"I grew up in the midst of political unrest. I’ve been interested in politics for as long as I can remember. In my lifetime, I’ve witnessed four political movements and three of them happened before I knew anything about Jesus. The last one of them happened in November 2020 and it was called the bloody November because the government allegedly murdered 1,500 people—all of them civilians and all of them unarmed. To add insult to injury, the government usually uses all of that oppression in the name of God. I used to see God as an imaginary, bloodthirsty being who would always stand by the side of the oppressor. But I began studying apologetics and learned that Jesus actually sides with the poor, heals the sick, and hears the cries of the oppressed. I learned that he heard all the cries of the mothers who lost their sons and daughters in the protest. He felt their pain as they were shot; he was with them in the prison as they got tortured because he himself was tortured, humiliated, and killed on the cross." — A
"For me, the time in the wilderness to which the Lord invited me was not a place of lonely suffering or desert dryness. Each week, I had companions to walk alongside, and it was a time where, like finding an oasis in the dry desert, we could find rest for our souls and quench our thirst together. We've shared our strengths and weaknesses, supported each other, created beautiful melodies, and filled them with our hearts' devotion to the Lord. It has been a delight to share our hearts not only with the choir but also with the congregation." — Youngsim
"We come from Madagascar, a big island near the southeast coast of Africa. We were raised with mixed cultures. We are family people and we respect our elders. As the middle child and first daughter in my family, I was given a lot of responsibility, like taking care of younger siblings and helping my parents. This really shaped my personality to be more responsible and to lay on myself. This forged some of our aspirations to always help others in every way possible. Moving to Canada was a big dream for us but also a big challenge as a couple, especially when we started our own family. We were practically alone, giving birth to our son Kalo, and we were not surrounded by family unlike what we used to back in Madagascar. Here, we were by ourselves, parenting and learning everything new. However, being part of a community helped us a lot and it feels great to be part of CMP’s. We have also found again at CMP the same feeling of togetherness we once experienced as youth when we were involved in the ecumenical movement." — Ravaka & Antsa
"Voici l’un des versets qui a un fort impact dans la manière qu’on vit tous les jours, c’est Jean 16:33 : “…Vous aurez des tribulations dans le monde; mais prenez courage, j'ai vaincu le monde.” We would like to share these values to our son and one day give him some guidance: “Be great in everything you do; Respect others and Trust in God.” Farany, hoy Kalo hoe: tiako be daholo ny sakafo karakarain'i Neny." — Antsa & Ravaka
"I studied science in school. I was always fascinated by the creative aspect of physics. Thinking about of faraway stars and the imaginative nature of the field captivated me. I got into doing research out of school and I did research with infrared cameras for almost ten years. During this time, I developed an interest in communicating our scientific work. I bought a video camera and started interviewing colleagues about their projects. Eventually, I changed careers. I took a job making videos for high school students to help with their physics course, which led to my current work making educational videos for different companies. That career change was a major turning point in my life. I moved from being a researcher to communicating science and teaching it. I'm very, very grateful that the Lord opened doors for that project that bridged the world of research and video production. Another impactful experience was moving to Georgia for work. I had no family there and wasn’t really connecting with the church I was going to at that time. One Sunday, I saw a notice about a new church starting up in my neighbourhood. It was a very exciting experience to be a part of from the beginning stages. Initially, there was just 20 people or so and we were meeting in someone's living room. We went from that to finding a place to worship in public and invite people in. That made it possible for me to stay in Atlanta because then I had friends and family in the faith. God provided so much through that connection." — Ed
"I'm very grateful that I knew the Lord from a young age. As a child, the Lord was truly, and still is, my best friend. I guess as a child, when you're just developing, to know and experience the Lord so intimately as a first best friend is really cool. I think I had a pretty rich inner world that only the Lord could tap into. Even when I tried to share it with family and friends, it wasn't always possible to translate it for others. I have also struggled at times with anxiety and panic attacks. As an adult, I can put words to it and see a therapist, but when I was young, it was confusing, hard to understand, and very scary. During those times, when I was really young, I felt like I was hanging by a thread, but the Lord was holding me at the other end of that thread. Even though it seemed like a fog, I felt His presence, even if I couldn't see Him. That carried me through those difficult times. Another important person in my life is my best friend Julia. We were in our mothers’ wombs pretty much at the same time. Our mothers were best friends, and we were born almost exactly a month apart. We grew up together, celebrated holidays together, and shared countless milestones. We went to camp, got in trouble, hitchhiked, and travelled together, including probably the number one best trip ever in my life to Singapore and Indonesia at 17 or 18. Both of our mothers passed away from breast cancer and we also went through that together, losing our mothers at a young age. Julia introduced me to Ed, and she was there for the birth of Genevieve. Even though she lived in Georgia, we would call each other and have prayer walks. It’s an incredibly special and unique friendship that I just can't thank the Lord enough for." — Sara
"Prayer has been a constant in my life since I was a youth, although I am still not comfortable with public prayers. As a youth, I had not always taken prayer as seriously as I should, but with maturity I’ve learned that prayer is what keeps me anchored, and I’ve also seen the result of how earnest prayer with trust and thanksgiving manifest in my life. I’ve found that when I pray for something or about something that I need to bring to God, He always takes care of it. He answers in His way and in His time in a way that’s best for me and not necessarily the way I expect my prayer to be answered. I’ve also discovered that the key to prayer is the ability to listen. Being quiet and really listening helps us to cultivate a relationship with God so it’s important that we listen to Him, for God already knows our needs and supplies them before we ask. Prayer also must be about giving thanks. We are encouraged to pray not only for ourselves but for others as well. We should pray always for our families, friends, colleagues, our spiritual leaders and teachers, and of course our youth. We must pray for our world and the hardships and injustices that others are experiencing wherever they may be. We cannot solve all of the world’s problems, but each one of us can do our part, in our little space from where we stand, to love, be kind, compassionate, and a willingness to always be of help to someone in need. Be kind to yourself and others, take care of your heart, try to keep it pure because that’s what God sees." — Clovan
"Something I really enjoy about the Church of St Mark & St Peter is the youth. Of course, I’ve made some wonderful connections with the adults as well. However, whenever I see the little ones and the older ones also, it puts a smile on my face. I have found that young people of all ages make and keep a Church alive. With such a wonderful group of young people, my hope is that they will make a conscious effort to always be kind to each other. I know that children speak very candidly, and even though at times they speak the truth, their words can still hurt. And so I hope there will be always someone who can step up and let that person know that’s not the nicest thing to say and they should always consider other’s feelings before they speak. In this way, good friendships as well as good community can be maintained." — Clovan
