Rescue Mission Feeds Hungry Reginans

CTV News

Rescue Mission Feeds Hungry Reginans

Sat, Dec 30, 2006

The Regina Rescue Mission will feed several hundred people this holiday season.

It all started with 700 people at the Albert Scott Community Centre in North Central Regina today. The Rescue Mission, Melrose Place North and La Bodega cooked a 4 course traditional Christmas dinner for some of our city's less fortunate. Everyone also received Christmas socks filled with goodies. For some, this could be their only Christmas present.

The Regina Rescue Mission operates 2 facilities, which offer a variety of services like addictions programs, and emergency shelter.

Holiday Meal

The Regina Rescue Mission is to hold a holiday meal for the poor on Saturday at the Albert Scott Community Centre, 1264 Athol St.

The dinner is to feature four courses, prepared by chefs from Melrose Place North and La Bodega.

The meal for 700 is to be served at noon.

© The Leader-Post (Regina) 2006

Merry CHRISTmas!

I have to tell you, this week before Christmas has brought us all a lot more than our two front teeth!
Exciting mail opening day a couple days ago, when, thinking we were opening a personal Chritmas letter, we found a little post-it note with a message something like this:

Here is the 3rd of 3 installments to be used at your discretion. Thanks. Maybe we can have a BBQ this summer.

What accompanied this little blue Post-It Note?

Oh, only a cheque for $100,002!!

To read about the first two installments, go to the search feature in the bar on the right, and type in "anonymous." You'll read lots of stories about the first two gifts and what they were used for.

What I love about our anonymous friends is that they allow us to use their generous gift for capital expenses. While the Christmas meal ticket is sooo important as it helps us run our day to day operations and makes Christmas an extra special time for those who are less fortunate, it takes a special type of person to spend their donor dollars on a mortgage payment.



And so on this Christmas Eve as we fly to Calgary to spend with family, Ken and I want to take the time to wish all YOUR dreams come true.

God bless you. Remember to keep Christmas simple! Celebrate the hope and joy of the coming of our Saviour, Jesus Christ.

Operation Christmas Stocking

Melanie and Heather have been hard at work for two days so far, putting together the socks people have been making for us. You can see them working here... our classroom has become a sock factory! (Mel thought this photo op an ideal time to take a little nap. We're all pretty tired this time of year!) And there is Derrick in the background, having recently discovered my blog and catching up on a year of reading!

We have to go through some of them because people don't always follow instructions. I took an airport-type shot of contrabanned items removed from socks. Look closely and you'll see:
-unwrapped scissors
(poking out of the sock!)
-perfume and mouthwash
(people drink it)
-glass nail polish bottles
(they break!)
-very old, ratty bar of soap
-used stained washcloth (rag?)

Last year we even found a used razor!

This is sometimes the only gift a person will receive this year for Christmas. Most of the socks are perfect, and we are so grateful for the amazing and enthusiastic effort put out by individuals, groups, and families, to give to Operation Christmas Stocking. People have shipped and mailed and even Fed Exed them from afar! We will have 700 socks!

Thanks to Curves and other generous donors, we will also be able to give each child a new stuffed animal with their stocking! We've never been able to give a toy before so we're pretty exited about that!

And, the best gift of all, is gifted by the Gideons. We hand out New Testaments to anyone who has not received one in the past and would like to take the gift of God's Word to read for themselves.

I will conclude with the funniest sock item: a bar of Zest with the following message scrawled on it:

Guaranteed to get the bleeps out of the bloopers. To be used orally.

Sister Suzie Sitting on a Thistle

A good cup of strong, French Roast Starbucks coffee to you.

I want to tell you about our dentist. Ken and I had dinner with him and his wife last night. A very cool couple with a cute baby who ate all Ken's broccoli for him! The dentist has been fixing Ivan's teeth. (Ivan has none, so I'm not exactly sure what they're doing!) Of course, the dentist, being so humble, says, "Oh, Ivan and I go way back." I came back to the Mission last night and I said, "I had supper with your dentist." Ivan was very pleased!

