|
Cory and Kerianne
We stuck out like sore thumbs.
The chalky streets of inner city Winnipeg were lined with prostitutes, drug dealers, slumlords and homeless people, and there we were in ripped Levis jeans and American Eagle T-shirts carrying bagged lunches with the intention of "making a difference".
The tension was high considering our School of Discipleship program had only started two weeks prior to this inner-city plunge. Our previous time had been spent in a comfortable retreat center with many luxuries. Instead of sleeping in warm beds, putting our clothes in closets and spending evenings in the hot tub, this week we slept on the floor of the Salvation Army with our backpacks beside us, and recovering addicts next door.
Under Kim, Jamie and Paul of YWAM (Winnipeg), we were to experience downtown culture for a week through various activities. That night, we were challenged to observe our surroundings but were encouraged to "get our hands dirty" by striking up a friendly conversation with people that are so frequently ignored. The group was ready to be stretched but not all of our hearts were fully committed to the task ahead of us. We asked for God's blessing to do His work but it is likely that we all felt somewhat unsure of ourselves.
In spite of some discomfort, it was evident that God was working in the midst of our doubt as soon as we pulled together. Our goal was to treat these people with the type of respect we would expect ourselves. So in our different groups we handed out food, played with children and prayed for people. The results were amazing.
One group played with some neighborhood youth, by joining them in games. One of the kids that had been hurt in another game was far more receptive to a SOD student's embrace than the cold laughter and mocking of the other kids that is so typical to both the incident and the area.
Another group was surprised to find a homeless gentleman who taught them a lot more about Christ than they ever would have imagined. Throughout the night, he expressed to them his pain, life experience and joy in the Lord through simple fellowship. The surprise was that God worked through the unexpected in this man ministering to us rather than us ministering to him.
The rest of our group witnessed many similar impacting events that night. All of these shaped our perspectives on the core area on both personal and spiritual levels. In the midst of this poverty, we saw God. The smiles on people's faces, the generosity of the needy, the openness, and the overall joy reflected God's love in such power that shattered the stereotypes one develops. The social castaways completely changed the views we held about the area. They are generally labeled as lazy, drunk, indifferent, or even deserving of their situations, but as one lives among them for even as short a time as we did, one realizes that, while these people do possess their fair share of problems, they are quite often the recipients of tragic circumstances. Being in that atmosphere reconstructed our reality and gave us a lesson in God's grace.
Many of us live in the city of Winnipeg, or a city much like it, and ignore the poor areas without giving much thought to the people in them. Although each of us will learn something unique from our time downtown there definitely is a common realization in all of us: we no longer have the option of turning a blind eye when we drive or walk around inner cities. In Jesus' time He set an example of the way we are to treat the people society rejects, and His example sets a standard that time cannot corrupt. The inner city plunge has altered many minds within the school, in that we seem to have come out of that week with a greater understanding of what it means to be Christian, or more literally Christ-like, and much higher standards for ourselves. After the plunge, the aspiration of the group is to model Christ's example as best we can, regardless environment, comfort level or circumstance, and herein become more effective ambassadors for the Kingdom of God.
Looking back, each of us cannot say that we were not stretched in a good way during that week. All of our hearts, minds and souls got a spiritual "tune-up". It was full of invaluable lessons and one might even venture to say that it was pivotal to our faith walk. God did so much for us in the short time that we were in Winnipeg. It's hard not to get excited when we can look back and see the blessings that God gave us, with the full realization that this is only the beginning.
|
