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the<br />

COLLEGIAN<br />

WINTER <strong>2019</strong><br />

EDUCATING SURGEONS<br />

in Tanzania<br />

DR. WENDY WILLMORE<br />

The <strong>Collegian</strong> - <strong>Winter</strong> <strong>2019</strong> page 1


The <strong>Collegian</strong> is published twice each<br />

year for alumni, family, and friends of<br />

Niagara Christian Collegiate.<br />

NCC BOARD OF DIRECTORS<br />

Doug Sider Jr., Chair<br />

Don McNiven, Vice Chair<br />

Vivian Pengelly<br />

Ron Rienas<br />

Filomena Savoia<br />

Bill Daley<br />

President and CEO: Scott Herron<br />

Principal: Chris Baird<br />

COO: Lynn Schmidt<br />

Marketing & Communications<br />

Sue Grierson<br />

Contributing Writers and Editors<br />

Alex Beck<br />

Sue Grierson<br />

Rebekah Mason<br />

Gabi S.<br />

Kristi Robins<br />

Photographers<br />

Daniel Cattori<br />

Sue Grierson<br />

Rachel Meissner<br />

Niagara Christian Collegiate<br />

2619 Niagara Parkway<br />

Fort Erie, ON L2A 5M4<br />

Phone: 905.871.6980<br />

Fax: 905.871.9260<br />

Email: LoveNCC@niagaracc.com<br />

Website: www.niagaracc.com<br />

The Mission of NCC<br />

In an international community of schools,<br />

to educate students with excellence in a<br />

family-like environment, equipping them<br />

to grow God's Kingdom, and empowering<br />

them to make a difference in the world.<br />

Welcome to the <strong>Winter</strong> Edition of the NCC <strong>Collegian</strong>! Realizing that<br />

the readers of our <strong>Collegian</strong> span the globe, let me update those of<br />

you who are not from the Niagara region on our local winter situation:<br />

lots of snow and ice! In fact, in the last month or so, we’ve had several<br />

snow/ice days where school has been cancelled due to dangerous<br />

weather conditions. In all of my years as a student at NCC, I can only<br />

remember a couple of school cancellations due to weather. So, what<br />

gives? The weather, like much of life, seems to “just happen” and<br />

exists totally out of our control. Yet, we are told in Job 37:6 that God<br />

says to the snow, “Fall to the earth.” God’s hand is present in every<br />

area of our lives, whether we realize it or not (pun intended!). We can<br />

trust our God to be good, and to lead and provide in seasons of snow,<br />

as well as on warm, sunny days. And, despite the recent snow days,<br />

the NCC campus has been busier than ever, as you will read about in<br />

this issue.<br />

During this brutal winter in particular, the Sock Mission has played an<br />

important part in NCC’s mission. I believe you will enjoy not only reading<br />

about how NCC students and staff reach out to the homeless in<br />

Toronto, but also how this mission affects the lives of our students. It is<br />

exciting to see the love and compassion of Christ being passed down<br />

from NCC staff to our students.<br />

Our feature article highlighting NCC graduate Dr. Wendy Willmore<br />

may remind you, as it did me, to not overlook the calling of Christ on<br />

a young child’s life. What we do to help shape the intellect, character,<br />

and spiritual journey of our students cannot be missed, as this is the<br />

very heart of our work at NCC. How God is using Dr. Willmore for the<br />

Kingdom is inspiring, and it was such an honour to visit her hospital<br />

personally in Tanzania recently.<br />

God has blessed us at NCC with generations of faithful alumni serving<br />

all around the world. May we be encouraged by these stories and<br />

respond with renewed passion for ministry!<br />

Scott Herron<br />

President and CEO<br />

The <strong>Collegian</strong> - <strong>Winter</strong> <strong>2019</strong> page 2


