Posted on Tue, Oct 7, 2008

Dear Friends,
How is everything going.  I was wondering why you are not sharing your stories, and then it occured to me that I haven't shared mine.  I guess the funny thing about this is that it seems like you are blowing your own horn, and maybe that is why we are hesitate to share. But I think we need to encourage one another in this adventure.  I have been trying to do extra things around the house and the office, just small deeds of kindness.  Like the other day, I did the washing, and the ironing, and putting away of the clothes.  This is just a small thing that I could do for my wife who has been ill.  I must admit it was good just to do this small thing. I also believe that just the knowing I am a Barnabas has made me a kinder person this past few weeks. I think that sometimes we think that it has to be big, or that we have to really feel like do it.  I got this encouraging letter last week from our Children's Church's adopted missionary to Thailand.  I asked him if I could share it with you, and he said yes.  Here is most of it.  If you go to our children's Zone Ministry you can see the Paton family.  This is from Wade Paton of St. Albert, Alberta:

Another highlight from this past weekend is that we had the opportunity to make a return visit to an orphanage for girls that we were at a few months ago. There are about 16 girls that range in age from about 9 years old to 15 or 16 years old. Their main caregivers are a Thai couple who have 2 children of their own and they all live on the same property. Bonnie and I really enjoyed the little bit of interaction we had with the girls and their caregivers and we are excited about the possibility of visiting them on a more regular basis. We brought them some candy and yoghurt and spent some time talking to them about various things. We went as family along with our friend Debbie (our language coach) and being there with our kids was so amazing. Watching them play and interact with the girls was a blessing for us.

God used this experience to remind us of some things we had been neglecting. The night before we went out to the orphanage I was sharing some of my frustrations with Bonnie and how I felt so depleted in energy, focus, and desire. As I spoke to her about the physical, emotional, and spiritual fatigue I was going through, we prayed together and asked God to restore us and inspire us again. The next day came and, to be honest, the thought of going out to the orphanage for a visit was an exhausting thought for both of us. We even thought about not going or maybe just one of us going. In the end we all loaded in to the van and headed out to the home. We thought we would come back more tired but the opposite was true. Through a small act of service it felt like God blessed us with the energy, focus, and desire we felt we were lacking. Serving others is like fuel for life. When our time, our thoughts and our attention is spent only considering what is going on in our own lives the result is exhaustion. God made us to serve others and that service can be something as simple as taking some candy out to some girls that don't get many sweets. In God's kingdom, it counts! The Lord continues to speak to us about this and we want to stay alert for opportunities to serve others. Pray for us that we would not get distracted from serving. Pray that self-centredness would be pushed back and that the heart of Jesus to serve would grow in us each day.

 I Love that Letter.  Let's hear from you! 
Click on "Comments" under "The Barnabas Club" to leave yours and to read others and scroll to the bottom.

Donna Bourget (anon) · 15 years, 8 months ago

I work downtown and every morning a pass a street person sitting outside our building with his hat on the street looking for money. He is an elderly gentleman and he is in "his spot" when I come to work at 7:00 a.m. and he is still there when I leave work at 3:45 p.m. I really do not want to put money in his hat and so after I signed up for the Barnabas Club I decided that that Monday I was going to pack him a lunch. Sunday evening when I was making my lunch for work on Monday I made 2 lunches. The one for the gentleman I packed a salmon sandwich, a drink, a couple of fruits, a muffin and a couple of snacks. I was so excited about this, but when I arrived downtown and walked to our building ... he was not there. I went back downstairs a coffee but he was not there; I went down at lunch and he was not there. So, I put the lunch in the fridge at work and thought I would try again tomorrow. Unfortunately, he was not at "his spot" on Tuesday, nor was he there Wednesday, Thursday or Friday. I was a little worried as to where he might be. Oh well, I would try again the next week. Again Sunday evening I packed a full lunch for the street person - AND he was not there. It is now Wednesday and there is no sign of this gentleman. Perhaps, as my husband said, he has moved on to another spot and I pray that he is safe and warm whereever he may be.

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Pastor Lewis · 15 years, 8 months ago

I think that is one of the best ideas I have ever heard of. What is so keen about it, is that you became aware of this man in a different way then we usually think when we see street people. As it gets colder, we are going to have more opportunities to reach out in RAoK to people.
Roy

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Pastor Lewis · 15 years, 8 months ago

Here's mine - you noticed I wasn't in church again last weekend, but I really did have a Wonderful time with my Mom - Sunday we attended a funeral for a dear friend whom God had taken home in late Sept. Charlie was his name and guess what - his Son did the eulogy and said that after all these years his Dad had accepted Jesus into his heart. Wow, this from a 96 year old wonderful man. I sat beside my mom that day and held her hand while they sang the same song as they sang at Dad's. Roy, I can only say that the closeness has just brought another tear to my eye. Also on Monday and Tuesday we worked outside - it was just sooooo much fun to bag some of the beautiful leaves and dispose of them and then in about 1/2 hour later we laughed while the wind blew a whole lot more onto the lawn. Again laughing this time with Mom - something that really hasn't happened too much lately. I could go on Roy, but I think you get the picture. Any time I can be a Barnabas for my family or friends just brings God so much closer to me and I cherish every minute. God bless - Pat

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Donna Bourget (anon) · 15 years, 8 months ago

I entered my name for a draw for an Edmonton Oil King game for tonight with the intention of seeing if either Pastor Chris or Pastor Roy would like an evening out with a friend or their spouse (I realized it was short notice but that is how it goes here). Neither one of them were able to use the tickets.

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Donna Bourget (anon) · 15 years, 8 months ago

Although Norm has not had an opportunity to join the Barnabas team, I wanted to tell you about this. Norm's long time friend's lawyer called him the other night and said that she would like to call Norm as a witness for the trial of a really good friend of Norm's who was in an accident approximately 10 years ago and has not been really able to work. The lawyer asked Norm if he could come to the city to attend at the trial as a witness on October 29th (Thursday) which would mean he would come home 2 days earlier than scheduled. After speaking with the lawyer it was decided that he could testify on his friend's behalf on the Friday (Oct. 31) and therefore not have to miss work. I found this to be very refreshing that this lawyer was willing to accomodate Norm so that he could stand up for his long time friend. This speaks to the fact that when we decide to do something good for someone, we can often be accomodated by the very people that we are helping. It has been a very difficult 10 years for Mitch, his wife and their 3 children.

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Pastor Lewis · 15 years, 8 months ago

Pastor Roy,
"Pray for us that we would not get distracted from serving. Pray that self-centredness would be pushed back and that the heart of Jesus to serve would grow in us each day."
Thank you for this note of encouragement. The above quote is taken from the missionaries note to you and is a powerful message and reminder to all. Please thank him for this encouragement as this is where I feel I am today, self absorbed. I have been praying for God to lead me to a place where I can serve, so far as you know it is with the children's ministry and with the prayer group and still I feel somewhat lacking. This missionaries simple confession of not wanting to serve and receiving so much after he did anyways, is such a classic. When we serve with a willing heart and see what God wants us to see and do, what amazing things will we see then! So I thank you for your act of kindness in sharing this message with me and the others.

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