Quiet Day

Today began with Ken Hall's class, where we looked at the important role of the Holy Spirit. There was much discussion during the first part of the morning but after that, we began looking up scriptures that talked about the Holy Spirit's personhood. I think it is safe to say that after class was over, we all understood the importance of recognizing and knowing the Holy Spirit as apart of the Trinity. Without knowledge of him, we cannot fully know God. After class we headed down to Question Period, which was fairly quiet today. I did manage however to find the youngest guy (a Conservative) and decided that I am going to marry him. (for those of you who don't know me, I like to joke around) I waited for Him to look up and then I waved. I was so embarrassed I turned beet red, I don't think he saw me though. During the discussion period, the opposition brought up a lot of concerns about governmental funding, because the budget has not yet been released, the Conservatives were able to pass off a lot of questions. (I believe the budget is being released Mar. 19) All in all, the accusations given by the Liberals were weak and the answers from the Conservatives, equally weak. (In my opinion both held no substance.) I am sure however, that after the last 2 weeks the House of Commons needed a quiet afternoon. Just so that everyone knows, Parliament takes 2 weeks of holidays and I believe it begins next week (I will double check) I will continue to write in my blog there just wont be any political content. Well I have a homework night tonight, so I am off to read. Take care everyone, and talk to you tomorrow.
Erica

Voting Day

Once again the morning started off with Richard's class- Biblical Introduction. We mostly went over our assignment regarding Hermeneutics and Exegesis. We also looked at passages of scripture that are often taught wrong, because they were not understood properly in our day and age. Most of these scriptures applied to the people of then. After class the other interns headed off to work for their MP's while I went to Question Period. (I start working for mine next Tuesday.) Compared to the last couple of days, the House of Commons was pretty quiet. The only difference was that the government had invited some of the 911 victims to help get thier point across as to why the Anti-terrorist Act should remain. Stephan Dion once again did not show up, and it was rumored that it was because he couldn't face the victim's families. A few hours after this the House of Commons voted on the Act and it was denied, a 134 to 159. It doesn't make sense as to why so many were against, but it was a disappointing day for the Conservatives. After supper we had Rob's class. Tonight we learnt how to have authority in intercession. If I could summarize it in one point, Rob was basically saying that when we are abiding in Christ and pursuing our call, we are given authority for that area. He also stated that we should be very aware of our boundaries in prayer and not over step them by say, taking on something we do not have authority to, this is a very dangerous place to be as an intercessor. Well I am off, but I will talk to you all tomorrow. Have a great night.
Erica

And the Award goes to:

Well Today was pretty easy going. This morning we did some house chores and then I took a YWAM team for a tour of the Nation House of Prayer. That was a really neat experience and I was able to meet people from Switzerland, Holland, and Norway. So after lunch we headed off to Question Period. Once again the issues brought up were, the anti-terrorist law and the Prime Minister's lack of judgement on the article he brought forward on Wednesday. The main event however was a response the Conservatives gave to the Liberal leader Stephan Dion. I am not sure how many of you are aware, but Stephan Dion was on the committee that helped bring in the strict anti-terrorist law after the Air-India bombing took place. Previously, all Liberal members were in support of this law until a few months ago when Stephan Dion changed his position. (what they refer to as the "flip-flop") Although many of his party did not agree with his opinion, he threatened that if they did not support him, he would refuse to sign there nomination papers. As a result, the Conservatives, who are very aware of the weakness and disunity within the Liberal Party, attack it and its leader regularly. Over the past few weeks the Liberals continue to ask the government why it is doing nothing on terrorism, but then refuse to cooperate with the Conservatives on re-opening the Air-India case. So today one of the Conservative members stood up and gave this speech. "All across Canada, people were watching the Academy Awards last night and although there were many awards handed out they missed one. That award was the biggest "flip-flop" award and... (then another member handed him a sealed envelope exactly like on the Academy Awards) the award goes to Stephan Dion." (paraphrased)Then all the Conservative members stood and gave him a standing ovation. Although we found it hard not to laugh, and although it did have some merit, it was handled so in appropriately. It was extremely childish and embarrassing to all the citizens sitting in the gallery watching. I turned around and one man looked at me and said, "they are like a bunch of school children!" Meanwhile as Stephan Dion tried to respond all the Conservatives started clapping and yelling "speech," with genuine smiles on there faces. Lucky for them Mr. Speaker only rebuked them for using a prop (envelope) and mentioning another candidates name. (Dion) Shortly after the meeting ended. Tonight we have Fireside and then hopefully bed early. Take care everyone and much blessings.
Erica

2 minutes of Fame

Happy Friday everyone! So this morning class was focused on learning the structure of Parliament. I wish I could explain the whole procedure for everyone, but it would probably take 2 hours. Needless to say, we discussed many of the issues (Air India bombing, and police officers being involved in electing judges)and tried to look at the different strategies each party was attempting. For example, one of the reasons, we believe, that the Liberals are against the anti-terrorist act, is not that it is a bad idea but that it will help their party look better. This is why we are praying for unity, because all parties are working against each other. On Wednesday we saw the Prime Minister try to attack the Liberal member using a newspaper article, a pretty low blow considering the question had nothing to do with the article. Unfortunately we are seeing this everywhere in the House of Commons. As the church of Canada we really need to be praying into unity, honor, and righteousness for our government. So after lunch we went to the East Block Chapel to pray into the exact things I mentioned above. One little side note, today we had 100 Huntley Street come in and all of us interns were interviewed. I was so nervous, they followed us around most of the day and asked pretty tough questions. The really unfortunate part, was that our interviews were done outside in the windy -26 weather. As you can imagine most of my interview was done with a red nose and hair in my face. The reason they have come to Ottawa is to do a series on prayer that they will be airing the week before Easter, so I encourage you all to watch the NHOP interns 2 minutes of fame!!! Tonight is a celebration dinner for the Israel Canada tour that came through. Everyone is sharing stories of what God did and how it touched the Israel delegates. By the sounds of things, the Israelis really left with a sense of how much Canadians love them and want to stand by them, there have even been phone calls of how much they miss us. It was set up through Watchmen and the government was invited and it sounds like God really showed up. Well I am going to relax this weekend after an insane week and hopefully catch up on my homework. I will talk to you all Monday. Goodnight!
Erica

