Latest / Our Community, Our Mission / Ep #311 - Meet Matt Fessman, Director of Main Shelter Operations

Transcript

Ep #311 - Meet Matt Fessman, Director of Main Shelter Operations · Our Community, Our Mission

0:00
SPEAKER_00: Father, we thank you.
0:01
SPEAKER_00: We thank you for just another day to be with you.
0:04
SPEAKER_00: And Lord, I just know that there's a lot of people facing a lot of different things.
0:10
SPEAKER_00: And we just thank you that you're with us throughout it all.
0:14
SPEAKER_00: God, I pray for just our special guest today.
0:17
SPEAKER_00: Thank you for calling him according to your purpose to TRM.
0:21
SPEAKER_00: And Lord, I just pray that we would um just shepherd him the way that you know that he needs, Lord.
0:28
SPEAKER_00: And I just um pray that you would um just keep him safe, give him favor and all that he does as he leads here at TRM.
0:36
SPEAKER_00: God, thank you for um the the guests, thank you for the unsheltered neighbors, thank you for the staff and the volunteers and the donors.
0:45
SPEAKER_00: Just help all of us, Lord, to do um exactly what you've called us to do and entrusted us to do here.
0:52
SPEAKER_00: Lord, uh life is is hard sometimes, and um this work is not always easy, but it's always worth it.
1:00
SPEAKER_00: And so, Lord, just help us stay just so focused on the kingdom work that needs to be done here on earth, um, regardless of what it takes or how challenging it is.
1:12
SPEAKER_00: Lord, we love you and we thank you for today.
1:14
SPEAKER_00: In your name we pray.
1:15
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
1:16
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
1:23
SPEAKER_04: Hello, everybody.
1:24
SPEAKER_04: Thank you for joining us for our community our mission, a podcast of the Topeka Rescue Mission on here on April 21st, 2026.
1:32
SPEAKER_04: This is episode number 311.
1:34
SPEAKER_04: I'm your host today, Barry Fieker, with Lamanda and Merriam.
1:37
SPEAKER_04: Good morning.
1:38
SPEAKER_02: Good morning.
1:38
SPEAKER_02: Good morning.
1:39
SPEAKER_04: Beautiful day out there today.
1:40
SPEAKER_02: Uh the sun is shining.
1:41
SPEAKER_02: It's gorgeous.
1:42
SPEAKER_02: It is.
1:43
SPEAKER_04: Just love this part of the year as long as we don't have any of those uh severe weather walk-ins, which we don't today.
1:49
SPEAKER_02: That swirly wind kind of stuff.
1:51
SPEAKER_02: Uh-huh.
1:51
SPEAKER_04: So in your prayer, Lamanda, you talked about a special guest that we're going to talk about here today, but we also want to take the moment that uh the latest and greatest research and development department of Topeka Rescue comes up with.
2:04
SPEAKER_04: I say ladies and grace, we have some some new folks that are doing this uh research because we want to make sure we have the cream of the crop that does the research on what's important about the day.
2:16
SPEAKER_04: And so uh so Amanda, this one um I think you can relate to.
2:20
SPEAKER_04: It's National Kindergarten Day, right?
2:22
SPEAKER_04: Oh what are you implying?
2:23
SPEAKER_04: Uh what am I implying?
2:26
SPEAKER_04: What am I implying?
2:27
SPEAKER_00: So um, I don't want to assume any of your motives, Barry.
2:31
SPEAKER_04: Well, that's that uh yeah, you uh but you graduated from kindergarten a couple years ago.
2:35
SPEAKER_00: I did.
2:36
SPEAKER_04: And so um was that an accredited kindergarten that you were in?
2:40
SPEAKER_00: It was.
2:40
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
2:41
SPEAKER_00: It was.
2:42
SPEAKER_04: Shocking.
2:42
SPEAKER_00: Remember, we've talked about how I got in trouble a couple of times in my kindergarten year.
2:46
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, so they made you a principal later on.
2:50
SPEAKER_04: Anyway, does does anybody know about the history of kindergarten or the why why it's recognized and how long ago it was recognized?
2:56
SPEAKER_02: It was recognized a long time ago, Barry.
2:58
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
2:59
SPEAKER_02: Which is kind of fascinating to me.
3:01
SPEAKER_02: I do.
3:01
SPEAKER_02: Uh huh.
3:01
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
3:02
SPEAKER_02: I do.
3:02
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
3:03
SPEAKER_02: I think I was a pilot student.
3:08
SPEAKER_02: Um but no, I was really kind of struck by the fact that it was kind of started in the 1800s.
3:13
SPEAKER_02: That's a long time ago.
3:14
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, but you know, I mean, 1800s, it you I thought kindergarten was probably back, you know, Roman days or whatever.
3:21
SPEAKER_04: I did, yeah, I don't know why.
3:23
SPEAKER_02: They were they made children work.
3:25
SPEAKER_04: So where was it started?
3:26
SPEAKER_04: United States?
3:28
SPEAKER_02: Uh uh No.
3:29
SPEAKER_02: No.
3:30
SPEAKER_04: No.
3:30
SPEAKER_04: No, that's it wasn't.
3:32
SPEAKER_04: Back when you spoke German.
3:33
SPEAKER_04: Exactly.
3:34
SPEAKER_04: That's right.
3:34
SPEAKER_04: That's exactly Kriedrich Forbell.
3:38
SPEAKER_02: Sure.
3:39
SPEAKER_02: Let's go with that.
3:40
SPEAKER_04: He believed that young children learn best through play.
3:43
SPEAKER_02: Mm-hmm.
3:44
SPEAKER_04: Uh-huh.
3:44
SPEAKER_04: And that's still social interaction.
3:46
SPEAKER_04: That's kind of like your job here at CEO as a rescue, right?
3:49
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
3:49
SPEAKER_00: Some days.
3:50
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
3:50
SPEAKER_04: Creativity and social interaction, a lot of that.
3:52
SPEAKER_00: Yes.
3:53
SPEAKER_00: I learned it all from you.
3:56
SPEAKER_04: So those are ideas that still shape today.
3:58
SPEAKER_04: Uh my kindergarten um was okay.
4:02
SPEAKER_04: Was yours okay?