NIAGARA CHRISTIAN COLLEGIATE<br />

GRADUATE REPORT 2018<br />

EXCEPTIONAL 2018 GRADUATES<br />

CHERYL LAI<br />

This studious young woman has proven to<br />

be a leading scholastic achiever. In addition<br />

to having received Niagara Christian<br />

Collegiate’s two highest academic honours,<br />

namely the Proficiency Award and<br />

the Governor General’s Medal, Cheryl has<br />

also been awarded the Ron Craven Memorial<br />

Scholarship for a student pursuing<br />

studies in the sciences, and who supports<br />

the ideals of Niagara Christian Collegiate.<br />

Cheryl has accepted an offer to study Life<br />

Sciences at the University of Toronto.<br />

REBEKAH MASON<br />

In addition to being this year’s Valedictorian,<br />

Duodecimus recipient, and Christian<br />

Leadership Award recipient, Rebekah has<br />

been given awards and scholarships for<br />

her pursuit of health sciences, music studies,<br />

leadership, community service, and<br />

school spirit. Rebekah received acceptances<br />

at Brock University for Biological<br />

Sciences, Waterloo University for Life Sciences<br />

Co-op, and Guelph University for<br />

Bachelor of Science. Rebekah decided to<br />

pursue a Bachelor of Science degree in<br />

Animal Biology at Guelph University.<br />

DABIRA AKINWUMI<br />

Our Salutatorian this year, Dabira has<br />

chosen to pursue Software Engineering<br />

Co-op at the University of Ottawa. Dabira<br />

is the third member of his family to graduate<br />

from NCC. He demonstrated leadership<br />

in NCC’s residence program and<br />

participated in a variety of sports. Dabira<br />

was also accepted at Waterloo University<br />

for Geomatics and at Wilfred Laurier<br />

University for Business Administration.<br />

In the field of Computer Science, Dabira<br />

received acceptances from the universities<br />

of Toronto, Wilfred Laurier, Queens,<br />

Carleton, and Ryerson.<br />

HONG KONG<br />

CANADA<br />

NIGERIA<br />

The <strong>Collegian</strong> - <strong>Winter</strong> <strong>2019</strong> page 3


SUMMER+CAMP=FUN<br />

Gabi attended NCC’s Safari Summer Camp in 2018.<br />

This aspiring young writer was really excited to share<br />

about her camp experience in the <strong>Collegian</strong>.<br />

Gabi hopes to attend NCC's middle school in September.<br />

How was summer camp?" they<br />

ask me. If I’m being completely<br />

honest, it was amazing! I always<br />

love going to camp but going to this<br />

camp was a whole new experience. I<br />

believe this was one of my best camp<br />

experiences. I got to meet people from<br />

all over the world!<br />

I really enjoyed the fact that we kept a<br />

busy schedule. Each day we also had a<br />

few hours to ourselves, we could go play<br />

basketball in the gym, or hang out in the<br />

lounge. Once a week we would watch a<br />

movie and one night we had a lip sync<br />

battle.<br />

One of my favourite parts of camp was<br />

the weekend we went to Toronto. In Toronto,<br />

we had many activitites. For example,<br />

we went to the Hockey Hall of<br />

Fame, Medieval Times, the Eaton Centre<br />

Mall, Ripley’s Aquarium, and Canada’s<br />

Wonderland.<br />

We went out almost every day to go<br />

somewhere in Niagara Falls, like Clifton<br />

Hill for example.<br />

Back on campus we’d eat three full<br />

meals per day. For breakfast we’d have<br />

the choice to eat toast, bagels, waffles,<br />

soup, omlettes, cereal, and eggs. Every<br />

Wednesday for lunch we’d have fried<br />

food. No matter what we ate, the food<br />

was amazing! The last night of camp we<br />

had ribs, spaghetti, potatoes, and garlic<br />

bread. The cooks always made sure you<br />

had no allergies, and if you did they’d<br />

make you something else just as good.<br />

In conclusion, I think you would really enjoy<br />

this camp. I’m sure whichever camp<br />

program you decide to go to, you will<br />

like it. It’s definitely worth the experience!<br />

Gabi, age 11<br />

GABI


Here are some photo highlights from our 2018<br />

Summer Camp programs.<br />

<strong>2019</strong> Summer Camp Registration is Open!<br />

To enroll in any of NCC's fun-filled summer camps,<br />

contact us at: enroll@niagaracc.com


ALUMNI<br />

UPDATE<br />

by Sue Grierson<br />

DR. WENDY WILLMORE<br />

“Captain, is all well?” they asked timidly, but he answered with a hollow moan.<br />

