Latest / Our Community, Our Mission / Ep #286 – One Voice, Many Stories: Night of Praise 2025 Recap

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Ep #286 – One Voice, Many Stories: Night of Praise 2025 Recap · Our Community, Our Mission

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_01: Gracious Heavenly Father, we thank you, Lord, for this day and your blessings.
• 0:03
  SPEAKER_01: Lord, we thank you for this time and Lord, this podcast.
• 0:05
  SPEAKER_01: Lord, we thank you for all uh that we get to celebrate because of you and the work that you continue to do through us, Lord.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_01: Um, we thank you for our community, we thank you for our listeners, and we just thank you uh for this time and pray that those who are listening would be encouraged and blessed today, Father.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_01: We love you and we praise your name.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_01: Amen.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_03: Hello, everybody.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_03: Thank you for joining us for our Community Our Mission, a podcast of the Topeka Rescue Mission.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_03: We're here on Tuesday, September 30th, 2025.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_03: This is episode number two hundred and eighty-six.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_03: I'm your host today, Barry Feeker, here with Lamanda Cunningham, CEO of Topeka Rescue Mission, John Ostenson, who is the board president of Topeka Rescue Mission, Josh Turley, who is the director of strategic development at the Topeka Rescue Mission.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_03: We've got Alec down here, it's running the board.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_03: And so, I just want to make sure everybody knows what we're talking about here.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: You sound like a pro podcaster, baby.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_03: 386 times.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_03: And you know, and what we do is uh we always like to recognize the importance of the day.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_03: And so this is really an important day.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_03: Yes.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_03: This is a really important day.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_03: Uh-huh.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_03: International what, Josh?
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_03: Podcast Day.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_03: Podcast Day.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_03: Podcast Day.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_03: You know, they didn't have that before we started this 286 times ago, didn't they?
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_03: I don't think so.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_03: We pioneered it.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_03: We pioneered it.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, people said, golly, uh Topeka, Kansas, man, they're going for it.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_03: And so let's make it an international day.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_03: That's right.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_03: So uh anyway, yeah, podcasts have been around for a very, very long time.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_03: Where did the podcast idea start from, Josh?
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_01: So I actually found that really interesting when look looking this up that podcasting, because I've always like that seems like a weird word um for it, but originally comes from the iPod.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know if you guys remember the iPod with the little click wheel and downloaded your music on there.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_01: And broadcasting, so podcasting.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_01: Even though nobody has an iPod anymore, we all have iPhones.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_01: Um but yeah, that's the same.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_03: You know, I finally got one of those uh way, way back when I finally got one, and then they didn't support them anymore.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_03: And they were they were gone.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, it was like everybody had one, it's gonna be.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_03: And then I finally got one, I thought it was really cool, and then you couldn't get any music on them anymore.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_03: So it was like Barry, you never switched to that.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_00: Let's be honest, you stayed with the floppy disk.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_00: We know.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_03: Hey, I still got floppy disks.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_03: I just don't know what's on them or how you can read them.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_03: Not surprised, not surprised.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_03: Podcasts, so and podcasts, Josh, are also, since you're the expert in this arena, is uh they're also video podcasts.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, yeah.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_01: So ever since the uh I don't know, the evolution of YouTube.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_01: Um now podcasting is we're not on there currently, maybe someday.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_01: Um but yeah, it's become a larger media format, and so it's definitely kind of taken over long-form content, which is great.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_01: So, Crystal Ball, where's this all going now?
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_01: Ooh.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_01: Um AI.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_00: We won't need it.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_00: We'll just be able to look at each other and know thoughts and everything, and it's just there.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_01: We'll just download this right into your brain.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_01: Eventually, yeah, we'll have a little link thing in our brain.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_03: We'll just download and we'll know the information.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_03: We'll wake you up at seven o'clock in the morning, we'll say, All right, pay attention.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: Unless you're me who really has stayed behind on times.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know why I'm dissing out the um meanness to you, because I'm actually more old school than you are.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_00: I've always pen and paper, and I'm always like, yeah.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_03: Anyways.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_03: I get ridiculed for my penmanship, so I'm not sure too just talking to my iPhone.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_03: So please transcribe for me.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_03: Okay, well, it's also, and Lamanda, please try to practice this with me today, especially.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_03: Okay.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_03: It's National Love Barry Day.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_03: Oh, National Love People Day.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, you know, Barry, I try that with you every day.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_03: Keyword try.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_03: I try.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_03: That's right.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_03: There's a power of unconditional love, so you need to try to exercise that.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_03: No, National Love People Day.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_03: We probably need something to recognize that right now in our nation and our world, like we haven't for a long time.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_00: Because scripture's not enough.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_03: No, apparently not.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, people need to go back to the word.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_03: Uh-huh.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_03: That's right.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_03: Love God, love people.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_03: It's kind of like the basic of basics, right?
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_04: Uh-huh.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_03: But uh we all we had to have another day.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_03: Love People Day.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_03: So we hope that you are being loved today.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_03: And then if it's all not working and you're feeling really stressed out, it's National Chewing Gum Day.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_00: I have a huge um like the gum now is coming in plastic containers, and I've always been able to get away with like just smaller containers or whatever, but now with cost and all of that, and the fact that I've got a family of seven, now I buy the big plastic container that has two or three rows of all of them, and I just pass them around the mama taxi.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_00: That's what I call it.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_03: You say, Everybody says, Mom, we're hungry, you stick some chewing gum in the mouth and say, okay.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_00: Yep, I just send it around.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_00: Uh-huh.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_03: Well, there is some science about chewing gum that will indicate that uh it does help regulate.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_03: Um, you know, when I was a kid, if you brought chewing gum to school, you were in big trouble, right, John?
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_03: Oh, yeah, yeah.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_03: Better bring enough to share.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_03: Well, in my case, you better make sure you don't stick it under the desk.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_03: Yes.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_03: I remember going into grade school and feeling under my desk, and there was an army of chewing gum stuck up underneath the desk because people would get in big trouble.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_03: You get sent to the principal's office for gum.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_03: Sure.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_03: Now, now the It's much more allowed.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_03: The trauma-informed uh aspect of this says it's good for kids to be able to chew gum.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_03: Where was that when I was a kid?
