Presenting,... Our New Van

So, here it is! The new van. It is a 2001 GMC Safari in great condition. We have already put it to the test picking up food and gifts for our Christmas baskets. Today it had 98 turkeys and 500lbs. of potatoes in it. It performed very well. Soon our logos will be on it and it will be in full swing. Thank you again to those who contributed to our van fund. The money enabled us to register and insure the truck and do some repairs. We also thank the people who donated the truck. It is just what we needed, and the timing was amazing.

Peace,

K

Christmas whirlwind

The season is upon us! This is a busy time for us as we prepare for our Christmas baskets. We have been collecting food and gifts for kids for the past few months. Through The Open Door Church our food bank families with kids were "adopted". The people who adopted the family bought gifts for the kids in each household. Last weekend several of our people got together and boxed up the gifts which were delivered on Monday with the regular food supply.

This Monday coming we will deliver our Christmas food baskets. Each family will receive a full Christmas meal including turkey, potatoes, vegetables, gravy, etc. This is all in a effort to bring a little joy and hope to the families we serve on a regular basis.

Many people, churches and companies have helped us out this year with our Christmas initiative. Thank you to all who were involved.

On top of the Christmas busyness, we have been looking for a Van. Last weekend we had a 2001 GMC Safari donated to On Rock. We have collected about $3000 so far in the van fund, which will help pay for licensing and insurance as well as some repairs and modifications we need to make. Needless to say, we are blessed! Thank you all who have helped us out with this challenge that was before us.

We have truly witnessed that together, we can make a difference.

Peace,

K

Making a difference at Christmas

It is amazing to me how generous people are at this time of year. We are now serving 90 families a week in the food bank and 100 lunches a week in the school lunch program. We do special food baskets at Christmas, giving each family a full Christmas dinner. Turkey, potatoes, veggies, juice, etc. We also started an "adopt a family initiative" to provide presents for the kids in our families.

Now, back to my amazement.... All of our families have been adopted. This means that all of our kids will be getting Christmas gifts. Moneys for the Christmas dinner has been coming in as well. Two months ago, we wondered , with the economy being what it is, if we would get enough funds to supply Christmas dinner for everyone. So far, we are on target with last year.

Thank you to everyone who has helped us out this year. We are truly making a difference.

Peace,

K

The Van Challenge

Well, it has been a few weeks since our van went up in smoke. We are thankful for John who has made his van available for us on Mondays for the food bank, and will continue to do so, as long as he can. We have had several people offer us free vehicles, however they are either to small or way to huge. We do thank these people for their generosity and desire to help.

We have at present raised about $1700 in pledges toward the van. We are hoping to raise $10,000, in order to buy something fairly new and be able to put it on the road. If you can help in any way, please do, it is very much appreciated and needed.

Peace,

K

WOW!

So, here is the final result. What used to be a great vehicle is reduced to scrap metal. The smell gets on you. After checking out the truck yesterday, I could not get rid of the smell in my nostrils. It was a little eerie.
We have $1000 pledged so far for another truck. We are hoping to raise $10,000. In the mean time, a friend has offered us the use of his van on Mondays for food pick-up and delivery.

Peace,

K

WE NEED A VAN!

On Saturday morning, I lent my van to a local church youth group. At 8:30 am I was woken up by a phone call, telling me my van was on fire on the side of highway 40. Nobody was hurt, but as you can see from the picture, it is finished.

On Rock has been using my van for our community assistance programs. This was our vehicle for delivering food to 80+ families every week and picking up food and equipment from suppliers. As you can imagine we desperately need another van.

We are setting a goal to raise $10,000 to purchase a van for the ministry. Please consider what you can do in helping us reach this goal. The van is not a "wishlist" item, we really need to have one in order to continue effectively feeding our clientele.

Donations can be made to On Rock Ministries. Please write "Van Challenge" on your correspondence.

Together, we can make a difference.

K

Christmas

Like it or not Christmas is on the horizon. Our thoughts turn to our Christmas baskets for our 80 families. We are asking people to adopt one of our families for Christmas. This involves buying Christmas presents for the kids in the family. We have families with one to 9 kids. This ensures that the kids get something for Christmas this year.

If you would like to adopt a family just send me an email at kim@onrock.org and we will give you details as to age and gender of the kids. This is a great way to celebrate Christmas.

In the food department, we are planning on providing each family with a full Christmas dinner. Turkey, potatoes, vegetables and all the fixins'. We are in the process of collecting turkeys and chickens. If you would like to help, we would greatly appreciate it.

There it is. Two ways that you can help us serve our friends that are in need.

