It's Saturday morning, and Day 2 of the Olympics and the Great Room's Radical Hospitality is just beginning. We had an amazing and full day yesterday as the Radical hostess team gathered to put into action all that they have been preparing for in the last few months. The day started with a treat from our Journey friends "The Beauty Babes', who came to pamper our hostesses with haircuts, facials, manicures and foot massages. It was a great way to start, and all of the women felt fresh, transformed and inspired to begin.
The day quickly became a hub of activity as friends and guests dropped in for coffee, conversation, and to take in the art, native handicrafts and other displays throughout the Great Room. Some of the hostesses did a great job serving our guests, making coffee and tea and welcoming them into the space. Others donned their beautiful blue jackets and escorted groups of people out for tours of the downtown Eastside. Others tapped into their creative selves and made stacks and stacks of valentines to be handed out to people on the streets during the Women's Memorial March on February 14th.
Last evening, the Rahab team from Trinity Western University arrived to host the Great Room and threw a great Valentine Party for the women of the community, complete with chocolate and pink, heavily embellished cupcakes! We were also encouraged to have a large team from YWAM (Youth With a Mission) arrive to set up and host a prayer labrynth focused on issues of sexual exploitation in Vancouver during the Olympics and beyond. Amazing to know that so much prayer has been spoken in this space and into the community for an issue that effects so many of our friends.
Today is another full day that we are looking forward to with much anticipation. We have already had a visit from a More Than Gold team. After sharing the heart of our ministry with them and having some prayer time together, Elizabeth and Tracey (two of our star hostesses!) took them out on tours of the downtown eastside. Later today we have a film crew from Huntley Street coming to do a story on the Great Room and our Radical Hostesses, and also have a large group coming for prayer and preparation as they head out to do some important work for sexually exploited women in our community.
The coffee is flowing, guests are dropping in and wonderful conversations and friendships are unfolding. We are eagerly looking forward to the Women's Memorial March tomorrow, the prayer time we are holding and the Valentine Tea we are hosting afterward. We are so honored to have Pamela Masik, artist of "The Forgotten", and a sister of one of the murdered women as our guests tomorrow.
It was late when I finally got home last night, but I wanted to catch some of the Opening Ceremonies. Thank goodness for pvr. As I sat and listened to KD Lang sing "Hallelujah" I was moved beyond what words could express. But I couldn't help but feel, whether she knew it or not, that she was singing a prayer over this city, this community of the downtown Eastside.
"A broken hallelujah".
Hallelujah indeed.
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