First Day at the Village

On Friday evening, my flight arrived in Vancouver, a bit late but not too much. My friend Kevin picked me up at the airport, he in his red St. Louis Cardinals hat and me in my NY Yankees hat. Kevin drove me through Vancouver on the way to my Friday night host home. The drive went through some of the streets of the downtown areas, and people were out and about, just like most cities of the world on a Friday night. A city full of people who need to know the hope of salvation found only in Jesus Christ.

My host family on Friday night was a wonderful family who live in North Vancouver, which is separated by an inlet from Vancouver. This wonderful Christian family includes dad, mom, six daughters and one son. They hosted me and a doctor from GA on Friday night. The doctor is also in town to help out at the Whistler Village; he on the medical team. We had pancakes for breakfast, served with pure Canadian maple syrup. During the Olympics, this family will be hosting a team of folks from a church in GA one week and a team from MS the next, both of which are partnering with More Than Gold provide "Radical Hospitality" during the Olympics.

I had a chance to talk with Kim, Emma Grace and Maria (Kim's sister) on the phone today. It was wonderful to talk with them!

After breakfast, I was driven to the building where I picked up my accredidation/credentials. There I also connected with three other chaplains - one from Canada, one from Australia, and one from Austria - and we headed up to Whistler, about a 2-hour drive on the "Sea to Sky" highway. The skies were clear, so we had beautiful views along the winding road. When we arrived in Whistler, we met my host family for the next week, a delightful couple (the Lam's). We had a quick bite to eat, and then we chaplains went to the Whistler Olympic Village to begin serving.

We went through the proper security/screening procedures, and then directly to the building that includes the rooms set aside for spiritual purposes, the "Multi-Faith Centre." Written into the International Olympic Committee's charter is that each Olympics will determine how to provide religious services for the five major religions of the world - Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism. So I am here as one of the chaplains to represent Christ and to be His ambassador. We toured the village, met various other volunteers and staff, ate dinner, followed by a time of Bible study and prayer. Some of the nations have begun arriving. The opening ceremonies are less than a week away.

Tomorrow I am worshiping with the Lams at their church, then off to Vancouver to meet up with all of the other chaplains (from both the Vancouver Olympic Village and the Whistler Olympic Village) for a big orientation/training meeting.

Thanks for praying!