We Need to Move

I am increasingly feeling the need to move. To move into the neighborhood where many of our clientele come from. We need to be "in" the community in a more present way. Where there is a need for food, there are many other needs that can only be met by "presence". For example, companionship. People to talk to. A place to go and not be stuck in your own spiraling world.

If we are to love the poor, we need to spend more time with them. They need to become an integral part of "us".

We need a building in Amabay. We need about $1,000,000. The investment, although huge, would be overshadowed by the difference we could make. I believe that with all that I am. The question is, are we up to the sacrifice?

Peace,

K

Principal feedback

Yesterday as Don was doing the lunch deliveries to the various schools, he ran into one of the principals. The principal shared with Don how much the lunch program was appreciated. He explained that the behavior and attitude of the kids who were receiving lunches had changed significantly with a full stomach. The kids are more attentive and have a better attitude toward school and those around them.

We are thrilled to hear these stories and want to pass them on, so that we can be encouraged by the evidence that we are making a difference in our community.

On another note, I just spoke with Marcy from Christian Week publication and they are doing a story on our work in the community. It should be out in the next few weeks.

Peace,

K

We did it!

I hope everyone had an amazing Thanksgiving. Ours was busy, but fun. Last week I put out the meat slicer challenge. When Syl suggested this I thought it was a good idea, but, I wasn't sure how well it would go. To my pleasant surprise, we had the money raised by supper the same night. I found a 2nd hand slicer in a little hole in the wall restaurant equipment store on Notre Dame east. We picked it up for $400. The owner dropped the price when I told him what we were doing with it. We used it for the first time this week and it was awesome. He also fixed our coffee maker, which is a very important part of our ministry.

Thank you to those who contributed to this challenge. You have made a difference.

Meat Slicer Challenge

With the increase in school lunch production we have been looking for ways to cut costs. We are in this for the long haul. We need to purchase a meat slicer, in order to severely cut costs of cold meats every week. It costs about $25 to $30 a week in cold cuts. We can buy large hams or roast beef for much less, and it is healthier. We need to raise $450 for a used restaurant quality meat slicer.

If you can help, please send me an email at kim@onrock.org and send a check to;
On Rock Ministries
5000 St. Charles
Pierrefonds, QC
H9H 3G1

Thank you to those who partner with us in this work. Together, we can make a difference.

Peace,

K

Update on School lunch program

Two days ago, we had 80 lunches a week to prepare. As of today we are at 95 with two more schools exploring their need. It looks like we will be doing over 100 lunches a week. This is a huge increase over last year.

Peace,

K

Lunch Time

It is hard to believe sometimes, that in our day and age that kids, go to school hungry. Surely with the amount of money we accumulate and spend in our affluent society, there are enough sandwiches for kids in school to go around. Well, that is not the case. As of this week we will be making 80 lunches a week to be distributed in 5 schools, and I expect that number to grow.

This will be a challenge, last year we did about 40 a week. However, how do you say no? One Mom has kept her kids home from school because she can't give them lunch. I can't imagine what that feels like. The humility and embarrassment of not being able to feed your kids. We are not talking about providing ipods here, but the basic needs for survival. If you can help by donating food or cash, or delivering lunches(Monday mornings before 11am), please contact me.

We are committed to making a difference in our community. You can help. Together, we can make a difference.

Peace,

K

A New Face

I met with Adam today. Adam came to our wine tasting last month and offered to help create a new website for us. We have been working on some ideas ever since. We are getting very close to the launch of our new website and a new logo. All the basics are in place, we just have to flesh out some details. I am anxious to see the end result. It is going to be amazing! Stay tuned.

Busy week

This last week has been very busy. We have begun to receive our food increase and it is amazing. This past Monday we delivered 75 of the best boxes we have ever delivered. Plenty of fresh produce, meat, bread and other goodies. Our staff are excited by the ability to serve our families this way. This week we picked up a single parent family with 10 kids. The social worker called us, desperate to find a resource for this family. She was relieved to hear we would jump in. She even called back to confirm that we were serious about helping.

This week we had 3 emergency calls. Usually we have 3 in a month. We have had an increase in requests since the increase in the price of gas and food. A lot of people are struggling to make ends meet.

We picked up a new French elementary school in need of our lunch program. We have not heard how many lunches they need yet, but we will start delivering lunches on Monday.

Please keep us in prayer as we make a difference in our community.

We are still about $350 a month short of our monthly budget. Please pray about partnering with us in meeting the needs of those less fortunate in our community. Together, we can make a difference.

