Can Technology Unite Us in Compassion? | Audra's Care-Sharing Story
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Description
How can simple acts of kindness transform communities? Wendi Park engages with Audra, who shares her impactful story of aiding an international student in distress. Emphasizing dignity and agency in support, Audra and Wendi discuss how community engagement and the church play crucial roles in meeting needs, facilitated by CarePortal technology.
They highlight the power of collective action, from delivering care packages to fostering deep connections and fulfilling experiences. The conversation underscores the spiritual rewards of intentional giving, encouraging us to take meaningful steps toward reducing poverty, fostering reconciliation, and supporting their communities.
Time Stamps
[03:28] Generosity rooted in family history and faith.
[07:46] Balancing busy life with intentional care technology.
[12:22] Church member reached out, offered to help.
[14:03] CarePortal connects needs with generous community.
[18:19] Uncertainty over gifting reaction and interaction.
[21:22] Her choice, her initiative - sharing and comfort.
[25:03] Honouring dignity through equal, neighbourly assistance.
[27:42] Involvement in community fosters others' orientation.
[32:24] Addressing community needs through CarePortal partnership.
[34:24] Welcoming and giving brings blessings and Jesus.
Other Links
Reach out to us! https://journeywithcare.ca/podcast
Email: podcast@careimpact.ca
Listen To Journey With Prayer - A prayer journey corresponding to this episode: https://journeywithprayer.captivate.fm/listen
or get both podcasts on the same RSS feed! https://feeds.captivate.fm/n/careimpact-podcast
CareImpact: careimpact.ca
About the CarePortal: careimpact.ca/careportal
DONATE! Help connect and equip more churches across Canada to effectively journey well in community with children and families: careimpact.ca/donate
Editing and production by Johan Heinrichs: arkpodcasts.ca
Transcript
You know, before long, there was tears and there was Kleenex and then she
Speaker:was leaning in and then there was a hug and then she was calling me
Speaker:mama. And then, you know, she just was so
Speaker:desperate for a kind word at a tough
Speaker:time. What does loving your neighbor actually look
Speaker:like? This is Journey with Care,
Speaker:where curious Canadians get inspired to love others well
Speaker:through real life stories and honest conversations.
Speaker:What if I told you that a simple act of kindness could transform a
Speaker:life and ripple through an entire community? Today, we
Speaker:uncover the profound impact of intentional giving and
Speaker:community support. In many communities, the challenge lies
Speaker:in knowing how to give meaningfully, where to start,
Speaker:and ensuring that our help preserves dignity and fosters true
Speaker:connections. Today, Wendy is joined by our guest, Audra.
Speaker:Audra shares a powerful story of her use of the innovative care sharing
Speaker:technology CarePortal to overcome some of these obstacles and make a
Speaker:meaningful connection that resulted in mutual transformation between
Speaker:her and a foreign student that found herself pregnant with no
Speaker:support. But before we dive into the interview, be sure to check out
Speaker:Journey with Prayer podcast, a short devotional podcast to start off your
Speaker:week. Find it there in the show notes or on your podcast player or go
Speaker:to careimpact.ca/podcast. Also, thank you
Speaker:for continuing to share the podcast and support us. This
Speaker:podcast and the work of CareImpact exist through generous donors like
Speaker:you. So if you wish to support or sponsor, head over to careimpact.ca/
Speaker:podcast. We'd love to have you journey alongside us. Alright.
Speaker:Get ready to be inspired and discover how you can shine as a ray of
Speaker:hope in a world longing for meaningful connection. Now
Speaker:on with the interview. Welcome to the Journey with Care podcast.
Speaker:Today, we have a special feature. With me in studio, I have
Speaker:Audra Hildebrand from Winnipeg, Manitoba, and we're
Speaker:here to share about what community connections look like, what does
Speaker:it look like to actually care for our communities, and introduce
Speaker:what some of you already know about the care portal, which is a care
Speaker:sharing technology, and she's here to share her experience
Speaker:as a community responder here today. Welcome to the
Speaker:podcast, Audra. Thank you so much for having me. Yeah. And we're actually
Speaker:neighbors, so this is nice to just sit here on a nice, rainy
Speaker:day in the Shasta, sipping tea together, and just
Speaker:catching up. So I'm so glad that we get to share this with our audience.
Speaker:This is a beautiful morning for a conversation. It sure is.
