An Opportunity and A Request

Hello My Friends!

Six months ago I answered a call looking for volunteers for what I thought to be a soup kitchen, however turned out to be so much more. Instead of serving those in attendance, I was asked to join with them and become the family of whoever I was sitting with for the evening. I loved what I saw; a place that was creating connections in an age of isolation. I began to attend Sanctuary London regularly, a community within our own that caters to the poor, the lonely, and the outcast. Their mission? To love. Such a simple and yet amazing thing! Sanctuary quite literally welcomes everyone, no matter who they are, what their background is, what they wear, how they speak, or what their bank account contains. I have seen the broken welcomed with open arms with no judgement and an understanding that we are all broken, and there is only One who heals. As I became more comfortable within the community, I began developing relationships with a great many people who have impacted my life and faith in incredible ways. Over the last six months my love for this place, and the people it welcomes, has only grown.

Growing up with foster children who came from broken homes, and entered our care while hurting gave me a spirit of compassion as well as a desire to help those in pain in any way I could. Since I was young, I have felt called to work with the vulnerable and the hurting; I have been blessed with several opportunities to do so. From my work with low income day camps here in London, to my trips to Africa networking and helping within children’s homes I have been able to love those who need it the most. In more recent years I have felt unsettled about solely focusing on those across the world when we have such great need right here in Southwestern Ontario.

I have been offered an opportunity to further my work within Sanctuary and I could not be more excited about it. Spending time within this community has been a highlight of my year so far.  Everything has fallen into place to allow me to spend as much time as possible caring for and supporting those I have come to love. God’s timing is perfect, and once again I have seen Him at work in this entire endeavor. I now have the honour to start working as the only permanent female staff within our community, specifically focusing on women and children, creating life skill workshops, cooking some of the community dinners, and helping to fundraise to continue Sanctuary’s work. Words cannot describe how blessed I am to be given the opportunity to help tear down walls, and continue to work towards allowing people to experience being part of an ‘us’ instead of a ‘them’.

Many amazing services are provided at Sanctuary on a weekly basis. Sanctuary offers a community lunch and Bible study, a music drop in, a family style dinner that feeds on average 150 people weekly, an art drop in, and a church service on Sunday evenings. Every service is free to the public, and all are welcome. With continued and added support, Sanctuary will be able to not only be able to continue its current programming, but also expand its services and staff. This will enable us to reach more people, and provide even more opportunity for community.

Please keep the Sanctuary team in your prayers. Opening one’s heart and allowing oneself to become vulnerable, taking on and sharing in others’ hurts and troubles, as well as being open and willing to share your own is incredibly taxing. Constant prayers that we will keep our eyes on He who gives us strength, and that we will keep Him at the center of everything we do would be appreciated. I also ask for prayers personally, that God will be able to shine through me to show those I’m going to be working with the love of Christ. There is a line in a song I love that says ‘Break my heart for what breaks Yours’. Pray that He will continue to do so.

Beyond prayer, we also need financial support. Sanctuary operates solely off donations and fundraising, trusting God to supply for His work. The addition of myself to the staff will only be possible through the support of friends and partners like you. Your monthly investment will play a vital part ensuring that our work together will continue to reach out to the lost and lonely right here in London. Will you make that monthly investment and join with myself and our other partners to share the love of Christ in our community? If so, please click here to donate. Every donation is tax deductible, and you will receive a charitable tax receipt for any donations made. Feel free to call/ email/ text/ facebook me with any questions you may have! I would love to chat with you. 

Also, I would ask you to read a letter written by one of the phenomenal men that brought Sanctuary London into being. It can be read here. 

Regardless of your ability/desire to commit currently financially, and you live nearby, I would encourage you to visit Sanctuary for yourself. Come and see London through Sanctuary’s eyes; let the rose coloured glasses fall away. You will be shown all the gritty parts that society prefers to cover up and ignore, and suddenly you will begin to see the beauty in ‘the least of these’. I guarantee you that it is not what you are expecting. I have never experienced anything like it. You will be exposed to the most diverse, amazing, broken, healing, accepting, honest, heart wrenching, loving, and loved community I have ever come across. Join me in being the hands and feet of Jesus in this dearly loved community. 

