There has been a bit of a drought in the prayer-blog-world (sorry I hope that you haven’t given up on us), but the same can’t be said about what God is doing in the city!

The outreach during the Olympics was such a great time, and we saw the Lord move in mighty ways. We were blessed to have so many people serving God in our home city, and just because most of them have left doesn’t mean that God is finished; He is just getting started! The harvest is ongoing. Our visitors have left, and now it is time for the locals to pick up their nets and cast!

So on that note, a few of us have continued to do Prayer Stations on Commercial Drive every week. It is a Saturday edition these days, with hope that other people in the community will be able to join us at a more convenient time. So if you want to come check it out, email us for more details!

This past week we had 2 women join us who are interested in volunteering/ getting involved in missions in Vancouver. We were only out there for a couple of hours (before the wind started to deeply chill us), but we had several people stop and talk/ask for prayer!

One lady (who is a believer) passed us on the bus, and just saw the 2 of us in our bright red vests, not knowing who we were or what we were doing. But she said she felt a sense of fear and trembling, and she thought of Joshua and Caleb. She thought to herself that nobody should try and mess with us, because God is on our side!

Sometimes it sure doesn’t feel easy to have no fear out there, but really, we have the Lord’s backing, so who then shall we fear?

He is good, and He wants this city. Please pray that His love will continue to penetrate the people of Vancouver, and that the harvest would continue through those that seek Him wholeheartedly.

Joshua 14:9 “…’The land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance and that of your children forever, because you have followed the LORD my God wholeheartedly.”

(this is what Caleb said to Joshua, reminding him about what Moses had said 45 years earlier)

It’s a bit sad to me that with the end of the Olympic Games, there is somewhat of an exodus out of the city and life returns to “normal.”  The Paralympic Games seem to ride on the coat-tails of the Olympics.  Here at YWAM Vancouver we’ve had to take that into consideration to figure out how to continue on in ministry during this time.  A lot of other ministries have pulled back on their efforts a bit, but we’ve really felt like it’s important for us to remain focused and involved.

In my mind, these Games are more inspiring.  To imagine what obstacles these athletes have overcome, how much harder they’ve had to work, how much they’ve had to specialize in what they do… it’s phenomenal.  We have felt like it is time to be open and to honour and celebrate the overlooked potential of these athletes.

And we have WAY less people involved: four full-time 2010 Project staff, two short-term 2010 Project staff, 13 with the YWAM Vancouver DTS, and one other registered participant from Memphis, Tennessee. That’s it.  Twenty people.  A far cry from the 170 we had last month!  But this enables us to get a bit more creative, be more flexible, and work more closely together.

Last Friday (the day of the opening ceremonies), we were at Robson Square for most of the day as it’s one of the busiest hubs downtown right now.  We were able to hand out More Than Gold pocket guides, visit with people, sculpt balloon animals, prayerwalk, and even had some people in Prayer Station vests.

We’ve also really felt that we are to have a strong presence in Whistler during these Games as that is where most of the events are.  Yesterday we made the trek up there and while most of our group attended the alpine skiing event, others were trying to hand out hot chocolate (we were quickly told by a by-law officer that this was not permitted) and praying in the Village.  We’ve been working closely with Jack Oppenhuizen from Invisible Nation, a ministry devoted to reaching the lives of those with disabilities.  He is up here with his family from Washington State and acquired a condo overlooking the Whistler Medals Plaza right in the Village.  It’s a fantastic place to meet and pray together as we try to serve in a place that we have never done ministry in before.

That’s all for now.  Keep praying for us!

-Krista Prins

The Daily – Feb. 25

*Prayer Stations – I had a ton of conversations today, they were really good.  We went to the park on Commercial Drive.  First I spoke with a Christian woman who had given up hope for her son to ever find Jesus.  We were able to pray encouragement for her as well as her son.  We also prayed for a man who wanted us to tell him the winning lottery numbers.  We were able to pray over him and assure him that God provides.  A sociology professor was talking to us about what prayer actually does for people’s spirits and lives.  He was an atheist who really just wanted to know how we believed in prayer.  It was tough, but it was also really good to see people wanting to see evidence that God exists.

*Prayer Stations – After a while we felt led to go back to Waterfront.  We spoke to a woman from Quebec.  She was struggling with grasping who God is, and the idea of prayer.  She wanted to see the evidence that prayer works, not just hearing that it does.

*Prayer Stations – I feel like people in this city really just want to see God is real, to see Him work.  They don’t just want to hear about it.

