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?".

Feeling Like The Weather

Well the cold I've been convinced would go away hasn't. Stuffy. So I'll stay in out of the rain trying to give this thing a chance. That should do it, right? Eh? Listening to stories of those out serving at 6:30 a.m. to the masses loading buses on their way up to Whistler. The second team serves downtown where they get to literally run hot chocolate and coffee 8-10 blocks every 20-mins. Everyone asks us "Why are you doing this ?" and we smile and say just showing the love of God in a very practical way. While there are a thousand cutie faces in the crowd hankering for a good cup of warm cocoa, there are still amongst the global celebrations the not so cutie faces that walk the streets day-in-day-out hoping for a warm bed. I am reminded of the exponential blessing that is my life. The reminder to be more mindful of those across my path be it next door or across the continents.

Canadian word of the day: loony is one dollar. toony is two dollar. Right, eh?

Well off to nap time to see if I can get rid of this ickle bug and hopefully get my voice back!

Sunday Services

We awoke Sunday to worship in the church we're sleeping in! Having read about Gateway and reading their updates over the years, it was super to spend Sunday in worship with them. Gerda leads the worship team while Rick brings the message. Their kiddos are a delight as they serve along side their family.

We were accomanied with one other group from Texas and another fresh in from Maryland. Sharing two showers has become a lot like the loaves and fishes, it just seems to be enough for the crowds remarkably. Afer morning services, we gobbled down a sandwhich courtesty of the Barr sisters and made our way to the SkyTrain for our morning walk. Taking the train about 24 stops away, we spent the remainder of our Sunday training at Oakridge Adventist church learning about the More Than Gold organization that brought us to British Columbia bringing radical hospitality to the nations.

While there we had the photo-op to get a snapshot with one of the Olympic Torches; woohoo that's a rarity.

In The City & Free Hot Chocolate!

You're the God of this City

You're the King of these people

You're the Lord of this nation

You are

For greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this City

Wow, what a city, and what a great start to a Saturday morning taking the SkyTrain up Mount Burnaby to Simon Fraser University where we worked with The Point Church at SFU during their Olymp-Kids event. Victor and Candice Thomas are two people truly blessed and belonged in their university town of Burnaby. What a severe treat to experience their church and the Kingdom work they are employed with. We did a VBS type of morning where there were games, songs, crafts, silliness playing with several children in all ages from many countries ranging from Ecuador to China. I will hold on to their faces. Several leave their parents in their home countries to study here. Others are trying to find their home away from home here. Victor and Candice embrace these families bringing them into the family of God, being a friend, a refuge as well. And while it's a LOT of work for a tiny church, they bathe in the laughter and light from the Father! Just check out those wigs...

Now, I would be terribly remiss not to mention that Burnaby, SFU, was the exact location of the New Battlestar Galactica series filming. I was on Caprica! ^_^ Kara Thrace's apartment, the famous Baltar and Six square, the forest of Cylon engagements, ha ha ha. A sure sci-fi geek fest am glad to say.

Saying so long to Galactica and The Point, we made our way back down to the great city mosaic of Vancouver. Not a melting pot, but a true mosaic of culture where Chinese bank, eat, travel in their neighborhoods all in Mandarin. Or where the Sikh practice their religion, do their business all within their own Punjabi neighborhoods. According to Article I of the "Rehat Maryada" (the Sikh code of conduct and conventions), a Sikh is defined as "any human being who faithfully believes in One Immortal Being; ten Gurus, from Guru Nanak Dev to Sri Guru Gobind Singh; the Sri Guru Granth Sahib; the utterances and teachings of the ten Gurus and the baptism bequeathed by the tenth Guru; and who does not owe allegiance to any other religion".The most common symbol of all Sikhs, because of its simplicity, is uncut hair (including beards for men) and turbans.

The average population that attends church in Vancouver is 2-3% of its 3 million residents; it's a very post-Christian city; one of the (if not the) most unchurched on our continent. Spirtuality is great, but "not necessarily for me".

After de-boarding our favorite SkyTrain, half of our group headed immediately to the downtown Salvation Army Men's Hostel on Robson. There we hiked up six flights of stairs to a kitchen with a lot of history, and learned how to make cambros of hot chocolate. The gallons and gallons of boiling hot chocolate was then poured into backpack canisters, much like Ghostbusters(!), weighing in at 40-lbs of warm goodness. So with cups in mittened hands and canisters strapped to the strongest backs (Randy, Zach, Jonathan, Jerry, Don, etc), from 4pm until midnight, we served up FREE HOT CHOCOLATE to the masses on the street corners.





