catapult magazine

*cino needs YOU

by Kirstin Vander Giessen-Reitsma

I always struggle in the weeks before Thanksgiving to control my resentment toward the indiscriminate steamroller of Christmas commercialism that never fails to flatten one of my favorite holidays. Canadians definitely have better timing than we do on this one.

But still, I love Thanksgiving. There are no presents; few, if any, decorations; no "secular" myths to perpetuate—just time and space in which to remember and celebrate all of those tangible and intangible gifts we receive every second of every day from the God who is the source of all good things. As I think about the inevitable pre-dinner question at Grandma's house this year,What are you thankful for? I'm finding it impossible to pick just one thing in what has been an incredible year of abundance with a life-changing finale.

You may or may not know that my husband Rob and I committed in September to working full-time for *cino, funding or no funding. We had both been free-lancing and contracting for a while when God indicated that it was time to focus this vision that had been materializing for a couple of years already. Surrounded by both cautious and exuberant blessings, we decided to practice what we planned to preach about taking risks, trusting Jehovah Jireh, and living radical Christian lives.

It's been an amazing journey so far.

Inspired by some friends of ours who have taken many similar leaps faith in the past 30 years, we started a Book of Celebrations to record all of the blessings that are coming our way as we expand and submit to the God-given vision for *cino. The following is just a short list of those blessings that we've experienced:

 

• The incredible community spirit of our church and family and friends. They have, sometimes without even fully understanding our complicated mission, given us words of encouragement, grocery certificates, donations, advice. They are praying for us. They have visited the web site. They have ultimately shown that they trust our judgement and abilities enough to contribute in many different ways to this project.

 

 

• The willingness of our board of directors to commit to another project in spite of their busy schedules. The wisdom and sacrifice of the four people who have officially joined us in this effort by being on the board has been invaluable. Without their leadership and challenges, we'd still be struggling to maintain an incomplete web site on the side.

 

 

• Affirmation in many, many forms. We receive daily e-mails, people who wish to contribute articles or artwork, notification of new people signing up for discussion, simple words of encouragement. And daily we see what God is doing in the lives of individuals and how those individuals can be brought together to change the world. We have received many words of caution, but not one person has said that this cannot be done.

 

With all of these good gifts God has set before us, how could we ask for more? But we are. We are so thankful that God has entrusted us with this vision and has provided the encouragement to move us forward this far that we are asking for more.

We are seeking partnerships with institutions that we feel have a stake in what we're doing. We are seeking more substantial sources of funding. We are seeking openings for developing other programs that are a part of the vision. We are seeking opportunities, as well as the wisdom to perceive and guide those opportunities in the way that God intends.

I'd like to challenge you, if you've read this far, to think of ways you could contribute further to the mission of *cino. Now before you tune this out as another holiday plea for donations, let me just say that while money is one of our needs, there are many, many ways to help.

We need people to write articles. We need people to submit their paintings, songs, photographs, poetry, etc. to publish with our issues. We need fresh perspectives on the discussion board. We need you to read our about section and figure out what's at stake for you personally as you participate in what is far more than just a web site. We need you to hold the individuals as well as the organization up in prayer.

Could you send an e-mail to five people you know who might be interested in some aspect of *cino? Could you participate in one of the fund-raisers we have going right now? Could you offer us anything out of your experience as a follower of Christ living in this world that might be useful to the community on this journey?

As you participate in various celebrations for Thanksgiving, look not only to the past, but seek to find, ask to receive in the future. A healthy, dynamic community is not composed of accidental members, but of active participants who are using their individual gifts to complete the whole. We need you. So where do you fit in?