*Prayer Stations – We had a sign that said “do you believe prayer changes things?”, just to get people to interact with us and stop to talk.  One guy came up and said “No I don’t”.  He said it just doesn’t match up.  He knows too many people who pray all the time but who are miserable.  I prayed that God would show him prayer was real.

*Prayer Stations – Part of our group was in the park praying walking.  I was sitting on one of the the benches.  A lady and her little boy came, and she sat down and started talking about why I was there in the city,etc.  She started sharing that she was 36 when she had her son.  She said that life in Vancouver was so hopeless.  That it’s a tough place to live, she didn’t think that she and her husband were going to ever be able to live in a house, always be in an apartment.  She said she was wondering about bringing a child into this city, whether it had been a good decision.

*Prayer Stations – The Lord allowed me to just sit there and listen to this man talk.  He said he was an atheist, but that he could tell I was a Christian because of my attitude.  I told Him I thought it was because I had hope.  He said that it was strange that he could talk to me, because he couldn’t normally talk to Christians.  He asked us to pray for world peace, and we did.  Why not? God was there.  Today four of us were prayer walking.

*Prayer Stations – We encountered an 84 year old woman named was Edith.  She wanted us to pray for her.  Another woman really wanted prayer, because she’s starting a new job and wanting to relocate because of expenses.  I felt like they just wanted people to give them hope.

Three people from a local church (Church of God of Prophecy) came to the Daily yesterday with intentions of doing Prayer Stations for the evening.  Krista explained the outreach to them to give them some context.  They were really eager to get out there so they put on their aprons and walked out the door.  They were going to head downtown but stopped at Belgian Fries for some food, only 3 blocks away.  While the guy went to get food, the two ladies were already being asked to pray for people!  People said they recognized the aprons and one guy said that an angel told him to go across the street and ask these people to pray for him.  They spent some time praying for people there at Belgian Fries before they finally made it downtown where they noticed it was a lot more difficult to engage with people.  Commercial Drive is where the ground has been broken!

*Warming Stations – We had a girl come up and ask us for prayer, even though we were just doing warming stations. She recognized the Salvation Army jackets, and she had seen people being prayed for by others wearing them.

*We got the picture of these scouts of angels coming into the city and setting up camp, like, they were scouting out the city, breaking the ground, finding the dark places.  Then eventually another group of angels came in.  They were families, and they were coming to live in the city.  God is invading this city, he is sending his spirit in.

We are in the middle of preparations for the Paralympic outreach and it’s a strange place to be in, one hand looking back at the amazing things God did during the Olympics, and then on the other hand holding our breath and looking into a big open expanse of everything else that lies beyond that could happen now!

But in the mean time, here are even more stories from the Olympic feedback times for your reading pleasure….

*Prayer stations – We were making balloon animals during prayer stations and handing them out to kids.  It was a rainy day, so it was great to have that extra burst of color and life on the streets to bring smiles to people’s faces.

* Prayer Stations – “One man, Myrd, got off the bus and came and asked for prayer.  He had spinal problems.  He was really encouraged to have the prayer.”

*Prayer Stations – Caroline stopped and asked for prayer that she would just have a really great day.

*Prayer Stations – A man stopped and spoke to us about his part in the protest which is happening on Commercial Drive today.  This is something that needs to be covered in prayer.  It is protesting the use of one of the community ice rinks being used for Olympic practice skates.  Pray for peace and safety.

*Prayer Stations – “It was hard, because a lot of people would just ignore you, and it was like talking to a brick wall.  But when you did finally get to speak to someone, it was like they were a gem, it was a precious moment.”

*Prayer Stations – “I had a really bad attitude in the morning, but when I was walking down the drive I got to stop and talk with a man, and he started saying how the city was a very dark place and how they needed something to bring light.  It was so encouraging to get to talk to him about his city and it’s spiritual state.  I’m not even sure he was a believer.  Then later at prayer stations I got to pray with a Muslim woman, so that was very encouraging”

*Prayer Stations – “We prayed that God would lead at least one person to us.  This girl was handing out these pamphlets, so we asked if we could pray for her.  She agreed, and as we began to pray she started to cry.  We were able to pray truth over her and she was very encouraged. “

*We went to Granville Island again.  This is only the second time prayer stations had been done there, and the first time was really hard.  People weren’t receptive at all, and the whole spirit of the place was very hard.

