My friend Idelette hosts a beautiful woman's e-zine that arrives in my inbox every 6 weeks or so. It is dear to my heart because she is, but also b/c she is based out of Vancouver and loves the women of the Downtown Eastside. She is a part of The Journey, a supernatural, God-given ministry that happens up in BC in this one special place. Here is one Christian woman's account of how it has changed her life:

Crossing the Divide
By Sue-Ann MacCara


My life has been thoroughly blessed. No addictions, no sexual abuse, a happy home, two wonderful parents, a terrific husband, two beautiful children, and the kind of childhood bliss every child should know. However, whenever I journeyed through Vancouver's forsaken Downtown Eastside seeing a world of addiction, prostitution and desolation, I felt helpless and guilt-ridden. I didn't know how to cross over into this very different world.

Then, in October 2004, I was invited to a women's leadership retreat at Linwood House on the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia, Canada. After retiring from a successful business, I was exploring what to do next.

The moment I walked into Linwood House, I burst into tears! It was a sacred space. The sense of love and peace I felt was overwhelming. At the end of our weekend, Gwen McVicker, President of Linwood House Ministries, shared some of the vision and work of Linwood House. Specifically she talked to us about a three-day retreat for women from the Downtown Eastside called "The Journey." She explained how many of the women who come from the Downtown Eastside cry when they get to Linwood House.

Right then it hit me: these women were no different from me!

A few weeks later, I went to East Hastings Street to purchase Tae Kwon Do shoes for my son. (East Hastings Street is the heart of the area referred to as Vancouver's Downtown Eastside.) I parked my car and just before I got out, these words escaped my lips: "God, if you want me to work in this place, show me someone!" I was quite perplexed by this, because that was not my intention for the day.

As I left the store, shoes in hand, I walked slap bang into a tiny woman with wild curly brown hair, beautiful legs, tall boots, a mini skirt and a leather jacket. Her two front teeth were missing. Immediately I thought, "Okay God, you showed me someone." Out of my mouth came the words, "Hi, I'd like to take you out for lunch!"

The next thing I knew, Sandra* and I were wandering around East Hastings looking for a place to have lunch.

I then invited Sandra to The Journey and spent three days with the amazing women from the Downtown Eastside. The stories broke my heart and blew me away. I realized that God had intended to place Sandra in my life and I felt called to working with these women, because I've been blessed with an overabundance of optimism and a belief in humankind.

I connect with many women at The Journey and give them my cell-phone number. Those who reach out to me, I take out for coffee or lunch, we go hiking or to doctors appointments. Mostly, I just love them.

I had little idea how much meeting Sandra would impact, not only my life, but also our family. When I told my husband and kids about my encounter, my husband immediately decided that our family needed to take Christmas stockings--socks filled with toothpaste, deodorant, toothbrushes, chocolates, oranges, etc.--to the forsaken hotel Sandra was staying at. Somehow my son's teacher also got wind of what we were up to, and before we knew it, his whole Grade 6 glass had gathered enough stockings so every room in the hotel received a Christmas stocking that year. Many families at our little school in beautiful Deep Cove, North Vancouver, have now asked if they can become involved and do the same thing.

Who knows where this journey will take us, but it certainly has been the most fulfilling, rewarding (and frustrating)! work I have ever done.




*Not her real name

For more information about The Journey and the work of Linwood House Ministries, check out the website at www.linwoodhouseministries.org.

I came upon this in my inbox today and I've paused for about thirty seconds to think about it. I have a hard time meditating on things because I allow myself to be easily distracted, but the questions at the bottom provoked some thought, and I've decided to share them:

Few men of God have become extraordinary people of faith without the influence of mentors. A mentor is one who takes responsibility for the spiritual and, sometimes, physical care of another. It requires a commitment from the teacher and the student.

Elijah mentored Elisha. Elisha became one of the greatest prophets in the entire Bible. One of the primary reasons for this was Elisha's hunger. Elisha wanted a double portion of Elijah's spirit. It was this hunger that drove Elisha to be sold out to God's purposes for his life.

I have been privileged to have had many mentors throughout my spiritual life. In each stage of my maturity, God brought new mentors who had unique gifts that the previous mentor did not have. God has given me the hunger to desire a double portion of those positive attributes of my mentors. This desire is sorely missing among many today. I fail to see the hunger among many who could be used greatly in the Kingdom. Instead, the cares of this world distract them. It is an attitude of a la carte versus an attitude of pressing in to the full measure of what God might have for them.

Who are the people of God He has placed in your life?
Are you learning from them?
Are you seeking a double portion of their anointing?
What prevents you from gaining from their wisdom and experience?