Millions walking to an fro the stadiums two blocks down. International music blaring. Kids exclaiming. Young men shouting shirtless anthems in pride. Scores of people wearing their flags as superhero capes making them appear and feel heroic of their homelands. And they all loved hot chocolate amazed to find something for free and those willing to serve it. Being in a Red Zone, no evangelism was allowed, but showing service in Christ name will hopefully speak volumes or be those seeds planted in the very process of peoples lives. God does work in mysterious ways is no cliche, His plans are not ours thankfully. And while we firmly believe that our faith saves us, it is truly a huge reminder to stay viligent in our service to His Kingdom.

We boarded our SkyTrain and headed back to Surrey exhausted but smiling!

Hello Vancouver!

We made it to Vancouver Thursday night to an airport of Canadian pageantry and loads of hospitality. There must be a greeter in Vancouver turquoise every 12-feet! Our group of 18 hit the SkyTrain and traveled to Surrey, our home for the next 9 days. Friend and Pastor Rick Chase has opened up his church allowing us and two other groups to camp it out.



Today the group took a tour of downtown. Randy and I got to spend time with Rick, Gerda, and their kiddos. So nice to get to spend time with friends in their home country. Almost makes you want to move here... Although I think the unusual sunshine we're getting has convinced us it's not that cold here! The snow we see on the mountaintops was flown in. Yes, if you want to chase away the snow, just host the Olympics.




It's bliss walking amongst a host of nations. Especially downtown Vancouver on our way to the Germany-Finland Hockey game! Hockey in Canada, the way God made it to be, eh? I could be a real Hockey fan up here. Cries of DEUTCHLAND and FINLANDIA filled the stadium...easy to spot the fans in their flags and reverie. Finland went on to stomp Germany. And we went on to beat the 100's of 1000s to the SkyTrain home at midnight. Makes the New York subways look like ghost towns!


And the people have glee written on their faces, no stoicism here. Everyone is an open book at the games. Wanting to share their pride, their stories. Open to listening to our pride and our stories. Well, that's a perfect segue into the service we were sent here for.

A Day In The Shadow of An Astronaut

Monday was a BIG day in our little family life. We started the day at the sunny beach just mere feet from our porch. Boogie-boards in hand and great wave action made for a super fun day, hooray! Showers and new clothes meant a drive to the local Cocoa Brevard Community College Planetarium to the Astronaut Memorial Center. We attended Dr. John "Danny" Olivas' family reception complete with a movie only seen by astronaut families. An inside look at becoming an astronaut by iWorks. We met Dr. Olivas' previous crew member Dr. Steve Swanson. Took in the sites and then did another wardrobe change for the big launch night which started at 7 pm. We showed up at the Kennedy Space Center fully burdened with umbrella chairs, umbrellas, blankets, jackets, bags of contingency items, etc! From 7pm until midnight we toured around the Center taking in robot shows, shuttle walks, and even a shuttle simulator ride. We took the shuttle to the specially designated viewing area; the closest anyone can get at 6-miles. Yep, got to be that far away to be safe! Alas despite the waiting, the storm clouds rolled in full of lightening. Launch scrubbed at 1:15 a.m. Everyone quickly raced to the waiting buses. Got home at 3 am. Sad but happy experience an amazing, amazing adventure!

Florida Road Trip!

Saturday morning we departed for a very LONG road trip to Cocoa Beach, Florida as guests of the Olivas family to watch John "Danny" Olivas launch with the rest of his crew on the STS-128 Discovery Shuttle Mission. We were so excited! We drove to Mobile, Alabama and stayed the night. We made it easily apart from Rachel's "bathroom" necessities. I know, I know, it IS a blessing she's trained. ^_^ The very next Sunday morning we drove straight to Cocoa Beach and found our resort easily. Ahhhhhh the sounds of the ocean! Having a resort room right on the beach is crazy wonderful. The kiddos ran for the waves on their complimentary boogie-boards. Rachel preferred to play in the sand. We spent the first evening just getting wet waiting for the next day to really take advantage of the Pacific!