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.



 

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.