SOS Canada – Trip Blog

As I sit here in my living room in Canada, home safe from a great 11 days of ministry in the Czech Republic, there are a few things running through my mind.  As jet lag sets in and the business of life picks back up, it’s often hard to hold on to the memories of such a whirlwind of a week abroad.  I woke up this morning to the sound of the wind on my window… eerily similar to the day we left, prompting me to wonder if this was all a dream.  Were we actually there?

It was a tough trip in many ways.  It was physically demanding, with a number of very long days and little rest.  It was mentally exhausting with many long stretches of ESL class converastions 1:1, talking about pets and hobbies.  It was difficult to lose all 4 hockey games.  Those 3 things were still fun at times and quite enjoyable most of the time. However, it was heartbreaking in many ways.  It is tough to witness a country in such a dark spiritual state, with very little hope.  It is difficult to see a church, so very small, with magnified problems clouding it’s vision for the lost.  It was hard seeing friends heartbroken still from last year’s hardships.  In these situations, we went to offer hope.  A light, however dim at the moment, in the darkness.

It is always tough to tell if we have accomplished anything more than painting a few rooms and meeting new people.  Our work in CZ is not a quantifiable thing, though.  To the cynic, it may seem mostly worthless, but we trust that God is in control and that he can use us.  We trust that God will use our sacrifices of energy, time and skill to glorify Himself in CZ.  We didn’t win any games, but our testimonies and joy despite losing speak louder than any victory.  The language barrier may have been difficult, but relationships were formed and grown.  No one gave their heart to Christ while we were there, but our example as the living Body of Christ shone brightly in a land where that is rare.  We don’t know exactly what our impact was or will be, but we do know this: God can use the most feeble sacrifice to make a world of difference for His glory.

So we pray.  We pray that God gets ahold of the hearts and lives of those we now know and love in CZ.  We pray that the Church in Hlinsko would come together and live and breathe God’s vision and heart for His children in CZ.  We pray that God will be a Father to the fatherless and bring hope to a broken nation.

Thanks so much for your support and prayers.  Please continue to pray.

Here at Immanuel we’ve established a sort of trend; we stay up late and get up early. While sleep deprivation could provide a hindrance to our social functioning, it’s this very social context that has us up late. This group is growing closer and closer each day, and it’s pretty exciting to be part of this.

As introductions go, this is Steve Coupland, a rookie member of SOS Canada. I’m a 26 year old Tyndale student and pastoral intern at Wellspring Worship Centre. Having been given the idea of SOS Canada at camp Mishewah, the Spirit led me to join this trip and I’m super glad to be here.

I digress.

It’s the end of day five and life has been full and fulfilling. However the hustle and bustle of teaching english, painting projects, a visit to a local orphanage, and several hockey games has not masked or hidden the work of God in this place and in this country.

Hearts are breaking and our team has expressed so many ways that God is showing them His redemptive love. A spirit of prayer has developed among us, and we’re upholding each other in daily prayer. Thoughts give way to tears, and yet this only gathers us closer together. The heartbeats of eighteen have quickly synced into the beating drum of one, and it is one after God’s own heart.

The parable of Matthew 13 (parable of the sower) reminds us that there are successful ways to evangelize. This trip (and those that have come before) has acted in seed-planting and soil developing, and yet this year many of us are realizing that our job is to continue to plant seeds and develop soil, but it is also to trim the thorns and prune the branches. Continuity is at the heart of this ministry. Familiar faces are different, for they now accept that we’re not a one-trip-pony; we’re here to shine the love of Jesus and we’re doing our best to show them how much we love this place, this country, and our God.

I think the only drawback is that we’re not winning hockey games. We’re 0-3 in our three games played (though all of them are tight games), but it may in fact be a good thing that we’re not cleaning up over here. After the heartfelt testimony of one of our guys (A. Collins…no, that’s too obvious…Adam C.) wherein he spoke of not needing the validation of winning hockey games, for he finds his validation and purpose in God, it is fitting that we as a team are not needing to win. Perhaps our message will be well received if we’re humble and happy losers.

So, keep us in your prayers. God is working and we’re stoked to see what He’s going to do next.

Cheers.

Well, after some uncertainty about the baggage with the Handlex strike and a nice blustery evening, we made it to Czech and a little bit ahead of schedule too. Thanks for all your prayers. Baby orphanage tomorrow afternoon and first game tomorrow night.

Well, we’re almost ready.  18 people will be heading to Hlinsko on Saturday evening to shine God’s light in the Czech Republic.  Please pray for safety as we travel, open hearts and boldness to share.

Well, we’ll give this blog thing a shot. Hope to put any major information about upcoming trips on here and highlight past trip experiences aswell as post updates during trips. If you’ve got something to contribute, let me know.
Dan

It’s Official, our 2011 Hockey Mission will be Saturday Feb 19th to Tuesday Mar 1. Contact Dan for more information. Looking forward to what God has in store this year.