snowpocalypse

some people live where snow is a foreign concept.  thankfully, i do not have that misfortune.  i am quite in tune to the magic and awe –and the dangers and fears–of snow. every winter, the weather man promised countless snow days so i could go sledding instead of write essays and build snow forts instead of crunching numbers in calculus.  with all the splendor of snow, it comes as no suprise that snow yields real dangers.  the other day we got 10" of snow.  maybe you have never had the privilege–yes i say previelege–of shoveling 10" of snow off the drive way, but i could barely get out of bed the next morning i was so sore. (waahoo!) driving conditions are near impossible and buisnesses around town are shut down.  it doesn't matter how "good" your snow plows are and it doesn't matter how "fast" the salt trucks dump salt on the roads, you're not leaving your house when snow is coming down an inch every hour.  there were countless wrecks yesterday and many people lost their lives out in the weather conditions. in the midst of laughing and jovial times, there is always weeping and mourning.

you know, there is a lot to be learned from the snow.

the weather man gives us clear warning that the snow is coming.  do we believe him this time? do we take him at his word–which is usually only 60% correct at-best?  regardless, he studies maps and patterns and trends in the weather.  it is apparent that something is coming our way.  a snow storm.  he tells us the snow will arrive around 3AM and will last late into the afternoon.  he warns that it could be anywhere from 6" at the least and 15" at the most (sure, a safe range) and to get ready, be prepared.  still, he believes it is coming, even if we don't.

so what happens....?

some people head to the store immediately to stock up on the essentials–they are preparing themselves a few days in advance for what is expected.  they leave no room for doubts.

some people head to the store last minute and are left disappointed because all the shelves are empty.  now they nit-pick through leftovers or leave empty handed.  if only they had gotten there sooner they could have picked what they really wanted,

yet, still, some people avoid the store all together.  "the weatherman is full–of–it again." they think the storm will pass quickly or that the weatherman has exaggerated the affects or that the snow won't even appear.

well, the storm happened.  it snowed a heavy and blustery 10 inches.  it. just. kept. coming. down.

dont wait until "the time is right"
you will leave empty handed

...what if we applied snowpocalyse 101 to a having relationship with jesus? 

no no no, stay with me and please hear me out. 

jesus christ, our weatherman, is coming back like a thief in the night.  (1 thessalonians 5:2 and revelation 16:15) you know as well as i do that some people go to the store often and may even have crisis-packs stored in their basement in anticipation, some wait til the last minute to grab the essentials, and some avoid the store all together.  where and who are you on a spiritual level?

do you live expectantly for the return of jesus christ, apply the word of God to every aspect of your life, and have an intimate and personal relationship with jesus christ?  society may calls these people jesus freaks, christ-followers, bible thumpers, weirdoes, religious fruitcakes.

have you waited  until you were diagnosed with a terminal illness to figure out the true freedom in jesus of the bible? did you grow up in the church and get lured into the fascinations this world has to offer? have you been burned or found that this jesus "isn't for you"?  have you ever thought that after you've "had your fun and fair share of mistakes" you will come back to church because YOLO...right!?  most people in this position will call themselves "christians," semi-religious, spiritually aware, in tune with themselves.

or are you a person is who is simply disinterested all together? maybe you think the snow storm is coming, but eh, it's just another storm.  people may call themselves apathetic, agnostic, atheist, .

regardless of what society labels you or what you yourself have deemed of utmost importance, there is a blatant warning that the storm is coming...and coming soon.  THERE IS A STORM COMING and unlike a snow storm on christmas night, we have absolutely no clue when this is going to happen.  (revelation 3:10, 1 thessalonians 4:15-18, 2 thessalonians 2:1-6, titus 2:13, 1 corinthians 15:52).

does it not make since to prepare and to anticipate this? to know him? you wouldn't just walk down the aisle to meet your husband without having first met him.  no, as a little girl you dream of the day you meet your prince charming and you two live happily ever after.  this is imprinted on your heart as an american girl and you forever look forward to your wedding day.  on a different scale, the return of jesus is the same.  our divine Husband is coming for us. from the minute we learn of jesus we have the ability to say yes i want you, i'm interested, who are you? or no i don't need you, i don't want you (you theologians can debate my last sentence, but as far as i am concerned, we can choose jesus or choose to live in sin; romans 6:16-18).

so have you prepared for the storm?

