Witnessing The Joy of Christ
While we await God’s timing for the next short-term missions team to be sent, we wanted to check in with past STMers and hear how God used past trips to impact their faith journey. May this series of blog updates be encouraging to you and open your heart to however God is prompting you to answer the missional call.
My name is Sonya and I had the privilege of going on a STM trip with CIM back in July of 2014. Although it has almost been a decade ago, the memories and experiences, lessons and learnings and faith-filled moments have stuck with me to this day. Our team was made up of members from Vancouver, BC and Calgary, AB. We bonded over similarities, differences, and everything in between. We spent countless nights praying together, worshipping, sharing our life stories and challenging and encouraging each other in our faith. Matthew 18:20 states that, “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”
People often ask what our objective for the trip was. While we had many plans and things we wanted to accomplish on the trip, it was truly the unplanned and most mundane moments that God spoke to me the most. I was asked to lead workshops in training teachers in the local villages, as I am a certified Canadian teacher. Seeing how little resources they had and the large amount of kids in each classroom definitely felt overwhelming. But what amazed me the most was their heart and love for the children. They were unstoppable when it came to their love, passion and dedication to the kids. Aside from the teacher workshops, our team had the privilege of visiting different villages, where we did visitations and shared the gospel, worshipped under a tree and shared our testimonies at the local churches and homes of the locals.
One of the most humbling takeaways from the trip was not necessarily what we were able to do in Ghana but simply being able to witness and be encouraged by the child-like faith of God’s people. I remember Mr. and Mrs. Siu, a Chinese missionary couple who had been serving in Ghana for 27 years already at the time. They were truly people who made me pause and reflect on my own life. Their dedication to the Lord was so complete, so wholesome and so filled with joy.
The highlight of my trip was definitely the time we spent in a small village named Kpandai. This is the place where I truly got to embrace myself in the culture, community and the meaningful conversations. Hearing the laughter of the kids each morning as they woke up to play with a ripped up soccer ball, to playing hide and seek and just seeing how everyone cared for each other in the community gave me a glimpse of heaven on earth. It was such a beautiful picture of community and that challenged me to pursue a more authentic and intentional community back home as well. It also recentered my own thinking on the joy set before me. I realize that one trip would just be a trip if I didn’t continue to reflect on what God was and is continually teaching me. Since the trip, I have continued to work as an elementary school teacher, recently got married and am part of a beautiful life group where I strive to have a “taste of Ghana” here at home. I hope that in the near future, I can visit Ghana again and maybe even bring my husband along!
October Financials
1. General Fund - for general and administrative purposes, such as staff salaries
2. Designated Fund - for specific ministries in different field locations as designated (cannot be transferred between funds)
*All financial figures are in Canadian dollars and rounded to the nearest dollar
Pray With Us:
Praise God that our annual AGM went smoothly and was productive. It was the first time that we held it in Toronto. Because of Covid some of our BOD members had not met each other in person before and it was a good time of bonding.
Pray for peace in Ukraine and also for safety for those traveling there as well as for our partners at House of Mercy as they minister to refugees.
Pray for the training and discipling of pastors in all our ministry areas. Pray for CIM's guidance and direction as to how we can come alongside and assist.
Pray for the economic situation in Togo and Ghana where inflation and the depreciation of the local monetary unit has severely affected the lives of the pastors and teachers that we support. Please pray that they will be able to make a living and provide for their families.
Pray for CIM USA as they are still searching for an executive director after Christine Pi retired. They are also recruiting for a Director of Ministry to oversee STM and daily operations.
Administrative Assistant
If you are keen on being a part of a small ministry team committed to sharing the Gospel and making a difference in lives across the globe, then you may be interested in joining the CIM team. This opportunity is remote and you would be supporting ministry work in Ghana, Togo, Ukraine and Canada.
Please email us at contact@cimcanada.org for more details.