-The lady Megan met on the Sky Train ended up being a bruja (Mexican witch). Megan and a co-worker were able to share the Gospel with her and give her a Bible. Im not sure much, if any, ground was made during this meeting. Please pray that the H.S. would convict her and that she would turn from her evil ways to the One true God.
- PRAISE! Daniel, who I have been asking you to pray for, came over for dinner Thursday night. We feel like God is working on him. He had many questions about God, the Bible and church. Please pray for his salvation and that we would have other opportunities to visit with him.
- Ricardo, whom you have also been praying for, was supposed to have come over for dinner earlier in the week. He never came and I have not heard from him. Please pray that nothing has severed our relationship and that we would be able to continue to be lights to him.
- I am seeking to understand more about the homeless population here in Vancouver. Please pray that God would give me a new understanding of these people, how they are perceived by those on the outside and how they perceive those on the outside.
- Last week I was able to meet a homeless man (Kevin) who is 21. It was like staring death in the face (both spiritually and physically). He was addicted to meth and lived in some bushes in a nearby park. He allowed me to sit with him and talk. He was very open to hearing the Gospel and listened intently. I asked If he would want to talk to me when I came back to this area of the city and tell him more about Jesus. He said that he would like that. Please pray that God would save this young man.
As a family we are doing well. We have had fun here in Vancouver and have enjoyed the city Jake and Tess are working hard in School and are looking forward to an unexpected break in August. Joy is very willing to know Spanish and often will greet our Spanish speaking friends in Spanish. Megan an I are hoping to spend the night away soon to celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary. We would covet your prayers as we approach the halfway mark of our time in Vancouver as we are missing home, family, friends and pets. Please pray we would stay focused on what God has for us here as a family. We love you all and thank you for your prayer support.
Wow what a week this has been. We were in class 4 of the 5 days this past week. All were classes on how to acquire a new language. We gained a lot of insight on how to learn Spanish on our own.
Thank you all for your prayers. Thank you for participating in our mission here. Please continue to lift us up before the Father so that His Name might be known among the people in this city.
-While out on the streets this week I was able to meet many new people and was able to clearly present the Gospel to one young man in particular by the name of Steve. Steve is from the Cree nation in Saskatchewan. He is living with his girlfriend and they have 2 children. They are dirt poor and have recently come to Vancouver in order to get out of the reservation life (his wife is also Native American and is from another people in northern B.C.).
Steve had been told in the past by fellow believers that he needed to ask Jesus into his heart and he would be saved. This allowed me to explore his worldview a little more in depth, and then present the whole Gospel. He was certainly moved and was more than happy to be given a Bible so that he could start reading it. He promised me that he would read a chapter a day. The encouraging news is that I only asked him to read the book of John, one chapter a day. He responded that he wanted to read all of it. Pray that God would regenerate this young man so that he might have the hope that we have.
-Pray for a lady that Megan met on the Sky Train. She is from Mexico City and is into a lot of spiritual disciplines. She was already on the train when Megan got on and asked Megan what it was about her that was different from everybody else. Megan told her it was Christ in her that she was seeing. The lady had many questions for Megan and wanted to get with her at a later time so that she might be able to visit with her. Please pray that God would give Megan wisdom and boldness and the He would remove the scales from this woman's eyes so that her heart might be right before Him and that she would repent of her wickedness.
-I am still investigating the church planting movement that I mentioned to you last week. I went to a prayer meeting and was blown away by the genuine desire that the people had to make Christ known. Praying for the lost was stressed over and over. Getting out and proclaiming the Gospel was also proclaimed repeatedly. These people were SERIOUS about reaching not only Vancouver but the world (because the world is here in Vancouver). As I mentioned in my last letter, there were people from many different countries represented in the group that I was part of. One of the statements that the group leader said that moved me was that he wanted to see each one of the people who were not from Canada to take the Gospel back to their people. Even better, the group members were all agreeing.
Oh yes. This movement is apparently happening among young people. I was by far the oldest one in my group and among the entire leaders meeting (about 60-80 people) I was probably the second oldest. Nearly everybody else appeared to be around 26-27 and younger!
-I have not heard back from Daniel. Please continue to pray for him.
-I also have not heard back from Ricardo. Please be in prayer for him also.
-If you have not witnessed the Horror of Hasting Street (the post below) please take the time to do so. Please do not allow this clip to paint your view of all of Vancouver because all of Vancouver doesn't look like this. This city is actually a very picturesque place. The beauty here is breath taking. And as I have said in other posts the people here are, at least on the surface, as nice if not nicer than the people in the southern U.S. However the theme of the Horror on Hastings is entrenched within the culture here. I haven't quite been able to put my finger on it yet but it has much to do with the liberal mindset of the people--in more than just the obvious ways.
