Tag: Daniel Westfall

Ep.377: Strangers and Lovers.

Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray With Me”.

When Jesus chose Peter, he named him the “Rock”, but the rock shifted like sand when Peter denied Christ. So Jesus chose him again, rehabilitated him, and gave him a mission. 

In his letter to the churches, Peter the Rock calls Christians “God’s chosen ones, strangers in the world” (1 Pet 1:1). 

Chosen ones? Strangers? Like Mark Twain’s “The Prince and the Pauper”, where a poor boy with an abusive, alcoholic father becomes a prince, and the born prince becomes a poor boy. The story tells how the poor boy learns strange palace customs, and the prince learns the strangeness of poverty and abuse. 

We are Christians and we are strangers in a strange world. We are poor people on earth, but princes in Christ’s hidden kingdom. Gentleman’s Quarterly and Vogue no longer measure our beauty. The Economist is not our Bible on wealth, liberal politics and world order. Constitutions and charters of rights don’t qualify as our statements of belief.  

In private, we study the language of heaven, listening for the voice of Jesus. But in public we are ordinary citizens of Planet Earth, hardly different from everyone else.

Peter encourages us strangers with the lesson Christ taught him: to part ways with the man he was, to move beyond the fisherman who toiled and the disciple who denied. To focus instead on the man he could become, a rock in Christ’s church, a shepherd of God’s sheep, a day care attendant for God’s lambs. Peter was chosen and called. We are chosen and called.

Parting ways with his old self was an important bridge Peter crossed. When Jesus left the earth, Peter lost the life he loved: walking and talking and eating with Jesus, washing dusty feet, and strolling by the seashore. He moved into a new relationship, experiencing a Christ he could not see, talking to a Jesus who was not physically present. 

I recently visited my mother’s grave. I stood there, looking at her tombstone, just . . . just remembering her. I talked to her, but she didn’t respond. Standing there, I talked to Jesus too, another invisible presence.  

Peter says, “Though you have not seen Christ, you love him. And though you do not see him now, you believe in him, and are filled with joy inexpressible and full of glory” (1 Pet 1:8). Peter invites us to join him on the journey he began after Christ disappeared into heaven. An invitation to walk with a Christ we cannot see, to talk to a Christ who is mostly silent, to listen for his quiet interior voice. 

This is the Christ who makes us strangers and aliens in our world. He gives us an edge of discomfort as we participate in our day-to-day buying and selling, voting and promoting, leading and following. 

We ask, how, in the midst of our daily routines, can we grow in love and faith for the Christ who chooses us and calls us strangers in the world? 

Let’s pray. 

O father, though we have not seen Christ, we love him. And though we do not see him now, we believe in him. 

We are Christians, not because of stronger arguments, nor greater vision, but because Christ has touched our hearts with faith and love.

Grant us Peter’s experience, to look for the salvation Christ promises, to rejoice in our trials, to be steadfast in faith. to be strangers in the world. 

Amen. 

I’m Daniel, on the channel “Pray with Me”.  

YouTube channel: Pray with Me – YouTube

Ep.376: Job Hunting.

Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray With Me”.

In the last four episodes, I told about hosting an immigrant family of three. Denied boarding in Amsterdam, they purchased expensive last-minute tickets to Canada, where I hosted them in an Edmonton Airbnb until they rented an apartment. 

Next assignment: find a job. Unfortunately, the father’s dental technician and dental surgery qualifications are no good in Canada. How about a warehouse job?  

His resume, created on an internet website, looked impressive. But it was written in corporate-speak nonsense like, “I liaised with cross-functional teams to facilitate smooth operations and achieve common goals.” 

Oh, yes! Exactly what a warehouse supervisor needs–someone to liaise with his cross-functional teams.Or maybe he just wants someone who’s quick with a pallet jack and handy with a broom! 

After replacing the corporate-speak with plain English, we looked at internet job sites–Indeed.com, the Canada Job Bank, and ALIS Alberta. We tried job searches on Google and job searches at companies with warehouses. 

