To the Nations

Canada, as many of you know is a nation whose spiritual destiny is to the other nations of the world. Everytime a prophetic word comes to us in Canada, there is always a reaching out aspect. I love it. I think that it fits nicely with the ethos of our country. We have always been a nation that will look beyond it's own boarders to ensure the peace and tranquility of other nations. We did it in our Peacekeeping around the world, we do it with our immigration policies, our citizens do it through humanitarian activites. This is not to presume to say that Canada is the ONLY country doing it, merely that we have always been a nation of 'goers'.

I believe that we haven't even begun to see how the world can be changed when Canadians find their true strength in the power of God, and begin to sow seeds of healing around the world. The Bible talks about the leaves for healing, and so it is no coincidence that our national flag includes a leaf.

I recently attended a conference on the war in Afghanistan. I learned MANY great and interesting things. One of the seminars was about the morale and wellness programs that a civilian arm of the Canadian Forces provides to Canadian soldiers in combat theatres around the world, most especially in Kandahar. I heard about the Tim Horton's coffee (for those who are not Canadians, Tim Horton's is a coffee and donut place that is as much a part of our collective culture as.... football to the Americans) , the retail stores, the fitness programs. All of these programs are provided to the Soldiers by CANADIAN CIVILIANS who take time out of their lives 6 months at a stretch to go and serve the troops.

I also learned that we are the only nation in Kandahar that sends our own civilians. There are 16 nations that are part of the war in Afghanistan and on the base there, and we are the only ones who have 'familliar' faces providing these services to the troops. Our people know their language, they know the places the soldiers are from, and often times, they know the soldiers themselves. How comforting would that be as a soldier?

The even cooler part of this whole situation is that the retail locations serve ALL NATIONS! It doesn't take new soldiers of any nation very long to find out that Tim's has the best service and the best coffee. I heard all sorts of stories from around the world of troops from as far away as Denmark whose tour in Afghanistan was made more tolerable by the work that our people are doing. It is and it is not about the coffee, though. I heard over and over that the impact was made by the people themselves, working behind the counters of the retail locations. Canadians are out there touching the lives of people around the world.

This is ALL done by a government agency who doesn't even begin to touch on the spiritual needs!! If simply being Canadian qualifies us, then how much more does being a Christian Canadian mean that if we just 'get' how much God is desperate to see the nations of the world touched for the Gospel!! We have it in us.... go, make disciples, touch the nations.