Restoring Dignity • Discovering Destiny • Realizing Dreams
DMONTON
DREAM CENTRE
September 2010
In thIs Issue
Pg2 Do You See What I See
Pg3 Restoration
Pg4 Upcoming Events
news
Reaping A Harvest
By Lukas Huisman
y wife and I are
blessed to live on
Lukas Huisman
an acreage with huge
vegetable gardens. It’s
August now, and we’re beginning to
reap the fruit of our labors. Peas,
beans, carrots, potatoes, onions,
zucchini, raspberries, and cherries are
just some of the things we’re beginning
to enjoy from the new crop. Much
more is yet to come as the harvest
season progresses.
Yes, enjoying the harvest gives us great
pleasure. Yet that pleasure would not
have been possible without a lot of hard
work in the growing season. Tilling,
planting, watering, fertilizing, weeding,
pruning and thinning all require lots of
effort and expense, with no tangible
results until harvest time. Some people
wonder why we bother to go to all that
work, and many have commented that
it’s not their idea of an ideal lifestyle. But
the thing that keeps us going – the carrot
at the end of the stick – is the hope of a
good harvest in its season. And the
people who would never wish to do all
the work that goes into it are often the
same people who ooh and aah and enjoy
the fresh produce that results!
M
In a way the Dream Centre is a lot
like a garden. It takes a great deal of
work, and expense, to produce a result.
Everyone likes to rejoice when someone
graduates from the program, but getting
there is a journey of a thousand steps,
and each step is crucial. Running the
Dream Centre program is not
inexpensive, and it needs constant,
consistent support and attention from
its supporters to continue its work.
If you are already a regular
contributor to the Dream Centre, thank
you! You are indeed making a difference
in the lives of the women and even in the
life of the community. If you are not a
regular contributor, would you consider
becoming one? Our monthly donors are
our lifeblood; without consistent
funding managing the program can be
difficult and stressfull. Monthly
payments can be set up using a credit
card or postdated cheques through the
Dream Centre itself, or through Canada
Helps, accessible through the “Donate
Now” button on the Dream Centre
website. Thank you for helping the
Dream Centre achieve a rich harvest!
The ART of Giving
Laurel Halkier and Mark Dutton of Halkier and Dutton Design have been close
friends of mine for over 20 years. It has been almost 4 years since I approached
them about offering their services in support of the Edmonton Dream Centre. They
did not hesitate to invest in the women and children who lives have been positively
impacted through our program. Their talented team re-designed our newsletter
and the Edmonton Dream Centre News has become a vital marketing tool for
raising awareness and financial support.
Please consider adding your company name to our list of financial supporters.
Together we can improve our neighbourhoods, communities and cities. Re-building
one woman’s life can break generations of abuse and addiction.
Lerena Greig, Director of Fund Development
780.423.5516
“For I know the plans I have for you . . . plans to give you a future and a hope.” —Jeremiah 29:11
New Board Member
Wish Lists
Pastor Gordon
Food Items
• grocery gift cards
D. Powell
s the pastor of Christian Life
Centre it is a joy and privilege to
have the ladies from the Edmonton
Dream Center as part of our Assembly.
I have had the privilege of baptizing
a number of them in water over the
past number of years. This has been
both exciting and encouraging to our
assembly as we watch the ladies
desiring to follow the Lord in this
act of obedience, and to see the
transformation that Christ is bringing
about in their lives.
The Dream Centre ladies have
added so much to our church family
through singing as a choir, sharing
A
Gordon D. Powell
their testimonies, helping out with kid’s
camp or operating the PowerPoint
slides for worship.
I encourage you to continue to pray
for the work and ministry of the
Edmonton Dream Centre. Pray not
only for the residents but also for the
staff that God will continue to give
them the wisdom they need to minister
effectively to these wonderful women.
I also would like to take this
opportunity to say, if you do not
already financially contribute to the
Dream Centre, that you prayerfully
consider making the support of this
ministry a priority.
CleanIng supplIes
• bathroom cleaner
• dishwashing detergent
• all purpose cleaner
• bathroom tissues
• paper towels
• brooms, mops
• vacuum cleaner for
transitional housing
• high efficiency
laundry detergent
• Kleenex
• Febreeze
other
• stationary supplies
• contemporary Christian CDs
• copier paper
Do You See
Lerena Greig
By Lerena Greig
What I See?
would like to take you on a short
journey; to see what I see at the
Edmonton Dream Centre. The
homeless woman who ate out of
garbage cans and was abandoned
early in life. The woman who lost her
children; the woman who was born a
crack-addicted baby and became
I
addicted to drugs as an adult. Women
who no longer feel valued by society,
no self-worth. This is what I see....
Then I watch as these women work
hard to deal with the pain of the past,
to change the course of their life. I see
the change in the children as they come
to trust that “mommy”is staying home
and they have a safe place to live and
can just be kids. The hope in their
present and excitement for their future.
I see these women, as they complete
the program, making a difference in
our communities; crime-rate and
system costs decreasing. I see lives
being re-built and families re-stored.
Do You See What I See?
2 Edmonton Dream Centre • September 2010
Restoration
By Heather Wilson
y name is Heather and my
journey to the Dream Centre
began thirty years ago. Struggling in a
family with generational addictions, I
became anorexic and bulimic at fifteen.
