#MCOPC2016
One of the hopes in having two MARKcentrals was that there would be smaller class sizes and a more intimate feel of a conference. The estimated number of people at each week being approx 100. All of our plans for a more intimate conference were shifted when 180 people registered for the OPC week! On the one hand, we were grieved at the loss of some of our programming hopes that couldn’t really be accommodated with the number of people we had. But on the other hand, we were deeply encouraged that there were so many people eager to gather around scripture together! Within that 180, there were approx 10 not-yet believing students!
After coming out of a full week at #MCArden2016, David and I were tired, but eager to see what God would do with this group of people. There were many things about this week that were similar to last year: a staggered 2 meal schedule (as we couldn’t all sit together for meals), a mid-week worship night, and similar teaching and lodging locations. But, we had some new elements like staff stepping into new roles, and some group application for all the Mark 1 studies.
Before heading into the OPC MARKcentral week, I found myself stressed and frustrated at the seemingly endless logistical issues to work out. But, upon arrival, I felt a peace come over me, and actually felt at home. Which surprised me, because as recent as 2 years ago I remember feeling completely lost and out of place at OPC.
Day 2, with the Question of the Day
During this week, I was the primary point person. David took care of registration, budget and lodging details but I was the one that was up front as emcee, and led staff meetings. When I wasn’t taking care of any issues that arose, I joined the prayer team to intercede for the conference and offer prayer ministry for those in need. Being with the prayer team was a huge highlight for me. I’d never served on an intercession team before this week, and I loved the experience! Often I would hear stories of my friends who have interceded for conferences, and I was skeptical about some of the things they would do and how they would pray, but God in his grace and mercy showed me how some of the more unconventional ways we were praying actually were connecting with what was happening for those teaching and participating in studies. In subtle ways, that only I would notice the Spirit moved and revealed how It was drawing all the pieces together, and addressing some of the places of doubt in my heart. I was so grateful to work with Ruth, Ryan, Ruth and PY on the prayer team and see them lead the conference to connect with God in new and familiar ways.
The #MCOPC2016 Prayer Team!
I also loved working with the staff team, which was a mix of brand new staff and staff I’d known for years. It was great seeing staff step up and for many to lead studies on their own. It was exciting to hear about the not-yet believers in the studies and how they were fairing. We rejoiced as some of these students made first-time commitments to follow Jesus and as others heard from God for the first time in prayer and worship! We celebrated as some students decided to join the Toronto Urban Plunge team! I had so much delight seeing Ashley Chan lead an all KCF worship team and lead us in multi-lingual worship. The culmination of my joy with the staff team happened as we ended our last staff meeting with a 2.5 song dance party, with Ashley Chan and Preston leading the charge and setting the pace. In more recent years, I’ve experienced anxiety when spending time with my colleagues so feeling joy while being them had been rare, but this week I was so full of joy and so grateful for each of my colleagues.
There were a few OCF students who attended this week: one of my knights and Jimmy were in the Genesis study led by Jamie, my staff partner; and PY served on the prayer team with me. For Jamie and I, we had a few points during the week to connect with the OCF crew and it was a blessing to be with them as they processed their experiences and as they asked for prayers for what’s next. All of these students are graduating, and even though I had only been working with them for a year, each of them are dear me. My knights, Jimmy and PY were the first students to welcome me with open arms to OCF. They honestly shared their lives with me, and were open and eager to have me speak into their lives. They allowed me to be me, prayed and cared for me and have been a huge part in my heart for campus ministry being reignited. It was a great gift to spend parts of this week with them.
Even now as I reflect on this week, I can’t quite explain what was happening for me. In this season of many losses and hardships, I felt peace and settled in a way that shouldn’t have been true. I received vibrant images and words in prayer, I saw prayers answered, lives healed and new people join the family. It was thrilling! I felt bold in ways I don’t often feel in my life. I felt free in ways I haven’t felt in months. My friend and our camp host Andrew said this of me, “Every time she’s been up here [to say something] she’s had this huge smile”, and as I looked back at the photos of this week and heard from my staff friends, I see that this was true. I even see a huge difference between how I was at Arden and at this week. So I’m still unpacking what that means, but am grateful for this gift.
The #MCOPC2016 group! So many great memories with this group!
