Posts
In a lifetime we each have pivotal moments, at quiet moments we look back and see that we stand on the shoulders of people who saw what God was doing and helped us reach for all God had for us.
I stand on the shoulders of a man named Alvin who came into my life well over 25 yrs ago.
I realized some years ago that most everything I learned about serving, loving and ministering in the body I learned from Alvin. In many ways in serving I have sought to emulate the patterns I saw in his life. Not because he would have wanted that or held himself up as an example, but because he was one of those people on whom God's favor rested and you could see it in everything when you were with him.
The year I turned 15 my family switched churches, we began to attend a small church in Brownsville, Oregon. This small body was filled with people who had grown-up in the Mennonite church, but along the way they found the Holy Spirit and they believed in hearing and doing the will of God. This is a part of my DNA, and to this day I miss being in a body that takes hearing God's voice so literally.
I was hungry to serve God, I knew that he had called me to missions and I looked forward to moving away to serve him. I envisioned serving Jesus much like the many missionary books I had read. I wanted to blaze new trails and change the world.
In my 16th summer I was given the opportunity to join a team of young people from this church and go to Canada to the native peoples to serve and share Jesus for a few wks. I was thrilled for this opportunity and I am blessed to still share friendships with some of the people I traveled with that summer and the next.
I honestly don't remember when I met Alvin... in fact I may have met him previously at church when he came to speak I honestly can't remember, but I know I met him on this trip. Alvin and his wife Lydian had been part of a mission work among the native peoples at both Red Lake and Deer Lake in Ontario Canada. These communities are reached by float plane, they had served in this remote area while raising their family.
When we got to Canada, our first stop was at Alvin and Lydian's home. They were probably in their late 50's when I met them. I was a teenager, but I remember feeling very welcomed. They treated that group of smelly (we traveled a few days with no showers) teenagers to their home as if we were long-awaited guests. I remember Lydian made us a big breakfast as we arrived in the morning. After a nap we headed out for a several hr drive with Alvin leading the way. We drove to the end of the road and from there a float plane took us in a few people at a time. What an experience for a 16 yr old girl from a two stoplight town like Sweet Home.
That summer and the next one I spent time with Alvin and Lydian at Deer Lake. They kept us busy, cleaning, building, painting, and having VBS and church services in the evenings. I got a lot out of the time there. I was surrounded by like-minded teens and the leaders who went with us were amazing people.
The following year I went to YWAM and God began His work. I did not end up in a far away country. In fact God placed me in the local church and He grew me there giving me a desire to see other children grow to Know, Love and Serve Jesus all their days. I came to realize that I was a missionary and that my calling was the same as if I were in a far away land.
Somewhere along in my 30's I began to realize all that I had learned from Alvin.
This week Alvin went home to glory to sit with his Savior, what a glorious reunion that must have been as he met God face to face.
This evening as I was mowing I realized that I would like to share the beauty of Alvin's story. I hope I'll be able to communicate what I learned about leadership by watching Alvin and Lydian all those years ago.
Pt 2 coming soon.
I stand on the shoulders of a man named Alvin who came into my life well over 25 yrs ago.
I realized some years ago that most everything I learned about serving, loving and ministering in the body I learned from Alvin. In many ways in serving I have sought to emulate the patterns I saw in his life. Not because he would have wanted that or held himself up as an example, but because he was one of those people on whom God's favor rested and you could see it in everything when you were with him.
The year I turned 15 my family switched churches, we began to attend a small church in Brownsville, Oregon. This small body was filled with people who had grown-up in the Mennonite church, but along the way they found the Holy Spirit and they believed in hearing and doing the will of God. This is a part of my DNA, and to this day I miss being in a body that takes hearing God's voice so literally.
I was hungry to serve God, I knew that he had called me to missions and I looked forward to moving away to serve him. I envisioned serving Jesus much like the many missionary books I had read. I wanted to blaze new trails and change the world.
In my 16th summer I was given the opportunity to join a team of young people from this church and go to Canada to the native peoples to serve and share Jesus for a few wks. I was thrilled for this opportunity and I am blessed to still share friendships with some of the people I traveled with that summer and the next.
I honestly don't remember when I met Alvin... in fact I may have met him previously at church when he came to speak I honestly can't remember, but I know I met him on this trip. Alvin and his wife Lydian had been part of a mission work among the native peoples at both Red Lake and Deer Lake in Ontario Canada. These communities are reached by float plane, they had served in this remote area while raising their family.
When we got to Canada, our first stop was at Alvin and Lydian's home. They were probably in their late 50's when I met them. I was a teenager, but I remember feeling very welcomed. They treated that group of smelly (we traveled a few days with no showers) teenagers to their home as if we were long-awaited guests. I remember Lydian made us a big breakfast as we arrived in the morning. After a nap we headed out for a several hr drive with Alvin leading the way. We drove to the end of the road and from there a float plane took us in a few people at a time. What an experience for a 16 yr old girl from a two stoplight town like Sweet Home.
That summer and the next one I spent time with Alvin and Lydian at Deer Lake. They kept us busy, cleaning, building, painting, and having VBS and church services in the evenings. I got a lot out of the time there. I was surrounded by like-minded teens and the leaders who went with us were amazing people.
The following year I went to YWAM and God began His work. I did not end up in a far away country. In fact God placed me in the local church and He grew me there giving me a desire to see other children grow to Know, Love and Serve Jesus all their days. I came to realize that I was a missionary and that my calling was the same as if I were in a far away land.
Somewhere along in my 30's I began to realize all that I had learned from Alvin.
This week Alvin went home to glory to sit with his Savior, what a glorious reunion that must have been as he met God face to face.
This evening as I was mowing I realized that I would like to share the beauty of Alvin's story. I hope I'll be able to communicate what I learned about leadership by watching Alvin and Lydian all those years ago.
Pt 2 coming soon.
No comments:
Post a Comment