Over the past few years with TCM, my roles have changed quite frequently. I went from being an intern to an Outreach Worker at Kingston-Galloway, to Communications, to an Outreach Worker at Jesse Ketchum. This past year, I took on the role as the Role Model Moms (RMM) Facilitator. Transitioning from working with children and youth to ministry with mothers has been a seamless transition. I firmly believe that God cultivated my love for moms through my past year at Jesse Ketchum.
Abigaille with Jesse-Ketchum Moms
Working at Jesse Ketchum for the past year allowed me to not only build relationships with the children and youth but also with their parents. Every day, I’d have the opportunity to spend some time with parents during sign-in or sign-out. As a result, this naturally led to taking the moms out for coffee and getting to hear their stories, and my relationship with the moms grew deeper. God provided me with the honour of praying with them, crying with them and celebrating their accomplishments.
When presented with the opportunity to facilitate RMM, I felt a sense of excitement. I was going to be part of a program that helped mothers gain their GEDs and be a source of encouragement along the way. The main goal of the RMM program is to equip moms with the tools and resources they need to pass the GED through one-on-one volunteering, building their confidence, and teaching them life skills. While doing this, I was excited to care for the moms and remind them that there is hope. God is the author of our story. He is not done with us yet and this is the hope that we continue to relay to our moms.
“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””
Though there have been many blessings at RMM, we have also been faced with a major challenge. In September of 2023, we were made aware that the GED was on track to be discontinued in April of 2024. This surfaced a plethora of challenges for us as we had to begin discerning RMM’s next steps. Though we are still unsure of what the future holds, we are trusting that God will bring us clarity and guidance at this time.
Amidst all of this, I get the unique opportunity to display the love of God to these mothers. I find that they are loving, kind and patient to their children, their partner, and to those around them. I have found that moms are expected to fill a variety of shoes on top of working or in this case, finish their GED. In light of this, I wanted to cultivate a place where they can also feel loved and accepted for who they are. My goal is for them to understand God’s love through the actions that I and our team showed them.
One of my students had health concerns that came back only after studying for the GED. Her health affected her studies as well as her self-esteem. She would often miss classes due to unforeseen events and appointments which prompted us to communicate with her further to find ways to continue to support her. This was through spending extra time with her, finding extra resources and creating safe spaces for her to share. A major part of my role is to intercede for them and I was given many opportunities to pray with this mom. This led into bigger conversations about her faith and what she believes in.
My faith has grown as God has modeled His faithfulness in their lives. As I grew closer with these women, they would share their testimonies and become vulnerable with me. When you listen to their stories, you can't help but wonder how they have gotten through life, thus far. The answer, God. God has been faithful in every single step they have taken. He has carved a path for them and is clearly guiding them. He led them to us! And we trust that He who began a good work in us will bring it to completion till the day Christ Jesus returns (Philippians 1:6).