4 W's February 21


The temperatures are on the rise and the winter seems pretty decided to let go. This Tuesday we met for 4 W’s in a bit unusual circumstances – as Sweet Surrender was booked up, we were promoted two floors up.

For welcome… well, actually, there were two “welcomes”. Kent, who joined us that evening to share the Word, showed us this clever little game where one has to cross out sticks arranged in rows. There are two players who play on turns: during your turn, you can cross out only one stick. You can’t let your opponent cross out the last stick in a row, otherwise he gets to cross out the whole raw, getting all the points. There is one good reason for which everybody should practice before the next week: Kent pledged himself to buy a ‘”kebab” to any person who would beat him!

Jocelyn (from Taiwan) debuted as our “welcome specialist”. She distributed sheets of paper and asked us to write vertically our names on them. To each letter of our name, we were supposed to find a word that describes us in some way. Sometimes having a long name can be really upsetting, especially if you don’t carry a Thesaurus on you…

For the worship part, Theresa asked us to do the same thing, but instead of looking for words to describe our own character, we were to find some that would describe God’s.

Kent led the word part. As he put it, he wanted to “give us some of his cooking so that we could taste it and see whether we would like him come back to have him cook some more”. That was an ambitious dish that he had prepared for that evening… an overview of the whole Bible story! On sheets of paper with the books of the Old Testament (subdivided into three groups: historical, prophetical and didactic), we were to discern the key themes for each and every one of them, and distinguish the thread that links one book to the other. Certainly not an easy task, but it helps to look at the Bible from a wider perspective.

The last part, witness, was Tim’s debut. He spoke about his latest discoveries inspired by 1 Corinthian 9:19-22, where Paul says: “For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. (…) I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.”

After the meeting at Sweet Surrender, we went to the railway station to share some food and hot tea with the homeless.

Touching Lives

Breaking into groups

A thermos or two...?

The temperature was 20 degrees Fahrenheit (-7 deg C) outside and only a bit warmer inside.  A group of students met under the departure sign in the train station and formed three groups.  One group approached a few people at the back of the station who were seeking shelter and warmth in the one of the few buildings that is open late and allowed them inside.  As a young college student pulled a sandwich out of her purse, a young man pulled a thermos out of his pack and poured hot water into a plastic cup with a tea bag in it.  Another guy, knowing the importance of sugar with tea, followed the cups of tea to offer a teaspoon or two of sugar.  The people seeking shelter and warmth in the train station welcomed the sandwiches and the hot tea (with sugar).   One lady after receiving some bread and tea, broke off a piece of bread and asked everyone in the group to share it with her.  A slice of bread was passed among the group standing with this lady.  The bread was broken in fellowship together followed by prayer, “Lord, please help this beautiful woman see that You can help bring about change in her life.”

After breaking bread together

On the ride back to the dorms, students were asking questions:  Where do we go from here? What can we do next? How do we help people change?

Hot tea and sandwiches

These students dove into something that took them outside of their comfort zones, and looks like it could go further.  One gal at first didn't want to come to the train station, but in the end said that she was glad that she came even if she felt afraid.  It was great to be with these students who took a break from warm dorm rooms and studies to reach out to those in need, showing the love of Christ.  And the best part of all?  The idea to do this came from the students themselves!  Cool, eh?  Maybe you can join us next time.....