Speaker:And you have a lot to converse about, and I'm particularly
Speaker:excited to share some of the things you have been doing in the
Speaker:community, and I think we'll bring inspiration to to those that
Speaker:are listening. So, Audra, you are active in Gateway
Speaker:Church, which is a church that has been participating,
Speaker:utilizing the care portal technology, which allows you
Speaker:to receive notifications when a need comes up in the
Speaker:community. You're a wife. You're a mother of 2
Speaker:daughters, grown daughters, and you're a teacher, musician. There's so
Speaker:many things about you, and you have one of the
Speaker:warmest hearts that one could find in in the community. You
Speaker:exude it. But can you tell us a little bit about
Speaker:your journey? Why do you care for others so much?
Speaker:I was thinking about that, last night, actually. Why do
Speaker:I care for others so much? And I realized it's because of
Speaker:some beautiful women of faith who have gone before
Speaker:me. So my great grandmother was one of
Speaker:the first settlers in the Rosenart area. In fact, my
Speaker:great grandfather cleared the land for the farmers. So they knew what
Speaker:it was like to be newcomers in a land and to start
Speaker:a new life. Her oldest daughter was my grandmother, and
Speaker:I remember my grandmother never went anywhere without something to
Speaker:give. Her hands were always ready to share. So,
Speaker:you know, home baked buns, pot of soup. She would quickly run
Speaker:and grab a bouquet of flowers from her garden, her huge garden.
Speaker:I remember she had a gift closet, a giving closet,
Speaker:and it was full of things that she could grab to give.
Speaker:And as a child seeing that, I I noticed
Speaker:it. I was also the recipient of some of those gifts. Mhmm. Her
Speaker:one of her daughters is my mother, and my mother was the same. She's
Speaker:a caregiver. And so in our home growing up, it was always
Speaker:important to keep other people in mind to share what we had
Speaker:because we are so blessed. So then it is our responsibility
Speaker:and our joy to bless others in turn. And it was a
Speaker:way of sharing and caring for the people around you because that
Speaker:makes life better. And so I realized I've really
Speaker:grown up with beautiful women of faith who have lived this
Speaker:way. And so I think it was just natural for me
Speaker:because I've been so modeled. Yeah. And I think
Speaker:investing in people is the best and the most meaningful
Speaker:investment you could make. Talk about a return of investments in ROI.
Speaker:Yep. Investing in people. And just like they invested
Speaker:in you and and were a role model, interestingly enough,
Speaker:my grandma had a closet like that. My mom had that. And guess
Speaker:what? I have a box. I call it the magic box that has
Speaker:gifts ready to go. So I it still
Speaker:resonates with with me as well. Okay. So you know what my husband and I
Speaker:do. We don't have a closet or a box, but we have an account. Okay.
Speaker:We have a designated bank account. It's called giving. And it's not part of our
Speaker:regular life budget Mhmm. Monthly budget. But when we have
Speaker:extra money, we'll just throw it in there. And so when needs come up,
Speaker:when, you know, someone's going through a hard time, we've got money to
Speaker:give. And that account is what we've used for CarePortum.
Speaker:Oh, that is so cool. I didn't realize that. But there was some intentionality
Speaker:to it. So it wasn't enough to say, I care for others. You
Speaker:actually not only set a closet, you put a bank account. You said, you know
Speaker:what? This is for those times where needs come up. Yep. Not if you
Speaker:have change in your your pocket at the moment. No. We plan for it. And
Speaker:it it's the windfall money, you know, the stuff that you didn't really have designated
Speaker:anyway. So throw it in there to bless others because we are so blessed.
Speaker:Yeah. But some could argue, say, well, I could've bought that shirt or
Speaker:those jeans or got that extra cup of coffee. Could have.
Speaker:It could have, but you've chosen to to give that and put that
Speaker:aside. That is so cool. Yeah. In James 2:8,
Speaker:it says, if you really keep the royal law found in scripture, it's
Speaker:like the 2 2 part law, love God and love your neighbor. James
Speaker:2:8 says, if you really keep the royal law found in
Speaker:scripture, love your neighbor as yourself, You are doing
Speaker:right. And there's something about doing what is right, not
Speaker:because law obliges that you better give. You're a
Speaker:Christian, so then I have to give. God loves a cheerful giver.
Speaker:Right? And and I see cheer cheerfulness when you talk about
Speaker:giving, and I've seen it in action. It feels good to do
Speaker:what is right, what we are created to be, who we are
Speaker:created to be, and how God has wired us for community.
