Eight years ago we felt called to Vancouver. It wasn’t so much the destination but the nature of the work that puzzled us.
We had felt our hearts drawn toward the poor… the Third World poor. If we were going to leave Australia, surely it would be to there. But that was not to be. Without doubt it was God who called our family to an established Vineyard in one of the wealthiest parts of Vancouver. It was not going to be an easy task. The church had recently gone through a painful split and was largely resistant to even the mention of the “V” word (vision).
As I prayed about this, the Lord gave me a Scripture, “Unless a grain of wheat fall into the ground and dies it remains alone, but if it dies…”
Did this mean that we were to go as undertakers, providing it with noble closure?
Or was it the end of a season and we were called to lead into a post-death era…?
Or was it a personal word, referring to my own dying and new lease of life…?
It now would appear that is was a combination of ‘under-takering’ and personal dying. We have just received news that Vancouver South Vineyard has decided to call it a day. We weren’t there for the funeral but we played a role in drawing that season to an end.
Also, on a personal level, it was an extremely challenging time ministry-wise, somewhat cushioned by wonderful new friendships that will likely last a lifetime.
What was that all about then? Clearly we have yet to find out, but I suspect Africa will shed some light on it. I hope so.
As for Africa, work permits that were supposed to take as little as a couple of weeks, have now taken three months, with indications of further delay. The fact that I was ‘commissioned’ rather than ‘ordained’ has apparently become an issue.
Continued prayer would be greatly appreciated.
Stopping over in Australia has been great. Catching up with old friends and ‘parishioners’, as well as family, has encouraged and refreshed us no end. However, I’ve found it hard to believe that we are no longer Canadian residents… in fact at times I’ve had to remind myself that we’re not in Canada. The odd grazing kangaroo and brilliantly coloured bird serves as a handy reminder as to where I am and what side of the road I should be driving on!
Trust, trust, trust in the Lord with ALL our hearts… that’s what we’re learning to do.
We’ve taken a big step and we keep getting reminded how big He is… just as well!
We had felt our hearts drawn toward the poor… the Third World poor. If we were going to leave Australia, surely it would be to there. But that was not to be. Without doubt it was God who called our family to an established Vineyard in one of the wealthiest parts of Vancouver. It was not going to be an easy task. The church had recently gone through a painful split and was largely resistant to even the mention of the “V” word (vision).
As I prayed about this, the Lord gave me a Scripture, “Unless a grain of wheat fall into the ground and dies it remains alone, but if it dies…”
Did this mean that we were to go as undertakers, providing it with noble closure?
Or was it the end of a season and we were called to lead into a post-death era…?
Or was it a personal word, referring to my own dying and new lease of life…?
It now would appear that is was a combination of ‘under-takering’ and personal dying. We have just received news that Vancouver South Vineyard has decided to call it a day. We weren’t there for the funeral but we played a role in drawing that season to an end.
Also, on a personal level, it was an extremely challenging time ministry-wise, somewhat cushioned by wonderful new friendships that will likely last a lifetime.
What was that all about then? Clearly we have yet to find out, but I suspect Africa will shed some light on it. I hope so.
As for Africa, work permits that were supposed to take as little as a couple of weeks, have now taken three months, with indications of further delay. The fact that I was ‘commissioned’ rather than ‘ordained’ has apparently become an issue.
Continued prayer would be greatly appreciated.
Stopping over in Australia has been great. Catching up with old friends and ‘parishioners’, as well as family, has encouraged and refreshed us no end. However, I’ve found it hard to believe that we are no longer Canadian residents… in fact at times I’ve had to remind myself that we’re not in Canada. The odd grazing kangaroo and brilliantly coloured bird serves as a handy reminder as to where I am and what side of the road I should be driving on!
Trust, trust, trust in the Lord with ALL our hearts… that’s what we’re learning to do.
We’ve taken a big step and we keep getting reminded how big He is… just as well!
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Lara