Johnny (8), his father Simon, and I walked through the halls of the Maple Street Building. It was VBS week and the rooms were full of children. One child after the next said “Hi, Johnny.” As more kids passed by saying “Hi” to him, I responded with excitement, “Wow Johnny, everyone knows you!”
They have been here in Pasadena for the first year of Simon’s PhD in Intercultural Studies at Fuller Seminary. He is doing research on how Christians in Manus evaluate traditional responses to sickness in light of the Bible and their Christian faith.
One Sunday after the service Johnny went up to Pastor Greg and handed him a drawing he did of Maple Street. He had pasted two dollar bills as the windows. It wasn’t the money on the paper that made it important. Johnny had just shared with me that in Sunday School he had learned that money isn’t the most important. Rather, it’s that he saw the value of the building and it’s potential.
"I decided to give to Lake so that more people would feel comfortable and more people would come and learn about Jesus."
Since 2006 Johnny’s family have been working with Liebenzell Mission International to support the ministry of the Evangelical Church of Manus. Manus is an island north of New Guinea and part of the nation Papua New Guinea. Johnny’s father is currently the Dean of a small Bible School there and his mom supports the church’s Sunday School ministry.
Johnny said, “I learned in Sunday School that Jesus is always there for us. I don’t go every week because I like to sit with my parents in the main service. I learned there that no one but Jesus can make us better. Also I like the music and think Pastor Greg is really funny!”
I asked Johnny why he gave to the Maple Street Renovation Project. “I gave because I saw the building and how old it was and said, ‘No that’s not good.’ I decided to give to Lake so that more people would feel comfortable and more people would come and learn about Jesus.”
He continued by sharing how he sang in the Choristers choir, did VBS story-time and baked a cake made of marshmallows in the Maple Street building.
“We played man overboard and pushed over the benches of people into the sea. Then they pushed me! We played the game after the teacher told us the Bible story of Jonah. It was fun!” shared Johnny.
“I hope that more people will come to know Jesus when the new building is there. If people go in and they don’t feel comfortable because the building is in bad shape, they probably won’t come back because they won’t feel welcomed -especially if they see the sinks!”
This past Saturday, Johnny and his family went back to Papua New Guinea. Although their time here was short, we thank him for his giving heart and being faithful to giving so that more people would come to know Jesus Christ through the ministries and rebuilding of Maple Street.
For more about the building project and ways to give visit https://maplestreet.lakeave.org.