4:04
SPEAKER_04: Mine was great.
4:04
SPEAKER_04: Was it?
4:05
SPEAKER_04: I loved kindergarten.
4:06
SPEAKER_02: You got to take naps.
4:08
SPEAKER_04: My kindergarten teacher taught one year.
4:10
SPEAKER_04: Uh-huh.
4:10
SPEAKER_04: And then she got out of education.
4:12
SPEAKER_04: So my first grade teacher was my therapist.
4:15
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
4:16
SPEAKER_04: Oh, yeah.
4:16
SPEAKER_04: No, I loved kindergarten.
4:18
SPEAKER_04: Still trying to recover.
4:19
SPEAKER_04: But anyway, yeah, we didn't play.
4:21
SPEAKER_04: We we we learned how to survive.
4:23
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
4:23
SPEAKER_04: I mean, that's happened sometimes, right?
4:25
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
4:25
SPEAKER_04: And so uh that's why teachers today screen.
4:27
SPEAKER_02: You didn't get to nap?
4:29
SPEAKER_02: They didn't let you nap?
4:31
SPEAKER_04: I mean.
4:31
SPEAKER_02: Oh, you didn't want to nap.
4:33
SPEAKER_02: He was one of those.
4:34
SPEAKER_02: He was one of those.
4:36
SPEAKER_04: Okay.
4:36
SPEAKER_04: So what goes along with National Kindergarten Day is National Yellow Bat Day.
4:40
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
4:40
SPEAKER_04: Yellow bat day.
4:41
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
4:42
SPEAKER_04: What in the world is that about?
4:44
SPEAKER_04: Uh huh.
4:44
SPEAKER_04: It's a quirky day highlighting yellow bat.
4:46
SPEAKER_04: The smallest it's not a bat.
4:48
SPEAKER_04: It's not like a baseball bat.
4:50
SPEAKER_00: No.
4:50
SPEAKER_00: Like a flying bat?
4:51
SPEAKER_04: Did you know that there are yellow bats in Canada?
4:54
SPEAKER_04: Yes.
4:55
SPEAKER_04: What would you do if you found a yellow bat?
4:58
SPEAKER_04: Um I'm not sure.
4:59
SPEAKER_00: Same thing as if it's very important.
5:03
SPEAKER_00: Now I actually enjoy watching bats fly and all they do.
5:08
SPEAKER_00: I mean, I find them fascinating.
5:09
SPEAKER_00: Yes.
5:10
SPEAKER_00: However, when they swoop too close because they can't see and all of that, oh that's happened to me twice.
5:16
SPEAKER_00: And let me tell you, it wasn't pretty.
5:18
SPEAKER_00: Bats are so good.
5:19
SPEAKER_00: They are good, good creatures.
5:21
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
5:25
SPEAKER_04: I don't know if we've ever seen one here.
5:26
SPEAKER_04: But uh anyway, they're they're good for the ecosystem.
5:30
SPEAKER_02: They are found in the Americas.
5:32
SPEAKER_02: That's what they tell us.
5:33
SPEAKER_02: So there's probably some here somewhere in America.
5:37
SPEAKER_02: We are in the Americ.
5:38
SPEAKER_02: We're in North America.
5:39
SPEAKER_04: Are we in the Americas?
5:40
SPEAKER_04: I thought we're the United States of Americas.
5:44
SPEAKER_02: Oh, babe.
5:45
SPEAKER_02: This is gonna be a long podcast.
5:47
SPEAKER_04: All right.
5:48
SPEAKER_04: Okay.
5:48
SPEAKER_04: But anyway, they eat little critters that we don't want around the house.
5:51
SPEAKER_04: So if they start hanging around your house, just know you got little critters.
5:54
SPEAKER_02: Just put a little put a little house for them outside of your house so they don't end up in your attic.
6:00
SPEAKER_02: And then they'll just eat all your mosquitoes and bugs and et cetera.
6:03
SPEAKER_00: And you know, we wouldn't have mascara if it wasn't for bat poop.
6:07
SPEAKER_00: What?
6:07
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
6:08
SPEAKER_00: Oh my goodness.
6:08
SPEAKER_00: Bat guana.
6:09
SPEAKER_00: Are you serious?
6:11
SPEAKER_00: Learned it in fourth grade with Miss Marilyn Boyd as my teacher.
6:14
SPEAKER_00: I had no idea.
6:15
SPEAKER_00: We did a bat unit.
6:16
SPEAKER_02: I was this year old before I knew that.
6:18
SPEAKER_04: So uh is it inappropriate for me to say a lament?
6:20
SPEAKER_04: You got bat poop on it?
6:22
SPEAKER_00: You can say that every day.
6:23
SPEAKER_00: Yep.
6:25
SPEAKER_04: Wow.
6:25
SPEAKER_04: I'm so glad I'm a guy.
6:27
SPEAKER_00: No, I don't know if it's yellow bat poop or not, but it's bat poop.
6:32
SPEAKER_00: That that's the expensive stuff.
6:35
SPEAKER_04: Exactly.
6:35
SPEAKER_04: We have one more thing, and this is really the most important of everything.
6:38
SPEAKER_04: It's National Keep Off My Grass Day.
6:40
SPEAKER_04: Or the Grass Day.
6:41
SPEAKER_02: Um you shared a little bit too much of that video.
6:46
SPEAKER_04: It says it's a lighthearted day reminding people to respect lawns, green spaces, and those ever present, keep off the grass signs.
6:55
SPEAKER_00: But really I think grass is made to be walked on.
6:59
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
7:00
SPEAKER_00: And it's so good for you.
7:01
SPEAKER_00: It's grounding.
7:02
SPEAKER_00: Yes.
7:03
SPEAKER_00: But I guess like if you have your own grass, don't walk on someone else's.
7:06
SPEAKER_00: I guess.
7:06
SPEAKER_00: I guess.
7:07
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
7:07
SPEAKER_04: So don't judge me by my lawn if I'm not going to judge you by your bat poop on the biggest.
7:13
SPEAKER_02: That's right.
7:14
SPEAKER_02: That's right.
7:14
SPEAKER_02: I won't.
7:15
SPEAKER_02: There you go.
