Compassion & Justice

Things are a little off for me today. For one thing, my nails are painted, which if you know me, means that you probably can't remember a time in my life ever that my nails were painted metallic green and blue. But, they were painted this weekend by Melanie*, a young woman that I met at a shelter in downtown Toronto as we had a girl's night, painting each others nails, and watching chick flicks. 

Part of me is shaken, as I've been reflecting on my experience sitting with Connor, a young man that we met on the street who had overdosed twice last week. As he recounted the few moments in the week that he could remember, he looked up at us, eyebrows deeply creased, and asked, "What's wrong with everyone?" Our staff guide for the night explained that we were visitors, and that we'd had a really long day, not bringing any more light to the obvious shellshock that most of the youth had on their faces. "They're pretty tired," he said, "Connor, tell 'em how much sleep you got last night."  Pow. We had nothing to say. Suddenly, our few hours of restless sleep on a church floor didn't seem to matter. 

I'm also honoured to have the opportunity to be in the presence of so many incredible people in shelters, vans, and drop-ins. Sitting down with Barb, a crack addict and prostitute, and listening to her story of addiction and recovery in progress left a deep imprint on the youth I was with. Or talking with Mary, a woman suffering from mental illness, who in moments of lucidity, was able to ask the questions that everyone has deep inside. But I can't begin to imagine the suffering she has experienced. Or talking with Andy, who at 18 wants to leave the lifestyle of the "street youth who is always high", and get his life together. The staff and volunteers who operated these services are also incredible. Fostering community, holistic in their ministry to the poor and broken, they work tirelessly to serve their friends on the street with dignity, respect and love. It only takes a moment or two to realize their passion for the work that they are doing. And the youth and co-leaders on this trip from YFC served with great attitudes and maturity, and were deeply affected by their experiences. 

Each Project Serve trip I've taken has challenged me, rocked me, and opened my eyes to better understand God's Kingdom here on earth. One of our key verses this weekend was Isaiah 58:6-12. Consider this:

“No, this is the kind of fasting I want:
   Free those who are wrongly imprisoned;
      lighten the burden of those who work for you.
   Let the oppressed go free,
      and remove the chains that bind people.
 ⁷ Share your food with the hungry,
      and give shelter to the homeless.
   Give clothes to those who need them,
      and do not hide from relatives who need your help.
 ⁸ “Then your salvation will come like the dawn,
      and your wounds will quickly heal.
   Your godliness will lead you forward,
      and the glory of the Lord will protect you from behind.
 ⁹ Then when you call, the Lord will answer.
      ‘Yes, I am here,’ he will quickly reply.
   “Remove the heavy yoke of oppression.
      Stop pointing your finger and spreading vicious rumors!
 ¹⁰ Feed the hungry,
      and help those in trouble.
   Then your light will shine out from the darkness,
      and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon.
 ¹¹ The Lord will guide you continually,
      giving you water when you are dry
      and restoring your strength.
   You will be like a well-watered garden,
      like an ever-flowing spring.
 ¹² Some of you will rebuild the deserted ruins of your cities.
      Then you will be known as a rebuilder of walls
      and a restorer of homes.


For more information on the organizations I partnered with, check out The Salvation Army and St. John The Compassionate Mission.


*I've changed the names of those we met to protect their privacy.



 

Freedom Writers

Our youth have recently been working on a number of graffiti pieces for an auction that will be taking place in the downtown (check it out here). I thought this would be a great opportunity to show you some of the talent that we have in our centre. And, there will be much more to come!

This was done by one of our young men who has been with us for a few years now. He'd never done anything like this, and really put a lot of thought into what he wanted it to say.

Just a demo piece I did to show some technique.

This guy was really shocked that he was at The Door and was allowed to spray paint. He said to one of our guys while they were painting, "I never thought I'd be doing this here with you". We're trying to encourage our youth that graffiti is a viable form of art, that doesn't need to be vandalism.

The young woman who did this is hard of hearing. She paintedthe sign language for love on the right hand side. She has just started college this year to become an interpreter.

A demo piece done by Aaron.

The young guy who did this piece also did the very last one. He loves BMX and skate culture, so this is a natural art expression for him.

This was a collaborative piece, that Aaron worked on with a couple of our guys.

Again, done by the guy who did the "Hello My Name Is" piece. At first, I thought he was a little out there in using the can so close, but I have to admit that the dripping paint is my favorite part.

Icebergs, Buddha, and Temperature

I read somewhere recently that nearly 75% of blogs start with the phrase "I'm sorry I haven't posted in so long". Huh, ours is no different. You'll notice that the blog has been quiet, we haven't tweeted in a couple of weeks (but maybe that's because when the kids find out we have Twitter they look at us and roll their eyes, "Re-ally??"). We've been focusing on getting our week to week stuff up and running these past couple of weeks. Last week we resumed "Soul Food", our weekly dinner and discussion group. We had 6 youth out, which was good for our first week, and it ensured them a good feed of tacos (which have quickly become a Soul Food favorite).