Uline sent our only response: a computer-generated corporate-speak email telling us we didn’t meet their standards. Perhaps we should have left the corporate-speak in the resume.

Two more days of silence. I checked the resume. Duh! I’d entered the wrong telephone number

We corrected my error and sent out corrected applications. Followed by two more weeks of silence. 

My newcomer friend was concerned. He said,”I can’t afford to spend eight months job hunting like my friend in Calgary did!” 

I sat in my car with him in a Walmart parking lot, listening while he processed his thinking about Canada. He said, “I thought Canada had many opportunities with decent pay.”   

I sympathized. “Yes. Canada can be difficult if you’re poor. Lots of people have two or more minimum wage jobs because they can’t find something better.” 

We went into Walmart. “Look at the shoppers’ faces,” I said. “I see age and tiredness and sadness. What do you see?”

“I see pain,” he said. 

I agreed. “I think many of these are Canadians who live near the minimum wage. Life is not easy for them.” 

We continued job hunting. Every day, search the internet. Every day, wait for that phone call or email. 

Then one Friday he had a phone interview with a logistics company. It went well. “Can you start Monday?” they asked?  

Thirty-two hours a week and no benefits, but starting pay is above minimum wage. Since he doesn’t have a car, the company offered him a transit accessible day shift. 

Job hunt complete. Mission accomplished.

Let’s pray. 

Our father, we pray for those with part time work who need more hours.
  We pray for those with no work and no one to hire them. 
  For those with too much work, and too little time to do it. 
  For those with menial work who want something more fulfilling.
  For those marginalized and demeaned at work who long for respect and justice.
  For those failing at work, attempting tasks beyond their skill. 
  For those with good jobs and reasonable pay, who give you thanks. 

Help us to be wise employers and wise workers. 

And above all, whatever we do, may we do it with all our heart. For it it is you, the Lord Christ, whom we serve (Col 3:23-24). 

Amen. 

I’m Daniel, on the channel “Pray with Me”.  

YouTube channel: Pray with Me – YouTube

Ep.375: A Place to Call Home.

Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray With Me”.

In the last three episodes, I told about hosting an immigrant family. They were denied boarding at the Amsterdam airport, but purchased expensive new tickets before their visas expired. I hosted them in an Edmonton Airbnb, and helped them get social insurance numbers, ID’s, and health cards. 

Next step: find a budget one-bedroom apartment for a family of three. 

The first two apartments we viewed were brand new basement suites in the university area, reasonably priced at less than $1000/month. Small but suitable, the family said, so we filled in application forms and waited for news. 

Our applications were rejected. I said to the father, “I think what the landlord wants are quiet graduate students who practically live at the university. They don’t want a busy family of three crowded into their suite.” Hmmm. 

We expanded our search, looking next at a basement near Concordia University. It had a nicely finished kitchen, a less-finished living room, and a bedroom under the stairs with a clothesline for a closet. 

The landlord told us she didn’t take students because she didn’t want parties on her premises. But a  quiet family of three might work! And she would share her internet and Netflix at no cost. The next day, when we texted to see the place again, she said, “I’m sorry. But I’ve decided the suite is not suitable for a family of three. Good luck.”  

Darn. We should have taken it when we saw it. 

The next day we drove 40 kilometers across the city and queued up in the drizzling rain behind other renters to see another option..  

When our turn came, we saw a lovely, renovated basement suite–open, airy, light. Perfect. But the reasonable $1100/month rent became unaffordable when they told us to expect an additional $350/month for utilities. 

Onward to the next viewing. An older apartment building near downtown–good location, close to transit and shopping. The apartment manager took us down a long dirty-looking, pungent-smelling hallway. What did the renters do in these hallways? 

The apartment was not well maintained, but ok. The overall effect was, No thank you. 

Welcome to apartment hunting in Edmonton. 

Next day we tried Boardwalk, a big rental corporation with highrises across Canada. 

We sorted their listings by lowest price, which led us to a 1960’s apartment tower downtown . When we arrived for the  viewing, a homeless person was prospecting in the garbage bin behind the apartment. The community mailbox in the front lobby had crowbar marks. Someone probably forgot their mailbox key. The window to the manager’s office was a fresh sheet of plywood. 