7:15
SPEAKER_02: We're even.
7:16
SPEAKER_04: So okay, we're good.
7:17
SPEAKER_04: There's one other thing, and it's not today that's important, but it's a very important day tomorrow, Lamanda.
7:23
SPEAKER_04: Four years ago, tomorrow, on the 22nd of April, you stepped into becoming what?
7:30
SPEAKER_00: Well, I'm still trying to process that.
7:33
SPEAKER_00: Four years ago tomorrow, um, I assumed the role at that time called executive director, now known as CEO.
7:39
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, yeah.
7:40
SPEAKER_04: That little uh ceremony uh with uh Fellowship Bible.
7:43
SPEAKER_04: A lot of people came, caught it quite a day.
7:45
SPEAKER_04: It was beautiful.
7:46
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
7:48
SPEAKER_02: That's amazing.
7:49
SPEAKER_00: It honestly doesn't seem like four years.
7:51
SPEAKER_00: Uh-huh.
7:51
SPEAKER_00: That's what I was telling Barry earlier.
7:53
SPEAKER_00: On one hand, it just seems like it's gone by with the blink of an eye.
7:58
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
7:58
SPEAKER_00: And then other times when you think about everything we've navigated in that four years as a team, when I think about it that way, it seems a long time.
8:09
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
8:10
SPEAKER_00: And you know, I just I had somebody asking me some questions yesterday and um asking me about the workload.
8:18
SPEAKER_00: And I was able to truly say that sometimes this calling I feel like is the only thing that does make sense.
8:28
SPEAKER_00: Like I just the joy is still there, the love of it is still there, the um devotion to my staff and the people we serve, the community.
8:43
SPEAKER_00: Like I just wake up every day ready to do that.
8:49
SPEAKER_00: Um, even when it's hard and it doesn't make sense and I'm questioning my ability, you know, just all of those things.
8:56
SPEAKER_00: Um there truly is not a day that goes by that I don't have just sincere gratitude that out of everything I could be called to do, that the Lord would entrust me to be a part of this work.
9:11
SPEAKER_00: So yeah, I and then it's weird because especially if like Barry, when you said, you know, being a previous educator and stuff, like that was a huge part of my life, like 15 years.
9:22
SPEAKER_00: Um and and stuff that was stepping stones for this, and I know it.
9:26
SPEAKER_00: I see God connecting that.
9:28
SPEAKER_00: Yet sometimes it's hard for me to even think about what was before TRM because I just feel like this is my my my part of the world um with the Lord.
9:38
SPEAKER_00: So yeah, four years the good, the bad, and the ugly.
9:42
SPEAKER_04: Well, it's definitely not a kindergarten experience.
9:44
SPEAKER_04: No.
9:45
SPEAKER_04: Um it's definitely much more than that.
9:46
SPEAKER_04: And and the thing about anybody who works in this kind of work with their life, whether it's the CEO or something else, it's about purpose.
9:55
SPEAKER_04: It's about um assignment, it's about a calling, it's about value in your life.
10:00
SPEAKER_04: And as difficult as it is, and the hardest things that you see, there's something important about knowing that we have a why of doing life rather than just going through life.
10:11
SPEAKER_04: And that's what you get to do here as well as other places in life.
10:16
SPEAKER_04: But um that's why probably um as difficult as and challenging as this is to be the director, um, there's also that reminder, this is valuable for not just you, but many other people.
10:27
SPEAKER_02: You know, one of the things though, kind of going back to this kindergarten, National Kindergarten Day, um, you know, one of the things that I think I've watched Lamanda stress to all of us who who are volunteers or staff here is that it really is important for us to also play, right?
10:44
SPEAKER_02: And I don't mean that in a flippant kind of way, but that the work that we do here is heavy and important, and um, we get to see things that can break our hearts.
10:57
SPEAKER_02: So there has to be this balance that we also get to have joyful times together, silly times together, kind of like what we do at the beginning of every podcast.
11:07
SPEAKER_02: We get to understand too that because we're doing this in response to what the Lord called us to do, there's incredible joy.
11:16
SPEAKER_02: And we have to find that every single day.
11:19
SPEAKER_02: Or honestly, I feel like this would be an incredibly oppressive position.
11:26
SPEAKER_02: Right.
11:27
SPEAKER_02: But Lamanda encourages that in all of us and really pours in that this has to be a time of fun as well.
11:35
SPEAKER_02: Um, not that we're being disrespectful to the s seriousness or severity of situations, um, but rather that we're doing the Lord's work, and because of that we can find joy in situations that other people might not.
11:50
SPEAKER_02: Um and I think that is equally as important and something that I feel like she brought to us um just because of who she is, but also the educator part of her as well, recognizing that it can't always just be heavy and serious.
12:06
SPEAKER_04: That's true.
12:06
SPEAKER_04: That's true.
12:07
SPEAKER_04: It couldn't get too serious, too heavy, and then you lose all the joy.
12:11
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
12:11
SPEAKER_04: And so the balance of that.
12:13
SPEAKER_04: And so we start out these podcasts most of the time with uh a lot of fun and just Johnna joking around about the importance of the day.
12:20
SPEAKER_04: That doesn't mean that's what happens all the time here.
12:22
SPEAKER_04: Right.
12:22
SPEAKER_04: But it happens periodically.
12:23
SPEAKER_00: So Oh, but we can't talk about my four years as CEO without saying that what happened the day before, which is today, marked someone's 40th year in this work.
12:39
SPEAKER_04: Miriam, how long have you been here?
12:40
SPEAKER_02: I've been here such a long time, Mary.
12:43
SPEAKER_02: At least in my mind.
12:44
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
12:45
SPEAKER_04: No, my first day at the speaker rescue mission was 40 years ago today.
12:48
SPEAKER_04: How cool is that.
12:49
SPEAKER_04: So yeah.
12:49
SPEAKER_04: So I woke up this morning, remember that very first day.
12:52
SPEAKER_04: And uh actually there's a chapter in a book written on that first day.
12:54
SPEAKER_03: Uh-huh.
12:55
SPEAKER_04: And uh yeah, 40 years.
12:56
SPEAKER_04: You talk about four years going by fast.
12:59
SPEAKER_04: 40 years goes by pretty fast, too.