Amazing Night

So today started with Richard's class called Spiritual Direction. Most of the morning was talking through Richard Foster's book, Spiritual Disciplines. I would like to get a copy of the notes because they are a very good summary of what the book is about. If some of you are interested I will see if I can email them to you, just let me know, ricky_rayth_@hotmail.com. After class we made sandwiches for the mission here then came upstairs to watch Question Period. Once again it was a vain attempt at trying to get the Prime Minister to apologize for his comments on Wednesday. Along with this topic they brought up the Conservatives plan to bring police officers into the process of voting on the judges for the Supreme Court. In my opinion the Conservatives have a stronger argument but the Liberals are working very hard to keep police officers off the committee. The reason the judges have become involved, is because up to this point the courts have been very exclusive and made up largly of lawyers and judges. Well tonight we led worship, as most of you know, and it went so well. God really touched and the worship was very sweet. As the 100 people came through they had an opportunity to pray for our military, our government and unity, and Mr. Harper. As we were praying Rob asked if anyone was from Quebec, one lady stood up, then he asked her if we could pray with her, as a representation of our desire to see unity across Canada. So while this was all happening I pulled Rob aside and said that I felt God was telling me we should all hold hands and each province be represented. Rob agreed and asked me to tell the group. Unfortunately all I could say before I burst into tears was, "Hi, I am from Saskatchewan and I would like to hold hands with Quebec." Rob had to finish the rest, so we all circled up and had an amazing prayer for unity, there were even Americans joining hands with us. It was incredible. We also had the chance to pray for the First People's of Canada, lucky for us there were four different groups of people represented, so we all circled around them and began to pray. We prayed for unity, and healing for their people, we prayed for a repentance in the white man, and a forgiveness in the First Peoples. We also thanked them that although it was us who hurt them, they were taking the first steps and forgiving us. This also was an incredible time. So tomorrow should be equally cool. We have 100 Huntley Street coming in to do some interviews, then in the evening we have a celebration with David Dameon and those who helped out with the Israel Tour that just came through. So pray for an amazing Friday. Goodnight everyone.
Erica

House of Commons Erupts

So this morning we had Ken Hall's class where we learnt about the trinity and how the Bible supports the idea of the trinity, because the word is never actually used in the Bible. In order to understand this fully we had to go back to the original Hebrew language and discover that often the word one (echad) has a singular meaning as well as a compound meaning. So that was really neat. After class we headed down to Question and Answer period...and boy were the topics hot. I don't think I have seen so many standing ovations, or dishonoring statements yet. Let me try to explain what happened. The House of Commons was debating the topic of reopening the Air India bombing case even though the Supreme Courts have ruled otherwise. The Conservatives are in favor but the Liberals are opposed to the idea and their reasoning is the fact that the government should not be allowed to overrule the Supreme Court. Anyways, as Mr. Harper was responding to one of the questions he tried to bring up a slandering article written in the Vancouver Sun about one of the Liberal members comment towards Air India. Before he could even finish all the Liberals erupted yelling at the Prime Minister, banging on the tables, booing, and then chanting in unison SHAME, SHAME. Needless to say it was very disturbing and the rest of the afternoon was accusations and attempts to get the Prime Minister to apologize. One member called even called him deceitful, even though the Mr. Harper never got to read or say anything about the article. It was a very dishonoring, childlike time and I am embarrassed as a Canadian citizen, at the lack of cooperation the House of Commons shows, even when it is in everyone's best interest. So after a troubling afternoon we came back to the house for worship practice because we have a group of 90 people coming in tomorrow. I am really insecure to play because I have my first solo! An interesting point that my roommate said though, is that often our insecurities stem from pride, it really hit me so my goal is to get my heart in the right place before tomorrow. Well I have a tonne of homework to do so I will talk to you all tomorrow. Have a goodnight.
Erica

Classes, classes, classes

Well this morning I had class (how to read the bible for all it's worth) and we learnt the importance of understanding how translation works. We had to look at different translations and how inaccurate they were as well as compare them to other translations. For example we compared NIV to KJV and looked at a verse that has a complete different message than the other version. We also learnt how to read and write the epistles. But my favorite part was this little blurb that I am actually going to write out for you all to read.

Guidelines for Problem Passages
1. They were not written to us, and we may need to content ourselves with our lack of knowledge or not ever understanding the intended meaning.
2. Ask, "What can be said for certain about the text and what is uncertain?"
3. Always look for the main point of the passage even if you can't always be certain about the details.
4. Consult a good commentary that gives various options to consider.

So that was the morning lesson and then in the afternoon we headed off to the library. Usually on Tuesday afternoons we will be volunteering in our MP's offices. (so I will be with Lynn Yelich or James Lunney- a christian man whose riding is in BC) I am really excited about this and hope that it will open the door for some amazing opportunities. Also, my teacher said that if I want to get into politics and decide to stay here, he can guaranteed me a job in Parliament, so that is very exciting. I will have to see what God has in store for me after this internship. Tonight was the intercession class and we learnt about intercession in worship. There were soo many good points that I will probably have to write out notes and send them too you...but it was an amazing teaching night. Other than that, I am talking to Kendra and getting ready for bed. Talk to you all soon.

Erica