News from the Vancouver Airport Chapel - July & August 2019
Summer is now upon us and the YVR Airport is very busy with holiday travelers (some days more than 80,000 people!).  We are also seeing an increase in the number of passengers and employees dropping by the Chapel for a quiet moment, for friendship or for particular needs they may have.  Please come by for even a quick look  - we're in International Arrivals, across from Tim Hortons, the corner that YVR has designated for an Interfaith Chapel.... you'll be glad you did!

People Stories:   THE YVR CHAPEL – A REFUGE ALONG THE WAY

During the month of July, the following wide variety of people have come to the Chapel:  MAY GOD BLESS THEM ALL!

  • 3 male and 3 female Mexican migrant workers, seeking a place to sit and charge their phones.  They were so grateful for the rest, after their flight from Mexico City and the half-day wait for their bus ride to the Okanagan. 
  • A Japanese student seeking to copy her student visa papers quickly to get on a flight to LA
    (it worked, thanks to a helpful check-in agent!)
  • A recent Iranian employee who chose to work at YVR because of the presence of the Prayer Room in the Chapel.
  • A young lady from Florida who spent 11 hours in transit and appreciated the safety of the Chapel (and whose parents were very happy that she was in a good place!)
  • An Indo-Canadian employee whose daughter had a kidney removed last week.  He’s nervous because he lost both his wife and another daughter to health issues in recent years.
  • A student from UK who was returning home from Seattle but lost her debit card and could not purchase the rest of her ticket to London.  Amazingly, a YVR airport employee (on his last day of work!) had mercy on her and bought her a new ticket home!  THANK GOD FOR HIM!
  • Several employees with one airline who may lose their jobs because their company was bought out by a larger company.
  • A ‘refugee claimant’ young woman from Cameroon who had to leave her country to be saved from prison and violence.  God first provided a friend of her father's in Cameroon to save her from abusive police, and then He provided a family in Vancouver while she waited for her Immigration interview.  She was extremely grateful to God and the Chapel for support!
  • 3 passengers from NZ who booked a Bill Gaither cruise out of Seattle, but have a US visa hitch and may miss their whole holiday.  We could only pray for an email response in 3 days!
  • Two young YVR employees from the Middle East who wonder about foreign policy that has deeply affected their families at home.  They are the only members of their families abroad.
  • An artist from Cuba who wanted to immigrate to Canada and was seeking direction about this big move.
  • 2 Afghan-Canadians with work-related problems at YVR; one had a car accident in the employee parking lot and the other was injured twice pushing heavy passengers up a ‘bridge ramp’ from the plane.
  • A mother with her 1 yr. old baby who fled an abusive marriage in ON.  She was under great stress and needed our care and direction to a proper facility in Vancouver.  THANK GOD FOR PLACES IN VANCOUVER THAT HELP WOMEN LIKE HER FIND A BETTER FUTURE!
  • An older couple from Iran who were scammed big money to immigrate to Canada, only to have all their documents and phone taken away by ‘agents’ here who fled the scene.  Sadly, they have no family or friends in Canada and spent all their savings to get here.  They stayed overnight, then YVR and Canadian Immigration assisted them and are looking for the culprits as well.
  • A middle-aged woman from Van. Island who has lived 38 years in Australia, partly due to family stresses and partly because of health issues.  She needed an emotional lift before her trip home and thanked our volunteer for her welcoming smile into the Chapel.  She also appreciated my listening ear and assurance that she is doing the right things and that God is always with her. THANK GOD FOR OPPORTUNITIES TO BUILD PEOPLE'S FAITH IN HIM! 

    ​ This month, we have also rejoiced with:
  • 2 long-term YVR employees who are so happy that their jobs went from 7 days of shift work to M-F daytime hours!  Yey for them and their families!
  • 6 new people who are offering to serve as volunteers at the Chapel and 1 local pastor wishing to join our associate chaplain team... wow, all in one month!
  • And, last but not least, a new man who has volunteered to help us on our ‘coin-redemption’ team (we clean and separate the fountain coins in the terminals). 

There are interesting details in each of these stories, but I wanted you to see how God is using the Chapel (and sometimes stretching us!) to provide the support and encouragement that YVR passengers and employees need.  That's our Mission Statement and that's what we do at YVR.  Praise God!

Have a blessed rest of the summer, 
Dennis,

… and remember Nahum 1:7:  

"The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him." 





 



 









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