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1 September / October 2017 Ministry Report January - August Volunteer Hours: 1,421 Rides Given: 227 Miles Driven: 756 Number of calls: 2,296 Churches Involved: 42 Families Served: 415 Requests: 744 Volunteering Changes Lives Hundreds of volunteers donate thousands of hours each year making the ministry of Love INC happen. We invite you to become a Love INC volunteer. You may choose to answer the phones; provide a ride; deliver food, furniture, or firewood; or help teach life skills. Please share your passion. We have a place to partner with you in our mission. Tell us what you d like to do! Complete a Talent Tithe by Texting the Keyword LOVEINC to 51555! Loving Families is moving along more quickly than expected, as God is opening doors and hearts in this community. We have 4 host congregations, a vehicle, and plans for the day center all in the works. But first a note of thanks to Rasmussen Foundation, Tote Maritime, and Good Cents for their generous donations to getting us where we are today. We are still looking for host churches who provide a place for the families to stay overnight. First the churches; we have currently have 4 congregations signed up to welcome families with the compassion of Christ. 13 others are interested in hosting but are hesitant, wondering if they have the volunteers. Others are willing to serve, but don t necessarily have the space. Love INC is working to make these connections, allowing churches to come together in ministry to serve the needs. These volunteer opportunities include: providing and serving a hot evening meal for up to 15 people and socializing; spending the night with guests; and setting out breakfast. These overnight volunteers are not required to stay awake, but provide an extra safety and security presence for the families. To provide for expected transportation needs, Love INC purchased a Shuttle Bus for these families and are looking for volunteers who are interested in bringing people to and from work, daycare, and school. We are still short and need your help. Our Day Center Plans include purchasing and moving a building to the tune of $15,000. We are also needing to purchase 20 rollaway beds costing $3,750. I ask you to pray for these funds that we can serve the needs of these homeless families. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. Jeremiah 29:11 Join our staff, board, and volunteers, as we pray for the necessary funding for Love INC and the churches to provide for the needs of homeless families. Text LOVEINC to to Donate

2 Carry Each Others Burdens. Each month a group of volunteers delivers food boxes to those who lack the transportation and mobility to pickup the food at the food bank. One woman who was receiving food was overjoyed and insisted on showing her bare cupboard to the volunteer and told them this food was an answer to her prayers. As the volunteer returned to her car the woman began to cry and told her she was a member of a local church and was very active when she was able to get around. This happened to be same church the volunteer attends. The volunteer shared with us that she had no idea the person she sits in church with was almost starving. I share this because Missions and Ministry doesn t have to happen on a trip overseas or to another town. Did you know that all summer, many of our churches have hosted Missions Teams from the lower 48 serving the needs of our community? My question is Why? There are hearts to care, hands to work, and people to take care of right here in our community, but we don t see them. We don t see them because we choose to look the other way, we Galatians 6:2-10 don t see them because those in need don t speak up. This is a gentle reminder for all of us to look around and identify the needs of the community and the needs of our neighbors. Imagine what we could accomplish if we put down Facebook, cell phones, and Candy Crush Saga, in order to get out and serve our neighbors in need. Paul tells us in Galatians to do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers (6:10). People who gather together to praise God for the abundance and good in their lives also have the privilege of assisting one another so that no one in the Body of Christ goes without help. I ask you to answer another simple question: What can I do? or What can my Church do. I am constantly reminded in the day-to-day happenings at Love INC, that God is so much bigger that I am, and I m a big guy. My prayer for Fairbanks is for God to help us notice and to take action Amen. Let your light shine. Many Ways To Serve! Change A Life Today. Clearinghouse Volunteers answer phones and are the voice of Christ to the general public and to those in need. Their kind words help alleviate a desperate situation. God uses the Clearinghouse to graciously bring resources together to connect verified people s needs to the support they need. Financial Counseling Volunteers encourage people to learn basic skills in budgeting, banking, and advocating for themselves. Food Box Delivery Volunteers donate a few hours each month to transport food to our verified neighbors in need receiving monthly food support through a great partnership with the Fairbanks Food Bank. Transportation Services Faithful volunteers provide rides to church, doctor s appointments, grocery stores, work, school or other necessary destinations. Service Team Leader Coordinate volunteers from multiple churches to meet a specific need. The Clearinghouse refers the need to the Team Leader who then matches it to a volunteer to fill the need. Currently we need Team Leaders for furniture delivery and moving. Loving Family Volunteer Provide food, transportation, or stay overnight at a Loving Families Host Congregation.

