Linwood House Ministries

Buying Sex is STILL Not a Sport

A sobering article to read on International Women's Day:

40,000 prostitutes bound for South Africa for the 2010 World Cup, officials warn
By Joe Tacopino
Daily News Writer
Saturday, March 6th 2010, 4:32 PM

Officials are warning that tens of thousands of sex workers could enter South Africa during this year’s World Cup, and that children are at risk of being targeted by the sex trade.

World Cup organizers say up to 40,000 prostitutes were recruited for this year’s event, which takes place in a country where 16 percent of the population is believed to be living with HIV.

Read the rest here

A Thank You

Everyone in Vancouver has a story to tell as they reflect on the 2010 Winter Olympics, and Linwood House Ministries is no exception.

Our vantage point from the Great Room in the Downtown Eastside between Tent Village and Robson Street was unique. The area of the city that most people avoid was our home for three weeks. This space was a hub for radical hostesses, residents, visitors, volunteers and entertainers.

Here a daily ritual took place. Each morning as the radical hostesses and volunteers arrived at the door of The Great Room there would be an intentional pause. Each person would check Self at the door and commit to think of the needs of others first. This was not always easy. Thus, our second step was to go the candle table, pause again, and whisper a simple prayer:

Thank you, thank you, thank you. Help me, help me, help me.

The radical hostesses lit a candle to represent the spirit of giving: giving to others, giving to each other, and giving to their community and world. We asked God to help us. We practiced this every day of the Olympics. Day by day, the message sunk into our hearts and a spirit of love and community invaded the place and the community of the Downtown Eastside.

We pause now to say thank you to the many people who helped us learn this very powerful lesson of giving. Because you gave so generously we were able to give generously to others.

You contributed in many ways :

• Beautiful uniforms for the hostesses
• Food to sustain us
• Cookies and coffee galore
• Handcrafted Signs
• Entertainment from CAPA that thrilled our souls
• Visitors from many countries
• Media to share our story
• Chocolates
• Books, pins, Canadian flags
• Blessings of More Than Gold
• YWAM prayer saturation
• Gift Certificates
• Worship Concert
• Finances
• Your presence

Thank you, thank you, thank you for your generous giving and ongoing support as we continue to journey with the radical hostesses into the hope of their story. You are all champions in our minds and hearts.

(Click on Elizabeth's image below to see more photos of our Radical Hostesses on Mount Seymour!)

I Believe

I believe in the power that comes
From a world brought together as one
I believe together we'll fly
I believe in the power of you and I.
(I Believe, written by Stephan Moccio and Alan Frew)

Jesus asked, 'Do you finally believe?'
(John 16:31, New Living Translation)

After two and a half weeks full of joy, excitement, hard work, struggle, challenge, unity, healing, and every other imaginable emotion and human experience, the race had been run. The finish line was crossed. Arms were raised in victory, celebrating the perseverance of the human spirit. It is in us to rise above adversity. We can't help it. Even if it is just merely a sliver of hope, a whisper of something more, there is something in us all that drives us to keep going. The stories of triumph over adversity were really the highlight of the Olympic games, perhaps they always are. Who will ever forget Joannie Rochette skating through her grief to honour her mother and the journey of their relationship. Who was not inspired by the courage of the Georgian Olympic team to go forward despite the debilitating loss of their team mate, not honored to stand with them in their sorrow? They are champions of the human spirit, with or without a medal to affirm it.

These images, these stories are metaphors for life and the power of coming together to push through and be victorious over the challenges and trials of life. In every way, our radical hostesses are true champions. During the Olympics they too ran the race, pushed past the pulls of addiction and health concerns and relationship issues to serve, love and care for others. They opened themselves up to being part of a team, a circle of women finding purpose and hope in and through each other. They took the risk to participate and be open to being healed and transformed by the experience itself.

We could not end this time together without honouring the true champions that each and every one of them are. On Sunday morning, we had a wonderful time together as we shared what it was to have "finished the race". Each women took their place on our makeshift podium and was presented with a gold medal for being part of the radical hostess team. We had the privilege of speaking into each women words of life, affirmation and reflecting back the things that we were believing in for her. Peace. Sobriety. Healing. A voice to the younger generations. An ambassador of goodwill for the community of the downtown Eastside. A healing bridge in her family. A voice for change in her culture.

I believe. We believe.

We believe that in every woman is a story, a divinely appointed purpose and meaning, and as each woman decides to take the journey into the hope of her story our families, our communities, our world, and we ourselves are transformed and healed.

