Hopes and Dreams

I think I've mentioned this before, but just in case you don't know Altona has a growing population of Refugees/immigrants that are moving into our beautiful town. Of course moving into a new country/town brings all sorts of interesting challenges and needs. Well God has been working and two of the pastor's wives (Cindy and Val) felt that they needed to do something to help. So last night was the first of a six week program called "Hopes and Dreams" The idea is that volunteers from the church will come and help these new people learn English, practice conversation/writing/reading/math/driving.... basically help them adjust to a new culture, and make some friends while they do it. As the youth pastor, I went to check it out, get to know some of the youth that have moved here with their families. Also we are hoping to get a number of our youth involved to help out with Childcare and tutoring (for you Saskatoon people, it is similar to Open Door). Except for the fact that it adds another night out during the week it was an AWESOME TIME!!! It was great to meet new people and to listen to them. And I even discovered that I can’t multiply 195X365 without a calculator... I guess being a tutor isn’t for me.
Now here is the highlight of my night. A Muslim man was asking Pastor Gary and I if the cross came from up or down. Well Gary and I had no idea what he was asking... maybe from up? since they had to put it into the ground??? who knows. So Gary asked him what he thought. The answer? Both! The cross is six sided. The cross is for the people in the North and South, for the people in the West and for the people in the East. The Cross is for people who are up and for people who are down..... hmmmm...... I guess that would be thinking outside of the box. It was very awesome to be there and to take part in that night, and I'm looking forward to next Tuesday.