When people know ...

In the six years that we've been working on The Lord's Rain, there's a phenomenon I've seen repeatedly: when people know about it, they want to support it. People want to help out with the situation on the Downtown East Side, but in tight economic times, they want to make sure their money has an impact. When they see a facility dedicated to helping the urban poor and that is demonstrably helping to bring change to people's lives, they want to get on board.

In 2013, we nearly had to close The Lord's Rain due to lack of funding, but all it took was a little bit of media exposure, and people rallied round. Less than a week after stories broke in Metro and on CityTV, we had enough to keep going for over another year. Other items on Radio-Canada and in The Province helped a lot, too.

Now, a new financial blessing will provide another opportunity for people to contribute, knowing that their dollars will be doubled. The R. Howard Webster Foundation is providing a grant of $10,000.00, and is offering to match funds raised between now and March 31, 2014, up to an additional $10,000.00. In other words, this could generate as much as $30,000.00 -- enough to keep The Lord's Rain alive until almost the end of 2015. 

What I really like about this, is that it helps us meet short-term financial needs (the arrangement takes effect in June, when another grant is due to run out) while maintaining what I believe has been the key to the success of The Lord's Rain: "collaborative caring". The Lord's Rain has been built and sustained by many people and organizations, bringing what they can, as they can, motivated by a desire to provide hope to people in an area where hope is the most precious commodity.

I intend to start visiting churches and other organizations with the presentation I gave at Westpointe last summer, and if you are led to make a donation, you can do so online at www.gospelmission.net or by mail. Donations specifically marked for "The Lord's Rain" will go towards the fund-matching program. Please make your cheque or money order payable to Gospel Mission Society, and we have a new mailing address:

Gospel Mission Society,

PO Box 98802

The W PO*

Vancouver, BC V6B 0G0

The name of the game is instilling hope in people: Hope in Christ -- the recognition that their situations are not as good as it gets. Without Hope, why would anyone try to get off drugs, seek treatment for their issues, move forward in their lives? The Downtown East Side is too full of hope-destroying things -- reminders of the past, temptations of the present and deniers of the future -- and people need something else to grasp onto. The Lord's Rain helps people find that "something else".

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*Yes, that's "The W PO". Sounds like a plumbing fixture, but it's a post office (PO) located in a complex called "The W", which was built out of the ruins of the Woodward's Department Store, a block away from the Mission. Part of the complex is the iconic neon "W", perched on an Eiffel Tower-like structure on the roof. Hence, "The W", rather than "The Woodwards Complex". It's likely that, as Vancouverites get more familiar and less talkative, it will become known as "The Dub" ... and eventually, simply "The".

Farewell to a friend

2014 starts off with some sad news.

I've mentioned before that one of the ignition points for The Lord's Rain was the day -- two days before the deadline to have funding lined up to take over the ground floor space in our building -- that two phone calls came in. The day before, we had all of $60 set aside for the project to build showers. It was the fall of 2007 and the idea was still incubating. Barry and I had put out a "fleece", à la Gideon -- asking God for a confirming sign -- that, so long as the money was there, we had a "go" project.

And we were prepared to walk away from the idea if the money hadn't come in by mid-December.

Two days before the deadline, there were two phone calls, with pledges totaling $4,000.00. 

One of those calls came from Don Low. Barry and I looked Heavenward and said, "Right then -- we'll take that as a 'yes'."

I didn't know Don and his wife, Joyce, very well. They had been members of Westpointe when I first started going there in 2006, but they were distinctive: certainly the oldest couple there -- Don was in his late 80s at the time -- and they always wore "Sunday best" to church. Don was also distinctive for his puckish sense of humor: he told Amelia and me one time about singing in a Gospel quartet with three Baptist mates in the Royal Canadian Air Force during WW2. They never missed a chance to take the mickey out of him for being Pentecostal, and he, apparently, gave as good as he got. That sense of humor stood him in good stead through these doctrinal differences, since that group still got together to sing long after the war.

Don passed away just before New Year's at the age of 90 or 91. He was a true gentleman, and he and Joyce continued to support The Lord's Rain over the years, with prayer, quiet encouragement and timely contributions. I'm sure Don's legacy takes many forms in many different areas, but The Lord's Rain is part of it, and will stand the Downtown East Side has benefited -- and will continue to do so -- from his and Joyce's kindness, generosity and prayers.

"Thank you," somehow, doesn't begin to say it.

Stones Big and Small (an appeal)

My good friend, Murray Scott, takes one of the turns as service leader at Westpointe Christian Centre. He has a gift for taking everyday experiences he's encountered -- often from coaching soccer or his business, which is a building contractor -- and relating them to Biblical truths. So in many ways, I'm following his example as I write this. You'll see what I mean.




In Genesis and Deuteronomy, the Lord commands His people that, if they build Him a stone altar, it's to be made of "whole stones" -- any stones that have been "cut to fit" are polluted. Now, the "polluted" part aside, that means that stones of all shapes and sizes are needed, as they all fit together. Small ones fill in the spaces between the big ones, and if those small ones aren't there, there are either gaps or the whole thing collapses.