Peace,

K

Food Increase

In the past few weeks we have acquired 2 commercial two-door fridges. One would have been amazing, Two is just ridiculous, in a good way. We have been requesting a food increase from our distributor for the past month. I received a call last Thursday letting me know that we would have the increase in two weeks. Pete went to pick up our food on Monday and the increase was already in place. It was awesome to be able to fill our boxes, with a little left over for our emergency stock. In the past few months we have received more emergency calls that usual, so our stocks were low.

We now have a lady who is going to help us do some marketing for food with local stores and business'. With this help and the food increase we may be able to make a dent in our waiting list. It is amazing what happens when people come together to accomplish a mission. Together we make a difference.

Peace,

K

Another amazing Monday

Once again we are amazed at the way that God provides. Yesterday we were buried in food. Produce was more than abundant. As the day began we had more volunteers than usual. I wondered what we would do with all these people, then the food arrived. It took 6 people to process our fruits and vegetables, it usually takes 2 people. In the end we had larger boxes than usual, filled and overflowing.

We continue to look forward to an increase in supply, so that we can add to our list and decrease our waiting list.

Another encouragement is that in our effort to raise money in the past month, we made $3000 at or wine tasting and have had about $3000 in one time donations come in. We also have about $350 a month more pledged. We still need about $450 a month to break even, but we are on our way. Thank you to everyone who has partnered with us financially, you are making a difference.

Peace

K

This just in.....

We have just made an amazing contact for fruits and vegetables. We will now get calls from a transport company that transports fruit and veggies. They often have damaged pallets of produce rotting on their docks because they can't be sold. We will get called to pick up this produce so that we can distribute in our food bank. This is incredible! God is good.

This is also incredible because last week we were given a huge commercial fridge.

Peace,
K

Wine Tasting a Success!!

Some said it was one of the classiest fund raising events they have been to. The weather was amazing. The wine and food were awesome. Karl did a great job of educating us on the wines and some of the finer points of wine tasting.

The silent auction went well. Thank you to all who supplied our silent auction items and to those who bought them. Many items went for more than their value, which spoke to the fact that those bidding understood that this was for charity.

Thank you to all those who helped make this evening so amazing. Those who planned, cooked,arranged,decorated, set up, tore down, parked cars, took pictures, lent their house, etc. You have blessed On Rock and me.

The final tally is not in yet, but, we should make about $2000 and we made some good contacts. We will do this again. The next time will be bigger and just as classy.

Peace,
K

Wine Tasting Fund Raiser

It is sold out! This is awesome news. When you organize a new fund raiser there is always the anxiety of "what if it doesn't work?" We are four days away and everything is coming together. It promises to be a great evening,. Now we just need the Almighty Weatherman to bless us........

The food bank was amazing this week. Tons of good food, so boxes were over full. What a great problem to have.

I got a call today offering us a huge commercial fridge. Two doors and its 5-7ft. I don't know where we are going to put it, but we can't refuse it.... Another amazing problem......

Peace,

K

Good News

The past two weeks have been a drag to say the least. However, we are seeing some fruit for our labor. We have had $360 a month pledged so far, and our Wine Tasting fund raiser is filling up. At present we have about 65 seats spoken for out of the 80 available.

I want to thank those who have made the decision to partner with us. We still need about $540 a month to break even, but we are encouraged. God is good.

This week we were also blessed with some extra food. The Old Brewery Mission shared some Broccoli, eggplant and lemons with us and another friend came up with 800 lbs of blueberries. No that is not a typo. Syl and some friends have spent the better part of today cleaning and bagging them. Sometimes, God is also random......

K

We need help

We are in bad shape financially. I hate talking about money, but, I have no choice. We are struggling to pay our bills and our office administrator has not been paid in ages. I don't know how to get people to see that we are making a huge impact on our community and our services are much needed. We have had approximately 20 new requests for the food bank which feeds 70 families a week at present, the drop-in center is helping people change their lives. Ministry is booming, people remark about how amazing our work is and how big the need is, but few will invest in it.

We need $900 a month to break even. That means every month we go at least $900 in the hole. We desperately need people to commit to giving monthly. No amount is too small or too big. Please consider partnering with us. Invest in our young people and help feed the poor.

You can use post dated cheques or auto withdrawl. Email me and I will send you the forms.

contact us at;

kim@onrock.org
or
On Rock
5000 St. Charles
Pierrefonds, QC
H9H 3G1

Guests at the food bank

This Monday we were thrilled to have 7 ladies from Merck Frost administration come in to help us with the food bank. When you first walk in to the food bank it looks very unimpressive. A bunch of tables lined with boxes, pressed into a drop-in center. Once the food arrives the action starts. These ladies were eager to get their hands dirty. I don't think we ever unloaded a van so fast. Many hands make light work and it certainly was true yesterday. We had the food distributed among the 70 boxes in no time at all. When the boxes are full and ready to go, it can be a beautiful sight, 70 boxes filled with food and ready for a family in need.

