“For me, seeing God show up is what really matters.”

Elizabeth Mabie
Special to Spur Ottawa

A spirited team of youth from across Canada recently came to Ottawa to take part in the 16th Josiah Delegation. Organized by MY Canada, these teams bring Canadian believers, between the ages of 15 to 35, to Ottawa to meet with parliamentarians.

“Some of these meetings you like going into, because meeting with like-minded people is encouraging on both sides, for us and for them,” says Lesley Biehn, a Josiah team leader for this year’s delegation. “It’s very encouraging to see that there are like-minded people on the Hill. But it’s just as interesting to meet people who completely oppose your view.”

While on the Hill, the delegates have three main purposes: showing appreciation for the government and the work they do, sharing the issues on their hearts, and reminding Canada’s leaders that today’s youth are passionate about this country and its code of ethics.

This year’s Josiah Delegation was in Ottawa from November 27 to December 3. During the week, the youth met with 70 members of parliament and senators, sharing their stories, learn about the parliamentarians’ responsibilities, attending Question Period, and praying for Canada.

“I expect God to show up and use my voice in ways I have never imagined.”

Spur Ottawa spoke with three delegates, Caleb Park, Jashan Randhawa, and Rebecca Hein, about their experiences.

Speaking at the start of the week, Hein stated, “I expect God to show up and use my voice in ways I have never imagined. I expect Him to do far more than I could ever expect or ask for. I know that I will learn a lot more about politics, but, for me, seeing God show up is what really matters.”

By the end of the week, the delegation all agreed they had a clear sense of God’s presence on Parliament Hill.

“What really changed the most for me was just recognizing how members of parliament are just ordinary people who have taken a stand to be a voice in government,” says Hein. “They really need encouragement. It’s very important that we pray for our leaders. One member we met with, we asked how we could support her. She said just to pray.”

“I was touched by what they shared; their openness,” says Park. “Some of the Members prayed for us, too. It was an amazing experience for me to see the light and salt in the government.”

Prayer and encouragement are central for the delegation. They were staying at the National House of Prayer. Each day, one of the teams stayed behind, spending the day in prayer for the teams meeting on the Hill.

“What I found is that by sharing our own stories, how something affected our lives, it transcends arguments and debates that could arise.”

Another key emphasis of the teams is honour and respect. While politics can be especially nasty, the group wants to be remembered for being a positive force, regardless of differences of opinion. Members of parliament often reciprocated the teams’ attitudes and listened whole-heartedly to their stories and concerns.

“A lot of people think members of parliament are not in touch with normal people, but we learned that all they need is stories,” explains Randhawa, a Sikh who is passionate about religious freedom. “When they go into the House it’s not just logic or debate that wins. They know all our issues. They need actual stories from people.”

Park agrees, adding, “What I found is that by sharing our own stories, how something affected our lives, it transcends arguments and debates that could arise. Sharing something personal is very powerful.”

Every evening, the teams spent time researching the Parliamentarians they planned to meet with the next day. The goal was to learn the most honourable points in their careers so the delegates could thank them specifically for their labour.

“When you come in with a spirit of honour I think most of the time they are shocked.”

“We try to get very specific about what this person has done to be honoured and valued. [When we do] their whole guard drops,” explains Biehn. “They never hear that. They just hear complaints all day, every day, so we stand out like this. When you come in with a spirit of honour I think most of the time they are shocked that that is the first thing out of our mouths.”

Showing appreciation and respect is first and foremost, especially when personal sentiment comes into play. The delegates are encouraged to share issues that deeply concern them, even when a member of parliament has an opposing view.

“With regards to parliamentarians who may hold a different set of values than we do, I believe we are to still honour and respect them, as Romans 13 instructs us,” Park says. “At the same time, however, it is important to speak the truth and stand our ground on issues that God gave us His heart for.”

“No matter how much I disagree with someone, the love of Jesus is far greater than that,” Hein states. “He teaches me to love beyond disagreements and see the person for whom He made them to be, not what they believe in.”