It's not the first time He's done it in this project, and chances are, it won't be the last. It's another of God's "grandstand plays", showing anyone who doubted it that He is fully in control of this project, and that it's His perfect will for it to succeed.
Grandstand play? Oh, yes: this one is one for the highlight reels. It's Michael Jordan carrying the Bulls on his back. It's Bo Jackson crushing a homer to right field in the Kingdome (1990) that was still rising when it hit the back wall, leaving a buzz that continued into the next inning. It's Bobby Baun scoring in OT in Game 6 of the 1964 Stanley Cup while playing with a broken ankle, or Bobby Allison going horizontal to make a rally-killing catch in the '65 World Series. It's that guy on the Giants, catching the ball with his helmet to keep that 4th quarter drive going in the '08 Super Bowl.
Saga entry #13 described the theft from The Lord's Rain. At first, I didn't want to say anything, but the next morning, the Lord started giving me the words -- and the motivation. After all, we needed to be up-front with the people who've supported us so far. So I put together a release, making it clear that the project was going ahead. It went to the mailing list for "Friends of The Lord's Rain", a group list for the media, and the ACOP churches. Janet Dirks called from CTV -- well, she emailed, actually. Then she got called off the story, and Peter Grainger came in her place.
We did an extended interview, and the resulting story was more about the project itself and the need for it, with the mention about the theft tacked on almost as an afterthought. That's the way I wanted it, really -- Peter shows a remarkable sensitivity for the story, as does Janet -- I didn't want to be wringing my hands and wailing about what a terrible thing was being done to us ... but yes, we did have a theft and -- in answer to the question -- yes, it would be nice if we could get some help with that. Actually, Peter said it in his voice-over, and Pam Martin and Bill Good chatted about it, too. That was on Tuesday.
Wednesday morning, the phone rang as I was getting ready for work. It was a fellow who had seen the story, called CTV to get my contact info, and wanted to contribute towards the replacement of the tools. I met him at his place of business in North Vancouver. Turns out, he's a Born Again Christian, too, and as soon as he heard the story, the Lord tapped him on the shoulder. But he didn't want any publicity for himself or his business: he was doing it out of obedience. And with that -- accompanied by a well-deserved flourish -- he plunked a wad of bills on the desk that would choke a medium-sized horse. 100s and 50s. $8000.00.
There's no question this was obedience, too: his own business was doing remediation work after a burst water pipe caused a flood. He could very easily have argued with the Lord, saying that money would have been better spent fixing his own business. But if he did, the argument still went the Lord's way. By day's end, two plumbers had stepped up with offers to donate tools. So Kevin will get his tools replaced, and our costs will continue to be met. Apostle Kenny Black at Rivers of Living Water in Brooklyn summed it up when I told him: "God always has a ram in the bush".
And God is also leaving absolutely no doubt that this is His project. Just like Gideon, facing the Midianites, when God made him reduce his numbers so much that he was forced to rely on Him. Just in case we get too proud and cocky about the showers project -- which is easy to do, with so many people saying, "That's such a wonderful thing you're doing!" -- He's reminding us that it's His project, we're just the ones He's called to make it happen, and ultimately He's the one who's providing what it needs. Leroy Thompson often says, "If you have a need, sow a seed". Oral Roberts has a habit, whenever he feels sickness coming on, of sending money to another ministry or sowing something, someplace, and his recovery either is hastened or the sickness goes away.
There's something to be said about that. Let's pray for our benefactors to have whatever difficulties they face resolved by Divine intervention -- especially our $8000 donor for his flood reparations. I prayed for that with him on the spot -- although he insists he's not doing it for that reason. But it's written that as we give, it's given back to us in full measure -- THEN shaken together, pressed down and running over -- whether that was our "intention" or not.
And in all the confusion, I almost forgot this angle: on Monday, heading home after hearing the news and talking with Brodie and the police, I stopped at Safeway to pick up a couple of things. There was an elderly man standing on the corner with his cap out. As I finished the shopping, the Lord said, "Give him that $20". So I did -- not in the cap, but right into his hand -- and he lit up: not because of the money, but because someone cared to stop and talk, and the spirit that comes with not just dumping "spare change" into his cap is a Godly spirit. (I keep reminding myself that Drew Snider the man has 1001 excuses not to help people -- but "Christ in me" is the X-factor that motivates such things. It's the same with anyone, really.) So he told how he still has faith in God and loves Jesus and loves to pray for people and bless others when he can ... and there was light behind those eyes. But I did pray over that seed before giving it to him -- that it would multiply to meet his needs, but also be blessed with a resolution to the situation at the showers project. And God heard ... and heard the prayers of all the people who read the release, read this blog, saw the news items ... responded.
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MORE MEDIA
The Lord's Rain brings showers to Vancouver poor Cowichan News Leader And Pictorial - Feb. 27
Most of us take for granted our daily baths and showers, but for the down-and-outers on Vancouver's notorious Downtown East Side, that can often be a tough thing to do. But it's about to get better thanks in part to the efforts of some Cowichan locals.
The Lord's Rain is a project launched by Carrall St. Church that will provide showers for Downtown East Side residents three mornings a week. A short while ago, a team of about 20 well-skilled trades people put on a one-day building blitz at the church to construct the platform and frames needed for four showers, three regular sized and one larger shower for people with mobility problems.
The group included about a dozen members of The Oasis Church in Duncan, led by Pastors Gerry and Brandon Wall, as well as other local volunteers. "This is a great way to impact a lot people," said Pastor Gerry. "One of the things we do as a church is to support others' visions when we sense it's a good thing and when we heard about the Lord's Rain it really registered with us."
Wall said one of the first thing many of the homeless who visit the Carrall St. Church in the heart of Canada's most notorious communities is to head for the basins to clean up as best they can. "Knowing a little bit of background on some of the guys I've met in my lifetime, I would suspect they would rather be clean," he said. While beauty may only be skin deep, cleanliness can have a deeper impact on those who call the streets home.
"It can give a rocket ride to someone's self-esteem," said Drew Snider, spokesman for the project. "You see the people who come around and, yeah, they're perpetually dirty, but you can tell they'd rather not be." Snider said it's sometimes easy to write off the homeless people on the East Side as a bunch of crack heads and prostitutes. "Harder hearts say these are people who brought this on themselves, but we all make mistakes, we all slip up," he said. And while the street people can usually find food and clothing, the simple act of bathing be tougher to do, but it's something that can stay with them through the day, said Snider. "That softens their hearts and they'll notice people around them haven't written them off all together," he said. "The people around them haven't found another reason to ignore them and someone does actually do want to see them lifted up to a higher level."
Pastor Gerry said he didn't have a whole lot of contact with the people he was helping build the showers for, but the ones he did talk to appreciated the effort. "The ones who did respond said they thought it was a great idea and they were looking forward to the showers," he said. "It's not a major investment, but maybe it will make someone's life a little better." The church is just waiting for building inspectors to give the construction a passing grade before the showers will officially be turned on, sometime in the next couple of weeks, said Snider.
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