What did you do this summer?
"I met Jesus in a dirty, dark, feces infested, and needle infested alleyway. His name was Pam."
As we walked across the street, our team listened intently to Dave and Brian, the police officers who were showing us around and telling us how to spot out a drug dealer. We walk towards an alleyway. A few feet in, we look around and see dozens of needles lying around. At this moment we don't really know what to say so we continue to listen. The police officer then talks to a lady standing in the alleyway and asks if he could see her pipe (crack pipe). She denies her having one but Dave gently asks for it again, telling her that he just wanted to show us what one looked like and that he would give it right back. She finally conceded and then walked away and sat within an eye shot away. Dave begins to explain what the pipe was for but then stops and looks to his right. We all look in the same direction and see a woman with her back turned against us not aware that we are even there.
Dave then responds, "Please don't tell me you are shooting up."
The woman jumps and is startled, but Dave then tells her in a gentle voice to calm down and not be afraid. He starts to talk with her and gives her a hand-wipe to wipe away the blood on her hands. The talk between them was an actual conversation and not one person dominating over the other. Dave was gentle and compassionate in the conversation and he invited this woman to come and talk to us.
The woman walks over slowly with a nervous look on her face and asks us where we we're from. We responded from all different campuses in Vancouver.
She then starts to say, "Look at me. Look at me and remember me as a person that you never want to be. I was never like this nor did I ever want to be down here, but that is what happens when you are alone and you have lost the love of your life. So don't forget me and never forget this face as someone that you never want to be."
As she was saying this, she rolled up her sleeve to reveal a deformed right arm. There were blood stains on it from her just shooting up and it looked to be barely usable. The site of this completely shocked us and we didn't know how to respond or what to say, so we just listened. She shared about how her arm got that way and as she was sharing she started to cry. The hopelessness we saw in her eyes as she shared her story of pain and loneliness, we felt it. Dave came over and comforted her and asked if she wanted to meet up later to talk. So they set up a time to meet afterwards at Pigeon Park and we went on our own ways.
A few of us stayed back to listen to more of her story, there were 4 of us.
She says, "Everyone judges me, no one treats me like a human or cares about me."
One of the group members, filled with compassion, says, "You are important." and proceeded to give her a hug. It was then that I saw tears of joy streaming down her face as she was being hugged. It was as if a her humanness was given back to her. I thought to myself, "In the same way Jesus touches and loves the leper, we are also called to love and receive the people down her for who they are."
It was then I heard her say the words, "I will never forget this."
We as a team saw Jesus in 2 places here. First, in Dave who talked with her and cared for her as she was and did not judge her. He loved and received Pam as Jesus would have done. Secondly, in Pam who reminded us that Jesus came into the world for all but especially these in the margins. We were reminded that to love and accept Jesus, we need to love and accept the "least" for who they are.
VUP* was not your typical "missions" trip. We didn't go to the DTES* with the mindset of, "I will bring Jesus into here." Instead, we went and searched for Jesus here and found him in some of the most unexpected places. Places like the shelter we were staying, the food line-ups, the people we talked with, local organizations, Insite, Pam, etc. We humbled ourselves and took on the posture of learners and listeners. From the neighbourhood, we learned very strong values of community and how to accept and love people for who they are, even in all their brokenness. In turn, we soon saw that the DTES was but a mirror, reflecting our own brokenness back to us. The story you just read was one of the MANY experiences and was probably one of the most memorable for our team. If you would like to hear more about our time in the DTES, all you have to do is ask. Please continue to pray for our Team as we integrate back into our "regular" lives and also keep Pam and the DTES in your prayers.
* VUP - Vancouver Urban Partnership
DTES - Downtown Eastside
 |
| Community Dinner's at Jacob's Well |
 |
| Say Hello to the VUP Team! |
 |
| A Gourmet meal our students put on for us. |
 |
| Street Market every Sunday |
 |
| A fun and silly photo |
 |
| Crab Beach |
 |
| Community Garden |
 |
| Hotel Balmoral - Single Room Occupancy |
 |
| Jacob's Well |
 |
| Carnige Hall |
