Faith & Field-Ed

By Lincoln Li, Flemingdon Park | Outreach Worker

Over the course of the school year (prior to COVID-19), we were blessed with placement students helping us out with KIC (Kids in Community) after school program. We want to thank them for their time with us and for you, our supporters who are allowing opportunities for young adults to learn, grow in their faith and make a difference in our city.

Two recent placement students show us that they were drawn to TCM, not just because of the work that is being done but because of our Christian roots.

Students studying Social and Community Work are provided a long list of organizations to choose from when selecting their placement. In terms of community and urban schools, there are lots of other placements that provide similar experiences. Julie was with us for almost half a year, while Kim was with us for close to three months. They have been working hard in building relationships and learning conflict resolution with the kids. They bring a positive working attitude and an overall openness to learning new things.

However, other than the time spent together at program,  Nuri Lee and I, did not know much about them. We wanted to see how they were doing and what their experience with the children had been like, which led to setting up a meeting with them individually.

Each of these young ladies were asked what they wanted to try during programs, what they wanted to accomplish and achieve in their placement, family situations, and plans for the future. The conversation led to speaking about the Christian faith. Just for some background, students who do their research about their placement organization will quickly discover that TCM is a Christ centred organization and that we teach from the Bible during our after school programs. We knew that it would be something they would be exposed to. Both conversations can be summed up as God bringing them to TCM out of their desire to reconnect, delve deeper, and feed their curiosity about Christianity. God moved their hearts to make that choice. Throughout their placement, they felt God working in the kids and in themselves. Both have expressed that their relationship with God deepened in practical ways, such as prayer, but also in seeking to continue their journey through church. We are grateful that God led Julie and Kim to do their placement with TCM.