Surprise Party
As I reflect on this year, one of the highlights was my birthday. Often birthdays are not always filled with happy memories. This year, given that I was coming from Urbana and vacation, I didn’t have lots of time to plan for my birthday. So, when the day came I didn’t have lots of plans, but then was showered with love from my community.
I had breakfast with my staff partner Jamie, and got to have a great talk. I had a late afternoon meeting with my supervisor, which also was a great time. The biggest surprise of the night came when “my knights” invited me to dinner, they were pretty vague on the details (I taught them well), and I wasn’t sure what to expect when I met with them. They managed to convince me we were just going to have a quiet dinner, just the three of us. When we got to the restaurant, I saw there was a large table filled with OCFers (and a few wannabe OCFers)! I was surprised and moved! I wasn’t expecting gifts, but the ones I received were significant and sentimental. I was blown away that in the 4 months I had been at OCAD, that these students cared enough to do this. I later found out the main planners for this party were my students who had attended Urbana, and they started these plans while they were in St. Louis!
And as I recount this story, I’m reminded that the last time students threw me a “surprise party”, was actually my first official year on staff at Ryerson. And as I make this connection, I’m grateful for God’s timing, provision and movement. I’m eager to see what will come in my next few years with the OCF community, and I hope it is as fruitful and memorable as my time at Ryerson.
Knights, Pumpkin Soup and so much Bubble Tea
As I come to the end of this year, I am grateful and full. This year has been tough personally and organizationally, but whenever I think of my time on campus with the OCF community I am filled with joy. After a somewhat anti-climactic end at Ryerson, I was not expecting to be showered with welcome at OCAD, and yet I was. Here are some of my highlights from the year:
“Are you going to knight us?”
Early in September, after spending a good deal of time in the summer developing relationships with two students in particular, I asked them to join me for dinner. I was intentionally vague in the purpose of our meeting, as I was trying to hold things loosely. But I did ask that we go out, and not meet in their home and be in a place with an atmosphere where we could actually have a conversation, as opposed to some of the loud, lively restaurants closer to campus. While we were walking, one of the students asked if I was going to knight them, as that’s the first thing she came up with after putting the pieces she had together. I laughed and apologized for the vagueness, and once we were seated I filled them in. I wanted to tell them I noticed the good missional work they were doing in their friend’s lives, even choosing to live downtown in an apartment with two not-yet believing friends! I offered to pray with them, offer resources as they needed and to help them as they grew in their witness and hospitality this year. They gratefully accepted and their home became a hub of activity this year, with epic parties, delicious dinners and lots of late-night prayer and worship. The times when I would meet individually or with both of them, were some of the best moments of the year for me. They graciously invited me into their home and their lives, and relationship with them has reignited my love for student ministry. And since that day in September, I have called them, my knights.
Pumpkin Soup
One of the student leaders I worked with this year is an international student from Singapore. One morning as we were staffing a table for a community fair, I discovered he loved all thing pumpkin, especially soup. Now this student who would describe himself as “headstrong” was sometimes challenging to connect with, he was often a confusing mix of stubborn and teachable, which I realized was exactly how I was when I was a student. The way my staff won me over was her demonstration of unconditional love. So, when this student was extremely stressed with school and still trying to serve in his various leadership roles with OCF, I knew I could release some of his leadership responsibilities (which I did) but beyond that there was little I could do to help with the stress, so I did what my mother would do, I made him some soup. He was surprised, grateful and I think this moment marked a point where he felt he could trust me more. Right after our event that night I got this message and photo from him, “Already had my first bowl, thanks again Archi!!!!! It was so good! I missed this so much lol”
So Much Bubble Tea
During my last year at Ryerson (and my last year living downtown), there were a number of bubble tea places that opened. And I was so excited to have another option for meeting locations with students. Then, I found out that NONE of my student leaders liked bubble tea, and only ONE of my friends would go with me. I was devastated. But then this year at OCAD, 90% of my one-on-one mentoring meetings happen over bubble tea. I’ve had multiple conversations about the best locations and combinations, when to go, who the best servers are, and so much more. I even got to take a few OCF students to my favourite place near Ryerson.