“He sighs,” said Smee.<br />

“He sighs again,” said Starkey.<br />

“And yet a third time he sighs,” said Smee.<br />

Then at last he spoke passionately.<br />

“The game’s up,” he cried, “those boys have found a mother.”<br />

Peter Pan, Barrie, J M. 1911.<br />

She calls herself the Wendy lady. That reference,<br />

of course, is to Wendy Darling, the adored protagonist<br />

in the classic story of Peter Pan. And<br />

much like her fictional counterpart, Dr. Wendy<br />

Willmore flew off to her own adventures in a<br />

Neverland of sorts six years ago to teach, care<br />

for, and mentor her own band of Lost Boys.<br />

The seed of that adventure sprouted years ago,<br />

far away from the place that this NCC alumnna<br />

now calls home. Wendy was barely able to cross<br />

the street by herself, and yet, with a toy stethoscope<br />

in hand and a doll in tow, she was already<br />

preparing for her life’s mission.<br />

It was one of those moments that fills parents<br />

with wonder at what the future might hold for<br />

their child. Some years ago, Martha and Ivan<br />

Willmore along with their children Wendy and<br />

Dave, attended a missions conference at their<br />

church in Chatham, Ontario.<br />

When the guest speaker asked who would be<br />

willing to say yes to Jesus should He ever want<br />

them to serve in the mission field, Martha was<br />

taken by surprise when six-year-old Wendy<br />

stood up to make her way to the front of the<br />

church in answer to that call.<br />

Martha tugged at Wendy’s sleeve, coaxing her<br />

“Henceforth Wendy knew that she must grow<br />

up. You always know after you are two.<br />

Two is the beginning of the end.”<br />

back. She naturally assumed that her daughter’s<br />

eager response was an innocent gesture<br />

which lacked the understanding and wisdom<br />

that maturity would dispense in due time. Wendy's<br />

insistence prevailed.<br />

“Mrs. Darling did not know what to think, for it<br />

all seemed so natural to Wendy that you could<br />

not dismiss it by saying she had been dreaming.”<br />

Another such moment came from watching a<br />

film which centred around the medical missionary<br />

work of Hudson Taylor. Wendy remembers<br />

responding to God’s calling to do something<br />

similar. At just eight years old, she knew she was<br />

to become a doctor. The stage was set.<br />

Finding the right Christian school for their children<br />

was imperative to the Willmores - so much<br />

so that they pulled up roots in their hometown<br />

of Chatham. Their search through a number<br />

of Ontario’s private schools eventually landed<br />

them at Niagara Christian Collegiate. The<br />

school community embraced the family, offering<br />

them temporary accommodations on<br />

The <strong>Collegian</strong> - <strong>Winter</strong> <strong>2019</strong> page 6


