Now I don't want to get off on a rant here...

Toronto Redux

Posted by my wife

Thank you so much for all of your thoughts, prayers, and financial contributions toward our trip to Toronto. We were blessed abundantly by all that you did to make the trip a huge success. We could not have asked for a better trip, or a better group of kids to take with us. There is so much to tell that I hope you will bear with us as we share our story. The Saturday that we left, before we actually went to Toronto, we stopped at Niagra Falls, on the Canadian side, for some sightseeing. Most of us had never been there, and the sight was spectacular. We were able to enjoy God’s creation up close and personal. We even went on the Maid of the Mist boat tour and viewed the falls from the water. We were also able to see the falls at night turned into a rainbow of colors.

From there we went to Toronto and began serving with the Center for Student Missions (CSM). The first night we went on a prayer tour, where our host took us around the city of Toronto and we learned about the needs of the city and stopped at different places to pray. Some of the places we learned about were the Scott Mission, a Christian organization that receives over 5 million a year in private donations to serve the homeless of Toronto, and the Salvation Army 614 (named appropriately from Isaiah 61:4) that is located in one of the poorest neighborhoods in Toronto and ministers to the diverse ethnic population there. Some of the more discouraging places we prayed for included a place called Casey House, which is a hospice center for people with AIDs, and a place called the Romper Room where pre-adolescent girls go to prostitute themselves. To contrast the physical poverty, we prayed for rich neighborhoods and shopping areas where there was gross spiritual poverty manifesting itself. After that eye-opening experience to begin our week, we jumped into a variety of other activities. Our host site (or the site that we went to every afternoon) was a church that runs tutoring programs for Somali refugees. Our kids were grouped together according to interests to tutor different Somali children in their homes. Most of our group was able to be matched up with a family to work with every day, and they grew to love the kids they worked with. For Jeff and I, we were never able to coordinate schedules with our family, so we did not end up tutoring. However, during the afternoons when the rest of the group tutored we would spend time praying for them, and on the last day we put together recreational activities for all of the Somali kids to be involved with.

Every morning we would do service projects at different locations. These included serving lunch at a soup kitchen, handing out bottled water to homeless people, making and handing out bagged lunches to homeless people, buying food, drinks, or clothing for homeless people and picking up trash in some of the more impoverished areas. These experiences were deeply meaningful and rewarding for the people we were serving and for ourselves. I could write pages about the stories we learned about the lives of the homeless people of Toronto, and how much they taught us about sacrificial love and peace in the midst of their circumstances. I could also write pages about the sad stories they shared. The police are charged with getting rid of the homeless people of Toronto, and many of them shared stories of police brutality towards their friends who were kicked to death while sleeping in a park, had water poured on them in the dead of winter so they froze to death, or were stabbed and beaten and ridiculed. The fact that we would take the time to treat them with respect and dignity and show them love meant so much to them and radiated Christ to their hearts. We heard the life stories of such people as Billy, Richard, Charlene, and Robert. And while these names mean nothing to you, if you’re interested in learning about the impact they have had on our own lives, please come talk to us.

Another profoundly impacting experience from our trip was the teenage runaway project. There was one night when the CSM hosts took all of us to this street mission and told us a story. Tonight we were all to become a teenage runaway who grew up without a father because our mother left him due to abuse. We were poor and lived with a depressed mother who could barely take care of herself. One day she came home and told us that she was dating a man. He started coming over and buying us things and showing us lots of affection that we had never known. When she told us that they were getting married we became ecstatic to have a father who cared for us, and to see our mother so happy. Unfortunately, after a few months of marriage this stepfather began sexually abusing us and to make matters worse our mother said if we told anyone she would kick us out. So we decided to run away to Toronto. The CSM hosts gave each of us a two dollar coin (called a Tuney) and we had to go out into the city as if we were teenage runaways on our own, and answer a series of questions. How would we make money? Where would we get food? What would we do for hygiene? What would we do for entertainment? And where would we sleep? To complicate matters, it is illegal to run away in Toronto if you’re fourteen, so you cannot get caught or they will send you back home, and you are not allowed in youth shelters. The life story that they gave us is an every day occurrence in Toronto, and it was a very eye-opening experience for all of us. Not only did we have to find ways around security cameras, police, well-guarded parks, and gangs, but we saw such places as Boys Town where young men prostitute themselves in order to pay for college, and Church Street, which is the homosexual part of town. We all began to see what a difficult situation it is to be homeless, even more so to be homeless and fourteen years old.

Toronto has been touted as one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the world. And part of our experience there included sampling food from different cultures to help us appreciate those cultures, their hospitality styles, and their differing cuisines. We went to authentic Jamaican, Somali, Indian, Greek, Thai, and Vietnamese restaurants. We had to eat with only our right hand at the Somali restaurant, and women were only allowed to talk when they were spoken to. Those dining experiences in and of themselves were great indicators of what those cultures are like, and all of our kids did a great job with trying new foods and being considerate of different cultures.

There are many, many more stories we could share with you, so if you’re interested, please let us know and we would be happy to talk more about our trip. We have learned so much from Toronto that we want to apply to our own lives. Because so much of our service was done with the homeless population of Toronto, it broke down many barriers and stereotypes that we had about serving them. We want to use that as a way to learn to reach out to the homeless population of Baltimore city, a city that we are very near to. We also have a heart to learn more about, and become involved in, missions that serve the poor and down trodden of Baltimore. We hope to remember this experience and always keep our eyes open for needs we can meet and ways we can serve in our own communities to live out our Biblical mandate.

If any of you are interested in taking a group of people to Toronto we would highly, highly recommend it. Please come and talk to us and we would love to help you get in touch with hosts at CSM to help you begin that journey. Thank you again for your thoughts, prayers, and financial support, they meant so much to us. May we all continue to listen to the words of Christ to the poor, let them penetrate our hearts, and serve a world in need.

Matthew 11:28-30
“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”