Archive for July, 2009
Helping out a friend
Posted by Stories | Filed under faith stimulus
My friend and co-worker is being deployed to Iraq for the second time. He first has to go to California and then to North Carolina before going over seas. My wife and I have been wanting to help out his family, or help try to send his wife to see him before leaving the country. The message with the Faith Stimulus just really hit home to me, and we were thinking of her. That night out of the blue she had called us to see how we had been, and we hadn’t talked to her for a month. It definitely felt like God was telling us that we needed to do something for her. I talked to my boss, family, friends and got a collection going. I wanted to get this money to her soon because I didn’t know when she would be able to go and see her husband. Through this stimulus and other people’s generosity, we were able to give her a nice sum of money that would help her to go. And when we were telling her about how this started with our church and the faith stimulus, she said she had gotten an envelope through the mail from someone she didn’t know! (I saw someone else’s story, the help for a military family, and I know it’s the same people we are talking about!) That is so awesome how it all came together for her and her family! Thank you God for this and for blessing all of us!– Charlie and Amber R.
God’s timing is excellent!
Posted by Stories | Filed under faith stimulus
I just wanted to share an e-mail from my neighbor. I had prayed for over a week for God to tell me who to give this to. Timing is everything….
“Hi Ann, I just just went thru the mail, finally catching up on things and got you letter. You can’t believe how awesome your timing with that was. I was sorta struggling with my faith. I was born and raised Catholic, but lately I have just been struggling. I have had so much dumped on me, more then I feel like I can handle with losing my job and then everything around the house falling apart. But then I have been so involved with my friend, Sarah, and her daughter’s battle with cancer and it is just tearing me up. But your kindness…I don’t know, I can’t think of the right words, but I know you were were right, God spoke to me thru your note, your decion to give it to me, and the $20.00! It isn’t so much the money, it is what God is saying to me, in my time of doubt and frustration, thru you! So thank you so much for that unbelievable gift of helping me to restore my faith!
I get all teary eyed when I think of you and what you have done for me! I am having a hard time seeing this thru my tears =) I will have to tell my mom all of this too, because she was very upset that I was not wanting much to do with God right now. And I totally see things differently now, between you and my friend’s husband, Vern. As if he has nothing else going on, a step daughter fighting for her life, a new born son, and a household for himself to take care of. He says he wants to help me out because I have been there for his step daughter. I of course don’t expect any sort of ‘payback’ but I also understand feeling the need to return a favor. And I can use the help. I believe now that he is being sent to me by God, and your note showed that to me. I was just thinking before that he was just helping me out, now I see the deeper significance, that despite it all, I have sooooo much to be thankful for. Good friends, a loving supportive family, a wonderful Merley girl who got me thru a lot…it goes on and on. And God is behind it all, he is the one that put us where we need to be so our paths would cross. I took in a Great Dane who was in desperate need of getting out of a bad situation. And this dog had to be a Great Dane so you and I would meet and grow into a friendship! I spent the night, last night, pondering things over, your note was the the guiding light for it all and it all became quite clear. I believe I got laid off so I can be available to help Sarah and her family. I believe Merley had to be a dog I took in and not just a dog, but a Great Dane so we would meet. I believe my house started falling apart so Vern would come over and take care of it, showing me that I am not alone, I have friends will to help me out despite all they have, making sacrifices for me. But the most important thing is I BELIEVE!!!! You have no idea how much your note touched me, I just can’t put it into words. I promise I will “pay” you back by doing things for others in need. To continue to do God’s work and show others compassion, kindness, and hopefully touch others they way you have to me. Maybe I can help restore someone else’s faith, I may never know if I have, but God will.
The best way to sum it all up is a saying my mom always says: It is much easier to spell God, then coincidence! (I even had to use spell check to correct the spelling=) I love it. I can not thank you enough!”
– Ann R.
Faith Stimulus on Northwoods/South Side Mission Adopt-a-block
Posted by Stories | Filed under faith stimulus
It’s been fun for me to watch the Northwoods Faith Stimulus in action–as a Northwoods member and Executive Director of South Side Mission. Four different people so far have given me stimulus money to give to someone in need. They’re not hard to find at South Side Mission as we help 15,000 different people a year. So here’s what we did…
Mission staffer Larry McMillan and I visited Sandra on one of the Northwoods adopted blocks on Malone Street on the south side of Peoria. Sandra lives there with her children. Her husband is in prison. They have very little to their name. The previous week, we delivered a refrigerator as the family had none. When Larry and I visited them, it was a hot day and the family was not running the air conditioner, just fans. There were many kids in the house running around, and the TV was blaring. But the Lord brought a peaceful spirit with Him. Sandra was very surprised to receive the four envelopes we brought with us. Even before she opened them, she was just touched that our church would do something like that. She made us write down the church address and service times so she could come check us out. When Sandra realized that there was money in the envelopes, she teared up, saying, “the rent is due and I had no idea how to pay for it.” We gave her and the kids hugs, and all joined in a circle of prayer before we left. God’s timing is amazing.
– Phil Newton
We were God’s hands
Posted by Stories | Filed under faith stimulus
Mike and I prayed for two weeks about the $100.00 that was given to us in the stimulus money. We felt we were God’s hands, and he was using us to answer a pray request that he had received. The person that God led us to worked at Home Depot. Mike told him that we had prayed about this gift and felt that he was the one to give it to. When the young man opened it and saw what it was, Mike thought he saw a tear in his eye. Men are a little shy about sharing their feelings, but it was obvious that he really appreciated the gift. Thank you, Northwoods, for letting us be the gift giver.
– Mike and Betty M.
