Gord and Expressing Love

Sep 13, 2021

*Trigger Warning*

I always do everything to be the absolute best, although life has tested me many times. I was born in Port Hardy and sadly my mum passed away when I was one. I ended up going through 55 foster homes before I was adopted into an abusive and ridiculously strict family. At the age of 13 I left and ended up on the streets.

It was much easier to be on the streets. I had an awesome mentor who really took me under his wing. He taught me about honor, respect, and integrity. That my word is my bond, and my word will always save my life.

I graduated high school being homeless in Vancouver. I wanted to graduate to prove that us Aboriginals are not useless, government draining, addicts, alcoholics or whatever they wanted to call us. Around 19, I started to feel there was too much hate around me. I knew something had to be better than what my lived experiences were. I found God at this time. This was the only thing that made sense to me, outside of what was in me. I just wanted to envelop my body, mind, and spirit with the goodness of God. Once I realized this, I wanted to help whoever I could find love. And that was the catalyst of everything I did from there on.

After going to Bible College, I started working at this youth detention center and it was my first real experience doing outreach and ministry work. These were some pretty hardened teenagers. One time I was playing basketball with them, and this one kid elbowed me and split my lips, which hurt like hell. I ran to the nurse’s office, got stitched up, then went back to playing ball. Shortly after, another kid elbowed me in the eye and cut me open. I ran to the nurse’s office, got stitched up, came back, and ran to pick up the ball. They all stopped and stared at me, “Gord, how do you not get mad?” I replied – “because it’s impossible for me to get mad when I am trying to share love.” They were all shocked. Right there they sat down, and we just talked for hours.

Following Bible College, I found myself back to what I knew best – the streets. I met this young lady who was born with holes in her lungs and would consistently have medical problems. One time I took her to the hospital, and it looked pretty bleak. After a couple of days in the hospital, I asked her “what is one dream you have?” And she said – “I would help people who are in the same position as me.” I wanted to weep at that moment. It broke my heart, and I knew I had to do something. I went around and started asking street folks what they wanted society to know about them:

I want to be seen, to be heard, and to be known as more than just an addict or a homeless person.

I found my something. We need a day of pampering these folks, making them feel loved. I started to contact all the businesses I knew in Grand Prairie. One by one I got a venue, a masseuse, a reflexologist, a hairdresser, aestheticians, all these people started offering their services for free. We ended up having a huge dinner, door prizes, and live entertainment. It was an incredible evening. From then on, I started to build up trust between the community and the street people. You see, I never needed to share my religious beliefs, all I wanted was to share love. For every individual that I meet, I want them to know that they matter. And that’s why I do what I do.