God may have brought them into your life to prepare you to be a man or woman of God with great anointing. However, there is a time of training and waiting to prove out your own faith. Ask God today if there is someone He would have you mentor or be mentored by.

Not bad eh? I can answer those questions truthfully in that there are a number of godly folks in my life and I observe them and learn that way but I have very little consistent dialogue with anyone. I consider consistent dialogue to be at least 3 times per week either in person, on the phone or through email. I am selfish in my outlook because I tend to dwell on mistakes people have made or recall mainly times that I have felt they've done me wrong and so I bypass all of what God has planted in them and what they would offer me. Asking for the double portion just sounds greedy to me...I don't want to be all puffed up and walk up do Danielle and be like 'hey missy, I'm gonna get me some of our anointin'...yup in fact I want twice as much boldness and creativity and adventure as you.' So even though I see the silliness of that thought process, it is still there. I feel like a gumbo these days - a weird and complicated mixture of bits and pieces stewed and brewed together that comes out tasting ok but it ain't no steak.
Praise the Lord.

Today I opened my inbox and read through this online devotion that has been delivered to me for the past, oh probably 3 or 4 months. I rarely sign up for that kinda stuff, but Holy Spirit sees fit to speak to me through it 99% of the time. It's beautiful and eerie how He does that. Now that I have a computer at home (which has never really been the case) I'll be able to open each day's reading on that actual day and meditate on it, rather than just checking once week and skimming 6 or 7 at once.
I decided to paste today's prayer on this blog, because it sums up everything that I was bemoaning and petitioning God for just yesterday.

Today's Prayer
February 22, 2006
Oh Lord, so much of the time it just seems like there are not enough hours in a day and not enough strength to do all that needs to be done.
Sometimes stress nearly gets the best of me. I pray that I will stop, take a breath, and talk to You about it.
I pray that You will calm me down and help me relax, focus, and prioritize. I need Your help to plan my days, for You are the all-wise Creator of days who knows me best, and who knows what is most important to do in Your plan for me.
Please guide and direct me.
Help me to be organized and efficient in all I do.
Please help me to accomplish all You want me to accomplish each day. Thank You, Lord. In Jesus' name, amen.

So here we are, living in Charlotte. Crazy times. I'm so behind in my blogging/journalling/updating that I'm going to just do this:

Top 9 most interesting things that have happened since we moved here:
(in no particular order)

10 - we found a chunk of weave on our front lawn
*to the uninformed, weave is strands of human hair that black women (and men) have attached to their head to give the appearance of long,lustrous locks. How'd it get there? Who knows...

9 - a three legged dog ran by

8 - instead of doing street combat, we just sit on our front porch in our walmart lawn chairs and people just seem to wander up...perhaps it's the novelty of white among black

7 - we locked ourselves out of the house, so we popped the screen off of one of our windows, Rob boosted me up and I went through the window...needless to say it was likely the first time that white folk done gone an broke in a house down he' in dis 'hood...

6 - we witnessed our neighbour - a young black mother of one - stab her own car tires out during a domestic dispute

5 - the same neighbour and her drunkass boyfriend came by later on for soda and spiritual talk (Rob lept out of bed in the middle of the night to stop the guy from beating on our neighbour, only to find that she was the one with the knife...so we invited the guy in until she cooled off...they ended up sticking around for a couple of hours, so we decided to call it cell...

4 - our landlord stopped by to give us a prophetic word (he's a godly southern baptist man just trying to make his way on the 'what would Jesus eat' diet)and after praying with him, he was slain in the Spirit. Or you could say he had a glory fit if you were sec. Or, if you were an innocent non-Christian bystander you would've said he lost his balance and all 400lbs of him toppled over onto the hardwood floor, except for his head, which landed in Heather's lap

3 - the first night that we moved in, we were just settling in to our squishity air bed (whose little plug popped out in the night and we awoke cold and grumpy and on the floor)when we heard noise outside. We both sprang up to peek skillfully out the window and we saw a car three feet from our window with the trunk popped and two guys shuffling around rifles. Then, another car pulled up and three guys jumped out and they had handguns pointed at the other guys. They settled their dispute and took off. We prayed out fear and went to bed.

2 - then night that we got home from RootsSouth we woke up suddenly to what I thought were five hard knocks on our front door. Assuming someone needed help, I got out of bed to look out the window and see who was outside. Rob - more knowledgeable about these sorts of things than me - pulled me back down tight to him and said "Baby, what are you doing?" I replied "there is someone at our door" He said "Nuh uh...those were gun shots, keep away from the window."
So there you go...who'da thought that gunshots and doorknocks sound so alike?