Juanita* opens Sophia's case file and scans the contents. She is pleased to see, as Ruthann was, that this woman is not as alone as so many men and women who come to Love INC seeking help and hope. Sophia does have a church body with whom she is connected. Juanita wonders if they have any idea the desperation she feels or if she has chosen to keep this from her church family.
Sophia has given Love INC permission to contact everyone she has referenced in her intake and Juanita does not hesitate to make the church listed her first call. She has a pleasant discussion with the church secretary. Of course she knows Sophia, the woman responds enthusiastically. However, her tone turns to one of concern as she learns that Sophia is struggling far more than anyone in the church had initially realized.
This is not a body of believers who pats people on the head and tells them go, be warm and well fed and then leaves them in the dust. They currently are involved in a seasonal ministry of providing Thanksgiving baskets for people in the community who are in need during the holidays. But they had no way of knowing Sophia was one of those people unless she told them. So often, we wear masks on Sunday morning so no one knows the fear and neediness we live with each day. This church is not callous; they had just not known the whole story. Immediately they put Sophia's family on the list to receive a Thanksgiving basket.
Love INC is able to make her church aware of her needs while she maintains her dignity. This happens on occasion. Other times people are hesitant to become involved in a church at all. They explain that religious people have burned them in the past. A role Love INC has played on other occasions has been to build bridges between churches and those wounded by experiences within a church context. It is a wonderful thing to facilitate healing for someone whose trust has been shattered and provide an opportunity for a body to heal the wounds created by another who may not have even been aware of the injury.
Bringing Sophia's relationship to her church to a different level is not the only thing Juanita can do. She is by no means done with this situation. She makes other connections today. She obtains a gas voucher, mails a clothing voucher to Sophia's home for her to take to another church, and includes addresses for the food banks serving Anchorage and a list of community resources. Information to help her find out more about how her child support could be brought up to a level in keeping with her needs is also part of the packet Juanita puts in the mail. Sophia will soon be equipped with the information she needs to help herself.
A week later Ruthann picks up the phone and dials Sophia's number. The Thanksgiving holidays are behind them and she is eager to find out how Sophia made out. The saying that life is what happens when you are making other plans proved true in this case. Sophia relates that her family did indeed receive the Thanksgiving basket from her church and it was such a blessing. Ironically, her on-call job had called that day and while her mother and children enjoyed the bounty, she was able to work, but missed the celebration.
Like with all of us, she has been very busy with work, school and the kids' schedules. Yes, Ruthann noted on the follow-up form, she had indeed received the packet of information but had not yet had the opportunity to cash in the clothing voucher, though she hopes to soon. She was grateful for the information and resources provided and would follow through on them when she could.
Ruthann prays with Sophia once more and smiles as she said goodbye. Sophia's life was no less chaotic than her own was. The demands on her time and the strain of her schedule were equally overwhelming. She is glad that Love INC has been able to give her peace of mind, show her things she can do to improve her situation and brought her into a more intimate relationship with her church family. Sophia would make it now, of that she was certain. If she ever found herself in a situation that seemed beyond her again, she knew she could call Love INC and her church had proven that they cared and were there for her too.*Names and details have been changed to protect those to whom the stories belong.