This year, we're really excited about our discussion material. Maybe a bit more so than usual, because this particular stuff seems to stick. We have begun using the Habitudes material to guide our discussions. In a nutshell, it uses images to talk about self-leadership characteristics. We've used bits and pieces of this material in our Project Serve training, and it is one of the few things that the youth remember and talk about. Last week we looked at the image of an iceberg, and talked about the fact that 90% of an iceberg sits below the water. Where we can't see it. Then we bridged into a discussion about our outer characteristics and our inner characteristics. Which are more important? Which do we spend more time and resources on? And so, in the coming weeks, we will be sharing the story of the golden Buddha, examining whether we just reflect the culture around us (like a thermometer) or whether we influence it (like a thermostat), and ten other images. It's also exciting because it is faith-based material that also has a value-based companion, so there is potential to use some of this material in our partnerships with the schools too. The youth are engaged when we talk about these images, and the images seem to stick.

So that's a bit of what we've been up to. Hopefully I don't start my next post with, "I'm sorry I haven't posted in so long..." At least you know I have a good excuse!

There's Hope in There...Somewhere

I've written before about our ministry of walking through the darkness with our youth, or as we sometimes refer to it "place-sharing".This is, in my mind, what makes The Door Youth Centre an exciting and a slightly terrifying place all at the same time. This weekend was another one of "those" weekends, where it seemed like everyone who came through our doors had something weighing heavy on their minds and hearts.

There's one guy that we've been working with for at least three years now. He's a pretty cool guy, loves taking photos, and enjoys subjecting others to the "stupid test" on his ipod. Our relationship with him started when he was just entering high school, and we've walked with him through most of his life since then. The past year hasn't been easy on our friend. Things at home aren't always going well, and he holds a lot of resentment towards his single mom and sister. He's got an on again off again relationship with a girl (it's off again) that has been going on for a lot longer than most relationships but has moments of deep love and concern as well as those of conflict. In the past six months, we've seen this easy going kid begin to deal with addiction in his life, withdrawl from his peers, growing distance in our once close relationship, and a growing darkness in his whole being. This once bright light is now dimmed by anger, and hopelessness.

This weekend, his disposition and an incident that he had with another of our youth made me angry. I was angry at this young man for about thirty seconds, thinking "How the heck could he treat someone that he cares about this way? Why is he doing this?", and feeling confused and lost about how we could reach out to him. But very quickly my anger towards him changed, and I became angry at the people or circumstances that have caused him to react this way.

This is a young man with great potential. He didn't have great potential and lose it, he still has it. In our work with him from this point, we will be relying on God's leading to help draw some of those strengths out of him so that he can cope without substances, without cutting himself, without pushing those who care about him away - or whatever his deal may be. We know that God is able to redeem all of the dark areas in his life, even when we feel confused about why a young person has walked away. This is why we need people to come alongside youth at The Door, because working this stuff out alone is difficult alone. We all need somebody, and while we may be on a journey with this young guy for a good long while, we will always be here when he needs us. It's there...somewhere.

Taking a Breath

We finally feel like we have some time to breathe, and that things at The Door Youth Centre are soon returning to some sense of "normal" (I say that because things are seldom ever normal for us). This weekend we are taking off with some of our staff to camp, reconnect, and enjoy some leisure time together before we begin another year of ministry. After all, a youth workers calendar always starts in September.

I was thinking about the past two months this morning. We got a lot done this summer. We joined our Canada-wide staff in Montreal for our national conference, led two camps, one for elementary aged youth, and one with a number of other Door Youth Centres. We were part of a team that led a group of youth to Mississippi, which we blogged earlier this week. In the middle of that, we joined our youth on a number of weekly day trips, and continued our year-round drop-in ministry.

We also ran a fairly successful "Breakfast Club" before our Wednesday events. This program was highly experimental, since we didn't know whether we would be able to rouse adolescents at 9am in the summer, or whether they would be interested in reading and discussing the Bible during that time. The first week, we were shocked when 6 youth showed up, and even more surprised when they participated in our discussion of 1 John! This number stayed fairly consistent through much of the summer, only dropping off a few times. We will definitely keep this program next summer.

Our camps were a lot of work, but very worthwhile. We partner with a couple of churches in town to run a Jr. High day camp. We see many of the youth that Aaron works with at one of the local elementary schools. We had over 30 campers this year, and we explored the theme of "Who Are You" in our daily sessions and small group. I have to admit, I have a soft spot in my heart for the 11-13 age group - they are so free, and I have some of the funniest camp memories (in over 10 years of being involved in this particular program) from this year.

We did take a small break to go on a much needed vacation to New Brunswick and to share in celebrating a family wedding. This time was really important to us.

Our YFC camp, Campfire, was a success as well. We were a little lower in numbers, and with our executive director being on sabbatical this summer, many of us took on roles that we hadn't in the past. While camp had a much different feel this summer, God was really working in the lives of our youth, and we were blessed to have opportunities to minister to our youth in ways that we hadn't in the past. One night, Aaron, one of our co-workers and I had a chance to pray for a young man in our Collingwood ministry, and it was an incredible experience! Being able to bless him and let him know that he was not alone in his struggles was such an honour. We took 4 youth from Collingwood.