"once we too were foolish and disoobedient. we were misled by others and became slaves to many wicked desires and evil pleasures.  our lives were full of evil and envy. we hated others, and they hated us. but then God our SAvior shows us his kindness and love.  he saves us, not because of the good things we did, but because of his mercy. he washed away our sins and gave us a new life through the holy spirit. he generously poured out the spirit upon us because of what jesus christ our savior did. he declared us not guilty because of his great kindness.  and now we know that we will inherit eternal life." –titus 3:3-7

photograph highlights

kanoone zendegi (farsi)

this place is changing lives and planting seeds.  at kanoone zendegi, farsi-speaking refugees and immigrants are offered english classes, help with citizenship paper work, learn to file taxes, and are immersed into a love-rich community that plants seeds daily.  life community center offers a comfortable place for persians and other farsi-speaking peoples to feel accepted and at home.  

this is blaire. she has a heart of gold for the lord.  you would never know that she is 19.  we go to school and church together.  she has the voice of an angel and blesses us at pinelake with her gift. 

mr. roy and i walked around downtown vancouver .  we found that it was a lot harder to talk to and learn about people downtown, so we had the time of our lives saying hi and extending a mississippi grin to passers-by. it was truly remarkable to see people light up.  a few walkers responded with how nice it was to see someone cheerful and friendly. proof that this city needs the real love of jesus.

we walked up this hill because the city buses where shut down for 8 hours.  don't let this photo fool you, it was a full mile up hill and another half mile to get to the life center. 

i took this picture on our "mapping" day.  i never realized the useful information you can gather from a neighborhood.

i've honestly fallen in love with this city.
what have i gotten myself in to?

this is the upper landing.  on our "amazing race" day this was one of our destinations.  the weather made for little interaction with people, but this is near where i met david, who we later dubbed our personal tour guide.

these are the laughing buddahs near english bay.  there is more diversity in vancouver than i have ever been exposed.  i wish i could accurately depict it, but i would not do it justice.  if you are a blonde caucasian american girl who is a Christ-follower in vancouver, you are out numbered 500 to 1, and that may honestly be generous.

creeping on a lady at english bay.  have you ever seen a beach with snow?

the inukshuk at english bay.  this is a native american (?) rock formation.

dreary day at the bay

the whale ribs on english bay with canadian flag in the background.  snow fell on my lens because it was snowing really hard that day.  that is why there are blurry marks.  

the steam clock in gastown in downtown vancouver.  a neat place.  if you weren't looking for it, you would pass it by.  

amazing race

i'm sitting in the airport drinking my last canadian cup of tim horton's coffee double-double as i patiently wait to board my plane.  airports are interesting places.  there are so many questions that pop into my head (but that is another post in and of itself).  i was offered a flight voucher to take another plane since they overbooked this one, but i declined when i checked in.  i am kicking myself right now and hoping i have another opportunity to take a different flight. i'm exhausted and running on three hours of sleep.  sure, i could have gotten a full eight hours, but why when my precious time in canada was ticking away faster than i could walk.  so here i am inhaling tim horton's (or tom henry's as my dear friend tyler kept calling it).  