The apartment for rent was old, but in good repair. Boardwalk offered immigrants a deal: half-price damage deposit, and advance payment of just one month’s rent instead of the usual two. 

The manager told us that one of yesterday’s viewers promised to bring a deposit tomorrow. And she had more viewings later today. The apartment would go quickly.

We had seen and heard enough. We sat in her office under her plywood window and paid the deposit. Mission accomplished. Apartment found.

Let’s pray. 

Our father, Jesus said, “Don’t worry about what you will eat or drink or wear. Seek God’s kingdom and he will look out for you” (Mat 6:31, 33). But you don’t supply our needs by magic. So we hunt for shelter and buy clothes and go to the food bank when we’re hungry.

We depend on you, and we depend on our society. On builders to build housing and landlords to rent it; on farmers to grow food and corporations to sell it. 

O Lord, help us to give to you what belongs to you–our love and worship and honor. And help us find money for rent and food and taxes in this good world you have made for us. 

Amen. 

I’m Daniel, on the channel “Pray with Me”.  

YouTube channel: Pray with Me – YouTube

Ep.374: What’s in a Name?

Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray With Me”.

In the last two episodes, I started telling my story about hosting an immigrant family. I met them at the Calgary airport, drove them 250 kilometers to Edmonton, and installed them in an Airbnb. 

The next day we started our errands. First up: get a social insurance number. Not to be. Service Canada was closed for a long weekend. Check the to-do list. What’s next? Ah, yes. Bank account, then Alberta Health card and then, Alberta ID. 

Here’s how our day went.

The father’s country-of-origin passport put all five of his names into one field. When this was copied onto the Canadian visa, they gave him no first name, no middle name, and a huge five-part surname. It was kind of funny, but we thought it might be a problem. What to do on forms that require legal first name and legal last name? 

So the father made a simple request: “Please separate out my first, middle, and last names.” Seemed reasonable to us, but the Alberta ID agent said, “Can’t be done. I have to enter the name exactly as it appears on the visa. If you want your Alberta ID to show first and last names, Service Canada can change it on your social insurance number.

After the weekend, we arrive early at the Service Canada office to beat the lineup. Dream on! It’s eight o’clock opening time and the lineup already snakes around the cattle guards and slithers out into the mall. “Two hours,” said a Service Canada agent. 

Two hours later, we’re at the front of the line, where they take our information . . . and send us to a holding area where we sit for two more hours.  

Now, it’s noon and we’re in a cubicle to get a social insurance number. The father presents his request: “Please separate my first, middle, and last names!” 

“Not possible,” said the agent. “I have to enter the name exactly as it appears on the visa. Only the immigration people at the airport can change it.” 

So we drive 25 kilometers to the airport, only to find the immigration people behind locked doors. What? They only deal with incoming flights, not with local customers like us. So we find the border security people and ask them to help. “No can do,” they say. “Nobody at the airport can change your visa. You have to go to Immigration Canada.” 

So we set out driving 30 kilometers to downtown Edmonton. As we drive, we try three times to phone Immigration Canada. And three times their telephone system takes us through six mind-numbing minutes of voice messages, menu options, and notifications for this and that. Finally, finally, when we get  to the option we need, the recorded message says, “Thank you for calling Immigration Canada. Our telephone queue is full. We hope you find it convenient to phone us back at another time.” Click. Ahrrr!

We arrive at Canada Place in downtown Edmonton, and look for the immigration office, expecting a long queue. But there’s no sign of an immigration office and no queue. We ask the information desk, “Where is the Immigration Canada?” 

“In this building,” they reply. “But since COVID, they don’t take walk-in clients. Everything’s by phone or internet.”

Really? The internet doesn’t have the option we need. And all the phone system can do is spout menus and messages and go “Click.”

So we go back to Service Canada where we started. We take the only option they’ll give. A social insurance number with no first name, no middle name, and a large five-part surname.  

