The Big Blue Bus

We had a visit from Rick Wismer and his BIG Blue Bus last week. What an amazing story he has to tell.  He started with Youth for Christ ministry nearly 20 years ago and joined the Refuge bus ministry a couple of years after that.  The idea of a bus grew out of the need to go where the people are rather than wait for the people to come to us.   As the Great Commission says, we are to go to all nations. 
   Early in the bus ministry, workers found where kids hung around a street corner with nothing to do but get into trouble.  That's the corner where the Refuge bus showed up, offering a positive alternative.  Over time it became clear that the blue bus had a special ministry for First Nations youth.  Now, at the invitation of the band leaders, Rick takes his bus to Tseycum, Tsawout, the Esquimalt Nation, Scia’new (Beecher Bay) and T'Sou-ke. 

    We began with a formal presentation during the worship time. 

Rick told us about the programs the bus ministry offers, namely, sports, snacks, games and fellowship, always mindful of what the particular host band council has agreed to.

    Given the recent release of the Truth and Reconciliation Report, Rick's visit was a timely reminder of the strained relations between the church and Indigenous peoples.  On one reserve, the chief had a bad experience with the church, but another member of the council had a good experience.  At her instigation, the band council has invited Rick and his bus so that the children will have a "positive Interaction", but he's not to preach Christianity or tell Bible stories. It is a fine line to walk, but, as Rick says, God opens doors.

   For those who like bus statistics, the Big Blue Bus is on hydraulics so it can be raised or lowered just like city buses to allow ease of people getting off and on.  That feature is also useful going over bad roads.

 Inside there are thirty seats so Rick can take kids on a trip.  There is also space at the back for meeting and it's loaded with video games.  I don't know if any of the congregation took up the invitation to try them out.

    SPPC has been a long-time supporter of the Blue Bus.  Rick thanked us for our gifts and urged the congregation to continue to pray for his ministry, to donate and to volunteer as we are able.

   In our usual SPPC style, we ended the morning with lunch!

Cedar Tree Ministries

The first Sunday of May, we had a special guest in our service. Rev. Joey Cho of Cedar Tree Ministries shared with us his call to ministry and his journey to the Cowichan Valley.
    After giving his life to Christ as a youth in Korea, Joey felt drawn to mission work.  His acquaintance with Canadian missionaries made him want to come to Canada.  Unfortunately, his church told him "No.  Canada is not a mission field."  But Joey believed that God was calling him to work with First Nations in Canada.  He prayed about the situation for twenty days and the call was still strong.  So, Joey set out for Canada without the backing of his home church.
    He went first to Vancouver but there seemed to be no place there to start a congregation.  Then he moved to Duncan, where he found seven tribal units with about 4500 First Nations people.  He believed he had found the place where God wanted him to be.
    The work was not easy.  Many of Rev. Cho's congregants are survivors of the Residential School system.  Some are angry, some are addicted to drugs and alcohol, some hate the name of Jesus because they associate it with the pain of residential school.  Despite this baggage, in 2007 he began Grace Cowichan Church with one First Nations family.  Later, with the permission of the band, the church moved into a building on reserve land.
   Even then, there were trials.  Because of the hatred felt by so many, the cross was continually stolen from the church or damaged.  In the end, a Native artist created a sign that incorporated First Nations art with the cross of Christ.  That sign has not been vandalized.
    The church now holds regular Sunday services, Bible Study class, hosts a women's group and a Kids Bible Club.  There are regular sharing days when people offer what they have to those in need.  There are weddings and baptisms and funerals.  There is pain and there is healing.
    But, as his ministry progressed, Joey felt isolated.  At times he wanted to give up.  But each time he thought he could not go on, he received a sign, a token of encouragement that told him God wanted him to continue.  Eventually, Rev. Cho joined the Presbyterian Church in Canada and was ordained by that denomination.  Now he is part of the Presbytery of Vancouver Island and surrounded by loving, supportive peers in ministry and by prayer partners in other congregations.
    Still driven by the need to be a missionary, Joey, with the blessing of Presbytery formed Cedar Tree Ministries, an outreach program focussed on First Nations.  There is now a First Nations Victory Chapel in Nanaimo and a new congregation in Mill Bay, begun at the request of three families on the reserve there.
   Cedar Tree Ministries is living its mission of Reconciliation, Restoration and Renewal.
    Rev. Joey's story speaks to God's mysterious ways.  Who would have thought someone from Korea, brought to Christ by a North American missionary, would then travel from Korea to do mission work in North America?  But God's ways are better than ours.  Because Rev. Cho is not Caucasian, he is better able to minister to a people who suffered at the hands of their white neighbours.  While his church in Korea was right in saying Canada is not a mission field, they were wrong in terms of First Nations reserves in Canada.  Those areas are crying out for the Gospel.  Thank God for people like Rev. Joey Cho who bring the Good News to hurting people. 
   One compelling feature I took from Sunday's message was Rev. Cho's reliance on prayer.  At every step of his journey, he spent days praying, seeking guidance.   When his Korean church said no, he prayed.  When he is discouraged in his ministry, he prays. When he felt lonely and isolated, he prayed then found a home within the Presbytery of Vancouver Island, and at the end of his presentation, he did not pass around the collection plate.  Instead, he asked for prayers.
   The Bible is full of examples of servants of God who pray earnestly and with open hearts and minds.  Sunday I met such a man in person.


