FreshWater Ministries is about helping people change. Change doesn’t come easy. Consider this quote from a new book “The Good and Beautiful God” by James Bryan Smith. “I have come to believe that the problem is not that we do not want to change, nor is the problem that we are not trying to change. The problem is that we are not training. We have never been taught a reliable pattern of transformation.”
The clients we work with are taught how to change their thinking. First, they need to be taught to identify the false, negative thoughts that have crept into their everyday thinking. Second, replace those negative thoughts with true positive thoughts, and third train themselves to remember and listen to the truth God has given them. Inner personal conflicts come from life's challenges such as poverty. We do not claim to be experts on this topic nor do we wish to sit in the seat of judgment on those who 'have' and those 'who have not'. In most communities, there are clear social lines drawn between those ‘who have,’ and those ‘who have not.’
Stilwell is no different. Poverty has left its mark on our community and each individual that struggles in it. But, does it make a person any less important or valuable? The answer is no, and our responsibility as citizens of our community and citizens of the greater Kingdom of God is to learn and teach God's value system. This is the core of our ministry.
Because of the high poverty rate (23% live below the poverty line,) seeking help for life issues is impossible for most of the families in our community. Most of the people we minister to simply cannot afford to pay anything! Yet, they need help. And in our current economy, raising the necessary funds to support FreshWater is difficult. To those who ‘have’ please consider the powerful difference you can make when you share financially in this mission. We desire a constant ability to get resources into the hands of the people we serve and helping them change their lives to change a generation.
Just this past month, we were talking with a college-aged young man. He expressed frustration that many of his friends seem content to live off of welfare. This young man wants better than that. He wants to provide a good home for his future family. But he needs help, direction, and encouragement to move toward those goals. He’s swimming upstream against a culture that says it’s easier to maintain than to do something different.
We tell all of our clients, that once they seek help from FreshWater, that they are a part of our family. We operate, in many ways, more like Life Coaches, or mentors than a traditional ‘counselor.’ All of our pre-marital clients have returned to our home, after their marriage, to share their struggles, dreams, and goals with us . We love this part of what we do!
This summer, we will be starting a Young Adult Group at our home. The goal of our time together will be to help young adults in our community as they journey through one of the toughest stages of development… “Who am I? and What am I going to do with my life?” and “Does it even matter what I do?” We are excited about investing our life into these young people and helping them discover the uniqueness that God has placed inside of each of them. Thank you for praying for us and supporting this mission.
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Our goal, by the end of summer, is for FreshWater to begin paying Chris on a consistent part-time basis. When this happens, Chris will be available for up to 5 more sessions a week, 20 more per month, for a total of 32 a month.
Currently, we are available to provide 3 sessions week. As of right now, we have clients in all 3 of those sessions. Without your help, we lose opportunities to minister to individuals due to the current schedule constraints and lack of flexibility. If someone calls today needing help, they will be put on a waiting list because there are no appointments available at this time. We hope to see that change in the future.
Fee assistance is always needed for our clients. In fact, if full payment were ‘required,’ we would lose opportunities to empower people with the confidence that God wants to give them. All of our clients are aware that FreshWater is supported by donors, and they are asked to also support as they are able. Some have been able to, some have not.
Please consider making a monthly financial commitment to FreshWater. No gift is too small and every gift makes a difference.
