Pictures from the Josiah Team, Nov. 25-30th - Meetings with MPs and Senators

Polite Canadian
Robin-Lee Pereda
August 23rd, 2007

They say I’m a polite Canadian-
Let me tell you some reasons why.
I give a friendly smile to my neighbor
and directions to a passer by.
I help with the highway cleanup,
Into the recycling bin it goes.
Helping to save the environment-
There’s holes in the ozone you know!

They say I’m a polite Canadian,
but there’s a price I’ve paid.
Too often my voice hasn’t been heard,
so from our nation’s roots we’ve strayed.
Our founders had the ten commandments
posted proudly on their walls.
Now our children barely know them
Have they heard of them at all?

They say I’m a polite Canadian,
but I question if it’s true…
I’ve sat back too long & watched-
now it’s time I got a clue.
A melting pot of all Nations
they say that we’ve become.
But lets not forget our foundations-
The righteous roots from which we come.

They say I’m a polite Canadian,
so I suppose that’s my excuse why
I haven’t bothered to take a stand-
instead I watch the innocent die.
Murder shows up in so many ways.
Abortion- legal & on demand.
Pop! Bang! Shoot another one.
Pedophiles killing innocence in our land.

They say I’m a polite Canadian.
I guess what should I care
if they re-write the dictionary-
just a few changes here & there.
Like the word marriage-
which used to mean a man & wife.
Beside “discipline” let’s erase spanking-
you'll scar your kids for life.

They say I’m a polite Canadian
so I think it’s about time
that I stand & take back ownership
of this great nation I claim as mine.
It’s time to put those 10 commandments
back into their rightful place.
Let’s get on our face to repent before God-
seek His wisdom & His grace.

They say I’m a polite Canadian.
Today I take a vow.
A watchman for this nation I’ll be,
though I may stand against the crowd.
Pushing on for righteousness & truth
my song will ever be
resounding from the east to west
“Oh Canada, I stand on guard for thee!”

There has been tons of other activity this summer as well - sorry - we often forget to blog it :). A group of hard cores in Coquitlam had a 7 night prayer siege leading up to the CALL -- it was a powerful time. The CALL itself was also huge. You can get a fuller report in our e-mail archives on the site. Here are a couple picts from it. Powerful

We love it! People are rising up all across the nation to connect with local MPs/MLAs to share their hearts with them on the issues they care about. We often foget to take our cameras but this time we didn't. This is the Vancouver team after a great heart-to-heart with Penny Priddy in the Lower Mainland of Vancouver.

Go hard guys!! .... and keep going

4MYC Leadership Team

This is a very 'interesting' e-mail that we just got in from one of our members. I am amazed these days at how many young women have been coming up to me and telling me of disturbing experiences they have had that are similar to this. Very recently I had a young woman share with me that when she found out she was pregnant, she was in her doctor's office and he presented to her the 'choice' of abortion. She told him that she did not want to go that route. He proceeded to agressively council her to abort her pregnancy. She again explained that she wanted to keep the baby. After this he referred her to a psychiatrist who proceeded to 'pressure her' to have an abortion. I was amazed. This girl is level headed and has her head screwed on right. Her testimony (and a few others like it that have been shared with me since) give pretty strong evidence that the pro-choice stance is not always one that is encouraging our young women to make their own choices....wow.

Here is the e-mail we just got....

"I wanted to share something with you about my experience surrounding the abortion I had. I am not going to explain too much.. just what is in my heart as relevant to share with you.

When I was in the pre-op room I know that I heard the still small voice of my conscience. I also know that something was trying to speak to me during the time I found out that I was pregnant and the day I went to the hospital. I had a gut feeling I should not go through with it. Anyway, when I tried to tell my "friend" that I wanted to change my mind she did the opposite than support me. She went to get the nurse and they gave me something to sedate me. ( Ahh.. I hate this part of it the most - please forgive me). I tried to tell the nurse but I wasn't strong enough to stand up to both of them. I took the drugs and was so whacked out by the time of the abortion that I could not even think straight, never mind resist even though I did not want to do it.

I want people to know what I went through so they know how to pray and to find strength and ecouragment not to do it.

I am very sorry that I had the abortion and that I did not stand up to them when they drugged me up." Cindy (Grimsby, Ontario)

Here are some more amazing e-mails from youth in our network sent their MP about C-22:

Dear Mr. Goodyear

I am 15 years old and concerned that the age of consent is still 14. I ask you to support Bill C-22 and raise the age of consent to 16. This will give some protection to the youth who are vulnerable to sexual exploitation from so many different sides. Also, it will give protection to all other kids of that age.

Thank you for your consideration on this issue.

