter to a park to hear about the plan for the rest of the day. It was time to put all we had learned so far into practice and I was extremely nervous. Peter told us that we were going to the local mall and he challenged us to go meet the people and talk with them. If the opportunity presented itself to talk about Jesus we could do that and could even give them a Jesus DVD or other contact information. I was terrified and I really didn’t expect it to be very effective. I’m very apprehensive in talking to strangers about Jesus. I have seen so many bad examples of people “sharing Jesus” in this way and I have always had a negative feeling about it. I was afraid they would think that I was attacking them or that I’m one of those “freaks” that rides around on bikes knocking on doors.

I paired up with Mary-Elizabeth and we started walking around the mall. We were both apprehensive and I really didn’t plan on seeking anyone out. God definitely made a way for us though in spite of our fears. We met two Indian men who were of the Sikh religion. They were working for a bank trying to sell us a credit card or something like that. How strange that until that very day I had never even heard of the religion and now I was having a conversation with these two guys. God is so wonderful! These men were so kind to us. It definitely worked in our favor that we were females and American. It made conversing with people a lot easier because for the most part they initiated the conversation. We definitely stood out from the crowd. They bought us each a coffee and took a break to sit in the food court with us and just talk. We were able to talk about Jesus and share some of our beliefs with them. They were very skeptical and they weren’t extremely interested in it but I really didn’t see it as a setback. Our conversation was real. We just got to know them and listened to them talk about their lives and their families. Who knows who else they will come in contact with in the future!

I feel like this afternoon helped me to see that Jesus needs to be a part of my life all the time and when I meet new people they should be able to tell what I believe and where I stand. It’s not about converting anyone or beating them over the head with bible verses and theological terms. Too many times we turn our “witnessing” into “counting.” How many people got saved should never be the question asked. Numbers are not important and we all get too wrapped up in the data. It’s not our job to convert anyone; only the Holy Spirit can do that. We are only called to be faithful and to share what we know.

After we left the mall we ate dinner at Swiss Chalet, another Canadian restaurant and of course had more poutine. The girls of our group met up with Peter again to help with the English class he holds for some Indian women. We met in a laundry room in the basement of an apartment complex where most of these women live. It was a great experience but very difficult because of the language barrier. Unfortunately, I do not speak any Arabic. We each paired up with an Indian woman and went over question words (Who? What? Etc.) The woman I was paired with was so sweet and was so eager to learn. When we were going over the question words I was trying to give her hints to fill in the blanks. I kept repeating “w” and telling her that five of the words started with “w.” Finally, the light bulb went off and she scribbled down some words quickly. She looked at me with pride as she handed me the paper. In the blanks designated for “who” “what” “when” “where” and “why” I found two words written; “Wednesday” and “white.” I just smiled as I corrected her.

After the English class, Peter brought Alanna and me to his friend Seema’s house. Seema is a Hindu woman who Peter has been sharing with for a few months. She was very hospitable and nice to us. She made us coffee and pulled out old pictures of herself from her singing days in India. We had a spiritual discussion with her but she was unfaltering in what she believed. Peter said that she has already been making leaps and bounds towards Jesus, though, so we should continue to pray for her.

Day Four: May 13th, 2009
Today after waking up and having morning devotions we headed to Mississauga, Ontario. Mississauga isn’t too far from Toronto. We met a man named Sulliman at his house. Sulliman is a former Muslim and is now a Christ follower. We met his wife, son, grandsons and friend, Frank. We put together bags filled with tracts, the Jesus video and contact information/prayer request cards. They have been reaching out to their neighbors; holding Bible studies and offering to pray for them. This takes a tremendous amount of courage. Sulliman told us that for Muslims, if they encounter a Muslim who has converted to Christianity and they kill them, they get a guaranteed pass into heaven. After we finished stuffing the bags we ate lunch and then loaded up into different vehicles. They don’t knock on the doors or try to “convert” anyone they just put the bags on the doorknobs leaving the ball in their neighbors court. They have found this to be the most effective way to reach people. The Lord gave us beautiful weather that day which was wonderful since we were outside walking around for a few hours. We were able to converse with a few people who were outside in their yards. Two men that I had a conversation with were very impressed that we had come all the way from Virginia to share with the people in their area. They took the DVD from us and seemed very interested in it.

At about 4:30pm we headed back to downtown Toronto and went to the CN Tower. The CN Tower is the tallest building in the world! We took the elevator all the way up to the Sky Pod which is as high as you can go. This is probably the most I prayed all week since I am terrified of heights (ha ha). I almost cried on the way up the elevator! At one level there is a glass floor that you can stand on. I was fine staying on the “non-glass” floor, but of course I got dragged onto it and I even laid on it! It was pretty scary but a memorable experience. You can walk outside and see all of Toronto; it is such a cool city. For dinner we grabbed some hotdogs outside of Rogers Stadium. Definitely the best hot dog I’ve ever eaten. We went and saw the Yankees take on the Blue Jays. We only stayed until about the 6th inning but the Yankees ended up winning. After the game we headed to the “Time Square” area of Toronto. It really resembles the Time Square of New York City with the restaurants, stores, big screens and bright lights. I love New York City and I loved Toronto as well. I could have walked around this area for hours. I love cities!

