Team Winnipeg Update #1

Hey Everyone;
Thanks for checking in to see what we're up to. I've asked two members of Team Winnipeg to share a few thoughts of the trip so far...

hey its Aleah, i am really enjoying my experience here in Winnipeg. This is my home city so it has been really great to see another side of Winnipeg even though it is a very broken part of it. But I also feel that there is a sense of hope and it is great to see the way that God is working in this place. I am a bit nervous and excited about the things that God is going to do with our team on this trip if we have ears to listen. Please keep us in your prayers.

Yo it's Chris, what to say about Winnipeg? Well so far it's been a real eye opening experience. There is so much that i did not know about inner city communities and poverty. There is so much history in an inner city community about how they came to be filled with poverty and why they are the way they are. It was interesting to go on a tour of the north end of Winnipeg and have Harvey tell us the history of it. Another thing that this trip has been showing me and a lot of the rest of the team is how the church is doing stuff in the inner cities, but there are so many churches that are just standing by and doing nothing or very little. That is very sad to see and most of us on the team feel it needs to be changed. It's only been less than 2 days and we have grown so much as a team and have learnt so much. I'm excited to see what is going to happen in the rest of the week.

Of course.. I have to add my 2c....
I'm writing this from the office of one of the Vineyard Pastors. He happened to pop into the kitchen as we were preparing our lunch. He asked us what the rest of the day holds... we told him we're making our lunch, and a few extra sandwiches to go and deliver to some of the folks in the neighborhood around us.
In a very gentle way, he reminded us that there is less dignity in delivering sandwiches than there would be in, say... sharing lunch with someone. After chatting with him for a second, I aske the team how we could change our plans to respond better to the community around us... we envisioned ourselves sharing a sandwich in the freezing cold with someone, and realized that offering a warm and cozy place might be an even better response. So, we're reorganizing our plans, and three of us are just going to go walking and see who we can invite for lunch back at the Vineyard.

I think the way the pastor we spoke to put it was something like this: always remember to look for the hidden beauty in the 'poor' --- and while you're at it, don't forget about the hidden brokenness in the 'rich'....

We're two days in and we have already made many connections (with people and in our own minds). We are on a beautiful journey.. thanks for your prayers. We have already learned much about the three things we're trying to explore on this trip:

• Hope
• Poverty
• Relationships

Until next time...
Kelly, for the team

Show all