Reflections from Vancouver

Just a quick update for some of you to pass along or whatnot...
Saturday was fun, I was catching up on some readings, making an English muffin, and set off the fire alarm twice! (I was actually impressed to find that we actually HAD a fire alarm in our room, so it was kind of an adventure!) Later on that day, I met a lady strung out on heroine and probably a few other nasty things; my heart went out to her, and I walked her over to a friend's place to find a bandaid (her arm was bleeding from the needle). She was pretty wobbly to begin with, but when she fell asleep on my lap, we decided to get some assistance in. 3 firemen, and 2 paramedics later, she was standing a lot straighter, and left with them, I think to a hospital, but I don't know for sure where they took her. (Probably not too far, now that I think about it again.) I had never seen someone so far gone in such close quarters. I felt a little like a sitting duck for the most part, but she was really quite funny, farting a lot, but trying really hard not to stink me out...we had a laugh together. I've seen her a few times since then, twice she seemed to be doing better, but today not so much.

Addiction is huge down here, and it's such a strong tempter. There's dealers on every block, and all it takes is $5 and a swift hand and you're 'set'. One of the days I had to laugh, though, because the dealers have their regular call, "Rock powder, down?" to which I responded, "No thanks, Jesus is my rock!" to which HE responded, "marijuana then?" ...BC is such a different place! Another one of my friends was trying to get into detox, and was staying with some of the guys in our program on their couch. He was one day away from a bed in detox, and we found him standing at the entrance of an alley with a 2 by 4 in his hand, waiting to 'assist' his friend who apparently had been robbed of $20. He told us $10 of it was supposed to go to him for food, which was great because we were there and were able to take him with us away from the situation to get some free food...a minor victory, but a victory all the same. I've noticed many of my friends can wait for a bed at detox for a week or so on their own strength, but often times, the very night the bed is available, they fall back into the drugs...it's an evil scheme to keep people in addiction, and it makes me sick. Even the police and firefighters down here act like there's no hope for people once they've made it to the Main and Hastings drag. 'Patients' are simply a half-hour slot in their work day so that they don't have to feel a part of the neighbourhood.

There is a free-heroine site right across the street from where we have our classes every day. The assumption is that by giving out free drugs (supplied by the government of Canada) that the crime rate will somehow drop, and people will somehow stop using. The stats from other countries (as I understand them) are somewhat shady business, but you can read the story at this site if you like. http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/canadausdrugs

There is a show airing on Feb 13 all about our neighbourhood. The documentary is somewhat slanted (as most documentaries usually are) and claims that people CHOOSE to be addicts, that they CHOOSE this 'lifestyle choice', that they CHOOSE not to get help, and therefore any government funding earmarked for aid in the downtown East Side is wasted money, and could better be spent on gardens and road repairs, basically. This is outrageous. According to some stats gathered by the Anglican church, 75% of street people in Vancouver have been deemed unqualified to receive welfare assistance. This number has gone up substantially over the past decade, and is a reflection of how our government values human life. The Woodwards building, (across the street on the other side of where we hold our classes) used to be a giant department store, and takes up an entire city block. The whole property was originally earmarked for low-income housing. The government has since delegated over 50% of the lot to offices and small businesses instead. The affordable housing in the area is a handful of dilapidated, should-be condemned, bug-infested buildings where staff randomly check the rooms to make sure no one has died that week. The message is loud and clear: drug addicts are a hopeless cause, incurable, less than human, and not worthy of our attention, time, or money.

You're probably asking yourself at this point, why are you telling us all this, why did I even open this email, and why am I still reading about all this trash? Because the trash is the truth, but there is another side. I have other friends, friends who came from this addicted 'lifestyle,' and have completely and totally CHANGED their lives around. It all started with meeting a few Christian friends who introduced them to Jesus and never gave up on them. God met them in their addiction, in their prostitution, in their anger, in their loneliness. He met them, and healed them. My friends had their children, spouses, homes, parents, lives restored to them. Jesus is the bringer of life. He is the Word, and the Word breathes life into dead places. He rebuilds, restores, and renews dried up, cracked out lives that everyone else would easily give up on. He reminds us that we were made in His image, that we were created with a purpose, that there is HOPE and a FUTURE for those who love him and seek his ways. The law of the Lord breathes freedom, and in Him there is new life. Righteousness and justice are the foundations of His throne, and he seeks to lift up those who are loaded down by burdens and oppression. I have seen God bring new life into a few of my friends. I am believing in faith for a few more to experience that freedom. Will you believe with me?

There is only one way to freedom, and it's not in asking Jesus to come into your heart, but to ask Jesus to let you into HIS heart.

"Will you be free from your burden of sin? There's power in the blood of the Lamb"