3 Metanoia Noun - A profound spiritual transformation A little bit of generosity goes a long way in a person s life. Brady came to us, as many neighbors in need do, needing to start over. He was a retired businessman from a financially successful life. Brady made some mistakes and lost his family and finances. As he puts it he needed to be humbled. Brady lived at the Rescue Mission where he could sort out his situation, his head and heart. He decided to find a home church, as worship was something that he lacked in his life. With the help of our volunteers in the Clearinghouse, Brady was able to get affordable housing through his church while he waited for stable long-term housing. Brady has now gotten his own apartment and with the help of our GAP Ministries he was able to get kitchen supplies, furniture, bedding, and made new friends from these churches. A few months later Brady came in, almost in tears to hand us an envelope. Inside the envelope was a small check. It reminded me of the widow s offering from Mark 12. He wanted us to be able to help someone the same way we were able to help him, when he needed it most. Brady like so many we serve needed time to reset his life. With the help of Love INC and the churches we partner with, Brady was able to overcome his obstacles and become successful. Caseworkers and receptionists in the Clearinghouse have the honor and challenge of working with the Bradys of Fairbanks. These volunteers have patience, compassion, and are willing to give one morning to serve others. If that sounds like you, Love INC can teach you the rest. Our current needs in the Clearinghouse is for morning Reception and Caseworkers. We are looking for 5 individuals so people in need receive a timely help in our busy winter season. If you are interested in training or learning more please call me! God Bless, What Does Success Look Like? Everyone has problems. We just can t seem to escape them. Yes, they all look different as we all come from different backgrounds with varied experiences. As we struggle with dealing with these problems we endeavor to find a successful way through them. Jillian joined the New Life program seeking direction in her life. She asked for help in identifying goals and accountability in reaching them. As I got to know Jillian, she confided that she had only been sober for about a week before joining the program. As we progressed through identifying and setting goals, she took some time off to go fishing. When she returned, she shared the good news that she did not drink while she was gone, even though she was surrounded by others who did. Why didn t you drink? I asked. I didn t drink because it does not help me achieve what we are working on. She replied. I call that success! Even though we had not finished any stated goals, a change in thinking and behavior was already taking place. Praise God! Amanda, another neighbor in need, expressed a need for money management skills. We referred her to a local church that was hosting a Managing Our Money God s Way small group study. Tracking expenses and establishing spending plans were just some of the skills learned during this financial workshop. During the last class she started to cry. When asked why, she replied that this week s lesson really hit home. She then accepted Christ as her Savior. Praise God, again! In each example, success looked and felt different, yet the result was the same: a chain of events that is the process of transforming lives. Things are looking up! Stay up to date Follow on Facebook To make a donation go to loveincfairbanks.org/donate Or text LOVEINC to 41444

4 Love In the Name of Christ th Avenue Fairbanks, AK Clearinghouse Help Line: LOVE Admin Phone: NON-PROFIT ORG US Postage PAID Fairbanks, AK Permit No. 22 If you would like to make changes to your newsletter subscription, please call the office at or Text to Donate Platform Love INC has made making a donation even easier. Simply use your cell phone! Text the keyword LOVEINC to You will then be prompted to click on a link. This will take you to a mobile form and you are able to make a one time or reoccurring gift on your card. This is safe and secure. Sustaining monthly gift: One time gift: $10/mo $75/mo $75 $500 $20/mo $100/mo $100 $1000 $50/mo $ /mo ($10/mo Minimum) $365 Other Name Phone Address St Zip Check # EXP> - / Credit Card Name as it appears on card Verification Code 7 week small group study focused on understanding financial principals, creating a solid financial plan for life, saving and investing for the future without debt.

