Miracles happen!
Posted by Stories | Filed under faith stimulus
I knew immediately who to give the envelope to. Her husband is disabled and they are without health insurance. She has found a doctor who will treat her, but she is required by his office to pay a monthly premium. She had forgotten to pay this month and she was down to their last few dollars. I mailed her the envelope like I promised, and she opened to find the $50.00 she needed to pay her premium. She said, “It was definitely a God moment because we didn’t have the $50.00″. God is working miracles through Northwoods! Thank you!
– Camy M.
My friend’s sister
Posted by Stories | Filed under faith stimulus
Initially I felt I knew who to give the faith stimulus to but as the week went on and I prayed about it my very good friend’s sister came to my heart and stayed. I have only seen this girl a few times. I got together with my friend and shared that God wanted me to give this to her sister. She started crying and shared with me her sister had lost her job and was really down. She had been praying for something good to happen for her sister. I also have now invited her to join me at Northwoods and she said YES! PRAISE GOD!
– Eileen F.
Helped a restaurant worker
Posted by Stories | Filed under faith stimulus
Well, after church on Sunday my family and I went out to eat at the Steak N’ Shake, and it was when we were a little after we ordered our food that I felt a urge to give our waitress the money. So I told her about what our church was doing and she told me she went to that church before but couldn’t go because she was having a hard time with money issues. Then I thought what a coincidence that I had felt that and she really needed it in that time of her life. God works in mysterious ways! God bless you all!
– Mark S.
Helped Adopt A Block family
Posted by Stories | Filed under faith stimulus
Phil Newton, Executive Director for South Side Mission, sensed during a recent Adopt A Block that visit one of the families we serve was hurting. We made a special visit to give then one of the stimulus gifts. We found out the lady of the house, Adrian, had recently come through South Side Mission’s New Promise Center, a shelter for homeless women and children. Adrian told us she had praying for some financial help to pay her rent, and this was an answer to her prayers. The whole family gathered around and prayed. They wanted to know more about the church that had helped them. They plan to come for a visit.
– Larry McMillan
Expired car sticker purchased
Posted by kirt.manuel | Filed under faith stimulus
Peg and Dave S. are dear friends of mine, and I was over at their condo explaining to them the financial problems I was facing and that a big, unexpected one had developed. Peg handed me the envelope and explained what your church has done. I used the money to get the car sticker back on since it had been expired since April.
Thank you so much. Your generosity is greatly appreciated.
– Lisa H.
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.
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