This site was desiged for standard modern browsers. Please upgrade your internet browser to Chrome, Firefox or Safari.

Unexpected Hospitality

Alfred Chui /Friday, May 5, 2023

*This article was originally published on the Outreach Canada blog in 2022, and has been republished with permission. 

When a Muslim family moved next to our house, we felt pretty “alarmed”. Who were they and where did they move from? The only thing we knew was they were a family of a couple and three boys, and the hijab of the lady indicated they were Muslims.

When we saw the boys climb on the roof of their vehicle and play with the steering wheel, we immediately had this typical stereotyped middle east kid mindset we saw on the TV!

The real impact finally landed on us when the boys played soccer and used the fence for their goal. So, the panels kept falling, and I kept nailing them back until a point I gave up and put the panels aside by the shed.

One afternoon, the doorbell rang, and I was surprised to find the father with the boys standing at the entrance. He asked me to let them in to fix the fence. He quickly nailed the panels back and uttered some Arabic to the boys. Then, with his head down, he whispered sorry to me. We have had no more issues with the fence since then.

A few months later, my doorbell rang again. This time it was the eldest boy, O, and he asked me to show him how to make a tie knot because his father was invited to a Christmas party.

Our relationship grew, not just in more frequent interactions, but with comfort level.

When I needed to do an assignment for the perspective course, I was welcomed to their home, sitting for over 2 hours to interview them, and shared the thoughts of our faith.

When I organized a Kairos course at my church, this family prepared some dishes for our cultural meal.

I had the most interaction with O. We could not come to an agreement of the identity of Jesus, but we respected each other. When the Syrian family sponsored by our church attended our service, I asked O if he could interpret for us. He said yes. O had never been in a Christian church but this day he sat on the pew, listening to a gospel message preached in English, and interpreted to our Syrian friends. He also stayed behind to have lunch with us.

Do we call this hospitality? Absolutely, an unexpected one, and I would even call it a divine one!


Alfred Chui practiced physical therapy for over 25 years before he joined North Edmonton Alliance Church in 2009, first as the English Pastor & then in 2013 as the Senior Pastor. In 2019, Alfred & his wife Charis relocated to Richmond, B.C.  and Alfred joined Outreach Canada in July 2019 as the Simply Mobilizing (SM) Canada Chinese Language Coordinator - implementing, maintaining and expanding the Kairos and other SM courses to mobilize Canadian Chinese diaspora Christians and their next generations to reach and disciple all nations.

 



print


Show All Blogs

Digital Bibles: A Key Discipleship Tool for Multilingual Speakers

There are more opportunities today in Canada than ever before to reach out as a local church and welcome people of different language communities around us!  From sponsoring a refugee family, to hosting a neighbourhood celebration, to simply getting to know our friends and neighbours who speak different languages and letting them know they are welcome here – and welcome in our churches.  

With over 450 individual languages identified in the 2021 census there may be more languages spoken by people already in your church than you realize. Deb & Ramón share how you can find and use digital Bibles and digital Bible-Based discipleship tools in different languages...


Conversations as Hospitality

Conversations. We have them all the time! After all, how could we offer hospitality without one? But, have you ever thought of conversation itself as an act of hospitality? 


God Speaks

God speaks through Scripture. It is  a core means by which God makes himself known to us—a communication initiative of God toward us. Have you ever just stopped and said thank you to God for the gift of Scripture? For the gift of speaking to us?

But of course, one of the challenges we must face for God to speak to us through Scripture is that we are confined to the languages we know. The original texts of Scripture were given in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. I speak none of those languages. You may not either. But Scripture, when translated into the languages of the people of the world, has proved to be a powerful conduit through which God speaks and draws people to himself.

Bible translators have recognized 8 conditions that, when they are all met, greatly increase the likelihood that deep spiritual impact will result from interacting with God’s Word. 

We hope this new blog series will equip you and give you courage to introduce your neighbours to the God who speaks.


Loving a Mosque Community Together

Explore the inspiring journey of Loving Muslims Together in their mission that every Muslim in Canada would have a Christian friend who was companioning them in a journey of exploration and discovery about Jesus Christ—whether Jesus is a prophet (as claimed in Islam) or whether he is the Son of God, the Saviour of the world (as claimed by Christians).

This article recounts a pivotal moment at a conference in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where the author's search for nearby mosques sparked a realization of the need to re-evaluate their approach. Discover how LMT's vision evolved, aiming for every mosque community to have at least one church community praying for it…


Introducing Loving Muslims Together

God is giving us an opportunity. The nations of the world have come to our neighbourhood.

The Loving Muslims Together Network encourages, mobilizes, equips, and supports the Canadian Church in helping Muslims in Canada to become disciples of Jesus. 

Here is a short (4 minute) video introduction to Loving Muslims Together....


Unexpected Hospitality

A story of unexpected hospitality! A broken fence that led to neighbours showing mutual hospitality to one another... ...


The Journey of Discovery

I don’t like to run. My experience of running is that I’m short of breath, sweaty & hot, and there’s a voice in my head telling me to STOP!!!!

Recently, while praying for Muslims in Canada during Ramadan, an image popped into my mind, (a not-infrequent experience when I’m praying).

The image was of a person running along a road that stretched into the distance. They were running in a long-distance race that was called ‘Journey of Discovery’. Actually, there were quite a few runners, but they each were running alone.

I noticed that at some points in the race there were people cheering the runners on, encouraging them and spurring them to keep going. At other points in the race there were refreshment stations where the runners could receive nourishment for the next leg of the race. Sometimes people would run alongside the racers, keeping pace with them, encouraging them to keep running.

Some runners kept running strong. Some runners who were faltering were encouraged by the cheering, and the nourishment, and the companionship they received. Some runners slowed to a walk. Some stopped altogether and left the race...