I’m grateful that in this season, God has been faithful. My vision and passion for working with students has been renewed. I’ve been able to deeply connect and love these students. And even small things like a lack of bubble tea has turned into abundance, which shows me that even in the simplest longings God meets me, which gives me hope for the bigger things.
Summer Fellowship
This is the first summer in 3 years that I haven’t been on a Global Partnership. It has been an interesting experience being able to experience the fullness of being in Canada for the months of May and June! I’ve been blessed with times with friends, celebrations of anniversaries and time to rest and reflect on the past year.
I also have had the opportunity to be more involved in the GTA summer fellowship. In the past few years, the summer fellowship has been inter-campus and dominantly student run. But this year, myself, and a few of my colleagues are around for the summer, so we wanted to be more invested and involved in the GTA summer fellowship.
Christa, staff at U of T St George and I gather students from all the downtown campuses on Thursday nights at Ryerson for a summer topical study called “Loving Your…”. Each week we have a new topic like loving your neighbour, loving your enemy, loving yourself, and so on. We’ve alternated between leading studies ourselves and training students to lead studies; and we’ve been using scriptures from both the Old and New Testaments. And one Friday a month, we invite students from all across the GTA to join us for a social event, like Shakespeare in the Park. This has been a great way for us to partner with Christa’s husband and his students at U of T Mississauga.
I have never had so much fun during a summer fellowship! I love leading with Christa, and I’m constantly encouraged and amazed at the work God is doing in the lives of the students we have been gathering!
After the first week of study, one Ryerson student who’s been on the fringe of our community, came up to me and asked if I had extra copies of the scripture so she could lead this study with her parents! The next week I asked her to lead the study with another Ryerson student, it was the first time for the both of them and they did a fantastic job! Also after the first few weeks of study, the students would stay after the study chatting with each other for another hour and then would go out for late night food afterward. I was hoping these things would happen by the end of the summer and I am still pleasantly surprised at how soon these things are happening!
GTA summer fellowship 2015
MarkCentral 2015
Ever feel pulled apart in 4 different directions? At our annual week-long Mark manuscript scripture conference, I was wearing 4 hats.
Hat 1
I taught the second half of Mark (Chapters 8-16) with colleagues and friends of mine, teaching some heavy-hitting passages including the transfiguration and crucifixion; and it was also my first time being a teacher at MarkCentral. I enjoyed the group of students we had in our section from York, Ryerson, McMaster, U of T, OCAD, Queen’s and Carleton. After a hard year on campus, being in so many passages related to suffering was challenging but needed. Our section struggled grappling with the depth of these teachings, but by the end of our time together, things really landed for the students as they looked through passages that were at varying degrees of familiarity with new understanding. One of my highlights was finding new ways to make the text more interactive. For the rich ruler passage, I asked the students to write down on a rock things that they prioritize over their relationship with God, they kept those rocks on their tables all week, and then after we finished studying the crucifixion, I led the students to a nearby stream and asked them to reflect on what they wrote in light of the crucifixion and to choose to release the rocks physically and metaphorically into the stream. Words don’t fully give justice to the feelings that arose as I heard the silence pierced by the individual thunks of rocks hitting the water. Afterward at dinner, a student from our study came up to me and told me, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d been as happy as he was when he let go of his rock and what it represented.
Hat 2 and 3
I also was going back and forth between serving and caring for the team of students from Ryerson and the students at OCAD, and feeling like I wasn’t really caring well for either, as I technically hadn’t transitioned to OCAD yet, but my staff partner wasn’t around so I was trying to care for the students there in her absence. After each worship night, we were invited to gather with our campus groups and check in and pray with one another. I asked for Ryerson and OCAD to be together so it would be one less thing I was split between. Our first gathering was awkward. But the next gathering which was 3 days later, revealed that in the time that had passed, the students had sought each other out and were becoming friends. I planned to divide the group into the different campuses to pray, but felt actually the Spirit had been doing some good work binding this group together and it made sense to pray together. I was especially encouraged as the students who were studying Mark 2 with me revealed how over the course of the week the Spirit revealed things in their lives they needed to cut out and choose differently. This felt especially redemptive as I heard from some of my Ryerson leaders who named the things that had been holding them back all year and express remorse for not choosing to do something about it sooner.
