"What's a dad supposed to do?"

A couple years ago I started to make a point of taking out the inner city boys one on one.  The idea was to get to know them better and to mentor them a little more.  What I found was that all the boys didn't know how to react when I invited them out, and when we did go out, they felt awkward.  I quickly realized that these boys didn't know how to behave around a man, or father figure.  They always asked where the other boys where and had very little to say.  It's taken some time for them to get comfortable with going out.

One time I took out an eleven year old boy, Nolan, for dinner.  It was was awkward at first but he eventually started talking.  He'd been going through a rough time at home and school and I wanted to find out why.  He started to share with me that he had just found out the year before he had a father.  I had a conversation with him that went something like this:

me: "So what do you think about having a dad?"
Nolan: "I don't know.  I never thought about it before."
me: "How do you feel?"
Nolan: "I don't know, what's a dad supposed to do in your life?  And how come he wants to be in my life now?  Now that I'm a man he wants be around, where was he before?"

There was a lot of hurt, anger and confusion in Nolan's heart.  It was compounded by the fact that his absent "dad" was starting to fight for visitation and custody rights through the court system.

It's been a tough journey for Nolan but he's a good kid with a great heart and trying to find his way through it all.

What really concerned my heart was the comment, "What's a dad supposed to do in your life?"  It's a question that many if not all of our inner city kids ask themselves.  How will they learn to be godly fathers without a father in their lives?  There's no one to teach them how to fish, learn a new video game, or treat a woman right.  They need to be mentored, they need to know what a man of God is.  Will you help?

"I wish I had to raise support."

It was just a couple years ago that I graduated from CEF's Children's Ministry Institute.  While there I remember having a conversation with some people about the challenges of raising support.  I learned that in some CEF chapters in the States you don't have to raise support because that is the responsibility of the board.  I remember saying to my friend Todd (who didn't have to raise support), "I wish I didn't have to raise support.  That's great that you don't have to worry about it."  To my surprise Todd responded, "Sometimes I wish I had to raise support.  Because sometimes when I need that extra boost in support or have prayer needs I have no one to turn to.  But because you have to raise support you have people you can turn to when you have these needs."


Being a missionary has it's challenges, and there are days when I think life would be easier if I didn't have to raise support and had a "regular paying job".  But then I think, my kids wouldn't have the opportunity to hang out at camp every summer, come to Saturday programs, and be around the inner city kids and Christian youth that I have come to grow and love.  I am sure being in this type of environment has really contributed to the spiritual growth of my kids and their sensitivity to God's heart.

From time to time people will remark about spiritual depth of our kids but I know I can't take any credit for it.  When I stop and think why it is our kids are sensitive to God, I realize it's because of the supporters who pray regularly for our family, supporters that I would never have if we weren't missionaries.  Having such amazing people pray for us might be the single greatest blessing of being a missionary and something I wouldn't trade for anything and makes the sacrifices worthwhile.

So to everyone who prays for us and our kids, thank you...you encourage us so much and are truly making a difference.

This is My Voice...

*Dave talked about suicide at age 4.  *Maddie's father left when she was 11.  *Lisa's father decided he wants to be a part of her life when she graduated elementary school.  *Crystal just moved out of a housing co-op with an 80% illiteracy rate.  They all live in poverty.

This is a tiny glimpse into the lives of four young people who attended STI this summer.  But long before STI they were campers at Camp Good News.  If you want to see the power of God, get to know some of these inner city kids who love God.  I am continually humbled by the strength these guys have found in God.  Despite everything they have been through they continue to lean on God and seek to serve Him faithfully.  The daily influences around them run counter to the Christian faith, and yet they choose to follow Him.

*Maddie and I are March Break '08

If all we focus on in urban ministry is short term results we will very quickly get discouraged and want to throw in the towel.  I constantly remind myself and new volunteers that urban ministry is a marathon, not a sprint.  You have to be in it for the long haul.  You have to be ready to make sacrifices.  You have to be ready for your heart to break for these kids.  As someone once said, "People don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care."  I have never founded that to be more true than when I am working with the kids.


This is probably why I don't understand short term missions in urban ministry unless there is someone there to continue the work.  In the course of a week the kids can begin to trust and get attached to those who came to reach them.  but if the team leaves in a week never to be heard from again, what makes them any different from the absentee father?

I have to admit it was very exciting and rewarding to see four CGN kids attend STI this year AND serve in the field.  The best part of all, I didn't have to persuade them.  They wanted to do it.  They wanted to serve.  And they did well.  Very well.

They were embraced by all the CYIA who had no idea they were from the inner city, unless they knew them before.


They taught kids the gospel through the province and served as counsellors at camp.  They lived with different families, visited different churches and led children to Christ.  Over the course of the summer they matured so much spiritually that they found it hard to be campers at Teen camp with all "drama" that they used to be a part of.

*Dave often talks about God on facebook and continues to grow spiritually.  The change in his life has made his younger sister want to serve with us next summer!  *Maddie and *Crystal teach a Good News Club in their community.  *Lisa is active in ministry at her new church.  They're also planning to join us again next summer.  Who better to reach the kids in their communities than them?


I am so proud of them and inspired by the lives they live.  The change God has done in their lives has motivated other campers to want to serve with us next summer.  They still have a long way to go (just like the rest of us) but they're off to a great start.

The Scanning Code of Practice

Few shopper have ever heard of the Scanning Code of Practice.  But the way it basically works is this; if the barcode on the item you are purchasing rings up at a different price than what was on the shelf you are allowed up to $10 off the item you are purchasing.  If the item is less than $10 it's free! 

