We have been known Rev. S. sice the early 2000's when we started attending a new church in Toronto. Our church is a large church with over 1000 people in its weekly Sunday Service attendance. In order for the congregation to be connected, church attendees were divided into cell groups according to their different ages. We were assigned to a group of people around our age group which consisted of ten couples. Pastor S. at the time was new to our church and he was one of the members of our group. He came to the cell group meeting alone and we later learned that his wife had passed away not long ago.
Though newly widowed, Pastor S. displayed faithfulness, strength and love towards all who came into contact with him. We have liked him from the very beginning. Instead of mired himself in self pity, he threw himself in church ministries and worked hard to help others in need.
But when it poured, it rained. Just as Pastor S. was recovering from the loss of his wife, his younger son was diagnosed with bone cancer! The only way for his son to have a chance of surviving this illness was to have a bone marrow transplant which required finding a donor matching his son's bone marrow and who would be willing to go through the procedure of donating it.
Pastor S. worked hard with others and those in church willing to help to raise awareness of this disease and to organize donation campagins to encourage people to register, have their bone marrow tested and find the right matching donor.
In spite of all these obstacles in his life, Pastor S. kept going - working in our church and serving the congregation faithfully without any complaints. How he had the strength and courage to go through the chellenges in his life at the time was beyond me.
Thanks to his tireless relentless efforts and determination, after months of searching and bone marrow donating campaigns, a match donor was found for Pastor S. son who received the marrow and went through a successful surgery! Praise God! That was many years back, and his son recovered from his bone cancer and is now happily married and devoting his time to a career serving the public as a police officer in Toronto! Miracles do happen in our life!
The next piece of good news was something which our church friends and I have been praying for a long time for Rev. S.- finding love for the second time. Being a minister for a sizable church is a challenging and demanding job. We could just imagine the tolls and physical demands they place on a person. Even a minister, God's servant, needs to be comforted and looked after by a loved one.
Therefore, imagine the joy we felt learning about our beloved minister in his early 60's falling in love and getting married in June this year! I could not be happier for him, therefore, I volunteered my service to make some treats for the post wedding ceremony reception at our church. I mustered the help of two other sisters who came to our house the day before to do some baking for this joyful event.
It was fun as we gathered together sharing stories and chopping food and baking together. We worked hard but enjoyed the labour of love and we were proud of what we could put together.
The next day, after bringning our baked treats to the church hall and setting them along with other food, we were able to sit and witness the wedding ceremony. It was a dream came true for Rev.S. and those who loved and prayed for him. I couldn't help wiping away my tears as we witnessed the new couple exchanging their vows in front of a packed church.
May God bless you, Rev. S. and Mrs. S. as you begin a new life and journey together in love!
RT, Toronto, Canada, 062026
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