Summer began and seems to be half over in a matter of 2 weeks! i don't know what happened but time has flown by. Many great things have been going on. Two especially awesome things happened! Brittany has come to join me! i now have friend, and cohort to experience the streets of vancouver with, and a team from texas was here. Both were huge blessings!

Brittany moved into my little room and has been a huge help in ministry so far. Pretty much i've been a little lonely up until now. I'm used to working with people my own age in ministry, and working with a closer team. Most of my comings and goings in vancouver up until this point have been by myself. But now there is Brittany, and the real fun can start happening! We work really closely together, and are able to do a lot more outreach because there is two of us.

We spent hanging out with a lovely group of poeple from texas. Jesse and Tena, the missionary couple that i live with had friends from their home church in texas visiting. They were doing a missions trip/ encouragement trip. Our week looked like this: monday-cleaned the house of a girl that tena mentors. tuesday-went to park, helped serve at Chilliwagon. wed-victoria day. thurs-waterfight/hang out with youth. It was a full week! but it was really fun. My eyes were opened to a lot of things. First, i've become very thankful for amazing parents who have taught me how to clean, cook, and be a good worker. We cleaned at a house that was very very dirty. I'll save the details, and just say that there was 9 of us, and we cleaned for 8 hours. We did a kind of home makeover for this house. It was a good day of laughing, screaming (at mice), and disbelief over some conditions people let their houses get into. Its one of those days that you can really see the good you've done!

Chilliwagon Tuesday. Chilliwagon is a ministry started by a guy 17 years ago. He makes chilli and bread every tuesday for the last 17 years ( for the exception of one tuesday that fell on christmas) but otherwise he's out there on Commercial drive investing in relationships with the people there. Commercial drive is a very unique place. anyone who has walked this street will now that is probably the most diverse place in the city. You've got rich and poor bumping sholders. The italians, portueguese, natives, arabians, and europeans on each block. As well as the outsiders and insiders.. the anti-establishment, the ones on the fringe that most people are afraid to talk to kind of people, the cultured, the grandmas, and the families. This place is truly a montage of everything. Gordy is the guy who started chilliwagon. and he came over early tuesday and shared his testimony. A crazy story of how God pursued him through the hardships of foster homes and abuse, and even being kidnapped. He is a joyful man. He pours his heart into the friends he's made on commercial drive. They know him, and he knows them by name. He makes the chilli with the best products he can find. He makes it that way because he appreciates quality, and he won't serve what he won't eat. So its good stuff! we headed to the park around 7 and started chatting with the people there. its always awkward at first but then so fascinating as people open up and share their stories. There is always the crazies that want to talk to the young girls, but thankfully we had our big strong texans with us. B. and i talked with a guy from turkey for a long time, and also met another guy from Nicaragua. Very cool people. I believe God loves the diversity that is living in such close procsemity to eachother around commercial. We had lots of fun, B and I would love to go back and help out again.

This week has been more of a planning and playing week. We have a bbq tomorrow, and a soccer camp coming up so this week has been planning out those, getting supplies, and phoning families. I got to meet with an organization called City Reach. They have a warehouse next to broadway church that they do ministry out of. Its a great building and can be used for so much. They have an industrial kitchen which they use to feed 150 people at a time. Thye also teach nutrition to immigrant families. They have afterschool programs for kids, womens groups, and family support. Its a great ministry and the executive Director really inspireed me. She stressed the fact that they serve very nutritious food to their people that come in. Its about giving them quality. She also said that the most important thing we can do is tell the people we are workign with that we care about them. Thats what they need, just one person to say they care. Most of the people in east van feel that no one cares. They don't feel their lives have much value, and something as simple as saying "I care about you" would really change their life. Its beautifully simple. Just like Jesus would do.

This women mentioned Bill Strickland, an entrepreneur in the states who has contributed to the development of programs to get people of the streets . if you have some time watch this video : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoHBiHFV9SA . It totally changed my perspective of what helping the disadvantaged should look like! I'll elaborate some , Just watch the video!

the little things

Well hello city! i'm back and ready to get this summer started! I just had a lovely week in Abbotsford. My internship is only 12 weeks, so i was able to get a week off right at the halfway point. 6 weeks down, 6 weeks to go.

My week in Abby was a nice because i was able to recharge and relax, and recover from a strange cold/flu that i'd had for over a week. The week started out by going to Northview on Sunday. So random, because i never go there for church. I havn't really been going any one place for church for the past year ( I feel incredibly displaced.) but this morning I asked God where he wanted me to go.... and somehow i ended up at northview, where i know no one. But God knew i needed to hear Jeff's sermon that morning.

He spoke on two things that I have really been struggling with lately. The sermon was centered around Mark 4:26-30 - two parables . The first is about the growing seed. main point- God grows his kingdom not me, not people. God's kingdom is unstoppable and inevitable. If you don't know, God wins! and with that I have peace and joy despite rough times, and times when it seems that darkness wins. Here in the city, sometimes it seems dark. I struggle with remembering that i cannot make people meet Jesus. I had the perspective that its Christians' responsibility to save their neighbor. Thats a lot of pressure. And yes, we do have responsibility to LOVE and tell our neighbor about the amazing FREEDOM found in CHRIST! but.. its God that grows the seed! I can't force fruit to grow. After realizing this it was like a burden was lifted from me! I understand that I am just supposed to love each person that God puts in my path.

Secondly, the parable of the mustard Seed. - mainpoint- God takes the insignificant and makes it magnificent. here in east van there are many many ministries going on. Some big, some small. It seems the big ones are doing amazing things(and they are)! like feeding tons of people, womens shelters, youth groups, sending kids to camp, afterschool programs... you get the picture. and it seems like the small ministries have it rough because there isn't a lot of money and its hard to run programs or do anything without money or space in the city. Not going to lie, I was feeling kinda discouraged about being in a small organization. I'd go and visit the established ones and see all the stuff they are doing and the people they are reaching out to and I was a little jealous. who But am I to say where God will work? I was quite humbled... and realized how prideful i was being to think that God cannot use the small things. In this culture we are drawn to success, we have the mentality Bigger is better. and God's kingdom is totally opposite. The kingdom of God is like a mustard seed.. the tiniest thing ever, and then it explodes into hugeness. I was being pretty critical, and now i'm seeing the positives of being apart of a smaller ministry group. I get to make quality relationships with a few youth, rather than being so overwhelmed by program stuff and loads of kids. because i don't work with huge numbers of people i am able to be really personal with those that i do. like be invited to a family's house for dinner, eat birthday cake with the mom of the girls i teach piano, go for a walk with a mom and her daughter and talk about their struggles, play cards at the beach with a girl who's scared about going into highschool... God works in the little things.