Goodbyes and New Adventures

Tis the season for goodbyes and transitions, I think!
One of my best friends left by plane for Alberta early Sunday morning. She will be living out there for the summer.
My aunt left this morning by car to move to Calgary.
On Wednesday, I will be beginning this insane summer by spending one week studying the book of Mark with a bunch of other university students, and the rest of the month in Halifax with the urban poor.
Then before I even know it, it will be time to hop on a plane and go to Mozambique.
Yes, this is the season for goodbyes and transitions. It seems like I am not the only one having new adventures this summer. God is calling us all to different places.

This past weekend I had a dessert night to raise support for my internship in Mozambique. It was an incredible night full of a ton of people I love, way too many calories, and some information about Wycliffe's work. It would not have been possible without lots of help, especially from my mom. I think perhaps I have the most wonderful family (friends and church family included) on the planet.

God is really providing in terms of this internship. I have about a thousand dollars left to raise- the end is in sight! The Halifax Urban Partnership starts in two days and right now I still need about $500. Again, here is the link that tells how to give financially. But besides financial support, I will also need prayer support.

Thank God for:

• His provision so far! I have been overwhelmed by the generosity of people. Wow!
• Allowing me to successfully complete my final year of university. I will be graduating in two weeks.
• A good year at Acadia Christian Fellowship. At our final exec meeting we found that the number of people involved in our group had doubled from previous years. Not only that, but students met Jesus for the first time. Cool! There are many of us who will be involved in Christian ministry this summer, so it is great that we are coming from a healthy community.

Ask God:

• For financial support for the Halifax Urban Partnership and the internship in Mozambique to reach 100% (How to give)
•  For my Mozambican Visa to be quickly processed and mailed to me
• To give me a ridiculous love for the people of Halifax and Mozambique 
• To give strength and stamina for me and for the people I will be working with.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen
-Ephesians 3:20-21 (NIV)

Life Updates

Hello friends,
The month of April has been a very crazy one for me, beginning with sadness at  the death of one of the most important people in my life, my grandmother Ruth. This was a solemn beginning to what T.S. Eliot called "the cruelest month." But, to quote another poet of our time, "O-bla-di, o-bla-da, life goes on."
Life does go on.
And there is always, always something for which we can thank God.
There was the ACF end-of-the-year party, where we dressed up in our fanciest clothes and had a blast dancing, taking silly photos, and enjoying each other's company.

This party would not have been possible without the help of many people, especially the incredible ACF exec team! I definitely thank God for them :)

But although this month has had its fair share of wonderful Christian fellowship, from tremendous support for Martin and me when Grammy died, to sweet prayer meetings together, to coffee dates and frisbee study breaks, it IS university and we do learn once in a while. I have been appreciating the beautiful study spaces here on campus, especially my favourite spot in the library and this boardroom in the KC Irving Centre.

I am happy to say that I am now finished all my exams. Hallelujah!
I am also happy to say that this is something that happened the other day.

So, now I get to concentrate on getting ready for Halifax and Mozambique. WOO!
There are only TWO WEEKS until the Halifax Urban Partnership and I still need about $1000.
That means there are SIX WEEKS until I fly to Mozambique.
I need prayer. Like so much. It turns out that this is kind of scary. I really am trusting God that He knows where he is taking me, but my, what a ride it is.
So thank you so much for your prayer. I have also been incredibly blessed with your financial support thus far. Wow! It really humbles me to see how you are making sacrifices for God's kingdom.
Here's the link for How to Give if you have not yet and want to.

So, folks, here is something to leave you with. A sweet, sweet song. 

My grandmother Ruth

My Dad's mother was the most inspiring woman I knew. She died on March 30th after suffering from Alzheimer's for several years. I had written about her before and was asked to read the following at her funeral. 
She used to read us a book when were kids called "Love you forever."
"I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always."

I wrote a blog post a couple of years ago when Grammy was deteriorating from Alzheimer’s. I am going to read what I wrote in 2011. I have changed a few things, though. So, here it is.

Both my maternal and my paternal grandmothers had dementia.

