Read Stories 

May 12, 2008

Mary* came to the Women’s Drop-In Centre in September of 2007. It was the first week I began my ministry at Union Gospel Mission and it was the first week Mary was in Vancouver. I saw her sitting in a quiet corner reading. She had silver hair and a soft smile. In the chaos around her, which didn’t seem to bother her, I could tell that she was enjoying the peace and quiet. I sat down to introduce myself and instantly I knew we would become friends.
I discovered over the next few days that Mary was a Christian, and an artist who had come to Vancouver to escape a dysfunctional family and a man she worked for who had been harassing her. She wanted to start fresh. But with not much money and no place to stay, she ended up being homeless and living in shelters for 4 months.

She visited the Union Gospel Mission Women’s Drop in Centre, and often I would find her in a quiet corner looking out the window sketching something on cardstock. I could see her talent, and her love and passion for arts especially with a Christian message. Mary wanted to bless the Women’s Drop-in with her gift, and so she painted a stained glass mural with the verse John: 3:16 on a wall in the centre. The amazing gift that it gives the women who visit the Drop in Centre has been ongoing, and often is the thing I can hear women talking about as they walk into our hallway. And after all this time that Mary was discouraged, somehow this painting gave her a boost in confidence.

Within the few weeks we saw a dramatic difference in her. She needed someone who believed in her. I couldn’t figure out why a woman like Mary who has no addictions or health problems could be homeless on the Downtown Eastside. I began to pray for her. And I began to see God work in her life.

First He brought hope and then it happened. She found an affordable housing unit that she could move into just before Christmas, a place to call her own. And then she began to use the gifts that God gave her. She started to teach art classes at the neighborhood house, and now teaches art classes for local Church Housing residents. This is her passion, and all she needed was encouragement and a little bit of love to get back on her feet and someone who believed in her.

“The way things are now are very different from what I thought it would be. I was on a downward spiral and I hate to think of where I could have ended up,” says Mary. And she has just finished another beautiful mural to adorn the walls of the Vancouver Drop In. Her artwork is on display, and glorifying God with the gifts he gave her. Mary modestly boasts that “I didn’t know this painting would be so well liked. I have never done anything so big, but I love working with the Word of God.” Mary doesn’t know what God has next for her, but “I’m sure it’s going to be exciting!”