Mi marido y yo vivimos en Kenora, Ontario, Canadá, y tenemos un ministerio a pie de calle para personas sin hogar y drogodependientes. Comenzamos nuestra iglesia en nuestra casa en 1999, y desde entonces hemos cuidado silenciosamente de estas personas marginadas. Pertenecemos a la Iglesia de Dios Pentecostal de Cleveland TN, y mi marido es ministro ordenado con ellos.
Durante este virus COVID-19, todas las personas sin hogar de la calle deben vagar por las calles hasta que el refugio apoyado por el gobierno abre a las 9:00 PM. El viento, la lluvia y las bajas temperaturas les obligan a acurrucarse a la intemperie.
Finalmente, mi marido no pudo aguantar más. Con amor cristiano, llevó a la gente dentro para que se sentaran a ver una película al calor de nuestra iglesia. Llevamos dando de comer a ochenta personas cada noche desde el 15 de agosto, y la gente de la calle conoce muy bien a mi marido. De hecho, la policía, el alcalde, los concejales, otras iglesias, millonarios y la gente de la calle nos dicen: "¡No hay nadie como usted, pastor Frank!
Anoche, 24 de marzo de 2020, hacía frío y llovía. No podíamos dejar a la gente vagar bajo la lluvia y el frío una noche más, porque los hemos visto empeorar de salud durante los últimos seis meses de estar afuera, así que los dejamos entrar. Teníamos puesta música de alabanza, pero no les llegaba, sólo se movían sin rumbo.
These people are caught p in drug dealing, prostitution, and gang life. They are hurt people with a hard shell. They love my husband and I for how we have sacrificed for them, and they know we have and tell us they know, but for the most part they are closed up.
But last night, Frank was looking for some YouTube video to reach them. We stumbled upon your (Nick’s) preaching message in San Diego I think, where you said you were taking a leap of faith to call out the drug dealers to come to the front of the church and get saved.
All of a sudden, our people stopped their aimless wandering, came and sat down rooted to the screen watching you. They heard every word you said, and when Frank asked them to make a commitment to Jesus like you were doing on the screen, SEVEN people all stood up. All gang members.
The first thing two of them said they would do (after the crying and hugging finished) was clean up our bathrooms (where they had taken their drugs thinking we didn’t know) and behind our church, which is a drug den that we constantly have to clean out and monitor.
A few years ago, one of the leaders of our church headquarters in Cleveland, TN came to our Jubilee at our Church and said, “If anyone goes to hell in Kenora, they will have to do it crawling over your church. Because your church stands directly in their way”
Thank you for obeying that “nudge” in San Diego that night and bringing seven more Canadian souls into the Kingdom.
Sincerely
Lynn Kowal