For more on Cedar Tree Ministries, visit their website here/

BLUE BUS MINISTRY

   

 We had a busy time at church this Sunday.  It was youth Sunday, in a way.  Members of the Sunday School read the call to worship, Scripture and took up the collection.  They also hosted a hamburger lunch after service.  The reason for the lunch was a presentation by Rick Wismer, of Youth for Christ ministry.
      Rick has visited our congregation before to say thank you for the support SPPC gives his ministry and to bring us up to date on what's happening with the bus. 

      When the bus first appears in Sidney, it was an old double-decker painted blue with the words "Refuge Bus" painted on the side.  It was parked in an area well-known as a hang-out for at-risk youth.  Over time, the mission and work of this ministry has changed but it's still a bus and it's still blue -- or, at least, it will be blue.
       That was Rick's big news.  They have a new bus.

 One that can seat 54 passengers, travel over the Malahat, ride the ferry and drive up into the interior.  A great improvement over the last bus which was a bit shaky and wore out the drivers because it had no power steering.  The new bus was purchased second hand and is now undergoing a refit, including installation of a television, wi-fi, and, of course, a blue paint job.
        Currently the bus serves mostly First Nations, where they are welcomed by children and adults alike.  The kids love to play games, eat snacks, unload their troubles, listen to "God Talk" and do crafts.  It's kind of like church camp, but it happens in a bus, one day a week, after school.  
         SPPC has long been a supporter of the ministry.  We are a big contributor of snacks -- fruit, veggies and cookies.  Rick told us the first question when kids come aboard the bus is, "Did you bring snacks?"
        The Blue Bus (the name Refuge bus has vanished from use) is one of those ministries our congregation undertakes that we hear about only now and again but is perhaps one of our most valuable.  Like donations to the Sidney Food Bank, and services at Saanich Peninsula Hospital, the Blue Bus is a short line in the budget, but it is constant.  Constancy, reliability, persistence.  These are marks of the faithful.
         Years ago I attended a funeral where a nephew of the deceased told us of his aunt's importance in his life.  The man's mother had died when he was only a child.  He lived in a nice house, had a kind father and never lacked for food or clothing or help with his homework.  What he lacked was a mother.  His aunt made it her personal mission to come to his home once a week, on Thursdays.  That day she would bake cookies, mend socks, cook a good dinner and be there when the children came home from school.  It was that "being there" every Thursday, without fail, that remained in the man's heart for the rest of his life.  He wouldn't have cared if she'd given them pickles and rice to eat, the cookies were a bonus.  What counted for him was her reliability and her presence -- every Thursday, without fail, for as long as the family needed her.
        Sometimes we may wonder if our work is worthwhile, if it's noticed, if anyone cares -- the answer is yes.  If we are faithful, constant, reliable and present, we make a difference.
         Thanks Rick for your presence among us and on the Blue Bus.