But I think it would be more true to say dementia had them. I find it hard, now, to remember when Grammy was not like this. She is a world-traveler, a strong woman who raised five children on a farm, besides working as a teacher and taking night classes. She lost her husband about 35 years ago in a car accident. She is a smart woman, with a love for reading, teaching, and music. She played the organ at the church. She spent time in Greenland and the Czech Republic, and traveled extensively in her retirement. She is an amazing cook. She loves opera music, she is a shrewd businesswomen and she has an impressive collection of books. She has only four grandchildren, and she made us each a quilt. To defy her arthritis, she would swim each day, for about five months of the year, in the frigid Bay of Fundy.
I force myself to remember these things, because this is who my grandmother is.

It is funny how fleeting these things are. We treasure things in our minds but in the end, our minds just end up being shrivelled away until we become like Grammy. Lots of people, blessed people, do not have dementia in their old age, staying sharp until the end. But for some people, like Grammy, her brain is the first to go. I miss her. I love her the way she is, but I miss the way she used to be. I tend to be nostalgic and it’s easy to be nostalgic when it comes to Grammy. I miss the days when she would read to us from Swiss Family Robinson, even though at the time we thought it was a silly book. Now, she struggles to read the margarine container. I miss the days when the relatives were all gathered together- a fiddle or two, and Grammy on the piano. I miss the days when she knew my name, for goodness sake, and my gender. Now she calls me a “lovely little boy.” Sometimes she tries to chew on her fingers, even though she used to scold me for sucking my thumb. Grammy cannot form coherent sentences anymore.

But it does no good to be nostalgic. I find it hard to find the balance between helping Grammy with everyday things like getting out of her chair or just holding her hand, and treating her with the dignity and respect she deserves. It’s hard to remember, when I am trying to get her to stop spitting at her helpers, that this is probably the strongest woman I know. I do not know if I will get the opportunity to meet another woman like her. Here’s the other thing: I think she may have sacrificed her sanity for her children and grandchildren. She worked so hard her whole life and I see her influence and her genetics in her children and grandchildren. Both of her daughters became teachers, like her, and both shared her musical talent. Her sons, as well, are multi-talented. As for her grandchildren- my cousin has inherited her business sense, I have inherited her love for literature, my brother has inherited her musical talent and my sister has inherited her sewing and teaching talents. Sometimes I wonder if it was from working so hard that she got dementia. On the other hand, it could be just genetics.

It scares me that I might get dementia in my old age. Maybe it scared Grammy too. Maybe that’s why she lived her life the way she did, enjoying every moment, embracing every adventure. Maybe she knew she would someday forget it, so she made sure to live in the present. I think we can all learn something from that.

So today, as we celebrate Grammy’s life, I just want to remind you that Grammy was taken from us
years ago when her mind was eaten away by this awful disease. I thank God for her presence in my life and her never-failing love for us grandchildren.

The Irresponsible American Dream

Guatemala 2011 (Students International photo)

I often am worried that people will think my decisions in life are irresponsible. I am afraid that people will think that I am just frivolously trotting off to Halifax and to Mozambique for the sake of adventure. Is it irresponsible to spend time and resources that I don't have to help in these places? 

Although I did not want to admit it, I think I have been listening too much of this Western "wisdom" that says financial security is what we aim for. We want to go to school so that we can get a good job so that we can be financially secure, and comfortable in the luxury that is North American life. That is what a "responsible" adult does. 

According to this worldview, I am not a responsible adult. 

But this past week, I have realized that the American Dream may not  be as responsible as I think it is. In fact, I would call it rather irresponsible.

This weekend, a group of students from Acadia went to a missions conference called Jesus to the Nations in Halifax. While I only caught the last bit of the conference, I and many of the students were deeply affected by the stories we heard of the lostness all over the world. 

In particular, we were moved to tears and to action by the stories of children in Cambodia who are sex slaves. Thinking of these many, many children whose know nothing other than rape and such horrors, and thinking of sex slaves who are even transported within our own country's borders, we knew we have to do something. 

