World Article

At Work in the World

International Missions A PICTURE PAINTS A THOUSAND WORDS

Over the years, three photographs, all of children, have haunted the public imagination. First, the picture of the African child known as “Struggling Girl,”1 clearly near death, starving and emaciated, with a vulture hovering nearby waiting for this victim (who was actually a boy) of famine and war. Second, the picture of a nine-year-old Vietnamese girl, “The Terror of War”2 (also known as “Napalm Girl”) running naked on a bridge, trying to escape the flames...

Mission Canada ONWARD WITH PASSION

As the PAOC celebrates its centennial as a movement, we need to be reminded that we did not always appreciate shared strategy, form or even structure. In early 1909, there was an initial attempt to create a simple organization, but Ellen and James Hebden were opposed to any formal structure as it meant the potential of quenching the Holy Spirit’s new work among them. Others were more pragmatic in their approach to ministry in Canada and understood that for the sake of long-term sustainabil...

ERDO THE MOST IMPORTANT WORK

“Children are not a distraction from more important work. They are the most important work.”—Dr. John Trainer You might be surprised to hear me use the word “bittersweet” to describe ERDO’s work with children. On one hand, there is profound joy in seeing a child on a path to their greatest potential involving spiritual formation, health, education, and better choices for their future. The sadness comes when I see injustice in the lives of children—...

ERDO EVERY CHILD DESERVES HOPE

Recently, there was an article in one of the national newspapers in Honduras, with this title: “Violence in Honduras has left more than 22,000 children orphaned.” As a global worker whose ministry focuses mainly on children, you can imagine why this caught my attention. Living and working in Honduras, I see the impact of violence on the lives of the children we work with, and on their families. Many children live with one parent or with grandparents because they have ...

Mission Canada CANADA REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT

In 2003, The Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada became part of Canada’s Private Sponsorship of Refugees (PSR) program and signed on with the Canadian government as a Sponsorship Agreement Holder (SAH). Countless stories have emerged over the last 15 years since that decision—heartbreaking accounts recorded on government application documents. There’s a story behind every name. For those considered refugees, calling a new country “home” comes with challenges. It&...

International Missions MISSIONS IN RUSSIA

Ilya was born and raised in the underground Pentecostal church in the former Soviet Union until his family immigrated to Canada in 1988. On the way to Canada, we met in Vienna, Austria, where I was serving as a missionary in a refugee camp. We were married in 1991. In 1993, we felt God calling us to return to Novokuznetsk, Ilya’s home city in southern Siberia, Russia, to plant a church. At that time there were only four evangelical churches in the city of 600,000 people. We started t...

Mission Canada NEXT GENERATION MINISTRY

“Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. Whoever has ears, let them hear” (Matthew 13:8-9). A harvest. This is the goal of planting, investing, and being strategic in areas of our churches where the outcomes far outweigh the investment. In business, they call the outcome a “growth engine.” Growth engines are strategic outcomes (or a measurable number of up to 30 per cent or more) that exc...

International Missions A CALL TO PRAYER FOR CHINA

The pastor must have known, when he hung the cross on the church building, that he was taking a risk. In China, to have a church that is not registered with the police is illegal. And the police proved this when they stormed into the meeting one Sunday. “Remove the cross,” an officer demanded. No one moved. “If you don’t, I will,” the officer shouted, turning toward the door. Several members of the congregation followed him and his fellow officers outside to the fro...

ERDO GENEROSITY AT CHRISTMAS

Everyone remembers their favourite Christmas gift—I sure do. I was 11 years old, and leading up to Christmas, my brother and I were constantly asking my parents for one thing and one thing only—a guitar. I played piano as I grew up, but as soon as I saw some of my friends learning how to play the guitar, I knew that I also wanted to learn. My family always has a Christmas breakfast before we open presents. I remember sitting through breakfast that particular year, anxious to finish a...

Mission Canada PICTURE THIS: THE EMBASSY TURNS 10!

Picture Humber College: a huge, sprawling campus on the northwest edge of Toronto. Every year it attracts thousands of students from all corners of our nation (and the world) to come and study within its walls. They arrive eager to learn, grow and experience all that college life has to offer. I remember the first time I paid a visit to this campus. It was one of the first times I had ever stepped foot inside a secular college or university, and it felt vastly different than the comparatively sm...