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_03: I don't I don't know.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_03: I'm serious.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_03: No color TV, no chew and gum on the back.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_00: Now you can, Barry.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_00: Now you know better, you do better.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_00: That's right.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_00: We had a gas station um in my hometown.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_00: It's still there.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_00: Uh but the whole bottom shelf was 10 cent gum, and it was all the different flavors.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_00: And so my dad would give me a dollar and I would go into the gas station and I would pick, you know, green and purple and pink and all of that.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_00: And I remember um for a long time having trouble because I wanted to be able to get 10 of them.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_00: Well, you can't because of tax.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_00: And so apparently, there for a while, I told the gentleman that was working at the gas station, you can just pay the rest.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_00: And my dad didn't know I was doing that.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: And then, anyways, somebody finally insisted.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: So basically, I'm the six-year-old with the tab at the gas station for the bottom shelf, um, bubblegum, but I still think of that.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_00: And then I'm thinking, what a waste, because you do like three different chews, and then it's already gone.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_03: So, do you believe I'm paying your taxes today?
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_00: Do you believe other people should pay for it?
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and I'm caught up.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_01: So we were at uh Cracker Barrel last night, and my oldest son had a dollar, so he's like looking around and he finds his candy, and he's like, These are 35 cents.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_01: How many can I get?
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_01: I was like, one.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_01: He's like, Why?
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_01: It's like tax.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_04: Uh-huh.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_03: I went to buy a pack of gum the other day and then you know went to the cashier and and she told me the price.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_03: And I go, I didn't buy a steak.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_03: No.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_03: I bought and she said, Well, you want to see what the steak costs now.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_03: And so, yeah, just even for a pack of gum is crazy.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_00: I've been buying the I know it sounds silly, but I've been buying them at Sam's.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_00: Because when you're looking at what you're paying per stick or chew, whatever it is.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you can do it like this.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_03: You can chew it all day long, stick it underneath your desk, and pull up again tomorrow, and you gotta last a whole week.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_03: So you can't.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_00: It's still trauma-informed.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_00: You're still chewing on it.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_03: So, anyway, we better get on with what we were gonna talk about today.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_03: You know, we're we're having fun here um on National International Podcast Day.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_03: We have fun at uh uh our community, our mission every time.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_03: Talk about some really serious stuff, important stuff.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_03: And there was a really fun night that happened here uh what is it two Fridays ago, Josh?
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_03: Uh now uh it seems like a thousand Fridays ago.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_03: Anyway, on September the 12th, the night of praise.
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_03: Uh a lot of people that have listened to the podcast heard about the night of praise coming, the night of praise coming, what it's gonna be about.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_03: Today we're gonna devote a little bit of time about the night of praise and unpack that.
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_03: And so um it was uh it was a beautiful night.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_03: Um there was testimonies, there was um an opportunity for people to contribute, but it was also a night where um people who whether they are Christ followers or just interested in following Christ felt a place that they could come and be, especially in the times that we're in.
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_03: Uh, we really had some incredible tragedies that were occurring, assassination and murders and and and all kinds of things, school shootings that were happening right up to this place.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_03: And you know, there's just uh it was a night that people could come together with probably a lot of questions in their minds, um, a lot of hurt in their hearts, and uh just spend some time together as a body of Christ, being together uh around this uh this night of praise.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_03: So uh Lamanda, um uh Josh, John, you all had different roles in this and a whole lot of other people, but Lamanda, talk about again what was the purpose of Night of Praise?
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_03: Um this was the third one since you've been CEO here at TRM.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_03: So talk about the purpose of it.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_03: Then we'll unpack some of the details.
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you know, I think the purpose is twofold.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_00: Um one is when we are looking at all of the work that needs to be done and is done um through the Topeka Rescue Mission, um, that takes a very hefty and healthy budget to provide the services to our community.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_00: And so looking at um definitely there we go.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_00: Um trusting the Lord to provide um financial resources year after year is definitely something that we do.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_00: But then there's also this other side of it as we have a responsibility to make sure that we're doing appropriate asks to the community.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_00: Our community is very generous, and I think a lot of times if they know the need, they do their part to help meet it.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_00: And so um there are definitely financial responsibilities that we have to walk out and making sure that we're doing everything we can, in addition to trusting the Lord as our provider.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_00: And so um looking at beginning an annual fundraiser was the heart of how can we be talking to the community, showcasing what the Lord is doing, um, showcasing the need, because sometimes our success stories are not finished stories, they're in progress, um, and responsibly talking to the community about what we need.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_00: Now, the purpose of that is not just the financial support we gain, it's how do we gain it?
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_00: And um, myself and and the leadership here really put a lot of thought and prayer into okay, we understand why we need to do a fundraiser.
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_00: Now, what type of fundraiser is appropriate for us?
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_00: And that kind of birthed out this idea of doing a worship night.
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_00: And instantly, when I heard that idea, I thought, this is so much bigger uh than my idea of needing an annual fundraiser.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_00: And so I remember having prayer time about it in room 136 here at the children's palace.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_00: And that day there was probably 11 or 12 of us around the room, and we prayed, um, a couple of us, even emotional, saying, God, we feel like we're doing this because we need to tell the story of what you're doing.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_00: We need the financial support, but we can tell that you're seeing Topeka needs this night, bigger than what we even know as far as our needs.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_00: And so we realize this can be our annual fundraiser to meet those financial needs, but also to bring together a night that is so unique in regards to worshiping the Father for what he's already done, but also coming together as believers, anticipating what he's still going to do.
• 11:31
  SPEAKER_03: Sound like there's a lot of um components to the night of praise.
• 11:35
  SPEAKER_03: And it's not just a fundraiser, it's not just a night of praise, it's a lot of things, testimonial time.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_03: So when you talk about the need for finances and you have a night like this, does it raise tons and tons of money?
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I guess it depends on someone's definition of tons of money.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, when we're looking at the money that we raise, I have to look at it out of two different lenses.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_00: And that's why sometimes I need Tylenol and ibuprofen.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_00: On one lens, I look at it, and if we raise$10,000, I look at it and go, that is an amazing night.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_00: That's$10,000 more doll that we have in our annual budget.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_00: But then I have to take it deeper and know there were however many people that gave out of their heart to raise the$10,000.
