Summer Renovations

As a result of my time of deputation traveling across Canada, I felt God's call to return home and make arrangements to move out to BC. This past summer I spent a wonderful 3 months on Vancouver Island working for one of the most loving congregations I have ever been apart of. I was loved, accepted, and given freedom to move where the Holy Spirit directed. The church is going through a transition of finding a new minister and I was blessed to experience their growth and willingness to enter into a new and exciting challenge. At the end of the summer I was given a gift. Among other things, I had organized a small day camp. The theme of the camp was "Citizens of the World" Each day the children learned something new about the environment, the local community, or the world. The hope of the camp was to encourage children to look outside of themselves for a moment and see God in other people and places. They were encouraged to develop their self-worth and value by being exposed to what they are capable of doing. Throughout the week the children worked on various art projects and one particular project was to draw on a pieces of fabric which was to be amalgamated into a quilt for the church as a thank you gift. As the week came to an end the fabric pieces grew in colour and quantity. I knew that a group of women were coming together to put the quilt together so I was very excited for the following week's service when it would be unveiled. I walked into the sanctuary the following week and there it was. The most beautiful quilt I had ever seen. The children were so proud of it and I of them. I had agreed to help with the children's time during the service and it was at that time when it was to be presented to the congregation. My friend and I had rehearsed a few times what we would be saying during the children's time. Finally, it came time to present the quilt to the church and my friend turned to it hanging on the way. She began by saying "The children of Comox Valley day camp made this quilt as a thank you to the church for letting us come here." She stopped and a few children giggled. She continued on and said "But it isn't for the church, is it?" At this point I was thoroughly confused because the entire congregation said simultaneously "Noooooooo!". As we had had a rather thorough rehearsal of what was to be said, the fact that she was ad-libbing completely threw me off and I wasn't able to keep up. I stood there looking at her rather confused. The next thing I knew, she turned to look at me and said "It's for you, Margaret!" To try and put into words how I felt in that moment is simple; I felt flabbergasted. I didn't know what to say or do. I just stood there looking at my friend. For those of you who know me, you know that it is a rare moment when I do not have something to say. This was one such rare moment. That afternoon, I came home and went quietly to my room where I shut the door, sat on my bed, and promptly began to cry. My tears were tears of sheer joy. Many difficulties had arisen out of my time overseas but, had I not followed God's call to go to Kenya, I would have never experienced this summer of growth, challenge, freedom and love in Comox. Thanks be to God for God is good.