ERDO ROHINGYA RESPONSE

Over the years, I have participated in projects responding to humanitarian needs in some of the world’s largest refugee camps. Last year I visited two new refugee camps that are now in this group. In 2016, Bidi Bidi, a refugee camp in northwestern Uganda, became the world’s newest and fastest-growing refugee camp as it provided safety for South Sudanese families escaping conflict. However, in a few short months, the Kutupalong-Balukhali camp, located near Cox’s Bazaar in Bangla...

International Missions VILLAGE OF HOPE – MWANZA, TANZANIA

Interview with Jade and Julius Kenyamanyara Last summer I had the pleasure of visiting the Village of Hope in Mwanza, Tanzania, along with several other short-term missions (STM) team members from PORTICO Community Church in Mississauga, Ontario. God’s presence was tangible, reflected in the infectious joy of the children, housemothers, teachers and administrators, and evident in the obvious priority placed on teaching and honouring His Word. I invited Jade Kenyamanyara to share how she an...

Mission Canada SERVE CAMPUS NETWORK

Overwhelmed, a little excited, and ultimately perplexed, I was trying to make my way through a sea of students to find my next lecture. I was hoping to see a familiar face and asking myself, Does anyone notice I’m here? These are common feelings shared by students on campuses across the country, especially in the month of September. As a student on a university campus just a little less than 20 years ago, I remember those feelings keenly. As a Christian I felt isolated, anonymous...

International Missions THE JOY OF SHORT-TERM MISSIONS

Sharon Morgan is no stranger to PAOC International Missions. She was willing to share her journey to the world of short-term missions and show how God uses those available to serve to help strengthen and support the work of global workers making a difference to communities in need. JH: How did you come to work at the International Office, and what are you responsible for in your current role? SM: In 2011 I accepted a new job opportunity that included a promotion and a move to Ontario....

ERDO CLEAN WATER FOR BUENA VISTA

Water is something many of us take for granted. We turn on our taps and water comes out. For the most part, it is clean and drinkable straight from the tap. This is not the case for the community of Buena Vista, located on the mountainsides outside the capital city of Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Schools of Hope, a non-government organization (NGO) founded by Randy and Judy Lundrigan, has been serving this community in conjunction with ERDO since 2010. After Hurricane Mitch destroyed parts of the...

ERDO A 20-YEAR TRADITION

Farm families are used to hearing about the importance of succession planning for their operation. Having a plan in place to transfer ownership of the farm when one generation is ready to retire—or at least step back from the operation—makes good business sense. But what about growing projects? Cecil Ashworth has chaired the Lake Alma/Souris Valley growing project near Oungre, Saskatchewan, since its beginnings almost 20 years ago. For Cecil, a member of Beaubier Pentecostal Ch...

International Missions THE MEN OF MISTISSINI

Have you ever wondered where you will sleep at night? The men of Mistissini did. A number of times the men of Mistissini, a Cree Nation in northern Quebec, listened and heard how teams from women’s ministries prayed, organized, fundraised and responded to the call God was placing in their hearts and on their lives. These teams, which included Helen Petawabano and Charlotte Blacksmith, left the beautiful North and travelled thousands of miles to live out the opportunities God placed before ...

Mission Canada PICTURE THE BEAUTY

Canada is beautiful. If you have travelled our nation’s vast expanse, you know its distinct geography. Snow-covered majestic mountain peaks drop off and flow into prairie fields with endless horizon lines and breathtaking sunsets. Lakes, rivers and streams also flow freely. Waterfalls, voluminous in nature, provide powerful rushing water, a major source of hydroelectric power. Our Canadian Arctic is known for its seemingly endless permafrost and a treeline that separates forests from ...

ERDO HOPE FOR REFUGEES TO UGANDA

Can you imagine living in a hot climate and not having rain for over two years? What if you relied on the vegetables that grew in your garden for food, but there was no growth in sight? The drought-fuelled crisis across the Horn of Africa was a major focus for international development agencies in 2017 and continues to be today. Many people lost their lives and the lives of their animals because of the lack of rain. It spiralled into one of the worst food situations and water shortages that we&r...

International Missions THE PRINCIPLE OF ALIGNMENT

“What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building” (1 C...