Speaker:And so when you tap into that, my goodness, that is so
Speaker:beautiful. So I love that you put intentionality to caring. But
Speaker:one of the things that I love also is that your church gateway
Speaker:community is intentional about caring too. Because
Speaker:I know all churches within their mission statements and
Speaker:values want to care. It's part of who we are. It's
Speaker:part of loving God with our whole self and loving our neighbor as
Speaker:ourselves. So simple, and yet sometimes so hard to actually
Speaker:implement in a busy life with so many programs, so many
Speaker:demands, and constraints. Yet,
Speaker:how do we actually do that? But gateway has been an example of putting some
Speaker:intentionality, and one of those ways is partnering with CareImpact, and you've been
Speaker:utilizing the care portal technology, and it really takes the
Speaker:guesswork out of compassion. You don't have to be guessing. Should I do a hotdog
Speaker:stand, or how do we reach our our neighbors? Or if I give them a
Speaker:hamper, will they like a frozen turkey when they're vegetarian family? We don't
Speaker:know. Right? But can you tell me your experience and
Speaker:your church's experience in caring intentionally
Speaker:utilizing the care portal technology? So at our
Speaker:church, we we have a point person who kind of makes sure
Speaker:that a few times a year, the church hears
Speaker:about it, hears about these opportunities. We're invited to,
Speaker:sign up so that we get emails and notifications in our inboxes.
Speaker:And when I first heard about it, when Walter and I first heard about it,
Speaker:we're like, well, of course, we're going to do that. Sounds awesome.
Speaker:And so we have the different notifications that come in our inboxes,
Speaker:and we can respond to them. Sometimes we do. Sometimes
Speaker:we don't. But we have responded over the years in a few ways.
Speaker:Sometimes we've given money. Sometimes we have the item that
Speaker:is being requested, and so we give that item.
Speaker:And recently, we, actually
Speaker:delivered Mhmm. And items. We were there, like, the delivery people. Yeah.
Speaker:No. That's wonderful. And there's just so many needs within
Speaker:all our communities. So whichever city you are listening from, there
Speaker:are needs hidden in plain sight, I like to say, that we
Speaker:just don't have access to. We don't know when a
Speaker:youth is aging out of care. We don't know when a family is
Speaker:in the process of reunification or when a university
Speaker:student is having a baby and all alone here in this country.
Speaker:We just don't know where people are in isolation or where their
Speaker:needs are most. Part of it is privacy acts. We can't
Speaker:know. And that protects vulnerable people.
Speaker:And part of it is just our society in general where we become so
Speaker:individualistic, We aren't able to to
Speaker:communicate those needs in a in a proper way, and care
Speaker:portal technology is allowing that. So we have many
Speaker:organizations here in Winnipeg. We have other organizations.
Speaker:We don't do the frontline stuff, but they do. So we've got child
Speaker:welfare. We have pregnancy center. We have a youth drop in
Speaker:center, ministries. They know the needs because they're working
Speaker:with people day in and day out, and they're able to vet those needs of
Speaker:what would help them go forward. And they themselves,
Speaker:their clients can identify what are the needs that would help them
Speaker:move forward, and they're able to put it into the portal. And your
Speaker:church is one of the recipients. And so along with a a
Speaker:network of churches, that's what we call care sharing. It's all
Speaker:collective impact for those of you in in, community development,
Speaker:some really good best practices now being able to be
Speaker:shared through technology. And so we're excited that
Speaker:you have been able to be part of that. It's new to Canada,
Speaker:and you've been rocking it. I would love to talk
Speaker:about one particular situation that you
Speaker:responded to. You were the connector. You said, yes. I can
Speaker:help. And this is what the the need
Speaker:read from the caseworker, that you would have
Speaker:received in your inbox along with hundreds of people
Speaker:across the city and from different churches. It said like
Speaker:this. The caseworker wrote, my client is a lovely young
Speaker:woman, international student, who came to Winnipeg almost a year
Speaker:ago to further her education. She's expecting a baby now
Speaker:in less than 2 weeks, but does not have the necessary baby
Speaker:items. Being a student, she doesn't have much, and she finds it hard
Speaker:to ask for help. She's been going through this pregnancy
Speaker:alone and will be a single parent. The priority item
Speaker:needed for baby is a car seat and a stroller combo. She
Speaker:is feeling the urgency of this need since having a car seat is a
Speaker:requirement before being allowed to leave the hospital with
Speaker:baby. Any help and support provided would be greatly
Speaker:appreciated, the caseworker from a local,
Speaker:crisis center here in Winnipeg. Tell me what went through
Speaker:your mind when you read that and when you were invited into that story.
