God of this City
Sunday, 15 November 2009 00:00
I was anticipating being stuck in an office all day everyday, but that was certainly not the case! November has been an amazing month…. My team got to serve in Winnipeg on a daily basis at different locations. Each morning we would meet our “mentor” at a random coffee shop—Winnipeg has an endless amount of these lol—and she would give us our assignments for the day. We served in different children’s ministries, fund-raisers, did lots of research, but my favorite—one of the passions of my heart—took place somewhere I least expected. Somewhere I was scared to go.. The Winnipeg Vineyard Centre—this place is in the inner city. The streets reek of alcohol, drugs, dirt, and garbage…Then you walk into this church, (which provides housing on top) where they have a drop-in center for the homeless and the down and out. I walked in there with no clue as to what I would do there. Upon walking in I saw a room full of people I would normally cross the street to avoid. Seriously. But something happened and I wasn’t disgusted or scared. I had this huge sense of peace.. even though I had not yet said a word to anyone. I ended up doing dishes the entire morning and not having much interaction with the regular meal attendees. The next time we went, I had the chance to sit and talk with a bunch of people and God showed me so much through the people I met. One man, we’ll call him John, is old and dirty, and not all there mentally, but he is so close to God and I could see so much beauty in him… he inspires me to trust God more every time I talk to him. It is so sad, I think of him often.. the one person who takes him in at Christmas just died and he has no one to spend Christmas with. The Vineyard and the streets of Winnipeg are filled with “death”, there is always someone I talk to who is grieving the loss of a friend whether to fights, suicide, sickness, or some untold story.. My heart has a new purpose! I love broken people—I love that I have hope to offer them from Jesus…and that this hope is real and true and unmatchable. I am learning about the gifts God has given me and how they make me effective at certain ministries. This big heart of mine was made specially, and the fact that I care about people, all people, so much, is no coincidence. I am excited for the beauty I have seen in the Vineyard Centre, and the hope that it gives me, despite the smell of glue and the sight of people sniffing and pocketing their rags filled with anything that will make them high enough to forget their pain! God is the God of this city and I have met so many pastors and people who believe in a revival here, and I am so excited to be part of this city’s healing hand.
-Jennifer Keith