13:01
SPEAKER_04: I mean so.
13:02
SPEAKER_00: So uh why do you think you didn't quit?
13:06
SPEAKER_04: Um Well, um one of the things that was very clear is I was supposed to come.
13:13
SPEAKER_04: And I didn't plan on it.
13:15
SPEAKER_04: It wasn't what I was looking for.
13:17
SPEAKER_04: It was very clear that God said, This is what I want you to do.
13:20
SPEAKER_04: I don't get those kind of messages very often, but because it was so clear and I needed it to be that clear, I just asked the Lord to uh make it that clear when it was time to go.
13:29
SPEAKER_04: So there were many times I wanted to go ahead and expedite and exit uh just on and on over the years.
13:35
SPEAKER_04: But uh it wasn't like I made God a deal.
13:38
SPEAKER_04: It was just like it was so important to hear from him.
13:40
SPEAKER_04: So that's why I didn't didn't step down.
13:42
SPEAKER_04: And when I knew, and we've shared this story before, um when I knew it was time, I began looking.
13:48
SPEAKER_04: It wasn't like I'm quit today.
13:50
SPEAKER_04: Sure.
13:50
SPEAKER_04: Um but uh we eventually saw God speak loud and clear again.
13:55
SPEAKER_04: And that was how you got here.
13:57
SPEAKER_04: And so uh we both heard in a very dramatic, unique way, independent of knowing what we were hearing.
14:02
SPEAKER_04: Other people confirmed that.
14:03
SPEAKER_04: And then we made some plans um to bring you on board uh to speak a rescue mission for what was about eight months or so before we made uh official switch on the 22nd of April, four years ago.
14:17
SPEAKER_04: So, yeah, forty years ago today.
14:19
SPEAKER_04: Um I couldn't be more grateful.
14:20
SPEAKER_04: I was talking to the Lord today.
14:21
SPEAKER_04: I said, Um, you know, I am the most grateful person that I know.
14:26
SPEAKER_04: Really am that he's giving me this opportunity to be here.
14:29
SPEAKER_04: And still get to do involvement with Topeka Rescue Mission, obviously.
14:33
SPEAKER_02: Mm-hmm with what we're people that are experiencing homelessness.
14:36
SPEAKER_02: Think about all the things.
14:37
SPEAKER_02: If you had walked away during those difficult times, think about all the wonderful things you would have missed.
14:43
SPEAKER_02: You know, all the stories of redemption and transformation and and that kind of thing.
14:48
SPEAKER_02: There's just even, you know, as you think about as we were talking earlier, about all the people that you've been able to um see come through, whether they're guests or whether they're volunteers and what they contributed, um, it wouldn't it have just been a shame to miss all that?
15:05
SPEAKER_04: Well, it really would.
15:06
SPEAKER_04: And uh that's what's made me a better person, is the people, um whether they be uh in shelter, on the streets, volunteers, staff members, they've all sharpened me.
15:18
SPEAKER_04: Um I just got a call this morning from uh a Brian Say, S-A-Y, that his mother had passed away.
15:25
SPEAKER_04: Um her name is Judy.
15:27
SPEAKER_04: Anybody that's uh listening this may remember Judy Say, Rod Say.
15:32
SPEAKER_04: They were um people that came along and started uh volunteering at the Speaker Rescue Mission, I want to say 1986, 1987, pretty soon after I came.
15:41
SPEAKER_04: And um they began to mentor and love guests of the rescue mission like I had never seen.
15:49
SPEAKER_04: And um today, many of the different decisions that I have made have been based upon getting to know Rod and Judy say and their two boys, um uh Brian who called me today.
16:01
SPEAKER_04: Um both his mom and dad have passed, and so has his brother.
16:05
SPEAKER_04: And so he just wanted to share with me, and so there will be a service coming up pretty soon, don't know when.
16:09
SPEAKER_04: But the impact that those kind of people made on my life then shaped how I would do things later, not because of my great ideas, but because of these incredible people that volunteered that came along and love people in a very unique way relationally helped some of the most challenged guests of the rescue mission flourish.
16:27
SPEAKER_02: Isn't that wonderful?
16:28
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
16:28
SPEAKER_04: And every and they stayed with them for years and years and years and years.
16:32
SPEAKER_04: And uh um I think out of um oh thirteen, fourteen of these people that they mentored personally in this kind of a team approach, um, only one didn't do well.
16:42
SPEAKER_04: Umly one didn't do well.
16:45
SPEAKER_04: The rest of them just flourished and got housing and there was two, one, two, three marriages that came up out of that whole thing and and on and on and on.
16:53
SPEAKER_04: So I've learned so many rich things by the people that God sends here that um have uh just been rich, and yeah, I I I'm glad I stayed stayed now.
17:03
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, sure.
17:04
SPEAKER_04: Sure.
17:04
SPEAKER_04: Absolutely.
17:05
SPEAKER_04: And still get a chance to uh be involved with the homeless.
17:08
SPEAKER_04: And that's uh that's something that I hope I continue to do forever.
17:12
SPEAKER_04: So anyway, we have a guest here today that we want to talk about his why.
17:16
SPEAKER_04: So Lamanda uh the Topeka Rescue Mission has many different um uh ministries.
17:22
SPEAKER_04: Um there's uh food services, there's housing services, there's outreach, there's uh education, guest education.
17:29
SPEAKER_04: What uh Topeka Rescue Mission is most known for, understandably, is shelter.
17:34
SPEAKER_04: And so um talk about uh where we are with shelter services today, um, and then talk about our guest here who is director of shelter services.
17:42
SPEAKER_00: Yes.
17:43
SPEAKER_00: So excited to um have Matt Festman on this morning with us.
17:49
SPEAKER_00: He is uh a new director of shelter services.
17:52
SPEAKER_00: You know, we have um for a long time had both the Hope Center and the men's shelter um operating and and housing 250 plus guests every night.
18:05
SPEAKER_00: And so um it's pretty incredible when you think about all that goes into the operations of just those two buildings alone.
18:14
SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, roughly 120, 130 people in each building and navigating um basic needs and food times and downtime and shower times and laundry times.
