It only makes sense.....

[Stan]

My editorial for the month...

The village I spent my early years in was small and isolated. There were nine houses plus an additional home for our courageous teacher who taught grades 1 through 9 in a one-room school. The news was exciting when we heard four more houses were going to be constructed by the company who owned the gas plant where the nine families earned their livelihood.

While I have lost track of all but one of the families, warm memories of the Hamlet of Windfall still live in my mind. I remember our family jumping into our shiny new white ‘59 Buick and heading out on a gravel road to drive for what seemed like forever to this 6 year old child. Three hours later we would get a months worth of groceries from Edmonton. There my mother would seek out needed ingredients for a recipe she had found somehow from another country. I was able to enjoy Indian, Jamaican, Chinese, Russian, Mexican, Filipino and many other foods from a host of far away countries that up until then, I had only known of from my new stamp collection.

Later on in life, I was able to meet people from those countries and already felt at home which made it easier to befriend them. I remember my mother telling my sisters and I that although the people we meet may be different than us, they can add a unique quality to our lives. It was exciting to meet people from various countries and cultures.

I often see churches whose active members do not look like their community. It is a shame when so many new converts tend to look more like the church leadership than the communities or cities they are commissioned to share the gospel with. There are some places that only have a few family names in their membership which tends to decrease over time, not because they are fulfilling the commission given but because these tribe-like families have died off or moved away.

Turns out, if we do not take the gospel to every kindred nation and tongue in our villages and cities, none of us are getting out of this place alive. Embrace diversity, make friends with those who differ from you as they are among the best tools to spread the Three Angles' Messages to their friends and families. Give special attention to new immigrants who have left behind family and friends as they seek new opportunities and blessings.

What my mother said was true, people different from me, have added more to my life then those similar to me. You also might find your quality of life has improved and learn more about the world around you.

It only makes sense.