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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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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