every trip lends itself to sundry life lessons, new friends, and key experiences that you will never again have in the same manner with the same people.  there are so countless things, happenings, friendships that i can take away from this trip.  if listed all the people i met and all the places i explored, you would be reading for days, but there are a few things that standout that i want to share with you all. i met david on our scavenger hunt around the city.  now, the point of this scavenger hunt was to talk to as many people as possible, learn as much about people as possible, and plant and water seeds at every opportunity.  naturally, i was thrilled at combining competition, talking, photography, jesus, and exploring. yeah, basically me wrapped up in a series of events.  now, the day of our “amazing race” was everything short of ideal. it was what you could call “white death” outside.  i  said “nice camera” to david because he was–in fact–holding a nikon d5100.  i went on my way and took a picture of the killer whale sculpture in downtown vancouver.  our paths cross again as i make my way to the olympic cauldron (which is another one of our destinations in the amazing race).  david and i start up a conversation and then some of my team members join along side me.  some how, david walks with us to the upper landing (a house on stilts) and then joins us for lunch.   over burgers and fries, david and i become best friends as we talk about family, mexico, fashion, the weather, photography, and nearly everything else under the sun.  we dubbed david our personal tour guide because he continued to show us around the city for the rest of the day.  though we were cold, wet, and snowy from walking outside all day visiting different places around town; we all had the time of our lives.  david showed us things that normal “tourists” wouldn’t get to see.  not only did david express how grateful he was to hang out with us for a day, we were blessed by him so much so that we all hung out the next day!  we met at the mall and all visited and talked our ears off.  david has been in vancouver for 2 years now but is moving to new york on the 28th of december.  he is actually picking up his mom and dad from the airport today so they can spend christmas with him.  his family runs a resort in mexico called el cid resorts and they are located in cozumel, cancun, and mazatlan.   his brother is living in mexico still, but he isn’t going to canada for the holidays.  i learned a lot more about david and his passion for life and people, but that could be a book by itself.  i am so grateful and blessed to get to meet david while on this trip.  all of us are going to be staying in contact with him, and i even think allie may go on her honeymoon and stay at el cid! it is fun to see the world become increasing smaller with each day that passes and every person i meet.

though we didn't "win" the scavenger hunt, i think we ultimately won because we really got to start a friendship with david.  everyone was genuinely touched by his friendliness and his generosity! (thanks for the timbits david!)

irene

acts 4 is an encouraging passage to read because in these words it is obvious that peter and john were ordinary men with no special training; however, people could recognize jesus in their lives by the things they said and how they treated people so much that they could not deny the work of christ.  peter and john were overwhelmed by the promise in christ that they could not stop telling people of the hope in christ.  because of their souled out lives to spreading the gospel, many people believed and were able to experience the freedom in the lord.  this was a beautiful picture as i headed out to a world who does not naturally reach for the lord.  i am not extraordinary in my "bible knowledge" and i definitely have no "special training."  my prayer is that i would conduct a life so blatantly changed by the lord.

thus far, i have met some incredible people from ALL over the world.  i may put a list up later, because it is quite remarkable the melting pot of awesomeness that is this city.  but, if there is one person that has impacted my trip more than any other thus far, it is none other than irene carlson.  i wish i could depict irene in words, but truly, there are none to adequately portray the beautifulness of this woman.  irene's birthday is today (december 18) and she is turning 69 years old.  irene is from nova scotia but has been in vancouver for a long time.  she has 3 driven children who have been very successful.  proudly, irene showed me scrapbooks she has made with newspaper clippings, magazine articles, and modeling photos of all her children.  the word "beautiful" pales in comparison to what her children look like. irene was in a terrible, i mean terrible, car accident a few years ago.  she was actually pronounced dead and taken to the morgue.  because there was no room in the freezers at the morgue for irene, she had to lay next to the freezers.  when a young employee in training went to move irene, irene started making noise and moving her pinky.  irene was quickly rushed to the hospital and treated.  if i were that man who moved irene, i would have run out of there screaming "ZOMBIE" at the top of my lungs.  irene still has pain associated with the wreck and wears about ten layers of clothing constantly because she is always freezing cold.  irene went on to tell me more about her life, her children, her travels, her loves, etc.  we chatted inside her small boutique for nearly an hour.  i invited her to the life community center for jennifer's goodbye party–jennifer was an intern here for a 2 year commitment, but ended up staying for 3.  irene actually came to the party and had the time of her life meeting others, listening to live iranian music, and eating authentic foreign cuisine.  