So with all of this, Project Serve and summer coming to a close (dislike), we are now looking ahead to the fall. Our regular programming will resume soon, with Soul Food coming back on the radar. We have our eyes on some new media projects to engage our youth, time geared specifically for elementary aged youth and for our girls. We are open to God's vision for our centre, and anticipate new ministry opportunities to both our larger community of youth and individuals. I'm excited for when I get to share those stories with you!

Stories From The Road - Project Serve Mississippi Part II

As promised, here is the second installment of Aaron's blogs from our week in Mississippi.

Tuesday August 24 - Day 4

Jeremy, one of our more outgoing leaders who os sitting beside me is really bugging me for some kind of shoutout. So here you go jer- You are amazing!

This update will be quite short as today was a Work day similar to yesterday.
Today we painted and painted and painted with our group. Other groups were Building decks, gardening, and tiling.

Today it was hot! So hot that Alex and I (Aaron) got heat stroke...In an air conditioned home. We ended working together in the house and just after lunch we both realized that we had no energy, we both had headaches, which I still have tonight. So we sat and under a fan for a about 20mins then came to realize that we needed to cool down. So we filled our water bottles with ice cold water and poured it over oursleves. We soon felt 100% better being drenched in water. We got ourselves some gatoraide and rehydrated. Our group got to head back to the compound at 3 to shower up. Tonight we have mostly recovered. Everyone is feeling the heat tonight as there is only a handful of is awake at 9:30pm. Everyone has gone to bed...except I just looked over to see an eruption of laughter - Alex and Megan are playing a game.

On a side note. I mentoned yesterday that we took a tour of the town to look at the left over destruction. The foundations that were left behind had numbers on the proporty, on trees, and what not. We thought that they were house numbers but couldn't figure out how random they were. We were told today that those numbers were how many people were in that house when it was destroyed. The numbers are how many people had died. Weird how those numbers remain five years later.
Tomorrow we'll head back to jim's house for another day of painting.
LESM, the organization we are with will be closing ts doors for good this week. We are the last team to ever serve with them. We are trying our best to help finish all projects in three days. Let's hope we can!!!!

More tomorrow. Off to bed.


Wednesday August 25 - Day 5

Okay so my updates I think for the next two days will be reperative. Our days seem to be getting shorter and shorter with little time for any real exciting updates.
Our work site is coming along Nicely. We have graduated from painting to scraping floors to get ready for the tiles. Last night we attempted to go to the beach to swim but as we got there the water was infected with jellyfish, which most people did not feel comfortable swimming in. So we sat at the beach and just relaxed.
We seem to be going to bed earlier each night, I guess we are putting in a good hard days work. We head to New Orleans on Friday, I think everyone is looking forward to sleeping in a good comfy bed and swimming.
I'll try and make my last work update exciting- but no promises....

More tomorrow!


Thursday August 26 - Day 6

So today was great! Our work team graduated from painting to laying cement board in the kitchen of jim's house. After we leave some of the the staff will be sticking around to lay tile. Tomorrow is our las day so we are hoping to have all the cement board done. After work today we headed over the University is southen Mississippi to see a 500 year old oak tree called 'the friendship tree', it survived the hurricane. After that we came bak for dinner. Between being back and dinner one of our team members lost a toe nail in a basketball game. We are trying to avoid the US medical system to we have taped it down hoping we can make it back to Canada to get looked at.
After dinner we headed to walmart. Possibly a mistake... I am currently looking at hoards of pop and candy. Yikes!
Alex and I did buy some boiled peanuts and shared a southern treat. Not sure how we feel about them yet. They taste like a mixture of chick peas and kidney beans.
Well, bed time hopfully the sugar high won't keep people up for long.
Heading to new Orleans tomorrow to fly out on saturday.

More tomorrow!

The Friendship Oak

A campus building, abandoned after the storm

Left virtually untouched after Katrina

Saturday August 28 - Day 8

So our last was pretty good! We finished up our worksite and got some pictures of our team with Jim and his family. We we're the first team to finish early because we ran out of mortor, so after lunch we did a massive clean up of the house and said goodbye. The after was very relaxing at the compound.
Right before dinner he headed to Pass Christian (small coastal town) to find Mississippi's oldest tree. We found the 1000 year old oak tree that rivaled the friendship tree we saw the day before.
We left Bay St Louis in another storm. Although when we left it was just raining.
We're back in New Orleans now and will spend the morning by the pool. Perhaps some will head to the mall.
It's been a good although lots of people are tired and cranky, maybe a good night's sleep will help.

Our team at the 1,000 year old oak - enormous tree!

Danielle's work team with finished product at the house in Pass Christian

So there you have our updates throughout the week! Wrapping up the trip and coming home was an interesting experience - as we left, the Gulf was preparing to recognize the fifth anniversary of the storm. Seeing images on TV of incredible devastation in many of the areas that we worked in was a tough thing. We also closed out the ministry and incredible work of Mission on the Bay, who have been working on rebuilding homes and restoring hope since Katrina first devastated the coast. Our crew was featured on a couple of local news casts that you can see here and here. It was a bittersweet farewell; we were excited to return to our homes and towns, but left with a sense of helplessness, knowing that we had done all that we could, but that there was still an immense amount of work that needed to be done. We will be meeting with the Collingwood team later this week to debrief our experience, and preparing to share stories amongst our team and to their families, an exciting chance to see the impact that this trip has had on their lives. If we are able, I will hopefully post some stories and reaction from our youth team. An incredible experience, and one that blew me away in ways I wasn't expecting.