Yours because I'm His, 
Breezey Allen
breezeyallen@hotmail.com
(226) 224-1653

Guest Post- A Request by Darryl

Dear friend of Breezey Allen,

Thank you for being an important person in our mutual friend Breezey’s life. Breezey has been deeply engaged in the Sanctuary community since we first met her at our annual Christmas party back in December. For those of you who do not know, Sanctuary seeks to be a community that particularly welcomes people who are excluded and marginalized from most other places and people groups. This often includes people who struggle with homelessness and other forms of poverty. Our goal is to find a place that we can all belong, a place to call ‘home’. Since that first meeting, Breezey has been a blessing to so many of our friends and has embraced our community as a whole. It has been so fun for us to watch her grow and find her place among us. We are thankful for who she is and for who she is helping us to become.

I believe that given the opportunity, Breezey will continue to be an even greater blessing to our community. For that reason, we have decided to invite Breezey to be part of our team in a greater capacity. We would like to offer her a paid position on our staff, which would increase her time and capacity to invest more fully into the work that we do. Unfortunately, Sanctuary does not have the funds at this time to hire Breezey outright. Therefore, as with all staff, we are dependent on friends and family like yourself who believe in the work of Sanctuary, believe in Breezey, and are led by the Holy Spirit to partner with us both prayerfully and financially in order to support this endeavor.

Breezey’s story is so exciting for me because it is so evident that God has been calling her and journeying with her through life in order to prepare her for this next step on her path. I hope her story will be as inspiring for you as it has been for me. Please pay particular attention to her heart for the hurting and broken people of our city, and prayerfully consider her request. Her request is not only for financial support, but it is an invitation for you also to engage and participate in the exciting work that God is doing in London.

Her letter is only the beginning of the story, and Breezey would absolutely love the opportunity to sit with you and talk further about her dreams and vision for working with Sanctuary. I would also be happy to share more with you about Sanctuary, and to answer any questions you may have. The work of Sanctuary is often hard and heavy. We hurt with our friends and grieve that the world is not yet the way it was intended to be. But each one of us has chosen to follow this calling on our lives and have found deep joy in knowing that this is exactly where God is best able to meet with us. If nothing else, please find a way to encourage Breezey along the way.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Darryl Reckman.

519-280-8895

darryl@sanctuarylondon.ca 

 sanctuarylondon.ca 

My Struggle- Out of Sight, Out of Mind

I feel a twinge. A subtle breaking, tearing of the heart. Like a small piece is missing. And I have no right to feel that way.

A few days ago, somebody asked me if I know who I am. I said I'm always learning about myself. Who I am changes daily, based on the people I meet and on events that occur that effect my life. Whether positively or negatively. I am not the same person I was yesterday, and I will not be the same person tomorrow that I am today. I'm in constant flux.

People are important.  Some people leave a larger mark on your life and heart than others. One such person passed away a few months ago, and he just came back to my mind. A sudden hurting, and if I'm honest about it, I have no right to mourn. I had been terrible about keeping up to date with him, and his family. I did not prioritize him properly and now he is gone. Someone who was so brilliant, wise, had such a zest for life, amazing dance moves, and made the best all-natural peanut butter I've ever tasted. And I did not acknowledge and prize him as a friend as I should have. I took it for granted that he would be there, with his peanut butter, next time I arrive in Kitale. It weighs heavy.

This is a constant struggle for me. Balancing everything and not feeling everything so personally. I have trouble accepting my failures, and accepting that some things aren't failures, just the way things happen. I know that I am a 'Out of sight, out of mind' kind of person, and as such, fail constantly to keep those I adore in my life, and to keep in touch. This primarily involves my friends in Africa. I need to be better about keeping in touch, and being more involved. However I think I avoid it because I'm ashamed of how little I can do for them, and how amazing my life is. Ugh, there is the 'us' and 'them' again. Another thing I need to work on.

But I digress. My heart aching is not for Walter. He is in a better place. He had a heart for God, and a vibrancy unmatched. It is for those he left behind. His wife, his kids, his friends, and for myself. Because I missed out on knowing an amazing person.

Take the time to reach out to someone you haven't in awhile. One day, you will be glad that you did. Remember that time is fleeting, and live today in love.

Keep dancing Walter. <3