More,
Please!
November,
1999
Perhaps you
have a memory of the Dicken=s novel, Oliver Twist, where the
unfortunate boy walks to the front of the dining hall of the orphanage and
says, AMore soup, please!@
In his innocence, the boy thought it natural to express his needs and
wants and expect an affirmative answer. Poor Oliver Twist.
His world was one where he learned that his needs were often ignored and
left unmet.
More, Mama, more!
Baby Daniel
has learned to express his needs in a very rudimentary way. Just yesterday Daniel was saying AMama@ clearly for the first time and
lifting up his arms to be picked up. It
brings much joy to be able to respond to those efforts at communication and
give the baby a hug and a kiss. I
realize that as a parent I won=t always be able to respond to those
cries and that sometimes it won=t be appropriate to give Daniel what
he is asking for. For now we want to
emphasize to baby Daniel that it is a good thing to express his needs and that
his parents are there to care for him.
We are trying to teach him more sophisticated ways of expressing himself
besides just crying. He has learned the
sign language for Abye-bye@ and Aall gone@, but we are still working on Amore@ and on Aplease@.
More training,
please!
At the
University of Ottawa and Carleton we recently held our annual training
weekend. A team of staff members with
Student Linc came up from Toronto to work on the
campuses during the week. They helped out with the training session on the
weekend. It was a very busy week for
everyone. In the initial plans with our
student leaders in Ottawa only a minimum of training classes were
proposed. The student leaders decided
that they definitely wanted more training. They had more faith than the staff that
students would turn out early on Saturday morning for a series of classes after
they had sat all week in university courses!
Normally
there are about 25 students who come to a Friday night meeting at either
Carleton or Uof O.
The staff were pleasantly surprised to find
that around 20 students came to the training course on Saturday. They were hungry to learn. We talked about
how to share the gospel effectively using the A4-laws@, how to be a more effective bible
study leader, how to love others by faith, and how to develop leadership
potential. I did quite a bit of teaching. It was a delight to provide training to
students who were motivated to listen and learn.
More about Jesus, please!
A newfound
hunger for God is a phrase I would use to describe a young man named Patrick
who recently showed up at out weekly meetings.
Although he appears to have made a decision for Christ during his
childhood, Patrick knew very little about the Bible and knew even fewer Chrisitians. Given
that we weren=t even sure that he was a Christian
at first, the student leaders and I were surprised to see Patrick turn up again
after his first contact with us at what was rated as a Adisastrous@ Friday night meeting (the singing
was pitiful, the M.C. was disorganized, the meeting started half an hour late,
the Amain event@ didn=t even show up.).
But Patrick
kept showing up again and again. Because he lives in Aylmer near to my house, I
have given Patrick a lift on a couple of occasions. We have had some very interesting talks about
obedience and dedication in the Christian life.
Near the end of the last ride, Patrick said that he was supposed to go
out to a bar with some friends from his work for a send off party. He said that he would much rather hang out
with his new Christian friends from Campus Crusade who were getting together to
watch a video than go to the bar with his old friends. He said that he wants to keep reading his
Bible because there is so much he has to learn.
Two days later Patrick was attending the baptism of one of the Campus
Crusade girls at the French Haitian Baptist Church. My husband and I also attended the
service. The conversion testimonies of
the Campus Crusade girl and her mother, who was also baptized,
were very moving. I think that Patrick
is finding out more of what it is like to follow Jesus!
More information,
please!
At two of
the other schools where I have been doing some phone coaching, the student
leaders have been equally hungry to receive some instruction. In the one case, a large already established
group in Newfoundland is making a transition to establishing the ministry
around cell groups rather than just having a weekly meeting. Having failed in the past to get the small
groups off the ground, the leaders have been very teachable to the input I have
been giving them. A series of events
shows indicates to us that God has been preparing things for this change. It has been a delight to try to answer the
many questions that the student leaders have had about creating a positive
environment for Christian growth.
At another
college in Barrie, Ontario the Key Student Leader has been asking many
questions about how they can improve their weekly meeting. She too is concerned with creating a climate
for growth for the Christians on her campus but has needed some help in how to
go about it. Again, some failures in
this area have created a hunger for more input.
Our God is
a God who delights in giving us Amore@.
Sometimes the students are like the baby in stuggling
to express what it is that they need.
They have this hope that God will provide somehow. At times God uses me or Campus Crusade or
some other means to provide what they need to grow and minister
effectively. Sometimes, because God is
good, He provides for our needs before we have even verbalized our requests:
ANow to him who is able to do
immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at
work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout
all generations for ever and ever, Amen!@
Believing
the Lord for more,