Greetings from Street Hope Peterborough!
We are going through a season of transition and transformation as we follow Jesus and seek His direction for opening doors to share the hope of Christ with people who are on the fringes of society and often ignored by the community. We are excited that our annual Victoria Park Outreach events have kicked off with our first one taking place on June 21. We plan to run four events this Summer, and many people will experience the love of Jesus in Victorious Park during these events. Please join us in prayer as hundreds of people attend these events to enjoy free food, anointed and inspiring music, access to free donated clothing, Christian literature, and the preaching of God’s word. Jesus always opens doors for us to pray for individuals and to minister His love personally. This year, we will have a greater emphasis on ‘Friendship evangelism’ and leading people into a personal relationship with Christ.
Over the past few weeks, I have been reminded of the fruit of enduring. We are called to endurance through the testing of our faith, and from this endurance comes fruit that bears witness to Jesus Christ. The relationships that we build here at SHP are for eternity, and we treat them with care and love. What we invest in the lives of others brings eternal changes to the lives of individuals and hearts, and we are about seeing people set free, forgiven and living for Christ in our world.
I am reminded of Rosemary*, an Aboriginal lady whom we had been getting to know for many years. She was very addicted to drugs and alcohol, and once someone dealing with addictions gets immersed, the spiral down is very quick and destructive. Rosemary had attempted to become sober multiple times but kept going back to drugs. One day, at a Victoria Park event, a volunteer from SHP led her to Jesus, and the transformation in her life was genuine; her conversion to Jesus was beautiful. Unfortunately, that same year, she was beaten up and ended up dying. She went to eternity with Jesus. We know and have experienced that the relationship we built with Rosemary and many others here in Peterborough over the years brings eternal change. We were so sad to hear of Rosemary’s passing, but we celebrated her reunion with Jesus Christ in heaven.
We have been in a relationship with another man, Jaime*, for many years. We have helped him as he has been navigating life outside incarceration, where he has been serving a 49.5-year sentence. A few months ago, after going through multiple losses in a short period of time, Jaime called us and told us that his sister was dying in a city that was 5 hours away. I checked with his parole officer to get permission to take him to his sister, and once we got the green light, we drove into the night. Upon arrival at the hospital, Jaime had the opportunity to sit with his sister, hold her hand for 30 minutes, and say goodbye. The next day, she passed away. We are grateful for our longstanding relationships with people like Jaime, with whom we can share hope throughout his journey with Jesus, even in the hard and difficult seasons.
For the past 3 years, I have had the opportunity to lead chapel services at a local retirement home with Justin, a SHP volunteer. We have been getting to know Judy* and she has shared with us the pain, bitterness and anger that she has felt toward her ex-husband, who was abusive to her. She told us that she would not forgive him and has been weighed down by this unforgiveness for many years. A few weeks ago, as we were leading the singing and preaching from Philippians 2, Judy came up to us and told us that she needed to forgive her ex-husband. Justin asked Judy to repeat a prayer after him, and she was set free from the bitterness and weight of unforgiveness! *Names have been changed for privacy purposes
We continue to see God’s hand in the relationships we are building at SHP as we practice endurance through the testing of our faith. One transition we are currently navigating is the loss of the Corrections Services Canada contract, which previously provided us with the financial means to support our chaplaincy ministry in Peterborough. This contract was held by Threshold Ministries for almost a decade and was instrumental in opening doors of opportunity for individuals we served who came to the community from prison. Despite this contract being dissolved, we remain committed to continuing to invest in this ministry, specifically in the lives of individuals transitioning into the community from prison. This aspect of SHP will continue as we move forward in this ministry.
We are grateful for your financial support and prayers as we work to give hope to people living in vulnerable situations in Peterborough. If you would prayerfully consider an additional financial gift during this season of change, that would help us continue to serve the needs of many people through Street Hope Peterborough.
Words truly cannot express our deepest gratitude to you for the generous investment you have made in this ministry. We will continue to share the exciting news of transformed lives in Jesus with you. You are an essential part of the hope we share in Christ with the Peterborough community, so thank you for your ongoing loving financial and prayer support! If you have a group or if you would like me to come to your church to share about our SHP ministry, I would gladly welcome that opportunity for an in-person visit.
Sincerely Yours in Jesus,
Darrin Gaudreau
Project Leader Street Hope Peterborough
darrin.gaurdeau@thresholdministries.ca