It's also important to note that we're talking stones here -- in the plural. The altar was not meant to be a single, large stone. An altar is to be built, not found or appropriated. God doesn't want His people simply saying, "Hello: here's a rock! Let's worship here!" Rather, we're to take the definite, deliberate action of selecting the stones, and then joining them together so they will fit just right and stand for a very long time.



That's the way The Lord's Rain has been built. As I've said before, it's not been the work or gifting of one single person or entity that's made it happen, but the collective work of a whole lot of people bringing a whole lot of things of varying sizes to the project -- rather like Paul's description of the Body of Christ in Ephesians 4. That collective effort has imbued the facility with a spirit that many people care enough about the people in the Downtown East Side to develop it. That brings hope, and hope is the most precious commodity of all.



To keep the analogy going, we're in need of more stones, big and small, at The Lord's Rain. We have an ongoing financial need, and as you know, The Lord's Rain is totally run by volunteers, so funds that come in go directly to rent, utilities and upkeep. So would you please consider making a contribution of whatever amount you feel you can? Also, would you please consider making The Lord's Rain a regular part of your offerings?



Saturday will mark the third anniversary of the opening of The Lord's Rain, and there's no question it's been a success in terms of changes coming over the lives of the people who come in. In raw numbers, we've provided nearly 1800 showers. In the past year, we've managed to bring more consistency to the "Ladies Only" time and added another early-morning opening (now open Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays at 6:30am) and it looks like we'll be adding Mondays to the list in the near future.



Perhaps more tellingly, the Lord has truly blessed the facility from Day One, providing for it and protecting it in often miraculous ways -- something I blogged about a couple of years ago -- so there's no question that this is on the right track. There's no question, too, that we're grateful for the way you-all have bought into the vision and supported it in the ways you have, to date.



I think it also says something that we only have to send a gentle (I hope) reminder like this about once a year.



To make a donation, you can send a cheque or money order to:

Gospel Mission Society

Box 1151, 2480 East Hastings

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V5K 1Z1

... and please make sure the cheque is made out to Gospel Mission Society, and then mark "The Lord's Rain" or "Showers" on the memo line.

You can also donate by Visa or MasterCard via email to donation@gospelmission.net, including your name as it's on the card, card number, expiry date and your address for tax receipt purposes.

Thank you, as always, for the support you give us, however you give it.

Give me that old-time charitable contributions!

It's not that I'm a Luddite (except on days ending in "y"), but there are times when the New Technological Age leaves me cold. In fact, if I may throw my own spin on the tale of the Luddites, the rebellion -- smashing factory machines -- was not against the Industrial Revolution per se, but against the impersonalness of it all. I actually embrace technology, and in my day job with the BC Electric Railway Company, I have to, in order to keep pace with our communications strategy (much of which I've helped to design).

But there are times when I think Ned had a point.

Take, for example, QR code. Please.

Apparently, QR code, with a downloadable app on your mobile device (there's a sentence I never would have used two years ago!), enables you to pay for things directly through your cell phone, even (according to one CBC reporter who breathlessly described it to me a few weeks ago) ordering a latte from your SkyTrain ride and having it ready for you when you get off the train.

She didn't explain why I would want to do that, but that's not the point. The point is that now, one can debit one's bank or credit card account for practically anything, faster than the speed of thought.

And therein lies the issue.

The QR ("Quick Response") phenomenon does appear to be a boon for fundraisers. Show a poster with a gripping image of a person being helped by an organization, put the code on the poster, someone is moved by the image and can quickly make a donation to the cause and go about the rest of their lives. "Less than five bucks? Hey: no skin off my nose!", and on they go.

But what's the spirit behind that fundraising method? Is it a prayerful, considered contribution, or the same thought process that leads us to buy a package of Life Savers when we get to the cashier?

It makes our way of raising funds at Gospel Mission seem so Last Century -- cash, checks and credit card donations (and we only added the credit card option a year ago, when someone said that she couldn't find the credit card option on our website so she gave her donation to another organization, instead). But the whole success of our Mission -- surviving through 81 years and counting -- has been due to those old-time charitable contributions. When you actually sit down, write the check, count out the cash or fill out the credit card form, you find yourself thinking:

• Whom am I giving this to?
• have I done "due diligence" about the organization?
• how will it be used?
• whom does it benefit?
• how does it benefit them?
• is this a tithe or an offering?
• how much?
• can I afford to do this?
• can I afford not to?
• how else can I help?

By the time you get through that process, you've truly put thought into what you're doing.

The way the Lord has been providing for Gospel Mission -- and His provision for The Lord's Rain against all odds confirms it -- tells me there's something to be said for them old-time thought processes and we really don't need to go to Fundraising 2.0. People bringing in what they can, as they can, has worked since the time of the Tabernacle; as a result, we receive what we need, exactly as we need it. (Or, as Senior Pastor Barry Babcook puts it, God comes through in the 11th hour, 59th minute; a constant faith test for us.)

