It all began with tacos

It all began with tacos.

That’s what I told you on Sunday morning when most of you were completely blown away by the surprise appearance of our international worker Lois Franklin to sign our new seamless link agreement, but I think that in light of how God moved all the pieces in this story, I owe you a further explanation than that.

Three weeks ago we on staff at The Bridge Church were totally at a loss as to what we were going to do with regard to a theme for Welcome Sunday (I mean we knew that we weren’t going to go Polynesian again, but beyond that we were stumped). All we knew is that we were going to have a lunch after the service to celebrate, and so it was suggested that we ask our kitchen volunteers what they thought we could do for food and see if any ideas came out of that. The next week when we heard their response only one suggestion seemed to have the ability to gain any traction with our ministry staff – tacos!

So we were going to eat tacos, and it seemed only logical that we should then follow that idea down the rabbit hole and give the whole morning a fiesta theme. This was to be our ‘Fall Fiesta’ and the whole morning would take on that flavour. Mexican themed Kids Ministry sign-up, check. Nachos and salsa on the tables for snacking during the service, check. Getting the kids involved in some worship in Spanish, check. We were covering all the bases.

Now a few weeks before that I had been given the task of taking all the work that had been done over the past year on the seamless link agreement with Lois (who happens to be serving in Mexico City) and putting it into a final form that all the involved parties were happy with. Between all the involved parties at the local, district and international levels we had managed to agree on the content of the covenant and were ready to sign but we still had to arrange a time and way to get it done. The document needed four signatures – two were at The Bridge, one was in Regina and one was in Mexico City, so at best we were looking for some sort of signing ceremony with a lot of follow-up paperwork to get all the required signature on the documents. The idea of signing a seamless link in absentia is a little disappointing but at least we might be able to add a little sizzle to the moment if we signed the document during our Fall Fiesta, so we tentatively planned to do it that Sunday even though Lois would be in Mexico and it was way too short notice to get Shauna from the district office out to be present at the ceremony. We contacted Lois to ask if that would work for her to do a Skype call on the 15^th and I emailed Shauna just as an FYI to let her know what our plans were and left it there.

Now at this point you can say that we were running with a lunch idea and planning a service around it that was totally in our control. You could say that the whole morning was the result of good (or lacklustre, depending on what you thought of the theme) planning and that God had yet to show up and make his presence felt. But stick with me through these next developments and tell me if you still feel the same way.

On September 4, in the morning I got a reply from Shauna about our plans to sign the seamless link on the 15^th and here is what she said:

“I can be at the service on Sept 15 as I'm in Winnipeg on Saturday, Sept 14. I can easily stay over an extra night and be there for the service as a rep for not only SL but also for Lois if you think that would be valuable for your congregation.”

 We had no expectations of Shauna being able to come, but God had arranged for her to already be in town, and to NOT have a commitment on Sunday morning!

Then, the next day, September 5, Wendy received a phone message from Lois that was passed onto me via email which said:

“Lois Franklin can get a flight back to Canada for about $120, seat sale ends tonight at midnight.  However, she cannot fly via seat sale until the 16th of September (Monday). Even so, she would still do the skyping for Welcome Sunday, the 15th of Sunday, to sign the SL Covenant.  Would you like her to come out to The Bridge Church later on in the week and on Sunday, Sept 22nd, do the real signing?  She is open to that.”

 Lois was going to be here? But not until the 22^nd? Had we run ahead of God? Should be have delayed? Should we postpone the signing by a week so that she could be here? I faced a quandary with only hours to make a decision. We had already gone public with the Fall Fiesta, we had already confirmed Shauna’s attendance. Having Lois present would be amazing, but should we go back to the drawing board to make it happen.

That was a difficult night for me. Eventually I emailed Lois back and invited her to the service on the 22^nd but indicated that we would like to still go ahead with the signing on the 15^th. I was unsettled in my heart, but was convinced logically that I had made the right decision.

The next morning I woke up to an email from Lois:

“Pastor Chris,I work very closely with a woman from the States. She sent me today an Air Canada offer to Canada. I thought if I got a deal it would be nice to go for the SLA signing. As I looked at it, I realized that it was flying to Canada from the States, and not from Mexico. With the offer I couldn't fly until the 16th. But because the offer is not for me I could be there for the 15th. So, the question for you is would you like me there on the 15th. I need a holiday badly and I am thinking that it would be good for me to go. I was planning a beach trip, but if it sounds good to you, I'd like to be there.”

 I took that email as confirmation from God that we were on the right track and the plan to surprise the congregation with Lois’ presence was hatched. Along the way we had help from a select group of people who were in on the whole thing, but by and large nobody knew. Not the Board of Elders, not Shauna Archer, not the worship team, not even all of the technical team who would be so instrumental in pulling this off.  And then as the day neared and happened we had other confirmations that this was the right day. September 15 just happened to be the day of the National Proclamation of the ‘Grito” – the Mexican Declaration of Independence and a huge holiday there. When we did the fake Skype call to Mexico in the service Kris and Tim in the booth were supposed to make it look like Skype had crashed – well it really did crash – no faking required!

And then there was the response. Particularly the response of Shauna who had been kept in the dark. We knew when we saw your faces as Lois walked in that it was all worth it. The signing of the covenant was just perfect – with everyone there, and the celebration afterward was extra special because Lois could be with us.

Afterward people kept thanking/congratulating me on a great service – but this week when I told them I had nothing to do with it there was no trace of false modesty. I really had nothing to do with it. It all started with tacos, and God filled in the rest. What an amazing experience to be a part of God moving in a church like this.

Now if you’ll excuse me I’ve got a long day ahead, which I’m punctuating this evening with a taco meal of my own. Good things begin with tacos, so I wonder what God is going to do next?