Travellers, ho!

The other day I made an announcement at my church that explains a little more about what I am intending on doing in the near future. It's a polite but accurate description of what is going on and how I feel about this year. So here we go:

Good morning,

I want to start off with a story.

The other day I was working at The Mustard Seed’s Personal Assistance Centre, or PAC as we like to fondly call it, where we give away clothing, hygiene products and household items at no cost to our cliental. I was called up to the front of the store to help a young woman who was looking for a summer dress. She seemed very thankful as I hurried to the back to see what we had stored up behind in the warehouse. I absolutely love to help pick out dresses for people, and so this was a task I cheerfully carried out. I came out with an armful of dresses and told her to come find me when she had decided which ones she wanted.

As I was counting out her items at the exit she told me she was so excited to wear the dresses I had picked out. She went on to explain that she would not be able to wear them outside much, unfortunately, but that she could at least feel summery and pretty at a detox program she was about to do. She had finally gotten off the waiting list, and would be starting the program in early July.

She gave me the biggest smile and said that she had been clean for fifteen days, and that she was feeling wonderful about it. She thanked me profusely for the dresses, and we wished each other a great rest of the day.

In that moment I felt inexpressible joy. Someone providing her with a dress was not only clothing her, but was also restoring a sense of dignity and perhaps some long-needed comfort. I had never thought about how emotionally and spiritually difficult living away from your family would be during a rehab and detox program and just how vital these small, familiar pleasures can be towards physical healing.

Working at the Mustard Seed has been an amazing opportunity to see God working first-hand in our world. The joy, the heart-ache, and the times when words are not enough: they are all figures that add up to a sum far more vast than I will ever truly understand. For now I can only say that my view of God’s love and mercy, however limited it will always have to be, has been able to stretch and expand over this past year. 

At first the work at the Mustard Seed was daunting for me. I was overwhelmed by the sea of people who come to eat every night and the rough disposition of many clients---I didn’t understand what “street life” was, and I certainly didn’t know what serving them really meant.  

I began to see an honesty that I have never encountered before, a willingness to open up and speak to complete strangers with no inhibitions and no fear of judgement. This is an honesty that would soon become so intertwined with my own life and will always continue to be the way of life that I aim to achieve.

**A british novelist, William Somerset Maugham, says this,

“We seek pitifully to convey to others the treasures of our heart, but they have not the power to accept them, and so we go lonely, side by side but not together, unable to know our fellows and unknown by them.” If we are willing to listen to one another, community is possible.** (this part was improvised a bit, I totally forget what I actually said :D)

I have learned that the best way to witness to someone is to show them how much you care. This is pretty easy to say, but so difficult to carry out. There are times when staff at the Mustard Seed want to throw the towel in and call it quits. Sometimes it appears that nothing you can say or do will change anything, and that the cycle of poverty and violence is impenetrable. But that woman, clean for fifteen days and so thankful for any help whatsoever (even if that is really only a dress, when it comes down to it) is who reminds me of God’s love and the ability for anyone to be his hands and feet in this world.

On the administrative side of things this organization is quite amazing as well. Non-profits have such a high turn-over rate, and the Mustard Seed is no exception. I admire the dedication of the staff and the willingness to go above and beyond a job title. On any given day you can see at least one person doing the amount of work usually given to two or three other staff members. This has become such a normal way of life for them that we tend to forget just how amazing it truly is. I have gotten to know all the staff, having worked in all the departments, and have come to love every one of them. Everyone brings something unique to the table and works hard to provide for our community, even during those times when we are short staffed and short of volunteers.

My time here in Edmonton is coming to a close, and I am a bit sad to say that I am leaving the Mustard Seed and Edmonton. And yet I am excited to say that I am embarking on yet another MVS adventure! In August I am going to San Antonio, Texas  and will be working alongside the Catholic church with Catholic Charities, Daughters of Charity preschool or The Catholic Worker Community over there, starting mid-August. 

I continued to ask for prayer and financial support, and ended up being unbearably awkward. But cute, because people laughed. So hey, I think it went well. 

Yeah. It all winds down to the fact that I am going to TEXAS. Yes, Marie is taking things to the next level. Am I terrified? Oh definitely. But I am so excited for this opportunity to continue what I have begun. This is a big step in my walk with God and a chance to really understand what my faith means to me. Also, I look forward to a killer tan by the end of it all. Haha.

So tune in next time for an excerpt possibly from the heart of Texas. Possibly a picture of an armadillo, because I'm not gonna lie: they are da sheeeeeee-it. Way too excited for my own good.