“The Waiting Game”
August 9, 2011
Greetings from a warm and beautiful
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada! Yes, for
those wondering where I’ve been for the last few months I’m still here in
Canada. The hope was to have some clear
direction as to where I’ll be going but it appears that process is going to
take longer than originally expected.
However, before we get to that let me fill you in on what I’ve been
doing these last few months.
NAIT
Convocation
In my last letter I mentioned that I was
only a few days away from graduating from my degree program. The ceremony was excellent and it was great
to reconnect with some of the friends I had made during my time at school. I was also happy that when I finally received
my degree that it had the distinguished words “with honours” on it. I worked very hard during the course of my
studies so it was nice to see that all that hard work paid off. I heard that some of you did try to watch the
graduation online but ran into some technical difficulties. I apologize for that. I found it slightly ironic that a college
that specializes in training young people in new technology would have
technical difficulties with their website.
Oh well, I guess that just makes the experience a little more like real
life. J
Worship
Team
I wasn’t home long and the worship pastor
at my home church (Pastor Gord Schutz) was already recruiting me to play the
drums for the church worship team. I
really enjoy playing during our Sunday services so I was happy to
volunteer. We have a great worship
pastor at my church and a great bunch of volunteer musicians, sound techs, and
powerpoint techs so it’s always a great experience worshiping on a Sunday
morning with my church family. When I
told my worship pastor I would be staying around a bit longer than expected he
was thrilled! It’s good to be
wanted. J
U2
Concert
For those who know me well, they know I
love going to rock concerts. Well, an
opportunity came up here in Edmonton that I simply could not refuse. One of the largest bands in the world, U2,
was having a concert in Edmonton and I simply had to find out if I could find
some tickets. To my delight I was able
to find 4 tickets and ended up going with my good friend Paul and my
sister Lori and her husband Dave. We
were able to get quite close to the stage and it was an amazing experience to
be at a concert with 60,000 other people.
There were also a number of my friends that purchased tickets as well
and since most of us bought general admission tickets we were able to sort of
congregate together close to the stage.
It took a few days for my ears to get back to normal but it was a great
experience nonetheless.
SIM
Prayer Meetings
If someone asked me to name one thing that
SIM does very well I’d have to say its prayer.
If you look at any of SIM’s literature one of the statements they
usually put on them is the statement “By Prayer”. It’s a short but very meaningful statement,
one in which I try to live by myself. So
it’s not surprising then that SIM holds prayer meetings in all sorts of
different locations around the world.
Well, in Edmonton we have a number of retired missionaries in the area
so they plan a SIM prayer meeting once a month.
Since all of us at the meeting represent SIM Canada we concentrate our
prayer for the Canadian missionaries yet our prayers are very international
because these missionaries serve in countries all over the world. SIM goes to great lengths to gather prayer
requests from all the Canadian missionaries and put them together in a letter
so we are always able to have some relatively recent prayer requests that we
can pray for. As a missionary who has
been out on the field this is such a huge blessing. To know that there are people all over Canada
praying for you, people that you haven’t even met, that is such a cool thing to
me. To me it shows the incredible power
of prayer.
Tom
Sawyer
One unexpected privilege I had upon coming
home was to be asked to be involved in the Fort Saskatchewan Christian School’s
play production of Tom Sawyer. They
wanted a live band to play bluegrass/country music during the musical and I was
asked if I’d be willing to play the drums in the band. It sounded like fun so I said I’d be happy to
and I’m glad I did. The kids did an
excellent job and it was a real treat being able to be part of something like
that. I wouldn’t say bluegrass is a
style of music I’d like to play all the time but it was fun playing it with the
other guys from the band.
Construction
work
I mentioned in my last letter that I
decided to discontinue my financial support while I was at home so it was time
to look for some temporary work before I started travelling again. A friend of mine from church has his own
construction company so I approached him and asked him if he needed any help. He said he could use me so for a couple of
weeks I helped him do some home renovations.
My experience is limited on this kind of stuff so I mostly helped with
grunt work but it was great to be working and doing something physical. Thanks to Ken Bergmann for giving me some
work to do while I was sorting out what the next step was.
Stanley
Cup Finals
For all you Vancouver Canucks fans out
there, you may want to skip this part as it may bring back some painful
memories. After not watching any hockey
for most of the season it was great to be home to watch the playoffs. For those of you who know me well, you know I
love to watch hockey so any chance I could get to watch a game, I was there
watching it. Some may have thought that
since I’m a Canadian I would of course be cheering for the Canucks. Well, it just so happened I wasn’t. I won’t get into all the details as to why, I
just have to say I didn’t think they had a good enough team to win it all. As it turns out I was right but I tell yah, I
could have easily been wrong. If it
means anything to you Canucks fans, I know EXACTLY how you feel. Flames fans can say the same thing. Just go back and look at the Cup finals from
2004 and 2006 if you don’t know what I’m talking about. Anyway, it was great to see some hockey
again. I’m already looking forward to
watching more in October! Let’s go
Oilers!
