A Weekend in Review

This past Memorial Day weekend I and my sister had the privilege of taking 5 incredible young people up to Vancouver, B.C. for a weekend of urban mission work.

So what did we do? In one and a half words: a lot.

Friday, 23 May 2008:
The drive from Monroe, WA to Vancouver, BC was beautiful as always and due to $4.00/gal gas prices, devoid of traffic. In fact, we waited a mere 15 minute at the border compared to 30+ last year. Who said high gas prices is always a bad thing?

The actual act of crossing the border was easy. It makes you feel like anyone could do it; given they have the proper documentation of course.

We arrived at our host church, Hope Reformed Church, in good time and there were chips, salsa, and YWAM staff awaiting our arrival.

Saturday, 24 May 2008:
The day started off with . . . breakfast, what else, but after breakfast we participated in a community clean-up in the neighborhood around the YWAM offices. The clean-up was put on by local residences and we were privileged to be able to help YWAM and their neighbors clean-up some trash. It never ceases to amaze me the reaction people have when we say we came up from the States to pick up trash in Vancouver. “Why would you do that?” they’d ask.

After the clean-up we started our downtown plunge. The downtown plunge consists of two parts: the downtown eastside and downtown proper.

Downtown eastside happens first. It’s the poorest postal code in all of Canada. Needless to say, there is a lot of need in downtown eastside. If you’re homeless, you likely live in downtown eastside. If you’re a drug addict, you likely hangout in downtown eastside. If you are a prostitute or are looking for a prostitute, you likely go to downtown eastside.

We empted our pockets of cash, cell phones, cameras, and any other worldly possession you can fit into a pocket and headed into the heart of downtown eastside. Our goal was to gain a better understanding on what if feels like to be homeless, helpless, impoverish. Also a part of downtown eastside is Chinatown. Another goal was to gain a better understanding on the fact that other cultures do exist outside our own. Be that Chinese or homelessness.

A crucial and enjoyable part of the first half of downtown plunge is sitting down and having lunch with someone who may not have a lunch. Each team (that is, a group of about 3 or 4) has sack lunches for themselves and an extra lunch to share with someone else. The goal is to actually sit down and have lunch with someone. Gaining an opportunity to hear their story and maybe share yours.

This can be a difficult task. How do you choose just one person to have lunch with? There are so many who could use a lunch. Also, it’s difficult to actually sit down with the person and eat with them rather than just give them the lunch and walk away. The team I was a part of had difficulty with this one. We met a lady who asked us for some change and we said we didn’t have any, but we had a lunch if she was interested. She said she’d love a lunch. So, we asked her if she had 10 minutes or so to sit down and eat with us. She had her arms full of bed sheets and what not and said that she had to go and meet her husband, who she was not living with currently, and drop this stuff off. So, not really wanting to tell her she couldn’t have lunch unless she sat down with us to eat it, we gave her the lunch and she was on her way.

We then sat down on the corner to eat our lunches and not 5 minutes later she came back with her arms empty. We asked her how the lunch was and she said she had given it to her husband. She asked us if we had another one. We didn’t really have an extra one, but I offered her mine and asked, again, if she like to take 10 minutes and sit down with us. She said she couldn’t, but would like the other lunch. We gave it to her and she told us to not get into drugs because “this is where you’ll end up.” She told us she was Catholic and I told her there’s nothing wrong with that. Then she walked off.

We learned a lot about the lady even though we didn’t actually sit down with her, but it would have been nice to hear more. The other team that was wandering about had a little more success in that department and learned that the lady they shared their lunch with lived with the Hells Angels and Chuck Norris, smoked crack with the little Korean lady who was out in the park collecting recyclables, was the smartest person in the world and in order to cope, had to do drugs, and had the spirit of her dead twin living inside of her. Despite all of this, the team said she was a really nice lady, and I believe them. It’s easy for us to judge others based on their appearances thinking that if they’re homeless or into drugs, they can’t possibly be nice people. When, in reality, appearance has nothing to do with it. It only takes a conversation with someone for you to find this out.

The second half of downtown plunge takes place in downtown Vancouver proper; where all the ritzy hotels and boutiques are located. This area of downtown is a mere 2 blocks from downtown eastside; it’s quite a contrast.

One of the activities which we participated in this was to sit outside a store front for 15 minutes; as if we were looking for spare change. We were to gauge the reaction we got while we sat there. I can tell you people’s eyes gazed over us a bunch. People would walk up to the corner to cross the street. Their eyes would wander about behind them, look down and notice us, and then they’d look back across the street. It was as if we were just a part of the scenery.

Dinner was Ethiopian food. If you’ve never had Ethiopian food, you need to have Ethiopian food. Basically, it’s a giant pancake type thing covered with different kinds of meat, veggies, and lintels and you eat it with your hands! It’s a fantastic experience.

