Confessions of a Coffee Fanaddict

It's been really difficult establishing a connexion with my router...that's why I haven't updated in a couple days. But I'm starting to think that, at least for now, no one reads this, so I can take refuge in the fact that nobody's wallowing away in anguish at my lack of faithfulness as a blog updater. If any of you actually are reading this, please!! Leave a comment! It's always comforting to have some idea of just how many people are blog-stalking you.

"So, what's been going on in the life of Roisin?" you may be asking. Well, dear stalkers, let me tell you: these past few weeks have really been a time for me to consider and reconsider and re-reconsider everything in my life from what colour blush I should wear to what I should do with my future. Maybe I'll comment one day on everything I've learned about makeup in the past few days, but today I want to focus on my choice of careers.

Ugh. I was so set on joining staff with CCCI...but a conversation with a friend of mine a few weeks ago reminded me of something I've been trying not to think about ever since I made that decision. Now, don't get me wrong, I love C4C: It's through this organization that I really learned what it meant to live in the Spirit; through them I've met a lot of awesome Christians my own age; it was through a missions trip with them that I got to live probably the best 3 months of my life thus far...and when I leave Kingston, this'll probably be the hardest thing to leave behind.

But do I really want to be involved with them for the rest of my working life? As much as I love sharing the Gospel on campus, is this really where I belong? Is it possible that the only real reason behind my decision to pursue this career is because that way I'd only need to complete one more year of school and then be done with it? Is it possible that I've been ignoring other possibilities and denying the fact that my heart's really into something else?!?!

Sigh....every time I come back to Vancouver I'm reminded of a life I left behind. I'm reminded that there's an awful lot of work that still needs to be done here.


In 2003, the CBC came out with a list of the top 10 cities in Canada to live in. Vancouver was voted #1. So that's interesting: in a metropolis of just a little over 2,000,000 residents, there are 2,000 people living on the streets. In fact, the homeless population was sitting at around 1,100 in 2002, and rose to 2,100 by 2005. The homeless population increased 235% between 2002 and 2006, and it is estimated that the number will be over 3,000 by the time the Olympics come to town.


Why is there a homeless problem? From what I can see, it's been a really long series of unfortunate circumstances that have conglomerated over the past 20 years: downtown Vancouver has become more urbanized, forcing homeless people there to migrate eastward, community centres have closed, landlords of low-income housing unexpectedly increased their rent, thus losing most of their tenants, mental hospitals were closed, and the interests of the private sector have continued to dominate political motivations in this area. Plus, a lot of homeless shelters (including some prominent Christian ones) have closed down due to lack of funding.

The mitigating factors leading to life in the DTES consist of: A lack of access to safe & affordable housing (92% can't afford market rental costs); difficulty accessing support services (as I said, a lot of shelters have recently been shut down); Health, mental health & substance use issues (though it's interesting to note that only between 20-30% of homeless people are drug addicts, whereas the image we tend to have is that the vast majority of them are); Family violence, racism & discrimination...to name a few.


Of those living on the street, 40% report being victims of physical violence, and 21% of women report being victims of rape.

And the native demographics show that although natives represent 2% of the general population of Vancouver, they represent 30% of the homeless in the DTES.

Hmmm....

These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: "Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans. But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as you go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.' Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. - Matthew 10:1-8

'Whatever city you enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you. And heal the sick there, and say to them, The kingdom of God has come near to you.' - Luke 10:8-9

You ever notice that when Christ was with us here on earth, He went straight to the lost? Straight to the downtrodden, straight to the outcasts? You ever notice that when Christ and His Apostles shared the Good News of the Kingdom of Heaven with the world, the Gospel was always preceeded by healing and miracles?

Well, gee. I mean, it's only the sick that need a doctor, right?

So...why is it that, though I want to be a missionary, I'm focused on hitting the "future leaders" of the country? Did Jesus go for the leaders, or did He go instead for the outcasts? Isn't that how His glory was magnified?

Don't get me wrong: if there's one thing I've learned from sharing my faith, it's that everyone is sick without Christ, and that's kinda the point of our ministry....

But there's also a lot of sickness, a lot of lost souls left in Vancouver. And forgive my ignorance, but between gentrification, safe injection sites, and 20 years of public and governmental apathy, we don't seem to be making much progress toward healing those suffering through the cycle of abuse, homelessness, crime, drug addiction and prostitution.

There's work to be done...and I keep getting the feeling that by ignoring the fact that I really have a heart for those struggling there, I'm ignoring God Himself.

Hmmm....Grievin' the Spirit, man...grievin' the Spirit.

Well, I think this post is getting pretty long already, so I'll cut it short for now.

Posted by Rosalind Ambrosine Channelle, III at 4:26 PM | Permalink | Comments

Posted by Rosalind Ambrosine Channelle, III at 5:39 PM | Permalink | Comments

Christmas was exceptionally delightful this year. After traveling a full 4,561 kilometers from sunny Kingston to snowy Richmond, my mother and I backtracked 1,324 kilometers to Chinook-y Grande Prairie Alberta. When my mother and I hit the Tarmac at Grande Prairie Airport, the population of the city increased 25%.

Ahhh, I do love it here in Alberta though...the crisp cool weather, the 2 feet of snow, the great company...and of course, being back in Alberta reminds me of last summer, when I spent 3 months in the glorious city of Calgary. Or as I like to call it, "Promised Land North". Oh, memories.

