On the evening of January 28th, a group of twelve middle school students, along with Mrs. Philip, Mr. Philip and Mme. Cerna, headed for downtown Toronto to share food and warm clothing with those in need. Our preparations began in the morning, with some Grade 8 students joining Mrs. Hill to make 75 packed dinners. Each brown bag contained a sandwich, an orange, a juice box, cookies and a gospel tract.
As soon as school was over, we gathered together and filled up our backpacks with warm clothing donated by middle students and the dinners we had prepared. Each teacher also brought along a stack of Tim Hortons cards, a generous donation made by our wonderful Junior School Students!
We made it to the Markham Go Bus station just as the bus arrived. We squeezed into the bus, which was now completely full! From Union Station, we spread out in three small groups to cover the area from University Avenue to Jarvis Street, and from Queen to Dundas.
It was dark and rainy, so there were not as many people on the streets as we had seen before. However, we were privileged to meet a number of people in need. One man we noticed just on our way out of the Station. We gave him some food at that time. However, with plenty of food to spare at the end of the night, we decided to go and speak to him again. This time he talked to us for some time, and eagerly took Tim Hortons cards for himself, his wife and his friend. I asked if we could pray for him, and he readily agreed. Right there, at the corner of Bay and Front street, our little group of students huddled together and we prayed for this man. What a privilege to be free to pray openly in our country, and what a joy to find someone who was eager to join with us in prayer.
All in all, it was a very special night, the first time out for many of our Grade 7 students. What a blessing it was to walk with our students in the footsteps of Jesus, as we served those in need.