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_00: How can I measure that, Barry?
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know what their level of obedience is, and I don't know, is it the widow's might, is it not?
• 12:31
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but to me, I look at that as successful.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_00: The other side is when you look at the work that's put into it, and we look at that that this is our only annual fundraiser.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes you go, oh no, we only raise$10,000.
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_00: So it really just kind of depends.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_00: And so what Josh does, what I do, the team does is we look at what we have and we give thanks for that because we do not know what every dollar represents on other people's story.
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_00: The other side of it is there's a practicality that we need much more than$10,000.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_00: And so we thank God for what we got, but we continually ask him to provide because that$10,000 doesn't match what our needs are.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_03: I think there are some people that understand, but a lot that don't, that uh fundraisers uh generally don't raise all the money you need.
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_03: Uh what they are is a time to raise some money you need, but they also are a springboard for awareness.
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_00: And that's that's what's kind of hard too, Barry, around here and what I'm watching other CEOs do too.
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_00: Um our event is a free event.
• 13:35
  SPEAKER_00: And then we also do ask, you know, if you come to these events, can you bring a non-perishable item?
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_00: And so on that, we're doing that because we want people to not be prevented from coming.
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_00: If you can't give a dollar, you should still have access to the gospel.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but then there is this CEO struggle.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_00: That's my new thing, CEO struggle.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_03: Maybe I'm the only one that has international CEO struggle basically.
• 14:02
  unknown: That's right.
• 14:03
  SPEAKER_00: But there's the CEO struggle that I have because there's other events happening locally where it's a hundred dollars a ticket.
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_04: Or more.
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_00: Or five hundred a ticket, or then you do rows or tables and it's this amount of thousands.
• 14:17
  SPEAKER_00: And so um our fundraiser is so different.
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_00: And I guess I just hope that one day the Lord sees it as well done, my good and faithful servant, and that we are balanced in our financial need and approach, but that that financial ask never outweighs the gospel need of the people walking through the doors.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_00: And that is beautiful and so challenging at the same time for my role.
• 14:47
  SPEAKER_03: For sure, John, as board president, uh, we've talked to you about the the kind of the heavyweight of uh that responsibility, and and and you've been familiar with and connected with Topeka Rescue Mission for many years, not so many years on the board, but through your family of different people have worked here and and also your uh former um occupation, uh Shawnee County Sheriff's Department being involved with the homeless issue.
• 15:12
  SPEAKER_03: So, John, uh Amanda just talked about um this part of uh of the Lord in this, and and I know you're a strong Christ follower.
• 15:21
  SPEAKER_03: And so as as board president looking at these m mega financial needs, uh mega supply needs, mega needs to help people, uh, life and death, um what the rescue mission engages with and transformation of lives.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_03: Um when you th and we really haven't heard the numbers yet of what the the dollar amount that was raised, we will in a minute.
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_03: But what about this part of praising God?
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_03: What about this part of recognizing the Lord uh speaks to you as uh helping guide to Beaker Rescue Mission as a sub board president, but also this particular event called Night of Praise.
• 15:55
  SPEAKER_03: What's what's uh what do you see beyond the finance uh in relationship to God?
• 16:01
  SPEAKER_03: Um that the there's importance here.
• 16:03
  SPEAKER_02: I think uh I think everything is so relationship-based, and um and having a relationship uh with Christ and salvation through Christ and knowing who He is and having God in my heart and wanting to share that.
• 16:25
  SPEAKER_02: Um so the most important relationship we can have is with our Father, and so that starts there, and then we build relationships out, and um, and then in with Fernite of Praise, um those people who agree with what we do, who love the mission, and have that relationship, or maybe they don't have a relationship with Christ, but just spreading that word and people uh coming to this event and wanting to share.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_02: You know, my wife Gail and I were talking the other day about you, Barry, and we were thinking about uh the conversation you had at I think it was Grace Bible Church.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_02: It would have been a long time ago.
• 17:11
  SPEAKER_02: Long time ago.
• 17:12
  SPEAKER_02: This would have been in the late 80s, and uh and you had a conversation with Norman and Nana Tones.
• 17:19
  SPEAKER_02: And we were talking about how how what uh transpired out of that.
• 17:23
  SPEAKER_02: You know, you were building relationships, you went to the to that church for to express, you know, the needs of the mission, I'm I'm sure, something of that matter.
• 17:33
  SPEAKER_02: 1986, actually.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_02: 1986.
• 17:36
  SPEAKER_02: And it was just fun for us to think what sprung out of that and all the relationships and things that have happened.
• 17:43
  SPEAKER_02: And out of that, uh Anna um was your first, I think that that title back then was a secretary or something.
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_02: As a volunteer.
• 17:53
  SPEAKER_02: As a volunteer we had no money, yeah.
• 17:55
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 17:56
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and then Christian Stringfellow comes along, um, Norman and Anna's grandson.
• 18:02
  SPEAKER_02: And now he's still here, and I think he's in his 11th year.
• 18:06
  SPEAKER_02: And and we're here, and um and so I just that's just powerful.
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_02: And so, yeah, we're I I don't I don't see that we're a big part of TRM, but we're a part of it, and we're thankful for that.
• 18:21
  SPEAKER_02: But I think it's just all relationship and having that relationship with Christ and wanting to give and give back to him because we're so thankful for what he has done for me and for us.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_03: I think that you know, to that point of of and you mentioned something that happened many years ago that uh we didn't know where it was gonna go, but uh you show up and you're around other believers, and God does some stuff with that.
• 18:44
  SPEAKER_03: And so night of praise is one of those show up, God does some stuff with that relationally, has some money, a time to praise, a time for, and I know that there was some special things happening in different people's lives that night, and some people that were really seeking God and had an opportunity to talk about that and have prayer.
• 19:02
  SPEAKER_03: Uh we just don't know really what is gonna transpire out of that.
• 19:06
  SPEAKER_03: Um, but we we do it.
• 19:08
  SPEAKER_03: We by faith say, okay, God, we're gonna do this, we're gonna honor you in it, and we're gonna let you take it from there.
