Picture inspires Bible study to launch generous spontaneous outreach

Mary Haskett
Special to Spur Ottawa

Emily stared at the picture of a man bundled up in an assortment of clothes. He sat on the sidewalk, resting his back against a tall building. A dog lay at his side. The picture depicted a cold blustery day.

Emily, who asked that her name be changed to avoid drawing attention to herself, says looking at the picture, “I felt I could make a difference in street people’s lives.”

Compelled by this thought, she spoke to her friends from a ladies’ Bible study group at Chapel Ridge Free Methodist Church. She suggested they buy items and donate them to Ottawa Inner City Ministries, in time for the Christmas season.

“Everyone got on board immediately and it was actually fun deciding what we could get,” Emily says. “We collected everything from toothbrushes to brand new sleeping bags that were good for extremely cold weather. There were heavy socks, long underwear, boots, sweaters, scarves, hats, mitts, and gloves.”

A bag of dog Kibble completed the donations, since many street people own dogs.

All the ladies involved preferred to give only their first name. One participant, Barb, says, “I responded because I just felt so strongly that it was the right thing to do.”

Bev, another lady in the group, says, “I was excited to drive to a couple different Canadian Tire stores to buy up the warmest sleeping bags I could find. A promising guy I dated in high school—who directed me towards the Lord before I became a Christian—ended up on the streets of Ottawa. So, I have a soft spot for street people!”

Another of the women, Tracy, says “I was impressed at [everyone’s] generosity and amazed seeing an idea become reality in such a short period of time.”

Together, Emily and Tracy sorted and packaged the gifts, adding encouraging notes before taking them to the Mission.