-THANK YOU ALL for praying for Jake. He is doing MUCH better now. He seems to be beginning to like Vancouver. Best of all mine and his relationship is growing and strengthening. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
I caught a glimpse of Hell today. I went to Hastings Street which is the only place in North America where it is legal to do drugs in the open. For blocks and blocks I saw people shooting up, people smoking crack, people selling themselves. I had a pimp tell me that I needed to leave before I got killed. Words can not describe the decay and the depravity of this modern day Sodom and Gomorrah.
God's revelation of who He is, is clearly displayed to the people on these streets. The beauty and the grandeur of this city, the beauty of the mountains touching the seas and the beauty of the flora everywhere leaves them without excuse that there is a God. Their hearts have been darkened and they glory in their needles and their trades. They are worshipping and serving created things rather than the Creator. Pray that God doesn't give them over to their shameful lusts. Pray that God does not give them over to depraved minds to do what ought not to be done. Pray that they might believe. Pray that they might hear. Pray that one might preach to them. Pray that God sends beautiful feet who might proclaim Good News!
This video is VERY shocking. It shows almost exactly what I experienced yesterday. Remember, my trip was done in the day time as was this video. I was told by several people in the area that I needed to leave at dusk. Just imagine how bad it gets when night falls.
Thank you all for your prayers. Thank you for lifting up the lost here in Vancouver and thank you for lifting up our family.
I write this with a heart full of joy, a heart that is overwhelmed with God’s goodness. We want to share with you what has happened since our last update. It is long but it is worth it.
ADDICT WITHOUT HOPE
1) I was on a bus riding through the city and a homeless lady who had to have been no more than 23 or 24 years old got on board and was fried out of her mind. I have never seen anyone look more pathetic than this poor girl. I have never seen anyone more miserable, who was hurting worse (internally), and never have I seen anyone look more hopeless.
Worse, I didn't to anything about it. It wasn't that I didn't want to, because I did. However, I allowed two excuses to rise up to prevent me from ministering to her. First, I struggled with whether it was appropriate or not since she was a female and Megan wasn't with me and second I realized I was on the wrong bus headed away from my destination and so I got off.
Please pray that this would never happen again. Pray that when God clearly places people in my path, I faithfully share who He is by revealing His character through my life and His Truth through what I say. Most of all pray that God will provide another to faithfully proclaim who the God of Hope is to her.
HASTINGS STREET MINISTRY
2) The next morning I met a man on the Sky Train who God had delivered from being a crackhead and meth attic several years ago. He now has a ministry in the worst part of the city. This is no exaggeration, the area is so bad that the homeless, the strung out, the dealers, the pimps and hookers all do business on the steps of the police station. He invited me to go and help him this next Saturday night. Pray that God would grow me through my ministry while there.
The video below gives an accurate portrait of Hastings Street. It shows the hate and depravity of those without hope. You might consider using discretion and turning the volume down for possible language.
RICARDO
I met a young man while with Will (another M here in Vancouver) night before last. His name is Ricardo. He is about 26 and is from Chihuahua city and is here to study English. It seems that God has already been working on him based on our conversations. We met with him again last night and was able to clearly share the Gospel with him. We left much for him to think about and to consider. He asked for a Bible and providentially I had a Gideon Bible in my pocket and was able to give it to him. He said that he would start reading it. Pray that God would bring Ricardo to him.
POSSIBLE POLICE MINISTRY
Another incredible praise. I met two police officers, one a follower of Christ and the other a Catholic. We talked for more than an hour. Later I contacted the one who knows Christ and asked him if he would be interested in me possibly providing a Christian ministry of some type and he responded positively. I went to the internet to find some teaching resources aimed at police officers (no pun intended). While searching I ran across a guy who I knew in college 20+ years ago. He is now a director of a Christian police officers fellowship in the D/FW area. He has now got me in contact with some of the national leaders and they are excited about getting something started here. Pray that the officer who I met would desire to start something here.
DANIEL
5) I have not heard further from Daniel. He was to come to Bible study Tuesday night but never showed. Please continue to pray that God would grow our friendship and that He would draw Daniel to Himself.
A CHURCH PLANTING MOVEMENT IN B.C.
Since the time that I wrote the above update I went out into the city once again. I met a young man who was reading his Bible at a bus stop. After a few minutes I was amazed to find out that God is very active in this city. Though there are few churches there apparently is a tremendous house church movement taking place. He told me that there have been 68 house churches started in the last 3 years. Now you need to realize just how amazing this is. This city is a godless city. There are so many foreign gods due to the incredible influx of refugees here that it would make your head spin. Even worse most of the native (not indigenous) Canadians are either atheists or agnostics.
God is moving among the people here. Two men whom I spoke with today were former Muslims and another was Catholic. I also met a former atheist. All four of these men were sold out for Christ. I will be meeting with these men (all 4 are house church leaders) who will be meeting with other house church leaders so that I can ask questions and listen to their conversations in order to get a better picture of what is taking place here.