campus while they looked for a home in Fort<br />

Erie. Ivan started a construction business and<br />

Martha found work in the administration department<br />

at Erie Christian Academy (ECA),<br />

located on NCC’s campus. (A few years later,<br />

ECA was annexed to become NCC’s middle<br />

school). In 1988, Wendy began her studies in<br />

Carmela Morabito’s grade 7 class. Her brother<br />

Dave followed in 1991.<br />

Wendy shared some memories of her days as a<br />

student at Niagara Christian Collegiate:<br />

"Socially, one of the best parts of being in a<br />

school of NCC’s size is the number of opportunities<br />

available. You don’t have to be a musical,<br />

dramatic, or athletic genius to participate<br />

in all those extra-curricular activities (which I<br />

did). Those things...teach teamwork and commitment<br />

which bring their own reward. Also,<br />

NCC’s multicultural student community was<br />

my first, very important practice ground for<br />

making cross-cultural relationships.<br />

"Certainly NCC was a place where spiritual<br />

growth was greatly encouraged. You could<br />

avoid it if you wanted to, but there were so<br />

many ways in which those who wanted to<br />

follow Christ were encouraged in their walk<br />

of faith. Certainly regular chapel services<br />

and mission trips were helpful, as well as student-run<br />

prayer groups (I saw several of my<br />

first small miracles because of these). Also, being<br />

a member of the River Brethren was one of<br />

best practices for service to God’s church that<br />

I can think of: teaching commitment, team<br />

building, and gaining the confidence to stand<br />

up and be counted as a servant of God. But<br />

possibly the best spiritual encouragement was<br />

from the faculty, who genuinely loved their students<br />

and most of whom really wished to be<br />

able to say 'follow me as I follow Christ'."<br />

Wendy was a natural scholar. She gave the<br />

valedictorian address at her grade eight commencement.<br />

In 1993, she graduated from secondary<br />

school at NCC, again the valedictorian.<br />

Wendy received that year’s Duodecimus<br />

award. She was also granted the Governor<br />

General’s Medal, and received awards in science<br />

and English. She completed her OAC<br />

studies at NCC the following year.<br />

"Academically, there is no doubt that the<br />

education I received from NCC was a solid<br />

building block in the foundation of life. I distinctly<br />

remember being bored in my first year<br />

of university, as the vast majority of what we<br />

were covering was not new to me. Best of all,<br />

all of the faculty loved their subjects and loved<br />

teaching, and that is a great gift to any learner."<br />

After seven years, Wendy said goodbye to<br />

NCC. In 1998 she completed a Bachelor of<br />

Science degree at Redeemer University which<br />

included an Honours major in Biology, with<br />

minors in Chemistry and Mission Studies. She<br />

earned her medical degree at Queen’s University<br />

in 2002.<br />

Wendy completed her residency in General<br />

Surgery at the Memorial University of Newfoundland.<br />

"At that time, the surgical residency program<br />

at Memorial was the only one in Canada that<br />

retained the old rotating internship program<br />

during the first year, making it a six year program.<br />

I guessed that there would be times on<br />

the field when I would have suboptimal backup<br />

from other specialists, and needed to know<br />

how to be a really good general doctor first.<br />

I also knew that I would need a really broad<br />

surgical training for work in Africa, and the<br />

lack of many subspecialist training programs<br />

at Memorial made that more likely. I was right<br />

on both counts."<br />

Following her residency training in 2008, Dr.<br />

Wendy Willmore set up a practice in Grand<br />

Falls-Windsor, Newfoundland, as a General<br />

Surgeon.<br />

“Wendy, do come with me and tell the other boys."<br />

“Oh dear, I can’t. Think of mummy! Besides, I can’t fly.”<br />

“I’ll teach you.”<br />

“Oh, how lovely to fly.”<br />

“I’ll teach you how to jump on the wind’s back,<br />

and then away we go.”<br />

Wendy eventually knew that the time had<br />

come for her missions work to begin. She<br />

closed her practice in December, 2012, said<br />

goodbye to her much-loved community in<br />

Newfoundland, and flew to Africa the following<br />

month.<br />

After her “Missionary Surgery Trek” through<br />

several hospitals throughout Africa, Wendy<br />

accepted a position to serve as a full-time missionary<br />

surgeon at Arusha Luthern Medical<br />

Center (ALMC), in Arusha, Tanzania. Wendy<br />

is also the Director of ALMC's Intensive Care<br />

Unit. (cont'd on pg. 8)<br />

The Wendy lady dubbed this photo of herself and her residence students: "ME AND MY BOYS"<br />

L-R: Dr. Julius Paul (3rd year res), Dr. Mugisha Nkoronko (4th), Dr. Goodwill Kivuyo (2nd), Dr. Erick Mulla (1st), Dr. Wendy Willmore,<br />