5 The board of directors is excited with the direction the churches are leading us, down a path of change, success, and collaboration. Our mission is to Mobilize the church to Transform lives In the Name of Christ. At Love INC we do this by supplying the tools for churches to come together in shared ministry. Loving Families is just one of the ways we are working toward bringing the churches together to tackle the large issues in our community. Through our Relational Ministry program, over 150 families have been offered help making changes in their lives, mainly in financial management, in order to get back on their feet and thrive again. We are so thrilled at the churches who have taken on this ministry and are now teaching these classes. Board of Directors Alisa Butcher President Jim Williams Vice President Kathy Gappert Secretary Chana Horbuckle Treasurer Members Rev. Scott Mensch Lois Kincaid Rochelle Renner Dawn McPhee David Hawkins James Bennett The Lord has opened many doors for the ministry this year, however Love INC is in need as well. Financially this year has been difficult for Love INC. We have seen our local support dwindle. The Love Cruise Fundraiser also reflected the same trend. We are currently seeing donations down roughly 50% over the past 2 years. We have adjusted spending and are being cautious. The new shuttle bus and all the Loving Families supplies have be purchased through designated grant funds. Throughout 2017 we have spent through much of our unrestricted cash on hand, currently $35,000 behind current expenses, and are operating with less than 1.5 months cash reserve. We often tell those who call for help that coming to the point of accepting help doesn t mean you re a failure, it means you re not alone. We are asking for your help today. We are confident that we will close out 2017 on the right track as donations will increase. But in order to do so we will need everyone's help. Just as our partner churches come together to do ministry and tackle the big issues of homelessness and financial management we are looking to you, our partner in ministry, to come together and each give a little extra to allow Love INC to continue on our mission to transform the community In the Name of Christ. Prayer Chain Help support Love INC with prayer. Sign up for our weekly E-News. It includes prayer concerns, Love Stories of current Clearinghouse Needs, volunteer opportunities, and upcoming news and events. The Mission of Love In the Name of Christ is to mobilize the church to transform lives and communities In the Name of Christ. Thank you for your support!

6 Volunteer Spotlight Connie Muller has been a volunteer here at Love INC of the Tanana Valley for nearly four years. Currently, she is a transportation driver; a position that requires dedication, reliability, and flexibility. Connie not only has designated days to which she provides transportation but also acts as a back-up driver. Connie is always ready to provide rides to those who would otherwise have no way to get to doctor appointments, dental check-ups, or other necessary appointments. With help from volunteer drivers, Love INC has provided more than 300 rides to our neighbors in need to various destinations in the Fairbanks community. Of those 300 rides, Connie has provided 35 this year alone and has volunteered more than 57 hours of her time. Love INC relies on the dedication and selflessness of people just like Connie to do our ministry. If you would like to learn more about volunteering give us a call. Connie has been a blessing and a great help to our community and we want to thank her with all of our heart. Have you ever wanted to serve a need but didn t know what was needed? Well we ve solved your problem! Love INC is bridging the gap by launching a new website at You are able to look at the current needs in the Clearinghouse and see if there is a need that fits your passion. Often times Love INC is asked to serve the needs of our neighbors who need a, RX Prescription Copays, bus pass, ID cards, gas voucher, or laundry card. These are all very inexpensive needs to meet but make a significant impact. The average cost is around $20. This new website is a way for you to serve a small financial need with a monetary donation specifically to that need. A New Way to Serve! We often have families call in and need airline miles, or odd-ball requests we don t have a volunteer base for. Through this new web platform you are able to choose a pre-screened need to serve. It s a simple and easy way to serve a local need. I encourage you to bookmark it in your web browser and check back often. We are updating the needs daily. Thank you for partnering with us in ministry. If there are ideas you have to better serve you as a volunteer please give us a call we would love to hear how we can better serve the community.