I study economics. I know that human trafficking and slavery will not stop until there ceases to be a demand to use our brothers and sisters as objects. And I know that the human heart is capable of such evil that this will never stop without the intervention of Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, I know that the church is the only institution in the world who wants to share this goodness. We are part of the church. Therefore, it is up to us to bring light to the world's darkest places. 

There are billions of people living in poverty and without clean water. 

There are millions of people who have never ever heard Jesus' name. There are millions who don't have the Scriptures in their own language. Millions of people die from AIDS and other preventable diseases. There are an estimated 27 million people who are in slavery today: more than any other time in history. 

We know these things.

We have skills, resources, education,  and a relationship with God. We could help.

But we go to school, get a job, and complain about traffic and slow internet.

This is Easter weekend, and I can be pretty sure that this is not why Jesus lived and died and rose again. 

In fact, Jesus told us why he came:

.

 Luke 4:16-18 (NLT)

When he came to the village of Nazareth, his boyhood home, he went as usual to the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read the Scriptures. ¹⁷ The scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where this was written:

¹⁸ “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
    for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released,
    that the blind will see,
that the oppressed will be set free,
¹⁹     and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.”

²⁰ He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down. All eyes in the synagogue looked at him intently. ²¹ Then he began to speak to them. “The Scripture you’ve just heard has been fulfilled this very day!”

There is hope for this world, and it is in Jesus. Not even death could stop him. He is the only One who can end slavery, poverty, war, and despair. 

But it is us who he uses.

So I ask you: what is more responsible? Our own American (or Canadian) Dream? Or being part of restoring the world to what it should be?

I have but one candle of life to burn, and I would rather burn it out in a land filled with darkness than in a land flooded with light.

-Ion Keith Falconer.

Why I think giving to missions is awesome and other things on my heart

I realized I have not written about what's going on in my life for a while, so today, that is what I will do.
 Here's the thing. I wrote a thesis. Or I should say, I am in the process of writing a thesis. Now, it is off with a marker and I get to forget about it for ten days or so. Until yesterday, my life was a blur of classes, midterms, and spending a lot of time in the library. But now, there is a lull, and I enjoy it immensely. I can feel the end of my undergrad coming closer and that's really too bad because I feel like I am just getting the hang of this!
But life is really beautiful, if I do say so myself.  Last weekend some dear friends from my home church visited and that was lovely. This morning I got to host a worship team Bible Study at our house, and I think it was a microcosm of the Kingdom of God. I guess it was just eight or ten people eating breakfast together, then studying the Bible, then playing some music to praise and worship our Saviour, but it just reminded me how worship is not only through music. All the people who came over were musically gifted, whether they played a djembe, a ukulele, or sang. But I think perhaps they worshiped God in other ways. Folks came early to help me make breakfast. Is frying bacon a form of worship? That's up for debate, but I think it is when you wake up early on a Saturday morning to do it in order to serve others. People studied a Bible passage together. I would say that's worship; taking time out of your day to meditate on and learn the Scriptures shows that you value the Author. And then, of course, there was the music. I love sitting in the kitchen doing dishes or schoolwork and listening to the sweet sweet sounds being produced in our living room.
So yeah, life is beautiful. That photo, that's a photo I took with my phone on my way to/back from the library one evening. I like this school. I like this world actually.

OK. Now to the point of this post. I think another form of worship is giving. For me, I am giving my time. One whole summer devoted to spending time with the poor and also with helping with literacy projects in Mozambique.
The exciting thing is, I am not alone in this giving of my time. You see, this is what God has called me to do, so I am doing it. I think there are few things in life more exciting than doing God's will. But here's the thing. Even though I am spending one month in Halifax and three months in Mozambique, this is not only my trip. I truly believe this is part of God's story. Somehow. The craziness of how I (like really, me?) fit into God's plan to save the world is a story for another day, but the thing is, when you give to me, you get to be part of this story too! And not just when you give to me: there are so many opportunities to pray for, support, and give money to missions worldwide. I think God calls us all to give to something. It may not be me, but I know He will call some people to give to me, and I thank Him for that. Sure, we can invest in mutual funds and RRSPs, but we can also invest in something that has an eternal impact. That way, when I, or other people, do missions, we're not alone. We are completely dependent on God and on you, this community. I like the way God has created that. 
I think giving to missions is awesome because it shows God's goodness to those of us who are going when we see how He provides, and also because when you give you get to be a part of God's story, which happens to be the best story ever.