Dr. Daniel Yoseph (2nd), Dr. Emmanuel Lema (5th), Dr. Fred Minja (3rd), Dr. Elirehema Kimaro (1st).<br />

Missing: Dr. Yamikani Limbe (4th) and Dr. Benson Lyimo (4th) away on elective rotations.<br />

The <strong>Collegian</strong> - <strong>Winter</strong> <strong>2019</strong> page 7


(cont'd from pg. 8)<br />

An additional position she holds, however, is<br />

central to Wendy's mission.<br />

"Being a surgical educator to young Tanzanian<br />

physicians was one of the primary reasons<br />

for me to go and to remain at Arusha."<br />

ALMC had been in the process of collaborating<br />

with the Pan-African Academy of Christian<br />

Surgeons (PAACS) to set up a surgical residency<br />

program. Directed by board certified<br />

surgeons, its mission reflects a gospel-centred<br />

passion: “PAACS exists to train and disciple African<br />

surgeons to glorify God and to provide<br />

excellent, compassionate care to those most in<br />

need.” (Paacs.net, <strong>2019</strong>)<br />

"Starting a surgical residency program in a<br />

mission hospital usually takes about seven<br />

years from first vision to first admission of new<br />

residents. My arrival at ALMC by divine accident<br />

in 2013 was a late (but crucial) addition<br />

to this process," Dr. Willmore shared.<br />

Wendy serves as Co-Director, faculty member,<br />

and surgical educator of the Arusha PAACS<br />

Residency Program. In 2018, Wendy had 10<br />

students under her wing, all in various stages<br />

of their surgical training. Three more residence<br />

students will be added to the roster in<br />

<strong>2019</strong>. Their residency spans five years of surgical<br />

training which includes a Christ-centred<br />

discipleship curriculum.<br />

“Residents and their teachers work together,<br />

eat together, study together, pray together,<br />

and play together. Together they laugh and cry,<br />

work through conflict, celebrate victories, learn<br />

from failures, and respond to challenges. This<br />

is an ideal context for Christian discipleship! It<br />

is exactly how Jesus trained the Twelve. As the<br />

disciples lived with the Master, they were constantly<br />

learning…” (Paacs.net, <strong>2019</strong>)<br />

January 13, <strong>2019</strong>, was an historic day for the<br />

Arusha PAACS faculty and their residence students.<br />

Dr. Wendy Willmore and Arusha PAA-<br />

CS Co-Director Dr. Frank Madinda proudly<br />

bestowed the academic hood upon their very<br />

first graduate, Dr. Emmanuel Lema. It certainly<br />

was a great accomplishment for the entire<br />

team. Dr. Lema will continue to work at<br />

ALMC as a general surgeon.<br />

Dr. Wendy Willmore and her colleagues strive<br />

to deliver compassionate care to those most in<br />

need. They have many amazing stories: testimonials<br />

of healing, the gospel message impacting<br />

the lives of their patients, and stories<br />

of the students' experiences, to name just a<br />

few. There are simply not enough pages in the<br />

<strong>Collegian</strong> to tell them all.<br />

“There were...many adventures which she knew<br />

to be true because she was in them herself…<br />

To describe them all would require a book as<br />

large as an English-Latin,<br />

Latin-English Dictionary,<br />

...the most we can do is to give one as a<br />

specimen of an average hour on the island.”<br />

After discovering all that the Wendy lady does<br />

on the medical mission field, you can’t help<br />

but laugh when reading Dr. Wendy’s “Prayer<br />

Points <strong>2019</strong>” in her December 2018 newsletter.<br />

Number 5 on her list: "Figuring out what to<br />

say no to.”<br />

(Oh, yes…she also leads<br />

worship at her church,<br />

preaches occasionally,<br />

and is learning to speak<br />

Swahili).<br />

Wendy will be on furlough<br />

from April through to August<br />

this year - her longest<br />

in the six years since she's been<br />