Speaker:Oh, well, I think the way it came across my life
Speaker:was our point person at our church had
Speaker:been working on this, actioning this need, and
Speaker:had realized that the student actually lived, like,
Speaker:2 blocks from my house. And so
Speaker:she actually reached out to me and said, hey, Audra. By the way,
Speaker:would you be open to getting involved? This person actually lives really close to
Speaker:you, because actually is your neighbor. And at that point, that was all I needed
Speaker:to hear. I didn't even need to hear her whole story or what was all
Speaker:happening. It's like, if I can meet and help someone who lives right
Speaker:here, like, absolutely, I'd be honored. It'd be
Speaker:awesome. And on top of that, you know, for years,
Speaker:we we have hosted international students in our home. And so
Speaker:I have a big heart for newcomers to
Speaker:Canada, especially students. I know how hard they work. I know
Speaker:how much sacrifice goes into
Speaker:them making this dream of theirs come true. And I can't imagine
Speaker:showing up and then finding yourself pregnant and
Speaker:not knowing how things all work here. And, oh my goodness, I need a
Speaker:car seat, really? And what do I do? So yeah.
Speaker:Absolutely. It was, it was a no brainer. I just got excited that
Speaker:I could do something about it and hear about it. Like So I don't
Speaker:imagine it's been a few years since baby days for you and
Speaker:Walter. I don't imagine you had that stroller and car seat sitting
Speaker:in your garage. No. How did that work out to be able
Speaker:to make a connection, bring that over without having
Speaker:that on hand? Yeah. So I think this is the
Speaker:amazing the amazing power of a
Speaker:platform like care portal. So you can have this,
Speaker:you know, this caseworker that knows this person, knows the need,
Speaker:posts it, that gets shared to so many
Speaker:different inboxes. And then there was a person who said,
Speaker:oh, here's some money I wanna give toward that. And then there was a
Speaker:person who said, oh, like, I can buy that. Oh, I found I found a
Speaker:great stroller car seat combo on
Speaker:Facebook Marketplace, and I can buy it with that money. And so someone bought
Speaker:it. And then someone said, oh, could we bring it to your house? And
Speaker:then that person, like, yeah. Sure. I'll get it to I'll get it to church
Speaker:on Sunday. But all along the way, like, extra things got added. You know? It
Speaker:wasn't just a car seat and a stroller. There was, like, a pack
Speaker:of diapers. There was wipes. There was, like a little toy.
Speaker:Then there and then, at at some point, information came
Speaker:that, you know, the student doesn't live alone. And so there was a little gift
Speaker:for the roommate, and there was you know?
Speaker:And and in the end, it was like this whole care package.
Speaker:And so Walter and I showed up at church. You know, it all
Speaker:got loaded in our car trunk. Everything had been gathered. We had a whole
Speaker:trunk full of stuff, actually. And then all
Speaker:all that I had to do was literally take that
Speaker:trunk load of stuff, text the number I'd
Speaker:been given. So we we were given a number for that student, and that
Speaker:had all been set up. So I just had to text her and say, hey.
Speaker:You know, what afternoon works for you? What time works for you this
Speaker:afternoon? And we pulled up, and that
Speaker:that's The rest is history. Yeah. So that is exciting because it was
Speaker:a coordinated effort. The technology helped coordinate that compassion
Speaker:Yes. With some intentionality. Right? And, boy, this didn't just
Speaker:become, let's do a stroller drive. This became for
Speaker:a person. Confidentiality all upheld. Yes.
Speaker:This platform does keep confidentiality, but it suddenly
Speaker:became real because it's a real person having a baby in 2 weeks.
Speaker:My goodness. So there's a bit of urgency. And so there's a lot of grandmas
Speaker:and other moms and and Walter who Yeah. Tell me about
Speaker:Walter. Is he the the type that goes on stroller
Speaker:deliveries and collecting diapers?
Speaker:So Walter would be the person who would say
Speaker:that he's not very compassionate. I think he's far more than he gives
Speaker:himself credit for. But, you know, that he would be he's he'd be the person
Speaker:who would just walk by oblivious. Mhmm. Like, just not wired that
Speaker:way. And so he was happy to drive. I was happy for
Speaker:the extra moral support and the muscles to carry the things. Yep.
Speaker:And so for him, oh, yeah. I could drive over there. Like, no. That was
Speaker:no big deal. At one point, I think I even said, oh, I'll just go.
Speaker:I'll be okay. And then he's like, well, no. I'm driving. So
Speaker:because I thought that there's a part of him that actually really kinda did wanna
Speaker:be a part of this story by then. Well, I saw a glimpse of
Speaker:Walter because I happen to have one of the strollers. Somebody from one of the
Speaker:churches dropped it off here. We're close by. And so Walter came
Speaker:by and picked it up. Nice. And the glow on his face is undeniable.
Speaker:He was in it. He's like I'm getting a stroller for these
Speaker:students. We're and and not in just a we're heroes cape
Speaker:kinda way at all, but in this enthusiasm that we get to be
Speaker:part of a story unfolding Yeah. Of this beautiful
Speaker:opportunity to connect with a neighbor, to bring these things
Speaker:of the love that was just poured into this care
Speaker:package, which is like a truckload full Yeah.
