We had the wonderful privilege of having Pastor Alvin speak to the church family this past Sunday (watch it here). Pastor Alvin and Aunty Patricia continue to demonstrate to the Lifespring Family what it means to Genuinely Love God and Genuinely Care for Others – it was through their conviction that Lifespring was able to be a part of the Refugee Dinner hosted this past Saturday.
This entire weekend I felt the Lord highlighting the word COMPASSION in my spirit. And as Pastor Alvin spoke, it all started to come together.
When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
Matthew 9:36
During the refugee dinner I had great conversations with several of our new friends. I met some that have been in Toronto for 6 months and some as new as 3 weeks! I listened as they shared their experiences back home and I answered (as best I could) on some of the questions they had about this new land – do you need a car? How do I start a business? What kind of jobs are available? … they had so many questions because everything was just so new!
As they asked questions and shared stories of their lives, I couldn’t help but reflect on some of the stories that I heard from my parents when they immigrated:
Subway Sandwiches
Fresh from Singapore my dad ordered a strange meal… a foot long sandwich from this hawker store called “Subway”. It was so strange; they wrapped a big sandwich in paper and gave it to him with no utensils! How do you eat this thing? Why would they not give you utensils? So, my dad asked for a fork and knife… to eat his sandwich.
Seow
Living in immigrant alley there was a man walking up and down the street yelling my dad’s name – “Eric! Eric!”. One of my dad’s friends quickly got my dad’s attention, letting him know there is some crazy guy outside, walking around, screaming his name! That guy was none other than Dan & Ryan’s dad, Richard Seow.
Strangers
One Canadian winter evening, my parents had a knock on the door, and when they opened the door they saw two exhausted young Singaporeans with luggage standing at the entrance. The first question that was asked, was simply, “Who are you”? They were told by my dad’s sister an address and a name – they showed up at my parents’ door and my parents had compassion on them… they ended up living with them for 6+ months!
As I was reflecting on these stories that I had heard from my parents – something really shook me. Richard Seow and the strangers at my parents’ doorsteps are people who still play intimate parts of our lives today.
That crazy guy walking the streets of immigrant alley is husband to Diana, father to Dan, Ryan, Velsie, and Theresa, and grandparents to Josiah, Lauren, Sophia, and Xenia… all of whom Lifespring is truly blessed to call family.
The strangers that showed up my parents’ doorsteps became wonderful family friends. The family even encouraged my dad to go into a strange new technology… something called computers! That shaped the trajectory of our family. My dad was one of the first to program and my brother now works for Google.
All of this to say, maybe the refugees are not that different than us. My parents had it rough coming to Canada, others showed compassion to them, and they showed compassion to others. When we see the fruit of that compassion 30+ years later, we see that it is good fruit.
Compassion is powerful. Compassion moves us to action. Compassion begins with a heart that is open to be used by God.
We are all called to different spheres in this world: Alvin is clearly called to the city of Toronto, Adrian & Sherene are called to the broken, Jerry & Dorothy are called to wholeness in families, Rodney is called to the marketplace… it is evident. We don’t all need to weep over one thing, but we need to be open to letting God break our hearts with compassion to the things and people God is directing us to.
My prayer for Lifespring is that we be a people of great compassion. That we would allow our hearts to be shaped by the King. I pray that no matter where we are on this journey – that God would start somewhere. May His spirit be louder than everything else.
Amen.