Sincerely,

Louisa

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Dear Mr. Goodyear;

I was recently at a youth conference and the issue of raising the age of consent was talked about. I think that it is important that the age of consent be raised. Supporting Bill C-22 is critical. It will help ensure that many more kids at risk are protected from sexual predators and will make for a stronger Canada in the future.

Thank you for all the good work that you are doing as our representative in Parliament.

Respectfully,

Tereza

Here are some e-mails that were sent into MPs from youth that were present at the Justice Committee when Faytene presented regarding C-22. They are powerful. They just cc'd us on them so we wanted to share them with you too!

"The age of consent is 14 right now, and I'm 14, and some of the people there said that all people around my age have sex. That's not true, because my friends wear purity rings, and some of us made a commitment to abstain from sex. I know that's not everyone but those people in there, didn't think of people like me and my friends.

I can vote at 18 and have sex at 14. Let's say you were running for Prime Minister or something, and I had sex, what would be more effective to this country? My vote? Or my sex life? I think that the age should be higher, from 14 to 16 is good and all but let's raise our standards a little higher, and say 18." - Maddy

"I am 13 years old and will be turning 14 next month so this meeting pertains to me and I would like to share my opinion with you. I want the age for consentual sex to be raised from 14 to 16. I don't think that trying to give children more education about sex in school will make that much of a difference in whether they have healthy sex with someone or not. I know that for me personally I learned about sex from my parents and from different books, not from school. Most kids don't even listen in school when they are being taught about sex because it is really awkward for both them and the teacher.
Until I attended this meeting I did not know anything really about the age of consent or even that there was one. The reason why most kids don't tell adults or even their friends about having sex is not because they think that they will get in trouble with the law. It is because they feel enbarassed and shameful about what they did." - Raelynne

AGE OF SEXUAL CONSENT

We have been getting some very powerful e-mails in from a bunch regarding C-22 (raising the age of sexual consent from 14 to 16). This one is extremely powerful and we wanted to share it with you too. -- 4MYC Team

"...Heres what I would like to say to our Federal government concerning Bill C-22.....As a 17 year old Canadian, I believe that Bill C-22 is very important to protect the youth of our nation. I find it sad to think that when I walk through my halls at high school, most students aren’t really protected of sexual predators under currant Canadian legislature. I can easily admit that at the age of 14, I probably could’ve been easily been manipulated or pressured, especially with the internet opening tons of new doors to sexual predators. When I was 14, a friend of mine who was already 15 at the time, spoke to a man a couple times in a chat room. However things didn’t end there, this man then stalked her and one day attempted to abduct her. Fortunately, there were people near by and she managed to get away. This hurts it’s me know to think, that this man could have raped my friend and probably could’ve gotten away with it. My friend was 15 but wasn’t really more mature then me but unlike me, she wouldn’t have been protect under current legislature. So basically I am pleading that the government to increase the age of sexual consent to 16, so that I can walk through my halls at school and know that at least half of the students are protect of sexual predators."

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This is a quote from an e-mail we received from a Member of Parliament earlier today....so encouraging!

"Faytene,

Thanks for the great work your group is doing. You need to know that your presence here on the Hill did have a huge impact on MPs - some of whom were unsure of where young people of Canada stood on this issue.

Your thoughtful, caring presentation was a welcome addition in helping us speak up for Canada's Youth!!

I will be praying that many MPs who might have otherwise voted to disregard this important issue -- will now reconsider their postion and vote to allow full and open debate -- taking into consideration the rights of children...."

I get your weekly or sometimes daily e-mails on what is going on in our nation, thank-you for that. But last week or so I got an e-mail titled "Get equipped in Vancouver" I thought "hey I live in Vancouver!" So last weekend two of my friends and I (because my mom wouldn't let me travel on the skytrain alone) went to Navigating the faith/political interface. Wow it was amazing, the knowledge and insight I received there. Thank-you so much for informing me about it. Sure I was the youngest person there (very scary), but wow, I can't say enough... it was the best weekend of my life. In the middle of one of the sessions (maybe 6hrs into the 11 that we were in sessions for) my friend Jen turned to me and said, "Alicia, we can change Canada." and it's true. Thank-you for helping us in that effort.



-Alicia Hunt

This speech was made by the Minister of Veterans Affairs, the Hon. Greg Thompson last week in the House of Commons. We wanted to post it here in honour of our Veterans. Happy Rememberance Day!

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Mr. Speaker, a number of weeks ago the prime minister said that military service is the highest form of public service.

We are reminded of that in this House every day. It is because our Veterans have served that we can serve here in this chamber. Our Veterans are why we have a free and democratic country. It's as simple as that.

