“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.“
1 John 3:16-18
Chapter 1:
On September 12, 2021 a group from GAIN Canada came and spoke about raising funds for water wells around the world. Life is lost because of a lack of water. There are people all around the world who are desperate for water.
At this time, the Lord showed me a vision: I saw Adrian & Sherene and Pastor Alvin & Aunty Pat crying out for help – the Lord asked me how far would I go to help? I immediately answered that I would do all I could to help them through their sufferings!
Then the Lord showed me strangers and asked me the same question – how far would I go to help? And I could not answer.
This birthed a challenge for the Lifespring family, in 2022 we donated 7 wells for a total of $75,250 that was above and beyond our budget – but by the end of 2022 not only did we have enough for the wells but we had the highest tithe on digital record at Lifespring.
Chapter 2:
In April of 2023 we had the privilege of going to Turkiye to meet with a refugee church, a persecuted church. As we spent time together, we began to hear all their stories of why they fled their country to be a refugee in a strange and foreign land.
We heard stories of government persecution (losing work for not joining Muslim prayers), being arrested at a house church, having your life threatened, being denied education because of one’s faith, having a sibling murdered for their faith… all of these unbelievable testimonies of how holding on to one’s faith caused great hardship in their lives.
But in all of these stories, they also shared stories of falling in love with one another, how they would help in the church, and real-life situations. It was in these stories I couldn’t help but realize, as Ryan put it, it is the multiverse! They were Persian us! I met Persian Jerry, Persian Jon & Brenda, Persian Andrew & Jenn, Persian Josh & Fatima! We all had different challenges, but had similar gifts and traits.
The Lord reminded me of a vision: I saw Adrian & Sherene and Pastor Alvin & Aunty Pat crying out for help – the Lord asked me how far would I go to help? I immediately answered that I would do all I could to help them through their sufferings!
Then the Lord showed me “strangers” and asked me the same question – how far would I go to help? Except this time, they weren’t strangers. They felt like brothers and sisters. The Lord was renewing my mind – the “strangers” I met in the 2021 vision were not strangers – they are brothers and sisters that I just didn’t know I had.
God is leading this family step by step. Our focus needs to be hearing Him and obeying Him. God has plans for all of us – let us be willing to always take the next step.