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On the Road with Ebenezer
by Eleanor Dodson
It is amazing to imagine the many ways God will use us, to accomplish His Will in the world, if we are willing.
Seven years ago, we prayed about the possibility of doing more mission work after our retirement. We felt a "nudge" to travel throughout the United States and purchased a 39 foot motor home that we named Ebenezer – “Up to this point the Lord has helped us!" (1 Samuel 7:12, New Living Translation).
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Shortly thereafter CBF missionary Marc Wyatt met with the Partnership Missions Team of the Richmond Baptist Association to discuss the possibility of forming a mission partnership with the Toronto Baptist churches. He mentioned the need for a couple to help with one of the Matthew Houses in Canada. This was the beginning of six annual summer trips in Ebenezer to Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada to work three to four weeks with refugees new to Canada.
Our presence allows Jim and Shirley McNair, who manage the Matthew House, an opportunity for a vacation. Stu is the "handyman" doing repairs around the house while I work in the office. Matthew House is a regular house, with space for eight to 10 refugee claimants to live for three or four weeks. During that time we take them to their appointments – medical, social services - and help them secure a lawyer. They must complete paperwork in preparation for going before a judge, requesting permission to stay in Canada and pursue citizenship status. We gladly give an encouraging word, a listening ear, and often a hug to a new refugee, who is trying to shut out the memories of the past and deal with a new world full of so many unknowns. Matthew House becomes their "home," Jim and Shirley become Mom and Dad, even after they move to other parts of Canada. |
God is at work
in the world
and He uses people
to accomplish
His work. |
It is awesome to hear refugees share miracles of their safe arrival in Canada. God is at work in the world and He uses people to accomplish His work. After church one Sunday, the pastor of FBC Fort Erie talked with a man from the Congo who had just arrived at Matthew House. Two years earlier, he had been taken from his home by soldiers, leaving behind his pregnant wife and two year old son. After gaining his freedom and searching unsuccessfully for his family, he arrived in Canada. The pastor suggested that he look on the computer at Matthew House, in case his family might have made it to safety in Canada. When the pastor discovered the Congolese didn’t know how to use a computer, he offered his help. Together they found that his wife was living in a town just one hour from Matthew House. When the pastor drove the young man to the apartment, his wife, four-year-old son and two-year-old daughter, whom he had never met, embraced him. Truly a miracle of God!
Ebenezer is now seven years old, and we have spent approximately five months each year with him, doing mission work throughout the U.S. and Canada. "Up to this point the Lord has helped us!"
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