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Spring 2021 Newsletter

Introducing: Kirk Custer

We are very excited to introduce you to our new intern who will be working for us full-time starting in September! Kirk is currently one of only two Indigenous student on the entire campus at Millar College of the Bible so we are very blessed that he has agreed to work for us for 8 months (until April 2022). We are so thankful that we can be a part of discipling and helping develop a future Indigenous Christian leader in the Kingdom of God. We're also excited for all the help that Kirk will be for our church and all that we will be able to learn from him.
Hopefully by September we'll be back to our regular services including our regular potluck meal and will be able to resume our outreach on the reserves outside of Regina. Kirk will be involved in all aspects of the church ministry as an associate pastor and we'll be able to show him everything involved in leading a church. He is also planning to be involved in Aaron Cross' evangelism ministry (Good News Ambassadors).

We have already been talking with Canadian Midwest District of The Alliance Canada and we're expecting that as part of Kirk's internship he will also be discipled by some of the Indigenous Christian pastors within our district. We expect that Kirk will be gone during parts of his internship to help out and to connect with other Indigenous Christian churches.
It is so important for true Biblical reconciliation to occur with the Indigenous people that more and more Indigenous Christian leaders are raised up so we are excited to do all that we can to support Kirk's spiritual growth. The reality is that there are few Indigenous Christian leaders and our hope is that we can be a part of seeing that change.

Pandemic Update

We continue to have in person services every Sunday with a maximum of 30 people. We have been meeting every week since Thanksgiving weekend. The number of people coming for bagged lunches had decreased over time due to other programs that were available in the community but it appears that this is starting to shift and more people are coming for food again which gives us an opportunity to share with them spiritual food as well. Thankfully there have been no cases of COVID-19 related to any of the Sunday Services.

We recently helped a woman from our church move who is a guardian of a teenage boy who lost his mom tragically years ago and had no family to take care of him. She has been having issues with her landlord for a while now but as there were issues on both sides it wasn't a black

and white situation. As a result of their conflict the landlord refused to do any work on the home. One day, suddenly the ceiling in the kitchen collapsed as obviously serious water damage had occurred without any repairs. It took three weeks for the woman and the teenage boy to be able to get into another home and we were able to help with the move. It does not matter who was at fault. No one should have to live in such terrible conditions.

Sadly there are many in our city who face similar struggles on a regular basis. Another woman connected with our church had her home burn down during the pandemic. The fire fighters rescued her while she was asleep in the midst of the fire. She lost everything and started over in a new home with furniture provided by the landlord. While in the hospital getting care for her leg (she lost part of her leg due to diabetes a few years ago) a "friend" she left in charge of her home stole all of her belongings. Whoever robbed her had no concerns about stealing from a crippled woman in the hospital who had just lost everything months before in a house fire. We have helped her as we are able but she is still not yet interested in the only hope for her salvation. Jesus Christ is the only Savior to rescue such people from the chaos that surrounds them. The darkness is so great but we are there to present the light of the Gospel who are willing to see it.
John 1:5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

Sadly, 1 in 10 Canadians have been sexually victimized before they turn eighteen. We recently were told about an incident involving childhood sexual abuse with someone connected with our church. Legally, any person is required to report immediately any incident involving

child abuse to the police, social services, or a First Nations Child and Family Services Agency. If the child is now an adult it is their duty or choice to report the incident(s) but for any situation where the abused is still a child, you are legally required to report the information. Although we only had secondhand information, the First Nations Child and Family Services Agency investigated immediately and three children will now be able to get the help that they need and hopefully the abuser will be brought to justice. It is our hope that we can walk alongside the abused to help them get Christian counseling and that they can come to know the Healer- Jesus Christ and that the abuser too will yet be saved.

A female leader/elder in our church has been discipling an Indigenous woman who had been adopted into a Caucasian home. She was raised in a good Christian environment but struggled as she grew older to understand her true identity. She was able to reconnect with her

birth family who unfortunately were living very broken lives and were far from God. As she learnt more about her birth family she was beginning to try and understand her own identity. But as their influence was not healthy it only increased her confusion. She is now in the process of learning that her true identity is in Jesus Christ and over time hopefully she will be able to reveal this truth to her birth family.

Keep us in Mind for School Supplies Donations

We plan to give out school supplies this summer again here in Regina and hopefully on at least one of the reserves. Keep us in mind for donations again this summer.
Suggested donations: new shoes, backpacks, markers, pencils, erasers, pens, rulers, calculators, pencil crayons, glue, duo-tangs, note books, scissors, pencil boxes, pencil sharpeners, tissues, kids tracts, scripture bookmarks
e-transfers: schoolsupplies@goodnewschapel.ca

Needs to Pray For

- pray for the poor who are struggling spiritually during the pandemic and that those who have drifted away from God will once again seek Him
- pray for the lost among the poor that they will find their hope in Jesus Christ
- pray for wisdom as we begin to transition back to normal services once the health restrictions are lifted

Donate Online at: www.goodnewschapel.ca/donate
Mailing address:PO Box 4011 Stn Main, Regina, SK S4P 3R9
Cell: 306-580-0112
Address: 3131 Dewdney Avenue, Regina, SK