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W e teach our kids to color inside the lines. But what about the coloring book of life Are we so rule-bound that we cant think outside of our immediate community The lines we stay inside might be our mission our family our church and maybe what we see on TV. So we talk about Donald Trump a loteven here in Canada. But my eyes were opened to another world recently at the annual Associa- tion of Fundraising Professionals Conference. This is a huge conference with up to 4000 attendees most of whom are not representing faith-based charities. Featured keynote speakers were Kofi Annan from Ghana former secretary general of the United Nations. If the world was one country he might be our president. Next up was Kumi Naidoo from South Africa former international executive director of the environmentalist group Greenpeace. Talk about thinking outside of the lines And I dont mean chaining yourself to a tree. I mean exposing yourself to people who are outside of your paradigm. Yes you will experience a shift. Your attitude will shift. Youll become less insular and more tolerant. Tolerance doesnt mean sacri- ficing your values it means loving people more. If you want the best example around take Jesus. He hung around with tax collectors and prostitutes. Thats like the mob and sex workers in our world. Let that sink in for a minute. We work with people who are poor and homeless so were used to thinking about Jesus as our highest example of that. But when you think outside the rescue mission box its not just about serving those who are poor. Its about embracing them loving them serving alongside them and letting them minister in their own way. For our mission that means having interns and starting a fully functional street-level church. But for me personally when I begin to think outside the box my world opens up. It turns out the box is full of crayon colors that would put Crayola to shame And that is the attraction of inserting myself into new situations. I become stronger in my weak areas. I begin to think more creatively. My tolerance is based on love instead of grit. I see the world with holistic glasses and realize I am not at the center of it. And I never will be. And I become okay with that. In the end my faith is strengthened. Because as I shrink the hope and light of Christ increases. 58 WWW.AGRM.ORG MAYJUNE 2016 DAY-TO-DAY ACROSS THE STREET Michelle Porter Color Outside the Lines The incredible value of thinking outside the box Michelle is the founder of Souls Harbour Rescue Mission in Halifax Nova Scotia where she currently resides. The missions motto Always go the extra mile is based on Matthew 541. Contact Michelle at mporter.rescuegmail.com.