Why My Job Is Worth It

Ministry with the homeless was not something I've chosen to do. Not that I don't think it's good, it's just never crossed my mind before. Now I don't know why, but for this summer God told me to go reach the homeless and so by coincidence I ended up working at CSM. Being hit with so many things alien to me, I have to reconsider many presuppositions and the like that I have. With a job with little sleep, working with a bunch of teens that are whiny at time, having the stress of dealing with leaders and still trying to keep up friendships with the staff, I was forced to consider: is my job really worth it? For one who is used to going out all gung ho for straight preaching evangelism and seeing souls saved (and getting really excited about it!!), is going out there and doing petty work like framing ministry sites and folding beds and talking about random issues with homeless people really worth it? For three reasons I can answer the question with a yes and another YES. First, this summer has been an eye opener and a learning experience for me and it did challenge me to think differently about the gospel. Second, we've had youths who came to CSM and it completely changed their lives. In one account, a student told his group that he did not want to be a Christian before the trip because he liked the party and drugs lifestyle. He decided to go home and get baptized. On another occasion a girl who was just entering college for Biology major decided instead to go into full time ministry. Finally, this summer I anchor at a soup kitchen called St. Felix Center. Here I make lunch for the homeless and have a chance to build some relationships. Here is where I met Lana, a very nice, sweet Vietnamese lady. One day she told me this: "Thank you so much Lindsay for being so kind. It is because of people like you that life is worth living." Yes, my job is worth all the trouble. It is for moments like these that my job is completely worth it. It is seeing the gospel unfold in front of my eyes and seeing Jesus being glorified that makes my job completely, absolutely worth it.
-Lindsay Tsang, Toronto CSM City Host Summer 2006