Serving The Hot Stuff

Can't beat 'em, join 'em. Not going to let this bug slow me down too much, so got up at 5:30 a.m. to take the morning shift serving the travelers to Whistler. Took the morning SkyTrain to downtown to catch the shuttle over to Simon Fraser University Vancouver campus where we were greeted by the numerous buses loading for Whistler. That's where the big ski events are and the famous sliding center; a two hour mountain ride.

Fresh and chipper in our Salvation Army uniforms, we set out to serve free warm coziness to the masses. And what masses there were. Love to see country pride show itself in so many ways: Big husky Norwegian men in cascading blond viking wigs, Japanese winter kimonos (yes, they make those), Dutch men in outrageous orange bathrobes (my personal favorite), proud Koreans hoisting their flags (um, yea, they're pretty darn terrific that Korean team!), scores of Maple Leaf adorned noggins (Canada red is the new black), stoic German faces shining & grinning from ear-to-ear at the shout of 'Deutschland!', Russians in their red & blue glory as they advertise Sochi 2014! Let me just say, get your wallets ready for those Russian item pricetags.

Being here makes you wish that we could all speak, hug, shake hands and tell our stories to one another like this any day any where. The Olympics really give a whole new meaning to 'community'. Not going off on a New World tangent; not a big proponent of that. But we were all created in God's image, His people. Designed to care for one another; not to walk it alone or create barriers that restrict us. God's love is a powerful, powerful gift inside us all and it should be no wonder to ask "Why are you doing this?".