Let the Games (Pastors) Begin!

After smooth flights, arrival in London took place 7:45 a.m. local time. Upon sailing through customs, I learned that some of the other volunteers I am meeting had delayed flights.

The journey to our lodging took a little over two hours and consisted of subway, train, and taxi. At the end of that journey, we arrived at a beautiful missions training college where we will be "indoor camping."

This will be where we start each day as we serve as Games Pastors.

During Block 1 (July 24-August 3) of the Olympic ministry, about 300 people will be deployed as Games Pastors to serve the people traveling to London for the Olympics.

Training will take place on July 25 and on opening day, we will work shifts in high traffic transit areas to provide assistance, but we will also be on the lookout for people who appear to need more than just the direction of a venue; we are looking to give people direction for life.

Please be in prayer for all of the people traveling to London. Pray specifically for those who will meet a Games Pastor and that many doors will be open for ministry.

No Excuses

With the London Olympics just days away now, it is time to brush up on the blog and see if it can be something worth your time to read. As you might expect, since the last post over a year ago (I know, not an Olympic effort at all, but I make no excuses) so much has taken place to get to this point. 

A team has formed and is ready to go through training in London and to work alongside a church that will be holding community festivals as part of its local outreach.  I know the people of London are excited for this huge event to finally arrive after years of planning and preparation. It will be great to share this with them. 

Before that takes place though, I'll be heading over to volunteer as a Games Pastor. I will go through training as part of a team of some 300 Games Pastors who will assist in busier-than-usual transit areas directing people to their destinations, answering questions, and hopefully helping things run smoothly. I am really looking forward to this opportunity. It will be the longest volunteer time I have spent at the Olympics. 

Aside from making it harder to say goodbye, having a four-year-old has been helpful. We have watched a lot of "Peppa Pig," a really cute cartoon out of the UK, that has helped me recognize some of the different terms I'll hear while I'm there. For instance, a shopping cart or buggy here, is a trolley there. I won't be driving a car, so I won't need petrol. When I have trash, I'll put it in the rubbage bin. I decided to go the economical route with my lodging, so I will be indoor camping. As I pick up more terms, I'll share them with you. 

My goal, at this time, is to keep the blog updated as often as time and Wi-Fi allow, from first flight to returning to the US. 

Paper Work

The information packets for London came together a few weeks ago. There is plenty of paper work to fill out and though we've been talking about a trip to London for while, it seems the time has passed rather quickly. (The initial deadline has come and gone.) Everything will be on an expedited schedule to make sure all the information and deposits are turned in. Several people have asked for information packets and I hope to find out soon who will be throwing their hat in the ring to go.

As the one year mark approaches there will still be plenty of information to be finalized: airfare, work assignments, who's going, where's the closest Starbucks (only kidding-slightly) and that's before we even leave!

This trip will feel like it has a longer "crunch time" even though it is over a year away. With deposits due in mid June and December, visas for travel and airfare to pay for, even without having team meetings scheduled yet, it will feel like every time you turn around you're hearing something about London. I hope that gets you excited because at the end of the day I hope we are reminded of why we're going and Who has called us to go. Get ready for the journey!

Blog to change

For those interested and following, the blog name will soon change from 2010 Olympic Ministry: Vancouver to Olympic Ministry: London. There is much planning to be done and interest in the opportunity is expected to be high. Keep checking in as things will start rolling before we know it!

Home

Team 1 made it home safely last night. On our way in from Charlotte, we stopped in Gaffney, SC to grab a quick bite to eat and when we returned to the church bus we were riding, someone had placed a note on the driver's door that read:

"To Whomever,
Please pray for me. I'm in desperate need of prayer. God will know who I am and my prayer needs. The devil has me. I'm at my end.
God Bless U
Crying out"

We looked to see if we could find who may have left the note, but didn't really see anyone. We stopped and prayed for this individual and I ask you to do the same. It serves as a reminder that we are surrounded by hurting people who need to know that God cares for them. We may come home from a mission trip, be we never leave the mission field.

As promised, there are some pictures up. Great first blog Christy! Keep it up.

Carrying on the Torch

Well this is my first time ever to "blog" (Bryan, aren't you proud of me?!) so I will try to spell things right and do it correctly.

As you know, the rest of Team 1 left today and when I woke up this morning (for the last time) it felt very strange to be here all alone. I missed my teammates and the CO team that was also staying here at Royal Heights Baptist in Delta, BC. I had a leisurely morning and then headed out on my own to meet up with a good friend and fellow missionary, Debbie Wohler (NAMB missionary for over 30 years in Tahoe, CA). We spent the day today enjoying the beauty that God has created here in the city of Vancouver through Stanley Park. As we walked and walked and walked, God brought several people across our path to share "More Than Gold" pins with. Our day together ended with meeting up with Stasia again -- Bryan has already blogged about her. Danielle was also with her today and it was good to speak with them again. Stasia and I both commented on how crazy it was that we continue to run into one another. As Bryan said earlier, I really do feel that God has brought us together for a reason -- so please continue to pray with me that He will open the door for more conversation with this young lady.

