Reflections on Faith and Community
Dear friends,
On this page, you will find weekly reflections on life and faith. My hope is that, in some way, they will prove helpful to you in your daily living. You can also find them on the church's YouTube Channel in the "Weekly Word" playlist. May God bless you on the spiritual journey.
Andrew S. Odom
Pastor
Keep Going Back
O God, you are my God. I seek you. My soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. (Psalm 63:1)
On Sunday, Canyon Creek welcomed Stephen and Liz Heinzel-Nelson as our guests in worship for the fourth year in a row. Liz is the Executive Director of Villages in Partnership (VIP), a missionary organization we partner with in their work alongside the villages in southern Malawi. Stephen is the senior pastor of Allentown Presbyterian Church in Allentown, NJ. Having them with us is always a delight. They are both incredible examples of what it means to be the hands and feet of Christ in this world, and I am honored to call them friends.
One of the new learnings for me during their visit was how much VIP has grown in the past year. They shared with us that our support and presence in Malawi together now reaches approximately 19,000 people! That is 19,000 people who could easily have not made it another year; 19,000 who would otherwise be living in a dry and weary land where there is no water; 19,000 people whose lives have been changed because we and the other churches partnering with VIP have chosen to return year after year.
This is a big deal and a big commitment, but there is an even bigger deal at work here. The bigger deal is that God continues to change us all in the relationship. The people of Malawi have affected us with their warmth of spirit, their joyful hope, and their incredible faith. To see the pictures that we saw on Sunday reminded me that the Holy Spirit is alive and well in Malawi, and we need to keep going back.
Published on 01/30/2017 @ 9:26 PM CDT