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_03: Which he really does.
• 19:15
  SPEAKER_03: He really does.
• 19:15
  SPEAKER_03: And here you are as board president today, as being uh in-law of Anna Tomes and and Norm, uh, who uh I spoke to many, many years ago.
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_03: Josh, a lot of moving parts on this.
• 19:25
  SPEAKER_03: Um this is uh I don't know if we call you the maestro of this uh concert or or what, but uh talk about just some of the major moving parts and and uh how much chewing gum you went through during the time.
• 19:39
  SPEAKER_03: Uh I went through the bulk the bulk pack from some of the things.
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_00: That I bought him from Singham's, yeah.
• 19:44
  SPEAKER_01: No, it's um I don't know, there's there's there is a lot of moving parts.
• 19:47
  SPEAKER_01: Um so we start planning this.
• 19:50
  SPEAKER_01: Well, we're actually starting to plan next year's now.
• 19:52
  SPEAKER_01: Um we've already got a theme and yeah, we've got a theme, and and so you know, planning starts almost as soon as the first one gets done.
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_01: You know, you kind of start you know doing things here and there.
• 20:03
  SPEAKER_01: But um a big shout out, especially.
• 20:06
  SPEAKER_01: I always got to give them um thanks.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_01: But our friends at Fellowship Bible Church, um, Bill and Brody and and Dalton, those guys, um, Bill helps get the bands together.
• 20:17
  SPEAKER_01: Um, he's a huge part of that, helping um get all the bands together, get all the worship sets put together.
• 20:22
  SPEAKER_01: Just from fellowship.
• 20:23
  SPEAKER_01: And all right, this year we did something very different, which was a blast.
• 20:26
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it was two kind of combined bands.
• 20:30
  SPEAKER_01: Um, one was kind of a more contemporary Christian band, um, and then one was kind of more of a gospel band.
• 20:37
  SPEAKER_01: And so um there was a lot of moving parts of that.
• 20:39
  SPEAKER_01: It's can be hard enough to get like a band that you're used to.
• 20:43
  SPEAKER_01: Um it makes it that much harder when you're pulling kind of this conglomerate.
• 20:50
  SPEAKER_03: And were different musicians, different musicians that served on other bands, but they came together under a different band.
• 20:55
  SPEAKER_03: Correct.
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_01: That was risky, yeah.
• 20:57
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_01: And from you know, they're all from different churches.
• 21:00
  SPEAKER_01: And so um again, you kind of already add a lot of moving parts and then you throw in way more moving parts.
• 21:07
  SPEAKER_01: And so I think that was beautiful seeing all these different members from different churches from different bands come together, work together beautifully, absolutely beautiful.
• 21:15
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, worship was amazing um to make this beautiful night of these bands worshiping the Lord together.
• 21:21
  SPEAKER_01: So that that alone is a huge moving part.
• 21:25
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and so big shout out to to Bill for helping make all that happen.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and Dalton, their tech uh crew that helped make all the slides run and everything beautifully, and the lighting.
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_01: Um, Brody, who helps us uh get the venue and everything, and so um that is one thing, and then our back end is you know, um Alec helps me get all the the videos and assets put together, you know, different slides, different videos, um pulling all the testimonies together and making all the different things.
• 21:56
  SPEAKER_01: So it's a lot of planning, a lot of moving parts.
• 21:58
  SPEAKER_03: But it's it's it's an event, but it's also a production.
• 22:01
  SPEAKER_03: And uh things just have to fall into place.
• 22:03
  SPEAKER_03: You have to have all the right equipment, the right venue, and all this good.
• 22:06
  SPEAKER_03: It's not just about hey, y'all, let's come and praise God.
• 22:09
  SPEAKER_01: Um that's I wish it was that easy.
• 22:13
  SPEAKER_03: So uh a lot of different numbers uh are sitting in front of me here.
• 22:17
  SPEAKER_03: I don't know who wants to take this, but before we do that, it um does require some initial investment uh from the outside.
• 22:25
  SPEAKER_03: And so um uh we had investors again this year.
• 22:28
  SPEAKER_03: John, you've got a list in front of you of some different investors that were sponsors with uh platinum, gold, silver, bronze.
• 22:36
  SPEAKER_03: Uh you can talk about that a little bit?
• 22:38
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I think it's important to pause and just uh express our gratitude towards them.
• 22:42
  SPEAKER_02: And I'll start with the the platinum one, and that was Dr.
• 22:45
  SPEAKER_02: Norman Tomes, as we mentioned earlier.
• 22:47
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and he wanted to do that because he loves the mission, but he also wanted to do it on behalf of uh his wife Anna, which uh lost about a year and a half ago.
• 22:58
  SPEAKER_02: And so um, so yeah, so Dr.
• 23:01
  SPEAKER_02: Norman Tom's I that was uh$2,500.
• 23:04
  SPEAKER_02: Um the next one is the the gold level, and we have several that's BizBox Incorporated, Genesis LLC Realtors, Lighthouse Bible Church, Richard and Paula Wirtz, Tom Bryan with Sugar Creek LLC, and uh TRM board members.
• 23:25
  SPEAKER_02: And again, if I didn't say it, that is what at$1,000.
• 23:30
  SPEAKER_02: The next level each one of those is a thousand dollars.
• 23:33
  SPEAKER_02: Each one, yes, yes, it's awesome.
• 23:34
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you.
• 23:35
  SPEAKER_02: Uh the next level is silver, and that one is a$500 level, and we have April Kelsey, the Farm Bureau Financial Services, the Arm Brewster team, Genesis Realtors, Capital City Church, Cold Creek Construction, John the Iron Man Cantrell, and uh Topeka Natural Therapeutics.
• 24:00
  SPEAKER_02: And the next level is bronze, and that's a$250 level, and that's Denali Financial, Lundy's Flooring, Reliable Green Handyman, Rich McKee, and Solitaire Head Spa.
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_02: And again, we're just so thankful that that for their uh belief in what we're doing.
• 24:21
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, oh, we have a couple more.
• 24:23
  SPEAKER_02: The media.
