Vancouver is, at times, exactly like Portland. It is also, at times, Seattle, Dubai, Dallas, Sausalito, and London. I even forgot for a moment, while walking along a dusty road, that I was not once again in the streets of Dar Es Salaam. Except that Dar Es Salaam did not require a jacket.
At any one time in Vancouver, you hear the sound of everyone talking in several hundred different languages at once, and it kind of makes me wish for another Pentacost when I learn that only about 2 percent of these people have heard the life-changing message of Christ. Canada is all about being nice and pleasant and not being abrasive and God forbid you offend anybody, and the result is that relationships are hard to get past a really shallow level (at least with native Canadians) because no ones opens up because of this fear, and there are many, many, many lonely people. Really, my fear is that Canada is America in ten years. Pray that this is not the case, and pray pray pray for Canada.
I was encouraged, however, in the afternoon. We were walking down the middle of downtown Van (as the locals call it. I'm not sure how I feel about it yet) with Tim and Joan and they lead us to this huge building. And there's this directory thing at the bottom, and it says "Room 811: Place of Loving People" and after we knock, this Korean woman opens the door and just hugs us and says "Hello! Hello! Come in come in!! Are you thirsty? Hungry?" The walls are all green and orange and there's flowers on the table (gerber daisies. I love gerber daisies) and there's Korean worship music playing, and students are inside studying and generally being together. They come here to worship every Friday night, and also take English classes and do other ministry and connect with other Korean immigrants. The first is Scarlett, whom I immediately loved. She smiled and even the gerber daisies seemed to gain a little color. I see in her the joy of the Lord that is new every morning. She is studying right now to become a doctor to be a doctor/missionary someday and her English is improving. The next is Moon, a cute girl that reminds me of Hali Hesson, if you know her. She had almost no accent at all, but refrained from speaking because she was emarrassed about her grammar. I found this unfortunate. Last is Ian, who is the worship leader and was also quiet, but that was mostly because he was planning the group's retreat next week. They are all ecstatic.
Scarlett and Moon and Ian are 3 of 3o to 40ish young Koreans who have found the Place of Loving People. Scarlett says it is a second home. SHe has a key. They bring lunch and chill. They talk about God. We will be returning to it every Tuesday to help with the English class.
The woman who runs it has been here for about ten years, and created and runs this place mostly by herself. When she told us the English name she has finally chosen after a decade of being here, I almost laughed.
Lydia.
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