Stories From the Road - Project Serve, Mississippi

This summer has been extremely busy for us, and we definitely haven't kept up with our blog. Much of this summer was focused on our Project Serve trip. We returned Sunday morning at 4:30am from our trip to Bay St. Louis Mississippi. While we were there, Aaron kept a blog on Facebook for the youth and parent's to track our week. Here is our journal from the road, and some pictures.

The areas that we worked in were West of Gulfport, most of them too small to get on the map.

August 21 - Day 1 - Getting There
(sorry for any grammer or spelling errors - an iPod can only do so much)

Saturday august 21
Project serve Mississippi

As I write this we are airborne! Headed to new wark, new jersey. Last night we arrived in St. Catherines around 12:30am. We we're asleep, if you can actually call it sleep, before 1am. The team from orangeville ran into some delays through the night, which set us back almost an hour. We woke up at 4:30am, packed and headed to tim hortons to meet up with the team. We got ourselves situated around 6am and headed for the border crossing. We we're all a little nervous because the last Mississippi trip was delayed 7 hrs - needless to say a delay like that would certainly set us back. We arrived at the boarder in a good ol' fashioned convoy. Car one went ahead. It wasn't 30 seconds before they we're released. Thankfully we all made it through in under 5 minutes. As we headed to buffalo one of our leaders had to pull over. Cell phone missing. Thought to have dropped it in the tims in Ontario we knew we did not have the time to retrieve it as our flight was literally taking off in an hour.
We made it to the airport at 7:50am. By airline standerds we we're beyond late. We caused a frienzy at the gate and even annoyed the nice ladies who had to check us in. We should already be boarding. The lady got on the phone to the plane, all we could hear was, "we're not holding the flight". Well it must have been an empty threat or maybe pity over came the crew. The flight was held for us and our last team members got on the plane as the flight attendant was closing the door. Okay so we delayed our flight by 5 mins. But now flight the attendant is bringing some drinks around so it's likely time to pause...

...Back now. We've landed in new Orleans at 3pm. It's 34 degrees, feels like 46 with humidity. Resting up and going for dinner in the french quarter. More later.




Sunday august 22: Day 2

As i write this update we are surrounded by heavy rain, lightning and thunder so loud it's rattling the roof... But first....

Last night we got to spend some time sightseeing around New Orleans. First, we checked into our hotel, got a shower, a quick swim, and new clothes. We headed to the centre of town just in time for dinner which meant authentic Cajun and Louisiana cooking. We all split up so I can't vouch for anyone else but I, and many others got a taste of jambalaya. Yummm! After dinner some more sightseeing happened. What a town. We had to tell everyone what Mardi Gras was and that due to some innapropriate content Bourbon street was off limits.

This morning we got to sleep in! We ate together at an ihop, swam some more, really spoiled ourselves. We had one last stop sightseeing in New Orleans. Today most of the Collingwood crew checked out the New Orleans' aquarium. we spent most of the afternoon there before loading the vans to our work area, Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi, which is just an hour drive from New Orleans. As we got closer to Bay saint Louis, Katrina damage began to surface. Huge casino halls, shopping malls, gas stations... Damaged. Even after five years roofs have not been replaced-People have essentially abandoned these places. As we arrived in Bay Saint Louis dark omminous clouds began to form and we all had a bizzaar sense of reverence for the area. We drove to the ocean to see the storm come in. The winds picked up, the rain began to teem. Before long we were in a pretty violent storm. We took refuge in a popeyes chicken and bisquits and had dinner and waited the storm out. We found our compound soon after dinner, unloaded and we're briefed on our week ahead. Butch, a worker here explained to us the slow response of the US government and then asked us if we knew who the first on the scene was. We all answerd in unicen the "US army, navy, police?". All wrong. To our amazement it was the RCMP with 13 helicopters. The american workers here expressed deep thanks to us and our help. We are the last group here for the year so we are ending on a very positive note for the Mission on the Bay organization. At the end of our brief thay said, "well, the RCMP we're first on the scene and you guys are last for the year - Canada is a such a huge part in this... More than you'll ever know".

It's 10pm now and we're off to bed - work starts at 7:45am. More tomorrow!!!

Oh by the way all your children are doing great and having the time of thier lives!!

