When Dreams Converge
Most of us are familiar with Bible stories recounting the dreams of so many characters. I recall Samuel, Daniel, Mary, both Old and New Testament Josephs and the Magi. These are just to name a few, off the top of my head. The usual narrative is that some message was received, often an angel is involved and the angel told so and so something and so on.
A God inspired dream, may be God working through us, using our personal qualities or gifts for some beneficial outcome in the world. (to paraphrase Erik Raymond ”thegospelcoalition”) A personal desire or “dream” may be a seed planted by God that will eventually come to fruition. A dream or urge may be unexpected or confusing, it may require some sacrifice. It certainly requires faith to step out into unknown territory. Here is a current dream story.
Take one 30 “something” Saskatchewan ranch land boy, Nolan our son in law. This fellow grew up with a desire to work in a job agriculture related. This dream morphed into the development of his agriculture business. He has successfully grown and nurtured it from the roots up. It is a family type business catering to the needs of family farmers.
Take one 30 “something” Ukrainian boy, whose family had known some hardship, including ancestry deportation to Siberia, illness, etc. This fellow Anton, had learned about Canada in school. He grew up with a dream and hope to someday live and make a new home in Canada.
Then came February 24th 2022. The whole world watched in horror as Putin’s Russia invaded Ukraine. Anton, his wife Hanna, their daughter and his mother who lives with them, decided it was time to leave Kyiv. They fled their home within a couple days to Poland. Maybe the time was right to pursue further emigration. Was it time to make a new home in that country Anton had dreamt about?
March 2022, saw Nolan facing an employee crunch. The busy spring seeding and summer season was fast approaching. Nolan really needed another driver.
God is good! Via Facebook, Nolan and Anton connected with each other. Anton had been a truck driver in Ukraine! Wow, serendipity! A God-incidence!
Meanwhile, my husband and I both strongly felt we could not just mindlessly watch this war unfold on the TV screen. There is currently so much unrest, tragedy, stress and anxiety in the world. Putin’s war was the last straw. There are so many humanitarian tragedies and refugees in the world, all of whom do need support. We had aided in some refugee support in small ways previously. This invasion war, versus a civil war situation, like Afghanistan, Sudan, Syria stirred us into action. We applied with AUUC to become hosts to a Ukrainian person or family. When we discovered Nolan and our daughter Kaylee were also planning to host a Ukrainian family, imagine our surprise! Dreams were converging and coming to fruition. Anton, Hanna and family arrived in Regina June 28th, 2022. Such a happy occasion for us all!
Nolan and Kaylee with their two children, will have them in their home, for now. The family suddenly doubled from four to eight! The generosity of family, friends and previous co workers has been overwhelming. Seemingly overnight, there were enough beds, linens, cookware, dishes and financial support to accommodate an additional family.
Anton will work for Nolan for now. Anton’s mother Ludmilla is also seeking employment. Hanna, while mothering their daughter, is also pregnant, she is due with a son in September. Soon a new little Canadian Ukrainian will be joining the past and very recent generations that have immigrated to Canada from Ukraine!
Dreams do still happen. Dreams still do come true, all in God’s good time. Blessings abound! Submitted by Kathy Schwentke