you see, i have learned so much from irene.  in irene's words, there were several emotions. before talking to irene, i guess i made assumptions about life, or rather took some realities for granted.  we are one people in that we are all hurting, we all want more out of life, we all need a friend to listen to us, and we all want to be loved and valued and respected.  sure, these are things i have always known, but after i left irene, my outlook on life completely changed.  irene opened my eyes to what real pain, loneliness, and need looked like.  there have been things in our lives that have happened that have helped shape who we are today.  sometimes we stuff those things down and let them depress every aspect of our lives.  sometimes we explode out of anger and leave shrapnel in every life we touch.  sometimes we pretend like everything is absolutely perfect when our lives are imploding on ourselves.  sometimes we blow things out of proportion when we really have it pretty well off.  after talking to irene, talking to people (i mean random strangers walking their dog down the street) became essentially effortless.  

the man who is standing on the street corner has hurt and pain behind his disinterested eyes.  the girl gazing out the window on the bus may have just been laid off or may have had a parent just die.  the list is endless and you don't even realize how many people you come into contact with until you actively engage in conversation with people, even if it is just to say hello.  we are all hurting, and aching; and yes, when we want to stop feeling sorry for our exaggerated hangnail of a "problem," we can admit having reasons to celebrate.  

however, do you realize the simplicity of a smile yet the impact it can create in someone's day? case and point: roy and i found it very difficult to have simple conversations with people unless we were sitting in coffee shops, and even at that, people were in and out quickly.  so we turned the day around just as the clouds cleared out and the sun came out over the mountain.  we just smiled, said hello, and asked how people's days were going.  most people were surprised when we just said hello, but i could honestly see a bleakness in their eyes melt away.  it was the neatest thing.  also, i was walking down the street in north vancouver and i man is sitting on the sidewalk playing (well, more like touching the strings) on the guitar.  broken by his state, i reach into my pocket and pull out the only thing i honestly had on me.  it was 3 canadian quarters.  i stopped and talked to him expressing that it was all i had.  he said word for word, "it's okay girl, that is why i don't ask for money. you see, your smile is just enough to get me through the day."  

so remember the next time you are on the bus, in line at starbucks, or waiting for your appointment that the people around you may need a kind hello, a soft smile, or a simple conversation.  not everyone will be warm and friendly to you.  "you are a stranger, why are you talking to me?" but be intentional with your kindness and channel it to those around you.  if every where you went your goal was to learn at least one new thing about just one person, at the end of the day you may have been 10 different places, which means 10 unique people.

we are all in need. give a smile. lend an ear. give some time.  your life will be forever changed.  

leaving on a jet plane

i love coffee, yes.  that comes as no surprise; however, i am rather fond of tea.  i have sipped countless cups with my new iranian friends as i listened to stories of love, persecution, heartbreak, and triumphs.  before coming to vancouver (and on the flights over) i had no idea for what i had signed up.  all i knew was that i was going to work with amin and sepideh because i had felt an overwhelming pull on my heart to serve alongside them.  now, i am sipping some hotel tea as i reflect on traveling to vancouver from indianapolis.

my trip started off by sitting next to a girl my age named katie on my flight from indianapolis to minneapolis.  as big as this world is, sitting next to katie made the world shrink a million fold after chatting for a straight 90 minutes.  katie goes to the same college as my sister and she is originally from dallas (a city i have frequented much in the past).  katie loves cats and taking photographs.  naturally, katie and i hit it off as though we have been friends for years.  something about katie made my heart happy.  she is bubbly and humorous.  she is dating a guy for a few months now and she will be graduating in may.  she is adopted and has 2 siblings and a white cat (who she had to leave in dallas when she went to school because her roommates were allergic, so sad).  she has three tattoos: four stars on her wrist that represent her siblings and mom and dad, one on her foot that says "love is patient" and one of her ribs.  if you have a tattoo, then you understand the detail one can go into about what the tattoo means, why you got with, etc (i have an anatomical heart on my back and got to share with her why i got inked).  because i was curious, i asked her more about her "love is patient" tattoo, which lead into me asking her what she believed.  like so many people i know, katie has been burned by the church.  the catholic church katie grew up in told her that her mom would go to hell for having her sister out of wedlock.  this is not the basis for hell and i apologized to her for the pain a foolish and out of context sentence must have caused her and her family for so long.  this led to some more conversation on church, jesus, religions, relationships, confusions, fears, etc.  katie and i planned to get lunch at the minneapolis airport together, but seeing that our gates were on opposite poles of the airport and she didn't have much of a layover, we didn't get that opportunity.  we exchanged numbers, instagram names, and took some photos together...but then we went to our respective gates.  katie flew to dallas and is now home snuggling with her kitty.  i know that we are going to keep in touch.    

