Vancouver Again!!

Vancouver, British Columbia. Wow. I love this place. Loved it when I first came here five years ago, loved it ever since. There really is something special about this city.

So many of the parts about this city I remember loving are the same. Commercial Drive remains the coolest stretch of storefronts, restaurants, bars and cafes that I've seen in North America. Hands down. East Hastings (yes the dangerous part) remains a place of need, but, a place filled with people I am comfortable with and love to help whenever I get the chance. The transit system works great and on a clear day, like today, there are mountains visible in every direction. SO COOL.

Upon first arriving at "the Drive" down near Broadview Station my mind was awakened with memories and stories from all kinds of places as I and my gracious host walked North to the comfy little bachelor I've been provided since Monday. Starting with Uncle Fatih's Pizza where I'd enjoyed many a slice as suggested by the local YWAMers who would regularly order from there and told stories of the quality and service provided. There was also Addis Cafe, a spectacular Ethiopian restaurant which was a frequent stop for the teams hosted by YWAM's "Mission Adventures" program which I was helping to facilitate that summer. On top of the restaurants were the many cafes of which I remember Continental Cafe the best because we once used it as a place to brief one of our Mission Adventures teams on why we love Vancouver.

Loving Vancouver was easy being surrounded by these people. They were ripe with excitement about the city they lived in. I learned from them the importance of loving our place, wherever that is and when I left to return to Toronto after that summer I was excited about learning how to love Toronto. 

Since returning to TO there's been lots of bumps and bruises. I've come to call Toronto home and have all sorts of places, stories and people who root me there, but also a lot of pain. The difficulties of having to quickly leave both YWAM and the Church I worked in after YWAM under "messy" circumstances has, with the many difficulties faced by my present community (Jeremiah Community) been draining on every level. Additionally, even with everything we've come through I look ahead and see a daunting task for those of us left in the JC as in some facets we seem to be back at square one of planting the community.  

So I've needed a break, and what a great place for a break. Sharing lunches with old friends and making new friends in the "Servants Vancouver" community has really been a beautiful compliment to the lonely wandering I've otherwise been doing here. A lonely wandering that has me thinking more clearly than I have in months and is getting me more excited for the hockey to start and more excited to return and make another go of finding and establishing home in Toronto. A home that is Christ centered, justice focused, loving and life giving. A home that is a catalyst for the Kingdom of God, a Kingdom coming yes but more importantly a Kingdom available now if only we would love God and love EVERYONE as he has loved us. 

Thanks to everyone who made it possible for me to come here. Thanks especially Mom, you are the best!

God Bless. 

Democracy, Capitalism and Socialism

I wrote the following post in an online forum where there was much bashing of the "socialist" stances taken by Obama in the upcoming election. I thought it was decent stuff so here is:


I would like to point out to everyone who runs with tail between their legs from "Socialist" political stances a few key points.

Canada and most of Europe in comparison to the US are much closer to Socialism than the US and the results are not bad. As an example, a major result of Canada's more "Socialist" workings we have Universal Health Care (Health Care to all its citizens). The USA being the wealthiest country in the world has no excuse not to offer Universal Health Care (UHC) to its citizens. Instead it puts almost as much money a year into it's military then the rest of the World combined.

As an example of a major benefit UHC would give the states when I was doing work with some homeless I met in LA I came across multiple people who were entrapped in the cycles of homelessness, drugs and the lot as a result of a minor injury that they couldn't afford to have righted. This put them out of work and down into the dumps where alcoholism and drug abuse drag them lower and lower. UHC would prevent hundreds if not thousands of these and similar tragedies a year in the US and add to the domestic workforce as a result.

In Europe, another step more "Socialist" than Canada every citizen is given the right to free Post Secondary Education if they excel through school and make the grade. I've not studied their system much farther than that observation, but, that alone IMO creates a situation where all citizens born the same year (rich or poor) are more likely to have an equal (or closer) chance at success.

Full blown socialism is not the answer to the World's problems. Full blown Capitalism has created a developed World that is most often dominated by the Rich who control elections through the economic backing of leaders who become their puppets who in turn control the governments. The Truth is that Capitalism has undermined Democracy in many cases and we should be looking for ways to return our countries to truly democratic states.

Capitalism and Democracy are not the same thing. In the same way Communism and Socialism are not the same thing. The World, the US and Canada, in particular should be looking for ways to improve the life of all by restoring true Democracy and not implementing Socialism but more of its ideas in order to harness the powers of Capitalism.