What do you do? You know, for work?
A simple question usually. I know I ask people this all the time. It can give us a lot of information very quickly about the person we are talking to. If you have a full time career, it means you probably spend about half of your waking hours at work, and have done so for years!
This last year has made that question particularly difficult for me. If your work defines who you are, and your work is 'unemployed', what does that say about who you are? But we've known all along that unemployed is not who I am. God has blessed us with a season where I could be at home and focus on what is next in our lives, and without that time I would most likely be continuing to struggle through the same daily work routines. Through this time we were confident that God was giving us time to find His way forward. We felt confident that in some way, some how, God was leading me to pursue my lifelong passion for bringing music to others.
The first step was starting a music teaching business. For me this WASN'T the no-brainer that maybe
it should have been. I've always been quite insecure in my musical abilities, focusing on what I wasn't able to do, the training I didn't have, and the ways I wasn't as good as another person. What spurred me on was a simple article that suggested listing the things that you DO know, that you think you could teach to another person. It turned out to be a long list, and with this confidence boost I set out to start teaching others, and Protean Music was born. Starting in September, teaching Guitar and Drums has been challenging me musically, providing structure to my week, and helping to pay the bills! But we knew lessons was only part of the path forward. As is the case with many music teachers, giving lessons is a great means to help support yourself and free your time for your musical passions.
The best part of this year has been being able to say 'Yes' to the many opportunities that have come up. Filling in more regularly on church worship teams, Danny Plett's "Great Hallelujah" concert,
Christmas banquets with Island Breeze. I had found, at least for myself, that working full time with a young family did not leave much time and energy to do these things previously. As I've had the time and ability to become active in these things, more and more opportunities have continued to arise.
It was clear to us that this was the direction God was leading, but the vision was still unclear. Some doors were closed as we were led elsewhere. Eventually it became clear what the next step was, and that was to begin our own unique music ministry, which we have called Rescue Story. In some ways the vision is simple, to use our God given passion for music to share our testimony and to join together in worship.
The challenge has been in figuring out how this would function, how to organize it and how this could support us. The biggest confirmation of has been the opportunity to work with Island Breeze Manitoba. They have provided me the opportunity to attend their Discipleship Training School as I help them with their ministry as well. Instead of going overseas for 2 months, Rescue Story will function as my local outreach option. Once graduated from DTS the goal is that, Lord willing, Rescue Story will become a part of Island Breeze Manitoba and will fall under their charitable status, working alongside them but in it's own unique way.
For us this now means that we are looking to raise support for this change. We are looking to build a community of support for this ministry. Prayers for direction, and connections to ministry opportunities are essential in being able to move forward. We will also need to raise financial support as this becomes our focus. There are resources we need such as equipment and transportation. While music lessons will continue to help provide, as a family we need extra resources to continue to follow this calling.
If you would like to know more or would like to get involved, please visit our support page at www.rescuestory.ca/support
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