You see, Ivan isn't allowed to get teeth. Ivan was living a rough life before he came to the Mission. He lost his teeth during that lifestyle. That meant Indian Affairs or Social Assistance would not allow him to get any for 5 more years. It was very sad! There are many things you cannot do without teeth... eating solid foods, for instance!


Ken sent him to our dentist with a note saying, can you help this man?? Ivan told Ken, "It's a miracle, Ken. It really is. He found funding for my teeth!"

Soon Ivan will have to stop his solo with the RESCUE Choir. He sings, "All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth." I am not kidding you! It's HILARIOUS! If you want to hear or sing with the choir, their last Christmas performance is tonight!

Date: Tuesday, December 19th, 2006
Time: 6:30
Place: Elmview Nursing Home

blogblogblogging

Yesterday I called our engineer about some drawings and, to my surprise, he was working! He said he has to work weekends in order to go away for Christmas. I said, "I have you beat. I slept at the office last night!"

This morning I ambled into the men's dining room at 7:00 and Derrick (name has not been changed) said, "Can I talk to you?"

"I can't! I have to blog!" (Never mind that it's 7 in the morning and I haven't put my lips on yet--think Mrs. Potato Head.)

Well, of course, discussion ensued as to what blogging was.

"So, instead of 'blah blah blahing,' you are 'blogblogblogging.'"

"Do you blog about us?" another man asked, curiously.

"Yes, and sometimes I even remember to change your names. Last night I blogged about the screaming children."

No response. They're thinking, slightly panicked, "I've gotta figure out how to get on the internet and read Michelle's blog."

Last night Deborah and Derrick and I were making homemade wrapping paper. Deb did the drawings and Derrick and I got to colour them. I love colouring. If anyone would like to buy me 64 or more Crayola crayons and a decent colouring book for Christmas I'd be a happy camper.

Last night Larry, Grant, Charles and Len took all the men to George's concert at First Baptist Church. It was so nice and quiet in the Mission. I had all the lights off and the Christmas lights on. I was playing Handel's Messiah. It was trancelike. (I was also colouring in betwixt developing my strategic flowchart... however, that just spoils the mood, now, doesn't it.)

Then the guys came home and they were all singing! That was nice too. Everyone was happy and in the Christmas spirit. A huge change for some of our men, who haven't spent a sober God-fearing Christmas in their lives.

All this to say that although I have to work so much this time of year, there are immediate benefits and rewards. Friday night Joe and Nancy, who lead our Saturday Care Groups, planned a huge pizza party/movie night for the house. That was so nice! There was pizza left over. (Derrick if you are looking for it I hid it in the little staff fridge in my office.) And that meant it was quiet in the office and I got lots of work done.

But the greatest benefit is not the peace and quiet. It's not beating Len in crib every night. It isn't even the pizza supper! It is the joy of spending intimate quality time with our live-in front line staff. It is the joy of getting to know the guys and gals that live here on program. Not just in passing, but living and interacting with them. Playing games. Having chats. Yes, even colouring and dreaming about the future together!

The benefits of living in, while it is hard work and often exhausting, make it worthwhile and may just reap eternal reward.

What Child Is This?

Some people were complaining about the screaming children at the Mission. Oh, wait, that was me.

The power of a mother to tune out her puling children is not unique to the inner city. (Pule just happens to be the Word of the Day today!)

Before being too hard on the families that live here, think about this interesting, yet annoying fact. Each phone call I make or receive from my child-rearing friends always has screaming kids or moms in the conversation. Every single time. I am talking about kids ages 10 and under.

So, try living communally, pulled right from your ugly life on the streets. Not a friend or care in the world except your next fix or high. Suddenly you are immersed in this dormitory with three other women who are also coming off their street life.

They are crabby and tired and totally confused! Add kids to the mix who are just SOOO happy mommy is getting the help she needs. The children love the Mission. They are transformed emotionally and behaviourally here.

But, kids are kids. They just sound louder when there's more of them! I am so thankful for each one of the kids living at the Mission right now. They are all special in their own way. There is the baby that was born upstairs in the dorms, his little sister who knocks on my office door several times a day to come and play with the office toys, and then there are the two older boys who like to help around the office or borrow craft supplies on the weekends.