The story of each of these women continues. The story of this circle of women brought together to be one set of hands and feet in the downtown Eastside these past several weeks has only just begun, and we are full of anticipation to see how God will knit them together even further to serve and be served, to love and be loved, to heal and be healed.

Our Radical Hostesses on TV!

Cheryl Weber of 100 Huntley Street speaks with Gwen McVicker who is raising up women from the Downside Eastside of Vancouver to show the beauty of the city to the world.

Stations of the Cost

In conjunction with the Olympics our friend John Santic has created a photography and poetry installation called Stations of the Cost, which he has generously allowed us to host at the Great Room.

This is a photo/poetry project that echos the christian liturgy “Stations of the Cross”, which has traditionally drawn believers into reflection and identification with the sufferings and last hours of Jesus.  The “Stations of the Cost” are fourteen images with poetic reflections that is designed to draw people into reflection on the issues related to the games and help them identify with the extreme cost to the “least of these” among us.  I know that Jesus was always concerned for the poor and he was critical of the establishment that perpetuated their suffering.  The poetry in this project was informed by the prophetic voice of Jesus, the voices of the marginalized, and a tone of lament, while the images were designed to create a vivid picture and context.  I thought that with Lent and the Olympics overlapping, this would be a good way to inform our worship as we prepare for Easter.

Today John had a chance to visit the Great Room for the first time, and see his work on display.

"When I walked into the great room, the first thing that struck me was a profound spirit of love and dignity that pervades the place. There is a transformation happening there and it travels deeper than charity to a place of hospitality that welcomes the stranger as a vital contributor to the community. It's places like this that bring the kingdom on earth as it is in heaven."

As so often happens when entering the Great Room, John was greeted by Elizabeth.

"Elizabeth's story is amazing. Elizabeth means "God's promise" in hebrew, and as our conversation flowed it was fitting how her name is true to the transformation that she is living. God promises to make all things new and the great room gave me a glimpse into how this is happening in the most forgotten place. in the middle of a city celebrating sport, there are eternal medals being forged with a substance more precious than gold... new life."

Be sure to take some time to meditate on the Stations of the Cost.

LHM on Twitter!

For those of you social media types on Twitter, we're now there too!

(Click the birdie to follow.)

Prayer For Week 2

It's a beautiful sunny morning here in Vancouver, and we are beginning the final week of the Olympics. I know that there are many who are reading this blog, following all that is happening in the Great Room, and sending love, encouragement and prayers to us. We could not be doing any of this without that support, and we are very grateful. So heading into this final week I'd like to ask you for specific prayer for our team: our radical hostesses, volunteers and leaders.

Pray for physical and emotional health for each one.

Pray for renewed energy and strength as we maintain the Great Room, host visitors and welcome new friends.

Pray for an unending supply of love and compassion as we meet and journey with women from the downtown Eastside.

Pray that many more women will find the Great Room this week, and have the courage to come inside. Pray that the Great Room will continue to be filled with a spirit of peace, grace, rest and the sacred.

Pray for the coffee house that we will be hosting with White Rock Community Church on Tuesday evening at the Great Room, that the space will be filled with people coming in for warmth and friendship, and that the music shared will be food for the soul.

Pray for each of our radical hostesses, that this experience will continue to be one of healing and transformation on their own journeys.

Pray that God will fill us with His creativity and inspiration, and that He will surprise us with experiences and opportunities to connect that we could not have planned.

Thank you again for your support, love and prayers.

An Evening Thought

Tonight I sat in the great room watching Canada lose the hockey game but loving the experience of sitting with all my ladies and just hanging out. As I was sitting there a friend came in who drops in every now and then. She lit a candle, got a tea and joined us. As she lit her candle, which I think she does most times when she comes in, I was struck by an overwhelming sense of gratitude.

Somehow, somewhere along the way, it was decided that I would stumble across this beautiful and amazing place called the Great Room and that I would be welcomed with open arms to become apart of a place that offers so much to our friends in the DTES, but in such a simple way. It was in that moment that I remembered the simple beauty that was surrounding me and how special I felt that I have been able to find a place where I can observe God working with such a grace and gentleness. I think of the Great Room like a bridge that connects so many seemingly different people by recognizing our inherent similarities, and the joy we can have by loving one another no matter our address or postal code. I am so so grateful to have stumbled across such a beautiful diamond in the rough and so grateful for those who work tirelessly to see it open and available to our friends.