• 24:24
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, Lamar, yeah, Lamar.
• 24:26
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 24:27
  SPEAKER_02: So they yeah, yeah, thank you.
• 24:29
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, they they always they've sponsored with us every year uh to to give us free uh digital billboard advertising.
• 24:35
  SPEAKER_01: So big shout out to Lamar.
• 24:37
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, how many?
• 24:37
  SPEAKER_01: There's like three.
• 24:38
  SPEAKER_01: I believe there's four, four or five.
• 24:42
  SPEAKER_01: I can't remember off the top of my head, but yeah, that they they run our uh contribution is very valuable.
• 24:49
  SPEAKER_03: Oh, it's very expensive.
• 24:50
  SPEAKER_03: It's huge to have those outdoor signs.
• 24:52
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 24:52
  SPEAKER_03: And so Eli Lamar's been great for that.
• 24:54
  SPEAKER_03: Thank you, Lamar.
• 24:55
  SPEAKER_03: Yes.
• 24:56
  SPEAKER_03: So it it took a lot of people on the front end, um, and not all of that was spent in expenses.
• 25:01
  SPEAKER_03: It was pretty low budget.
• 25:02
  SPEAKER_03: And so um, if I'm looking at this right, about 18 different sponsors of uh nearly$13,000 uh came in, which is like upfront right then.
• 25:11
  SPEAKER_03: And that that de somewhat offsets the hard drive for fundraising during the event.
• 25:17
  SPEAKER_03: And again, uh there are places you go and man, they hit you hard, and you pay a big amount to get in, and now we're gonna hit you harder so that you give and and those kind of things.
• 25:27
  SPEAKER_03: There was not a hard sell here for giving, it was an opportunity to participate.
• 25:32
  SPEAKER_03: So um, yeah, Josh or Lamanda, you got some other numbers you want to read off there?
• 25:37
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so when we're looking at, you know, attendance, uh we had around 300, which is incredible.
• 25:43
  SPEAKER_00: Um we asked earlier in the podcast I had mentioned, we do an ask that if you want to do something for um admittance, you can bring non-perishable item of some sort.
• 25:54
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so through those donations, we gathered 617 pounds of food um and non-perishable items.
• 26:01
  SPEAKER_00: So we're thankful for that.
• 26:03
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, we had a prayer table, and so uh, you know, we keep those numbers um pretty private just to respect confidentiality, but we had uh people not only ask for prayer that we were able to pray with, um, we also had people give us prayer requests, and we had people take prayer cards um in regards to prayer requests that our team um had posted.
• 26:24
  SPEAKER_00: So we're thankful for um those that stopped by the prayer table.
• 26:28
  SPEAKER_00: Uh looking at the financial contributions, total amount raised um was right around 16,000.
• 26:34
  SPEAKER_00: And that included sponsorships, that included um that night giving.
• 26:39
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, we've also had a couple of donations come in uh later on that have been designated on the online portal um for night of praise.
• 26:48
  SPEAKER_00: So this number could change.
• 26:50
  SPEAKER_00: We're still seeing it change slightly, but right now, right around 16,000.
• 26:53
  SPEAKER_00: And then when you look at expenses, we had about$3,000 of expenses.
• 26:58
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but what I wanted to mention about that was of that$3,000, um, almost$2,200 of it are actually um merchandise items, such as like the poster boards and things that are telling people stories that we're then using all throughout the year.
• 27:16
  SPEAKER_00: So$2,200, yes, was for night of praise, but we've already repurposed um some of the items for things.
• 27:24
  SPEAKER_00: So uh we'll continue to give out keychains and we will continue to use the poster board.
• 27:30
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, for example, did a speaking event about a week and a half ago to the Blue Cross Blue Shield retirees um and brought one of the poster boards as testimony, which you know has a little voice box on it and it's Chris is on the poster board, and then he tells his story.
• 27:46
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and people really thought that was neat, and we're gonna be utilizing those now at speaking events.
• 27:52
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so when you look at kind of our our net profit, if you take out that 2200 that's being used for a lot of other functions, um, then we made around 14,000 um with those expenses and all of that included.
• 28:05
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, it's one of those things that um it brought in money and we're thankful for every dollar.
• 28:13
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, but then when we're also looking at unanticipated costs this year and inflation and just deficits because everybody is being impacted, um, then there's definitely still a need um for giving, uh, definitely a need for recurring givers.
• 28:30
  SPEAKER_00: Even if we can just count on$10 a month, we see the Lord use that$10 in mighty ways.
• 28:36
  SPEAKER_00: Um, definitely going to be looking at what does it look like for the day of giving?
• 28:41
  SPEAKER_00: What does it look like for end-of-the-year giving with these?
• 28:44
  SPEAKER_00: But we are thankful um for the um$12,000 raised after expenses or$14,000 if you look at two of those thousand of expenses are used for so many other things.
• 28:56
  SPEAKER_03: And those are all just part of it uh to uh help people to understand um some of the things it takes to make a night of praise um happen at Topeka Rescue Mission.
• 29:05
  SPEAKER_03: But that's one night.
• 29:06
  SPEAKER_03: Um and uh it's not one night that you just do it.
• 29:10
  SPEAKER_03: Uh Josh, as you said, you've already started planning for this uh this next year.
• 29:14
  SPEAKER_03: But it also there's a message here.
• 29:16
  SPEAKER_03: There's a message about Topeka Rescue Mission.
• 29:19
  SPEAKER_03: Um there are different organizations in the community.
• 29:23
  SPEAKER_03: Uh there are different organizations around the whole world that help people.
• 29:27
  SPEAKER_03: Um but Topeka Rescue Mission helps people, but it has a uh a why.
• 29:34
  SPEAKER_03: And uh and that why is demonstrated in the Lord Jesus Christ.
• 29:39
  SPEAKER_03: Not uh ashamed of that, uh not proud of that, but just grateful for that.
• 29:46
  SPEAKER_03: And uh and so we we uh some have said we live in a a post Christian era in the United States, and uh people are saying, uh maybe not so much, uh especially of late.
• 29:58
  SPEAKER_03: Uh people have been uh Asking themselves, you know, maybe I really do want to look at who that Jesus is.
