THE CALL TO CARE
“Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”
- Colossians 4:4-6
OCTOBER 2022 NEWSLETTER
As we enter the holiday season we realize that although the holidays can be a celebratory time for those of us who have traditions, family and fellowship, they can be a time of remembered trauma, loneliness and depression for others who lack the resources or relationships to celebrate.
At TRM it is our calling to care about those in need, whether these are primarily the physical needs of food, shelter and safety, or the emotional needs of connection, family and home. In the work of TRM, investing time into someone is just as important as investing money. If we have the donations to pay for changing someone’s life but don’t have the people to do the work, we can’t do it. What good is a shelter if you don’t have shelter staff? What good is a clothing trailer if you don’t have people to hand out the clothing? What good is having a kitchen if no one is there to serve the food?
In order to change someone’s life for the better it takes ALL of us doing whatever our part is: staff members showing up, prayer warriors praying, donors supporting financially, and volunteers helping with the many different parts of our ministry. This month we asked some of our dedicated volunteers the question: Why do you serve at TRM? What keeps you coming back?
GARY COMSTOCK, A DC VOLUNTEER OF 13 YEARS:
“I really enjoy helping at the Mission because they do such a great job helping those that truly need help. I principally work in the food distribution warehouse. Covid also interrupted my work at the Mission but now I'm back and will continue to volunteer as much as I can. God has called all of us to help those in need. The Mission has many volunteers, and we all work together as a team. I always look forward to coming in on Monday and sometimes will show up at other times when the need arises. For anyone looking to give back for all the blessings in one's own life, I highly recommend joining our volunteer team at the Topeka Rescue Mission.”
CINDY RISCH, A BUSINESS OFFICE VOLUNTEER OF 4 YEARS:
“As soon as I decided to retire, I started looking around for where to spend my time volunteering. It seemed like everywhere I looked I found out about more of the loving services TRM provides to our community. I could see clearly that God was using this incredible organization to do His work and I wanted to join them. The people I work with here genuinely care about the people they serve, and I can't imagine what our community would be like without them.”
AMBER, A NEW VOLUNTEER WITH MAP (MOBILE ACCESS PARTNERSHIP):
"There was a moment in my life where the scale could have tipped either way and I could be where our homeless friends are. God touched me and I am living proof that there is hope for a better life."
Thank you to Gary, Cindy, Amber - and the many other extraordinary volunteers at TRM - for your willingness to follow the call to care for those who are in need in our community!
DID YOU KNOW?
In 1991, when TRM first opened its brand new shelter and kitchen (what is now the main building), the majority of staff were living at TRM. We had very little funding, and we did not have a volunteer program at that time. We were concerned that there would not be enough staff and volunteers to help us with running the new building, so we began to pray and invite people to come help us. From the first day our main building opened in 1991, volunteers came out of the woodwork and saved the day! Some of our volunteers came every single day to work at TRM. They were an integral part of our team and we could not have run the mission without them. Today, our volunteers continue to make the difference as a workforce that helps us meet the increasing needs in our community!