Not So Different

By: Abbey Shin, Summer Intern at Kingston-Galloway

This is my first time interacting with the kids in the Kingston-Galloway community; however, working with kids isn’t a new nor uncomfortable occurrence for me. Although this site location is the furthest from my home in Richmond Hill, I chose KG because it is most out of my comfort zone and I was least experienced with this community. 

During our “behaviour management” training sessions, I imagined the worst while hearing stories from past people who had worked in the Kingston-Galloway community. I feared disrespect and rejection from the kids in the community. I started doubting whether or not the Lord did call me to this site. 

A key thing the children in this community struggle with is fairness and sense of justice. Common complaints would be, “That’s not fair”, “How come she got to do that?”, and “Well, he did it first!” These stem from lies that no one understands them nor will stand up for them. They look at other people’s lives and choose to believe lies that no one will be their advocate and pursue justice on their behalf. 

The weekend before the first day of camp, I still questioned whether I was prepared for seven weeks with these kids. However, that same weekend, God convicted my heart of how I had been comparing my life with others. My common complaints to God were, “How come people like her so much better?”, “Why can’t I just be good at this?”, “When will I be acknowledged?” I realized how bitter my heart had become and it wasn’t pretty. 

Isaiah 30:18 says, “Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him.” Despite my bitterness, the Lord still waits to be gracious to me. Despite my own efforts to make a name of myself, God has been trying to exalt himself in my life in order to show me mercy. The Lord is a God of justice, therefore, I do not need to pursue justice on my own, but simply wait on Him. 

Although I feared I wouldn’t get along with the children in Kingston-Galloway, the Lord graciously showed me that He has been preparing me in the midst of my wretchedness. He humbly reminded me that I can only participate in His good work because I am His good work. Just as Jesus became one with whom He loved, He showed me that I’m not so different from these kids. Realizing this has allowed me to extend much more grace and love onto them, because of the grace and love I was first shown by God. 

This is the gospel, that Jesus Christ initiated a relationship with us and chose to reconcile our sins. Therefore, I am only able to love Him and others because of the great love that I experienced from Him. I’m excited and ready for the rest of my summer with Sonshine Day Camp, not because of the work that I’ve done, but because of the work my Heavenly Father is doing in me.

Abbey is serving at Kingston-Galloway for the first time this summer. She is excited to build new relationships with her teammates and the children, while experiencing the Spirit at work in KG!