Sometimes events happen in such a strange order that you wonder, could there be more to just mere chance? Could this series of events be arranged? I had one of those moments a couple months ago that made me emotional and warm in my heart.
Being so fortunate to be nominated for a Visual Effects Society award, I had a last minute trip planned to go Los Angeles to go to the VES Gala. Since this was a trip that I had to pay to go out there, I figured it would be good to take a couple days longer to see the city as it was something I haven’t done since I was a kid. Christina had a chance to take time off as well, so we were set to go explore!
We didn’t really know what we would do, so we did some last minute planning. Christina had a friend who was living in LA and we thought it would be good to visit him. He said why not come visit his church and then grab a coffee later. We thought it was a fantastic idea since we like to visit other churches!
What a gem of a church! Tapestry Church was located in the heart of downtown LA, but you would never find it! We drove up and went around in circles in an urban industrial area. Turns out it was in redesigned warehouse!
And this is it. The sermon happened to be about going on missions! It just so happened the one Sunday that we were in Los Angeles, we were invited to a small church in a warehouse, they had their one time annual missions festival! This sermon, which was preached by their youth pastor, rung true to me. How to prepare for mission was exactly what I had been searching for. I believe that God speaks to us in these ways, especially when I feel such an impact on my heart!
I learnt a lot about missions during this Sunday morning. Namely that the nature of love is to give. You can’t have love without giving. As Rick Warren says, “You can give without loving, but you can’t love without giving”. God calls us to be outward beings. The missions trip through the World Race, will be my chance to share God’s love and help people around the world.
Tapestry also emphasized that it is one thing to hear other peoples story, but it’s another to experience it. The pastor gave an example of when a father who has to take his two kids to get ready in the morning for the first time. After that he realized how difficult it was. But even then, this is his opportunity to experience what his wife goes through with his kids! All the joy and the frustration, to see their kids do something for the first time. Mission is participating with God’s work. Its moments like this that gives me a sense of assurance and calms my nerves about this trip. I am so excited to experience the work of God in these countries!
I’d like to thank Ryan Davis for inviting us to his church! It was an impactful time for my relationship with God!
If you’re interested in listening to the sermon, you can find it here:
http://tapestrylachurch.com/?sermons=our-priestly-calling
