What better thing is there to do on Halloween night than have a head-shaving party?

Us girls get really close during class breaks...

Fondness for the Body of Christ

As the famous anonymous writer once said, "You never know what you have 'til it's gone..." the same is true with every part of our lives.  For myself, as I moved an entire landmass away from my family, friends, church and everything familiar, I started noticing big differences between what was at home and where I am living.  Back home in Coquitlam I lived in a suburb, a ten minute walk down to the mall.  Here on the outskirts of Crofton I live in a small town, a ten minute walk down to the ocean.  The atmosphere is more relaxed here on the island, you don't constantly here traffic.  The pollution is from the pulp mill instead of the myriad of imported cars.  I do quite like the difference of being in a completely different  ambiance, it just makes me miss and appreciate the different qualities of home.
In particular, after taking our class on Church Ministry and serving for the past few months at Warmland Community Church, it has made me appreciate my amazing church back home.
The church I attend back home in Coquitlam is called Coquitlam Alliance Church, right across the street from my old high school and a two minute drive from my house.   There are many things which I have come to gain a new respect and love for at my church, such as the leadership team.  My church is pastored by Mark Francisco, the Lead Pastor, Cam Huth, the Executive Pastor, David Wood, the Senior Assistant Pastor, and Chris Throness, the Young Adults Pastor.  I have gained a new respect as they are at the forefront of ministry at CAC and pastor the flock which God has given them.  There is such a huge responsibility for the leaders of the church to lead their church under Christ, the way that he intends the church to live, and they have done a phenomenal job. 
One thing I really appreciate about CAC is that it stands on solid doctrine and theology.  The mission of Coquitlam Alliance is to "help seekers and believers become fully devoted followers of Jesus," and that's what we do.  My church tries to mirror the first church of believers in Acts.  Pastor Mark and David do not shy away from preaching about difficult topics, but rather, what the Bible talks about, they talk about.  In all circumstances and situations, the final authority for the church is from the Word of God.  CAC holds unity, prayer, joy, excellence, freedom, faith, love, mission, giving and missions in high regard as the values of the church. 
Out of the solid doctrine and theology comes the life of the church.  Everything in CAC revolves around the purpose statement, "We at Coquitlam Alliance will worship God by loving Him and those around us. We will reach out to people, invite them into God’s family, equip them to be like Jesus, and send them out to serve in their community and around the world."  The church knows that it will have differences amongst the members, but we don't let it divide us.  It's so encouraging for me to see all of the members in the church, no matter what skill level, spiritual maturity or age, using their gifts to glorify God and build up the church.  There are no unnecessary traditions that I can think of in my church that exist simply because they have existed for decades.  Everything is relevant to the purposes and needs of the church to reach the world and disciple believers.  In Coquitlam Alliance, there is a huge emphasis on baptism and we make quite a large (and wonderful) ordeal of having celebration services so the entire community can celebrate with the person's declaration of commitment to Christ. 
The attenders of CAC have a huge heart for giving and a heart to reach everyone in every walk of life with as many ministries as are needed.  From anything from adults, young adults, youth, children, and connecting with non-believers to creative arts, life groups, local outreach, missions, mulitsites, prayer and worship, I commend my church for being so involved in people's lives.  My church encourages the members to give back and get involved by serving each other with their time.  I've served with a number of ministries in my church, getting a firsthand experience of what it is like to be a part of the body of Christ. There is a huge portion of the budget that goes towards missions, and the members of the church give generously and willingly.  Once I attended a budget meeting with my dad and my eyes were opened to how my church operates, and what the church is doing with the money that God has entrusted to them. 
In everything Coquitlam Alliance does, we recognize the heart of Christ for others, and reflect that in our practices and values.  One thing that really makes me proud of my church is how many broken and lonely people attend our church because they know they will be safe and accepted.  There is a huge group of men that come every Sunday to church from a Christian drugs and alcohol recovery program called Resurrection House.  Seeing them in the very front pews with their hands raised, surrendering their lives to Christ makes my heart jump for joy.  Nothing is more rewarding than to watch the testimony of one these broken individuals tell of their story of coming to faith and mentioning the fact that this was instrumental in bringing them back to Christ, a place where they could seek forgiveness without being judged.
All my reflection on my church has made me extremely proud of the body of Christ that I call home.  Coquitlam Alliance Church has shaped me into the young woman I have become today, and it is by the grace of God that I will continue serving and giving back to that church body and hopefully impact more people in the same way I was. 
"No one has ever seen God.  But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us." -1 John 4:12
"Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples." -John 13:35

My lovely friend John and I having a study session in Starbucks!

