the worst week ever.

I have survived hell and live to tell the tale. It all began when I spent Monday morning tracking down lost Americans who were scattered across Toronto (some even made it beyond Toronto), rural drivers driving in the big city for the first time with maps with wrong directions...that was only the beginning....

These teens eat. A lot. I made 6 grocery runs to No Frills in 3 days. I am gaining arm muscle from all that milk I'm buying. Somehow, I unfortunately managed to lose 5 pounds in the process. Maybe it's the stress of watching the teens drop 5 dozen eggs onto the carpet (smell from hell!!), or of overflowing toilets which cause ceilings to fall out or of 30 teengage boys dropping suitcases off of a 150-year-old balcony (which also creates collapsed ceilings. Surprise).

Let me tell you about Plastic Bag Lady. She sneaks into the church every morning to eat our bagels. She has plastic bags braided through her hair. She has plastic bags wrapped around her fingers. She chews plastic bags constantly--even when she eats our bagels. Today she said she was 7th Day Adventist. Yesterday, she was Pentecostal. Pretty much she just likes bagels.

This morning, I discovered that 5 American Passports had gone missing (for the record, not my fault). While talking to the president of Youthworks regarding this slight problem, the fire alarm went off and I had to simultaneously herd 75 people out of the church. How do you explain to the head of a huge organization that you can't talk to him about missing passports because you have to talk to the head of the fire department?

And then tonight. Oh Friday. The weekend. Right? I was going to get into nice clothes, and maybe even shower (haven't really done that since last Wednesday. Baby wipes and sink showers don't suffice). No such luck. Stupid eggs. Another 5 dozen fallen on the floor. The work never stops. Ever.

I am going to bed to hide from my responsibilities. Good-night.

hippie heaven.

Roncesvalles-- a neighbourhood on the west end of Toronto. My new home for 10 weeks. Fairtrade coffee shops, organic food, thrift stores, 75 different languages-- and many conversations with starving artists and film-directors (the neighbourhood consists basically of right-brained people). mmmmm...hippie heaven.

And also hmmmmm...the church I am living in also hosts a Healing Center, in which tarot cards and hypnosis are used. It's the first church to have a legalized same-sex marriage in North America and the only church to have a community service with the Muslim Church directly after 9/11 in North America (yes, I am living in a fairly well-known church. It shows up in the news. A lot.).

The theology is much more liberal than I am used to. Sometimes I wonder what happened to Christ here. The church has a phenomenal outreach to the poor (street peeps) and the outcast (gay community). The church has formed a phenomenal community-- people from all ages, socio-economic classes, ethnicities, and sexual orientations are in and out of here all the time. This church has so much of what a church MUST be. But...it seems to me like it is a humanisitic approach, as shown when in church the pastor says, "This house (the church) does not belong to me, to the United Church of Canada, to Toronto, or to the government-- this church belongs to you." I thought it belonged to God. Social justice without Christ...that means full reliance on humans. A scary thought. We haven't been doing that great at doing good since the Fall- I'm pretty sure we're not getting better.

Please pray for me as I lead 3 staff members and 330 youth throughout the summer in an environment that requires a lot of discerning....Soli Deo Gloria...