*Prayer stations – “It was really good!  Way better than the first time.  The spirit felt a lot softer, more receptive.  We could definitely tell we were breaking ground; that we were going into new territory.  One lady came up and we were able to pray for her relationship with her kids, and their salvation.  She was a believer, and it was good to be able to encourage her, she was happy to see young people out doing prayer stations.  It was encouraging to us to know that we were being a blessing and that we were where we were supposed to be.”

*Prayer Stations – “The atmosphere was totally changed from the first time.”

**Prayer Stations – “Sean stopped and asked us to pray for “Mistempered Weapons.”  I didn’t know what that meant and he wouldn’t say anymore.  I prayed for him in tongues and I felt the word for him was ‘religion is what happens when the spirit is gone.’  He left, but I continued to pray about the situation and God gave me several words and details.  I saw him later still walking around Granville Island and showed him the list of what I had heard from God.  He said it was right on to what his book “Mistempered Weapons” was about.  He was looking for confirmation about the book, and I could also tell he was testing us and our prayer.  God was faithful to reveal himself.

*Prayer Stations – “This woman from France crossed the street and asked if she could take our picture.  Then she sort of hesitated and asked what church and denomination we were with.  We were able to explain what YWAM was, and she was so excited by the idea, especially that is a worldwide organization.  Even though I didn’t get to pray for anyone, I was still encouraged that I got to make people smile, and that I was able to give this woman information about missions, and ways that she could know God more.”

*Prayer Stations – “The whole day, we just really felt like God wants that place, He wants Granville Island”

*Prayer Stations – “As I was prayer walking, the words that I kept hearing were “fast”.  Like, God isn’t going to be working slowly in this area, but that the process is going to speed up.  That the Lord is going to start working quickly, the growth is going to go quickly.”

*“God keeps leading me to talk to the store owners and the policemen and workers, not the tourists.  I’m finding that when I stop and look them in the eye and ask “how are you really doing”, it breaks through the shell, and you get to see the struggles, and how glad they are to actually be asked by someone who cares.”

* “A constant theme this month has been ripples.  I was thinking how much prayer we have had this month covering this city, between the morning prayer meetings, the prayer stations every afternoon, the people prayer walking, the Daily prayer, and the prayer partners around the world, When you think of all the prayers, the constant prayers, it’s no wonder it’s all snowballing, it’s no wonder the spirit of this city is changing so quickly, from day to day even.  The ripples of prayer that started a while ago have just grown and increased and spread over the entire city.”

Buying Sex is not a sport…..Today was the biggest action yet, with more than 60 people present, and it was one of the biggest audiences for our action, with one hockey game emptying out and one hockey game loading into Canada Hockey Place.

Commercial Drive Warming Stations…I saw someone that I remembered from the first time I did warming stations, and she remembered me and we talked for more than an hour, about life and what she is hoping for, and I was able to share with her my experience of God’s sense of timing, in my own story. She was deaf, and with another deaf friend, and I have some background in signlanguage, so half of our time was in English, and half was in Sign! We had a good time of sharing, and she wanted to pray for me too!

Commercial Drive Warming Station…There was also a guy busking on the street, and he kept saying out over his microphone, come to the people in the blue coats for free hot chocolate! At first I was worried he was going to interfere with us, but then he was just bringing so much joy, and we could yell and laugh and hang out and a crowd gathered, and people were just staying and hanging out and drinking hot chocolate, emptying so quickly that we were getting our packs refilled every 20 minutes!

Commercial Drive Warming Station…Two guys and a girl came up, and it she looked so familiar, and then we realised it was someone we knew from back home, from our past! And we had not heard from her, and it was so good to see her again after 4 years!

Quote of the Day: “Today is my highlight, everyday is better than the one before, so everyday is the highlight that day!”

by Katherine Loucks

“I don’t want you to pray for me, and I don’t want to hear about God loving me”.  Those were the first words out of Kathryn’s mouth when I sat down to talk to her on the sidewalk.  I had stopped and spoken with her before, but today something in me really wanted to hold a good conversation with her.  I was caught off guard by her statement though, since I hadn’t said anything about being involved with YWAM or the salvation army or anything.  I told her I wasn’t going to make her pray or anything.  “I’m so angry at God right now”, she said.  She went off on a rant about how hard life was.  Kathryn’s been on the drive for 4 years now, she’s originally from Toronto.  She’s been in and out of shelters. She’s been married, but now is divorced, and hiding from her ex-husband.  She blames God for most everything.

