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News from the Vancouver Airport Chapel - May/June 2019
Spring flowers and trees are bursting open and the temps are getting warm, so we can all be thankful, eh? Last month had Easter Week for Christians all over the world to remember and celebrate Jesus Christ. In May Muslims worldwide will fast and pray during the month of Ramadan, their most important holiday season, ending on June 4.
People Stories:
1. An 80 year old fellow was brought into the Chapel by the Airport Safety Officers. He looked very 'older-generation European', with his soft, black, rimmed hat, old shoes and heavy coat, and salt & pepper stubble. His English was pretty good and we discovered he had immigrated to Canada long ago. However family life and work had gone sour and he now desired to go back to Serbia. Trouble was, he had lost his Canadian passport and therefore could not fly.... plus he was short on cash.
My mind quickly turned to think of shelters where this 'poor fellow' might be able to stay and get some help. But as we conversed for the next hour, I began to appreciate what he had endured and how he had grown to take care of himself. Short version of his life is his birth in 1939, with Nazi soldiers invading his village, killing his father, while his mother and 2 boys barely escaped to hide in caves for 4 years. Later on, he farmed in Yugoslavia and once pulled out a crash-landed DC3 from a corn field with a team of horses, using wooden planks under the wings and fuselage. Ingenious! As he proudly stated, "There's never been a problem I couldn't solve."
This resilient man somehow got to Canada in the 1970s and worked in car body-shops in Vancouver, but alas, says he lost everything to his ex-wife and ex-employer and now in his old age wants to go back to his homeland. I began to feel deeply touched and blessed to have met this true 'salt of the earth' man, of a generation now disappearing. After a while I discretely called the Serbian Cultural Centre and Orthodox Church to make some food and shelter contacts for him. But when I shared this news with him, he replied... "oh, good... that's my church.... I know where it is.... I'll just go there now." And with that, he was off to the SkyTrain, with a quick thank you and a tip of his hat!
Wow, another God-given opportunity at the Chapel, another blessing all the way around! But, that's not all.......
2. The very next day, the oddest thing happened. A gentleman with a French accent came to the Chapel to talk with me about volunteering with us. We shared our backgrounds and I soon discovered that although he was born in Serbia, he had studied and worked in France for many years. Now a Canadian and retired from academic work in Ottawa, he was looking for places to use his time and talents in Vancouver. When he was about to leave the Chapel, I mentioned that another Serbian man had been with us the day before. As I described the older man's dress and appearance, this fellow immediately piped up, "That must be M____. Sure I know him.... we go to the same church in Burnaby!"
With that comment, I realized again how small our world really is, and how God takes care of his children everywhere in quite unique ways. Amazing, eh?
Blessings on your day,
Dennis Kirkley,
Lead Chaplain
News from the Vancouver Airport Chapel - May/June 2019
Spring flowers and trees are bursting open and the temps are getting warm, so we can all be thankful, eh? Last month had Easter Week for Christians all over the world to remember and celebrate Jesus Christ. In May Muslims worldwide will fast and pray during the month of Ramadan, their most important holiday season, ending on June 4.
People Stories:
1. An 80 year old fellow was brought into the Chapel by the Airport Safety Officers. He looked very 'older-generation European', with his soft, black, rimmed hat, old shoes and heavy coat, and salt & pepper stubble. His English was pretty good and we discovered he had immigrated to Canada long ago. However family life and work had gone sour and he now desired to go back to Serbia. Trouble was, he had lost his Canadian passport and therefore could not fly.... plus he was short on cash.
My mind quickly turned to think of shelters where this 'poor fellow' might be able to stay and get some help. But as we conversed for the next hour, I began to appreciate what he had endured and how he had grown to take care of himself. Short version of his life is his birth in 1939, with Nazi soldiers invading his village, killing his father, while his mother and 2 boys barely escaped to hide in caves for 4 years. Later on, he farmed in Yugoslavia and once pulled out a crash-landed DC3 from a corn field with a team of horses, using wooden planks under the wings and fuselage. Ingenious! As he proudly stated, "There's never been a problem I couldn't solve."
This resilient man somehow got to Canada in the 1970s and worked in car body-shops in Vancouver, but alas, says he lost everything to his ex-wife and ex-employer and now in his old age wants to go back to his homeland. I began to feel deeply touched and blessed to have met this true 'salt of the earth' man, of a generation now disappearing. After a while I discretely called the Serbian Cultural Centre and Orthodox Church to make some food and shelter contacts for him. But when I shared this news with him, he replied... "oh, good... that's my church.... I know where it is.... I'll just go there now." And with that, he was off to the SkyTrain, with a quick thank you and a tip of his hat!
Wow, another God-given opportunity at the Chapel, another blessing all the way around! But, that's not all.......
2. The very next day, the oddest thing happened. A gentleman with a French accent came to the Chapel to talk with me about volunteering with us. We shared our backgrounds and I soon discovered that although he was born in Serbia, he had studied and worked in France for many years. Now a Canadian and retired from academic work in Ottawa, he was looking for places to use his time and talents in Vancouver. When he was about to leave the Chapel, I mentioned that another Serbian man had been with us the day before. As I described the older man's dress and appearance, this fellow immediately piped up, "That must be M____. Sure I know him.... we go to the same church in Burnaby!"
With that comment, I realized again how small our world really is, and how God takes care of his children everywhere in quite unique ways. Amazing, eh?
Blessings on your day,
Dennis Kirkley,
Lead Chaplain
