Timotheose - A son in the Faith

Well, as of 10pm I am going to be homeless. My friend Giovanni and I will be spending the next 6 nights on the streets of East Van.

Pray for us and those we meet that we and they may know the love of Him who sent us.


Maranatha

The Servants have developed an awesome little initiative they call "prehab' that I would like to share with you all.

When a person 'makes a decision' to get or try to get clean or sober the struggle for recovery is only beginning. This step, though important is not the only thing that needs to take place to maximize the potential for recovery.

Usually a person will begin to seek out avenues of aid to help them in this decision. I am happy to relate that there are many avenues for assistance at this point. Treatment options are plentiful but sadly there is usually a significant delay before the person can actually get 'in' any of them. This space in time is where prehab comes in.

For example, take Peter, who is sleeping on a mattress in the living room beside me. Servants have seen him here and there in the neighborhood and just recently he has expressed the desire to get clean. Unfortunately there is usually a 10 to 30 day delay between application and acceptance into treatment. What does he do?

I ran into Peter at the UGM (United Gospel Mission) drop in early Thursday morning. I did not know him at the time and he was in line for a muffin and egg ahead of me. Someone just behind him began to give him a hard time about his decision to quite doing drugs, saying that he didn't need any help and that recovery was for 'girls'. There was a little 'dust up' at that and though I tried to connect with him to encourage him he left real quick after that and I did not see him till yesterday aftwernoon here at the house.

Praise God!!! The Lord is good and He does answer prayers and the community here has invited him to stay with them in a safe place until his start date in treatment.

I ask you though, what would have happened to Peter if the Servants were not here? What other challenges would he have to face in order to even get into treatment? How would people have looked at him on the streets if he were to succumb again? How would we have looked at him?


Maranatha

Well, I am a bit upset cause I didn't get any pictures of movie night last nigh here in Vancouver. It was a blast.

We set up a blanket and white sheet to hang between the window and then used a laptop and projector to display two classic hits of the 80's.

Back to the Future Pt. 2

and

Die Unendliche Geschichte

We had a number of 'friends' over to watch them and I was struck by how much fun we had even though the entertainment was less than stellar. We laughed and joked and had WAY too much food.

I loved the 'mixing' that took place as some of our guests were from the surroiunding community, some staying in rundown slum apartments or living on the streets. We had a young man who works in a bank and a few young ladies that are going to University. Surely this equality in diversity is what Heaven will be like.


Maranatha

We had two dinner guests last night. David brought them back to us and we had an awesome time. They were both First Nations, Harry is from a band on Vancouver Island's west coast and Eli was from a village called Bella Bella on Campbell Island. They have been staying at First United just down the street.

In speaking to them I found myself getting in touch with some of the major struggles and tragedies that are facing our countries First Nations people. Eli shared how he has learned some of his native language but he is seeing his 'elders' passing off without transmitting their language and culture to future generations. He most likely struggles with alcohol addiction and is unable to return to stay as he is nearing the age of 'eldership' himself. Harry has been here in the Lower Eastside for 30+ years !!! He says he only gets back to his home when he attends funerals, which he says are happening more often.

These men were true gentlemen throughout the evening and although I left at 7:15 to get to an NA meeting and did not get to see them leave I really enjoyed spending time with them. It strikes me that one of the HUGE benefits of practicing radical hospitality is that once you really get to know someone you begin to empathize and personalize their struggles. As in the case of Harry and Eli I am now studying more bout the First Nations struggles and challenges in our modern culture. Through the Spirit's urgings that I think are heightened through close, communal contact I begin to desire to 'champion' their cause.

This, I believe is one reason why we have a homeless and/or poverty 'problem'. Our culture today is splintered, fragmented and fundamentally divorced from the sufferings of its poor and downtrodden. Most Christians do not have an opportunity, or do not make the opportunity to get to 'know' as Christ knows those who are less fortunate in our culture and so it is easy to distance oneself from their suffering. This distancing or objectifying is IMO a type of 'quenching' of the Holy Spirit in his attempts to mold us into a people who champion justice, mercy and grace and as such is completely out of step with the Christian faith.


Maranatha

Have you ever wanted to simplify your life?
Have you ever wanted to slow things down a bit?
Do you wonder if the race you're running is really worth it?

More and more I am coming to see and experience the value of Christian community living. Every day I am blessed by it and want to share it with others. There is an amazingly potent mix of prayer, music, sharing, work and joy here that seems to soothe my soul and heart.

Our culture is saturated with the belief that being 'independent' and 'successful' are the highest ends and goals of life. Even our Christian culture is influenced by these beliefs. It seems to me the expectation of most mainline Christian culture for its young people is for them to go to school, marry, buy a house and raise a family. These goals in and of themselves are not bad but I think they are somewhat shortsighted in light of the saving grace the we have in Christ. In our church's as in the wider secular culture at large, if you do not have a career path, a car, and some type of relationship prospects you are considered 'less than'.

I can't help but think that we don't have much influence in our culture today because we don't differ from our culture much. We have the same dreams, the same aspirations, the same values (more or less) we just seem to want to do it a bit 'nicer', a bit 'kinder'.

When I look down the annals of history at those Christian movements which made a difference I see courageous souls who stood in direct opposition to the status quo. They said that life in God's Kingdom is of a different sort than the rest of the world, and they lived it out.

I believe that community living can be, and is like that in our culture. Living as an extended Christian family flies in the face of conventional wisdom and yet opens up so many gifts and joys in the process.


Maranatha

Downtown Eastside is where Servants Vancouver is located. Here is an interesting overview of the area and as I don't have a camera it does give a few pictures of the dilapidated buildings that make up the core.