18:27
SPEAKER_00: I mean, there's just a lot, but then um also navigating um trauma challenges that can come with it and external factors that sometimes prohibit our people from moving forward.
18:38
SPEAKER_00: And um, there's just there's just a lot that just those two buildings alone navigate.
18:45
SPEAKER_00: And um, so one of the things that we've started evaluating probably two years ago, looking at changes that were needed, but wanting to be in the Lord's timing too, and then probably started acting on it within the last four to six months was the role of shelter directors here is so heavy.
19:09
SPEAKER_00: One, because it's 24-7, seven days a week, 365 days a year.
19:15
SPEAKER_00: Um, and our directors also have their own lives and are on their own journeys, and that's just a lot.
19:23
SPEAKER_00: And so um we've been kind of in this pivot to say, how do we recognize that there are going to be differences in both of these buildings?
19:32
SPEAKER_00: Because one is primarily women and families, the other one is males.
19:36
SPEAKER_00: Um, there's just different challenges with that.
19:39
SPEAKER_00: But yet, how do we streamline to help build capacity for our leadership, but also to limit as much as possible gaps in our systems because of operating differently or whatever.
19:52
SPEAKER_00: And so um, that's not something that you can just kind of quickly implement.
19:57
SPEAKER_00: Um, and it really takes kind of walking backwards a little bit, analyzing all of our manuals, our processes, policies, and then really trying to say moving forward, what are these buildings going to look like in regards to servicing um those in need?
20:13
SPEAKER_00: And so um we are kind of in the middle of this transition where Matt and Rachel are both learning duties of both buildings, um, as is Billy, our newest um assistant director of shelter services, and Lisa, who's been at the Hope Center.
20:30
SPEAKER_00: And the heart of this is we feel like male and female role models are important in both buildings.
20:38
SPEAKER_00: Um they that needs to be seen.
20:41
SPEAKER_00: Uh, but recognizing that there are some duties that are specific to male staff or specific to female staff, depending on what people are facing.
20:49
SPEAKER_00: The other thought on this, um, in addition to just better serving those that come in, is that it helps build capacity with our leadership team.
20:57
SPEAKER_00: So now instead of on call being every other week um for one building and the same thing in the other, they're doing four-week rotations.
21:05
SPEAKER_00: Um, so Matt can truly be off the other three weeks and Rachel's off the other three weeks, those kinds of things.
21:12
SPEAKER_00: So I am um ecstatic to have Matt on here today for several reasons.
21:19
SPEAKER_00: Um, one of the first things that I noticed about Matt in our interview, interviews are not easy with me.
21:29
SPEAKER_00: Um and can be quite the process because one thing that I take very seriously here, not in a um like bossy way, but just something that I realize I need reverence to the Lord, is that not only is our team entrusted on who we're bringing here because of who we serve, but I also take very seriously that we have a responsibility to be part of that person's journey who's coming here.
21:59
SPEAKER_00: And so I I don't want to be um off of what God intends for the ministry, but I also want to be in tandem with the Lord because the person that's coming to work for us, their life matters too.
22:13
SPEAKER_00: And so one of the things that stood out to me um with Matt's interview, one um very well-mannered.
22:23
SPEAKER_00: Um, the the level of respect and just kindness is so innate in Matt.
22:31
SPEAKER_00: It's just who he is.
22:33
SPEAKER_00: Like I could probably tell him a hundred times not to call me yes ma'am, and it's just not gonna happen.
22:40
SPEAKER_00: I think he's he just can't do it.
22:42
SPEAKER_00: It's just who he is, and that yes ma'am from Arkansas too.
22:46
SPEAKER_00: I know, that's right.
22:47
SPEAKER_00: Um, but that is what he exhibits with guests.
22:50
SPEAKER_00: He's not just doing that because it's leadership, like it's who he is and it's how he values people, and I saw that very early on.
22:58
SPEAKER_00: Um, the second thing is Matt had such vulnerability in our interview to tell me how God had humbled him from what was just innate in him.
23:14
SPEAKER_00: And to have somebody say, I'm not really sure what all the Lord's doing, but I'm kind of tired of doing my own thing, and I want to be right where he wants me to be, doing what he wants me to do.
23:28
SPEAKER_00: And I just saw that genuineness with him.
23:31
SPEAKER_00: And that touched my heart in a way of not only is he going to treat guests in ways that we can't teach people.
23:42
SPEAKER_00: We can teach skill sets, we can teach policy, we can teach procedure.
23:46
SPEAKER_00: I can't teach someone to look at someone in a Mago day.
23:49
SPEAKER_00: And Matt had that.
23:51
SPEAKER_00: Um, and so that that stood out.
23:53
SPEAKER_00: Um, I also was very stern with Matt and said, not only am I going to love you fiercely because your journey matters, um, you will love others fiercely with no strings attached, just because we've been loved.
24:08
SPEAKER_00: And he said, I'm up for it.
24:10
SPEAKER_00: And since the beginning of January, not only has he been up for it, he's risen to it, he's surpassed it, and he is serving as an example for just the um patient temperament and the kindness that I think we should all exhibit.
24:27
SPEAKER_04: Well, Matt, welcome to our community, our mission.
24:30
SPEAKER_04: That's a pretty good introduction.
24:31
SPEAKER_04: Um something high to live up to, right?
24:34
SPEAKER_04: Yes, sir.
24:35
SPEAKER_04: Yes, sir.
24:36
SPEAKER_04: Yes, sir, yes, ma'am.
24:37
SPEAKER_04: See, I know I can roll that.
24:40
SPEAKER_04: So, uh Matt, what uh how did you find out about Topeka Rescue Mission?
24:46
SPEAKER_01: Um so uh growing up here in Topeka, I mean I'd I'd obviously had always heard about the mission and everything.
24:57
SPEAKER_01: Um I I really I I really didn't take a deep dive into all the aspects of the mission and just all the different ways that they impacted the community and and served the community and stuff like that.
25:16
SPEAKER_01: Um a little bit to my shame un until about November.
25:22
SPEAKER_01: Um I'd I I had started off, I'd I'd served my country for eight years um proudly.
25:31
SPEAKER_03: Thank you.
25:32
SPEAKER_01: Um got into financial institutions, banking, um, after after my time in the service, and uh I got I I I suppose you'd say I got a little burnout with that after about 12 years.