Speaker:For this mom. Okay. So now take me to the door. When
Speaker:you came to the door, what were some of the the Rana's feelings,
Speaker:maybe mixed feelings that you were right before you knocked on
Speaker:that door? Yeah. Well, the reality of it is it's, you know,
Speaker:it's one thing to get excited about. Oh, yeah. I wanna go drop this
Speaker:off. It's, hey, it's so easy. I mean, I just have to transport the
Speaker:stuff that's already been collected. So my peace was an easy
Speaker:peace, and yet there's that part there that now there's
Speaker:awkwardness because we don't really know each other at all. Like, I
Speaker:don't have any relationship with this complete stranger. She doesn't know me at
Speaker:all. There's a little bit of uncertainty, like, you
Speaker:know, what kind of situation am I walking into? What kind
Speaker:of person is this? I mean, obviously, she's not gonna be sad about
Speaker:a truckload of gifts. So, you know, this I'm not worried about
Speaker:that. But, you know, I don't know what her reaction is gonna be.
Speaker:Is she gonna be friendly? Does she is she gonna wanna talk? Is she gonna
Speaker:like, I don't know. So there's a lot of unknowns. And I think that's good.
Speaker:I'm thank you for for sharing that because I think there's a lot of
Speaker:people, myself included, it's normal to
Speaker:have those feelings of trepidation. It's it's breaking into,
Speaker:something new, meeting somebody new, whether you're extrovert or
Speaker:introvert. Yep. There's this breaking down barriers.
Speaker:You have to step over that or break through it. Yes. You
Speaker:do. And there's lots of times in life you need to do that, by the
Speaker:way. And it's one of the things that I'm always telling my students.
Speaker:You know, those take that risk. Mhmm. You're not gonna
Speaker:grow if you don't take a risk. Mhmm. Get past the 10 seconds of
Speaker:awkwardness because that's all it's gonna be. Yeah. Don't
Speaker:let that the the awkwardness of 10 seconds stop
Speaker:you Mhmm. From having that important conversation or stop you
Speaker:from doing the right thing. Yeah. And it's that James 28 again. Love your
Speaker:neighbor as yourself. You are doing right. It is the right thing,
Speaker:and not all right things are the easy things. In fact, it's sometimes the
Speaker:things that challenge us, and we have to get over ourselves. Get
Speaker:over yourself and just go do it. Yeah. And the and there's just so
Speaker:much blessing and joy in it, you know, and that's that's where this life
Speaker:flows. It's life giving. And so there we were. So we're at the
Speaker:door. She knew we were coming because I had texted and so she met us
Speaker:at at the door of her apartment building and she was
Speaker:thrilled. First of all, she was relieved because she didn't know when the baby was
Speaker:gonna come and she didn't have the stuff. Mhmm. So she needed to know she
Speaker:was gonna be okay. So we brought it all up to her apartment for
Speaker:her. And, you know, as we're going, we're just chit chatting. We're getting to know
Speaker:each other a little bit, and she's quite quite forthcoming. I mean, she knows we
Speaker:know a bit of her story. And so she was sharing her anxiety and how
Speaker:happy she was that, that this was here. And then once we
Speaker:got to her apartment, I'm showing her all the extra stuff. And she was just
Speaker:thrilled because she didn't expect it. Right? So there's
Speaker:extra things. And then I think it must have
Speaker:been, you know, once we were in her space and
Speaker:once we she saw all the extra love and she saw, you know,
Speaker:Walter and our warm, friendly faces,
Speaker:it's like it did break the barriers. And she started to
Speaker:talk, and it was like she had held this in for so long
Speaker:and here was finally a kind person who's willing to
Speaker:listen. Yeah. And you weren't forcing that upon her. Oh,
Speaker:no. But connection changes everything. It's not about a delivery
Speaker:system. It's about making that connection with tangible
Speaker:ways of how do we support you. But you you connected with her.