How blessed we were three years ago to get this building that allows us to house women with children. We truly are making a difference.

Keep the Card

We got a complaint that we said "holiday" and not Christmas in our city wide mailer. I want to set the record straight, that while we interchange the words holiday and seasons greetings, our main focus is definitely Christmas. We use the word 8 times in one letter!

However, that being said, I, too am annoyed when a business or school deliberately avoids saying or writing the word, "Christmas." Why is this even politically correct? Do we change the word, "Hanukkuh" so non-Jews feel better? It's a Jewish holiday, people!!

So, we have a new idea promoted here by one of our wanna-be vendors who mailed us a truly lovely looking greeting card. It's more of a booklet, really. On the front white cover is one blue snowflake that says, "happy winter." Aw, how sweet.

At the holiday season,
our thoughts turn to those
who have made our success possible.

It is in this spirit we say...
thank you and best wishes
for the holidays
and the new year!

Open it up four more times and there are three lovely pictures of gorgeous local winter scenes. Close it and there is a snowman on white and on one flap an Holidaymas tree on white on the other flap.

The inner city schools in Regina have a hard time getting someone to take on the challenge of the Holidaymas Pageant. An old teacher friend of mine was placed in one of the schools for a bit and she told them she would only take on the project if it she could incorporate some traditional Christmas songs and the nativity.

Guess what? They said yes. I want to remind you of the power of one:

I am only one, but still I am one.
I cannot do everything, but still I can do something;
and because I cannot do everything,
I will not refuse to do something I can do.

Let It Snow Let It Snow Let It Snow

Well, they were calling for five inches of snow today and it was blizzarding this weird warm blizzard. The program men have pushed countless cars out of the ruts over the past few days and have shovelled till their arms fell off!

Ken and I went for brunch... it was a five minute drive that took us fifteen minutes... only got stuck once... and decided no one would be getting home tonight if we didn't send them home early!

We called the Mission and let everyone go home early. We hung up the phone.

It stopped snowing.

Melanie stopped by the restaurant to get me to sign a cheque and said the staff were feeling a bit nervous Ken and I would take back our offer. "We already all have plans!"

"It's only been ten minutes!!" I exclaimed.

Time off and Generation X go hand in hand! And quite frankly, the peace and quiet around here is music to my ears.

One hour later:
Met with Larry, who decided he had too much to do to take time off. I recounted this story and he said it was less than five minutes and all the staff had decided to go toboganning!

There's a song about everything

I was visiting with Donovan from Soul's Harbour in my office while Melanie was in the hallway opening a gift to the Mission. It was a lovely homemade card, a bag of microwave popcorn, and a note:

"Although this popcorn has reached its expiry date, it still pops great up to a year later. Extra butter may be necessary!"

We thought that was funny! We also were glad to have popcorn as treats around Christmas time.

Later that day, Donovan called back and said, "Hey, I got the popcorn note!!"

Thanks to St. Timothy's 49th Scouting Group for all the popcorn!!

Preach Christ. USE WORDS.

Well, I posted a comment on a blog I know from the pastor of a sister of a friend of mine. lol. I wanted to cross post the comment here as it pertains to the poor.

Why is the church calling humanitarian work “missions.” Let’s call a spade a spade here, folks.

Having recently met many men who have literally and continue to be beaten for their faith, yet, continue to preach the Word daily, in season and out of season, I have been personally challenged to let my charity and the Gospel go hand in hand.

In fact, our four core values at Regina RESCUE Mission are: evangelism, discipleship, charity, and expansion. You can’t have one without the other!

Just yesterday our staff Bible study were studying Acts where Dorcas and Cornelius are noticed, both by God and by people, by their prayers and GIVING TO THE POOR.

“For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes.”



So, this means a couple of things:

1. Preach Christ. USE WORDS. Where in Scripture do you find that we should keep quiet? Even in baptism, the whole point is being a witness to what Christ has done for you.

2. Put your money where your mouth is. That’s right. God commands us to give to the poor. In fact, He says give it all!

Challenging.