Our team of 23

St. Louis Cathedral

First look at Louisiana cooking - Jambalaya and Muffuleta

The Superdome

Monday August 23 - Day 3

Today we worked! We all got sent out to our placements. Two groups per house. Yup that's where we were private residences. Today a few of us met Jim. He has been on disability since 2001 and has Been struggling with health problems since then. Jim we once a oil rig worker until cancer and heart problems began affecting his life. He re counted when Katrina hit. Although we aren't sure if he and his wife were home at the time or if he evacuated he said that three large trees simultanuously collapsed on his house destroying his kitchen area. He was able to to clean up the mess with the little insurance money he had. He was not able to rebuild, only clean. When I asked him what prevented him from continuing the rebuild he said that his medical bills were just too large. He told me today that his triple bi-pass surgery cost him $180,000. He was finacially ruined. The medial bills began to pile on that as his health need attention. We figure he is close to $300,000 in debt. He told me today that we fully expects to die before his debt is paid off. So, fove years after Katrina jim's house is almost 80% fixed. His kitchen is repaired, his house is near competion. Today our job was to prime his whole house because tomorrow we get paint and give his place some character again. Needless to say we are quite looking forward to painting and actually being a part of the finishing touch on a part of his place. Oddly, as we were leaving jim's place today a massive thunderstorm rolled in. Jim's house is not made of brick and shingles his house was a 4 room house trailer encased in wooden slats and a tin roof. It seems that everywhere we go we are greated by ominous storms, a slight picture of what it was like on the verge of Katrina.
We left jim's around 3:30pm to make it home in time for dinner. After dinner we all jumped into our vans to survey the remnants of Katrina on the coast. What we saw was eerie. Alot of stilts without homes. Most of the homes had been washed away leaving only their foundations. What we found interesting is that the remnants have been smothered in weeds and over growth. Many have just walked away and not looked back.
It's 10pm right now and we have 6am wake up so it's off to bed. Everyone Is still taking care of themselves in this heat - no heat stroke or sun burns at this point. Everyone is doing very well.
Good night!

Copy and paste the link below to see one of the sites we visited tonight.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNemF5AA-mo&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Working on the Hall House

Working in Pass Christian

Evidence of Katrina Damage 5 years later in Bay St. Louis. The storm surge came to the base of the cross.

Many properties were abandoned after the storm, reminders of what used to stand along the shoreline roads.

We've got more entries, and I will post a few each day.

Guest Blog: Beca Osmond

I would like to start by introducing myself. My name is Beca and I am the summer student working here at the Door. This is such an awesome opportunity as the Door is basically missions on our own front step. The teenage years are a time when kids are evaluating life and trying to figure out who they are. They go to extremes to both create an identity for themselves and to be accepted by others. What amazing opportunity for us to step in and provide for them a place where they are accepted and to guide them towards finding their identity through Christ. Through building relationships with the youth who come here we are able to offer them hope.

Over the course of the summer, I have been able to sit down and really get to know one of the young girls here. One time when we got together we talked about her hopes and dreams. What she wants to do with her life. Where she wants to go to school in the future. I told her that God has a plan and purpose for her life. I challenged her to work hard towards those dreams and not get distracted by lifes ups and downs. I wish you could have seen the smile on her face after that talk. I wish life were easy and I could rest assured knowing that she will make all the right choices, but I know that is not always the case. Now we need to continue to walk with her on this journey, encourage her and pray for her. I believe that we need to commit to walking with these youth on their journeys and commit to praying for them. This is what Aaron and Danielle are doing here at the Door which is absolutley amazing and I am excited that I get to be apart of it.

Si Nous Croyons Vraiment

I had intended to post something while I was actually in Montreal, but the internet access at cafes and hot spots left a little to be desired. We returned from our National Ministry Conference Wednesday evening, after spending a few days with a couple of hundred fellow Youth For Christ missionaries. This year was themed "Si Nous Croyons Vraiment... If We Really Believe". I always look forward to these conferences, because it is a time of great networking, connecting, challenge, and refreshment, all on relatively little sleep.

We are privileged to be a part of a staff that while geographically spread apart, are kindred spirits that value time together. NMC is always one of the most fun events of our year, and we laugh a lot. It is also spiritually rich, and I found that while I was challenged in the plenary sessions and workshops, perhaps the time connecting in cafes, the hotel, or in being "incarnational" in Montreal (which means spending time at the Jazz Festival and many of the smaller bistros and restaurants), with each other was the most valuable part of all.

A huge theme for me this year that seemed to be a common thread throughout our whole time in Montreal was restoration and renewal. God had already been hinting at that before I left, but I had just started to pay attention to it. Now, it has permeated everything, from my thoughts and prayer life, to situations that we had to deal with as soon as we got home. It is my prayer that through The Door this summer, our youth experience God's restoration in their lives, their minds, and their hearts. Sometimes this means that we must delve into the dark areas that keep us separated from our Father, but as we continue to learn over and over again, He is the only one who is truly able to see change in our lives.

I'm grateful for the time to steal away with our YFC family, to celebrate, to commune, to pursue God as a community. We connect in a way that is unique, and I pray that our relationships on the field will deepen as we serve our God and our youth. Thank you for your continued support that allows us to participate in things like NMC, it is a part of our vision to keep learning, growing, and deepening our walk with God and our ministry.

*P.S. Normally, I would have a fantastic new picture of Aaron and I to show you from our trip, but this year we only took pictures of street art and complex pranks that we pulled on each other. No lie. I apologize, because we have nothing of much value to show you.