• 30:04
  SPEAKER_03: Maybe I really do want to give that another shot.
• 30:09
  SPEAKER_03: Maybe I've been what they call church hurt, or they've just got the wrong information in this very mixed-up world that we live in right now, in regards to what's up, what's down, what's right, what's wrong, what's good, what's bad.
• 30:22
  SPEAKER_03: We don't a lot of people don't know.
• 30:24
  SPEAKER_03: And in and Christ is not about what's right, what's wrong only.
• 30:29
  SPEAKER_03: Um, he's about this love of uh just loving the world and giving him whole self for it and trying to meet people right where they are.
• 30:39
  SPEAKER_03: And so uh John, I know uh go back to you again.
• 30:41
  SPEAKER_03: Um you worked in the secular arena um with the law enforcement, and uh but you were involved with Topeka Rescue Mission um uh many years ago um as a Christ follower yourself.
• 30:55
  SPEAKER_03: What was it about Topeka Rescue Mission that um I think eventually would even lead you to being where you are as board president today that that attracted you to the to the Topeka Rescue Mission?
• 31:06
  SPEAKER_02: So when I think about the Topeka economy, what drives the Topeka economy?
• 31:14
  SPEAKER_02: And then you know then you start hearing about God's economy, and they're just so completely different.
• 31:20
  SPEAKER_02: And for the Topeka economy, we can make Goodyear tires and free-to-laid chips and Mars peanuts and chocolate or whatever, or the Capitol building making laws, some of them are even good.
• 31:35
  SPEAKER_02: And um, but when I think about Topeka Rescue Mission, I think about what is our product and it's people.
• 31:42
  SPEAKER_02: And the most important thing to God is people.
• 31:45
  SPEAKER_02: And so what should be the most important to us, and that's people, and it's it's investing in them and the transformation of their their lives.
• 31:55
  SPEAKER_02: And we don't we don't preach it in to them, we exemplify it, and uh that's their choice.
• 32:03
  SPEAKER_02: But it's people and it's serving people and loving on people.
• 32:07
  SPEAKER_02: So loving whether they um go the direction that you've chosen or not, you're still called to love them.
• 32:14
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, we're called to love them.
• 32:15
  SPEAKER_02: And if you ask just a an ordinary person, you said, what what drives Topeka?
• 32:21
  SPEAKER_02: I I doubt anybody would say Topeka rescue mission.
• 32:25
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, that's just because that's our product is people.
• 32:30
  SPEAKER_02: People are more thinking about what makes the c the city thrive.
• 32:35
  SPEAKER_02: You know, uh the economy, to pick whatever drives it.
• 32:40
  SPEAKER_02: But in God's economy, it's taking care of people, and I'm thankful that that's what we do.
• 32:46
  SPEAKER_03: You know, I was uh in a meeting yesterday with uh two people, great people, um, but couldn't be more opposite from their political views.
• 32:56
  SPEAKER_03: Um and and really um um struggling with the uh the other view.
• 33:03
  SPEAKER_03: Um and uh so obviously uh I didn't get out of there in time.
• 33:07
  SPEAKER_03: And so they said, Where do you stand?
• 33:10
  SPEAKER_03: And uh I said, Well, um I stand uh in neither place, and that's not a cop-out.
• 33:16
  SPEAKER_03: Um because I learned sometime back that uh there is uh a lot of different kingdoms.
• 33:23
  SPEAKER_03: Um and uh whether we are a right kingdom or a left kingdom, a Republican, Democrat, or whatever, um uh there was a kingdom that when Christ came to the earth, um he showed us a different kingdom, the kingdom of God.
• 33:38
  SPEAKER_03: And so I said, uh and they said, What do you mean?
• 33:41
  SPEAKER_03: And so I said, Well, have you ever heard of the upside down kingdom?
• 33:44
  SPEAKER_03: Neither one of them had.
• 33:45
  SPEAKER_03: We had this great opportunity, and I was able to pull up some stuff on my phone about books they could read and different things like that.
• 33:51
  SPEAKER_03: But I said, uh, Jesus was very political.
• 33:54
  SPEAKER_03: Very political.
• 33:55
  SPEAKER_03: If you think about when he came to the earth, um, he came in a time when there was the politics of the Jewish nation, um, and there was a politics of Rome, and uh Rome was occupying uh the whole area that Jesus came into, and there was a lot of politics here uh that were going on, and then uh, you know, Jesus came with a whole nother politic, and that was the upside-down kingdom of loving your neighbor, turning the other cheek, um, the fruits of the spirit, which we'd find later, would be exemplified, the beatitudes and so on and so forth.
• 34:29
  SPEAKER_03: So I said the bottom line is um Jesus got killed because of his politics.
• 34:34
  SPEAKER_03: They were a different kind of politic.
• 34:36
  SPEAKER_03: It wasn't because he was a nice guy, which he was, one because he's raised from the dead.
• 34:39
  SPEAKER_03: He was politically threatening to the system.
• 34:41
  SPEAKER_03: And I said, I said, uh, I respect you both very much.
• 34:44
  SPEAKER_03: Uh know probably why you've chosen the direction you've chosen, the things that you've said to me.
• 34:48
  SPEAKER_03: I said, but you might want to give this a shot.
• 34:50
  SPEAKER_03: Boy, they're they're saying we're gonna read a book about the upside down came.
• 34:54
  SPEAKER_03: What Topeka Rescue Mission does is it is involved in all the different forms of government.
• 35:00
  SPEAKER_03: Um whether it's right, um, whether it's left or whatever, and to your point, John, Topeka Rescue Mission is called to do what Christ called us to do, and that's love our neighbors, regardless if you're Democrat, Republican, independent, or nothing, whether you are a Christ follower or not, whether you're a different religion or not, whether, whether, whether, whether Christ called us to love all and to exempl.
• 35:20
  SPEAKER_03: You said you were that word exemplified.
• 35:22
  SPEAKER_03: Night appraising is exemplification of who God is.
• 35:25
  SPEAKER_03: And and and and while that may be misunderstood, and so, well, that's not that big a deal, it's a huge deal for Topeka Rescue, isn't it, Lamanda?
• 35:32
  SPEAKER_00: It is.
