Global Poverty

I started a new job as an Art Teacher at a Juvenile Detention Center in August of last year. Prior to teaching, I volunteered at the facility through my church. As you can imagine teaching justice-involved youth comes with a unique set of challenges. I’m at the center of a lot more angst and less excitement than I ever was as a volunteer. I also know a lot more about the residents– now my students.  Their stories are more pronounced in their daily classroom behavior. It can be a hard thing to carry.  I can’t imagine how hard it is to live the stories. 

As part of DARC (Decolonization and Anti-racism Collective, the new name for the Canadian Advisory Committee on Antiracism), I was asked to talk with BIPoC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour) people to hear their honest experiences with the CRCNA. I was honoured to talk with a brilliant woman who is a Doctor in Education and a Professor at the University of Alberta.

You are mightier than all the breakers pounding on the seashores of the world! - Psalm 93:4

Earthquake death toll tops 41,000 in Turkey and Syria 

In the continuing aftermath of the earthquake, 100 people have been arrested in Turkey amidst a collapsed building probe.  We pray for justice, healing and also a solid rebuilding.

"Now, for good friends to cheer us, for seasonal weather to envelop us, for good work to engage us, we give You thanks."  - An Evening Prayer Neal Plantinga 

In my late twenties I was presented with an opportunity to work with at risk youths and children who lived in post conflict Sierra Leone. At that time, I was working in Washington, DC and had a wonderful life. I loved my friends. I love the house I was living in. I was happy. At that time, I was working to support people who were homeless and in desperate financial situations. With my friends, we wrestled with how to live in a world with so much suffering, injustice and poverty. I was idealistic and took God’s call in Isaiah 58 very seriously. 

Simon said, “Master, we’ve been fishing hard all night and haven’t caught even a minnow. But if you say so, I’ll let out the nets.” It was no sooner said than done—a huge haul of fish, straining the nets past capacity. - Luke 5:5-7 MSG

A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord— and he will delight in the fear of the Lord. (Isaiah 11:1-2)

“‘Turn your ears our way, God, and listen. Open your eyes and take a long look at our ruined city, this city named after you. We know that we don’t deserve a hearing from you. Our appeal is to your compassion. This prayer is our last and only hope." - Daniel 9:18 MSG

Colorado Springs Shooting

Five people are dead and 17 wounded after a mass shooting inside an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs, CO over the weekend.  The event marks more than 600 mass casualty shootings in the US so far this year.

"Feed the hungry, and help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon." - Isaiah 58:10 (NLT)

The home is the foundation of a lot of good and bad things society experiences today and this impacts future generations.  God ‘s grand design and plan desired that man should not stay alone but live in community with a suitable helper for him. Unfortunately, due to the fall in the Garden of Eden man fell short of the expectations. The foundation for good life, and prosperity was hinged on obedience. This is what God had instructed. This is an instruction with a promise.