Community Care
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Community Care: A Story of Innocence
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Written March 14th, 2012Each week a team from Relate Community Care ministers in our local prisons, led by Pastor Loretta Hibbs. Pastor Loretta was so moved after leaving prison recently that she sat down to share her experience. As a church we are committed to and invested in bringing a living Jesus to a dying world…
I recently met a young girl in prison, we will call her Charlie. She was young and looked so sweet and innocent but as she opened her mouth, I began to realize she had lived a not-so-innocent life. Charlie began to share how in her very young life she had been raped 6 times, how she had been a drug user, a drug dealer and a thief. Throughout her life her mother supported her in hopes she would change. Her mom thought she was helping Charlie and not enabling her, but through the years their relationship deteriorated. The walls got higher and her mom began to withdraw from her. This young girl found herself moving from house to house, with no purpose and no desire to live.
As I looked at her face staring at me from across the room, I realized that this girl has a story, and if only she knew her story mattered. As the weeks went by she was nothing but a distraction. She interrupted while others were speaking, she put her hand up to say something at random times and fidgeted throughout the entire class. Finally one rainy afternoon something seemed to shift as the class began. A breakthrough moment of silence filled the room and Charlie began to open up. She shared her dreams of what could be. She began to say “If I could let other girls know at age 12, when I started getting into this mess, that it really is not worth it, life would be worth something.” She continued to say things like “Does my life matter?” and “Will anyone even notice if I'm not here?” Charlie had never been wanted by ‘good people’ or by anyone She had only been used as an object to satisfy men. Her eyes filled up with tears as we began to share God's unconditional love for her, a story she had never heard before. “Is there a God in heaven who loves me?” she asked. “Does he love me just the way I am? No one has ever loved me just the way I am.” Charlie has only known love with conditions. Her eyes sent a message that she wanted to know more. For the next half hour we continued to tell her of this amazing God and how He sees her with so much potential and that every day is a choice. We continued to share that we believed in her and that God had a purpose far greater for her than abuse, neglect, fear and abandonment.
As the evening unfolded, we began to tell her about Mercy Ministries and how it is a safe place that can help her find her purpose through healing from God's Word, and that there is a company of great people who believed in her and would value her. In shock, she said she didn’t know that there were really people like that out there. We boldly told her there certainly was and that she was looking at them.
We may think we are not making a difference but we really are. To be honest, throughout the past weeks I had been quite discouraged by the distractions and lack of interest from this beautiful girl. It seemed she didn’t want to be in our program or want to learn how to parent better. But once I took my eyes off my notes and the ‘schedule’ and looked into the eyes of this 20 year old, I caught the heart of the Father for her.
We may get busy doing a task in order to complete our agenda, but actually in reality, the breakthrough we so desire often comes in the unexpected God moments where He opens a heart and fills it with His unconditional love.
If you are touching a life today by making a dinner for a sick friend, serving a homeless person or just loving on your family, you are making a difference. Don't get discouraged on the way. When Jesus was on a journey, He always ran into someone who needed His touch. Today, he simply asks to be his hands, his feet and his heart, trust Him for the rest and watch the miracles happen!
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Christmas Box & Christmas Hamper Assembly
Friday, December 02, 2011We'd love to invite you to help us show God's love to underprivileged families in the Whalley school district. Many of these children go to school hungry and without proper coats and shoes and they may not have the opportunity to experience the joy of Christmas. Relate Church is joining people in the community to support each adopted family. Your help makes the difference between hope and hunger for each family we reach this season. A sponsorship of $25 gives children a box of toys this Christmas.
If you'd like to help us assemble and wrap the Christmas boxes, please come along on Sunday, December 11th from 1:00 - 5:00 pm at Johnston Heights Secondary School. It's located at 15350 99 Avenue in Surrey. The whole family is invited to join in putting the boxes together. It's a great afternoon as we all pitch in, and treats will be served.
Christmas Hampers will be assembled on Monday, December 12 at Relate Church Surrey in the evening. We'll be putting boxes together with food and Christmas essentials for families who could use a hand. If you'd like to help assemble or deliver these, please contact us at relate@relatechurch.ca. Thank you!
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The Christmas Project
Friday, October 21, 2011
This year, Relate Church is inviting churches all over Surrey to join them on a mission to adopt 10 schools right in their neighborhood. You don’t have to go to Africa to find kids that are nearly forgotten at Christmas. Churches that join the Christmas Project will unite to fill 4000 boxes of joy, and then hand deliver them in the month of December. You can be a part of this amazing event, right from filling the boxes, to wrapping, packing, and even delivering them right into the hands of our local kids.
The Christmas Project started about 5 years ago with just one family. Then, it grew to a life group, and then to an entire church.
In 2009, we contacted the Surrey School District to ask if there was one school that would benefit most by this program, which we now call The Christmas Project.. The response was that yes, there was a need! The only problem was that the Superintendent could not choose just one school. They gave us the names of 3 schools and in that first year we assembled and delivered over 900 boxes.
In 2010, the Surrey School Board asked us if we could increase our program to include 4 schools, so we delivered over 1400 boxes.
This year we have been asked if we could extend the program to six more schools, bringing the total to ten schools, which is approximately 4000 boxes!
We cannot do this alone and so we are asking other churches, businesses, professionals and families to partner with us and help. The boxes will cost around $25 each, so we need to raise around $100,000. Anything you are willing to give will get us that much closer to providing the 4000 boxes!
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Solo Parents
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
If you are a solo parent, we would LOVE to invite you out for a really fun day designed to support and encourage you! Join us on September 17th from 10:00 to 2:00 for an oil change on your car, a manicure, tea and treats. We'll have crafts and mini golf to help keep the kids entertained, and free haircuts and clothing will be available for them. Please call our office at 604.599.8989 to let us know if you're coming, or register at church at the Info Centre.
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