25:48
SPEAKER_01: Uh there was the there was some uh merging going on, and I I just I knew that I didn't really want to be a part of that anymore.
25:57
SPEAKER_01: And so I'd went and I went to the VA uh with the intention of just polishing up my resume and everything.
26:05
SPEAKER_01: And three hours later, I was enrolled into an uh education program for disabled vets.
26:13
SPEAKER_01: And so I went ended up going back to school for a while, got my degree, um, ended up working for an engineering firm for about four years uh after I graduated.
26:26
SPEAKER_01: And then I learned uh my first experience with uh corporate terminology and layoffs.
26:34
SPEAKER_01: And and uh so you know, this like I said, this was about early mid-November, and you know, just automatically started going in and putting in applications and updating resumes and all that stuff.
26:52
SPEAKER_01: Did that for about a week solid.
26:54
SPEAKER_01: Uh, I I knew I needed to provide for my family.
26:57
SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, that's that's my first and and foremost duty, you know, as a husband and father.
27:02
SPEAKER_01: Um, but the entire time that I was doing this, um, the Lord just kept speaking to my heart uh just nonstop.
27:14
SPEAKER_01: Matt, what what if instead of chasing after a paycheck, you finally stopped and chased after your passion?
27:23
SPEAKER_01: And I d I I wrestled with that um so much and really kind of had to do a little bit of introspection, uh a little bit of self-examination about you know what am I really passionate about?
27:38
SPEAKER_01: And the thing that I I settled on ultimately was people.
27:44
SPEAKER_01: Um I I just I I have such a heart for people.
27:48
SPEAKER_01: Um not only that, but also my relationship with the Lord is is and and has been for over 20 years, just like my number one focus and my focal point.
28:00
SPEAKER_01: And um as soon as I realized that got on uh got on the internet the very next day, and I I had not seen any advertisement up until that point.
28:15
SPEAKER_01: But the very first one that was on my internet page was the position for director of TRM.
28:23
SPEAKER_01: And God just hit me again.
28:27
SPEAKER_01: Do this, just put your resume in, put your application in.
28:33
SPEAKER_01: And basically from that point on, uh it it was it was just so organic the way it happened, it was so natural.
28:42
SPEAKER_01: Um I I got on the website, I read up on TRM everything that you guys do, um reached out to Susie, I got involved in in the the volunteer process, um, started off in the kitchen.
29:00
SPEAKER_01: And I I just from the moment I walked in, I fell in love with the place.
29:05
SPEAKER_01: I fell in love with the people, uh, fell in love with the staff.
29:09
SPEAKER_01: Um, and I just knew that this was something that I needed to do.
29:13
SPEAKER_01: You know, even if I didn't end up getting the job, I knew that I had to be connected with this place somehow.
29:20
SPEAKER_01: And the Lord just he kept opening up doors, he kept opening up opportunities.
29:24
SPEAKER_01: I ended up serving at the DC uh with the Christmas drive, uh, got to know more and more people.
29:32
SPEAKER_01: Um it actually ended up uh getting my family involved in it.
29:37
SPEAKER_01: My my wife ended up coming down and and volunteering, and she's doing that even now.
29:43
SPEAKER_01: Um our little guy at home, he he got he got involved and he jumped in during you know Thanksgiving break and Christmas break and all that stuff.
29:52
SPEAKER_01: And um just the the more and more that that I'd plugged in and connected to this place, I just I knew that this is where the Lord wanted me to be in whatever capacity that that he wanted.
30:04
SPEAKER_04: It's got to be a huge um feeling to know as you're searching and you're trying to identify what your passion is to find that place.
30:14
SPEAKER_04: Um and so volunteering and getting to know and then having the interview.
30:19
SPEAKER_04: But now you've stepped into this huge responsibility.
30:22
SPEAKER_01: Yes, sir.
30:23
SPEAKER_04: Um this is life and death.
30:25
SPEAKER_04: Um people that you're caring for as it's expanded out not just for what we would used to call the men's shelter, but now also Hope Center for Women and Families, and as Lamanda mentioned, you know, maybe 260 lives every single night, give or take, 10, 20, or 30.
30:41
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
30:42
SPEAKER_04: Um, how does that responsibility feel to you right now to know that you've got to be responsible?
30:54
SPEAKER_04: You and the team have to be responsible for caring for these lives, um life and death.
31:02
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
31:03
SPEAKER_01: It I I mean the the first thing that that that I'm I'm reminded of every single day is just how humbling that this this opportunity is.
31:15
SPEAKER_01: Um it is it is definitely not something that I'd I'd take lightly whatsoever.
31:22
SPEAKER_01: Um I I I can't tell you how many how many people I've talked to, how many stories I've shared just about how um what's been ingrained in me, you know, through my through my time in the military, through my service uh to others in that capacity, how much of that has transitioned and translated over to my responsibilities here.
31:49
SPEAKER_04: Um So you feel like God prepped you in military to understand some things that are helpful here?
31:55
SPEAKER_01: Most definitely.
31:55
SPEAKER_01: Most definitely.
31:56
SPEAKER_01: So like what would you say would be Well, I I mean the the very first thing that that hits me every day is just the the role of protector, pr pr protection.
32:07
SPEAKER_01: Um I I I I remembered one of my leaders, uh Christian, who was here uh briefly while I started, um he he really he really opened my eyes a little bit to the to the term of shepherd.
32:25
SPEAKER_01: Um and I'd I'd kind of understood where he was coming from at that point, but I didn't really truly understand it until I got involved and engulfed in stuff.
32:38
SPEAKER_01: And so you became the shepherd.
32:40
SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
32:41
SPEAKER_01: One 100%.
32:42
SPEAKER_04: Gotta learn how to take care of sheep fast.
32:44
SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
32:45
SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
32:45
SPEAKER_01: And and since I've been here, uh God has just shown me every single day just more and more aspects, more and more of those types of character traits that uh you know these that these these people really need.
33:04
SPEAKER_01: I mean, a lot of these people, they're just that they're coming in at their at their most vulnerable and weakest times and stuff.
