Written by Daryl Braun/Michelle Sawatzky/Allen Penner for Steinbach Online on Friday, 19 September 2014
Cardboard box where Dorinda Penner spent the night
About 60 people slept outdoors Thursday night in Steinbach's K.R. Barkman Park as part of the CEO Sleepout. The annual event is organized by Today House, the local homeless shelter.
Lindsay Smith of Steinbach works for Siloam Mission in Winnipeg and spoke to the group. She says many of the homeless in Steinbach are not visible.
“This is what we call the hidden homeless or the under-housed, so they don't have safe, affordable, appropriate housing. They may be couch surfing, they may be staying with family or maybe they are staying in a place that's too small for the amount of people in their family or the amount of money that they're pouring into rent doesn't allow them to pay for anything else. Some folks are spending 80 to 90 per cent of their income on rent. That's not affordable. I believe that's what you are starting to have in Steinbach.”
People who took part in the sleepout, like Dorinda Penner from Sunshine Nursery and Greenhouse, say it was a big eye opener.
“We think we understand what homeless people go through but we don't. It's hard. I brought myself a box, thinking that would give me more shelter and stuck it in some shrubs. But you turn over and then there's a noise and then you roll and then you think, oh this is really hard on my back, and then you roll again and it's hard the next morning to get up and function normally.”
Penner says the sleepout reinforced the need for the community to support services like Today House.
Shannon Kehler is the Shelter Coordinator at Today House. She says they see a lot of people throughout the year.
“It's not every night which is a good thing. We don't want to be busy every night, hopefully. It comes and goes, it goes in spurts. The weather is definitely a factor, the winter is a lot busier than the summer.”
Today House spokesperson, Doctor Curtis Krahn, says there is an ongoing need for more volunteers and financial donations to sustain the operation of the shelter.
Group discussion on the poverty challenge led by Kyle Penner(Photo by Moni Loewen)
Participants gather at KR Barkman Park for instructions(Photo by Moni Loewen)
Hanover School Division principals set-up at KR Barkman Park (l-r) Eldon Dueck, Rod Kehler (in black), Shelley Amos(Photo by Moni Loewen)
Head for the Hills participants enjoy the view of the Pembina Valley
More than $68,000 was raised Saturday during Eden Foundation's 12th annual Head for the Hills event. 172 registered riders travelled either a 36 kilometre long road or trail course through the Pembina Hills.
“Twelve years ago we started this thing, because I enjoy bikes and I had friends who did, and it's a healthy pursuit,” said Eden Health Care Services C.E.O. James Friesen after he came off the course. “The event has just grown every year, and we say at what point will this thing level off, and it still continues to climb.”
The ride is designed so any one can participate, and that proved true when 80 year old's Jake Gerbrandt and Dave Lumgair completed the event within minutes of each other.
Kyle Berg was the first to cross the finish line
The first to cross the finish line was Kyle Berg who rode the road course, and told us after catching his breath it's easy to see why supporting the organization is a great idea. “Look at what they stand for, and then if you look around, a lot of the services in the Winkler and even Southern Manitoba area, this organization plays a huge part in some of the mental health services that go on, and sometimes things you don't even know they are involved in.”
Friesen says the ongoing support means a lot.
“Part of my ride along the way is the privilege of visiting, in terms of why are you doing this ride, and the personal stories I've collected over the years are extremely powerful and gratifying to myself personally and also to the organization,” noted Friesen. “Everyone's affected by mental health (and) mental illness, either themselves, family members, or friends. That connection is something that is a strong part of this event.”
Altona's Team Bunge was the highest fundraising group. John Loewen was the highest fundraising individual.
The weather was great for the 172 riders who came out for the 12th annual Head for the Hills bike ride through southern Manitoba's picturesque Pembina Hills.
A few instructions before the ride begins.
Bungee had the biggest team again this year and went home with the trophy for the most amount of money raised as a team.
Bungee 2014
There were two routes available; one by single track trail and another by a combination of road and trail.
We had a couple of breaks in the ride to refresh and then it was back to business.
It's all got to come to an end sometime, so here we are two miles from
the US border sitting under the warm sun, enjoying burgers and fries
(fries from our friends at Crystal Spring Colony near Niverville) and
something cool to drink.
We had a fine complement of young riders under 13 years of age.
And we were pleased to have Mr. Lumgard and Mr. Gerbrandt join us again as riders; both now officially 80 years of age. They're an example to all the rest of us.
The Bungee team were the trophy winners for the most money raised as a team.
John Loewen from Morden was the largest individual fund raiser.
and we got to give away two more bikes to worthy fund-raisers.
The bikes were donated by Tinker Creek Cycle, Country Cycle, Time-Out Sports along with Southern Potato. Without these and our other generous and faithful partnerships, this event would not be what it is today.
Keep in touch and watch for more announcements of upcoming events and the 2015 ride.
If you are looking for an appropriate way to respond to a person struggling with a mental illness, look to Job’s friends. Not when they made the mistake of opening their mouths to try to explain his suffering, but when they first arrived and simply sat with him in silence.
from Delight in Disorder: Ministry, Madness, Mission (The story of one pastor’s battle with bipolar disorder) by Tony Roberts (A Way with Words Publishing, 2014), page 33.