At the end of the day I was writing down the events and reading my Bible and came across this verse which I thought was very relevant to this trip. It’s found in Matthew 9:12 and it says, “It is not those who are healthy that need a physician but those who are sick.” In the book that I’m reading (Touch) the author says, “Jesus didn’t see the sick, the lame, the blind and the demon possessed as a hindrance to His ministry. These people were His ministry.” I realized that the world is so much bigger that what I focus on the majority of the time. I get so caught up in minor details in my small vision of things. There are so many people out there who are dying without Jesus and it should break my heart; if only I could truly have the love for people that Christ had. Sure I love the people who are easy to love but what about those who are far from Christ, who are stubborn, and who challenge me in my faith and beliefs? They don’t deserve my love and attention any less even though I do not give them the respect they deserve. We are all God’s children and I have the privilege of sharing Jesus Christ with everyone I meet. It is time that I start to take advantage of that more!

Day Five: May 14th, 2009
Today was a much more relaxing day which was definitely needed after the busy days we had been having. We were able to sleep until 8:00am and then went to do some shopping at the Eaton Centre (a popular mall in Toronto). After we shopped a little we met Justin (an intern) at the Salvation Army. For lunch we went to an authentic Afghan restaurant. I was nervous about eating the food but it actually wasn’t too bad. It was kabobs and rice for the most part. I got the chicken kabob. The people at the restaurant were very kind to us and even gave us complimentary tea and Afghan baklava for dessert!

After lunch we went to help a lady named Zoe. She works at a mission in her city that offers a soup kitchen, clothes closet and other services to the local people. We went on a walk around the neighborhood so she could explain to us what she does and the types of people that she works with. We were split into different groups. Mary-Elizabeth, Alanna and I had to clean and organize the clothes closet, which was a disaster! Clothes were piled up everywhere and not organized at all. I’m pretty sure some of those clothes had been there since 1985 or so. We were only there for a few hours but we were able to separate and organize a good amount of the clothes. We had some laughs along the way too after finding a Spider-man costume, a nun outfit (I think it’s called a habit?) and a dress that would fit five people in it.

Today was the only day we had time for a nap before dinner. It was great! Since it was our last night we ate a nice dinner at a restaurant named Milestones, which was in walking distance of the hotel.

Day Six: May 15th, 2009
We had an early morning today. Had to wake up and be on the van by 7:15am, but Dalton had Tim Horton’s waiting for us. We headed to Ajax again to meet John Fitter at another church in the area. This church seats about a thousand people which is very large for a church in Canada. A few of the youth leaders in the area had put together an event for the youth called “The Tourney.” All of the schools had this day off (called a PA day). It was a big sports tournament with dodge ball and 3 on 3 basketball tournaments with other games on the side. The event started at 10am and went until 4pm. It was fun interacting with the different youth and talking about a variety of things. Canada is similar to America in some ways but there are a lot of differences. The youth that were there were great and I had such a good time just hanging out with them and playing some very intense games of Dutch Blitz (card game).

We had decided that instead of going back to the hotel and waking up early the next day to head home we would just leave straight from the Tourney and drive through the night. I don’t think we thought about the fact that we all had been running around and sweating all day but we all piled back into the van (gross!). It didn’t smell too great, even after opening the windows and spraying a lot of febreez. We left at about 4:30pm. At the border we stopped for our last Tim Horton’s and then got back in the car and got in line to cross the border. At the border, they made us park and Dalton (the only Canadian) had to go inside. We didn’t know how long it would take but it ended up being about 30 or 45 minutes.  Dalton said that when he was waiting he was seated right next to a Muslim family from Toronto and he was able to talk and pray with them. God is so good!

Dalton and my dad split the driving for the trip home. It was a LONG trip and extremely hard to sleep. Every time I started to doze off I’d either get a whiff of smelly feet or get suddenly really uncomfortable. Actually, I don’t think there was ever a time when I was comfortable. I probably only slept for a total of an hour or two so I was happy to be back in Virginia when we arrived at about 8am. Thank the Lord for safe travels and good weather though.

Summary:
What a great trip! These paragraphs don’t even begin to describe the happenings and feelings of the events. I really didn’t know how culturally diverse Toronto was. It was so interesting to meet and interact with people of different races and religions. It really challenged me in many different ways. I feel like sometimes I want to only reach the people who currently have no beliefs or are apathetic about religion. It’s hard to reach out to people that are already extremely fervent in their own religion. I even would think of them as the “enemy” sometimes. Gosh, I can be such a snob! It is so obvious to me now that “we don’t wrestle against flesh and blood.” Our battle isn’t against non-Christians or people of other religions; in fact, I see them as victims. Our war is against Satan and his darkness. I feel like this wasn’t only a mission trip but it was also very educational. I learned so much in such a short amount of time. I realized that missions and evangelism is not just something you do on a weeklong trip. It is a lifestyle; a lifestyle I want to have. I should be reaching everyone I meet regardless of who they are. The joy of the Lord should radiate through me. I am so thankful for the opportunity to go to Canada and meet so many wonderful people. God is so good and He is moving and working all over the world! Thank you so much to those of you who were praying for me. Please continue to pray for the people of Toronto!