Errand complete. But was it a success? Tune in next time for more of the story!

Let’s pray. 

Our father, what is in a name? Your names are father and king and judge. And you said to Moses, “Don’t ask my name. I am who I am” (Exo 3:14). 

Paul said, “I bow before the father, from whom every family on heaven and earth derives its name” (Eph 3:14-15). 

O father, we are your children. Remember our first names, and call us by your surname. 

Amen. 

I’m Daniel, on the channel “Pray with Me”.  

YouTube channel: Pray with Me – YouTube

Ep.373: Stuck at the Airport.

Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray With Me”.

In our last episode, I talked about hosting an immigrant family. Father, mother, and three-year-old daughter left Ukraine in 2022, spent last year in Europe, and now had air tickets, visas, and work permits for Canada. I rented an Airbnb for their first week in Edmonton, and planned the newcomer errands– bank accounts, social insurance numbers, health care cards, drivers’ licenses, etc. 

Six days before their visa expired, they showed up at the Amsterdam airport with suitcases, passports, and plane tickets. But KLM denied them boarding. So much for my Monday job in Edmonton as a welcome-to-Canada host. Instead, I was now chief problem solver in a crisis.

I asked church friends to help; we contacted SuperSaver, the website where the newcomers had purchased their tickets. We called Westjet, the ticket supplier. We asked KLM: “Why did you deny them boarding?” A friend wrote a synopsis and sent it to CBC, hoping negative media coverage would embarrass one of the airlines into helping. 

We spent three desperate days calling and emailing and discussing, trying to reason or even guilt trip one of the parties to help.
  Monday. No progress.
  Tuesday. More frustration. I canceled the Edmonton Airbnb.
  Wednesday. Still stymied. Ahrrrrrrr!
   Nothing was working. 

KLM blamed UK immigration. They said that the UK wouldn’t let the family transit through Heathrow. Their solution? The family should have bought a KLM flight direct to Canada instead of a Westjet ticket through SuperSaver. 

Thank you, KLM!

Westjet passed the buck too. “They bought the tickets on the SuperSaver website? Then we have to deal with SuperSaver, not the travelers! Tell SuperSaver to phone our agent hotline.” 

Thank you, Westjet! 

At SuperSaver we talked to super friendly customer care associates. They put the problem into the queue for their super efficient problem solving team to call Westjet and help us out. And the result? Nothing. Nada. Our request was sucked into a SuperSaver black hole, where it’s probably still spinning round and round. 

Thank you, SuperSaver! 

By Thursday, with only three days left on the family’s visas, we knew we needed a different solution. Last-minute flights to Canada? Wow! Now priced at $3,500 each one way! That’s more than $10,000. 

What to do? Should I try fundraising? Should I try finding a sponsor with money? We were scrambling!

Then, an email from the newcomer father. A relative agreed, unhappily, to loan airfare for his wife and daughter. The father used most of the family savings for his own ticket. This time, no more SuperSaver. No more Westjet. Just expensive, last-minute direct flights to Canada.

The new schedule had them arriving in Canada the next day, Friday, in Calgary, 250 km from my home. 

I quickly rented a new Airbnb in Edmonton. On Friday as I drove to Calgary, a friend stocked the Airbnb with food and flowers and welcome gifts. 

My hosting duties were about to begin. Tune into the next episode for news of the family’s arrival. 

Let’s pray. 

O father, Canada is a short plane ride from Europe . . . except when immigration officers deny transit, and airlines and internet travel sites won’t help. 

Only a privileged few can flee war, climate change, and hate in their home country to start a new life in a safe country. Millions remain at home, living in war, hunger, and danger.

We remember Gaza and Ukraine and Haiti and Sudan and Lebanon. People in war zones and refugee camps. Politicians unable or unwilling to care. Diplomacy conducted with AK47’s and laser-guided bombs. 

O father, may our country be a refuge for many. Bring your peace and your kingdom to our war-torn earth.

Amen. 

I’m Daniel, on the channel “Pray with Me”.  

YouTube channel: Pray with Me – YouTube