Comfort & Joy Ministry
Comfort & Joy Ministry:
The purpose of the Peace Chapel Comfort and Joy Ministry will be to send encouragement by way of cards, letters, phone, and email, to those who need encouragement for various reasons. To manage the prayer list, and informational tracts, and keep the congregation informed of members who are sick, shut-in, or in need of special prayer.
If you are interested in joining the Comfort and Joy Ministry please contact one of the individuals listed below:
Chairperson: Phone Email
Sis. Pam Kimbrough 323-581-2390 PJOY228@AOL.COM
Please call or email the names of individuals who you know that are in prison and would like to receive encourageent, Comfort & Joy on a monthly basis as part of the Prison Ministry.
A Note from Pam K:
Dear Friends,
Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. As you know, this is Pam K, and I’m writing you to let you know a little about me, my testimony of sorts.
In 1995, I had a Stroke that left me paralyzed on my right side. I’m right handed, so I had to learn to write with my left hand. My penmanship is so bad, that I prefer typing instead of writing my cards and letters. (Smile)
I suffered from Depression for three years prior to my stroke. During that period, I pulled away from God. Instead of depending on Him to bring me through, I would cry all the time, and say, “God, if you stop me from crying, I will go back to church,” Yes, I was bargaining with God, and we all know this is not something believers should do.
For a long time, I stayed in my room, and watched TV. I went to work, came home, and went back to my room. I watched basketball, football, movies, QVC, and HSN. I began to buy items with Credit Cards, not knowing how I was going to pay for them. I went to Lakers games, paying for the tickets with credit cards. All the time, hoping these things would make me happy and bring me out of the depression. Of course it didn’t, they only made things worse.
I went deeper into my depression, and not only was I pulling away from God, I also started pulling away from my family. They didn’t know what to do. My husband cooked and cleaned for me and the girls, thinking this would help, but it didn’t. Well, God let me go on for approximately three years, and then I guess He decided to bring me back to Him. I had a Stroke. Praise the Lord! (PTL)
People think I’m crazy when I say that the stroke was the best thing that ever happened to me, but the Lord could have taken me home to be with Him, I am grateful that He didn’t. PTL The type of Stroke that I had, I’m told only 5% survive, and this is why I praise God for my Stroke. I know it was because I still had work to do, like uplifting up your spirits. PTL. You are a blessing to me, and I am uplifted by you.
The depression had gone, my life was back on track, but a storm was lurking around the corner. My husband passed in 1997 from Cancer. A year and a half after my Stroke, it was discovered that he had cancer, and he passed three weeks later. I feel that if I had still been in that state of depression, I don’t think I could have handled it. During my depression, I wanted to die. I didn’t want to kill myself, but if someone did it, that was OK. I felt that death was better than what I was going through at the time.
Being paralyzed, disabled, not working, and raising two girls that had to deal with the death of their father, was enough to deal with at that time. I know the depression would have been a little much.
By the grace of God, I’m here, and I survived all of it. God is so good. When I’m having one of my ‘pity parties,’ and feeling all alone, I think of James 1:2-4 when he said,
“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produce patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”
That was a little about Pam K. Maybe more next time. Remember, “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.” Ps. 30:5b
By His Grace,
Pam K