Jon may be new to the Challenge Family having done his Challenge in November of 2009 but he is boldly living his Faith and boldly living it Strong. Here’s his take on his involvement with Challenge so far...
A reflection of my involvement with Challenge:
At first I have to admit that I was very reluctant to be on a challenge weekend. After returning to the faith later in my life, I had heard a lot about Challenge through my wife and in-laws, who are very involved in Challenge. Even though both my wife and mother-in-law were very persistent in asking me to do a Challenge weekend, I have to admit that I was quite reluctant. The reason for my hesitation was that I thought I would be like Billy Madison...you know, the old guy coming back to school and I was fairly shy and worried about how I would feel in that situation. Thanks in large part to my very loving and persistent mother in-law and sister I simply could not shy away much longer and finally....I succumbed.
Upon entering the doors of the challenge weekend I knew I was coming into something good. Everyone was so genuinely interested in you and what you had to say....what a refreshing feeling. The weekend was an eye opener for me and I learned a lot about myself and my relationship with God. I learned that there is a great support community out there and so many people who care about you and your relationship with God. It was amazing to later on find out how many of the great Challengers gave up their weekends just for us Candidates to have a weekend free of distractions so that we could soak up every ounce of the love on the weekend. And I can tell you that my life has changed for the better since that weekend!
After my weekend I was already thinking about which talk I would like to give and how I could give back on the next weekend. I initially thought that I would love to be on Front Team and felt that I would have a lot to share as a late bloomer coming back to the faith. It turns out that God had another plan for me. Theresa (my wife) and I were asked to join the kitchen team. As usual, at first, I was reluctant. March is a very busy time for me and I am often occupied with my work but I soon came to the realization that even though I felt like I had no time, the time was now and that you always need to make time for your relationship with God. That weekend of service was just what I needed! Having never been exposed to what Kitchen Team does I was surprised at how much work and team involvement was necessary. I had the most amazing time and was blessed to be working with such an amazing team. We really came together in no time at all and you really get to see the best in everyone when put to the test. It felt great to give these candidates the same opportunity that Front / Kitchen team gave me on my first weekend.
As I continue to grow in my family life, I am very proud to see the involvement of my younger sisters and hope that the movement continues to grow and prosper for many years to come! I'm grateful for all the challengers, past, present and future who have put in many long hours to get this community to where it is today and look forward to serving as much as possible on future weekends.
God bless you all,
Jonathan Chiniborch