I was able to end my day on a high note -- riding on the train or bus always seems to be the best opportunities to encounter people that we can share with. There was a family of 6 (Mom & Dad, Grandpa, and 3 children) who got off the train with me and we were all waiting on the same bus together. The children were young (2, 5, and maybe 8) and had a long, tiring day and the little guy especially was just a wee bit cranky. I began to converse with them as we waited for the train and asked them if the children had gotten into pin trading yet. Mom replied "No, but their Dad had a bunch of pins at work and left them there. But he's going to bring them to them tomorrow!" I asked where he worked and he replied the Vancouver airport. I asked what he did and he said he was a fireman there. Immediately I thanked him for helping to keep the airport safe for us. He looked at me and said, "No one has ever said that to me before!" A simple act of saying "thank you" to someone who spends their life's work serving and protecting others can go such a long way! We can do this whether we are on a mission trip to the Olympics or just checking out at the grocery store at home. I challenge all of us to spread the love of Jesus just by going that extra mile to be kind.

Anyway, I pulled some of the Visa mascot pins out of my pocket and presented each child with their very 1st olympic pin and you would have thought I'd given them gold. I proceeded to give them each a More Than Gold pin from Athens, I think (thanks Lee!); and then gave Mom a Vanocouver MTG pin. You see, as Christians we really do have something to offer the world that is worth More Than Gold -- a relationship with Jesus Christ. I told her a little bit about it and then she read the back of the card that explains the colors out loud to her family right there at the bus station! She proceeded to tell me that they were also Baptist and she had helped to prepare hot chocolate earlier in the week at another transit station. What a blessing this encounter was to me!

Teams 2/3 arrive tomorrow and I plan to go to the train station and meet them. Continue to pray for us and for all the volunteers serving through MTG throughout this next week. I will talk to you again!

Christy

Back to the U.S. Eh!

Well our time here has quickly come to an end and I write this while we wait for our 3:30 a.m. ride to the airport. We have had many great experiences that have made an impact on us. I want to encourage you to continue to follow the blog as I will continue to post about any follow up reports I receive and members from Teams 2 and 3 should be blogging right here to keep you up to date on Olympic ministry. (I promise pictures will come shortly after I get settled in at home.)


As ready as we are to be home, it is always a little sad to leave a place you have grown to know and love in such a small amount of time. We won't know the results a cup of hot chocolate or a pin will have, but we can pray for the seeds that have been planted. Other teams have had the privilege of being involved with people making decisions to become Christ followers. That is what it is all about. So whether we get to be present when it happens or find out down the road, it is great to hear and see God working in the hearts of people. Not only can you see Him at work in Vancouver, you can feel that He is doing something big and we are grateful to be a small part of it.

As the Olympics continue for another week, my goal is to take advantage of the opportunities that will be present at home when people see an Olympic pin or shirt and ask questions. Keep praying for Olympic ministry in general as soon we’ll turn our attention to the possibilities that London 2012 and Sochi 2014 present.

One of our team members, Christy, will be working with the next teams that arrive on Saturday. We have run into a young lady name Stasia (Anastasia) three times now. We think there is a reason for it and Christy will be the one to find out, so please continue to pray for her.

As I wrote earlier, keep following the blog. There are some stories that have yet to be written, thus they have yet to be read. Here is a brief one now.

I commented on the amazing worship service we had Sunday. The church we have called home for 10 days now is really doing some big things here in Delta, BC. They have already had 21 baptisms this year! In fact they baptized two that morning and will baptize three more this Sunday. The pastor challenged the congregation to have 500 people here for the Easter service. They are not afraid to think big.

They have a wonderful praise and worship band and at times the leader sounded like the lead singer from Pearl Jam. I know that comparison can be interpreted different ways, but as I said, the band is wonderful.

Another church story has to do with where we prepared our hot chocolate and coffee that we served. We worked in the Holy Rosary Rectory at the Holy Rosary Cathedral. Before we left for the last time tonight I asked if we could see the cathedral. One of the priests was kind enough to take us in. Built in the 1930s, it is a beautiful facility. The priest told us how the site was chosen, when the first building was built and later renovated and how the organ had to be removed and refurbished. I knew from hearing similar stories when my high school choir would sing in various churches that this process was not cheap. I looked at the priest and said, “That had to cost several hundreds of thousands of dollars.” “Oh, much more,” he said, “it was at least six figures.” We waited until we left the cathedral to laugh at the exchange and make sure that hundreds of thousands of dollars were still in the six figure range!