• 35:33
  SPEAKER_00: You know, the other thing that um I know sometimes people hear me say this and kind of shrug it off or or roll the eyes, but I I have to keep saying it and I will continue to say it.
• 35:46
  SPEAKER_00: Even events like Night of Praise, there is a responsibility of me as a CEO to look at it um as a whole, of course, but I can never look at things from only my eye, nor can I look at things as a whole and overlook the individual pieces of it.
• 36:07
  SPEAKER_00: And so um I wish he was sitting here, but I'm I'm close enough within that I know that he won't mind that I share this.
• 36:14
  SPEAKER_00: But Billy Brown, um, who allowed us um so kindly to um just be in to his testimony and to learn more about it, and and Alec and Josh have talked with him and did the video, which was incredible.
• 36:28
  SPEAKER_00: Um he sat next to me um during Night of Praise.
• 36:34
  SPEAKER_00: And when the video started, well, actually, it was even the night before when we were doing rehearsal, but sitting next to him and seeing his spiffy outfit that he had just bought, and he looked sharp, he looked so sharp.
• 36:55
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and just the the cleanliness and the healthiness and um the weight gain that he's actually proud of and and all of this stuff.
• 37:07
  SPEAKER_00: Sitting next to him and seeing his face and knowing a little bit, as much as I can, but a little bit of what he was processing of his journey and um what God had done.
• 37:23
  SPEAKER_00: I looked at him and I would look at the big screen, and then when it came to the picture of him and what he looked like in the midst of his addiction and just how he has this emotion tied to it.
• 37:38
  SPEAKER_00: But the emotion is no longer like, I can't believe I got that bad, or the emotion isn't embarrassment, it's not shame.
• 37:46
  SPEAKER_00: There is drive in him that I can't match.
• 37:51
  SPEAKER_00: Like I can't, I don't have a desire to reach people from the same level of heart that he does.
• 37:58
  SPEAKER_00: He's coming at it with experience too.
• 38:00
  SPEAKER_00: And he mentions, um, he's mentioned it on the podcast and everything, that he recognizes that he is no longer that person.
• 38:09
  SPEAKER_00: And it's not just to celebrate his own accolades, it's that the Lord allows him to go right back into the fire to pull more people out.
• 38:17
  SPEAKER_00: And so as I was sitting there, you know, I'm mic'd up and trying to keep myself together, right?
• 38:22
  SPEAKER_00: Because I know I have to interview him.
• 38:24
  SPEAKER_00: Whoever gave me that part, shame on you.
• 38:27
  SPEAKER_00: But um that.
• 38:28
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, that's right.
• 38:29
  SPEAKER_00: Josh is like, just so you know, we're talking about the heart.
• 38:32
  SPEAKER_00: And so we pretty much have you throughout the whole program.
• 38:34
  SPEAKER_03: But, anyways, um trying to keep it together really well, by the way.
• 38:38
  SPEAKER_00: I'm telling you, yeah, I think it's because of how awful I was at rehearsal and right before and after.
• 38:45
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 38:45
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but anyways, so it's like this surreal moment where I absolutely understand internally what our team did to make this night happen.
• 38:54
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm recognizing it, I'm soaking it in, I'm thanking God literally as I'm sitting there, thanking God for everything the team did.
• 39:02
  SPEAKER_00: But then there's this moment where I completely have to take the CEO hat off, and I have to not be looking at this as an event or a production or a fundraiser, and I have to know that I have a brother in Christ sitting next to me who has walked through things that most people um don't understand, and several people also condemn, and that he's overcome that.
• 39:27
  SPEAKER_00: And then not only has he overcome it, now he's on a mission to help everybody else that he can that is in that.
• 39:34
  SPEAKER_00: And then he has the bravery and the courage.
• 39:39
  SPEAKER_00: It it doesn't take bravery and courage for me to get up there to do my CEO role.
• 39:44
  SPEAKER_00: It absolutely takes bravery and courage for all of those people that agree to be on a poster, all the people that will allow us to hear their testimony and the courage it took for Billy to talk about abandonment from a mother and um being in and out of church and realizing that church is not the relationship with Christ and all of these things.
• 40:11
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I sat there and I just literally prayed, Lord, don't ever let me get so focused on the whole that I forget about the billies.
• 40:24
  SPEAKER_00: And because we would do such a disservice to our community to only be talking about everything that's pretty, that has always been pretty, that never has blemishes.
• 40:38
  SPEAKER_00: One, it doesn't exist outside Christ, but two, um, we're talking eternity here, and we cannot miss an opportunity to have an event or a production that showcases the Billy's because Billy is showcasing the transformation of Christ.
• 40:55
  SPEAKER_00: And that might not be popular, and that might not get on renderings, and that might not everything else, you know, that's out here that's being discussed, but I can't, those things are good, but those can't be the things I chase.
• 41:08
  SPEAKER_00: And though it just can't.
• 41:10
  SPEAKER_00: And so I have to look at somebody as Billy Brown as um a hero, and um, it's not because of accolades, it's because he's really overcome dark, dark places that many of us couldn't, um, and that he then turns back to give back to his community.
• 41:33
  SPEAKER_00: When he pours into people, every person that walks through that door at the front desk, that is giving back to Topeka.
• 41:39
  SPEAKER_00: That is changing what our streets look like, that is changing mental health.
• 41:43
  SPEAKER_00: That's not happening in a boardroom.
• 41:46
  SPEAKER_00: That's not happening in a big meeting with all of us that have whatever degrees I have.
• 41:51
  SPEAKER_00: That's not it.
• 41:52
  SPEAKER_00: Our community is changing by the Billy Browns who are talking to the person in the middle of their addiction to say, I was once you, and you can be something different, and I'm gonna help you get there.
• 42:01
  SPEAKER_03: Absolutely true.
• 42:03
  SPEAKER_03: I will say at this uh same point, it takes the CEO and the staff and the board to stand behind a Billy, to have a place for him to go, and a community that does that as well.
• 42:12
  SPEAKER_03: But you're right, those are infrastructural pieces of this for the billies to be the really the ones that go into the fire and to pull people out.
