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.