let's go back in time...

So it's been a while since I've posted. But I thought it would be a shame to not post and miss out on memories years from now when I look back on this blog and remember what went on at that crazy place we called Kaleo. On November 26-31 a lot of the Kaleo students and leaders attended the Canadian National Youth Workers Convention. It was hard to leave some of my classmates behind.

The weekend of the conference was amazing. I had been asking God before I left to fill my heart up with things from him, as he had been emptying some other things from my life. This weekend was an answer to prayer in so many ways.

I picked up a book on the first night from the bookstore, it was called Irresistible Revolution I really enjoyed it. It talked a lot about what it means to really follow Jesus. It talked about being loving to "the least of these".

through the grace of God I learned pretty concretely what that looks like.

On Friday Jeremy, Mark, and I were walking around downtown at lunchtime and saw a man sitting on a street corner holding a sign that said, "51st Birthday today". My heart softened for this man. I felt bad for him, but would have been content to keep walking.

Thankfully Jeremy didn't have the same contentment. He stopped and wished the man happy birthday, introduced himself, and the next thing I knew I was sitting down on a corner having a conversation with a man who I found out was also my brother through Christ. I was in the same family as this man who I looked down on. This realization, I think, was huge for me.

The next day we tried to Bring Chris a birthday cake, but couldn't find him. So we decided to give it to a man who was panhandling in a wheelchair with one leg. and ironically (actually providentially) his name was Chris as well. We celebrated his "birthday" and got to here a bit of his story as he thanked us through tears.

That same night I met a man named Franky who also shared some of his testimony with me. It was cool to get to pray for him real specifically as I walked away.

The weekend didn't feel much like a youth workers convention, but I'm OK with that. I'm sort of confused as what I should do next. what the next step for me is. I think "short term missions" are really hard. to engage people and love them and then leave.

Pray that as I'm on Christmas break that God will give me some wisdom of what it looks like to live missionally.