• 42:20
  SPEAKER_03: And so it it takes a team and it takes a great leader.
• 42:23
  SPEAKER_03: And uh, Lamana, no disrespect to you, it that's Jesus Christ.
• 42:27
  SPEAKER_03: And so you get to follow him and John the same way with you as being board president.
• 42:32
  SPEAKER_03: You both recognize that.
• 42:34
  SPEAKER_03: This isn't a position of uh prestige, to say the least.
• 42:38
  SPEAKER_03: It's positions of obedience and following the direction of the Lord, because that's what night of praise was about, and is what it is about every day at Topeka Rescue Mission is recognizing who's the commander-in-chief of this army uh that is there to love the ones in front.
• 42:57
  SPEAKER_02: Because every day at TRM is National Love People Day.
• 43:00
  SPEAKER_02: It is right, that's right.
• 43:02
  SPEAKER_02: Every day.
• 43:02
  SPEAKER_02: And uh you know, being kind is free.
• 43:08
  SPEAKER_02: It's a free thing you can do.
• 43:09
  SPEAKER_02: Just be kind to people and show love to people.
• 43:12
  SPEAKER_02: It seems like, you know, you mentioned earlier the shootings, all the violence, and all the just the nonsense going on here recently.
• 43:18
  SPEAKER_02: And I was talking to my son Luke yesterday, and and I was we were just saying the obvious.
• 43:25
  SPEAKER_02: It just seems now with all this going on, um it's just so much easier to be recognized as seem being different when you're kind to someone and you genuinely care about them and you have a genuine conversation with that stranger, whoever that is.
• 43:42
  SPEAKER_02: Because uh it's just it's kind of uncommon.
• 43:44
  SPEAKER_02: It is uncommon now.
• 43:46
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 43:46
  SPEAKER_02: And it's easier to be that example of Christ to others and people thinking, well, is there something different about that person?
• 43:54
  SPEAKER_02: It's just very simple.
• 43:56
  SPEAKER_02: It's a simple thing to do.
• 43:57
  SPEAKER_02: Just be kind to somebody, just love on them.
• 43:59
  SPEAKER_02: And there's easy ways of doing it.
• 44:02
  SPEAKER_03: People oftentimes um don't understand uh the homeless um who they are, and so if they don't understand, they may fear the homeless, and oftentimes we fight what we fear.
• 44:14
  SPEAKER_03: And so they'll make decisions to uh say what they don't know about somebody experiencing homelessness or addiction or whatever the case might be.
• 44:24
  SPEAKER_03: And and what uh what people can do is they can uh learn.
• 44:29
  SPEAKER_03: Uh they can really learn who are our neighbors and uh learn about the Billy Brown.
• 44:33
  SPEAKER_03: At one time, if you looked at Billy Brown um outdoors, you'd say, I don't understand him, I'm afraid of him, so I don't want him.
• 44:40
  SPEAKER_03: And so then they fight it with either policies or just attitudes and whatever.
• 44:45
  SPEAKER_03: But in fact, Topeka Rescue Mission and the people that support Topeka Rescue Mission are here to shed a light that you do not have to fear the unknown, but come and get to know the people like Billy Brown's.
• 44:57
  SPEAKER_03: And that's what you guys did the other night is Billy was a representative of others who have um been where he is now um or those that are on their way to be able to be in that spot.
• 45:09
  SPEAKER_03: And uh and that's who Christ came for, um, which is all of us.
• 45:12
  SPEAKER_03: Um that we're all Billy's in one respect or another.
• 45:16
  SPEAKER_03: And uh got a night to do that, already planning uh uh night of praise 2026.
• 45:21
  SPEAKER_03: Can you believe that, Josh?
• 45:22
  SPEAKER_01: Fourth annual.
• 45:23
  SPEAKER_03: Fourth annual, that's right.
• 45:25
  SPEAKER_03: So Lamanda, uh, Josh, uh John, anything uh before we close today.
• 45:31
  SPEAKER_00: I would just give gratitude, you know, thank you for everybody that attended, um, everybody that gave.
• 45:38
  SPEAKER_00: Um we know a lot of people couldn't attend, um, and people were telling us they were praying for it, that they'll miss it, they can't wait until next year, those kinds of things.
• 45:47
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so I would say that.
• 45:48
  SPEAKER_00: And then I also just, you know, if there's anybody listening to this that attended, um, I had a lot of people share um really neat um and raw things of what God did at that night.
• 46:02
  SPEAKER_00: And so um, you know, we had kids that identified with Billy, and we had um adults that are kind of like, man, I never even knew this existed, and just all of these different things.
• 46:15
  SPEAKER_00: So, in addition to gratitude, I would also just say that the people that attended, um, thank you for being a part of our story and just continue to let the Lord use whatever happened that night um to transform you as well in these upcoming months.
• 46:29
  SPEAKER_03: Absolutely.
• 46:29
  SPEAKER_03: And the and the uh the need goes on, and uh the uh the team stays on the field, and we march because of people like you who are listening who can be a part of this team.
• 46:38
  SPEAKER_03: Thank you for uh being a part of the Topeka Rescue Mission and listening to this podcast, uh, our community, our mission.
• 46:43
  SPEAKER_03: John, uh uh you've listened to almost every one of them, but have you listened to every one now?
• 46:47
  SPEAKER_03: I'm missing one.
• 46:48
  SPEAKER_03: You're missing one.
• 46:49
  SPEAKER_03: I'll get on that.
• 46:50
  SPEAKER_03: Okay.
• 46:50
  SPEAKER_03: We're gonna get on that.
• 46:51
  SPEAKER_03: So you don't have to listen to the ones that you're on, okay, unless you want to.
• 46:55
  SPEAKER_03: So we'll give you a pass there.
• 46:56
  SPEAKER_03: But thank you for all who have been a listener to uh now 286 of these, or at least part of them.
• 47:02
  SPEAKER_03: And and uh just thank you for being a part of the Topeka Rescue Mission.
• 47:06
  SPEAKER_03: If you'd like more information about TRM, you could go to TRMonline.org.
• 47:10
  SPEAKER_03: That's TRMonline.org.
• 47:13
  SPEAKER_03: Thank you and have a blessed day.