I asked her if she wanted to go grab some coffee, so she gathered up her belongings (which all fit into a backpack), and we headed down to J.J. Bean.  She got earl gray tea, I had coffee.  We sat down.  “I’m just so angry at God”, she repeated.  I asked her why.   “I’m just so tired of trying to get ahead, and people telling me God loves me and wants the best for me.  I still spend every night on the streets.  I still don’t have a house.  Loving God hasn’t gotten me anywhere.  I’m still hungry, cold, and alone”.  I struggled for words.  I felt at that moment almost guilty for having the life I am blessed with.  I felt so shallow saying, “well, God does love you, and He does want what’s best for you”.  I asked her why she refused help?  “I don’t want people to think I’m weak”.

“I don’t think you’re weak.  I think stepping forward and admitting you’ve screwed up and need help to get out of a situation is one of the most courageous things a person can do.”

Her eyes started to fill up with tears.  She swears and wipes them away impatiently, as though she’s annoyed with herself for being vulnerable.  Her hand shakes…from lack of cigarettes, drugs, I don’t know.  She obviously has addictions.

“I know you don’t want me to pray for you here, but I have to tell you, I’m going to be praying for you later on.  Is that ok?”

She hesitates…”As long as everything is just between you and God.”

I assure her it will be.  She heads off to buy cigarettes, and I walk out into the sunshine with a burdened heart for Kathryn.  I will pray for her, every day.  And it’s my hope and prayer that when I return to Vancouver, she won’t be sitting in the same spot I see her in every morning.  That I’ll maybe run into her working, or shopping for groceries, or heading home to her very own home.  God really does want what’s best for her, and He does love her.  Of that I am convinced.

100 Huntley street is the longest running daily talk show on Canadian television. They did a piece on prayer stations during the olympics. Check it out.

We’ve been busy. So busy. But now the busyness is not about writing schedules and planning accommodation, it’s all about final debrief times.  We’ve had 15 teams from all over the world participating in this outreach, and after a lot of work and prayer and joy and tears, they are all starting to go home.  Some already have, some will soon.  By March 4, we’ll be back to our ‘normal’ Vancouver crew……

But for now, here are some notes from some of these debrief times…in YWAM, living on support and faith that God will provide, THIS is our payday. This is our moment of knowing somewhere deep inside that THIS is why we did it. That moment when even one person on one team says ‘I will go home different’.

What has God put in your heart for this City

This is a city that asks ‘what can we do, without God’  It’s broken, and I walk around seeing all the emptiness, and I can’t see God anywhere. Even in the churches, it’s like God is there, but in a box so he can’t get out and can’t be throughout the City with the people.

But now, since we’ve been here God has been opening my eyes and showing me, this is what evangelism is! It’s letting God out into the City.

We’ve seen the City change since we’ve been here, people recognising us, building relationship, learning names, and even if we don’t’ see the BIG outcome, people recognise us and we’ve built a good reputation, building trust with people who now want us to stay after the Olympics too!

People don’t really how vulnerable they really are, and how knowable they really are. They are on their cell phones or driving or just being busy, they don’t see the potential for relationships like they should. There’s no sense of unity or family, it’s all just busy, like a recorded loop over and over again people walking, going to work, on their phones.

What’s been the biggest thing you will takeaway from this?

God put more confidence and boldness in me, building my character and establishing in me confidence to stand up and say “I AM a Christian!”

It’s hard to evangelise here, and I’ve learned if I can do this here in the big scary godless City, I should be able to do it here in my little home town.

I struggled a lot with fear of man and seeking approval, but building up to this, God has been breaking that off, and giving me identity and affirmation here from HIM.

I had a really hard time on the first day when people would reject us so quickly. We went back to the church and I was reading my bible, and God really confirmed, ‘They aren’t rejecting you, they are rejecting me” It made me turn around and pray for the people who had rejected us because I got a new perspective and realised what they were missing and how they didn’t even know it.

I’m normally really shy around strangers, and in my hometown wouldn’t talk to anyone, and I wonder why I had to come all the way home to talk to people! Now I want to go home and talk to everyone!

One thing I learned is that I was always apologetic or scared of what people’s responses would be to me being forwardly Christian, but here that’s all that it is, forward and open and I really grew in that. There were days when I got so tired, but then I found Isaiah 43:18, and realised God is a God of new things, that I can trust him for what he is going to do now! I don’t need to meditate on discouragement. With God anything is possible!

Highlights

The BURN

Talking to a homeless lady, Jill, I was able to build a really good relationship with her and give her a bible and have dinner with her, and be part of helping her and caring for her.

