Church Bulletin | 061823 “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly
and to love MERCY and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8)

Last Saturday, we gathered together as a Church to serve for our Movement’s 14th annual International Day of MERCY! This year’s focus was
on youth since the “MERCY” in MERCYworldwide is literally an acronym that stands for “Maximizing Efforts for Relief, Care, and Youth!” Therefore, we were privileged to participate in helping out a local daycare centre in Toronto – the Three R’s Schoolhouse!

The day started with all of the first-shift volunteers, along with the team leads, gathering together for a song, a short introduction and welcome, and then an opening prayer! Then Wendy, who owns the Three R’s Schoolhouse, requested to share a few words. With tears in her eyes, she shared that it  has been hard to keep up with some of the maintenance and renovation demands of the daycare due to some of the financial challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. She expressed her deepest gratitude several times, and told us that they would likely be bursting into tears throughout the day. It was very powerful!

Full of enthusiasm (and perhaps a few donuts) our teams of MERCY ambassadors broke off to get to work on our respective projects. These
groups included the Fun-Day Team, who were in charge of watching some of the daycare children and doing a few fun activities with them; the Downstairs Storage and Kitchen Team, the Downstairs Playroom Team, the Upstairs Playroom Team, and the Bathroom and Staircase Team, who were all in charge of cleaning and organizing their respective areas; the Gardening Team, who took care of some of the landscaping needs; the Demolition Team, who were in charge of breaking down and removing an old playground set; and the Outdoor Storage Team, who were in charge of cleaning out and organizing the storage unit that was outside of the daycare.

Each team worked extremely hard, and with a great attitude! It was fun to see brothers and sisters getting dirty and dripping with sweat, all for a good cause! My particular team was in charge of the demolition of the old outdoor playground set. Unfortunately, the only tool we had for the job was a big sledgehammer. However, that combined with a little “elbow grease” proved to be more than enough. In fact, I was inspired by Harvey, who at 65-years old was quick to grab hold of the sledgehammer and take his turn swinging forcefully at the playground set, taking it apart piece-by-piece. Isaiah, Kirk, Timothy, Tony, and myself also took a few swings! It was very fun (as well as therapeutic)!

We took a break around noon-time to eat a pizza and salad lunch, which was graciously provided by the daycare! There was loads of food, more than enough for even the ravenous brothers! We all ate to our heart’s content, and then headed back out to work, along with the second shift of MERCY Ambassadors! It was awesome to discover that a lot of the volunteers who came early for the first shift also stayed and continued working with the second shift! I was especially encouraged by these brothers and sisters who chose to walk the “second mile”. (Matthew 5:41)

The day ended with a few sunburns, a lot of exhausted disciples, and each and every task completed! Wendy was very encouraged, and
the kids who participated in the fun day also had a blast! I am so proud of the disciples for all of their serving hearts. Undoubtedly, the Three R’s Schoolhouse will forever be changed due to the healing hands of MERCYworldwide, and each MERCY Ambassador!

I would like to say a huge thank you to our MERCYworldwide coordinators – Will Koroluk and Patrina Gosine! From start to finish, they planned every detail of our Day of MERCY. And they did a phenomenal job! We are very grateful for their diligence, and heart to make our Day of MERCY most impactful! I would also like to say thank you to Tony and Vita Ventura! Vita manages the Three R’s Schoolhouse, and made it possible for us to serve there for the Day of MERCY! Also, Tony was able to secure a garbage truck from the company he works for, which was instrumental in hauling away some of the garbage from the daycare, as well as the old playground! Lastly, I am beyond grateful for every disciple who showed up and gave their whole heart to serve!

In closing, God said through the prophet Micah, “And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love MERCY and to walk humbly with your God.” It is clear after last Saturday that we all “love mercy,” and we all love MERCY! To God be the glory!

Evan L. Bartholomew