2018 – July
A Message from Randy
Each year I plant a garden, and by July everything is in full bloom and it’s beautiful! Nature is a great illustration of how God works in our lives.
Summertime is such a fun time of year in the Okanagan, but people without homes still struggle during this time. As you enjoy the season, please remember those in need. Someone like Clyde, whose story is a reminder of how God uses each of us to impact the lives of people around us.
We’re celebrating 40 years as a Mission this year. What a privilege it is to see the good work that God continues to do through Kelowna’s Gospel Mission!
Blessings,
The Power of Prayer
After taking a course about learning to hear God, Bev, a Kelowna’s Gospel Mission volunteer, began practicing the discipline of listening. In the weeks that followed, she kept hearing the idea to do a prayer walk downtown around the Mission. This was outside of her comfort zone, but she organized it.
When the day arrived on the first Sunday in January, six people showed up. As they walked and prayed, they felt called to specifically pray for those dealing drugs on Leon Avenue.
Weeks later, when Bev was leading a table at Alpha, she noticed two guys sitting by themselves, and invited them to join her table. One of those guys was Clyde. He came to Alpha after attending Trinity and hearing it was a course that might answer some of his questions about God.
It wasn’t long before Clyde grew in his understanding of God and surrendered his life to Him. Until the first weeks of January, Clyde had been dealing drugs on Leon, when he felt an overwhelming need to seek help.
That’s when Clyde walked into the Mission and told one of the staff, Terra, that he wanted to break free from his destructive behaviours. Terra connected him to Freedom’s Door, a faith-based recovery program, and it was a few guys from that group that took him to the church service that brought him to Alpha.
Before showing up at the Mission, Clyde was exhausted and at his wit’s end. Thanks to the support of Kelowna’s Gospel Mission staff, Freedom’s Door, Alpha, Bev’s prayer walk, and gifts like yours making all of this possible, Clyde has now been able to see transformation in his life.
“The morning I went to recovery, I got rid of all my drug paraphernalia. I haven’t used since,” Clyde says. “I have been happy.” After attending recovery, he has never been the same.
Terra says that Clyde is someone with a lot of integrity. He doesn’t play games, he has character, and he is honest about where he is. Even local police who had previously arrested him celebrated his graduation!
Clyde continues to work on making positive improvements in his life. “I have not been myself for my whole life so I’m still figuring that out. I actually have a future now and it looks bright.”
Appreciating Our Community Partners
Each year, we put on a BBQ for our community partners to thank them for working with us to serve the needs of the community. This year Boyd’s Autobody provided the Car-B-Q and it was a great time connecting with everyone.
“I love the casual nature of this event,” says Chris Moffat, Caseworker Manager. “It’s a way for service delivery people to get together in a setting where they can chat and have fellowship. We want to thank our service community for helping the vulnerable.”
At Kelowna’s Gospel Mission we feel honoured to partner with people who work tirelessly to help those who are struggling. It is amazing to see what we can accomplish by working together to form a network of care for those who need it the most.
We are so thankful for our community partnerships, from the non-profit to social service agencies, for helping to make our community a great place to live.
Thrift Store
When you shop at our Thrift Store, you are directly helping people in the community who are struggling! The Thrift Store is at 125 Roxby Road in Rutland. Come visit us today!
Providing the Gift of Solar Power
Rob Monteith, the owner of Okanagan Solar, has been supporting the Mission with Christmas, Easter and Thanksgiving donations. Last fall he was driving with four of his major suppliers in Kelowna to a job they had downtown. On their way, they turned onto Leon Avenue and saw the many people around the Mission.
“Fellows,” Rob said. “This is a good time to ask you if you have any extra panels that you’d like to donate to help this place out. Look at the people here. Look at the need in our town. This is the Kelowna’s Gospel Mission and they feed people.”
Every single person answered with, “Tell me what you need.” As a result, Kelowna’s Gospel Mission received a generous solar panel donation. Engineers helped plan the panels. Then Rob, along with Highstreet Ventures and electrician Thomas Skavas worked to install 32 solar panels and all installation material.
This addition will help funnel money from utility costs into helping feed and shelter more people. What an amazing gift of solar power to help those in need!