A few years ago I was asked to deliver an item to a lady in the office at Inner City Mission. I admit, I was a little apprehensive and nervous. The only thing that I knew about ICM was that it was a homeless shelter. After hesitantly ringing the door bell, I was greeted with warm smiles and made to feel very welcome. My delivery time turned into conversation time and I was soon feeling more comfortable. I explained to the staff that our Women in Motion group would like to help and asked what they needed. I was thinking food, toiletries, etc. She said “What they really need is your time, TLC and encouragement”. Well, that wasn’t at all what I expected but I replied “Oh!, Ok, I’ll see what we can do.” I remember leaving that day thinking…..Ok, God this is really calling me out of my comfort zone. What am I going to do? After some time and prayer, I called a few of the women in the group and asked them if they would like to join me for a night at the mission to meet and encourage the women there. Our first night was a little scary. Who were these ladies? What had they been through? What if we say something wrong? What if they don’t want us there? With much prayer and faith we began the evening. After an ice breaker “get to know you game” we all found ourselves much more relaxed. The ladies asked if we would come back. Well, it has been 3 wonderful years now. We have met once a month. We have shared devotions, prayers, stories, testimonies, tears and laughter. We have played games, done crafts and just visited. We have collected needed items over the years, celebrated birthdays, Thanksgiving and Christmas. I don’t know who has gotten the most from our time together. We have all grown in our faith. Our women’s group has been able to strengthen our mentoring skills. It is so rewarding to see some of the ladies rise above their issues and begin new lives. I’m very thankful for that delivery to the office years ago. God is good.

Julie