The spirit of prayerful consideration covers the contribution and thence the Mission itself. The people we minister to see the place as their Mission, supported by a variety of people with a variety of levels of means, from those contributing socks for the Vancouver Sock Exchange, to those handing over regular checks, to the occasional big-ticket donation. For many, it's a significant amount of skin off the nose, but it's something they're led to out of love and duty.

And so it has been this week, as an email arrived out of the blue from The W. Garfield Weston Foundation. Last year, The Foundation set up by the bakery and grocery corporation picked us to receive a $15,000 grant from a special fund set up to help charitable organizations like ours get through the economic downturn, when donations from "usual" sources could be expected to ease off. That was a one-time thing, so hearing from The Foundation that it would like to give us another $3000.00 was an unexpected and extremely welcome surprise. A letter from Wendy Rebanks, treasurer of The Foundation (one of Garfield's daughters and aunt of Mark W. Mitchell, who yesterday brought the check to the Mission personally), noted the success of The Lord's Rain both as a showers facility and a place to "escape the street and find friendly conversation".

To say we're grateful would grossly understate the case.

I mentioned the Vancouver Sock Exchange. It's about to receive another massive injection from Francis Heng's Spare Some Socks campaign -- part of his "Change Everything" initiative. Last year, he and his wife rustled up 450 pairs of socks, which took us several months to give away and led to the idea of the VSE, in which "street people" can turn in the socks they're wearing -- so long as they're still wearable -- and we wash them up and put them into "circulation" for others. Check out this video that Francis posted on his blog: http://www.changeeverything.ca/blog/francis/paul-socks-are-gold. "Paul"'s description of having to scrape the socks off his feet (because he'd worn them for so long) reminds me of the story the regional RCMP commander in Port Hardy told me about a homeless guy who'd been brought into the drunk tank there.

We also had a welcome visit from an anonymous donor who, with her son, brought in a boxload of socks and shampoo, having heard about us in a TV report about the recent cold snap in Vancouver.

Lives move forward -- recently, we posted Randall's testimony on God Tube. On Wednesday, Randall informed me he wants to go into Ministry and help others as he's been helped. Another brother, Marty, who started by coming to The Lord's Rain earlier this year and became a regular at Gospel Mission, has taken the big step of checking himself into a recovery program. It's times like these that we marvel at the works of God when people turn to Him through His Son.



A Ground-Level Investment

A couple of things recently reminded me of one of the greatest needs in the area we serve: socks. My friend Sandra Thomas wrote in The Vancouver Courier about the closure of the Health Contact Centre on the Downtown East Side, and how one of the elements people would miss would be the face-to-face contact -- the human touch. She mentioned how "street foot" is one of the biggest blights in the neighbourhood: the horrible affliction when dirty feet get infected and then people can't get clean footwear.

That reminded me of a conversation I had with Insp. Chris Stewart, the RCMP regional commander in Port Hardy, whom I met in Port McNeill earlier this month. Chris told me about his encounter several years ago with a drunk his officers had brought in off the streets, and when he helped him get his shoes and socks off, maggots fell out from his feet. That helped spur Chris to make changes in the way such people were treated in his region.

Saturday morning, with "Mayvember" threatening to turn into "Juneuary" (in other words, a hard rain was a-fallin'), at least half a dozen people came in asking for clean socks. Praise God, several new pairs had just walked in, courtesy Barbara, our new volunteer (who'll be working with Janet on Ladies' Day -- Tuesdays, 1-4pm).

The response is good when we put out appeals for socks (and underwear!). Francis Heng and his wife, who started Big Give Vancouver, have moved to another effort, "Spare Some Socks". They did a major sock-drive just before Christmas and showed up at the Gospel Mission Christmas dinner with 450 pairs. We've only just recently given out the last of them.

But there's something missing: the socks go out ... and then they're gone. So we are launching a NEW INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY ... (drum roll .........)

THE VANCOUVER SOCK EXCHANGE

("That's so bad," said Marty, a schoolteacher getting his life back together after being suspended for drug use, "it's good!" Aha! Endorsement!)

And yes, I mean "exchange". We have laundry facilities, which are mostly used for towels and some clothing that has been discarded at The Lord's Rain but is still usable.

The idea is that during the Saturday opening of The Lord's Rain, people can come in and swap the socks they're currently wearing for a new (or new-to-them) pair. We'll take in the returned socks and if they're still wearable, we'll wash them in bleach and hot water and get them ready to hand out again.

So if you'd like to invest in the new VSE (which is a lot surer thing than the old one was), just bring your investment to The Lord's Rain when we're open -- Monday 1-3pm, Tuesday 6:30-8:30am or 1-4pm, Friday 1-3pm or Saturday, 6:30-10am -- or to Gospel Mission (upstairs) between 6:30 and 7pm.

If you can't come during those times or don't have transportation (or patience to deal with the City of Vancouver's Dig-Up-The-Roads-To-Irritate-Drivers-Program), contact me and I can pick them up.

I must say, I've been very impressed at the quality of the donations we've been receiving since we started. It's been usable, and people have been grateful to get them, whatever they've been. The Book of Malachi (1:7-8) contains some powerful passages about what the Lord thinks of "Junk For Jesus", and I'm glad to say there's none of that here. Thank you!