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The following are various Articles & Poems written by
people whose lives have been changed by God and have attended
or volunteered at the Mission.
The
Salt of the Earth in Hell's Kitchen
My name
is Richard.
I have lived in the Vancouver's Eastside since 1997.
I came to Vancouver to be part of a recovery program for substance
abuse.
I had been using drugs and alcohol since I was fourteen and
my life was a mess.
The first thing I did was check into a detox center. I stayed
clean for three months after that. Then I made some new friends
who were using heroin and cocaine. I remained clean for some
time after that until one night I got drunk and tried heroin.
I quickly became hooked.
I used
to play music on the street for money. One day an old lady
gave me ten dollars on the promise that I go to church that
night. I went down to the street church on Main and Hastings
where I wouldn't stick out too much because of the shape I
was in. That was my first visit to church in twelve years.
I had known the lord before but had fallen away from the faith.
I sat in the back row, back slider's row and listened to the
sermon.
I felt so ashamed that it took me some time to commit my life
to the Lord again. However, I started to attend church regularly
whether I was stoned or not. Slowly I found myself using less
drugs and I began to pray for God's forgiveness and help.
I spent more time in the fellowship of the church, going to
various missions, meetings and services and experienced spiritual
rebirth and growth.
God is doing tremendous work in me. My life and lifestyle
aren't perfect but God's gentle spirit is in me to convict
and guide me in my walk. My failures show me how much I need
Jesus in my life and every victory increases my faith in Him.
It is not easy to change my old ways and every day brings
a new challenge. I must admit that I fall on my face a lot
and that I'm doing things that I don't want to do. Human nature
is sinful and evil.
I know that I am not totally surrendered or obedient to God,
but He is working patiently with me and allowing me to grow
at my own pace. God is very gracious and loving. He does not
beat me over the head whenever I make a mistake. He is faithful
to forgive my sins. He stands by me and never leaves me.
God has a tremendous ministry in the downtown Eastside.
There are missions on practically every corner. Brothers and
sisters in the faith come from all over town to minister to
the poor with prayers food and clothing. I came to Hell's
Kitchen and found enough of the Salt of the Earth to restore
my faith in God.
~
Richard
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As
People Walk Through
Father forgive
them,.
For they know not what they do.
For beyond what they know,.
They just can't see You.
They've been blinded,
By the gods of this day.
While my heart tears inside me,
That they can't see why I pray.
To be
torn like this,.
To share in Your pain.
My flesh can't bare it,
With that my death is gain.
To hold
a heart so pure,
Seems so beyond me.
But to know Your power within us,.
Is something they must see..
~
Chris-Ann 1998
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Salvation
Road
By
Michael Thompson
There
is a road that leads the way
But how so far the end sometimes seems to be
On this road
This salvation road
There are rocks we stumble over on the way
Boulders there are that must be moved
But we have our help on our way
The help of the one at the end of the road
This salvation road
Holes and puddles, rivers and cracks
But the hand that leads us gets us over and past.
And at times the road is smooth
And the way seems so near
As the hand that leads us draws us near.
'O' This road
Salvation road
We long to reach the end
To see the face which held our hand
All along the way on this road.
This salvation road
Thank-you Jesus
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Judy's
Heart
In the past five years that I have been working along side
my husband, Barry, I have learned many lessons and made many
friends. I appreciate that the relationship between the workers
is a close one.
Our times of prayers & communication are so uplifting.
I get excited when I see all the different faces of the people
who come in for the special holiday dinners that we and numerous
volunteers offer them. These are people in need not only of
natural food, but also the 'Bread of Life'. This is our aim,
to build strong rooted Christians in the downtown Vancouver
area, so that they can lead others to the life giving Saviour!
The experience of doing this on a regular basis is (I feel)
what God has created me for. The people that I am privileged
to minister to and love on are an extension of my family.
I am constantly finding ways in which to stretch myself. Leading
worship and playing piano is just two of the things I have
learned. I thank God that He has shown me how and helped me
to move ahead in these areas. I wouldn’t have it any
other way.
The people of the downtown Eastside are crying out in need
of help. All they need is someone to guide them to God’s
outstretched arms. It’s awesome to be able to do that.
~ Judy Babcook
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Sinner's
Plea
By Michael Thompson
Jesus:
Sinner I am; this I know
Save me Jesus from myself
Jesus be with me, this I plea
Now is always the time to say
Jesus save me, this I plea.
