"Satisfaction (peace, joy, comfort) is not in the preaching/teaching or evangelizing of thousands, rather it exists in the imitation of Him in the ordinary, everyday relationships of life. It's in the ordinary, that through Him, we become extraordinary."
L.Johnston
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| Matthew teaching our youth - helping them better understand who they are and how precious they are! Sons and Daughters of the Most High God! |
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| Treasures! |
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| And building Life Skills - learning to make Spagetti! |
LAMb Note: Matthew Hallick, from Winnipeg, Manitoba is serving in Kyrgyzstan with LAMb for three months - he has been Hands and Feet of the Most High and to hear in his own words what his time has meant will touch your hearts. Here is a report from Matthew - he did for our LAMb Board:
Greetings Dearest LAMb Board
Members,
As I sit in my wonderful apartment
I'm in a state of reflection. Looking
back on my adventure, that started nearly two months ago now, I'm filled with
tons of emotions. It's truly been a whirlwind adventure, one in which the likes
I've yet to experience.
You see, whether it's been serving
with the Samaritan's feet team, visiting orphanages, serving the men at Iskra,
or even teaching drums to 5 different kids, it's all been a true dose, of what
I like to call, uncomfortable grace.
I truly believe that God often
takes us where we would've never chosen to go, in order to produce in us what
we could've never accomplished on our own. You see, despite my years of playing
drums, I can't even claim that teaching drums is in my comfort zone. In fact, I
had to learn how read drum music for the sole purpose of teaching the kids
here. From start to finish, God has been working his way into every aspect of
this journey.
I wish I could regale you with a
laundry list of exciting stories, and magnificent achievements during my time
here but I can't. The truth is it's been much quieter, much steadier, much more
unassuming, than the frantic pace of my first week here. At times I've wonder
if I've done a good enough job serving, if I've done enough. But as I sit in
the back of Costa and Olga's van this past Saturday, on our way back from
Bishkek after a lovely day with the seven wonderful kids in their family, a
moment of confirmation happened. It was in this moment, with Snijana, Julia,
Dasha and Jenna all fast asleep laying on top of me that the Holy Spirit came
upon me. I sat in the back of the van, with tears running down my face knowing
that in these last few months I've become, to steal a phrase from Ruby
"forever ruined," and this ruining HAS made a difference in others
lives.
Honestly, as I reflect on my time
here, I'm having a hard time trying decide who has gained more from this
journey; me or the people I'm here to serve. Perhaps, that's what Christian
community is all about though, maybe just maybe that's why we are called to
serve others. As we learn to serve those
in need, to love others as ourselves, not based upon their loveliness or the
fact we are rather "swell chaps", we also learn a deeper love, a love of which we could never hope to
produce on our own. This love not only transforms those around us but
transforms us from the inside out, a love that reveals the true character of
the One we serve.
This love has been the crux of my
journey!
I'd like thank you all for the
work you do, and for allowing this bearded, tattooed, punk-rock weirdo to be
apart of your mission. It's truly been a life changing experience and I hope to
help serve in the future. In closing, I'd like to leave you with a quote from
the wonderful book "mere Christianity" by C.S. Lewis, a quote I
believe captures the essence of the Christian life in between the already and
the not quite yet.
"Give up yourself, and you
will find your real self. Lose your life and you will save it. Submit to death,
death of your ambitions and favorite wishes every day and death of your whole
body in the end submit with ever fiber of your being, and you will find eternal
life. Keep back nothing. Nothing that you have not given away will be really
yours. Nothing in you that has not died will ever be raised from the dead. Look
for yourself, and you will find in the long run only hatred, loneliness,
despair, rage, ruin, and decay. But look for Christ and you will find Him, and
with Him everything else thrown in.”
Blessings,
Matthew David Hallick
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