Speaker:And it was also her her choice. It was her initiative. She was
Speaker:the one that started sharing. But she started sharing, and I was
Speaker:just happy to listen. You know, before long, there was
Speaker:tears and there was Kleenex, and then she was leaning in, and then there was
Speaker:a hug, and then she was calling me mama. And,
Speaker:you know, she just was so desperate for
Speaker:a kind word at a tough time. Yeah. And, you know,
Speaker:I would never have in a 1000000 years known, you know, that was going on
Speaker:in that apartment 2 blocks over from my house. How would we? We don't. Because
Speaker:you could see her apartment block from your kitchen window. From my
Speaker:kitchen window, I can see her apartment block. Wow. Yeah. Well
Speaker:and and it it's transformative, those times with when
Speaker:God steps in. Totally. Emmanuel, God with us, and right
Speaker:now with the holy spirit, you are bringing the the presence
Speaker:of of peace and hope in situations
Speaker:where it she was feeling stressful. But it also did something for you
Speaker:too. What did God do in your heart in those moments when
Speaker:you were, yes. You were caring for others and that was the
Speaker:right thing, but how did God meet you in that
Speaker:moment through her? I just felt
Speaker:giddy with excitement. Like, this is so cool.
Speaker:My god. Like, it took, what, half an hour of my
Speaker:day, maybe? And I got to meet a neighbor and I got to make
Speaker:a difference. And there's, you know, there's life and they're satisfy.
Speaker:It's so satisfying. And, yeah, it's just so so
Speaker:thrilled. And, you know, when she started sharing and she's leaning in and and
Speaker:we're hugging, I like what you just said. You know, I hadn't thought about it
Speaker:that way, but I do think the holy spirit was there bringing healing and
Speaker:hope in that moment. Mhmm. Know, we didn't say it that way. We didn't
Speaker:communicate it that way. But at one point, I I looked at her and said,
Speaker:you know, I'm I'm from the church, and
Speaker:God sees you. Mhmm. And I want you to know that God sees
Speaker:you, and God loves you, and that's what these gifts are. Like, that that's as
Speaker:much as I said. Yeah. But in that moment, it it's
Speaker:true. And so it it felt like a holy moment. You know?
Speaker:God was there. Yeah. I have no doubt it brought well, I
Speaker:know. It brought hope and healing to her. She she had shared about how she,
Speaker:as an international student, she hadn't been well treated at
Speaker:the university by everyone she had met. And she really felt
Speaker:the new minority Yeah. You know, being alone.
Speaker:And so she didn't even know who she could trust in a new country
Speaker:because it hadn't always gone well for her. So here was
Speaker:a beautiful time when it did go well. She did ask for help, and it
Speaker:did go well. And, god, Katie met her there. He whether whether
Speaker:she, you know, recognizes as such or not, it was a
Speaker:beautiful moment. I actually was able to say I I texted
Speaker:her a couple of days later. Just said, you know, so how are you doing?
Speaker:You know, I really wanna know when the baby comes. Like, please let me know
Speaker:when you have the baby because I wanna celebrate with you. Mhmm. And
Speaker:so a number of weeks later, she did have the baby and I did get
Speaker:a text and got a little photo of the little guy. And
Speaker:she actually invited me to come see her, you know,
Speaker:another month after that. She invited me to come and visit
Speaker:baby because I, of course, said I would love to see. So I was able
Speaker:to go again. And this time, I brought my own care package.
Speaker:I brought some diapers, and I brought some food that I had cooked for supper.
Speaker:Yeah. Got some extra snacks for the Yeah. Roommate and the kids,
Speaker:you know. And I was able to go by and cuddle the little one
Speaker:and Yeah. Give her, you know, a little more hope. That was
Speaker:really neat. And I love how the story
Speaker:unfolded. There's a huge piece of dignity that can't be
Speaker:underscored enough in how the agency
Speaker:entered the need in a dignifying way. Here's an intelligent,
Speaker:bright young woman, a courageous young woman,
Speaker:and you were able to honor her in those places
Speaker:of hardship because we all go through hardship. Right? It looks different for different
Speaker:people. But here, we are able to be neighbor helping neighbor
Speaker:as equals together, journeying together, and
Speaker:it's no longer the project
Speaker:to being neighbors, journeying life together
Speaker:as equals. And when you give, it's
Speaker:the right thing to do. That seems to be underscored here in in our
Speaker:conversation, like it talks about in James. Right. It also
Speaker:does good for the church. And the impact that
Speaker:we have been seeing on churches, yes, we wanna help in
Speaker:actual needs as they're identified in intentional,
Speaker:informed ways. But what I see happen within the church
Speaker:body, those that dare to knock on the door Yeah. Those that
Speaker:dare say, hey. I love shopping or I can drive this. Those who
Speaker:get involved, there's something that happens that's
Speaker:edifying Yeah. Because it is the right thing to do. What
Speaker:are some of those things that you maybe have seen just collectively
Speaker:within your church as you've seen people respond
Speaker:to the community? At a very basic level,
Speaker:it allows us to not be so selfish and
Speaker:internal and inward looking. It's very easy
Speaker:to look after your family and your friends. It's very easy in a church
Speaker:to look after the church, be there for each other.