in Tanzania. She'll be resting, enjoying time<br />

with family and friends, visiting donors, and<br />

doing speaking engagements during her time<br />

in Canada and the U.S.<br />

Dr. Wendy sincerely appreciates your prayerful<br />

consideration and support in partnering with<br />

her in the work that God is doing through her<br />

in Tanzania. To find out how you can donate,<br />

volunteer, or to pray, visit Dr. Wendy’s website:<br />

https://www.drwillmoremissionary.com<br />

“O Wendy lady, be our mother.”<br />

“Ought I?” Wendy said, all shining.<br />

“Of course it's frightfully fascinating, but you see<br />

I am only a little girl. I have no real experience.”<br />

“That doesn't matter,” said Peter, as if he were<br />

the only person present who knew all about it,<br />

though he was really the one who knew least.<br />

“What we need is just a nice motherly person.”<br />

“Oh dear!” Wendy said, “you see, I feel that is<br />

exactly what I am.”<br />

“It is, it is,” they all cried; “we saw it at once.”<br />

“Very well,” she said, “I will do my best.<br />

Founded in 1996, PAACS goal was to train and<br />

disciple 100 African surgeons by 2020. This<br />

dream is steadily becoming a reality. To learn<br />

more about the amazing vision behind the<br />

PAACS surgical residency program, visit their<br />

website: https://www.paacs.net<br />

Dr. Lema receives a graduation gift from Wendy<br />

Dr. Wendy Willmore with Dr. Emmanuel Lema<br />

on his graduation day<br />

L-R: NCC Athletics Director James Kryger, Dr. Emmanuel<br />

Lema, ALMC Hospital Director Dr. Paul Kisanga,<br />

NCC President Scott Herron<br />

"I think that I learned my love of teaching and educating the next generation<br />

from Christian faculty like those at NCC"<br />

Dr. Wendy Willmore


INSPIRING<br />

the next generation<br />

I first met Wendy when I was around<br />

12 or 13 years old, right when she was<br />

getting ready to leave for Tanzania the<br />

first time.<br />

I didn’t know much about her except<br />

that she was somehow using her career<br />

as a surgeon for missions work, fulfilling<br />

a dream and calling that God had placed<br />

on her heart as a child — I thought that<br />

was the coolest thing ever.<br />

At that point in my life I had wanted to<br />

be a veterinarian for as long as I could<br />

remember, and when I heard about<br />

Wendy it was just after God had started<br />

prodding my heart towards missionary<br />

work, which I had never really thought<br />

about before. It was when I met Wendy<br />

that it clicked — I could do both; serve<br />

God on the mission field and be a veterinarian,<br />

fulfilling both calls I’d felt Him<br />

place on my heart.<br />

As I got to know Wendy and learn<br />

more about her work I was only further<br />

inspired!<br />

Right now I am at the University of<br />

Guelph, studying Animal Biology in the<br />

hopes of applying to Ontario Veterinary<br />

College. After that the plan is to see<br />

where He leads me, with the possibility<br />

that it might be to the mission field — to<br />

be Christ to the owners of animals in<br />

third world countries through veterinary<br />

work.<br />

I don’t think it was one of Wendy’s main<br />

goals to inspire others with the work God<br />

is doing through her, but she definitely<br />

does. She’s inspired me to follow God’s<br />

plan for my life, even if it might be leading<br />

me in a direction that seems uncommon<br />

in veterinary medicine.<br />

Dr. Wendy, thank you for being an inspiration<br />

in how you live your life and let<br />

God work through you.<br />

Rebekah Mason<br />

Class of 2018<br />

SATURDAY, MAY 11, <strong>2019</strong><br />

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proceeds go to Athletics NICARAGUA MISSIONS trip in 2020


SOCKS<br />

on a mission<br />

During one of our weekly chapel gatherings, Girls' Residence Director Kristi Robins shared about the annual<br />