I couldn’t control what was going on
around me but I could control my
body. At the age of 19 I was married
and had three beautiful children, I
thought my life was perfect but I was
soon mistaken. At thirty my marriage
had fallen apart and I became a closest
alcoholic. I quit drinking for one year
but switched my addiction to opiates.
My children were soon taken from me
and I had hit bottom. Accidently
overdosing on Tylenol 3 I had died 3
times before they stabilized me. After
spending a month in the hospital I
found myself married for the second
time and life couldn’t have been better;
a new home, career, and a husband
who loved me. But I had a greater love;
oxycontin. I was asked to choose the
oxycontin or my husband and I choose
the oxycontin. Divorced for a second
time and alone I soon found myself in
a very abusive relationship. Soon I was
using both opiates and alcohol to get
through the day. My relationship with
my family got so bad they had me
arrested. That evening in jail, God
spoke to me and told me that this was
not the life He wanted for me. Broken
and in the depths of despair I prayed to
God that if He helped me He could
have all of me. You see I’ve known the
Lord all my life but was not living for
Him. God had promised He would
M
Mission
Statement
open every door if I trusted Him and
believed in Him and walk away from
my past. And God did open every door
until I made the great mistake of going
against God’s will and going back to
my abusive partner. That decision
nearly cost me my life. I was beaten so
badly I had to be rushed by ambulance
to the U of A. The physicians helped
me get into A Safe Place; a women’s
shelter in Sherwood Park. I was sure
God wouldn’t help a second time but
when I went into my room and I was
greeted by a Christian woman who was
also leaving an abusive relationship.
That was my confirmation that God
was still there and would open every
door. On September 11th, 2009 God
had a room for me at the Dream
Centre and in the last 11 months they
have allowed me to take off my mask
and be that vulnerable
little girl who needs to
heal. They have given
me the courage to step
outside the box and do
new things, like having
all girls princess and
pajama parties, sober
Christmas and New
Year’s. Staff have also
Heather Wilson
shown me that when I
want to have a temper tantrum, a good
way to blow off steam is to shovel
snow. Since coming to the Dream
Centre I am now rebuilding a healthy
relationship with my family and God is
restoring all that was taken from me in
my addiction. God has truly blessed me
in bringing me to the Dream Centre
and I am becoming the woman God
always intended me to be.
Emergency Response
T
hank you for your continued investment and giving which is helping us
cover the challenges that we faced this year with our water damage and
destruction of 3 suites in our transitional program. Lehman Plumbing, Empire Dry
Wall, Builders Floor Centre (BFC), Alberta Carpeters, Arrow Electric and DMT
Painting have been true partners of excellence with meeting our time restraints
with the repairs. We appreciate your consideration to further support the financial
requirements from this emergency situation.
The Edmonton Dream Centre is dedicated to
meeting the spiritual, physical, emotional and
social needs of individuals, providing them a
bridge that carries them to where they could be!
Edmonton Dream Centre • September 2010 3
Yes, I Want to help others
Name
With a one-time gift
Address
q $25 q $50 q $100 q $250 q $500
q $1000 q Other: $
City
Prov.
With a monthlY gift
Postal Code
Phone
q $25 q $50 q $100 q $250 q $500
q $1000 q Other: $
Email
gifts by:
please send me information on:
q
q
q
q Cheque q VISA q Mastercard
Card Number
Dream Team – prayer partners
Expiry Date
Dream Givers – monthly donors
Amount
Signature
Volunteering Opportunities
Charity Number 899611032RR0001
Mail form to: Edmonton Dream Centre, Box 68169, 162 Bonnie Doon Mall, Edmonton, Alberta T6C 4N6 or Fax 780-429-1090
Dream Centre News
UPCOMING EVENTS
edmonton dream Centre presents
Bridge-to-hope event
Thursday October 7th, 2010 at 7:00 pm
Featured Guest Speaker – Serge Leclerc
From Lawbreaker to Lawmaker
Visit www.sergetalks.com
Above: Joanne, program director,
presents Katrina with her “1 Year”
Certificate.
Left: Heritage Day outing with staff
and residents.
7:00 pm Reception
(appetizers/desserts)
Westin Hotel, 10135 – 100th street
Edmonton, Alberta
Tickets $50.00 each
For more information please call
Lerena Greig @ 780.423.5516 or email
[email protected]
tours
Please call Lerena Greig at
780.423.5516 if you are
interested in a tour of the
Edmonton Dream Centre.
Above: The youngest member of our family
at the Edmonton Dream Centre. Raya’s
dedication at Christian Life Centre.
Right: Residents painted a garbage can,
placed at Hawrelak Park.
www.edmontondreamcentre.ca
[email protected]
For 2010, our budgeted fund-raising
income is $425,000 with an associated
cost of fund-raising of $102,000.
tel: 780-423-5516
fax: 780-429-1090
Edmonton Dream Centre would like to extend a special thank you to
Halkier + Dutton Design for the donation of their services for this newsletter
With MC – Deb Grey
Box 68169, 162 Bonnie Doon Mall
Edmonton, Alberta T6C 4N6