ICCM
in Indianapolis, Indiana
Early this year I decided I would register
for an IT Conference held in the US called ICCM. ICCM stands for the International Conference
on Computing and Missions. It’s a very
unique conference that brings together IT personnel from various mission
organizations to network together to solve problems and gain experience. I was told it was an excellent conference and
that I should attend. So along with my
supervisor from the Flying Mission, Richard Wheatley, I registered for the
conference. Well, for those who have
kept up with my letters you’ll know that I’ve been having some problems entering
the US. So I was kind of registering for
this conference “by faith” that God would provide a way for me to attend. Here is the story of how things went.
I booked the most direct flight I could
find to Indianapolis just in case things went south…err well perhaps I should
say in case things DID NOT work out in going south. As it turns out the best flight I could get
was to fly from Edmonton to Toronto, then Toronto to Indianapolis. I figured that wasn’t too bad because if I
was rejected at the border I could probably just go stay at the SIM guest house
in Toronto and fly back to Edmonton the next day. However, my prayer was that this wouldn’t
happen. So with fear and trembling I proceeded
to board my flight to Edmonton. As it
turns out things would go bad right off the bat. My carry-on bag is my laptop bag and I use it
all the time. This means that sometimes
I put things in there and forget that some of those things may not be able to
go on planes. Well I obviously didn’t
pre-check my carry-on carefully enough because when I went through security
they found my Leatherman Multi-Tool. For
those who have a Leatherman you know how costly they are (mine was $80) and I was
concerned first of all that I’d get into some sort of trouble, and second of
all that I might lose my expensive tool.
As it turned out the security people were very accommodating and said
that I could just store the tool at the airport for $1/day (that meant $5 for
me) and pick it up when I got back. They
weren’t even upset! I apologized to one
of the security guards and he simply stated, “No need. This kind of thing happens all the
time.” So, with one emergency averted it
was time for the real challenge. After
arriving in Toronto I made my way to the US border check. After giving my passport to the gentleman and
then seeing him clack away on his keyboard and stare intently at the monitor I
could tell I was going to be in for a bit of a wait. I was told to go to secondary screening so
off I went to this separate little office for further humiliation. I gave my passport and a small form to the
border guard and was directed to have a seat.
Sitting across from me was a couple from the Netherlands. They were obviously perplexed as to why they
were in secondary screening because they asked me, “Do you know why you’re
here?” I smiled and said, “Yeah. I have a pretty good idea.” Then they asked me a very confusing question,
“Do you know why we’re here?” That’s
kind of like being called to the Principal’s Office and then asking the other
kid in trouble beside you if he knows why you’re there. Sorry folks, but if I knew the answer to that
I probably wouldn’t be in the room with you.
Anyway, after a short wait I was called up by one of the border guards
and the humiliation began. The summary
of our conversation was basically that I was an idiot. I think this was one point this border guard
really wanted to hit home. However,
apparently being smart isn’t a requirement for entering the US because he
stamped my passport and basically I can’t recall much of what he said after
that because frankly I didn’t really want to hear anything else this man had to
say. This ended up being a big mistake on
my part as after I collected my paperwork I proceeded to exit the office out of
the same door I entered. As I walked
through the door I heard someone shout “HEY!”
On the other side of the door were 2 US Border guards and one of them
looked at me with disgust and pointed his finger towards the door and said,
“Get back in there!” Confused I turned
around to open the door and the border guard I just spoke with opened the door
and says to me, “Well, I can see why you had trouble at the border!” He then tells me that I hadn’t followed his
directions as he told me to go out a different door on the far side of the
office making me look like even more of a fool in this border guards eyes. Perplexed as to why I could so easily walk
through a door (there were no markings saying you couldn’t) that apparently was
a federal offense of some kind, I walked out the correct door and proceeded to
board my plane for Indianapolis.
Now I don’t want to make this too big a
stretch by saying I understand what Jesus went through on his journey to the
cross but part of me couldn’t help but partially relate the two events. Jesus knew full well what was waiting for him
on that day, just as I knew the difficulty that was waiting for me. Even though insults were thrown at him, Jesus
did not retaliate. He was silent. Even though I was angry at how this border
guard was treating me, I stayed silent.
I didn’t retaliate. So if
anything it was a great lesson in humility and restraint and gave me a better
appreciation for what Jesus went through on my behalf.
So, after the difficult border crossing,
everything was fantastic. I was able to
meet up with Flying Mission’s IT Manager again, Richard Wheatley, which was
great. I was also able to meet a lot of
great people serving with all sorts of different mission organizations. I was also able to meet Joseph Kejr for the
first time. Joseph works for SIM
International in South Carolina and was actually going to be my roommate while
I was there. We both had to admit that
we didn’t understand why all of these border issues had to happen as it appears
I would be an excellent fit for SIM’s needs there. However, we also both agreed that the Lord works in mysterious ways and that ultimately he has a plan for each of us. So, in summary I was
glad God opened the border for me, even if it was only for 5 days, so that I
could experience this awesome conference.