33:11
SPEAKER_01: And you know, I I tell everybody all the time, I understand, you know, we we we have rules and we have policies and procedures and everything, and and you know, we have those for a very good reason.
33:23
SPEAKER_01: Um but I I I don't believe that we can ever get off of that of that characteristic and and that value of just service to others.
33:37
SPEAKER_01: Um whatever it is that they're needing.
33:40
SPEAKER_01: You know, the the Lord the Lord called me to to protect and shepherd and and care for the hearts of of you know not only these people, but everybody.
33:53
SPEAKER_01: And because of that, you know, I'd I'd I I've told the story that about a year and a half ago, um I'd I had been wrestling with the Lord for years about just different opportunities that He would put in my path and and put in front of me.
34:11
SPEAKER_01: And for whatever reason, um, you know, filling the blank anxiety, fear, uh, insecurities.
34:18
SPEAKER_01: Um it just seemed like I always had, excuse me, it just always seemed like I'd I'd had an answer that was no, you know, or I'll I'll I'll do it later or something.
34:31
SPEAKER_01: About a year and a half ago, the Lord He'd again been just hitting my heart a lot about submission and and just truly what it means to follow him, you know, be being that disciple of Christ that that scripture talks about.
34:50
SPEAKER_01: And I'd I had finally just come to the position where I'd I just threw my hands up.
34:55
SPEAKER_01: I'd I'd got on my knees and I just what wherever you want me to go, just tell me.
35:00
SPEAKER_04: And um Did you ever dream it would be in a homeless school?
35:03
SPEAKER_01: No, no, never in a million years.
35:06
SPEAKER_04: I understand that.
35:07
SPEAKER_01: Never in a million years.
35:09
SPEAKER_01: But I'll tell you, it it is it like you said earlier, it it is it has been the the most gratifying experience that I have had, um, most humbling experience I have had.
35:19
SPEAKER_01: And and just just being able to share my heart with you know the staff and and the guests and everything.
35:25
SPEAKER_01: And to Lamanda's point, you know, it's it's been on the men and women's side.
35:30
SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, with having that heart as protector, you know, I'd I'm I'm very, very fiercely protective of the mamas and babies that we have here and everything.
35:41
SPEAKER_04: What do you think maybe you've learned from the guests that come to the rescue mission that maybe you didn't know um before this?
35:52
SPEAKER_01: I think the thing that that I've learned most is that nobody nobody is is uh too far gone down the path that they can't be reached.
36:08
SPEAKER_01: I I think that is the thing.
36:10
SPEAKER_01: Um I have you learned that.
36:13
SPEAKER_01: And you you're gonna get me going here in a second, man.
36:19
SPEAKER_01: Um just I I think like I said earlier, just seeing these guys come in here and and just uh seeing the the the brokenness of of their hearts and their spirits and and hearing their stories of of the hardness and and the difficulty of the paths that they've been on.
36:46
SPEAKER_01: Um them just sharing their stories with me.
36:52
SPEAKER_01: And it is it's just it it's incredibly humbling again that you know, number one, that they would even trust me to to share those things with me.
37:02
SPEAKER_01: Um I I I I've only been here three months, but I I cannot tell you that how many times you know we've been in that situation in the office.
37:12
SPEAKER_01: And I mean you you can just you you can you can hear the the heaviness.
37:19
SPEAKER_01: You can you can see the you can see the hardness on their faces of just the past that they've walked and everything, man.
37:28
SPEAKER_01: And just being able to hear their stories, identify with them, uh share, share Jesus with them.
37:40
SPEAKER_01: And but before you know it, like we're both sitting there in tears hugging each other and and and praying over each other and everything.
37:49
SPEAKER_01: And um that was just not something that I anticipated, you know, especially I think this this quickly.
37:58
SPEAKER_01: Um but again it it it's it's incredibly humbling that that they would trust me with that.
38:04
SPEAKER_01: And and that was not something that I expect I'm sorry, expected.
38:09
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
38:10
SPEAKER_04: Lamanda.
38:11
SPEAKER_04: I know this has got to be sounding really good to you to have this kind of a leader here at the Rescue Mission.
38:17
SPEAKER_04: Talk about that.
38:18
SPEAKER_04: Talk about the the heart that you're hearing from Matt.
38:22
SPEAKER_04: Um because you know, a lot of times in social services, um, because there has to be systems, it's strategy, strategy, strategy.
38:32
SPEAKER_04: And then people are second.
38:34
SPEAKER_04: Um kind of come up with a term what we're trying to incorporate into compassion strategies, people first strategy always, not second.
38:43
SPEAKER_04: They go hand in hand, but it's people first.
38:46
SPEAKER_04: That's what I'm hearing with Matt.
38:50
SPEAKER_00: You know, I I've said this before, said this a few minutes ago, but I feel like I could just keep saying it.
38:58
SPEAKER_00: There's a lot to learn when you come to the rescue mission.
39:01
SPEAKER_00: Um we are professionally set up as a business.
39:07
SPEAKER_00: So we have manuals, we have protocols, we have HR policies we have to follow.
39:13
SPEAKER_00: Um, we clock in and out, we have salaries, we have, you know, all of these different things that we need to do as employees.
39:23
SPEAKER_00: And so we have an onboarding process when we bring people on and they get an acceptance letter from us, and it is professionally set up for employment.
39:34
SPEAKER_00: I, Kim as HR, Miriam, John, Marcus, other leaders, we can teach those systems of TRM.
39:43
SPEAKER_00: Um, we can teach people, we can do the great onboarding where everybody's going through all the departments to learn about our ministry, and we do have that responsibility.
39:54
SPEAKER_00: The other side of this, though, that we can model, we can reinforce, we can encourage, but we cannot instill is how we treat and view people.
40:07
SPEAKER_00: And so to be able to have someone like Matt who already came to us with a whole list of strong skill sets um and abilities and work ethic, to then have him so willing and excited to do our onboarding, and he had already done a lot with volunteering and was excited to go back to those departments, learn about different departments.
40:38
SPEAKER_00: That's an added blessing on top of his skill set.
40:42
SPEAKER_00: But then you fast forward and three, four months into his employment, you see him every day process through the struggle of people work because he loves the people he's working with.