How to give

So, I know I am doing a lot this summer. But I know that God is blessing and will continue to bless these things.
Please consider helping me out.
I need $1600 for the Halifax Urban Partnership (HUP) and approx. $4000 for the Wycliffe internship in Mozambique.
When you give, it allows me to give my time, talents and energy to the people God cares about.

This May I am doing something called the Halifax Urban Partnership. I will be spending one month in Halifax among the urban poor, volunteering with a number of initiatives and learning about God's heart for poverty and social justice.

Since I am volunteering, this is going to cost about $1600. So I need 20 of my friends to donate a day's wage (Nova Scotia minimum wage is $10.15; an 8-hour day is $81.20).

I know many of you have full-time jobs, or will have one this summer. Please consider placing aside one day's wage to help me come alongside the marginalized in Halifax.

How to donate:
1. Go to www.ivcf.ca
2. Donate--> Donation Options
3. Support a Global and Urban Partnership Participant--> Make a special gift by credit card
4. Giving search--> Fund description--> Search for Hannah Main-->Select "Halifax UP- Hannah Main
5. Fill out all fields and submit

Please prayerfully consider giving :)

AND. ANOTHER THING .

So, as you know, I am headed to Nampula, Mozambique this summer for three months to be a linguistics assistant intern with Wycliffe, doing some literacy work. Before I can go to Mozambique, I need to raise 100% of my funds. I am volunteering my time there and need to raise money for flights and living expenses. It is estimated that it will cost just over $4000. It is my hope that 40 people will each contribute $100 to this cause. Please consider making an investment in something that is worthwhile. 

Here is some info on how to give to this project:

Online:

Go to Wycliffe’s online donation page:
https://www.helpforcharities.com/wycliffe/donation/

You’ll see a pull-down menu that says, "Please direct my giving to..." Select <Wycliffe Canada Missionary>

 In the "Details and Comments" box write:
For the internship work project of Hannah Main

By Cheque:

Cheque should be made payable to Wycliffe Bible Translators. Enclose a SEPARATE NOTE with your name, address & phone number, indicating how you want your gift to be used:
For the internship work project of  Hannah Main

 Send or deliver to:
Wycliffe Bible Translators
4316-10 St. NE
Calgary, AB
T2E 6K3

Donating By Phone:

Call 1-800-463-1143 and ask for the Receipts Department. Please be ready to provide your credit card information, address, and how you want your gift to be used.

 

Upcoming plans

Hello friends!
I just wanted to give you some exciting updates on my life. As you may know, I am in my last year here at beautiful Acadia and the plan is to graduate in May.
So WHAT, you may ask, am I planning to do after that?
Well, friend, on this snowed-in Saturday I will tell you my plans.
Between now and April: Studying hard and finishing a thesis! Also continuing to help out with the IVCF group here: leading the Bible study leaders, leading the exec team, faithfully attending prayer meeting and all that fun stuff.
AND I will probably be doing a lot of fundrasing, because...
I have registered for the Halifax Urban Partnership, which happens in the month of May. It is a month of spending time with the poor in Halifax and learning about God's heart for justice. It is something I never thought I would be doing, but I have felt God tugging me towards this and so I will do it.

The Mozambique flag has an AK-47 on it... what's with that?

And right after that is over, I am planning to go all the way to Mozambique for a Wycliffe internship. I will be working on some literacy materials for the Ngoni people group. So naturally I am totally nervous and excited for that. I will get to use the skills I learned at CanIL last summer so that will be wonderful.
After that, I am returning to Wolfville where I will hopefully get a job for the year. I am also excited for this. The Annapolis Valley is my favourite place in the world right now.
Well folks, that is what is going on in my life right now. I am very excited about where God is taking me and I cannot wait to see how He will provide.
peace&love!