Maybe I’ll be able to go next year!
J
Church
Visitations
After having a great time in Indiana it was
time to visit the rest of my supporting churches. Before going to Indiana I was able to visit
my home church, Fort Saskatchewan Alliance Church as well as Fort Saskatchewan
Fellowship Baptist Church. Once I was
home I headed for the west coast to visit Parksville Fellowship Baptist Church
on Vancouver Island. For those who may
wonder why I’m supported by this particular church, I actually did a 1 year
internship there after my 2 years in Bible College. I had a great time reconnecting with friends
and supporters there and just enjoyed the beautiful surroundings there on
Canada’s west coast. I think if I had to
choose a place to retire it would be Vancouver Island. There is such an active retired community
there I can’t imagine a place that does it better. Of course that all may change decades down
the roads, but at the moment that would be my choice. Anyway, I want to say a special thank you to
David and Joan Evans for letting me stay at their place while I was on the
island. You were such gracious hosts and
I hope to one day be able to return the courtesy. So, after Vancouver Island I went to the
lower mainland to spend time with some of my friends there. I had a great time and was even able to
celebrate Canada Day with friends and enjoy the fireworks. Special thanks to Brad and Colleen Reid for
having me for a few nights as well as Jason and Susanna Lavergne. I had a great time!
Gord’s
Wedding
We had a large family event at the end of
July as my brother had his wedding. As
brother of the groom I was one of the groomsmen and also had the privilege of
being the MC for the reception. This
made for a very busy day for me but the Lord was gracious and I was able to
pull off both roles and perform them well.
Actually, it ended up being a very busy week as there was a lot of last
minute things that had to be done the week of the wedding but everything came
together beautifully. So congratulations
to my brother Gord and my new sister-in-law Yiyan. I’m glad I was able to be home for this
special occasion and to share it with my family and friends.
Reassignment
Update
Well, now for the answer to the question
you’ve all been asking, “Any news on where you’re going next?” Well for those of you who haven’t heard from
me since my last letter we did hear back from US Immigration regarding my
visa. It was declined. I won’t go into all the details as to why
because some of it is speculation but basically the idea of me going to work
for SIM International is now a thing of the past. So, after hearing this news from US
Immigration it was time to find a new direction. At first SIM began asking if there was a
certain part of the world I’d like to serve in.
As I thought about it I had to clearly define the call in which I felt
God has given me for ministry. The
calling I have has never felt geographical.
Rather it has simply been to use the skills I have for God’s Kingdom. With that in mind I simply asked SIM if there
was a need they felt only I could fill.
I have a decent amount of education and experience now, perhaps it was
time to think a little bigger. In
talking with SIM’s System Coordinator (the top IT position with SIM) he shared
with me an idea he’s had for a number of years but hasn’t been able to develop
because of lack of personnel. His idea
was, because we have a lack of skilled IT individuals in SIM he thought it
would be best to place the personnel we do have in strategic places around the
world so that each person could cover a number of offices contained in the
region. The places Ben (SIM’s System
Coordinator) suggested he place me were either Chiang Mai, Thailand or
Johannesburg, South Africa. Now, the position
Ben was suggesting does not even exist at this point so a bunch of work is
going to be needed to try and set these up.
Discussions have to happen between Ben and the different regional
directors and such to see firstly, if this could work and if it can work how we
can go about doing it. Suffice to say,
it is going to take some time for all the details to be worked out so this
means I’ll probably be in Canada anywhere from 6-12 months. This has led me to begin looking for a 6-12
month contract in IT work. So in summary
things are still up in the air but at the same time I think we are getting
closer to finding the answer. It’s just
going to take some more time.
Prayer
Requests
So with that said I think it’s time to end
this letter. Once again I’d like to
thank you all for the support you give me.
I look forward to updating you again and hopefully I’ll have a clear
idea of where God wants me next. Before
I go as usual I have a few prayer requests.
Please take time to pray for these items as you have time. Here they are:
1)
Mission Opportunity – Please pray that the
Lord would show very clearly where he would like to send me next whether it be
Thailand or South Africa or perhaps somewhere else in the world.
2)
Job – Please pray that I would
be able to find some temporary IT work as it looks like I will be here in
Canada a lot longer than I thought.
3)
Praise – For all the travelling
I’ve been able to do and re-connecting with friends and family. I’ve been having a great time here at home.
Thanks again for all your love and
support. It means a great deal to
me.
Peace and prayers,
Graham Crawford <><
For more info on SIM Canada visit: www.sim.ca
The opinions expressed in this letter are
my own opinions. They are not
necessarily the opinions or views of my employers, SIM.
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