Hat 4
I also was a major part of the team responsible for hosting our friends from Bangladesh. All year I had been talking back and forth with our hosts and friends from Bangladesh about getting students to come to MarkCentral. After lots of factors, it wasn’t possible for students to get the visas needed to come to Canada, but Brother Peter, the general secretary of the movement and his associate Brother Bony were able to come. It was challenging trying to host them well in the midst of all the other things I was doing that week, but I had a team of Canadian staff and friends to help with hosting. After the week at MarkCentral, Ashley, one of the staff on my GUP team last year and I hosted Peter and Bony around the city and even took them to Niagara Falls!
In the midst of all these hats I was wearing, I was grateful for those of you who had been praying for this conference; and was aware of all the different ways God was calling me to trust and rely on Him to make all things happen. At the end of the week I was exhausted, but grateful.
Forgiveness
RA is a dynamo! She is full of vision, leadership and wisdom. This year has been a tough year for her, she’s had a number of health issues and has had a number of issues emerge for the students in her care in residence. One such incident with a residence student triggered a traumatic event from her past, and she was caught in a hard place between caring for this student and being filled with anger at the incident and what it brought up in her. When she told me this story, she said, “I’m trying really hard to love this student but I HATE him, I really really hate him for what he’s done.” Just after our last meeting as a leadership team, she felt prompted to go talk to this student. She planned to let him know how he’s been out of line and all the pain he’s caused other people. She knocks on his door, and is completely disarmed when he starts crying. He confides in her that his mother passed away in the last month and he hadn’t been dealing with it well, and all his problematic behaviour was his way of not dealing with his grief. Now as all this is transpiring, RA is talking to Jesus, she’s annoyed because she knows He wants her to minister to this student and care for him in his grief because she’s been through similar experiences of losing someone close to her AND also knows how to distract herself with self-destructive behaviours instead of dealing with her grief. She knows that God wanted her to forgive this student and love him, not scold him as she had planned to do. She felt her anger melt away as she heard more of his story, and she was able to offer him words of hope and encouragement coming from her own experiences. She told her boss after this encounter happened, and her boss waxed poetic about how great she was for using her experiences to help and heal others, and she quickly asserted, “No, this is God teaching me about forgiveness.”
Tubing redeemed & other stories
Often when I tell the story of how I got connected with IV, I start it this way:
In my first year of university, I went on the worst retreat of my life…
It was a regional retreat at Muskoka Woods that was for college and career groups from across Ontario, and I went with my church’s college and career group. I won’t go into all the gory details, but I can say that after this experience, one thing was clear: I wasn’t giving up on Jesus or Christian community as a whole, but I knew this group was no longer a good fit for me nor was it a place that would equip me for the mission I felt God had called me to (reaching out and being witness to my fellow design students). I was deeply grieved by this realization, this was the first church I had joined that I really felt connected to and the thought of leaving and starting anew was not something I was looking forward to. In the end, I felt called to stay at my church, but to seek out a Christian community on campus that would be present for me when I was on campus and equip me with the skills and training I needed to be missional amongst my classmates, and after a few divine appointments, I found IV. (There’s more to this story, but I’ll save that for another post.)
One of the many painful memories of the above mentioned retreat was that it housed my first tubing experience. I’ve wanted to go snow tubing ever since I knew it was a legitimate activity and I was through the roof with excitement that we could go tubing during this retreat. The lead up to the tubing was long and my patience was tried as I waited for my slow moving retreat roomies to bundle up so we could go. I could have guessed with their lackluster attitudes about being outside that these folks may not be the best company, but I was so excited it didn’t seem to matter. We finally got outside, and I went down the hill which was much smaller than I imagined a total of 2.5 times, and then my bored and cold roomies went inside and I was left to follow them. Had I known it was to go inside and do nothing, I would have stayed out tubing, but I was young and female bonding and FOMO (fear of missing out) were way too important to me.
Since this time, I’ve had those friendships and retreats in general be redeemed, but it wasn’t until Ryerson’s winter retreat this past January, that God was able to redeem tubing for me. I haven’t always had the best experiences with camp in the past, but I was excited by the possibility of having a winter retreat at OPC, especially since I had students who had worked at camp in the summer coming and I also had built new relationships with camp staff at the National Staff Conference. When it came time to select activities, I was thrilled at tubing was an option. And so, ten years after that first retreat (almost to the exact date), tubing was redeemed for me. As I sped down the hill (so many times I lost count), I was struck by how “right” it felt to be there at OPC, with these students and the alumni that joined us, and that God was so good to give me this redeeming experience with them.
