(There's an appeal of a different sort near the end of this posting, so even if you don't read the brilliant and engaging prose at the beginning, please cut down to the last 5 or so paragraphs.)
So I go away for 3+ weeks ... The first thing I noticed was the paint job on the outside of Wing's Cafe, the little coffee shop that shares the ground floor of our Carrall Street building with us. Then I realized that paint job extended to the outside of The Lord's Rain ... including the bars on the windows ... and all up the inside staircase (which had been in dire need of repainting* for quite a while).
The elves had arrived, in the form of some young people our sister Teresa Mancia (who does Monday evening services, oversees The Lord's Rain on Monday and Friday middays and filled in for the first two Saturday night services that I was away) had dragooned into helping out at Gospel Mission.
Then, I saw that the elves had also begun dealing with the back wall of The Lord's Rain. That's been one of the remaining jobs at The Lord's Rain: repairing and upgrading the wall in the back portion, where the electrical box is located and some spare lumber has been stored. But there had been other priorities -- like running the place -- and that part of the job was put aside. Not forgotten-about, mind you: just put on the back burner temporarily.
Anyway, Barry had attacked the back area himself, assisted by another of Teresa's elves (a young Muslim man, in fact), and while the job isn't complete, the sense that it's on the right track is a major load off our shoulders.
(There's a metaphor for Salvation in that last sentence: anyone who hangs about, waiting to see a completed work before admitting that they (or anyone else) are Saved is missing the whole point.)
But I digress ... I came home from vacation (honeymoon, in fact) to find the place had taken another big step forward -- a place where His people that we serve can feel comfortable and welcome.
Carrall Street itself is also a work in progress. You can see in this photo (taken on Tuesday) where the sidewalk bulges are taking shape, with stanchions for parking meters and/or bicycle lockups. The bicycle path will be along there, as well.
Here's what's become of Pigeon Park. I understand the City is installing a public washroom there -- one of those self-cleaning jobs, like the one at Main and Terminal, about a mile away.
It's going to look gorgeous, and while some people -- the activists who play off the fears and paranoia in the area -- portray the project as a step towards "gentrification", chasing away the homeless and disadvantaged, I see it as the City sending a subliminal message that these people have not been forgotten and are not being ignored.
That's an important message to an area beset with a spirit of abandonment. Maybe it's not 400 shelter beds or another dozen soup kitchens, but those are only temporary solutions, anyway. The spiritual message from "we know you're there and we want your street to be beautiful, too" brings hope -- Remember, the issue is not HOMELESSNESS but HOPELESSNESS -- that lingers long after the last sandwich has gone.
It's like a certain SkyTrain Attendant I know of, who has a supply of home-grown roses on hand, and when he sees someone who's looking depressed, he gives them one. He's been known to stay with the person and listen to their story. The immediate problem may be an overdue bill or a lost loved one, but the gesture that Somebody Cares opens people's eyes to possibilities they couldn't see before -- because God has suddenly been allowed into the picture.
The job now is to portray the Carrall Street beautification in that way and build on that with more indications that people haven't forgotten them. As I've said before, the fact that the Lord's Rain came together through the combined efforts of a group of individuals with a variety of gifts, is another indication of that.
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In closing, here are a couple of praise reports.
1 - we made an extraordinary appeal for financial support a couple of months ago, and the response was tremendous. We need to remember, though, that the need is ongoing (for the rent and utilities -- none of us gets paid to work at The Lord's Rain), so I hope you'll keep us in mind.
2 - the Lord has definitely blessed the move we made in the spring, refusing to accept funds from provincial gaming revenue. It meant that we had to say "thanks-but-no-thanks" to one ministry, and "the world" would probably say we were nuts to do that. But since then, contributions and new people to help minister have been coming in, sometimes from some surprising sources. In essence, we got out of God's way and allowed Him to do what He needed to do.
3 - Barry has been talking for some time now about his vision for The Lord's Rain to be open 6 days a week. Right now, we're open 4 days a week: Monday, Tuesday, Friday and Saturday (plus Tuesday afternoons for "Ladies Day"). This brings us to the "unusual appeal": there are still some opportunities for anyone who might be led to oversee an opening time.
I believe the best times to be open are in the early morning, to give people a place to go after the shelters boot them out -- something especially needed as the weather turns colder. (The Tuesday opening is 7-8:30am, which allows me to get to the office by 9 or 9:15. I mention that because it is something that one can do prior to going to work.) I hope you'll consider that. Respond through this blog if you're interested.
Remember: when Jesus looked at Samaria and said "the fields are white for the harvest", He didn't follow that by saying, "but we don't have the money". He said, "the labourers are few". Money, as I said before, is always going to be a requirement, but the more people who can come down and share their love, experiences and time in the area, the better the connections will be between the people in our own "Samaria" and those from "the other half", and the greater the level of Hope that can be ministered.
(If you don't live in the Vancouver area, there are plenty of other districts like the Downtown East Side, please consider doing something similar in those districts.)
By the way, our mailing address has changed: it's now
Gospel Mission,
Box 1151,
Vancouver BC
V5K 1Z1.
Please make the checks payable to Gospel Mission Society, and if you want it to go specifically towards the showers project, write "The Lord's Rain" or "Showers" in the "memo" line.
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*I am reminded of the pastor who realized his church needed a new paint job, so he got out the paint and brushes to do it himself. But there wasn't enough paint, so he used thinner to make it stretch further. As the level of paint went down, he kept adding more thinner. He was almost finished the job, when a rainstorm hit and washed away all his work. And as he looked at the situation, a voice boomed from the Heavens, "Repaint! And thin no more!"
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