The team from Merck wanted to deliver some boxes as well, which made Pete and Matt happy. They had three cars, so each one took 2-4 boxes, and they made the deliveries. They expressed what a great experience this was for them to be involved in helping feed people they may see in their own community. Some of the ladies expressed a desire to come back. Lately, Mondays have been a great encouragement to me.

Peace,

K

Amazing Food Bank Monday

What a day yesterday was. The last few weeks have been really bad for food distribution. We have not been getting a lot of supplies, so we have depleted our stock. This week, we did not have any reserve to speak of. I went to Moisson Montreal monday morning and arrived to see that they did not seem to have very much out for us to take. However, when it was all said and done I filled the van with 4 large wagons of food. It was amazing! We had lettuce, kiwis, fish, bread, yogurt, juice and cereal for everybody in large quantity, as well as enough other mix and match stuff to fill the boxes. Matt and John had to take the bread seperately because the boxes were too full. God is good and He does provide.

We still struggle financially. We need about $900 a month more to operate in the black. Please pray with us,... and give. If you already do give, Thank you for partnering with us.

Peace,

Kim
514-808-9512

Good things and challenges

The school year wraps up today, so our school lunch program has come to an end. One of the cool byproducts of our relationship with the schools is that they are giving us food stuff they can collect for our food bank. It has become a relationship of reciprocity. Today we picked up 8 cases of milk from Springdale. this will go in our food boxes on Monday. The food bank runs all year round.

We have also made arrangements for our families to get meat once a month thanks to the generosity of Premier meats. Monster Gym in the West Island has graciously allowed us to place a box in their hallway to collect food for the food bank. For the past 3 months we pick up a large rubbermaid container every Monday morning full of non-perishables that help feed our 70 families. it is amazing to have assistance from the community.

The Vault's summer kickes off tonight with our first summer concert. 5 hardcore bands will be playing at The Vault. It promises to be a great openning for the summer.

We continue to be challenged with financial needs. Our operating budget is about $900 a month in the hole. We continue to pray for more people to contribute to this Kingdom work. Please pray with us and consider helping out on a monthly basis.

In August we have a wine tasting fundraiser. It will be on August 16th at Joe's place in Senneville. It will be an outdoor affair(weather permitting), with a silent auction and some door prizes.

If you want to contact me my email is kim@onrock.org.

Have a great summer.

Peace,

K

Welcome

This blog was created as a vehicle to share what is going on in the world of On Rock Ministries. There are so many people out there and only s much time. So, this is a place to find out what is new. So here we go.

2007 was for many a very challenging year. We were no different. We continue to be attacked by an unknown group of paint ball gun wielding guys in cars. Sometimes it is paint, sometimes marbles. They have become braver over time. In the beginning they shot paint balls at our building when we were closed. In the fall of 2007 they shattered all of our storefront windows with marbles. This cost us close to $2000. Lately they have gone back to paint, but, they are shooting at people. This is a dangerous situation, which the police seem to be unable to help with.

The Vault is doing very well these days Lot's of kids and a fair bit of mentoring going on. Our concerts continue to be a huge success. We are usually in the neighborhood of 100-150 kids a show. This give us a great opportunity to make friends and begin new relationships.

The food bank continues to grow. We are serving 70+ families every week. Monster Gym is helping us to gather food. They have allowed us to place a big bin in their entrance to collect food from their patrons. It has helped us tremendously. Carmine, the owner has been very encouraging and eager to help.

Premier meat company is now giving us meat once a month for our families. This is a great step toward giving more balance food supplies to the families that we serve.

The School Lunch Program has been a great success this year. We have delivered approximately 175 lunches a month through the school year. We are excited about the ways in which we are able to serve in our community.

We have three challenges before us. The first is meeting our monthly operating budget. We are about $900 short every month. We are in need of more monthly supporters in order to meet these costs and plan ahead. Secondly, we need $2000 to replace our kitchen sprinkler system. Our system s obsolete and we have to meet the new standards that have been set. And last but not least, we need a new, much larger facility. Our ministries have grown to the point where they can hinder each other, because we only have so much space. Please pray with us for a new location and the finances to see this happen.

For those of you who partner with us, Thank you for helping us be the hands and feet of Jesus to our community.

For those who would like to help, send your donations to;
On Rock Ministries
5000 St. Charles
Pierrefonds, QC
H9H 3G1

You can contact me at 514-808-9512

Peace