Another highlight from this time include an interactive study of the Rich Ruler in Mark (Mark 10:17-31). The text challenged us as we considered that sometimes we can make the blessings that God has given us into idols and how we are called to let them go in order to put God first. We applied this passage by identifying what we root our identities in or what binds our decisions and then depict that thing in a creative way on a piece of paper. Some of the students drew pictures, some wrote poems, one who was an English Masters student wrote a 6 page paper! After we shared our answered with one another, we then put our papers in the fire as a symbolic representation of putting God above those things. It challenged the students as they wrestled with what it would mean for them to actually allow God to come first before those things.
A new year and a new season
2015 started on a restful note. For the first time in years I wasn’t working at a conference after Christmas until the New Year, and I was able to spend some time relaxing and recouping after a busy season. The first weekend of January, I went away with my regional staff team for a time of prayer and planning for the new year. We went to an air b & b in Manila that was once a church. It was a lot of fun exploring the b & b and finding remnants of the church, like a bedroom in the bell tower and a beautiful stained glass window in a bathroom. The time away offered good perspective on the year ahead, and good space for us as a team to support one another as we shared the challenges that we face in the upcoming season of ministry.
The past few months for me have been spent in discernment about my time with IV and what the future could look like as I entertained a host of possibilities. The discernment period ended with an offer to a new 3-5 year contract which I will say more about in future posts.
January also marked a milestone birthday for me, and I celebrated with samosas and mimosas and a throwback photo booth where I recreated some photos from my past with some friends who have been in my life since my childhood and other significant moments.
As I enter into a new season of life and ministry, I’m struck by the significance of possibility and also that I find myself at the same age as Jesus when he began his formal ministry. I am curious to see what this next season of ministry will hold for me.
2014 Annual Report
Here’s a few ministry highlights of 2014! Check back here for more photos and extras about these and other stories!
New beginnings
This fall brought many new things my way: a new living situation, a new student leadership team, a new regional staff team configuration, and a new supervisor. The transitions have not all been smooth, but as I reflect on this fall I am grateful for each of these things. Here are a few thoughts about each of these items.
Living Situation: Thank you to all of you who have been praying for housing. Amber, a good friend and former student leader, and I found an apartment at Mount Pleasant and Davisville. We’ve enjoyed settling in to this neighbourhood, getting to meet people in the community and hosting friends and family. I can’t offer hospitality from my home to the students as I once did, but its led me to find creative solutions. I also now have a 25 minute commute, but its led to some great conversations with students while transiting together!
Student Leadership Team: I said goodbye to my staff partner Dan and some of my key student leaders in April as they headed toward new roles and endeavors. I was left with a brand new team who were very new to leadership. The learning curve has been steep, but the fresh perspectives and new ideas and connections to previously unreached communities on campus like residence, grad students and South Asians has led to some exciting moments!
New Regional Staff Team: I have a brand new configuration of IV staff in my region that I meet with weekly. I study scripture, get trained and pray and vision with IV staff from U of T St. George and U of T Mississauga. The team is led my dear friend who’s now ministering in Toronto, Fi. It’s been really fun getting to know this configuration, and I find myself having more fun, laughing more and genuinely eager to see my colleagues. I’ve been blessed as they have been great listening posts, encouraged me to strive for more and prayed for courage and comfort during some rough patches this semester.
New Supervisor: As I begin my sixth year on staff with IV Canada, I have my 5th new supervisor. It’s been a blessing and a curse to have had so many supervisors, I’ve been to exposed to many varied leadership and supervision styles but I’ve also not had time to fully implement some of the suggestions for improvement before I start again with a new supervisor. But, I’m really enjoying not starting from scratch with my current supervisor. We’ve been trained by similar people, been to Bangladesh twice together, and genuinely enjoy each other! I’ve also been challenged and encouraged in new ways, and feel I’ve already grown as a staff in the few months since having Fi as my supervisor. I look forward to what the next semester will bring.
The Arch 