Christmas 09

Hope you've all had a Merry Christmas! We enjoyed a pretty great day together.

And so this is Christmas...

I am home, for a small stint, a window as wide as many of my other stays this fall. But it's home, and that always feels more stable. I have been here a week and will stay put for one more. Enough time to enjoy Christmas Day with everyone, before I hurry off on Boxing Day to my next location!
After 3 years of considering attending Urbana, and having finally ruled it out, I am now actually going. My connection with MoveIn had them urging me to attend with them, to assist with their exhibit, to see what God has for me and if perhaps He would use my presence there. I had been feeling pretty funny about the idea of going, my discomfort with the Christian-mega conference and celebrity-ism, added to my experience of having received direction from God this fall, had helped me to rule it out. I am not going overseas now or in the next few years, I am not looking to make a connection with a missions agency, I am not wondering how God may use me and my skills for His kingdom. At least for now I have direction. I feel some amount of wonder at how God has knit together good things for my life, and I am excited about these new things!
But after all that, I am going, I made the very last minute decision, and have been surprised to see my going almost completely covered by other's generosity. Without me ever asking. Maybe God does indeed have reasons for me to be there. So on Boxing Day, I'll fly to St. Louis and spend the week with 20,000 others in worshiping God and considering His mission.
And promptly after my return I will pack my things into some sort of vehicle and head south to Calgary, where I am moving in with a friend in her busy community of many. I have a place to stay for the month of January, with the hopes that a team will be ready to MoveIn as early as February!
And that isn't an entirely crazy hope either. Already there are 3 or 4 of us interested in moving in by that date. And I really believe that more people are coming, perhaps even because of Urbana, that we will have 3-8 people, maybe even 2 teams, ready to MoveIn. Part of my work in January is going to be doing the neighbourhood research for these future teams. We are looking to identify "patches" of socio-economic need, high density living and large percentages of unreached peoples.
Other than that, I have enrolled at ABC in two courses, I am working slowly towards finishing my degree with them, and mostly I just like the studying. I continue to wait for news about a midwifery program at Mount Royal, the media is publishing multiple articles about the great need and the lack of midwives - come on, let's at least get started at changing things! And I am looking for permanent full time work, which is kind of fun. Just what do I want to do? Time to try something new?
I hope you all have a Merry Christmas, in whatever corner of the globe that you find yourself in! I am looking forward to another holiday with my dear family. My father managed to win a gift basket of wine etc, from his work party that should make the holidays a little merrier, if you know what I mean... And I have been appreciating as always, this season of Advent. I feel in this season, of the calendar and of my life, that I hear the voice of one shouting in the desert, "prepare the way for the LORD."

How Many Kings?

Follow the star to a place unexpected
Would you believe after all we’ve projected
A child in a manger
Lowly and small, the weakest of all
Unlikeliest hero, wrapped in his mothers shawl
Just a child
Is this who we’ve waited for?

Cause how many kings, stepped down from their thrones?
How many lords have abandoned their homes?
How many greats have become the least for me?
How many Gods have poured out their hearts
To romance a world that has torn all apart?
How many fathers gave up their sons for me?

Bringing our gifts for the newborn savior
All that we have whether costly or meek
Because we believe
Gold for his honor and frankincense for his pleasure
And myrrh for the cross he’ll suffer
Do you believe, is this who we’ve waited for?
It’s who we’ve waited for

How many kings, stepped down from their thrones?
How many lords have abandoned their homes?
How many greats have become the least for me?
How many Gods have poured out their hearts
To romance a world that has torn all apart?
How many fathers gave up their sons for me?

Only one did that for me

- Downhere

The Word Became Flesh

"The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood. We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory, like Father, like Son, generous inside and out, true from start to finish." - John 1:14 (MSG)

Here's an article about how God is leading many people in Toronto, in this thing I'm checking out called MoveIn. He seems to be getting ready to birth the first teams into needy and unreached patches in Calgary, where I hope to be apart of the initial research and teams moving in, starting this New Year! Click here to read the full article.

"It isn't some program or a project," says Paul, MoveIn's founder, "It's not some experience, then you back to your normal lives. MoveIn is our new lives."
"MoveIn is about prayer and obedience to the voice of God. It's about more than just meeting your neighbours; it's about reaching those who are getting missed."

"It's a kingdom experiment, there's no template," says Dean, a career man and a leader in the Flemingdon Park multi-team network. MoveIn is contextualized to
particular buildings and there are no rules to follow. There's freedom to fail and no point to playing it safe. He says it's exciting to see, "nominal Christians wake up from their slumber, open their eyes and say, 'so this is what Christianity is supposed to be about'."

T-Dot

I've been in Calgary since last Friday, mostly just hanging out with Steph, and mostly waiting for a meeting I had yesterday morning. I met with a couple guys from MoveIn, which is a movement/organization/idea all about mobilizing teams of Christians to move into poor and unreached neighbourhoods in our cities. Which is what I'm interested in doing. Incarnational living in the context of community.

The meeting was great, I'm excited about what they're doing, and I'm excited that we could get something started here in Calgary. As a result of the meeting it seems that I am going to head east to Toronto for 2 weeks to see just how this is working out there, to meet folks who have MovedIn, and to help with some current admin-type projects. Breakfast meeting yesterday, and bham - I'm going to Toronto! I'm crazily excited, this is a great opportunity being handed to me, to learn and for fun and to make sure that this is what I want to get into!

Next Steps: Part 1-2-3

Much to my delight I now find myself at home. Every time I travel I reach a point when I want to return to the people I love, which then requires me to also return to this city they live in! So, here I am back in GP.
I am so glad I detoured and found myself "waiting" in Nelson, the two weeks I spent there were necessary for me to finish thinking, praying, processing. And when it finally came time to leave it was because I wanted to be home, and not simply because I had nowhere else to be.
It is easier to return home to GP, and to be excited about it, when you know that your stay will be a short one. To prove that, I will be leaving again this Friday, heading down to Calgary for a handful of reasons and a handful of days, and then back up north. When I return I will try to find some work to keep me busy until Christmas, (if you know of anything...).
So the question now is obviously: What next? And amazingly I think I know and I'm excited about it too! I am planning on moving to Calgary in the New Year to find full-time work, and part-time studies. I am hoping to finish my ABC degree in the next couple years as I have a half dozen or less, classes left. That is part one.
Part two, I am pursuing an intentional community living situation. I have been reading, praying and having many conversations about community living for the last 2 years. And in particular, thinking about forming a community where hospitality and knowing those who are poor is part of the point. Very excitingly I have some leads towards building or finding this kind of community in Calgary.
Part three, this is the part that is a true miracle: Midwifery re-enters my life! Alberta's first approved, university level, midwifery education program is supposed to begin this coming fall, in Calgary! And if all the necessary pieces for that to happen go ahead and happen, then I will be the first to apply for the program! That means starting from scratch, it means four more years, but I have figured out how much I want this and I am willing to start again.
With all these things on the horizon home is a great place to be, I'm here to enjoy my family, friends and the next two months. I am continuing to try to live with the quote "Be Here Now" in mind, I'm trying to learn about waiting and living out my questions, and daily choosing joy.