(Mary) came in the other day. There is a way somehow to read people, and I could see Mary has had a rough life. She walked around with walls up, was very critical of a lot of things and just seemed to find it easier to shut people out, then to let them in. We were the only ones in the store so we struck up a conversation and she shared how she had this terminal illness, there was no treatement for it but she was going through some experimental treatments anyway. Maybe if it can’t help me, someday someone can get something out of this. She said she’d been going through treatments for over five years I think and never once had her daughter in her 40’s been to visit her. She even mentioned someone told her they’d seen her daughter living in her car. Mary’s response, “Why should I care, she doesn’t care about me?”  Mary was looking for a bible. She said she had been raised Catholic, but hadn’t gone to church for a long time. She’d tried her daughters church but they weren’t to her liking, I can’t recall why… she said she was going to start taking a bible study class and needed this bible. We found her one. I asked if she could wait a minute, I had something I wanted to give her.

I got one of the “Holding Crosses” that our volunteers make and I took it out of the bag as I was next to her and put it in her hand, then read the card to her. It said, “We have prayed for you, that the holder of this cross will feel God’s Love and that you know God would never leave you, nor forsake you. May He give you His peace in your life and calm your storm”.  As I read this, my hand on her shoulder, you could just see her whole demeaner soften and that wall I saw before, gone. It was so real, though no picture could have seen the wall, I did. For a moment, Mary felt God’s love. I felt it too. I asked her if she’d sign my guest book and leave her email address for me to keep in touch. “Only if you don’t sell the addresses”, she had that hardness about her again, her protective coating up. I don’t share them with anyone I told her, it’s just for me.

I was so excited too,  that Mary was going to be involved in a bible study. Pray for her, that God would make himself so real to her that she knows even if others abandon her, He will never leave, nor forsake her. He loves her with an everlasting love. He brought her to our bookstore and put me there for such a time, to be able to get His message to her. I pray we all recognize those divine appointments as we go through the course of our day.

In our Clearinghouse Phone Center we need volunteers to help with data entry and keying information into our database so our churches have the most up to date information available. We can also use help by Christians who are comfortable helping on our phone line, either by being a verifier, or helping as our receptionist. If you’d like to volunteer at this site contact Judy at 253-531-2365.

In our 2nd Hand Christian bookstore we need volunteers who will help sort donated items, help key new books into an excel spreadsheet so we can get them onto our bookstore website and errand runners. Errand runners will help take items we don’t sell like regular clothing, to our partnering church’s clothing bank so they can give them to clients in need. Errand runners are needed once a month on a Friday to deliver by 1:00 to the clothing bank when then are open. We could also use helpers to help recruit donated items from the community such as Prom Dresses and Musical Instruments.  If you’d like to volunteer here please contact Sherry Phinisey at 2853-468-6236

Also want to thank 3 ladies who were instrumental in setting up the books and alphabetizing over 4000 of them! Kate Emmanuel-French from Rainier View Church, Althea Foster from Lighthouse Christian Center and Bev Buck from Tacoma Christian Reformed Community Church. What a blessing you have been to me in helping to set up this new ministry site!

Thank you Trinity Lutheran Church ladies for donating the beautiful quilts for our clients who get beds through the funiture ministry. They were made with love and will be shared with love!

Thanks also to all the churches who are doing bulletin announcements for us! You are helping us, by giving your members opportunities to get involved in the community and I am very thankful for your partnerships in ministry!

                                                                                                      Sherry Phinisey

If you’re a Christian and would like a volunteer opportunity we could use some help logging books on Fridays and Saturdays. Our books are also listed on our website at www.lovestreasury.com  As we get more donations, we could use help sorting and pricing items and putting them out on display.  Hope to see you there! Our phone number is 253-256-4087

• A full length mirror
• 6 four foot bookshelves….:) we keep filling all the ones we get!
• A neon sign that says “OPEN”
• A heavy duty vacuum cleaner
• Musical Instruments for our Fall loan program
• Prom Dresses
• A donated or very reduced price for a plexi sign for the lit up sign board on Meridian. 20 inches high by 10 feet wide

We also would like to add to the ministry a “Musical Instrument Loan Bank” and are trying to work with the Puyallup School District (to start) to get instruments to kids who have a desire to play, but can’t afford the costs of these expensive instruments. If you have an instrument you can donate we would be very appreciative of your help to help these kids. Most start out with violins, violas, flutes and clarinets but we will accept any instruments we can personally tote around.  We will need volunteers who know how to tune and repair pads and things on the instruments to make them ready to be loaned out too!

Love’s Treasury is also going to be accepting donations of Christian Art and other mainstream Art to sell at the store.

We will also have a display of custom semi-precious stone jewelry at the store. They would make a great gift!

We need volunteers to help sort and price donated items and stock our Christian Books. We will have over 7000 books I’m sure!

If you don’t have a prom dress or instrument, or Christian books to donate, you can still be involved in helping us help our neighborhood kids by sponsoring a child. For a $ 25.00 donation you can help us pay for the cost of loaning and cleaning the Prom dress free of charge to those families that can’t afford to pay the costs. For a $50.00 donation you can sponsor a child to help us cover the cost of loaning them an instrument and the expenses of maintaining strings, reeds or pads so those families that can’t afford the expenses aren’t held back from learning to create the music.  Just go to the “Donate Now” section of our website or mail your donation to our new office at the address above. All donations of items or financial donations are tax deductible!

Thanks for being a part of our growth by working together to help those in our community!

Sherry Phinisey

Executive Director

Sherry.Phinisey@loveincpiercecounty.org

Bookstore Phone number is 253-256-4087

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Together we can do so much more than anyone of us alone!

Blessed, to be a blessing 

Sherry Phinisey