The Mortgage Burn

We did another very exciting thing the night of our staff party!! WE BURNED THE MORTGAGE! Yes, a 20 year mortgage reduced to THREE thanks to the generosity of an anonymous donor and a whole handful of people who thought it was important to help pay the last $20,000 before Christmas.

When we found out we had so little to pay once the two huge donations came in from our anonymous friends we quickly scrambled to make THIS thermometer:

We then wrote our staff and volunteers and asked if they could help fill up the thermometer. In a few short weeks, we met our goal!

The burning was done by the Cooks of both Missions. Heather and Aaron turned out the lights, and set the mortgage on fire in a cooking pan!

Everyone cheered! You gotta love those flames Carolyn cut out for the top of our thermometer, eh?!

It was inspiring to see the staff and volunteers at Soul's Harbour so happy for us. We are so grateful for their partnership.

Eat Sleep Breathe

It's Christmas and that means a variety of things for rescue missions.

1. It's very cold outside. The homeless are no longer homeless in Regina. They are now "near homeless" as they crash on people's couches, our Shelter, or bed down on a program for the winter. It means we can't flippantly turn someone away without making sure they indeed DO have a place to stay for the night. It's also cold and flu season and these bugs spread rampantly as residents and staff take their turns being "down for the count." Some just ignore their illness and drag themselves to work to do their best, as they know we're so short-staffed.

2. Many from the community are in the Christmas spirit. These normally shy people come out of the woodwork and want to help. Or they want to teach their children the spirit of giving. However, there are strings attached! It has to either be ON Christmas day, or, it has to be serving during the Christmas meal. None of this "clean up crew" business. We have one church that comes each year and sacrifically does the background work of cleaning up. Aside from them, it's a rare occurance. Before they came, the staff were the clean up crew. This made for extremely long days after organizing and serving 600+ people. We have special families and staff that help on Christmas day. These people are not strangers to our residents, and these relationships are what make the day a brand new start of GOOD Christmas memories. I am grateful for Larry, George, and the Cochrane's who are choosing to celebrate THEIR Christmas with our LifeChange and Shelter residents.

3. Our office staff are VERY busy! We are processing several thousand dollars per day and people are on vacation and we are having to receive many many donations at the door, whether it be from our Operation Christmas Stocking program, turkeys for Christmas, knitted winter gear, Christmas quilts, kids toys, etc. And the phone is ringing off the hook! All fantastic things, but they make for the busiest time of the year here. Both Vicki and I came in Sunday night to catch up on our office work!

Anyway, that's par for the course for us in December. Eat, sleep and breathe the Regine RESCUE Mission. Even more than usual!!

Wasn't that a party?!

Seeing as we are sharing a building with Soul's Harbour, we decided to have a joint staff-volunteer Christmas potluck party this year! It was SOOO much fun!

We played a get-to-know you game in the form of 20 questions. Now, I must say, there was all kind of Christian cheating going on all over the place! But we do know interesting facts about each other now.

Such as, who races chariots? Who is the real Prince Charming? Who has had scabies three times? Who belongs to a motorcycle gang? Who found a devil's head on the floor of the women's home? Who has 5 dogs?

Lots of great comments about the food. Yummy! We then had a devotional and opened presents and played the white elephant gift exchange game. On the way out everyone got a red and gold Christmas candle to take home.

Here is the devotional I prepared:

16 years ago, there was no Soul's Harbour. There was a woman who read in the Bible that she should sell everything she had and give it to the poor.

Now, Geri Carroll didn't have much, but her widows mite sacrifice began with a few milk crates and a cup of coffee.

7 years ago, there was NO long term solution for homelessness, addiction, and mental illness in Regina.

But God called Ken and I here by faith, and quickly brought together a team that became the Regina RESCUE Mission.

And now, on this incredible evening, I stand up here in amazement at how God has planned this moment from the very first day.

From that very first cup of coffee on a milk crate.

And I believe that Geri is rejoicing in Heaven tonight.

I want to talk a little bit about why we're here. Why we're all here. The one thing that unites us.