Speaker:But to be others focused as far
Speaker:as outward focused, we know that God has called us
Speaker:to do that, but that's not easy. So, as a
Speaker:citizen living in the city I live in, you know, I read the
Speaker:papers. I hear about the crime rates. I hear about the
Speaker:statistics. I I know about what happened down the street and
Speaker:how police presence were there. And I, you know, I I can
Speaker:I live here? I see what's happening, and I wanna make a difference. I want
Speaker:my community to be a better place, but how do I do that? And And
Speaker:I don't think you have to be a Christian to have that. You know? We
Speaker:live where we live, and we wanna live in a safe place. We wanna live
Speaker:in a community that cares. And so that's
Speaker:the big picture. How do we do that? Well, we do that through
Speaker:connection. We do that by engaging. We do that by getting involved.
Speaker:So from a church perspective, getting
Speaker:involved, pushing yourself to, you know, to go to those
Speaker:places helps us to be more others oriented.
Speaker:It it helps us to take us away from our self inward
Speaker:self. Well, I'm just gonna keep myself in my house and be safe in my
Speaker:house, you know, and keep everyone away. And it allows us to
Speaker:engage and actually build that. It's like a peacemaking kind
Speaker:of thing, but it it comes in little pieces
Speaker:and many little pieces. One of the pieces is, you know, care
Speaker:portal. And one of the pieces was was my dropping off of
Speaker:stroller for a new mom. But bigger picture,
Speaker:bigger church picture, bigger community picture, it's
Speaker:engaging in your community in a positive ways. Mhmm.
Speaker:Because everyone can do something. But I think down right
Speaker:down to it, we all want to do something. We all want Yeah. Our streets
Speaker:to be a happy place and not to be worried. Yeah. That we
Speaker:want it to be safe and happy. And that's the power of collective
Speaker:impact. And so these organizations that we work
Speaker:with, that we partner with, they're doing a great job
Speaker:and a hard job and an imperfect job, but they're they're in
Speaker:the places where the church also needs to be. And the church
Speaker:wants to be, but we just often don't know how.
Speaker:But the power of collective impact is that everybody can do something.
Speaker:And in our giftings, in the things that inspire us, it's
Speaker:a two way street. Everybody wins when the community
Speaker:gets better. And I think that's beautiful because you've
Speaker:identified it rescues us from ourselves when we get over it.
Speaker:I noticed that actually through the pandemic. Those that were responding to
Speaker:needs, and this is pandemic proof. Yes. We've seen it. Because now
Speaker:social workers who were isolated in their homes but in contact with their
Speaker:clients, but not physically there, could advocate those
Speaker:needs. They knew where they were living and where the needs were,
Speaker:and we could safely have churches respond to
Speaker:those needs and say, we see you. We hear you. You're not alone.
Speaker:And those that responded, night and day
Speaker:difference, they were rescued from themselves. Suddenly, the whole
Speaker:mask or no mask, the vaxxer no vaxx became Yep.
Speaker:Secondary. They coulda had an opinion. That's okay. But
Speaker:it never surfaced. We never dealt with it because people
Speaker:got over themselves and said, but there's a mom who is
Speaker:in isolation, and we need to be there.
Speaker:There's a youth aging out. There's a family at the verge of breakdown,
Speaker:and we know how to support this family to say you're
Speaker:not alone. And I think that is just an encouragement to people
Speaker:whether you have care portal in your city or not. The encouragement
Speaker:is this, reach out, work together. Nobody's got it
Speaker:all together. We need to work together. Well, in all of
Speaker:those little steps, when we're all doing that, it makes a
Speaker:collective difference. Right? And it can feel kind of useless by yourself.
Speaker:Oh, what good does that little thing that I do do? But when
Speaker:you can work together and when I think the,
Speaker:you know, the beauty of CarePortal in particular
Speaker:is that it just it just allows those collective steps to come together.
Speaker:Right? It just organizes it and collected in a in a very intentional way
Speaker:Yeah. That we can't do on our own. So that's absolutely beautiful.
Speaker:But, yeah, in a small step, it's a it's what
Speaker:connects the big picture to the actual reality.
Speaker:And I'm always looking for that, you know, that teacher brain of
Speaker:mine, that faith brain of mine wants to take the big idea
Speaker:and wrestle it into reality. And this is just one
Speaker:beautiful way that that can happen. When you
Speaker:do something like this, you can be touching poverty issues. You
Speaker:can be you can be dealing with reconciliation. Mhmm. You
Speaker:could be dealing with, you know, reducing crime. Really?
Speaker:Yeah. You can make a difference in these ways. Yeah.
