On life and tario...

Well, I got back from Canada Friday night and then slept for most of Saturday, so my plans to have a fresh reflection went out the window pretty quickly.  But it was a great trip, and I'll get to that in a second.

First, once again, I know that my brain works this way but it still annoys me that I accomplish so much more when I have even the slightest inkling of a schedule; getting back into rehearsals this week has been great, and I've been motivated to do quite a bit, which is why it has taken until now to finally write.  (Also I went up to Sky Valley Sunday/Monday so that was 16 hours in a car that I wasn't able to spend doing anything else but driving, so there's that)

I'm taking this month off from running.  It's just too hot, and I don't have to start my next training until the 2nd week in August.  I can make myself to run a few miles in the heat once I have a goal/reason to do so, but there's no sense in forcing myself into misery for the next few weeks.  Instead I'm just gonna do some indoor workouts at home (I found a set of training videos that has one of my favorite phrases: lots of options) and keep my stamina/endurance levels up while maybe trying to knock off a few more pounds before hitting the ground. . . running. . . again.

There are also a couple other things around the corner. . . but no need to give away all the excitement at one time.

So. . . .

Canada.

It really was a great trip.  On the social/fun activity side of things, we got to spend a day at Niagara Falls (which is insane, the rushing water all around you, just magnificent, and only a piece of the power and glory of God we can observe here on earth), and I got a dessert the size of my head for my birthday (which is really how one should be able to order celebratory desserts).  I think #29 is rivaled only by #26, because really, what could be better than Dinosaur World?

Also, by the grace of God, none of my puns warranted me getting slapped, so that is always a win in my book.



After settling in (Airbnb for the win), the first full day we helped with a "Free Sale," which was a really interesting idea.  People donated stuff, and instead of buying items with money, the community was asked to contribute with either stuff or with canned goods, and then take whatever they wanted.  It was neat to see how much food came in (that was later donated to a food bank).  What was even more interesting was the conversations though; being able to talk to people about Jesus who had never even heard of Him, perhaps never really thought about God, and certainly weren't "churched."  We also got to meet several of the Fellowship Oshawa people and I know I had some good conversations because of that.

(Here is the problem without a fresh reflection. . . I don't remember what we did that evening.  Like. . . no clue.  Passed out flyers perhaps?  Because I know) the next day was Sunday, so we helped set-up, and Courtney and I were given the opportunity to lead the music along with their music guy, Kyle (so maybe the night before we had dinner?  Because the three of us rehearsed that evening.  So I'm going to go with that).  Always good to be in a familiar scenario, setting up in a school cafeteria and having a come-as-you-are approach.  That night we had a training session that really opened up my eyes to a great tool for evangelism/discipling, simple but effective, which is usually best.

Monday was the day we went to Niagara.  As previously stated, it was a great time.

Tuesday we passed out some flyers for their summer kids camp.  The best moment there was when a young girl asked, "Is this the Jared and Jen camp??"  (this it their third year doing a camp in the area).  Really interesting that you can just go around and put flyers in peoples' boxes, if you have the manpower why waste the stamps?  That night we went to a park and had some intentional gospel conversations.  It was cold and had been raining the hours leading up to it, so there weren't a lot of people.  The older couple that Kyle and I spoke to were very receptive in having a conversation, but unfortunately held to being church attenders as good enough.  They weren't really interested in a God who was interested in them personally.

Wednesday morning we did a prayer walk through the downtown Oshawa area.  To say it was eye opening is an understatement.  The homeless situation, the sex trafficking, the lack of efforts beyond humanitarian focus through religious feelings. . . heart breaking.  And I can only imagine how much I miss in the area I live in.  That night the Huntley's hosted a cookout for their life group and their neighbors, and quite a few people showed up.  They got to make connections with people they didn't know yet, so that's always a good thing.  Wednesday night is also when I heard the news that Heather passed away.  I had the thought before we went on the trip of perhaps going over to see them, or that maybe that might happen. . . but I was still a little stunned that it did.  There's lots more to say there but that's for another entry; for now, all I will say is boo cancer.

Thursday we passed out some more flyers for the kids camp, and then that afternoon helped with some of the nuts and bolts side of church planting (lesson planning for kids, data input, running errands, dreaming up some future plans, etc).  We also went to a nice restaurant for my birthday which had quite the variety of food choices (I got butter chicken, not too spicy) before attending one of their small groups that night.  That also was great to see a group of somewhat random people coming together and being willing to share their lives with each other and hear from the Word.

All in all, I learned a lot about myself and have been inspired to be more kingdom-minded in my approach to life.  I always feel like there is so much to be said but at the very least I can look back at this and remind myself of what happened, which will in turn remind me of why it mattered, because really I'm writing for me and you all just get to see a slice of my brain.  One more thing I'll say: it's nice to have finally met people that I've only heard about or connected on Facebook with, and it's really neat to see already how friendships formed quickly can turn into a great encouragement.