Don't park here - you shall smart for this!*
I'm really looking forward to the Winter Olympics, but there's no question the games are going to affect us all in different ways. The Olympic Transportation Plan Phase 2 has just come out, and my relief at Gospel Mission not being in one of those security "red zones" despite being near GM Place and BC Place suddenly turned sour when I saw the map in The Sun.
The map shows that yes, we're outside the security zone, but the stretch of Cordova Street running past Carrall will be a 24/7 no-stopping zone.
Couple that with the revamped Carrall Street outside the mission -- where there will be metered parking which will likely be snapped up during the Games -- and you can see we have a potential problem. See, the suggestion to bring in supplies during "off hours" (like between midnight and noon) may work for businesses, but the mission is considerably different. We come in at all hours and something is going on 6 nights a week plus Sunday afternoon. Barry comes in from Port Coquitlam. Teresa, from Richmond. The bus and walking is not an option for Daniel.
There are two potential solutions that I can see, and I'm contacting the City of Vancouver about them. One is to allow us to place a hood on one of the parking meters, essentially reserving it for Gospel Mission. Another is to work a deal to allow us to park up to 2 vehicles in the alley next to the building. We'll need prayer for favor in that one, I can tell you.
But consider: Olympics or no Olympics, winter is the time of greatest need in the Downtown East Side, and while businesses and individuals may be able to alter their schedules to accommodate transportation and other needs, that doesn't really work for the street people. A six-week disruption in the operations of Gospel Mission and The Lord's Rain would make things even more difficult for our friends, and that's the very reason why so many individuals and groups have invested in the work we do. I'm sure the City will be willing to find a way to work this out.
Of course, the situation won't be solved by complaining, whining, protesting or dumping non-recyclable imported non-organic juice bottles on Gregor Robertson's front lawn. As we have done over and over again, we turn to the Lord for provision ... which leads us to ...
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*Specially for you Flanders & Swann fans!
God always has a ram in the bush!
And the ram this time comes in the form of a family built on bread. The W. Garfield Weston Foundation -- which came out of the company that was originally Weston Bakeries and now is responsible for a bunch of household names in this country, including Superstore and President's Choice -- has announced it's contributing $15,000 to Gospel Mission. It's part of a special fund they set up to help organizations that feed and clothe the poor make it through the current economic downturn, when many of their usual contributors have been pulling in their horns. The Westons put $1.8 million into the fund, to be cut up among 120 organizations -- including ours.
Some might say it's ironic: today's Vancouver Sun has an article about charities feeling the pinch because of the downturn. (There were similar stories several months ago, too, in fact.) No one's interviewed us, which is a shame because while we've had the ups and downs you always experience with a Mission, we keep reminding ourselves and anyone else that God has provided for Gospel Mission over the past 80 years, He has had His hand on The Lord's Rain for blessing and provision and He's not going to let a recession stop Him.
And He has heard our prayers!
The Glamour Kids Return
I've written before about Brendan and Charlotte, a 30-something couple that really make the uninitiated ask, "what happened????" He's good-looking; she's gorgeous; both are sharp as anything: and both have serious drug problems. It makes you realize that anybody can fall and need help. I also go into "dad" mode when I see them: when you meet someone who could be your daughter, it's hard not to.
They're definitely working towards rehab, but it's a long road and they need prayer -- lots of it. Cheryl Weber from "100 Huntley Street" interviewed Brendan during her visit in May (air date still TBA, but some time in 2010) and was amazed at his story of being too close to temptation and letting his life get out of control. But it's also a story of how people cannot be expected to pull themselves up and turn their lives around on their own strength. They need the X-Factor -- Christ. That's why Brendan and Charlotte need our prayers: they're earnest, smart, loving ... but it's in Christ that they'll find that strength to carry them when their own flesh is screaming for the drugs.
Watch that bump there!
The work continues on Carrall Street progresses (as noted above), and one of the elements of the beautification (as opposed to beatification) of Pigeon Park is a set of implants. Rails, to be precise. See, the building in the background used to be the car barn for the BC Electric Railway, and there are still streetcar rails in the pavement in the parking lot. The rails being implanted in Pigeon Park are a sort-of historical throwback and a symbolic continuation of the rails at the car barn. There's also a set of rails running across the sidewalk outside International Village -- the shopping mall on the other side of the old car barn on Pender Street -- and those rails then cross Pender into the parking lot.
Problem with the rails in the sidewalk is, there's no "cutaway" in the sidewalk, so that the rails in the sidewalk are a good 2" higher than the rails in the road -- so that if you really were on a streetcar, there would be this sudden bump (and possibly several derailments). But hey: who said form had to relate to function?
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