Once again God was faithful in our travels, our camp work, and to Himself. After arriving safely in Halifax and getting settled with a fresh lobster meal ($5 a pound!), we started off with some praise and worship for the week. Then it was preparation time Monday morning for what would be ahead of us in terms of opportunity and basketball camp details.
Our desire throughout the week was to be able to connect with the local community while we were out and about (mainly at Tim Horton's coffee shop - it's where all the locals go. And no I am not addicted, just committed) and to provide a basketball camp atmosphere that fostered fundamentals, positive reinforcement, and spiritual truth through team huddles and building blocks of character as represented in the scriptures. We also hosted a class for parents discussing the culture of sports and their child's involvement in it.
I must admit the response we received from the camp was somewhat shocking. Last year after the camp we received some negative feedback in terms of sharing the gospel. This year we found more parents and children receptive to the love reflected through our coaches and the verbal witness of Christ. I believe this change occurred over the past year due to the effort in which Living Hope Community put forth in hosting a winter basketball league and building relationships. The people of Halifax have now seen and heard the message of Christ. And because of that love they have opened up to a new trust level that allowed for us to return and go deeper with a different response. The reminder of this in terms of a missions perspective is that it's about relationships! It's about partnering and working together with a commitment to a community for more than one "trip."
Another moment of shock for me was that despite the fact that Living Hope only has 40 active members, they actually pulled off hosting and developing a league that was affective for their community. Within this group of folks there is not athletic directors, former college or high school basketball players, and even recreation ministers. They are just different people from different backgrounds with a desire to be different in their community. From a biblical view, they are ordinary people doing extraordinary things because they yielded themselves to a God sized challenge. All I could do was sit back and chuckle at how God works.
As I return and reflect on this trip and how it has impacted my life, there are two key points:
- Make and continue to build relationships. Have a genuine interest in people and what makes their world go round.
- God uses ordinary people for extraordinary purposes.
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