And what could be better than spending time with my beloved family? This year, it was me, my mother, my grandmother, my aunt, and the man who as of this summer became my uncle: my aunt's recently betrothed husband. Usually I get really annoyed seeing couples get all lovey-dovey on each other is just so cute. Maybe it's because they are just oh-so good together that it's almost enough to make me believe in soulmates.

On Christmas day, I woke up to a brand new laptop. Another Compaq Presario...but at least it's a new Compaq Presario...so no purple line down the side of my screen! A working AC adapter and power jack! A battery that lasts longer than 5 minutes! I feel like I don't even deserve such luxury.

My mother and I decided that we were going to take a firm stance this year and refuse to eat any brussel sprouts. Then my aunt started raving about her new pots that apparently seal in the flavour of vegetables better than any other pots have in all of human history. My aunt, grandma and uncle were devouring these brussel sprouts like they were manna from heaven...they kept talking about how these were like the best brussel sprouts they'd ever tasted. So, okay, my mother and I were convinced, we decided to try one.

So we cut one in half and put them in our mouths...oh, gee. Those pots sure did a good job of sealing in flavour. They tasted more brussel sprout-y than any brussel sprouts we had ever had before. Sooo...that's not a good thing. that just means they taste about as succulent as a bowl of earwax. We washed it down with a glass of tropical fruit juice, and our instinctive guess that brussel sprouts are naturally horrible was for once and for all confirmed. We were also a little miffed that our relatives managed to get us to eat them.



Just look at them...smirking at me, looking so pleased with themselves...

Remember that Campbell's soup commercial where the kid equated brussel sprouts with "little green brains"?

Posted by Rosalind Ambrosine Channelle, III at 10:35 PM | Permalink | Comments

Just thought I'd post this picture I found on the CBC website. This is a scene from the evening mass service at the Church of the Nativity, located in Bethlehem. It's a Catholic church in the West Bank where Christian pilgrims gather every Christmas, believing that the church is built (I believe) in the same location where Jesus was born. Knowing the Catholic tradition, my guess is that it's been renovated since its manger days, but I wasn't posting this picture so I could rant about the extravagant purchases used for church decorations that could have instead been used for mission or charity purposes. Middle Eastern Catholic churches apparently aren't particularly intricate in comparison to other regional architecture anyway. No, there was something else I was going to talk about, something that's been on my mind a lot recently.

Back when I was in grade 11, I was notoriously pro-Palestinian. As the years progressed and I realized that most issues concerning international affairs were far more complicated than I originally thought, I gave up my stance...or rather, I stopped talking about it so much. I think over the years, I became latently pro-Israeli. I think I thought that if I was a Chrisitian, I would have to support the nationhood of Israel. Now that I've taken Middle Eastern History, I've taken what I believe to be a more informed position.

For me, the biggest factor rattling me out of my complacency came when I learned that 10% of Palestinians worldwide are Christians. It's strange: when I heard that Palestine has seen more refugees forced off their homeland than any other country in human history, it didn't phase me. When I found out that over 4,000 Palestinians have been killed, 3,000 have been injured, and another 4,000 have had their homes demolished since 2000, I didn't really mind. Even when I found out that one Israeli soldier commits suicide every 2 weeks, I never thought that the situation was worth considering. And when I found out that the US contributes $15,000,000 to the Israeli army every day, I never believed it was worth my time to look into what that money was going towards. But when I found out that I have 100,000 brothers and sisters living in this region as well, I started to change my mind. I wonder if there's anyone else out there who believes that because we're Christian, we have to support Israeli occupying forces. Something about restoring the homeland to its rightful owners, as if the Lord's Kingdom is something physical.

Sorry if this is "too controversial". I'm kinda new at the whole, standing up for what I believe in thing, and give me credit: I did try to only stick to commenting things I know are true, and also tried to relate things to myself rather than taking pot-shots at people who disagree with me.

But anyway, on a super-cliché note, here's to a new year: my resolution will be to become more informed about activities in Palestine that are claiming civilian lives daily. And although I'm not optimistic, I hope that I'll be alive to see the day when Christmas in Bethlehem is an event of celebration, unmarred by the fighting going on outside the sanctuary.

Posted by Rosalind Ambrosine Channelle, III at 9:34 PM | Permalink | Comments

My humblest apologies to all of you who have made a habit of reading my blog. I'm sure you check this page daily, sitting there on the edge of your seat, anxiously tapping your fingers and chattering your teeth, cold sweat pouring down your faces, waiting for that long-anticipated-yet-always-expected new entry from yours truly. Yeah, all...two of you. Hi Alison, hi Zoe.

I think my New Year's Resolution will be to update my blog frequently enough so that my 2 faithful readers will not have to wonder if like died or something. So...why don't I start now?

There was this book I had to read for class a month ago. It's called Baghdad Burning, and it's a collection of this girl's weblog entries during the first year of American occupation of Iraq. It's kinda like the Diary of Anne Frank, but it's weblog entries rather than journal entries. It's very cool.

Anyway, one thing that really struck me about her was that her entries were based on current events. I think I've had inspiration from her to make a weblog that's actually got a point to it. Well, at least for a couple weeks, until I inevitably start blogging about what I wore to class today or how much I enjoy cupcakes.

Okay, well I won't start today, because I think by societal standards this entry is already too long. But who knows? Maybe I'll actually start posting more frequently than once every 2 months!

I hope you all have a merry Christmas, and that today you'll be reminded of what it means for us that God Himself came to live among us, and die for us.

The people walking in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of the shadow of death
a light has dawned.

For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
- Isa. 9

Posted by Rosalind Ambrosine Channelle, III at 1:28 PM | Permalink | Comments