The poor? Perhaps.
Good works? Yes.
The Lord? Of course.

But that one thing that binds us, and has drawn us all here to the inner city, is our calling.

Scripture says:

Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

We love to talk about spiritual poverty, don't we?

"For our sake He became poor."

But our calling is also to the very real sacrifice of poverty. Of giving something up for the sake of the call.

Now, poverty is NOT a virtue.

It is motive that matters. And the motive is to follow Jesus. To talk about Jesus. To obey Jesus. To love Jesus.

Our calling is to pay a debt forever out of love and obedience. We will never repay Him but the desire to try by losing our life for His sake must be our priority!

Naturally sacrificing - houses, cars, money, nice things, time. These things are not your own. LIFE is not your own.

What IS the virtue, then? Contentment.

"Godliness with contentment is great gain."

The virtue is wanting to sacrifice, wanting to dedicate every minutia of our lives to Jesus.

It is keeping out lives FREE from the love and money and being content with what we have.

It means downsizing instead of upsizing.

It means hemming the rip instead of buying a new pair.

It means puttig people first. Just like Geri did.

One thing I remember about Geri. I didn't know her well, and yet, every time I came to Soul's Harbour, she asked if we could pray together. EVERY single time. If you ever do any one thing with another believer, unite in the fellowship of prayer. You'll never regret it.

Soul's Harbour has a theme verse from Matthew 25:35 & 36:

For I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.

Regina RESCUE Mission's Purpose Statement is also common to both missions:

To RESCUE people from poverty, addiction, and sin, by offering emergency help, such as food, clothing, and shelter, life changing recovery programs, and the Gospel Message.

To conclude I asked all the paid staff of both Missions to stand and I said something like this:

All of us here tonight are committed to sharing the calling of Jesus to the inner city and to the poor. You are giving of your time, your finances, and your prayers to the poor. But it is the folks who are standing before you today who face the battle each day on the front lines. I want you to know they have sacrificed much to be here.

To be a missionary in your own country... in North America, means to be very different from your peers. It means saying no to the pleasures offered by the world. It means sacrificing homes and cars and having few like-minded friends.

It is the men and women standing here tongiht that you are partnering with in your ministry. They have been called to full time missions and and lay their lives down for the Gospel every single day.

Let's commit to pray together for them and ask God's blessing on their ministry and lives for 2007.

Rescue Choir

Did you know we have a RESCUE Choir? We are so thankful for Sherry Mebs who has given our LifeChange men, women and children the gift of music. They are performing gigs of leading nursing home residents in carolling this month, and last night we had the priveledge of hearing them at the Women's Auxillery of the Rescue Mission (WARM). And yes, it was heart-warming.

Heather, our cook, who randomly dresses up as a princess on Fridays (but that's another blog) sewed them fleecy red toques and scarves, and off they go to tell the Christmas story.

We had just a brief sampling last night, and there was Carol, whose severe stutter magically disappears as she sings like an angel. Her toddler daughter, (also dressed like a princess, thanks to Heather) stood up there and rang those bells vigorously!

Derrick, who, along with being part of the choir, narrates the Christmas story for the performance, was able to put a scarf on Trapper, our "Mission" dog, who was inaugurated into the choir last night!

Ivan, who is waiting to get teeth, was the key performer for the song, "All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth!" I have to say that one got quite the chuckle from us all!

Anyway, after WARM decorated (two trees and lots of lights and trinkets everywhere) in 45 MINUTES (Wow!) we were truly blessed to hear our own RESCUE choir give US the gift of music. Grace passed around various hand held noise maker instruments to the audience and many of us became part of the rescue choir!

Music and the arts are known to bring healing properties to those who are sick, both physically and emotionally. How thankful and blessed I am to see men, women and children like Carol, Ivan, Derek, and many more! actively participating in singing to the Lord. And I am sure giving back to the community by singing for seniors has enriched their lives and is making a difference.

In the Family Way

We all donned matching Christmas ties--santa broaches for the women. Ken, the party animal, stayed up until 10:00!





