Letter from our Director

Toni Dolfo-Smith, our courageous leader and executive director for Living Waters Canada sent out the following letter, and I thought I'd post it here.

Dear Friends,

As many of you know, on February 22^nd, the Living Waters Canada staff experienced an Ash Wednesday we will never forget – we lost our offices to a devastating fire. 

It is difficult to describe to you the loss we feel. While most of our significant records and materials are backed up, and we do have basic insurance, we have lost many irreplaceable items – notes, photographs, gifts of appreciation, personal journals, our library, and other personal items too numerous to mention.

While our insurance will cover the cost of replacing computers and basic office furniture, it will not fully cover the cost of all that we have lost. Ironically, just a few months ago we raised money to finally purchase furniture to make our well-used common space a comfortable place for our various support groups. We painted, sewed, made art, and used every creative avenue we could to create a welcoming space, and were really pleased with the result. It seems that we will have to have another go at it!

In the midst of all of this, we have been very aware of the Presence of God, and the support of His people. The fire has come at an interesting time in our history – having just celebrated twenty years of ministry, we had a strategic team to review and restructure the ministry for the next phase of development and growth. Part of the mandate was that “nothing was sacred” – every process, publication, and system was being reviewed and examined. On Wednesday morning at our strategic team Skype call we all expressed excitement and a growing anticipation at what was beginning to emerge, and the knowledge that God was with us. Apparently, God’s new plans also include a new physical space!

Please join us in prayer  – there are a few specific things I would ask you to keep before you as you pray:

   1.   A new office space that would be accessible to public transportation, have enough office space for LW, as well as  a space where our weekly support groups can meet.   

   2.  Comfort, focus, and strength for the staff team as we continue running our current programs and look at what lies ahead.

   3.  Financial provision as we replace what is not covered by our insurance.

   4.  Wisdom for the decisions that have to be made right away, and an ability to hear clearly as we wait on the Lord to show us His continued plans for the future of the ministry.

We have created an Emergency Response Fund to help cover the cost of operations and materials that will not be covered by insurance. You can give to the fund from our website's homepage, the ‘Donate’ section of our website, or by going tohttp://www.canadahelps.org/CharityProfilePage.aspx?charityID=s59315 directly. We appreciate any gift you can give. 

I am personally grateful for your support and partnership with us. Thank you for the generosity and love that you continue to pour out on us.

With gratitude and thankfulness,

Toni Dolfo-Smith