He was calling on his cell phone from SkyTrain, which is two strikes against any phone call, and I could have sworn he'd said "the shower ministry got broken into". Four times of listening to it didn't change it. That's exactly what he said.
Truth to tell ... it wasn't broken into. Someone walked in through the door that I thought I'd locked, after showing an out of town guest around the project on Sunday afternoon. They walked out with a bunch of tools, a bag of brass fittings and two sets of shower fixtures. Evidently, I didn't lock the door when I thought I had.
So now we have to replace the tools that got ripped off and buy more fittings. Not the end of the world, no one got hurt. This would happen the day after I'd preached a sermon on getting to know one's place in the Lord, and went off on a tangent about Mayor Sam and the fact that, by his words, he's "written off" the people on the Downtown East Side, but God has not written them off. Now, I find myself in the midst of a test of how much I believe that, because on the one hand, yes, I'm angry with myself for not locking that blasted door, but I am REALLY DISAPPOINTED in whoever ripped us off! Doesn't he (or she) realize the showers are for him (or her)? Doesn't he (or she) realize this is an expression of the love of Christ for him (or her)?
Of course not, Drew: they're too strung out on drugs to know right from wrong. That's why you and the others are doing this. The change in people will come from within and will take time. If the change had already happened, the showers project wouldn't be necessary.
The Lord never said it would be easy. But He did say He'd be with us, every step of the way.
It is all the more reason for us to press ahead with the showers project: a graphic reminder of whom we are called to serve and the battle we're fighting; a reminder of the importance of showing these people the love of Christ in the face of an "official" society that's written them off.
They need to see that God has not written them off, even though a significant sector of those in authority has bought into the insane theory that giving them a "safe place to shoot up" is the best solution. "Go ahead and kill yourselves! We don't care! (Just don't die at InSite!)"
So we begin by forgiving. The Lord has been showing me whom to forgive: the thief, of course; the people who got him on drugs to begin with; those who buy into the insane philosophy behind InSite; and our society, which has, little by little, grown to condone drug use as it's turned away from those silly absolutes called Right And Wrong.
(One could take a timeline and plot the general out-of-control spiral of our society and pinpoint that the spot where it was kick-started was the spot where the Lord's Prayer was banned from public schools. Of course, that's pure coincidence, right?) Now, it's time to remember how God has brought us through it so far. It's like the Israelites in the wilderness, being reminded (Deuteronomy) how God got them out of Egypt, across the Red Sea, through the wilderness, provided manna and quails and water from a rock.
So here goes:
- God placed the project on Barry's and my hearts separately and independently
- the project is connected to not one, but two prophecies: Gerry's over Barry, that Gospel Mission/Carrall St Church would expand and reach out to more people; Lee Grady's over me, that God would provide more effective tools to reach the people on the DTES
- Greg the landlord gave us every break imaginable so we could put the project together
- crucial funding that we needed -- and which confirmed the hand of the Lord is on this project for blessing -- came in exactly when we needed it
- the showers have been donated (by Andrew Sheret)
- The Oasis (Gerry's church) sent the work crew to do the job -- brilliant work by carpenters
- two plumbers have stepped up to the plate, both enthusiastic and with "can do" attitudes that pulled us through the early part, when we needed to hear the project could be done
- people with diverse gifts have emerged to contribute in whatever ways they can: Murray and Tim with their building and planning skills; Kathleen with the towels; Diane with a contribution through her company, IKEA; Gord supplying the soap
- God even protected Barry and Brodie when the mob hit happened across the street
- the media have grasped the vision
- the police are onside
- there's a positive buzz on the street among the people
And we give Him the glory for bringing us this far, and for taking us all the way -- wherever that road leads. We just have to keep our eyes on that pillar of fire, leading us through this wilderness.
We need to remember the miracles -- the ways in which God is touching the people at the Mission: people who are hearing from Him, praying for others, giving words of wisdom and/or knowledge ... even just moving closer to the front ... one man came up after the Sunday service, and showed me his Bible, that he's had people at the churches he goes to sign for him ... so proud of it! I'd seen him before, but he'd never come up to talk before ...
That's what's important at times like this: to re-focus on God, how great He is, how much He wants us to succeed ... and blow off the enemy's feeble attempts to beat us.
We must be on the right track, or Satan wouldn't be throwing so many rocks under the wheels. If you're not taking flak, you're not over the target.
Pastor Barry said it best: "they may think they're killing our faith, but they never will".
Amen.
Back to work.
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