We are the direct beneficiaries of their great sacrifices and achievements, and it's why I feel honoured and humbled to rise in this House -- on the eve of Veterans Week.

Our men and women in uniform forged this nation's identity on the distant battlefields of a past century. In the two Great Wars, in the Korean War, in military operations and on Peacekeeping missions around the world, our soldiers have made Canada proud. They've made us proud.

Mr. Speaker, no one in this House needs to be convinced about that, about the honour and accomplishments of our Veterans and their modern-day colleagues. When you look around this House, you see the Poppies proudly on display. Our Veterans unite us as few things can.

Regardless of our political stripes, or where we come from, I believe we all agree that our men and women in uniform are the best in the world. They are the best trained, the most professional and the most disciplined. And they have always committed themselves - 100 per cent - to the mission.

But, Mr. Speaker, we know that our freedom is not free. It never has been free. The freedoms that we often take for granted have come with a heavy price for our country. For our families. For all of us here.

We have lost too many of our best young men and women.

As our famous war poet, John McCrae wrote, with every fallen soldier we have lost a Canadian who "loved and was loved."

Mr. Speaker, we know this. And we feel it deeply - in our hearts, and in our souls. We realize that this great country we've inherited was built by ordinary men and women who did extraordinary things.

They did it for their country. They did it for each other. They did it for you and for me. And, of course, more than anything, they did it at great sacrifice to themselves.

We understand this. We understand that our Veterans willingly stood in the face of oppression and tyranny to protect the values that all Canadians still cherish: Freedom. Democracy. The rule of Law.

That's what we must never forget. And we must remain committed to sharing this legacy with future generations.

It is this Torch of Remembrance that we raise so proudly each Veterans Week. This year, the theme could not be more fitting: "Share The Story."

Not only are we encouraging our Veterans to share their stories, we are urging Canadians -- Canadians in every region of this country -- to take the time to listen.

Mr. Speaker, as you know, there are many stories to be told, and there are many more that have gone untold -- one for each of our honoured Veterans.

I would like to share with you one of those untold stories. This past summer, while I was standing on the shores of Normandy with my eldest son, he began telling me about his grandfather's experience - "my father-in-law's experience" -- during the D-Day landing some 50 years ago.

Mr. Speaker, I stood there fascinated as I listened to my son. I was curious about the details, about the painful, brutal facts my father-in-law had rarely shared with anyone.

And I asked my son why I didn't know this story. "Why had Grand-dad not told me any of this?"

My son simply looked at me and replied: "Because you didn't ask."

Mr. Speaker, I know now that it is time to ask. It is time to listen. It is time to learn from soldiers like Harold Roderick.

Those of us who have never served, never worn the Canadian uniform, we need to take the time to understand - before "time slips away."

We need only look outside, at the last few autumn leaves clinging to their branches. With the slightest rustle of a breeze, they could be gone by dusk.

We realize this. We realize there are only three known surviving Canadian Veterans left from the First World War. We need to learn the stories of these remarkable men - all of them now well past 100 years old. I've had the privilege to meet them, and they are as dedicated to Canada today as they were when they wore the uniform. They are also our last living links to our Greatest Generation. We can't allow their stories to be lost in history, or to go untold.

Otherwise, we can only guess at what our Veterans have endured for us, what they have achieved for you and me.

We can only wonder at the emotions captured in those grainy old films and black-and-white pictures, in those scenes of Canadian soldiers marching down our Main Streets, or waving goodbye from ships pulling out to sea.

We've seen the photographs of soldiers in the departing troop trains. Their faces, through the train windows, are a mixture of sadness and excitement. Their arms reaching out for one last touch of a loved one. Sadly, for so many, it would be the final touch. Those images, their lives, still touch us today.

We cannot bear witness to these individual stories without asking ourselves if we -- if you and I, Mr. Speaker -- would have responded the same way our Veterans did.

If we had walked in their shoes, would we have had their courage?

Where did they find the strength to leave behind their loved ones and their own dreams, and walk straight into harm's way?

And as we seek the answers to these difficult questions, we must also pause to think about our men and women in uniform today. Brave Canadians still serving around the world, in such troubled spots as Afghanistan. They, as those who came before them, know the threats we face today are real, and the cause is just.

And just as in decades gone by, our men and women in uniform should know they have earned the thanks, and they have earned the praise, of a grateful nation. Today. Forever.

Mr. Speaker, in a few days, we will all leave this place, and return to our ridings, to the people we represent. There, we will gather, in our largest cities and smallest villages, side by side, to lay wreaths and to remember.

And in those moments of deep silence, we will renew our pledge to honour, always, the men and women who have given us so much, who have given us their very best.

Lest We Forget.

Thank You, Mr. Speaker.