With
an accent as sweet as honey, Shelly (name has been changed) tells her family story of faith, hope and
the Grace Care Center.
Papua
New Guinea is their home. When they left
home in 2001, it was with the goal of her husband Saul studying at Trinity
College of the Bible to become a pastor, so he could return home to show the
love of Jesus Christ and change lives.
Currently he is waiting on approval of his master’s thesis on Joseph
Benson. The next step for Saul is to
take one quick deep breath and dive into the work of a doctorate.
Shelly
has a Bachelors Degree in Christian Education focusing on childhood
education. Her time is fully invested in
being a full time homemaker for Saul and their 5 children with ages ranging
from 6 to 16 years old. “We struggle financially because I cannot
work. We are awaiting a government work
permit. It will come through. It just takes time. God is in charge.”
Another
food pantry referred her to the Grace Care Center. She has been a friend of the GCC for 2 years
and is in the co-op program.
When
I turned the conversation to her perceptions of the GCC, her beautiful smile
and sparkling eyes lit up her face. “You help us a lot. We feel like we are part of a large
family. We are welcome here. You are so friendly. You see our needs. You see our struggle. You approve of me. You treat me as though you have been there
(meaning in her family situation of need.) Grace is part of me. I
usually shop on Monday nights. The food
is good. The vehicle ministry has helped
us with repairs because of an accident.
I praise God. He is using Grace
to meet our needs. We worship at
Grace. One of our children has autism,
and we love the LIFT program. We left
Papua New Guinne to prepare to serve God. We had faith that He would sustain us. He has met us here at Grace, through you.
I will take the experience
of the Grace Care Center with me when I leave and try to use it as an example
of how to receive and treat people. I
have learned how to receive love as well as how to give it.”