Speaker:So little steps that make a big difference. Well, you and
Speaker:I this morning, we've been sipping tea. And in the
Speaker:marketplace, they have systems set up
Speaker:that we didn't just wake up and say, how are we gonna get these tea
Speaker:leaves over from China? Right? There's been systems and
Speaker:intentionality put in so that we could actually trace it down to the
Speaker:farmer if we if we really wanted to, but there were systems in
Speaker:place for collective impact so that I could reach into my shelf this
Speaker:morning. In a groggy, rainy morning, I could reach in and just put
Speaker:it into the hot water and sip away. Right. But yet
Speaker:we don't know often where the actual need
Speaker:is in within our we haven't created a how to
Speaker:power to do so in so many ways. We just don't even know
Speaker:the needs across the street. And what I love about
Speaker:partnering with care portal is that now we have a way
Speaker:to really bring the hearts and and and the the practicality
Speaker:to the people, to every person, whether it's a business that wants to
Speaker:contribute mattresses or Yep. It's a a it's another
Speaker:person in the community who is not even part of the church but loves their
Speaker:community, they can give a stroller. Totally. And and where
Speaker:churches can actually put in their mission their mission
Speaker:statement into action. That's what it's all about. If we can do it
Speaker:with tea leaves, couldn't we do it with loving our neighbor?
Speaker:And it's worth it. So, you know, get off
Speaker:your couch, you know, buy one less cup of coffee a week, so
Speaker:you have money to put in a giving account, you know, whatever it takes. It's
Speaker:little steps, but it makes a big impact. Right. So I would
Speaker:just say, you know, from from my experience, from my
Speaker:wonderful women of faith who have modeled this for me in my
Speaker:life to my experiences, particularly with cure
Speaker:portal, it's worth it. Mhmm. You know, it's worth it to
Speaker:get engaged, get involved, get off the couch. Yeah.
Speaker:Give a little bit of money, give a little bit of time. It's a little
Speaker:bit from how richly blessed we are
Speaker:to reach out. And then it plus the life it gives
Speaker:back, the spiritual impact that you
Speaker:get Mhmm. Is something that it's hard
Speaker:to quantify, but investing out of love,
Speaker:investing in people out of love is always going to
Speaker:bring deep and meaningful blessing for
Speaker:everyone involved. Yeah. So if you give, you bless
Speaker:yourself. Everyone's blessed
Speaker:when we give. Right? Well, in in the verse that comes
Speaker:to mind and and when there was a bunch of religious people around Jesus and
Speaker:they were shooing away the children, And Jesus said, let the
Speaker:children come to me and do not hinder. When you
Speaker:welcome a child, and and you can fill in the blank for the
Speaker:vulnerable, for the the one most in need, the ones that are
Speaker:often in the margins, When you
Speaker:welcome them in my name, you welcome me.
Speaker:And don't we want more of Jesus? It's not to be out
Speaker:of selfish ambition that we wanna, like, help so that we get more of Jesus.
Speaker:But as we give, it's the right thing to do, and we
Speaker:experience our faith in a real and new
Speaker:and powerful way. And I'd like to close off with
Speaker:first John 318, and I'm gonna personalize it for us
Speaker:as journey with care family here.
Speaker:It says this, dear children or dear listeners,
Speaker:dear sojourners, let us not love with words or
Speaker:speech, but with action and in truth.
Speaker:Audra, thank you so much for coming on the podcast,
Speaker:sharing your heart, and caring for the community. What
Speaker:an inspiration. Are there any last words you'd like to leave our our
Speaker:listeners? I would just like to
Speaker:encourage maybe and inspire people by saying that
Speaker:sharing and caring makes a
Speaker:difference much bigger than we can quantify.
Speaker:So just do it. Just go do it. You won't be
Speaker:sorry. Thank you for
Speaker:joining another conversation on Journey with Care, where we
Speaker:inspire curious Canadians on their path of faith and living
Speaker:life with purpose in community. Journey with Care is an initiative
Speaker:of CareImpact, a Canadian charity dedicated to connecting and
Speaker:equipping the whole church to journey well in community. You can
Speaker:visit their website at careimpact dot ca or visit journey with care
Speaker:dot ca to get more information on weekly episodes, Journey with
Speaker:Prayer, and details about our upcoming events and meetups. You
Speaker:can also leave us a message, share your thoughts, and connect with like minded individuals
Speaker:who are on their own journeys of faith and purpose. Thank you individuals who are
Speaker:on their own journeys of faith and purpose. Thank you for sharing this podcast and
Speaker:helping these stories reach the community. Together, we can explore ways to journey in a
Speaker:good way, and always remember to stay curious.