The Sounds Of Summer

Aaron likes to DJ in his part time. What started as a hobby in high school has quickly turned into a ministry for him, and he is always trying to find new venues and people to introduce the art of DJ-ing to. Periodically he'll bring in his turntables (either record or CD) to do a live mix at the youth centre, and to allow the youth to interact with the equipment and music.

This weekend he brought two turntables, set up a microphone, and mixed music. At first, he was frustrated because our RockBand junkies (who play RockBand and Guitar Hero every week, for years now), were complaining that they couldn't play their video games. A few kids mingled around a bit, but seemed a bit uninterested. That is, until Craven stepped up to the table.

Craven is one of the nicknames of a young lady here at the youth centre. She is pretty outgoing, and definitely interested in music. She might be one of our RockBand junkies too. Aaron explained the CD turntables to her, explained how the mixer in between worked, and then began to show her how to modulate the sound of the music, either by "scratching" or by using the buttons to "punch" the song. She loved it, and soon each of them were on their own turntable, fading between them. At one point, Aaron thought it would be fun to introduce her as a DJ to her peers, and when he handed he the microphone, she managed to squeak out a "hi" before collapsing to the floor in laughter. Pretty soon, Craven was playing the music that she and her peers loved, and everyone in the centre was singing along, some off-key, some in screamo, but everyone knowing all the words. No one else stepped up to the table like Craven did on Saturday night. Maybe they were shy, or didn't care, but maybe they wanted to give her room. Craven posted on her Facebook Saturday night that she had learned to DJ at The Door, and this weekend has planned an appearance by DJs Crave and Aar-born (that's pronounced airborne, she wants to clarify). I look forward to what we're going to hear from her.

-----

Also, check out our upcoming fundraiser - if you're a golfer, please consider joining us next week! (You must RSVP by the 10th of June):

Oxycontin Awareness Presentation

We are often working with youth in the various stages of addiction and substance abuse. This is information that matters in our community. We are working with a growing number of youth who are using Oxycontin, and it is a rapidly rising drug in our community. If you are interested in finding out more about it, consider coming to a presentation put on by the Collingwood OPP and the OPP Central Region Drug Unit, on Monday, May 31 at the Curling Club in Collingwood. It is free to attend, and is from 7-9pm.

The Team

I've come out of my hole that I retreated to after the the latter-half of April. Things were running like mad, and we needed to focus on the day-to-day stuff that seemed to go a little goofy. I thought for a moment, in the midst of preparation for tonight's Soul Food, that I would take this chance to recognize our team of volunteers who are a part of our community at The Door (okay, I'm going to brag). Here's a few things that I love about them.

I love that we have a diverse team of people investing in the lives of our youth. Some are just fresh out of high school, entering college or the workforce. Some are grandparents. Some are caregivers. Some are moms and dads, some are single, some are married. Some are professionals, some are retired, or at some sort of limbo between working and retirement. Many of those are just the parts that define us, though, the labels that we carry. All of us have unique and complex personalities, and it creates a beautiful rhythm with the youth of the centre as we connect with them in different ways. It's a bit like a band, where all of us have our part to play, and together we create a masterpiece - only this time it is love, care, compassion, mercy, laughter, hope, empathy, sympathy, and on and on.

I love that we have a team of volunteers who care deeply for the community that they are a part of. In fact, I can't think of even one who volunteers simply out of obligation. They are regularly concerned for the well-being of the youth, and often sacrifice time and resources outside of the drop-in centre for conversations and coffee. They value our youth. They empower our youth. They pray for our youth. They don't just maintain a relationship for the few hours a month that they are scheduled to be at the youth centre, if they see them on the street, they talk to them. They express, both in their words and their actions, that they are willing to go to bat for our youth.

I love that we have a team of volunteers who care deeply for the team that they are a part of as well. We had a volunteer meeting on Monday (we meet every night of drop-in too, but try to get together at least a couple of times as a whole team). A few things struck me during this time. First, we get along - not perfectly all of the time (but who does?), but we are interested in each other's lives. I think that this has brought us together as a team. We spent time talking about fishing, about family, about vacations. Second, every one of our volunteers is always striving to grow in their role, to continue to learn, to question, and to seek. This impresses me the most because we have a few valued volunteers who have been investing in youth longer than I've been alive, and I would think that at some point they would have learned everything and accomplished everything, but they continue to grow. I hope that I am never arrogant enough to think that I have "reached it". We have at least five volunteers right now who have been involved in the centre far longer than Aaron and I. They have been most gracious and understanding to us as we began to direct the ship, and have collaborated with us along the way.

To our volunteers, if you are reading this: You play an integral part at The Door. We value your contribution, and particularly the investment you make again and again into the lives of our youth. I hope that you get as much out of working at The Door as we do working alongside you. Thank you, and we love you!

-----
We are always looking to add to our team at The Door. If this is on your heart, please contact us so that we can have a conversation. This is an amazing family to be a part of, and maybe I'm a bit biased, I couldn't imagine a better team to be a part of.