As I've said, each member of the house, unless they are in intensive training for mission overseas is actively engaged in relationship building on the streets throughout the day. There are multiple drop-in centers and soup lines and other gathering places that we visit seeking to 'connect' with the people of the area. Friendships are nurtured and or build over coffee or having food at any of the many low-cost soup or community kitchens.

It's amazing how many people in the area are broken by their addictions and their lifestyles. Often you will see addicts in full psychosis, arms flailing doing what is known as the Hastings Shuffle which not all of you have witnessed but if you REALLY interested here and here are a few examples caught on film (beware the faint of heart). Drug sales occur out in the open and walking by the corner of Hastings and Main you will be greeted with calls for "Meth, Crack, Certaline, smoke". The funny thing is the main Vancouver Police station is located just up the block from the place. Every once in a while the police will show up in force and the dealers and users will move on to the alleys and down the street but for the most part it is an accepted part of the landscape.

I've met two people that I know or knew in passing in Victoria. Both seem to be doing well and one is even working at First United on the night shift which has opened its doors and its sanctuary, and its hallways at the insistence of the cities mayor after the Dec. 19th 2008 death of a homeless women named Tracey. She died in a fire that got out control that she herself set to stay warm during an exceptionally cold night on the streets.

Continue to pray for the lost and the broken ...

Maranatha

Yesterday was a busy day. Even though the pace of community life here is much slower, calmer and less frantic than elsewhere I still managed to stay quite active throughout the day. The fact that there are other Christians here engaged in their own street ministries and I am a guest lends itself for MANY opportunities to tag along with my fellow community members on their journey's.

The house as I have said is located on E. Hastings, just two and a half blocks from Main so it is right in the middle of one of the poorest neighborhoods in Canada and also one of the areas with the highest rates of HIV and HepC and drug addiction. Just down the street is Canada's somewhat controversial and only legalized injection site called Insite.

It has 4 bedrooms and we currently have 8 adults and 2 children living here.

Craig and Nay, a married couple with two beautiful children; Micah, a 4 year old daughter and Jayden a 6 year old boy are the 'heart' of the house. They both are heavily involved in the Servants of Asia ministry and Craig is in fact just now coming back from a trip to England where he had a speaking engagement there on behalf of the Ministry. He was suppossed to get back on Monday but has been delayed twice because of snow, once in London and again in Chicago. Nay is a formidable personality herself and leads a number of teaching sessions in the house.

Jason and Laura are a couple preparing to go to Indonesia, I have not met them as they are with Craig and are due back today. I am told that Jason has had a heart for Indonesia for years and is now finally getting to realize his calling by going there very soon.

David is my roommate. He is a young man, American from Indiana and I believe he said he was 26 years old. He has an amazingly 'light' personality and loves to sing and play guitar which has been quite awesome as it's great to hear praises to the Lord often. He has been here for 6 months and is coming to the end of his internship.

Ruth is a woman from California with a keen intellect and a servants heart. She has decided to stay for a years internship to further discover and refine her calling.

Alana, another American is part Chinese and is also staying for a years internship.


Servants of Vancouver helps prepare missionaries for service overseas and also reaches out into the surrounding lower eastside of Vancouver. Each member of the house is actively engaged in going out into the streets and making loving, Christ-centred connections with the residents of this broken and impoverished area of Canada. Often, they bring home these 'friends' and we get to share and talk to them.

There is sooooo much going on here that I could write more but as the computer is used by more than myelf I will log off and catch you all up later.

Maranatha

As the community is a 'monastic' community in spirit we have a daily 'rhythm' which encapsulates a few daily spiritual disciplines.

In the morning at 7:30am a gong is rung to signify a time for prayer. We gather together around a few lit candle in the early morning light and turn towards the Lord and the coming day. One of the residents begins by reading a section of scripture, this morning's was Mark 5 21-43, a story of the Lord's healing of the woman who touched his cloak and the raising of the Jarius' daughter from the dead.

We eat our evening meals together and fend for ourselves for breakfast and lunch. Guests appear to be frequent, this morning, David, one of the residents rose quite early and went to a shelter that serves breakfast and he met two 'friends', Frank and Joshua and brought them in for some food. We sat and chatted for a bit and practiced a little 'radical hospitality'.

In the evenings we have another time of communal prayer to close out the day. We gather again around the small table, this time in the light of a lone streetlamp shining through the window and light two candles. We open with a simple song and a psalm is read, followed by an 'Evening Awareness Examen'. This last bit is really quite interesting as it calls us to examine our day prayerfully in five areas of focus ...

1. Thanksgiving ...
   
2. Ask for Light ...
   
3. finding God in all things ...
4. Respond to God in dialogue ...
5. help and guidance for tomorrow ...

There is a small prayer room called the 'prayer corner' set aside which has a few crosses and prayers and scripture quotes on the walls for those seeking a little solitude throughout the day.

Maranatha

As some of you might know, the Lord has led me in the direction of seeking out opportunities for actively living out my Christian faith. To this end I believe that he has brought me to consider and explore intentional communities and more specifically those types of communities which are modeled after the New Monastic tradition. Which brings me to East Vancouver.

I am right now living in a community house hosted by Servants of Asia called Servants of Vancouver which

is an intentional Christian community, based in the Downtown Eastside, made up of singles, marrieds and children. We are a community called to practice radical hospitality amongst those who are marginalized in our society.

and is located only two and a half blocks from the corner of Hastings and Main, the heart of East Van where much of the drug trafficking and prostitution occurs in Vancouver.

I will be updating my blog regularly to let you all know what I am doing and who I have met on my journey and I ask for your prayers, I covet them and need them.

Maranatha