Shortly after we began our practical journey with the ministry of 'Open Arms' in 2004, the most obvious and immediate need was for emergency housing. What was intended to be 'community chaplaincy' suddenly had a new focus. There was no guaranteed place for emergency shelter in the Annapolis Valley and our work of helping people get a new start takes time. Realizing that housing was a primary need in order for people to enter back into wellness and community, we saught a solution. The best we could do at that time was either open our own homes, sunday school classrooms as well as call upon a few other hospitable friends. The calls started coming in and it was obvious to us that we needed to find a location for emergency shelter immediately. We found a simple spot in downtown Kentville and entered into a life of night work (along with our day jobs). After taking that 'leap of faith' at the start of the summer of 2005, others began to join us and help us in the work as we cared for youth and adults, male and female.

Offering emergency shelter was such an obvious way to begin to practically love people and help restore dignity. Our journeys with people would begin with giving them food, safety and shelter for one or several nights or longer until they could be established. Our heart and hope was that our shelter and services will function as a bridge to the community for our new friends. Working in conjunction with the existing churches, community services and other community resources, we were soon seeing solutions to some of the needs around us. This was, however, requiring more of our day time and would require us to leave our day jobs with the hope that God would provide – we're still pluggin' away!

In 2006 the shelter opened 200 nights for 329 overnight stays. (occupancy roughly doubled each year from 2004 to 2006, which affirmed its relevance to our community). There were 133 individuals (99 males, 34 females) of which about 60% were youth (under thirty years of age). We continued to be the only homeless shelter in this region of the province, regularly receiving calls from Police, Community Services, Churches, etc. from Windsor to Digby until we were shut down in early 2007.

We both took other employment for the summer and were unsure of what the future held for Open Arms. After several months, however, we began connecting with people again and the idea of coordinating 'Inn From The Cold' for our area seemed like a good solution to a problem we knew still existed. In 2008, with seven local churches, we launched a winter emergency shelter program - 'Inn From The Cold'.

In January 2009, we had a meeting with representatives from the 'Inn From The Cold' sites. Most sites indicated occupancy almost every night with 1-5 guests. This continues to be a great project that builds unity and creates awareness of tough issues in the context of real practical ministry!

***Disaster relief assistance
(Lower St. John River Valley, NB - 2008/ Chilliwack, BC – 2009)

Andy recently completed his second humanitarian mission with Samaritan's Purse. This is a great opportunity to offer practical assistance with emergencies in Canada and beyond.

***Poverty relief  (food, assistance and supplies)
Kings County, NS (ongoing) & Cuba (2007)

This work is ongoing as an effort to make sure some of the 'hidden' poor amongst us are receiving enough to eat. The focus is particularly on those in rural settings who are unable to access foodbanks and soup kitchens.

***Christmas socks!

A number of groups have prepared and donated gifts for families and individuals over the past few years. We hope to continue this practice of giving Christmas gifts to some of the people we connect with. Christmas bags have been prepared for individuals that contain toiletries, sweets and a gifts of some kind. We hope to grow this tradition and will be launching a 'Christmas Sock' campaign for Christmas 2009. There are some great programs that distribute gifts to children at home and abroad and we do not wish to duplicate those programs. This is simply a great way to communicate that we love and care for some of the lonely and needy friends we meet. It creates a further bridge of communication and opens the door for follow-up.

We were recently able to help a group of churches launch an Inn From The Cold Program in Bridgewater.

The Inn From The Cold program and the Kentville Drop-in are both operating for the second year through the work of countless volunteers.

One consistent need we see in our clients and guests is for community. This is why we in the local church need to open our arms to the broken. Our clients need more than a dusting off and church attendance; they need love, respect and support - they need family.

After hearing many of our volunteer groups say we needed our "own" location, our landlords have kindly switched our lease to a month-to-month rental. We do rent in a location that also houses a church, but we do have our own rental area and are not affiliated with any one denomination. If we are to move from our current downtown location we will need to grow our base of financial support and more importantly know it is the right direction for us to take.

Please join us in prayer and activity as we endeavor to extend Christ's love to some of our most broken neighbors. Feel free to contact us to share with your group/ church about Open Arms and poverty/ homelessness in our region. Pray also for us as we endeavor to model community ourselves.

Contact us if this ministry could serve you or you feel a call to serve those in need through Open Arms.

Thanks again for the prayers and support from so many of you,

Blessings,

Street Pastor: John Andrew