We met a guy in an alley and could give him some reading material and some food and he told us we really made his day and were able to bless him.

Hearing God’s voice and ACTING ON IT! It always builds my faith and trust to know that outside of emotions and self preparation, God could use us and we could trust his word, we could aim for what he said and really hit it, not just do our own thing in our own power.  We did a prayer treasure hunt, following all the words and pictures God gave us, all around the DTES. We knew we could go into a less then ideal place with confidence that God is so faithful that he was leading us and protecting us and that he was making it so productive.

First day of prayer stations, we prayed for a man named Jamie, he knew he was unwell, his mind was very broken and full of bad thoughts, he wanted healing, he asked for prayer, and they had a great time talking with him and praying with him. We heard another team pray with him too and give a great report about a man named Jamie who shared about how much of a difference teams praying with him made.

I talked to one guy, on Sunday at Warming stations, named Shawn.  His knee was really bad, he was shaky from drugs, and we gave him some coffee, and he went on to talk about life and asked if we could pray for him.  His grandmother is really old and has bad strokes all the time, and his family is all torn apart, and his mother won’t see him.

After praying for him, we talked with him about God and who he is and asked what his thoughts were about Jesus.  I shared more, about how God is a God of freedom, and that he can help him, he’s not a God of bondage or religion. He created you with the things you like and the characteristics you have for a reason.  I ended up giving him a Bible, and something about him was just different, with hope, lifted up, better.

Any regrets?

There was a homeless guy, drunk and it was my first Prayer Stations time, and he came up, and he was talking with me and wanted to pray for me, and I wanted to pray for him, and when we were finished we said “hey, I hope we see each other again”. Next time we were on Prayer Station, I saw him, and he walked on by and I didn’t stop him or talk to him, and he just walked away and I haven’t seen him again.

I feel like I should have done more, especially with Prayer Stations, that I should have been more bold. I didn’t’ always, even when I knew I should have, and I didn’t push when I should have and didn’t want to be awkward and interrupt what was happening with people.

On the first day prayer walking, I had a vision, which doesn’t usually happen. I saw a tree, and the tree was of people’s problems, and it would get cut off but hten the roots would go deeper and it would grow back and over and over this would happen.

God said to me it’s almost even worse that it’s cut off it’s a temporary fix, and the real problem is just pushed deeper and made stronger, and I was praying into this, praying that the problems would be dealt with and God will be the permanent solution in people’s problems.  So I was pressing in and praying for every person that i made eye contact with, especially on prayer stations, and I should have shared it earlier and I didn’t.

Have you been able to interact with other teams?

A little, when they’re out doing Warming stations, showers or Prayer Stations. But not really very much, our schedules don’t line up and we are staying far away.

What is the number one thing you would tell your new team about your next outreach?

Get prepared! PRAY a LOT before you go out. If you aren’t prepared you can tell the difference. You don’t know what to do, you get sloppy.

Suck it up in the group, deal with the irritations and difficulties and arguments, they are not that important.  Suck it up and deal with it.

Be available! Be ready to step up in every circumstance, listen to God, and be open to what God has to say.

When Jesus speaks, don’t debate or hesitate, just do it.

When everyone is out fighting, don’t be the guy lagging back eating McDonalds just hanging out with a hamburger, unprepared and unready, when everyone else is already up ahead fighting. Don’t be caught unprepared, have your head in the game. It’s easy to slack off a bit, and get caught up in little things.

You are in a foreign place, man up and do it, people don’t know who you are, you have nothing to fear. You are only here for 3 weeks, just get out and do it.

Closing comments

If you confess me before them, I will confess you before my father.

What if he does that, but only with the same passion that I confessed him!?! I need to up my game!

We need wisdom and boldness to do this well, to go for it.

by Hannah deKleer

Another installment from the daily report-back on this Tuesday evening:

• A few people from the Vancouver DTS went to the Downtown East Side – Hastings area. Prayer walking and had a sign that said ‘Free Prayer’, also helped set up some tents for the homeless in the area.  The presence of the Lord was definitely with them as they walked through the area. “My problems are so little when I hear from the people down there, and I was so blessed to talk with people”
• Prayer Stations: Downtown East Side – “These people are just real- you can talk to them just like anyone else, even when some people are doing crack-cocaine 5 feet away from you.” Gave an encouragement that if you are scared of that area, that you should go down there because we just felt so safe amidst the different environment
• Prayer Stations: “Tons of people stopped, it was really encouraging. We prayed for a guy who was drinking and swearing at us, but then he wanted prayer for his family and friends and for his sobriety. After we prayed he mentioned that he really felt like the prayer was effective, and we could notice a difference in his attitude towards us.”
• Stuart (YWAM Vancouver staff) – notices a difference of the spiritual-openness on Commercial Drive, and is encouraged by all those that have been praying on Commercial Drive (Ywam Vancouver’s neighbourhood)
• Prayer Stations – “There was light shining on one lady downtown who we were praying for, and the visual reminded me that we are punching holes in the spiritual darkness of this city, and letting God’s love shine through”
• “Met a guy that was addicted to drugs and down and out, but 16 months ago a Christian prayed with him and he has gotten clean and sober, and is now volunteering with the Salvation Army — He encouraged us that prayer does change things and for us to keep doing it!”
• “There was this lady that was really depressed, and she really wanted to feel valuable. Prayed and told her that she was made in God’s image, and the lady was so surprised that even women are made in His image, and that she is precious to Him!”
• Trying to pray for people in new areas of the city can be really difficult, as places in the city are very hard to the gospel. “Wish we were on Commercial Drive, because it is easier there” — The spiritual climate on the Drive has changed!!
• “Hard ground that needs to be tilled, so we parked ourselves outside of the Psychic Tent on Granville Island and were praying and reading scripture, and while we were there only 1 person entered the store”
• “Mask of happiness in the city, but stuff is definitely going on underneath the surface in people, so we were praying there and we believe that God was shaking some things up in that area”
• Heidi – by bus stop – “One driver stopped and after all the people had exited the bus, he asked if we were with YWAM, and it turns out that this driver had done a DTS a couple of years ago. He mentioned that he was talking with some other Christian bus drivers about the prayer stations on that corner — we are consistently at that station and he encouraged us”
• We want to spread Prayer Stations to local churches, so we are excited to see God use the YWAM teams to break new ground, so that the locals can continue on in the ‘work’ while our short-term teams are gone.
• “I was having a really tough start to the day, and I was feeling sick, so I wasn’t really feeling up to praying for other people, let alone get prayer myself. One of our teams prayed for me when they walked by, and then Alisha (one of our short term staff) came by also and prayed for me. Nobody was really coming by, but then this lady stopped and was encouraged by the prayer stations and we prayed for her. She ended up telling us that she was a Mormon. So that was really cool…Later I went to take a nap, and was out really quickly, and felt like it was really from the Lord because I felt so refreshed and encouraged afterward”

• Girl was prayed for who was drunk, and said she was drinking because she was bored, and it really broke my heart. — God was working in me and in people around me and He just showed His love for all of us.
• Warming Stations team had a lot of fun serving hot chocolate to hundreds of people at the skytrain station. We saw people’s days turn around while we were singing and dancing and giving away warm drinks. Smiles were out indeed.
• “People might walk by many times, but they are going to remember you, especially if you are there consistently. People will remember the red vests and know that if they ever want or need prayer, they will know where to get it. ” — an encouragement for the long-term people who will continue with prayer stations
• ” Praying for someone, and a lady walked by and said that she had never seen anyone doing that before and was very encouraged.” — We saw her again later that day, and she had a prayer request for a woman that she had met that day. So we were able to pray for her and it was really cool to be able to meet up with someone else that believed in prayer.
• ” I had a hard-heart towards the homeless population, and misunderstanding the people here in Vancouver. But the Lord led me to sit down and share some food with a homeless guy sitting on the street. We talked for a while, and when I went to leave, he didn’t ask for food or for money, but he asked for a hug. I then saw him as a person who needed human touch and connection, and God really changed my heart in the way that I view people, as people.”
• New atmosphere with Prayer Station and Warming Stations in that area of Commercial Drive
• Liv — had a “day off” but was able to talk and pray with so many people. “It is becoming a lifestyle, talking and praying with people on a daily basis”
• The Premier of BC thanked a leader of More Than Gold for handing out hot drinks at the skytrain stations, and said that the province needs to thank them.
• OUR HOT CHOCOLATE IS SO TASTY >> people are loving it!
• Prayer Walking: “We were looking at art on Granville Island and it struck me just how much impact that artists would have on the city if they had the Lord in their lives >> so we were praying for the artists in that area”
• Creative and Performing Arts ministry for More Than Gold have not been getting a whole lot of people coming to their events, so we want to pray for them as it is a great opportunity to reach out. Also they are in a bit of financial trouble as some of the events were ticketed and have not seen the revenue come in that was needed/projected.