Project Serve, Toronto, April 2010

Streets of Pain... And Hope

It's Friday night on Queen Street, the road is bustling with taxis, cyclists and shoppers, the restaurants are full. We dip into the shelter doors, and get ready to spend the evening sharing a meal and giving the women who call this shelter home manicures. For three hours, we sit and chat, talking about our hometowns, the weather, and listening to sometimes schizophrenic conversations. As we drive back to the church where we will crash on the floor for the night, I ask the girls what impressions were left on them after the night. "They're just regular people" they tell me, struck by the face of humanity that is so often overlooked when we think of those who experience poverty and homelessness.

I (Danielle) just returned Sunday from another Project Serve experience with three of our young women from Collingwood, and fourteen other youth and leaders from the Huntsville and Shelburne satellites. This is my third Project Serve trip to Toronto, the first for the majority of participants. During our 48 hours in the city we partnered with the Salvation Army in their shelters and their vans that serve hot breakfasts and reach out to youth on the street, we joined a number of churches in the downtown core who house shelters in their halls and basements, joined a group of Sisters who offer subsidized housing, community gardens, and adult drop-in programs, and we handed out sandwiches throughout the downtown streets.

Many of the youth who joined us this past weekend come from rural towns. They come from different socioeconomic and family backgrounds. Some of them have what we sometimes refer to as the 'R.W.K.', or rich white kid syndrome, and for them, this trip blows their world wide open. It isn't an easy trip, we give up our ipods and cell phones, relinquishing our money and debit cards, and sleeping on a floor instead of our pillow-top mattresses. On Sunday, I had an opportunity to ask the girls who came with me how this trip had impact on them. They wondered how they would integrate what they had experienced into life at home, knowing that the things we complain about and take for granted (perhaps a better word would be 'exploit' sometimes) were in a new light after this trip. They felt a need to become active in the issues of poverty and homelessness. And they understood the depths pain and of joy that many on the street experience. Pain from unimaginable circumstances and issues in life, and joy from simple things that allow them to get through the day, or from lives that don't have so much peripheral junk that the important things in life are lost.

The challenge that we left them was with the words 'justice' and 'compassion', and those begin in the lives of an individual who allows their gut to be torn apart so that they are moved to action. We've had ten youth from The Door Youth Centre in Collingwood participate in the Project Serve trip to Toronto. That is a pretty good starting point to instill change in our centre and our community, I think.

Community Brunch

This past Sunday we were privileged to host a community brunch that also supported The Door, in partnership with Mayor Chris Carrier, town council members, The Knights of Columbus, and emergency service teams. Here are some pictures from this event that raised nearly $2000 for The Door.

Idols Revisited

This past weekend we had the rare and exciting opportunity to host Idols Revisited, a gathering of seven past Canadian Idol contestants benefitting The Door Youth Centre. We were blown away by the response, over 500 tickets were sold, and we were able to raise a significant amount of money to support The Door (no final amount yet). The concert was spectacular - these guys have so much talent, and the acoustic set was perfect for our venue of New Life church here in Collingwood. Local artist and third place runner-up Drew Wright organized the pack, which included Earl Stevenson, Sebastien Pigott, Adam Castelli, Oliver Pigott, Omar Lunan, and Paul Clifford. For sure check out the material that these guys have put out. I've had Earl Stevenson's Ghost on continual rotation for the past 3 days. Here's some pics from the concert.

Drew Wright, Omar Lunan, Adam Castelli
Earl Stevenson

The Pigott Brothers, Oliver and Sebastian


Paul Clifford (best pic I have, sorry)



We auctioned off a guitar signed by all of the performers.

All of the artists and our gang from The Door

If you missed the concert, or would like to relive it again, you can check out the videos on YouTube. Thanks to Eric at Big Screen FX for his work on them! I'll link them below.

Paul Clifford
Adam Castelli
Adam Castelli, Omar Lunan, & Drew Wright
Omar Lunan
Omar Lunan & Drew Wright
Oliver & Sebastian Pigott
Earl Stevenson
Earl Stevenson & Drew Wright
Drew Wright - Pt. I
Drew Wright - Pt. II
Drew Wright - Pt. III
Finale

Spring Letter

There are lots of people on our mailing list who receive our quarterly updates. For those of you who aren't, or who are environmentally conscious, you can download a .pdf of our letter here!

Relationships, In The Messy Bits

I remember in college doing a group assignment for a course in Group Dynamics. Each week our small group of four had to meet, and while working on a project, had to assess the dynamics our group was experiencing. The first week that we met, one of our group members said very frankly, "I will build friendships with all of you, but don't ever call them relationships. Friendships are fine, but to me, relationships mean something more." Most of us were thrown off a little by his admission, but we complied. In the end our group ended up demonstrating more dysfunctional dynamics than we'd hoped, likely because we were all at arm's length from one another.

Recently, I've been thinking a lot about relationships. Particularly as we have walked with our youth through some very dark times. There are points where we think, "This is too hard! It's so much easier to walk away, or simply be with the kids who have it 'together'." I've been reading Andrew Root lately. I saw him at a conference a couple of weeks ago, and his expertise is true relational ministry*. He examines the difference between building relationships for the sole purpose of leveraging influence (i.e. I will build a relationship with Joe so I can influence him to make a decision for Christ), versus building relationships for "place-sharing", that is, entering into the depths of suffering and humanity, to really be human together. I have found that he summed up what I was already thinking. He talks about a ministry he was a part of, and driving home with fellow youth workers. No one said a word because they were so exhausted from ministry; they had not expected the youth to insult them and push them away. Sometimes, we feel like that.

