Thinking about the Word “New”

Happy New Year Everyone!

Do you have any idea what the word “kainos” (pronounced “ki” as in kind and “nos” as in nostalgia) means?  It is the Greek word for “new.”  Gary and I own a business called Kainos Enterprises primarily for the sale of our various books plus any church consulting work.  We also have a charity called Kainos International Ministries through which we have raised funds for orphanages in Myanmar, receipted for other endeavours; such as missionary work in Honduras and for our son, Rob’s many short-term missionary trips across the world and have helped with the financial records of some new church plants (Hillside Church in Milton included).  Our basic mandate from the beginning has been the involvement of any new Christian project or idea to help get it started.

2019 affords another opportunity to focus on new events, concerns, interests etc. that may or may not unexpectedly come around the corner for us all.  My thoughts immediately travel to our Hillside Church which should have been well established by now; but sadly, through some setbacks it is important for us to determine a new schedule for our pathway to reach out to those who don’t know anything about Jesus Christ.  We are, however, very excited that one gentleman who has attended our church for over six months now declares that he has a new life found in Christ.  We are hungry for more through our Sunday services at East Side Marios that are really working out well.  We like their poster on the wall, “Come empty, leave full.”

December has been a rough “go” for Sara and Aaron Bouchard.  They did move into a new rental place at the beginning of the month which has been positive, but they have had to face some unexpected problems along the way in their unsettled state.  Their family has had to deal with a lot of sickness, even to the point of their two-year old daughter, Everleigh, landing in the hospital last week with pneumonia for a few days.  Please pray for encouragement and wisdom for them in regard to Hillside’s future along with financial stability for their painting contract business.  Upon a happier note they are very much looking forward to the new arrival of their third child in April.

Some are familiar with Lamentations 3:22-24, “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, ‘The Lord is my portion; therefore, I will wait for him.’”  Whether we have experienced God’s new compassion for us every morning or every year, whatever we do we can have hope to keep going.

New blessings for you in 2019!

Wendy

Wendy.carter@kainos.org