Sock Mission, an initiative spearheaded by fellow NCC staff member Gina Bayley. The Sock Mission is gaining<br />

momentum with a growing number of NCC student volunteers.<br />

Take a minute and think about your<br />

socks. I’m guessing they’re probably cozy,<br />

they’re probably dry, and they keep your<br />

feet feeling pretty good. The next time<br />

your toe pokes a hole through one of<br />

them, you won’t think twice about tossing<br />

it, and the next time the dryer devours<br />

one, you’ll probably ditch its mate.<br />

Socks are cheap, disposable, and easily<br />

replaced - unless you live on the street.<br />

For homeless people, those little pieces<br />

of clothing are mittens of comfort, hard<br />

to come by, easily ruined, and never ever<br />

taken for granted.<br />

According to a 2013 census, there are<br />

over 5,200 homeless people living on<br />

the streets of Toronto; and over 20% of<br />

the medical problems they experience<br />

are related to the health of their feet.<br />

Since walking is their primary form<br />

of transportation, good foot health<br />

is imperative to access food, shelter,<br />

medical care, and other community<br />

services.<br />

2018 marks my third year being a part<br />

of the Sock Mission, either by helping to<br />

coordinate student volunteers, donating<br />

and helping to pack the socks, but this<br />

year was the first year that I was able<br />

to travel to Toronto with Gina and our<br />

students to bless as many people as we<br />

could find.<br />

Leading up to the trip, I wasn’t too<br />

sure what to expect. My thoughts were<br />

endless. What I did know is that whatever<br />

the day brought, I was there to serve, and<br />

to bring as much love, light, and smiles<br />

that I could, to whoever needed them the<br />

most.<br />

We brought close to 750 bags full of<br />

socks and some candy, and by the grace<br />

of God, with even more donations, we<br />

were also able to bring 450 bagged<br />

lunches, hundreds of cookies, and all the<br />

hot chocolate their bellies could handle.<br />

As we all know, Jesus first came to us in the<br />

form of a helpless infant in a dirty cattle<br />

stall; the most unlikely circumstances for<br />

the Saviour of the World. God has made<br />

each of us in His own image and He shines<br />

in the eyes of each and every person.<br />

God made these beautiful, wonderful<br />

people the way He intended, and they all<br />

have a seat at the table no matter what<br />

they wear, where they sleep, or how they<br />

live their lives. There may not have been<br />

room at the inn in Bethlehem, but there is<br />

always room at the Lord's table. I believe<br />

that I met the eyes of Jesus, in every<br />

person that I encountered on the streets<br />

of Toronto that day, which filled my heart<br />

with even more joy and compassion.<br />

Let's make an effort to love unconditionally<br />

and with shameless abandon. Let down<br />

the walls society has taught us to build<br />

around our hearts and welcome strangers<br />

with love and compassion, so that they<br />

are never strangers for long. Let us use<br />

our intellect, these beautiful minds God<br />

has blessed us with, to learn and to grow<br />

and to understand one another more<br />

fully, and in doing so come to realize<br />

the fullness of God's Creation. Listen<br />

carefully, as He speaks through all of us.<br />

Our next Sock Mission may be many<br />

months away, but I challenge each one<br />

of you to purchase a package of socks<br />

between now and then, and as the City<br />

at the top of the hill, let’s shine our lights<br />

and help to bless even more people for<br />

our <strong>2019</strong> Sock Mission.<br />

Thank you Gina for your big heart, and for<br />

showing us how to truly be the hands and<br />

feet of our Lord Jesus.<br />

Miss Kristi Robins<br />

Girls' Residence Director<br />

The <strong>Collegian</strong> - <strong>Winter</strong> <strong>2019</strong> page 10