Thank you.

~ Jacynta Pittaway

Giving a Part of Ourselves

It has been a busy and inspiring couple of days at the Great Room. There is so much to share with you!

Our hostesses continue to amaze us all with their endless supply of love, their servant hearts, and their courage and strength to push through some of their own challenges in order to be part of something bigger. For many months we have talked with anticipation about how God would surprise us in these days. In the last two days, we were truly surprised as we were gifted with tickets for two Olympic events this weekend! So yesterday Gwen and Ron took five hostesses to one of the curling matches and there was a lot of excitement in the air as the group headed off for their own Olympic experience. Tonight, five more hostesses will enjoy a Victory Ceremony (where hopefully Canada may be presented with another medal!).

As we are at the official halfway mark, I asked a few of the hostesses this question: What is one thing you've learned about yourself, or one thing you've learned through your role as a radical hostess? Here are some of their responses:

"I love meeting people, and being a blessing to someone else. When I tell my story, I'm giving a part of who I am." - Elizabeth

"People are enjoying learning about our community. But I too feel very welcome here at the Great Room, and have enjoyed being a part of this." - Aida

"I used to fly off the handle and let things bother me, but I am learning to have more patience." - Tracey

"When I tell my story, I am giving a part of who I am". These past few days in the Great Room have been rich with story telling. On Thursday seven students from Heritage Mountain Secondary School in Port Moody came to the Great Room to learn about our ministry and all that we do in the downtown Eastside. Throughout the afternoon they listened as some of our radical hostesses shared parts of their stories, and you could see that these young women knew they were receiving a wonderful gift. Afterward they headed out to the streets with some of our hostesses to have their own personal tour of their community.

On Thursday night the Great Room was transformed into a prayer labyrinth as another team from YWAM came to pray into the issue of human trafficking and sexual exploitation in our city. It was a sacred time, and so beautiful to see and hear the prayers of so many going up for freedom and justice for men, women and children here and around the world. As I sat at one of the prayer stations and prayed for the many men and women who advertise their bodies in local newspapers and websites in Vancouver, I was reminded again of how every single person has a story, hopes and dreams and a purpose that extends far beyond their current reality. May it be so, for every person living in slavery in Vancouver, in Canada and in every nation.

Friday afternoon I was gifted with a glimpse into the story of a new friend I'll call Cynthia. She had never been in the Great Room before, but easily settled in with something warm to drink and a safe, quiet corner to share. She looked at me and told me how much she is struggling with her addiction. "It's like a great big monster", she said, "it's foaming at the mouth, and all I want to do is take a big sledge hammer and kill it." And then she said this. "My soul is tired. It's so, so tired." My heart broke a little in that moment, but I was reminded of what a great privilege it is to be part of providing soul rest to friends who are broken and hurting. And I was also reminded of how much we are all in need of soul rest. Thank you Cynthia for reminding me of that today.

All is Well

I'm sitting in the Great Room tonight, under a wall of photos of "our" Olympic gold medalists, our radical hostesses. We have spent many years hanging out in the downtown Eastside and if there is anyone who deserves a gold medal it is these amazing women. Courageous, brave, resilient and determined beyond anything I have ever seen. To deal day in and day out with exploitation, addiction, poverty, mental illness and still find even a spark of something that allows you to hope for what could be... believe that little whisper in your spirit that tries to remind you of your dreams... dig deeply to uncover the purpose that is uniquely yours and only yours.

These friends are truly victorious, every single day.

Since the Olympics began we have all looked on with pride and excitement as our radical hostesses have risen to the opportunity to serve, love and share themselves and their community with others. They are clearly blessing those they meet. But more than that, it has been heartwarming to see how they have been learning about themselves, uncovering what is possible within, seeing what they can accomplish, and deepening relationships with each other as they work together as a circle of women.

We have had another full couple of days here as guests, visitors, ministry teams and women of the community have come to our space. Each of our hostesses is immediately attuned to new friends in the space and they quickly approach to introduce themselves, welcome them, offer a cup of coffee and make them comfortable. Today, several groups of people enjoyed very extensive tours of the downtown Eastside by our hostesses and all returned with a better understanding and appreciation for this community.

Tonight, as we are winding down from another busy day, there is a wonderful sense of family settling in here. The lights are low, candles are flickering, tea is brewing, treats are being enjoyed, conversation is easy and rich, there are even a few gathered around a tv in the corner enjoying some Olympic events together.

It feels like home. All is well.