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It is hard to believe that the summer is drawing to a close and that my time in Saskatoon is almost over but God has richly blessed me as I have encountered Him in every aspect of the ministry He had planned for me even before I arrived here in the center of Saskatchewan.

One of the areas where God has been most at work, growing and equipping me during this time has been at The Salvation Army’s Saskatoon Community Centre which is located in one of rougher parts of the downtown core. When I first arrived at training college last September, the area of ministry that challenged me the most was working among the marginalized of our society, most specifically those living on the street and in our shelters either because they are struggling with addictions or simply because they have nowhere else to go. And so when I learned that a significant part of my eight weeks in Saskatoon was going to be spent in exactly this type of ministry I will admit that I was a bit anxious about it.

However, the Community Center has turned out to be one of the most rewarding aspects of my ministry this summer and I am very grateful for all that God has taught me here. My time at the center has included providing meal tickets to those coming in for one of the three meals that are served there each day as well as riding along on the breakfast truck which goes out into the surrounding community three mornings a week to reach those beyond the walls of the center. I have participated in Friday and Sunday night coffee houses and shared from God’s Word on two Sunday mornings at the adjacent Salvation Army corps, the New Hope Community Church where some of the centers residents attend regularly.

And in every one of the many services that the center provides, I have seen God at work as he uses His people to feed the hungry among us. At meal time, the center feeds the physical hunger of these people. During the coffee house ministry many find their hunger for friendship sustained as they sit and chat with the staff and volunteers who are there simply there to listen and to lend a helping hand. And on Sunday mornings through the church fellowship, the spiritual hunger of God’s children is fed as a message from His Word is shared and the gospel of Jesus Christ is declared.

Before this summer, I sometimes wondered if my presence in these types of situations really made any difference but last week when a table full of the regulars at Friday night coffee house quickly cleared a space at their table to make room for me, I realized that God has indeed been using me to give hope to these people each week as I have shared a bowl of soup and some conversation with them.

Above all else, I am grateful for the way in which God has stretched me and changed me during my time in Saskatoon and I have been reminded again that no matter how ill equipped I may feel, God is more than capable of shaping me into the leader that He has called me to be and using me where He has placed me.

Cadet Kristen Gray