Hello, Winnipeg!!

Hi Guys!!

Guess what?? I'm here!! I'll try to update as best I can - a lot has been goin' on.

So I got to Winnipeg on Sunday. I found out right away that I'll fit in well - these people are WEIRD!! When I first walked into the YWAM house, I got asked - "Do you like zombies??" Ha weird.

I told him yes. Yes I do.

I absolutely love the people here. There are only 6 of us, but I love it that way. And they feel so familiar because most of them remind me of people from home!! It's actually kind of bizarre...

My roommate's name is Carolyn. This girl is super interesting. She's from Winnipeg (someone to show me around!) but her mom is American and her step dad is Jamaican. She knows how to do body art and play around with fire - circus style. She's pretty much a mix between Chelsea Kari and Mercedees!! Err. Sorry if you have no idea what I'm talking about!!

Then there's Crystal. She's 28 and is from Ponoka, Alberta. This girl is super cute and funny - she's my joy-giver. : ) She has a huge heart for justice and it's beautiful. I sat in a bowl chair with her for an HOUR yesterday. Heaven. And she reminds me of an older Brittany Nystrom.

Her roommate is Jasmin, the nurse from Australia. You would think you'd find Australians in Canada, but our director is also Australian, so we have two!! She adventureous and is so firm in what she believes. I'll definitely be learning a lot from her!

Mike's the zombie lover and is from London, Ontario. He definitely amuses me - never a dull moment with him!! The other day, he taught my how to make dreadlocks. Oh so random. He also showed me how to play Halo. Oof I am terrible.

The other male student is Devon, the only other American student!! Woohoo!! He's from Cincinnati, OH. He now has dreads. : ) I've found him to be a very patient person - he sat in that chair for 3 hours!!

We have 5 staff --- the directors (a married couple) remind me of Wally and Allison Chan. Is that awkward??

Anywho. My DTS is justice themed, so our topic this week was... (naturally)... justice!! Our speaker was Phil Cunningham, a missionary who started YWAM Seattle and has also been involved in YWAM LA. This guy's weird too - he began lecture by showing us that his boxers matched his shirt. Weird. But that goes to show how intimate lecture is. : ) I feel like I might not be able to tell you guys much about this --- it's still in the processing stages. But I've learned that this is where God's heart is. It's pretty much cliche to say that we need to help the poor, feed the hungry, save the lost... but it's true!! What does the Lord require of you? DO JUSTICE!! A lot of the time, as we live for the Lord, we picture going to church, reading our bibles, and praying. Convicting those who sin. Goody two shoes. Upright. Holy. But who are we kidding, that's not even what Jesus was. We have responsiblity to move. I'm still figuring this... and it will be a long process.

I've been attempting to avoid just feeling emotional about this. You know the commercials on TV with sorrowful faces of children in far off countries who are starving and need your help so pledge now because you may be their only hope?? They draw up emotions. I don't want a passion for justice based on how I feel. Yeah, I guess it's good to feel sorrow for those things - but that can fade. I want a passion rooted in the Lord so deeply that it penetrates into my life and moves. Oh man. So intense. I just basically need to see these things. I'm engulfed, for sure, but need to actually see it!!

Other than that, I've just been getting to know everyone I'm with. It's actually not at all weird living with complete strangers. I feel like they're not even strangers anymore... you get so close so fast and it's amazing.

Yesterday 5 of us went to an anti-poverty rally at the legislative building. It must have been under publicized, because there were around 35 people there. Very small. It was hard for me to get into - they had a justice charter they wanted to see happen, but I just had a hard time figuring out where it was all going. I dunno - I just heard words. I just heard words. It was interesting, but where is this going? I do think they're doing good things, but I just didn't get what my presence there did, not even being a canadian citizen and all. Eh.

And then today I went with Carolyn to kids' church through Living Bible Education. This was amazing. They take buses all over the city every Saturday morning and pick a BUTT LOAD of kids up to bring them back to church. The kids were absolutely nuts but pretty friendly and warm. Many of them don't really know right from wrong because they were never taught anything from their parents. So it was hard to avoid chaos. But once the service started, this guy was leading them in "Praise Jesus!!!" and every single kid was SCREAMING it and it was such an amazing sound. : ) It was so good to see into their broken lives. Some of them live in such crappy situations, and it was incredible to see how these people just want invest in them and change their futures and their cycle.

I met this kid on the bus, Austin. He reminded me of my cousin, Zach, so he made me really happy. He's nine and speaks FRENCH. But he made me feel foolish. This is how our french conversation went --- Him: Do you get good grades in school? Me: I go to Hamline University in St. Paul, MN. HA!! And then he laughed and we stopped cuz the crazy smart kid figured out how BAD I am. Oh man, oh man...

Things you guys can pray for ---

Christmas!! So... no one else is staying in Winnipeg. Everyone else either lives close enough to go home or has someone to stay with. I had decided before I left that I wouldn't come home for Christmas - it would just make things harder leaving again, and it might not be good for me spiritually or emotionally! But now I just don't know --- I have places to stay, but... (a) it would be with missionaries, who are already poor and I don't want to put them out or have them support me for a week (b) I don't want to intrude on any family christmases! This is probably lame of me to think - but ya know, people have traditions and family and stuff. Mrrr. Pray for this!!

My team - we have been real with each other so far, but that this would continue and we would all grow close with each other. Against exclusion (or feelings of such!) or anything along those lines.

How justice fits into my life?????????????????????????????

And now some business items...

So - for those of you who were wondering, no phone for me. Since I'm in Canada, it's REALLY expensive to call or send texts. So emails and facebook are best : )

.... or mail of course!! A few of you have asked for the addy, so here it is!

Carrie Kern
YWAM Urban Ministries - Winnipeg
518 Maryland St. - Box D
Winnipeg, MB R3G 1M5
Canada

YWAM Winnipeg also has a blog for my DTS, so feel free to check it out!! http://www.ywamwinnipeg.com/?p=370

PS - "Eh" actually isn't as common as you'd think. I've only heard it around 15 times. And I'm realizing that it's a useful word!! It can go at the end of any sentence/question in a subtle way. I think I may adopt this word as my own....