After dinner, we went back to downtown eastside to participate in Street Church. Street Church is basically a feeding program with a little chapel service thrown in. Our team was responsible for helping serve food and put on the chapel service. We did a fantastic job if I do say so myself. The atmosphere of Street Church is really like nothing else. People line up for food; some sit down to listen to the service, but mostly people just get back in line for more food. There’s usually a heckler present, and in past experiences he was a swearing heckler. Needless to say, this can be an intimidating audience to put on a chapel service for, but the kids who did it did a wonderful job.

Sunday, 25 May 2008:
After the church service at our host church (that is 1 hour and 15 minutes of service and 45 minutes of coffee and cookies), we made our way out to Surry, B.C. to a Union Gospel Mission low income housing complex to do some yard work. The weather was hot (85° F, 29° C) and there was a lot of grass, but there were no complaints. We raked, we mowed, we swept, we sweat, and we blessed people. We had residents coming out of their homes asking us what it was we were doing and why we were doing it. One man even went out to the store, at his own expense, and bought us bottled juice and chocolate bars.

Dinner was Indian food. If you’ve never had Indian food, you need to have Indian food. Basically if you get nothing else, get the Nan. Nan is the best bread you will ever put into your mouth. Some would argue that communion bread would fulfill this role, I’d disagree; as far as taste is concerned, Nan wins all the way.

After dinner, with Indian food sitting heavy in our stomachs, a difficult topic sat heavy on our hearts. It was time to learn about the sex industry that, unfortunately, Vancouver is well known for. This subject flared tempers and numbed our senses as we sat and thought of all the people trapped in this industry; whether they provide services or consume them.

The goal of the evening was to pray. Pray for the industry, pray for those trapped in the industry, pray for those who are trapped into thinking they need the industry to be happy. However, we didn’t just pray within the walls of the YWAM base or our host church, but rather we went out to where prostitution was known to happen during the time that it did happen and we walked the blocks and prayed.

Another part of the prayer walk is a random act of kindness. Each team is given a rose to give to someone they see while they are praying as a symbol of God’s love for them. It may be difficult to see the impact a rose can have on a person, but if you are on the corner selling yourself, someone coming up to you and telling you you’re loved is not easily forgotten.

The team I was a part of tried to give our rose out several times. The girls we saw on the corners were no longer there when we came back to attempt to give them the rose. A little disheartening, especially since we knew why they were no longer at the corner. Then, toward the end of the evening, there was a girl standing on the corner next to our car. Two girls on the team went over to her to give her the rose and, without looking up at them, she said, “Don’t give it to me.” See, YWAM sends out tons of teams to do this outreach and so, some of the girls know what the rose is for and why strange teenagers are approaching them.

We walked around the block and prayed for her. Obviously, something was lying heavy on her heart if she knew what we were doing and didn’t want any part of it. We place the rose on a random car windshield after being unsuccessful with giving the rose to a person and made our way back to our car. We waited there for the other team to get back from their prayer walk. As the other team arrived, the girl who had rejected the rose earlier came out of the alley that our car was parked next to with a man. The girl walked through our group and the man had to unlock his bicycle which was stored next to our car before he could go his own way.

I can’t imagine either of these people being able to walk away without thinking about what they had just done. The girl knew who we were and what we were doing and what we were hoping she wouldn’t do, and she had just done it; now she had to face us again. The man knew we knew what he had just done, and had to sit and unlock his bike amongst us. This is where the Holy Spirit pulls on hearts and we just let Him do it; absolutely no judgment. In this situation, it would have been so easy to cast judgment on these people, but in order to show compassion one has to refrain. Christ cast no judgment on the woman caught in adultery, but rather forgave her of her sins.

We returned to our host church where there were brownies, cookies, hot chocolate, and YWAM staff awaiting us. Our hearts were still heavy, especially after what we had just spent 45 minutes witnessing and praying for. We were able to share the feelings we were having and reconcile those with how God feels about the situation. Then we spent more time in prayer; 15 solid minutes of silence broken only by the occasional plea to God for justice and reconciliation.

Monday, 26 May 2006:
Our final day in Vancouver was spent first worshiping with the YWAM staff. We sang some songs then we were each given a name of God and asked to meditate on it. It’s humbling to think of God being so big He needs that many names just to help explain a fraction of who He is. We were then given the meaning behind our own names and asked to pray that we would be able to live up to the name God has given us.

After worship we went and ate Pho, a Vietnamese beef and noodle soup. If you’ve never had Pho, you need to have Pho. It’s probably the best soup you’ll ever let run down your chin.

With yet another full stomach, we parted ways with Vancouver. The car ride home was quiet as everyone reflected on what God had taught them over the weekend. Actually, that’s not true. It was quiet, but everyone was sleeping since the weekend was so action packed. (You didn’t see me mention sleeping once in the post.) Needless to say, God did teach us a lot over the weekend, and I’m guessing everyone is reflecting on it right now, or they’re still asleep.

Note: All pictures are stolen from the internet. Please be advised.