This should put to rest anyone who feels that the ministry of The Door is to take advantage of youth when they are vulnerable by coercing them into a relationship with Jesus. Instead, we stick with them through the dark parts, because we believe that they should not have to go through them alone. When we send them home week after week for breaking the code of conduct, we welcome them back the following week, and we talk about their decisions, behaviour, and consequences rather than putting it under the rug. Recently, we've been dealing with a couple of young men (the term 'trying' would barely be adequate), who seem to be purposefully looking for buttons to push every week. We try to be consistent in our discipline and expectations, and continue to plug through. Sometimes they shock us with great insight in the middle of a discussion, when it appears that they have been sleeping or distracted the whole time. At the end of the day, we pray that by sticking with them we are truly living incarnationally. We are being human together, and despite their behaviour, we are committed to walking along with them. Root puts forth the challenge to actually live an incarnational life, rather than use it as just a good ministry model (which I've been guilty of).

I would not be where I am today if it hadn't been for people who cared enough to stick through my messy bits and live out Jesus in my life. I may have appeared earlier as though I don't care about proclaiming Jesus to our youth, that is not the case, I just want Jesus to be a part of their reality, not a bandaid solution. That happens in our darkness, when the light shines through. Keith Green sang about when God's love broke through. There are few better descriptions of God's transformation in life. Getting there, slogging through the mud, is never something we should have to do alone.



*If you are in youth ministry, I'd highly recommend his books Revisiting Relational Youth Ministry,
and Relationships Unfiltered.

Idols Revisited

The Door Youth Centre is pleased to invite you to join us at New Life Church (Hwy 24 in Collingwood) on Saturday, April 17 at 7pm for a spectacular concert featuring seven former Canadian Idol contestants! Joining us for an acoustic evening are Collingwood's own Drew Wright, Earl Stevenson, Sebastian and Oliver Pigott, Adam Castelli, Omar Lunan, and Paul Clifford.

Tickets are only $20, and can be purchased at Gabriele's Photography or the Financial Centre in Collingwood, or by tracking us down! All proceeds are benefiting The Door Youth Centre here in Collingwood! If you want more info, call John at Gabriele's at 705.445.9030. You can also look up this event on Facebook, just search "Idols Revisited". We hope to see you there for this fantastic evening, and great music!

And We're Back!

We arrived safely back home on Saturday night, and I was hoping to post much sooner, but as it would happen, I have been dealing with the after effects of spending March Break with 50 teenagers. I affectionately call this incredibly sore throat "The Outbreak", as many of our staff are feeling similar symptoms. That said, SouthBound 2010 was an incredible trip, and it allowed us many opportunities to connect in significant ways with the youth from Collingwood, and those from around the province.

Particularly cool this year was a change of venue for us. After many years of hosting the camp in Melrose, Florida, we opted to go a little further south to Camp Gilead in Polk City. From the moment we got there, many of us were not only impressed with the grounds, but also with the facilities that were available for us to engage in activities with the youth, and many of them built peer relationships over games of carpetball, dodgeball, and Quarto (which is my new favorite game, read about it here). Our campers are set up in teams that are put together at random, and Aaron and I were privileged to lead Team F, or the Fegyptians as we were better known. Throughout the week we participated in the "Rejected Olympics", which involved many bizarre games and team cheers (ours was oddly similar to that of Team E, the Egyptians, but hey, there are only so many songs about walking like Egyptians out there.)(Our names were complete coincidences, for serious).

We purposely include a lot of free time in our schedule, and most afternoons we have open. This is where a lot of the informal conversations with the youth happen, and where relationships really deepen. That, and we don't mind sitting on the beach, even if we are in winter jackets. Each evening we gather in our teams for small group discussion, which leads into our evening sessions. We were joined by our colleague Kevin, who talked about identity and branding, more specifically, what you express to other people. We had amazing discussions about the masks that we wear, the people that we try to be, and the people that we are. We found this to be an important issue for many of our youth, much like it was for us when we were teenagers. Aaron and I found that the conversations that we had with our youth in small group stretched well into the rest of the week. At one point, one of the guys on our team was walking with us and said, "All that stuff about the masks that we wear, I haven't stopped thinking about it all night!".

One night we had some time that we previously didn't at the last camp (we were significantly closer to Orlando this time). A few leaders wondered if maybe we should host a hot topics session, where the youth could ask the leaders questions. Over twenty youth showed up, and wondered about where God is in the midst of pain and loss, the Bible, terrorism, love, and many other issues that were important to them. The discussion lasted nearly two hours! For sure, this will become a part of our regular schedule.

Overall, this was an incredible trip, and now, I'll leave you with some pictures.

Human Bowling!

By far, one of the more popular activities, the water tube

The whole crew

Team F

Our gang from Collingwood