Stanley Hum
Jesus Loves Toronto is a wonderful call to serve our Lord and it is part of a long and unfinished walk with God. My awakening came in the fall of 2017. I was asked by a sister in Christ if I wanted to join the Perspectives Study Course. I did not know what it was about but was curious when I investigated it: the view that the whole Bible was a call for all Christians to be missionaries. I have been very fortunate to have had some opportunities to join the local mission recently.
The Jesus Loves Toronto mission was something my sister-in-law had always asked me to join for at least three years. I never thought it was an area that was interesting to me since I feared urban missions and I did not think God had any use for me here. The first thing I did was to pray to God about it. I wanted a clear answer from God that I should participate. So on August 12th, my wonderful Bible app sent me the verse Isaiah 6:8. Still a little skeptical, I wanted another clear sign. The next day, the Bible app sent me another verse on Matthew 28:19. I joined shortly after.
The experience was something new for me. I was out of my element the entire time. I had to rely completely on God. It was a new feeling as I had always tried to get some control over my actions so the outcome would be more predictable. In my Jesus Loves Toronto experience, I had no idea where I would go and whether there would be any chance to get to share the Gospel with anyone. I also did not know if there would be a chance that some of the people I encounter could be hostile. But praise the Lord the time passed without any incidents. I came away from this with a firm belief that prayer is still the best connection to God for all my needs. It was comforting knowing I could pray for someone on my team or on the street and still at the same time there were others at my home church who were also praying for us during this mission. I really enjoyed praying for my partners who were able to communicate with the people we met on the street. I am mostly English speaking, but it was a joy serving with those who could speak Mandarin and Cantonese and observing their interaction with people we met. I learned how important friendship is to sharing the gospel message. The most important lesson is I learned how God could use people from different backgrounds and place in them all the resources they need, which come from God Himself.
In closing, what I learned is to be sincere in prayer to God about everything from my fears to my greatest gratitude because only through Jesus am I able to do anything. I am also more confident because what these exercises do is simply make you a more personable Christian. And the more personable you are, the more chances you have to both make friends and share the gift of salvation of our wonderful Lord Jesus Christ.