September 1, 2024

Outreach in Whalley

Matthew 9:35

Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.

Outreach in Whalley

Several months ago, the Pastor at Living Hope Fellowship invited me to do a presentation on Street Ministry for their youth group this Summer. I was elated at having an open door to share with youth and started praying. Subsequently we decided on August 12, 2024.

It was a joy and privilege for me, and after the presentation, we did street ministry in Whalley. 2 Pastors from Living Hope Fellowship, and 6 youth including 2 from Bridgeway Church participated.

None of the youth had done street ministry before and as we walked and stopped to talk with and pray for people on the streets I knew that the Lord will touch the lives of the youth especially, and indeed, He did give them a profound experience. Jesus always blesses us above and beyond when we go about His (and our) Father’s business.

We gave out 20 care packs with nourishing food, the Gospel of John and the Daily Bread. We prayed for and ministered to sick people who asked for prayer.

When we came back and did a de-brief, all the youth had positive feedback in how they felt for the first time stopping to talk with someone living on the streets and engaging in conversation. 2 of them said they felt sad. I believe God’s compassion filled their hearts as they were ministering God’s love. We take so much for granted. So many conveniences readily available at our finger tips but there is a whole community of people struggling to find at least one meal a day.

For me personally, this was the first time that I did a presentation for a youth group and I cannot express the joy that filled me to be able to share with them, answer their questions and lead them in an outreach. The youth will remember August 12th and their first experience and my prayer is that they will continue in some aspect of street ministry.

May there be a harvest of souls for the Lord!
To God be the glory! Hallelujah.

With joy,

Rochelle Soza

Founder
Sound of the Lord Mission

Sharing the Gospel

It is not only during street ministry that we share the Gospel. Wherever I go, I carry a few Gospels with me to be prepared to share with whoever I may meet.

I looked back in my calendar and decided to share 3 encounters:

December 29, 2023 – I went out for a time of fellowship with Ronza, Ziad, Reeta and Aseel. We visited the Burnaby Village Museum which was decorated for Christmas and had a ride on the carousel. Yes!! After that we went for dinner & I felt the Lord asking me to give a Gospel to our server. She accepted the Gospel of John. Her name is Munish. She went and told the owner of the restaurant and a few minutes later the owner came by to talk with us. What a wonderful God filled moment! Hallelujah!! The sower sows the Word!

December 31, 2023 – Dinner in Vancouver with Cris and Rex before we went for a cross-over service to welcome the New Year. At the restaurant, again I felt the Lord asking me to give a Gospel to our server. This time, I wrote a note on the inside of the cover and included my ministry card. Her name is Anna. She accepted it, went inside and returned and then sat next to me. Usually a server will not do that – sit next to a customer. She looked at me and said she grew up in a Christian home and went to Sunday School but has walked away from the Lord. I could see remorse on her face and she thanked me for giving her the Gospel of John and what I had written on the inside cover. We pray Anna back into the safety of the Lord’s sheepfold even as He left the 99 and went after the one precious sheep. What a thrill on the last day of 2023 to bring someone back to Jesus!

July 28, 2024 – Team Dinner in Downtown Vancouver before going for a walk along the sea wall. We witnessed to our server. His name is Adem. We were talking at dinner about Noah’s Ark so I asked Adem if he had heard of Noah’s Ark and he said no. Not every child has had exposure to Bible stories. Adem was probably in his early 20’s. So I explained to him briefly and gave the Gospel so he could read the story of Jesus. He accepted it, chatted with us for a few minutes and said that he is Irish. When someone mentions their country of origin, be attentive because it’s a good conversation carrier and indication that their country of origin is important. The sower sows the Word!! We pray that Adem will read the Gospel and behold His Saviour.

Friends, let’s be prepared to plant the seed wherever we go with whoever will receive the Gospel. I have numerous experiences of sharing the Gospel but I chose 3 to share with you today.

John 3:16 & 17
¹⁶For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. ¹⁷For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

God bless you all!
Rochelle & Ministry Team
Sound of the Lord Mission

Bloom Where You Are Planted

Looking at the pictures stirred up the ‘wannabe” in me. Next year by this time, I imagined myself walking down rows and rows of fresh vegetables, the result of my diligent, hard work.

A minute later my enthusiasm took a slight dip as she showed me more pictures. The bare, hardened plot that was assigned to her, the digging and raking in preparation for planting, and material to build a trellis for creepers.

I listened as she said that one day she spent 5 hours tending the garden. My enthusiasm deflated like a balloon as I left the store. The thought of spending that much time maintaining a garden was a price I wasn’t ready to pay. Needless to say I was very disappointed.

This is sometimes what we do as we follow Christ. We want the results and the rewards but we lack the planning, focus and diligence to execute the steps necessary to see it through to the end. Or we want to accomplish so many things in life that we don’t excel at anything, and instead, look back at a trail of half accomplished goals.

We dream, we wish, we envy others who are taking strides towards their goals, but when we see what it will cost us (in effort, time and commitment), we back out.

If you want to fulfil your dream, then the first thing to do is wake up from that dream and begin to prayerfully work towards it with actionable steps.

When I read articles by other writers, I wish I could write like them. Succinct words, distilled sentences that convey so much meaning unlike my long-winded paragraphs. I see my classmates who are accomplished speakers and wish I could speak confidently like them. I will continue to be in the ‘wishing stage’ unless I begin to discipline myself and work hard to reach tangible goals. Wanting something badly will not make it happen. Faith without works is dead indeed.

God will test our mettle before He can call us to a higher and deeper level.

Proverbs 21:5
The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness; but of every one that is hasty only to want.

Are you faithful where He has planted you?

Luke 16:10
He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.

Here are some questions that I asked myself.

Am I impatient and rushing the process without establishing structures and systems in my life that are needed to accomplish a goal/vision? (Chris’s plants would not have survived if she impatiently over watered, just so she can get a harvest sooner).
Am I investing my time in my calling very frequently? (Chris would have seen a dismal result if she watered her garden once a week).
Do I feel envy looking at other ministries and people that are called in the same giftings as myself? Am I comparing myself to their level of advancement in the kingdom and falling short in my own eyes?
Is my energy and time fragmented in so many different ways that I’m not really focusing on anything specific?

All of the above will drain us mentally, emotionally and physically. It will leave us stagnant in the ‘wannabe’ stage.

The fruit of our labor is mostly for others. Likewise, we enjoy the fruit of other faithful servants, and together we fashion and shape each other to be more Christ-like. When we desire only the results, we deprive blessings not only from ourselves but from others in our sphere of influence.

Chris’s diligence paid off in the end. Her hard work not only benefited her, but those around her.

I have wisely refrained from putting my name on the waitlist for a plot in the community garden for 2025. Instead, I hope to turn my attention to start blooming where the Lord has planted me.

In His Service,

Sohani Faria
Director
Sound of the Lord Mission