on my three flight from minneapolis to seattle, i had the privilege to sit next to brian simmons.  brian and his wife moved from rochester to seattle and have been married for 25 years.  brian was flying back from the mayo clinic in rochester.  he has to go there multiple times a year because he has chronic pancreatitis.  he takes over 50 pills a day and has been doing that for over 19 years.  i admire this man i met on the plane.  he and his wife started a single's ministry at their church in rochester.  they have no kids of their own (though they have two white soman dogs named jake and jasmine).  over the years, he said that the different young people that came into and out of their house became their family.  now that they live in mount vernon, washington, he is wondering where the Lord will lead them next.  this man poured into me and whether he realized it or not, gave me much hope and encouragement.  he had such a positive outlook on life and the pain that this disease has brought him.  though he could be angry and selfish for having so much physical hurt, he sees it as an opportunity to not only meet hurting and lost people, but he sees it as an opportunity to remain humble and reminder to stay dependent on christ. this was a three hour flight and we were able to visit with each other for nearly 2 hours and 15 minutes before both of us fell asleep.  i was tired but i know my exhaustion pales in comparison to this man.  he had expressed that he rarely gets more than 4 hours consecutively.  i was glad to see him get a least a few minutes of relief on that plane.

my third plane was the plane out of the country.  i left seattle sitting next to a gorgeous girl that was returning home from spending months in europe.  she was anything but interested in talking to me, but i pried just a little.  she is from vancouver but has worked in the fashion industry in new york for the past few years. she spent a few months in europe touring, shopping, working, etc.  she asked what i was doing in vancouver and i told her about my mission trip with the kanoon zendegi center and zendeh church.  i word for word told her that i felt that i had been "called" to come and she said, "called by who?" i was so thrown off by this question, yet i still told her "God."  our conversation was over at that point besidess farewells and wishes to enjoy being home.

as i walked off the plane, a lady wearing the cutest outfit ever was in front of me.  she expressed that it was from a shop called "aritzia's"  i had never heard of it, so she explained.  i told her i wasn't from here and i didn't know if they had them in america.  the finely dressed woman asked what i was doing in british columbia so i told her i was on a mission trip to work with an iranian christian church.  again, i was taken off guard by her question, "what's a mission trip?" when i told her, the mood shifted and we continued to walk ever faster to customs.  we parted ways as she encouraged me to have a nice trip.  

though i was exhausted after talking and traveling all day, i was relieved to get to canada.  i nodded off a few times while taking the sky train to surrey (a suburb of vancouver).  though i have yet to catch up on sleep, it has been awesome to see how God has been my source of renewed strength and how he removes my weariness.  my day of travel was an encouraging way to start a trip that would require me talking to perfect strangers and immersing myself into a culture where i am always the minority. 

i wish i had pictures to upload at the present moment, but they are all on my digital camera.  i didn't bring my cord to connect my camera to the computer, so we will all have to wait until i return to the states.  

i miss you all, but i sure love seeing the power of the gospel come to life in ways i never have the past 2.5 days.  i can't wait to share my stories about khali-alma, irene, kimberly, cadance, tony, and leila from yesterday's adventure and the testimonies from persecuted iranians from today's events.  it has been a tiresome yet fruitful trip thus far.  

thank you to everyone for your prayer support and for the financial support that allowed me to be apart of this trip.  God is alive and at work here in vancouver.  my God is the God of this city, of your city and we are to be a city on a hill.  go shine, wherever you are.

"i thank my God always when i remember you in my prayers, because i hear of your love and of the faith that you have toward the Lord Jesus and the saints, and i pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ.  for i have derived much joy and comfort from your love, ___________, because of the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you." –philemon 1:4-7

  .....a lot more to come.