 I'd known about this for a while but finally had the chance to apply it yesterday at a Toy Superstore (while doing some Christmas shopping).  The cashiers who were helping me had no idea what I was talking about so I had to explain it to them.  Then the manager came and without any argument or complaint I scored a free Christmas gift!

Aside from trying to help you potentially save a few bucks at Christmas it reminded me a lot about our Christian lives.  So many people receive Jesus to get "saved" but don't know their rights once they've become a child of God.  They don't know there's more being a Christian than going to heaven.

That's the struggle that I face working with our inner city kids.  Worse than having poor literacy skills is their spiritual literacy.  Most of them don't know that in Christ there is healing for the pain they feel, freedom from the sin that enslaves them, guidance to live fruitful lives, and more!  Outside of the few times we meet them they rarely pick up a Bible or have any knowledge of God or biblical principles.  

On a few occasions I remember taking some of the kids to a Christian bookstore and their responses being, "Wow, I never knew there was so much Christian stuff."  None of these kids have a biblical worldview.  Do you?

Footprints in the Sand..."Where's the bus?"

Whenever you see "Footprints in the Sand" as the heading it means I'll be sharing about something amazing only God could do.  Something that just yells, "God must be walking among us".  I hope your faith faith is lifted.

I still remember my first year co-directing Camp Good News with Bonnie.  I was at the camp with some counsellors getting everything ready for the kids.  Bonnie and a few counsellors were in Toronto rounding up the kids.  We were all excited for what God was going to do.  Everything was lined up and we were ready to go.

Then the phone rang.  Bonnie was on the other end;

Bonnie: "Ivhan, we're here.  Where's the bus?"

Ivhan: "What do you mean where's the bus?"

Bonnie: "Where's the bus?  It's not here."

Ivhan: "Hang on, let me call the bus company and find out."

So I called the bus company and it turns out they had booked a driver who was on vacation that week.  After my call they scrambled to find another bus driver.  While they scrambled, I got the counsellors with me and we prayed for God to intervene.  After praying one of the counsellors pointed out a picture hanging behind me that said,

"When God wants to do something great, He begins with difficulties and when He wants to do something wonderful He starts with impossibility."

Amazingly, the bus company found a driver, but the bus would be an hour and a half late.  During that time I got a phone call from a mother asking if it was too late to sign her daughter up for camp.  I told her the bus was running late and that she could still bring her daughter to the bus pick up.

As only God could know, that girl would be one of the kids to receive Christ at camp that week.  God did many wonderful things things.

Boys and Girls in an Adult World

The kids I see always walk around tough.  They've got their swag, they've got their bling, nothing can hurt them.  Or so they would want to have us believe.  At first glance the kids I work with seem wise beyond their years.  They seem like they know how to handle the world and all that it throws at them.  But when you scratch the surface just a little, you find a boy or a girl who's scared and broken.


The kids I see are just boys and girls in adult world.  They've been exposed to situations and issues no child or person should ever face.  They've had to deal with poverty, abuse, assault, addictions, crime, murder and more. They've seen things no child should ever see.  They know things no child should ever know.  They often raise themselves and are forced to mature faster than they should.

Why is it an eight year old girl knows the details of a murder behind her building.  Details that they cops might not even know?  How are ten year olds more street smart than most adults that I know?  I admire the kids for their determination to "make it".  But in the end, they're just kids.  They're forced to deal with adult issues without the maturity or guidance to handle them properly.  They try to handle it.  But they're just kids.

Take them away for a weekend and their shoulders drop.  They feel safe and don't have to worry about what they're going to eat next.  They don't have to look over their shoulders or carry the burdens of their family.  For a few hours they can just be kids.  They laugh, they smile, they play.  It's no wonder many of the kids want to live at Camp Good News all year.



I know we can't take them away forever and I can't take them all home with me, but I'm thankful for the moments we have to be God's love to them.  For some, it will be enough to soften their hearts to make a difference.

 Your partnership in this ministry is what makes this possible.  Your prayers, your financial support make a difference.

"Maybe he sells drugs to provide for your family..."

It's very easy to look at someone who's committed a crime and call them guilty.  It's easy to point the finger, to say there was another way, to think they had a choice.  But it's not so easy when you it's your family that's hungry, when you're the one who hasn't eaten in days, when you're the one suffering.

I remember twelve year old *Jason sharing with me and some of his friends that his dad was in prison for dealing drugs.  His friend said, "Maybe he sells drugs to provide for your family, you don't really know.  Maybe it's what he had to do."  My initial reaction was, "That's just an excuse."  But I stopped and listened and realized the truth to what the boys were saying.  Jason responded, "Yeah, probably."  And as he began to think about he said, "If my dad is in prison, when he gets out he can't get a job.  And if we can't get a job he'll have to sell drugs again to make money.  But if he sells drugs he'll go back to jail.  And when he gets out he won't be able to get a job... HOW'S HE SUPPOSED TO GET OUT?"

It's a vicious cycle.  One that  twelve year old boy has to deal with.  Around this time he shared this story his mom was going to court because her "friend" came over to the house with some drugs and got busted.  *Jason has been living with his grandmother for years and doesn't live in a safe neighbourhood.

*Jason is a good kid but the negative influences around him are overpowering.  He wants to do better, but he doesn't know how, he doesn't have the support that he needs.  He's now too old for our programs and we've started to lose touch with him.  Please pray that God would send people to walk alongside to guide him.