On Long Lost Uncles

I got home from a family visit to Port MacNeill to an answering machine message from an uncle I had not seen in over twenty years.  Uncle David was going to be on the Island and, could we visit sometime?  Each of our schedules were tight but we squeezed out a few hours that Saturday to share lunch and catch up.  He drove two hours each way to meet us.

My last strongest memory of Uncle David was of my family attending the church where he was a Pentecostal pastor, and I accidentally put $20 in the offering (I thought it was $1!  I was about 10 years old).  I didn't know what to expect.

It was one of those visits you don't want to end.  We clicked in a lot of ways that I think could only be God.  On the surface level, we both have buddies in the Faith Mission, each of our families are nutty enough to homeschool.

More than that, the guy really oozed with a heart for God that convicted me and whetted my own hunger for the Lord.  I could see that prayer is more than an occasional pastime for him.  They have been involved for the last twelve years in the birth and follow up of one of the least known but most profound revivals in recent Canadian history - among the Hutterites of Manitoba.  (You can read about it in this .doc file.)  There are lots of people saved and eleven new churches as a result.

All their four kids are radically committed to mission.  One of their sons is a missionary in Bolivia with his new wife and expected first child.

Half way through our visit I remembered David has a niece in town!  I phoned up my sister and she joined the little reunion.

It was a rare treat to soak up the stories, the family history, the sayings, and the seasoned wisdom of a humble sage. When I'm with someone like that, I ask the best questions I can think up.  There's nothing like learning from a road-tested man of God.  I hope we see him again sooner.  And if we're lucky he'll preach at Bay next time.

Thank God for those long lost uncles that turn up on your answering machine.

The Alpha Course: Gotta Love It

Tonight I snuck in on the first night of our 2011 Alpha Course.  It was way too cool.

This is a class developed at a church in London, UK to introduce people to the Christian faith in a fun, low-key environment over dinner, a video and discussion.

Alpha is very organic, and this one was no disappointment - we met in a great little PMQ (Permanent Married Quarters I think?) townhouse on the Comox Military Base.  About ten of us (plus a baby and two kids) got to know each other better over some great cooking, and then we watched the video teaching.  While the group discussed what they saw, I volunteered for baby duty and paced the kitchen till she slept.  What I heard from the kitchen is what gets my heart pumping - "Why are you here tonight?  What are you hoping to get from the Alpha course?"  To hear all the different places people are in their spiritual journey, to sense a hunger for God, that absolutely gets me excited.  To hear past Alpha grads talk about how they have grown, and how they want to serve and keep growing, how cool is that.

I was just there for this one night so I told the group - "I'm jealous!  You're going to have an awesome journey."

I will just make an unapologetic plug here - if you have spiritual questions, or if you have a friend trying to figure out that part of life, I am sure the Alpha Course would be an amazing experience.  Check campusalpha.ca or alphacanada.org for a course in your area.  If you are a Christian and want to be part of others spiritual quest you would find it so rewarding taking a role in a Alpha class.

Alpha is one tool that helps people discover Jesus and I believe there is nothing in this world more exciting than that.  Like a guy named Peter said in a conversation with Jesus himself, "Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life."