Please remember the Mustard Seed
For over 35 years, The Mustard Seed has been a safe, supportive haven for individuals experiencing poverty and homelessness. We offer services and supports to those in need with the goal of helping them make positive, lasting change in their lives.
We come alongside our community, offering a hand-up rather than simply a hand-out, and journey with them as they move towards a life of wellness and independence.
Urgent Items
- Blankets
- Shampoo
- Body Wash
- Lotion
- Deodorant
- Razors
General
Clothing:
- Winter Items:
- Coats
- Gloves
- Toques
- Long Underwear
- Hand warmers
- Men's Small Size Clothing
- Socks
- Underwear (new only)
- Jogging Pants
- Men's Jeans & Cords (sizes 28 - 32)
Hygiene:
- Conditioner (travel size preferred)
- Toothpaste (travel size preferred)
- Tissues (travel size)
- Lip Balm
- Hairbrushes
- Sleep Masks
- Ear Plugs
- Nail Clippers
- Foot Powder
Programs
Employment:
- Steel-Toed Work boots (sizes 9-12)
- Hard Hats
- Construction Pants
- Safety Glasses
- Gently-used Tools (hammers, pliers, measuring tape, tool belt, chalk line)
SEEDReach:
Please drop these items off at our Wellness Centre.
- Sleeping Bag
- Backpacks
- Deodorant
All listed items will be gratefully received at:
Downtown Neighbour Centre
102 11 Ave SE
Hours: Seven days a week,
9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
The Mustard Seed Foothills Shelter
7025 44 St SE
Hours: Seven days a week,
8 a.m. – 7 p.m.
The Mustard Seed Resource Sorting Centre
Bay 27, 4216-54 Ave SE
Hours: Tues. – Sat. 1 – 4 p.m.
*If you, a group, or an organization would like to provide a regular supply of any of these items, please contact 1.833.448.4673
Report on the Living Water Well of Mankaré, Chad, 2021
Donor: CLB of Canada
Dear friends of the CLBC,
In 2020, LBIM received $2,275.76 from the CLBC, designated to LBIM’s “Living Waters” ministry. Thank you! We combined this with other gifts, and have successfully installed a well in a Bilala community called Mankaré. Following is a report.
The community of Mankaré is a neighborhood on the northwest edge of the city of Bokoro (where LBIM has had a missionary presence since 2002). This is not to be confused with the village of Mankaré in which we installed a well in 2017. Bokoro is a city of 10,000 plus people, and due to the growing population, combined with the limited number of wells in the city, this well provides a much needed relief to the residents of Mankaré. Prior to the well, the residents of the Mankaré neigborhood had to collect water from other wells in the city, often relegated to waiting in long lines to collect water, or alternatively, pay high prices for a water delivery service.
Most of the residents of Mankaré are of Bilala ethnicity. The Bilala are one of the people groups that LBIM is intentionally ministering among for the sake of the Gospel. The Bilala are a people group in Chad that number over 200 thousand. They are a Muslim people, following the religion of Islam. There is no church among the Bilala people through which the Gospel can be proclaimed within the context of their own language and culture. LBIM is endeavoring to facilitate ministry among the Bilala so that the Gospel will go forth among them, believing that faith will come through the hearing of this Gospel (Rom. 10:17)
Now, thanks to your gifts, the population of Mankaré have abundant and clean water right in their own village. And this well has opened the door for a relationship with the people of this community, and that in turn provides opportunity to share the gospel message.
I visited the neighborhood with pastor Abel Nisso, one of our partner Chadian missionaries, on the 12th of March of this year. When we arrived at the well, there was a crowd of mostly women, children and their donkeys crowded around, waiting their turns to fill their water containers and transport the water to their homes. After observing the activity around the well, we sat down nearby on a mat with some of the men of the neighborhood. I shared about how just as this well has brought refreshing and lifesaving water closer to them, that the Word of God brings near to them the saving message of Jesus Christ. I shared the story of Jesus at the well, and his dialogue with the Samaritan woman from John 4, and how Jesus himself said that he was the source of eternal thirst-quenching water. Abel shared salvation history, explaining that man’s works are never enough to earn merit with God; that there has always been a demand for sacrifice ever since man’s first sin. He then shared about the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus, explaining that this is precisely why Jesus died, so that mankind can be saved.
After a great dialogue, one of the elders spoke up and thanked us and expressed how grateful they were for our visit. He made this comment: “We have a saying: ‘Faith is where you put your feet’…thank you for walking among us!” Our presence among the Bilala, facilitated through this ministry, is a powerful testimony.
Friends of the CLBC, Pastor Abel will continue to make visits to this community and grow in relationship and trust with them. Abel lives in Bokoro himself, so these visits will be regular. As these visits happen, there will be opportunity to share with them also the “living water” that is the Word of God. Thank you for your partnership in this ministry.
On the following page is a map that indicates where Mankaré is located in the country of Chad, along with some pictures of those blessed by this well.
Again, thank you my friends in the CLBC! May God bless you and the community of Mankaré.
Dan Venberg
LBIM
Mankaré Well Project Map, 2021