Not always
I am right with Thee
Forgive me Jesus, and help me please
Everlasting is your love I know
I remember not Your love for me
When I walk away from Thee
Forgive me this I plea.
When
I waver, when I fall
I plead Your mercy
Help me Jesus, save me please
Leave my sins at Your back
Remember not my sinful self
Help me Jesus on my way
Forget me not when I walk away
Away from You at times I sway
A sinner carried away
Forgive me Jesus this I plea
A sinners plea.
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From
Hatred to Love
by Sylvia Sharon Isaac
If ever
there was someone who hated herself, it was me.
I hated who I was, all my life, I lived in bitterness. I hated
being a aboriginal person. In fact, I hated the whole world.
I came from the Nak’az’dli Indian reserve in northern
British Columbia.
I came from a very dysfunctional alcoholic home. The third
youngest of 22 children, my mother was forever beating us.
I was also sexually abused from a very young age. My mother
and father were always drinking and by the time I was 11 years
old, I left home to live on the streets with an attitude that
nobody - no man no woman was ever going to hurt me again.
By the time I was 12 years old, I was already in jail for
attempted murder, later on I was charged with kidnapping andI
spent most of my younger years in jails and institutions.
When I was 20 years old, I ended up in prison for 2nd degree
murder after running with a wild gang around the west side
of Bloor and Lansdowne in Toronto ON.
All my life I was filled with hate, having no mercy for human
life whatever, never once looking at myself. I got out of
prison in 1984 and went right back to the streets, to alcohol
and a world of crime and hatred. In 1994, I ended up on the
streets of Vancouver, BC. I was a heavy alcoholic by then
and getting into heavy drugs. I started shooting cocaine into
my arms. I never cared who I hurt or whom I trampled on for
the next fix, just as long as I had a fix. I got to the point
of where I was going to kill someone for the drugs or the
drugs were going to kill me.
At 4 A.m. in early 1998, I was in the back alley of harbour
light in Vancouver.
I really was totally sick of what I was doing. I wanted to
die. I shot a double dose of cocaine into my arm. Total fear
gripped me when I knew I was dieing.
I called out to God with what little breath I had left. "God
help me." A little voice in my head kept telling me just
to keep walking, just keep walking.
I didn't know then by what force I walked out of the alley.
On March 1, 1998, I went to a mission in downtown Vancouver
and talked to Pastor Barry Babcook. I said, I need help. I’m
a drug addict. I’m at the point in my life where I don’t
want to live and I don’t want to die. Pastor Barry just
looked at me and told me how I could have a new beginning
in Christ
Jesus
and how God could set me free from my addictions. Right then
and there I accepted the freedom that Jesus offers. On March
2, 1998, being clean from drugs for 12 days, I was baptized
with water at the Gospel Mission. I made a vow to God to walk
with Him. When I was clean of drugs & alcohol for two
months, I was still a heavy cigarette smoker. On April 19,
1998 I promised God I would quit smoking and I have never
smoked since.
I live in this building right in the heart of what people
call skid row, but it’s my neighbourhood. On April 16,
1999 I was asked by the Main and Hastings Society to give
a speech at a ground breaking ceremony. They were pleased
with the way my life has changed through the name of Jesus.
I spoke from my heart about my life as a drug addict &
alcoholic. I spoke about hope and glory. I told them there
is hope for anyone living on the streets. Believe me, I know,
because there is hope for me.
Now I live a very busy life. I’m going to school working
hard to finish high school. Someday I will go to university
and will become a drug and alcohol counsellor or social worker
or maybe even a lawyer. Who knows where it is going to take
me?
Do you wonder now about how I feel about being a native person?
Since God changed me, I don’t have anymore negative thoughts
about being a aboriginal.
I know the Creator created me special and for his purpose.
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A
Poem For Jesus
By Michael Thompson
Songs
of the world will bring you to different paths,
Whatever path a song leads you to,
for there is a different path for each song sang.
Whether
you change paths before it ends,
the song still has an end.
But songs
of Christ are forever the same,
full of truth and peace never to end.
Wonder
off this song it is still there;
never to end always there.
For those
who did and those who haven’t,
the songs of Christ are always there.
The songs
of truth and peace which never end,
The songs of Christ are always there.
The songs
which never end,
The songs of Christ
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