First Week Down!

Well, we finished our first official week of ministry, and though it was a little difficult and frustrating at times, God always knew when we needed encouragement, and he would put someone or something in our path to do just that! He is really working in Vancouver, and it is so obvious to our entire team. The type of ministry we are doing here is very difficult! It is a lot of trial and error, and just letting God lead us when we don't know what to do. This week we have seen God work in so many situations, and it is a sweet reminder that He will never leave our side even during the most difficult times.
We have done so much this week, a week where we didn't know if we were going to have plans from day to day, but God provided opportunities for us to share his love with the people of Vancouver. We are working on two college campuses (UBC and SFU) and it is very difficult to reach the students because they live in such a dark, lost place. Just to give you an idea, there is a huge sign up on the SFU campus that says "There is probably no God, so stop worrying and just live your life". We prayed for God to reveal to us just how dark, and lost this place is, and he is doing that more and more every day. As hard as it is to see, we needed to be broken. We need to see how desperate these people are for the gospel, so we can be more bold in reaching them. We passed out waters to the students at SFU the other day, and invited them to a Potluck/Lifegroup meeting that happens every week at the park near campus. Before we even started passing out the waters, we met a man in line at the grocery store who was a little curious as to why we were buying all of their cold water, and we started a conversation with him. We invited him to the event later that evening, and he showed up!!!! He was an old Indian man, and was very passionate about his poetry, and he brought plenty of copies along for everyone to read. We were able to build a relationship with him that evening over a game of frisbee, and he asked a lot of questions about Christianity, and the church. We hope that we can continue to build on that relationship over the next few weeks, so be praying for Shiraz!
We are also helping another church plant in the community where we are living, and we decided to buy a bunch of flowers, and pass them out to moms leaving the grocery store. We were unsure of how receptive people would be, but God provided us with so many opportunities to share with people, and many of them were men who we were not even giving the flowers too! It was a much needed encouragement for the team! We are going to continue to do things like that weekly here, and hope that more doors will be opened for us.
This coming week we are going to be busy! We are moving into our new place tomorrow, and have a three day festival at SFU that we will be a part of. We are also going to spend a lot of time at UBC this week, hopefully passing out free gifts to the students, and hopefully we will get a good response and an opportunity to build relationships with students on campus. Please be praying for this opportunities this week. These campuses are huge, and it is difficult to know the best ways to reach people, but we know that God will open up doors if we ask Him! Thanks for the support, and prayers =)

First Official Week of Ministry

We are heading into our first official week of ministry! We were a little worried at first, because now that orientation is over, we are all on our own! It is up to us to make our daily plans and decide the best ways in which to serve the people here, and help the church planters in Vancouver. There is so much opportunity for ministry here, and we are certain that God will guide us in all that we do. We are planning on spending a couple of days each week on the campus of Simon Fraser and the University of British Columbia, where two churches have been started or are in the process. There is also a church plant that is in the baby stages, and we want to encourage their ministry as well. We are going to spend time meeting students, and serving them in various ways hoping that God will open up doors for us to share. We are also planning on passing out gift bags with a few necessities we take for granted, such as food and water, to many of the homeless who congregate around East Hastings Street downtown. Please pray that God will open up opportunities for us to share with them a message of hope that is only through a relationship with Jesus Christ. Also please pray that we will be able to fill up our schedule every week, but that we will also have time to rest, rejuvenate, and grow together as a team. We are all excited about what God is going to do in this city, and what he will continue to do even after we are gone. Thanks for the prayers!

We're Here!

We have arrived in Vancouver, and are already in love with this amazing city. We have been blessed with some really great supervisors who have been leading us in orientation up til today. We are finally in our first home for the summer which is the basement of a house. We will stay here for 10 days and then move to our home for the last month which will be on the campus of Simon Fraser University where will be doing a lot of work with a local church plant called The Point. We are working with two other church plants in the area, and it has been amazing to see God working through these amazing dedicated followers. We are getting used to the time change and the long days. The sun is out at 4:30 and doesn't go down until 10! Vancouver is a beautiful city, but is full of lost people. Please pray that God will direct us as we begin our first full week of ministry.
Also please be praying for the Maine team and the family of Palmer Maphet who was killed in a car accident this past week. He was on the New England Travel team with three other summer missionaries from Tennessee. The other team members have been released from the hospital. Please pray that God will bring comfort and peace in this tragic situation. Pray for the family, friends, teammates, supervisors, and fellow summer missionaries who will carry on God's work and shine their light just as Palmer did with his life! Thanks for the support, and God Bless!