My girlies and I having a break from studying :)

Modern Miracles

How do you describe the Hand of God? In countless occurrences through Scripture you see strange and mysterious events, that could only be described as something done "of God."
From the Red Sea parting, bread and birds falling from the sky for food, to walls of a fortified city falling down, the sun standing still for longer than a day, flames descending from heaven upon a sacrifice, a widow's son coming back to life...None of these instances could have happened by chance, or by human strength.  Something far more powerful is at work throughout history, something like the power of an Almighty God. 
There are many believers today who wonder why the God of the Israelites, the God of the Bible, the God who is living in our hearts today, why does he not manifest his presence and works in our midst? 
Suggestions have been made that perhaps God does not show the work of his hand in our generation often due to a lack of faith, or perhaps this generation doesn't provide situations in which he wishes to work.
I'd like to suggest to you that although this may be true, I believe that there is an ulterior reason.  God does still manifest his power and his hand today, just not in the ways we may think.  Many believers look for physical signs and wonders such as people being healed, the elements controlled, and God manifesting himself in our midst.  I would like to argue that God has been physically manifesting himself every day in the lives of those he touches.
As I've been learning to listen to God's voice and serve him in some of the ministries at camp and at my church, I've seen that when I let him use me, I see his hand at work in places I least expect it.
At my church in Crofton (Warmland), I've been hanging out with the youth every Friday night at youth group.  At first, connecting with them was pretty difficult.  I would see them every week, running around, playing games and I would say goodbye as they left.  But as I constistantly showed up these two lovely girls, Ashley and Hannah took to running at me, screaming to greet me every night.  They would climb all over me, pull my hands to come sit with them and as the weeks progressed, I was able to start getting to know each of them and their stories.  Ashley and Hannah continually ask me to come hang out with them during the week or come to their houses, and although I've been far too busy to, just knowing that God has opened doors so much that I have gained enough trust to be invited over to their house speaks volumes.  Even just today when I was at church, before the Sunday School class Mike and I were teaching got under way, we joined the service for some singing.  Ashley and Hannah were on either side of me, beautiful grade seven girls and I put my arms around both of them.  We just stood there, swaying slightly and singing about "How Great is Our God."  How fitting, I thought, that those small girls' voices could carry right to my heart and remind me that I was that small church for a reason, to foster such close friendships that were a testament to the work of God's hand.
Last weekend I had the privilege of serving at the Junior High Retreat here at Qwanoes which catered to twelve to fourteen year-olds.  I had eagerly expecting this retreat because I would be seeing a few returning campers.  I ended up counseling with Lindsey my roommate, which ended up being so much fun in itself, but we also had one of my former campers in our cabin that weekend! Her name is Hannah, not to be confused with the Hannah from Warmland, and her friend Lizzie who I had met at a Qwanoes event a few weeks prior at one of the island churches.  It had been such a joy counseling Hannah during the summer, she had been the light of Christ everywhere she went.  She brought with her another friend Katelyn, who didn't know Christ, nor did she want to.  Throughout the week, Hannah was faithful to keep being a friend to Katelyn, bringing up faith and hoping that through her actions Katelyn would come to Christ, but to no avail.  I had told Hannah at the end of the week in the summer to get involved with a church and youth group in her home town and she promised she would.  As I saw her that weekend, I knew that I wanted to keep building into her and hopefully her friend Lizzie as well.  Throughout those three days, during cabin discussions as well as my own personal time with the girls I got to talk with them, learn about them and build into them.  I didn't really know what was going on in their hearts until our chapel discussion on Sunday morning.  All the girls in our cabin hadn't really been vocal about their faith previously, but that morning they shared what was on their hearts.  All the girls were talking about the speaker who was my former youth pastor, JonnyMo, saying he had really influenced them and got them thinking.  The girls shared about looking at the friend groups they had and seeing how that was impacting who they were, and how they wanted to have Jesus back in their life because they had fallen away.  Lizzie, Hannah, and another girl, Sam all had asked for purity rings from me, a symbol to them of their commitment to stay pure until marriage.  They shared with the group of wanting to stand firm in their commitment and if asked about it, they would tell their peers what it really meant to them and the implications it had.  Hannah and Lizzie also wanted to find a youth group to go to together, as they hadn't done so yet.  We all prayed together and I really felt that the Lord had moved.  Literally the next day, Hannah and Lizzie both texted me, sharing how they had been asked about their purity rings at school and were able to boldly share about what it meant; the girls who had asked seemed fairly interested.  Hannah had shown her parents her ring and especially her dad was very proud of her. They both told me they were standing up for girls that were being made fun of at school and just today, Hannah told me that her and Lizzie had found a youth group which they would both be attending from now on.  God is good!
Another girl who was at the retreat this past weekend was one who I had counseled on a retreat last fall.  Her name is Sarah and she is very dear to my heart.  Ever since last fall, we have had a close bond and I mentor her.  We didn't end up being in the same cabin though, so I was hardly able to see her all weekend.  On Saturday night, though, I ended up staying up late with her and having a good long conversation about where she was at, what she was doing with her life since I had seen her in the summer.  She confessed to me that life wasn't so good.  The foster family she was living with was atheist and they constantly heckled her for her beliefs.  They weren't willing to give her rides to youth group and as a result of that she had no Christian community; she felt so alone.  I encouraged her and prayed for her and told her to be bold for her faith in Christ.  I told her I would be praying for some good Christian friends to come around her and that God would provide a way for you to get to youth.  She asked for a purity ring from me the next day, which I was very encouraged by.  I got a text from her a few days later.  I could feel the excitement through the phone as she explained to me how she was able to talk to her foster mom about her beliefs and although the mom didn't agree, she listened and let Sarah talk.  Sarah said she felt no fear and she knew God was with her.
God works through the mighty power of his hand; yesterday, today, and forevermore.
"The Lord replied, 'Look around at the nations and be amazed!  For I am doing something in your own day, something you wouldn't believe even if someone told you about it." -Habakkuk 1:5