Parties three nights this week! We had a great time celebrating with our own Mission staff last night. We celebrated two things, actually:

1. Christmas, of course!

2. Melanie and Murray are getting married!!

Now, most of their great dating stories have been, shall we say, unbloggable! That's right. "I want to tell you something but you have to promise not to blog it!" Ha. Yes, that's right, I'm getting a bad rep around here! But it's been wonderful to be a part of it all.

It's been lovely to get to know these two young people, and see a dating relationship that has been God-honouring with a priority of serving Christ by blessing others.

Melanie can't stop smiling!
It's been 8 months of smiling, actually. I wonder how she does that?! We all wish them a wonderful and exciting engagement!


And, since I have your attention, there's another exciting thing in our Mission family! Alan and Sally are having a baby!! Alan serves as our Board Chairman and Sally is our Women's Auxillery Communications Rep.

Now, let me tell you, it IS baby number SEVEN!! (Alan is going to have to get a paper route.) But when Grace, our Auxillery President found out she said she would LOVE to have another baby! So, it sounds like some of our Mission family is jealous! Congratulations, Al and Sal!! We are so happy for you!

Alan and Sally at our Inaugural Graduation Banquet in 2004

PS. Alan, if you read this... Sally was trying to give Ken and I a couple of the children!!

Foxe's Book of Martyr's, John Foxe (1516-1587)

If you didn't have to study this book in Bible College, or if you don't have it in your personal library, I want to highly recommend it. This morning for devotions I was meditating on what it means to be a missionary. And how, in North America, we don't get too excited about the thought of suffering, much less martyrdom.

Did you know there is a Bible College in India that uses the classic book by Foxe as a textbook? "We want to inspire them to have the boldness to face any situation, through any persecution or sacrifice."

We do?

Sacrifice is relative... but what is God asking you to do for Him today? I am not talking about giving up desserts here, lenten fashion. I am talking about suffering in relation to sharing your faith.

How many of us chalk up our lack of witness to "friendship evanglism?" This is my pet peeve!! WHAT KIND OF A FRIEND KEEPS HEAVEN A SECRET??!! And, in the same way a bride-to-be can't help but be with and talk of her beloved, how can you not talk about Jesus?

If you don't feel like sharing God's love, I suggest you take a good hard look at your heart today. If Christ is in you, you'll want others to know--in word, and in deed.

Want to revive your faith? You can read Foxe's Book of Martyr's online. Not your typical month of December reading, but I challenge you to prepare yourself whatever God might call you to do in 2007. Be ready!

Business grows as weather chills

Business grows as weather chills

Memory McLeod
The Leader-Post


Friday, December 01, 2006


Local shelters are experiencing an influx of people seeking refuge from unseasonably cold weather.

However, shelter operators say other factors also play a part in determining how many people come in from the cold.

"Sometimes it varies, depending on the time of the month. Near the end of the month, when cheques come in, the place gets kind of scarce for a day or two," George McKenzie, shelter caretaker at the Regina Rescue Mission, said Thursday.

Despite the end-of-the month cheques, this week's cold snap has filled up more than half of the emergency shelter beds at the mission, McKenzie said, adding that the Mission is coping with the increase.

Grocery store donations and food brought in by private donors keep the Mission well-stocked with food the year-round. "The requirement is being met. Hunters donate wild meat, and there is always a lot of food there," McKenzie said.

If residents are not on the waiting list for the Mission's long-term treatment program, they may stay for only up to seven days each month.

"If we keep seeing the same faces again and again, we sit down and try to help them with the root of the problem, whether that be an addiction or whatever," McKenzie said.

It isn't often that the Mission has to turn someone away, and the rules are not written in stone, McKenzie said, adding that, in winter, there are not as many transients (such as hitchhikers) going through the city, so the Mission usually houses locals, who are familiar with the rules.

"The zero tolerance toward intoxication -- we have to be strict on that one even in the cold, because, what if someone lights up a cigarette and then falls asleep? It's a safety issue for us. So unfortunately we cannot accept anyone who is intoxicated, no matter what the temperature," McKenzie said.

© The Leader-Post (Regina) 2006