OLGA BRINDZA: AN INEXHAUSTIBLE TREASURY

Olga Brindza was one of those all too rare kind of people who served way past the age of retirement. Even in her 70’s she was happily involved in serving God by loving children and just about anyone else around her.

Into Eternity

On the last Thursday morning of January 2017 she was sitting in her favorite livingroom chair enjoying a devotional reading. The first words of the first paragraph she was reading were, “Relax my child, I’m in control. Remember that you are my beloved.”

Those may have been the last words she saw before she peacefully closed her eyes and slipped into eternity and the presence of Jesus. Her passing was sudden and unexpected. Three days earlier, Olga and Ray, her husband of fifty six years had their picture taken for North Pointe’s 100th Anniversary Memory Book.

Days of Laughter

Olga was not ready to die but she was prepared for death. Her solid faith in Jesus as her Savior informed her conduct and shaped her character. Jesus was her hope. She was the first to admit she didn’t have it altogether but what she had she was grateful for.

The Message version of Psalm 30 was her favorite passage in the Bible:

“Sing your hearts out to God!
    Thank him to his face!
He gets angry once in a while, but across
    a lifetime there is only love.
The nights of crying your eyes out
    give way to days of laughter.” Psalm 30:4,5 (The Message)

When someone you love becomes a memory, that memory becomes a treasure.

Willing To Help

North Pointe’s Charity Mongrain, shared this tribute at Olga’s funeral service on behalf of our Children’s Ministry.

“I first connected with Olga over the phone. I was the new children’s pastor and we were preparing for my first big program.  We needed help in the kitchen. While brainstorming about potential volunteers the team said, ‘Call Olga Brindza. She’s always willing to help.’

So I did and she did.

Over the years I always knew we had Olga’s support. Whether it was helping with our BBQ’s, her quiet encouragement, smiles or knowing that she was praying for us. Olga always showed us her love for Jesus, the kids and her family.

Thoughts of Olga

Whenever I’d encounter Olga in the church foyer her face would light up as she shared stories of current family events. She always had great things to say about her granddaughter Hannah and wanted her to have opportunities to be a part of whatever was going on at North Pointe.

My heart was saddened when I heard of Olga’s sudden passing. I was in the church office and was trying to figure out how to break the news to our NPKids Staff all of whom have worked along side of Olga over the years.

The entire team expressed their grief as they heard the news. These were some of the words that come to mind when we think of Olga:

Genuine
Warm
Generous
A delight
Kindhearted
Easy to talk to

56 Years of Married Life

As the conversations continued the staff voiced some beautiful sentiments about Olga.

One staff member noted that she treated all the kids as any Grandma would treat her very own Grandkids. Another one of my favorites was, ‘We just had real life conversations. She would talk about her husband and what it was like to be married a long time.'”

Inexhaustible Treasury

The poem by Margaret Lee Runbeck called Inexhaustible Treasury says it all about Olga:

“Once you’ve loved a child,
you love all children.
You give away your love to one,
and you find that by giving
you have made yourself
an inexhaustible treasury.”

APPLICATION: Please pray for Ray, Shelly, Brian, Galina, Hannah and the Brindza family. Someone will need to step up to fill the gap in Children’s Ministry. Might that someone be you? You can connect with Pastor Charity at cmongrain@northpointechurch.ca

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