Testify

I am a member of St. John’s, Port Stanley, Ont. I did not grow up attending church and was brought to this church through God’s intervention in my life. The word (the Bible) became real to me almost immediately. God does not make us do anything; it is by free will that we either walk with Him or not. I have just returned from a mission trip to Winnipeg. I witnessed Christians empowering the broken and downtrodden at Winnipeg Inner City Missions. The Anishinabe House of Hope is one of three buildings operating under WICM. The House of Hope is the first of its kind; we should be shouting on the rooftops about the lasting change that is taking place there. They address the whole person and help them deal and recover from a broken past — one full of violence, abuse of every kind and addiction. This is a groundbreaking approach to mission — it is not a handout, it is a hand up. All too often mission outreach is about making people dependant on charity which takes away a person’s sense of worth and dignity. It was so refreshing to see real Christians stepping out in faith to help others and preach the gospel in my own country. We are to be the hands and feet of Christ to this hurting and broken world. They are in the heart of enemy territory fighting the good fight. All too often we respond as the world responds, or worse do nothing for the needs of people and allow the enemy free rein over our communities. I was richly blessed by being there and witnessing their work. To be a Christian is to be Christ-like; we need a shift that makes a Christian something different than the rest. It is sad how we blend in to the rest of society not trusting God or taking Him at His word. I for one have tasted and seen that the Lord is good and is more than capable of turning a broken life around. But to do it He must be trusted and believed. I would like to see a story done on the Winnipeg Inner City Missions. Rev. Margaret Mullin is the woman who had the vision and trusted God to make it a reality. There is hope there and now more then ever I think we need to see there is more to our religion than Sunday service and fundraising. This is a Presbyterian mission that is involved in a living and loving relationship with our Saviour. Remember, humanity makes the plans and God directs our steps, but without faith we go nowhere of any significance. I have been on two mission trips to Nicaragua but nothing could prepare a person for what is happening in our own country.