What an amazing day!

120 people flooding in to First CRC in Vancouver, to do registration, welcome games, getting to know one another and getting everything in order.

After a long year of preparation and prayer, what an amazing exciting start!

Welcome to Vancouver!!

So here’s the how-to:

Follow us on Twitter…our Twitter name is “ywamvanprayer”  original I know! Search for us and sign up to follow our Tweets.  I know you can read them right here, but how much cooler is it to read them fresh!?

Sign up to pray for us in the 24/7 initiative…go to www.ywamvancouver.com/signup  We have been hearing from people all over the world who want to sign up to pray, look at the schedule and find an empty box and fill in the form so you know AND we know when you are praying….here’s to all the hours getting filled!

Follow this blog…Bookmark it, read it, keep it, love it, and most of all, forward it! We want the world to know all the amazing stories that God is writing during this outreach, and we want to hear your feedback too.  We’ll be endeavouring to update it daily to keep the prayer and praise coming.

The really exciting thing about this outreach is that we are welcoming 160+ new people in our YWAM Vancouver family!

This is the first time in a long time that I remember taking a group picture at a staff meeting.  I know there are lots of people missing, who are an important part of our clan, but for a snap shot moment, it’s not bad….not bad at all…

This is the AMAZING sign that Jonathan and Joseph made to welcome our participants to our

Vancouver registration day!

Thanks guys!

So it’s 9.47 PST and we are still chipping away at all the little (and big) tasks that are looming for registration tomorrow.

We are all going a little crazy, I think it’s a mix of take out dinners, caffeine, and permanent marker fumes.

Krista and Hannah just drove to Walmart to pick up more paper for our registration manuals, and Jacqui and I are plodding away, trusting that we’ll do what we can do, and then we’ll just have to trust and leave it in the Lord’s hands.

We’re super thankful for our short term staff right now, they have been so flexible and enthusiastic and have really made a difference, picking up the slack while we’ve been putting out the fires.

Thanks also to all of you who have already signed up for hours on our 24/7 prayer schedule! What an encouragement to wake up to a FULL workload, and see that people ALL OVER THE GLOBE, were committing to stand with us and lift us up in prayer.  Thank you!

Ok, back to it.

by Rebecca Barthelmess

Coming onto short term staff I was thinking about the Olympics and who would be coming to watch them but after our first day of staff training I realized there’s so much more to this outreach. Being with YWAM Vancouver they have shown their heart for the city of Vancouver and specifically Commercial Drive or “the Drive” as it’s known. For the first week, short term staff got the opportunity to live in an apartment building right off the Drive to get a feel for it. This is where I experienced the multi-cultural feel of the city the most. Coming from a multi-cultural area it felt like home but for others it is really a new experience. You will also see or smell the public marijuana smoking here. This area is the neighbourhood of YWAM Vancouver. I love that there is so many people from different walks of life here. Makes a great mission field.

After the Olympics are over and all the tourists, athletes, and teams are gone there is still going to be a city who needs Jesus. That was a big realization that gave me a different perspective on this city and outreach.

by Rebecca Barthelmess

Arriving in Vancouver for the first time was an eye opening experience. This is also my first time in Canada and didn’t quite know what to expect. Whenever I thought of Canada the words that came to mind was “cold” and “hockey” but after my first day in Vancouver I realized I was wrong. Its been a full week since I’ve arrived and I keep falling more in love with this city.

When its clear skies you can see the mountains and they are breathtaking. The city has so much to offer between nature and city life. The air smells wonderful, that is what I keep writing to people back home. Walking around there is such a mix of cultures, you can hear different languages, smell different foods, and see all different types of people. You can go to Granville Island by the water which is a tourist hot spot or head up to the mountains for snowboarding and skiing. If its hockey season you can go to General Motors Place home of the Vancouver Canucks to check out a game. There are some bad areas where drugs are in frequent use. Though it is illegal  you will see people smoking marijuana in the streets.

by Katherine Loucks

It’s hard to believe that the first week of training has already been and gone for short term staff.  It flew by, but much was learned, seen, prayed, and accomplished.  Each day began with prayer, seeking the Lord and enjoying His presence.  After that the day was spent doing a variety of preparation and training, from learning our way around Commercial Dr. and downtown Vancouver, to preparing for the teams that are joining us on wednesday for outreach.  We also got to join with other YWAM teams on Thursday for the YWAM global day of prayer, which was a blessing.  After a restful weekend, we are all stoked to begin the craziness that this week will bring. Keep praying for strength, sleep, and unity. God is good.

This is the first post. This is where all the updates will happen. People all over the world praying, commenting etc. Exciting times!