How are you connected with P2C-Students, and what’s a fun fact about you?
My name is Perry Siddons and I work with Creative Communications as part of the writing team, from my home office in Saskatoon. I just started this fall after finishing up my time in seminary with my Master’s degree in the spring.
I got connected to Power to Change–Students through my wife, Andrea, who is a campus staff at the University of Saskatchewan.
Fun fact: I own about a thousand physical books (and may need an intervention).
What's an area of your life where you've seen God at work recently?
I was feeling unsure about my choice to work with Power to Change–Students. Would I fit in? Would I really have something to contribute? The diagnosis: Imposter syndrome. I haven’t been to university and don’t know the culture. I’ve hardly been connected with P2C. These feelings of doubt and fear became even stronger when staff training was approaching. But as I started learning with my fellow new staff members, I felt a sense of confirmation: God had provided me a place within Power to Change–Students.
How did you recognize the Holy Spirit in this situation?
Looking back at my time of staff training, I see that the Holy Spirit was using the relationships with my new colleagues to make me feel accepted and not as a “lesser” member of the team. Nobody questioned my motivations for being part of P2C-S as I shared parts of my experiences throughout the week. I was so grateful, because the Holy Spirit showed me how great P2C-S is, as people my own age were talking about the gospel during the training sessions. Hearing people from my own generation talk about Jesus and the good news encouraged me and sparked a sense of hope in my heart. “There’s something really great for me here,” I thought to myself.
What difference does Jesus make to this part of life? In other words, how is Jesus good news in this situation?
Jesus showed himself to me in others. Through my many conversations with my new colleagues I witnessed grace, love, acceptance, and compassion. Feeling out of place can be really difficult, but Jesus accepts us as we are. I’m reminded of the words found in the invitation to confession in my church community, “He welcomes sinners and invites them to his table.”
I didn’t feel like I had to have the same experiences as everybody else to be part of the ministry. We all come to the table with different experiences anyway, and that’s a good thing. This group of people, upon whom I projected all my insecurities and fears about working with Power to Change, was God’s way of convincing me that I was in the right place. He had called me to P2C.
How did you respond to the Holy Spirit's work and Jesus' good news?
After chatting, eating, and playing with my new colleagues at staff training, I became much more thankful for the work God gave me to be a part of, because I felt part of the team. I didn’t make a mistake joining up with P2C, because God brought me here. And because of that, I am so excited about the year ahead!
How can we pray for you?
Please pray for courage, so I would be brave to contribute effectively to the work of my team.
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