On the same page
Posted by Stories | Filed under faith stimulus
My wife and I went up and got one of the envelopes expecting there to be a note telling us how much the Lord was wanting us to give to a needing family. As we were walking out she asked me if I had anyone in mind. I told her I was thinking of a young family up the road who had just lost their only means of income. She was thinking of the same people. God had put us on the same page! When we were driving out I asked her if she wanted to look inside, to see how much money we’d need to come up with. She said yes. When we looked inside, we were joyfully shocked to find real money in the envelope. Unbelieveable! That really touched our hearts that Northwoods or any church would be giving money away, and letting us decide who to give it to. What a church! What a message of caring! We matched what the church had put in, and the family was very grateful. They are caring young people. Although it wasn’t a lot of money, I’m sure it meant a lot.
– Mike & Rochelle R.
Help for military family
Posted by kirt.manuel | Filed under faith stimulus
God directed us to give our Faith Stimulus envelope to a military family. I contacted Northwoods and was referred to Patti Smith and her Citizen S.A.M. organization. Patti connected us with a family in Morton. The husband was being deployed for the third time to Iraq. The family has two children ages 11 and nine. The wife said her husband was in California and then to North Carolina before going to Iraq for 10 months. She wanted to go see him but did not know how she was going to pay for it. She thought she would just pray. Her church gave her money, plus a friend, and then she got a call from us. That same week, my husband did a little repair job for our neighbor. She wanted to pay him. He did not want any pay, but she insisted. We added that to the Faith Stimulus money!
– Simon and Edwanna M.
Thank you!
Posted by Stories | Filed under faith stimulus
We are a home schooling family of six children. Two years ago my husband suffered from a left brain stroke, leaving his right side partially paralyzed and accenting his speech. We lost all sources of income at that time and since have received help from disability. We have relied on the goodness of God to get us through these times where, in the natural, it seems like there is never enough to make it each month. We received a gift this past week of $100 from the hands of Jack and Ruth U. from a fund via Northwoods Community Church. We would like to graciously thank each one involved for this amazing gift and the willingness of the church who gave to our family in such a timely order. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. God is always faithful.
– Michael and Carolyn W.
About to give up
Posted by Stories | Filed under faith stimulus
We have attended Northwoods Community Church for over 14 years and this church never ceases to amaze us!! We actually missed the faith stimulus services and a friend told us all about it. We were so disappointed to have missed the opportunity to help bless someone. We are much more comfortable being on the giving end than on the receiving. That said, my husband had lost his job 4 months ago. This was not the first struggle we have endured in his career but he always landed a better job. In this economy it does seem as no one is hiring. We had liquidated our investments to keep up on payments and God has always provided. As time goes on the financial pressure increases. We have been tithing consistently the past few years but out of obedience not because we wanted to! This month we were worried and our house payment was due on the 7th. The night of the 6th our teen daughter informed us she was pregnant. Our whole family was devastated and broken. This was the first time in 20 years of being a christian I felt like giving up. We had just been part of starting a ministry in our community and we had been under attack. I felt like this was Satan’s last blow. My husband had us all pray together. I told God how angry I was at Him and my husband prayed He would show Himself to us. After surviving the night I was dreading having to face another day. That morning, after I heard the mail carrier, I sent my youngest out to get the mail since my husband was in the shower. I went downstairs and she had opened an envelope addressed to our family. It scared me to see what she was holding. Who sends cash, that much cash, in the United States Postal Service?? God does, through a generous and obedient servant! With tears in my eyes I through open the shower curtain and began to count out loud. My husband began to cry then sob. It scared the kids too death. We sat the kids down and showed them God is in the miracle business!! This blessing helps to alleviate the financial stress and allows us to concentrate on loving our daughter. We are praying about who we can bless with a faith stimulus! God sometimes shows up at the eleventh hour and fifty-ninth minute but He always shows up!! Thank you to our church family and may all glory, praise and honor be given to our Lord in heaven!!
- Shan W.
A mother in need
Posted by Stories | Filed under faith stimulus
After receiving the faith stimulus envelope as a family, we began to ask God to reveal to us a person or family in need. We all agreed that whatever was in the envelope, we would double, not matter the amount. We are a family of four, so we laid out these rules: Each of us was to come up with 2 names; then we would share them aloud at the dinner table; after that, we would each pray about the names given and ask God to make it clear which one needed it the most. It was cool to see how God brought us all to just one name . . . a single mom with four kids. She had just left her husband due to an abusive relationship. He refuses to give her any money (for her or the kids) to live on since she left, and she only works part-time. I gave her the envelope today (Wed.) and shared with her the sermon from Cal and how God directed us to her as the recipient. She cried, and so did I. She said that I had no idea how much this meant to her and her kids . . . she has had so much trouble trying to make ends meet. Even though she is a believer, this “challenge” to our church body really spoke to her. It showed this single mom of four that even in the midst of this difficult and overwhelming trial she is going through, God remains by her side and will never leave her or let her handle it alone.
– Tracey M.
A picture of God’s love
Posted by Stories | Filed under faith stimulus
The following weekend after the faith stimulus envelopes were passed out, a friend came to stay with my husband and I for the weekend. She was in the midst of a crisis of faith, even to the point of questioning the death of Christ she had once believed. I shared with her about the act of faith our church took in gifting money to people in need. I shared how I felt it was a perfect picture of God’s love. God offers us the gift of grace and all that he asks in return is that we love him back and love others (the most important of the commandments). I was also amazed at the reminder that God risks our rejection of him and yet still loves us no matter what. As I shared all this with my friend, we both became teary-eyed and I knew that God had softened her heart and there had been breakthrough. Praise God! Thanks for setting the example, church!
– Kate H.
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