This summer I had the opportunity to get involved with a summer missions program called "Current" in Fort Simpson, NWT. (location marked by star above)
The Current mission's mantra is simple, "walk with God, and hang out with lost people," I didn't realize, until I went up, how little time I had devoted to either.
Walking with God, is about connecting to your creator, spending time with him in his word, praying, seeing him in the people around you, enjoying him through your environment.
Hanging out with lost people is about connecting to people where they are, volunteering in the community projects they're already involved in, enjoying their favorite pastimes with them, making an effort to actually care about people (not just fake it). Allowing yourself to be the bridge that connects your experiences with Christ to the people around you was a challenge that made me want to cry with tears of joy on some days, and gouge my eyes out with a spoon on others.
Throughout the summer, our team of four college students, were able to pour ourselves into all kinds of community projects, (day camps, volunteering at festivals, work projects around town) but it became very obvious to us that God intended us to focus on the young people in the town, mostly teenagers.
I honestly think that our most valuable use of time was spent watching movies, wrestling, going swimming, and eating with the kids. We started opening up our home to them, and it seemed that they never wanted to leave. In a place where there is so much visible brokenness and so little hope, we were able to stand and love these kids. We became a sign to them that the rest of the world had not forgotten about them, that there were healthier ways of living than they were seeing and experiencing, and that there are people in the world who would be willing to help them get there.
Over the summer, we loved on people who were sexually abused, people who missed our Bible studies to smoke drugs, people who beat each other up, and tried to drink themselves to death, and got pregnant. But we had agreed, on the first day that we got to Simpson, that we wouldn't treat love like a commodity that we give to the ones who act like we think they should, and take from the ones we don't understand. So we continued to love, and God has continued to work. I emphasize the God in that last sentence because there is a man named Dan in Simpson right now who is training to become a minister, and a small group of youth who are longing for a church, and the only thing I can say we did for sure was to be there.
I honestly think that our most valuable use of time was spent watching movies, wrestling, going swimming, and eating with the kids. We started opening up our home to them, and it seemed that they never wanted to leave. In a place where there is so much visible brokenness and so little hope, we were able to stand and love these kids. We became a sign to them that the rest of the world had not forgotten about them, that there were healthier ways of living than they were seeing and experiencing, and that there are people in the world who would be willing to help them get there.