a lasting IMPACT<br />

On Saturday, December 9th, 2017, I<br />

took part in something that had left<br />

a lasting impact on me. I took part in<br />

a Sock Mission.<br />

People may say that I am born into<br />

privilege. I was born into a middle<br />

class family, with two amazing parents<br />

who have good jobs and love<br />

me so much. I have a roof over my<br />

head, food on the table, clothes on<br />

my back, and was given the opportunity<br />

to go to an amazing school<br />

where I can flourish in my academic<br />

studies.<br />

When I went on this Sock Mission<br />

on the streets of Toronto, I was<br />

dumbfounded to find out that having<br />

food, clothes and shelter aren’t<br />

human rights, they are privileges.<br />

I had always believed that human<br />

rights enclosed things such as shelter,<br />

food and clothes. The people<br />

that I saw were everyday day people,<br />

with the exception of those who<br />

are mentally ill, who never had the<br />

opportunity to crawl out of the dark<br />

hole that they were born into.<br />

I will never forget the looks on these<br />

people's faces when my friends and<br />

I handed them something as simple<br />

as a bag of socks and candy. It was<br />

as if we had given them a blessing<br />

or a gift - something that they<br />

don't receive very often. In our society<br />

today we have a mentality that<br />

says give me more and more. We<br />

are so excessive that we fail to see<br />

the problems that surround us. One<br />

thing that was so amazing to me was<br />

that on one side of the street you<br />

had people who were homeless and<br />

hungry, and on the other you had a<br />

massive and extravagant hotel.<br />

I believe the best way to spread<br />

God’s word is to do it through action.<br />

God is love. On that day during<br />

the Sock Mission, my internal goal<br />

was to reflect God’s love outwardly<br />

towards people who I felt needed it<br />

most.<br />

One man in particular touched my<br />

heart and I couldn't help but start<br />

to tear up. Carlos, a man who wanted<br />

to make a better life for himself,<br />

asked us to pray with and for him.<br />

Seeing the faith he had in a time of<br />

adversity, a faith which most of us<br />

lose sight of especially when enduring<br />

hardships, was inspirational to<br />

me.<br />

The most important thing that I<br />

learned was that all of us have to<br />

remember to have faith in times of<br />

both adversity and prosperity and<br />

to be grateful for all we have, because<br />

one day we might wake up<br />

and all our material things be gone,<br />

but the love and faith inside of us<br />

can never die.<br />

Fast forward a year, to my second<br />

time participating in Gina’s Sock<br />

Mission. This year, my role was different,<br />

but meaningful nonetheless.<br />

I handed each person we saw a hot<br />

chocolate, especially popular on the<br />

cold December day.<br />

Seeing new people, and some of<br />

the same people from last year,<br />

filled me with joy. I was overcome<br />

by a sense of appreciation, notably<br />

because I felt that through a simple<br />

gesture of kindness, I was brightening<br />

someone’s day.<br />

My second experience with the<br />

Sock Mission was just as amazing as<br />

the first. I was surrounded by people<br />

with the goal of making others<br />

happy, and the joy we had for our<br />

mission was reciprocated by those<br />

we encountered. I encourage everybody<br />

to remind themselves that the<br />

positive outlook and joy we have in<br />

our lives is what matters.<br />

Helping others, loving others, and<br />

be kind to others - God is, shouldn't<br />

we?<br />

Alex Beck<br />

Grade 12 student<br />

The <strong>Collegian</strong> - <strong>Winter</strong> <strong>2019</strong> page 11


Alumni<br />

Spring Banquet<br />

SATURDAY, APRIL 27, <strong>2019</strong><br />

Join us at Riverside Community Church located right here on the NCC campus.<br />

Celebrate class reunions with friends, enjoy special presentations highlighting<br />

NCC’s talented students, and enter the draw for a chance to win some fabulous prizes!<br />

2:00 pm *AGM<br />

2:30 pm Punch Bowl<br />

3:00 pm Celebration of the Arts<br />

4:00 pm Dinner<br />

RESERVE A TABLE<br />

for you and your classmates!<br />

RSVP EMAIL:<br />

LoveNCC@niagaracc.com<br />

* AGM MAIN TOPICS<br />

2017/18 Financial Overview<br />

Selection of Auditor for 2018/19 Fiscal Year<br />

Board Member Affirmation<br />

Change In Membership<br />

Campus Development

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