Mental illness can directly or indirectly affect anyone, whatever our gender, race, education, income, religion, or church involvement.
In Canada, 20% of the population will personally experience a mental illness at some point in their lives, 8% will experience major depression, 1% bipolar disorder. Alzheimer’s Disease affects 15% of people over the age of 65. For deaths among 15-24-year-olds, death by suicide accounts for 24%; for deaths of 25-44-year-olds, death by suicide is 16%. (Statistics from Canadian Mental Health Association andAlzheimer Society Canada).
Mental illness is also part of the church as Amy Simpson, author of Troubled Minds: Mental Illness and the Church’s Mission (IVP, 2014) shares in the following video:
Amy has also written an endorsement for Delight in Disorder by Tony Roberts, describing it as a hope-filled resource “we have long needed.”
Like Amy, I find it to be a book of hope–one that’s firmly rooted in God’s compassion and faithful presence whatever the storms of life and mental illness may bring.
Tony begins with his own personal journey through depression and bipolar disorder, through medication, hospitalization, and counseling, through marriage and family stress, through serving the church as a pastor, through working in a frenzy to not being able to work at all to swallowing too many pills. He shares candidly about his experience as a young pastor in a new church (page 12):
I was full of myself, but little else.
When growth was slow, I fell down in despair.
And looked to a new drug to pick me up.
Effexor did just that–
It picked me up and kept me up for six solid days and nights.
Street signs became messages from God.
Ideas became revelations.
Feverous with a mission, not to assuage but to save,
I started crying during sermons
And laughing when I was alone.
The rest of the book is a collection of short pieces, just a page or two each, as Tony continues to reflect on his own personal experience, offers sound pastoral perspective, and considers Scripture, movies, and books related to mental illness.
Some of these short pieces are immensely practical, like “Rest for Your Weary Soul” and “Ten Things to Look for in a Psychiatrist.” Others are more inspirational, like “Trust in God,” “Majesty vs. Mania,” and “From the Depths of the Earth.” Tony ponders Vincent Van Gogh, Sylvia Plath, and others who have experienced mental illness. He comments on mental illness and pastoral ministry, bipolar disorder and homelessness, and other specific issues.
I appreciate these bite-sized pieces, and the larger Delight in Disorder mission to share hope with people who experience mental illness and foster compassion within faith communities. For more information, visit Tony’s website.
One final word of hope from his personal story (page 19):
Some people ask me now how someone who claims
To have a saving relationship with Jesus Christ
Could try to kill himself.
My only answer is –
Though I’ve wanted to give up on God,
God hasn’t given up on me.
Now I’ve come back to the outskirts of Nineveh,
I’m hiding from the scorching sun,
Grateful for the shade God provides.
Saturday July 12th was a great day. Visit the Villages Tractor Trek had 49 tractors registered for a road trip that began and ended in Reinland at the Community Centre. The route took the drivers from Reinland to Schoenwiese, then north to Gnadenthal and from there to the Blumengart Hutterite Colony, then west to Friedensruh, turned north to Reinfeld and then west to Winkler.
The day began with breakfast at the Community Centre and some opening ceremonies that included Music Therapist Joel Klassen singing Murry McLaughlin's "Dusty Old Farmer" and a Trekkers prayer by Sommerfeld Mennonite Church Bishop Dave Wiebe.
The whole group stopped for lunch at the Blumengart Hutterite Colony where everyone was very well fed and treated to some singing by three different groups of young singers. After leaving the dining hall, everyone made their way out to the yard and about a dozen Trekkers tried their hand at balancing their tractors on a balance beam. The winner was Andrew Pauls driving a John Deer 830 owned by Elmer Friesen from Rosenort.
Once the entourage arrived in Winkler, they were treated to a tour of the Lode-King Industries. Lode-King produces a premier line of grain trailers and flat deck trailers for over-the -road use. Their trailers are marketed and shipped all across Canada.
After the visit to Lode-King the drivers made their way back to Reinland Community Centre for supper and the handing out of prizes for Best Original Restored which went to Adam Glenn on a John Deere 3010, Best Non-Restored going to Bev Dyck on her John Deere 70, Smoothest Running going to Johnathan Penner on his IH McCormick W-4. The Trekkers also had an opportunity to vote on the tractor they believed to be the nicest of the bunch. The winner was Ben Friesen's Massey Ferguson Super 90.
The purpose of this ride was to raise funds for the work of Eden Health Care Services. Collectively at the time of this writing $57,000 has been received. Eden Foundation extends thanks to all the Trekkers, the people who pledged and donated funds to the trekkers and also to the corporate citizens who together are responsible for having made this 2014 Visit the Villages Tractor Trek a resounding success.
We had a couple of breaks in the ride to refresh and then it was back to business.
We had a fine complement of young riders under 13 years of age.
And we were pleased to have Mr. Lumgard and Mr. Gerbrandt join us again as riders; both now officially 80 years of age. They're an example to all the rest of us.
The Bungee team were the trophy winners for the most money raised as a team. 
John Loewen from Morden was the largest individual fund raiser.
and we got to give away two more bikes to worthy fund-raisers.
The bikes were donated by Tinker Creek Cycle, Country Cycle, Time-Out Sports along with Southern Potato. Without these and our other generous and faithful partnerships, this event would not be what it is today.