40:59
SPEAKER_00: And this work is not always pretty and wrapped as a gift, and it doesn't always end in tears of remorse and prayer.
41:10
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes it ends with someone walking out those doors with flipping off and telling you F you and and you're worried about their safety, you're trying to protect them from the railroad tracks, you're trying to follow them at Curtis fly off because you know they're not in the right state of mind until 911 can get there.
41:28
SPEAKER_00: That is also a part of this people work.
41:30
SPEAKER_00: But to see Matt stay devoted shows me he is on a calling from the Lord that no onboarding could solidify.
41:41
SPEAKER_00: No boss or supervisor can keep him motivated 100% to stay in the trenches.
41:50
SPEAKER_00: He is anchored to the Lord first and foremost.
41:54
SPEAKER_00: And to know that someone like that with that heart and that um submission to the Lord just makes me so thankful that God is really who's running this ship.
42:11
SPEAKER_00: Now, secondary to that, I appreciate his heart because he is so fun to work with.
42:19
SPEAKER_00: Um He is always the first to um volunteer when we've got different stuff to do.
42:27
SPEAKER_00: Um he got to participate in the warming center this past year.
42:34
SPEAKER_00: And he had been here what, two weeks, I think, a week.
42:38
SPEAKER_00: Um, and he got his first little mama hen lecture from me when he tried to work more than what he was supposed to.
42:47
SPEAKER_00: And when I was checking on him and making sure he was going home, he didn't see that as a directive.
42:53
SPEAKER_00: And so we got that very clear.
42:57
SPEAKER_00: Yes.
42:57
SPEAKER_00: And so then I had to remind him, look, I don't no, I'm not asking you to go home.
43:01
SPEAKER_00: I'm telling you.
43:01
SPEAKER_00: You've been here for 18 hours or whatever it was.
43:04
SPEAKER_04: Um yes, ma'am.
43:06
SPEAKER_00: Yes, that's right.
43:07
SPEAKER_00: That's right.
43:08
SPEAKER_04: I think that's when that first came out.
43:10
SPEAKER_00: Yes.
43:10
SPEAKER_00: So he is there is just this um level of friendship, there is this level of joy.
43:17
SPEAKER_00: Um he he's the first one to tell us, like, hey, I think I did this and I don't think I did it right.
43:22
SPEAKER_00: Um, or I'm not, I'm not sure I know what I'm doing with that.
43:26
SPEAKER_00: But he also is not afraid to make a mistake.
43:28
SPEAKER_00: So he has just jumped in there because he knew he didn't know the system, but he knew he was called by the Lord to love people.
43:36
SPEAKER_00: And so he was ready to rock and roll, even as I was kind of holding on to his his coattail a little bit, saying, Hold on, not yet, not yet.
43:44
SPEAKER_00: Um, so yeah, he he is a joy, he is a blessing.
43:47
SPEAKER_00: And it's not just because he knows how to do everything, it's that he every day submits to the Lord who guides him, but then also is willing to take instruction.
43:58
SPEAKER_00: He um He had been here maybe three weeks and he was already giving me feedback of um what he liked, what he thought needed to be improved.
44:08
SPEAKER_00: He was hearing the voices of his staff.
44:10
SPEAKER_00: We have a meeting coming up where he's unpacking things that he wants done differently.
44:15
SPEAKER_00: And I appreciate the fact that he can push back on me to say, Hey, I think this needs to change, or we need this.
44:22
SPEAKER_00: And so yeah, he's just a blessing to TRM and to me.
44:26
SPEAKER_04: Matt, what's uh what's been your biggest challenge so far?
44:33
SPEAKER_04: Me.
44:35
SPEAKER_04: Besides the ma'am.
44:36
SPEAKER_00: Right, the mama hen over here.
44:39
SPEAKER_01: Um I would say probably my my biggest challenge uh so far has has probably been the unplugging at the end of the day.
44:51
SPEAKER_01: Um I I'd I have been blessed to to be able to have numerous uh friendships and relationships uh being cultivated over these past couple of months already.
45:06
SPEAKER_01: Uh with not only with with staff, but also with guests.
45:10
SPEAKER_01: And um, you know, I I just find myself a lot just going home and and just constantly having them on my mind and on my heart and stuff.
45:22
SPEAKER_01: And um, you know, the this this is not always a permanent thing, you know.
45:27
SPEAKER_01: There's there's a lot of transition, there's a lot of you know, movement with the guests and stuff like that.
45:34
SPEAKER_01: And I um I I just I'd find myself having a having a difficult time uh unplugging from that.
45:42
SPEAKER_04: Lamanda, you wouldn't know about that, would you?
45:44
SPEAKER_00: Listen, this is about Matt Festman.
45:46
SPEAKER_00: This is not about Lamanda Cunningham.
45:47
SPEAKER_02: Exactly.
45:48
SPEAKER_04: Or Miriam, you would know about that.
45:50
SPEAKER_02: Know nothing about what they're even talking about.
45:52
SPEAKER_04: But I think it it really is an important thing.
45:53
SPEAKER_04: And that you've recognized that there's early on, that there is a need to know how to give everything you got, but also you're a husband and you're a dad, and you're a person that needs sleep, and then how do you balance that out?
46:08
SPEAKER_04: And I think that that's a continual thing to be very transparent about.
46:12
SPEAKER_04: Um and uh uh because some people can under uh emphasize the importance of what they do, and some people in this kind of work over-emphasize, not the over-emphasize the importance, but know how to balance it.
46:24
SPEAKER_04: Right.
46:25
SPEAKER_02: Well, and I think too, Barry, you know, the Lord calls us to rest.
46:29
SPEAKER_02: And in some ways, when I'm not doing that, it's almost if I think about it, it's almost as if I'm telling the Lord I know better.
46:41
SPEAKER_02: And that's obviously not the case, right?
46:46
SPEAKER_02: I did.
46:46
SPEAKER_00: And we now have you recorded saying it.
46:49
SPEAKER_04: So play it better.
46:50
SPEAKER_00: Now when I'm Mama Hen Miriam, I'm gonna go back to this podcast.
46:54
SPEAKER_00: I uh God's called you to rest.
46:58
SPEAKER_02: But no, but I think it's important, and I think it's important for all our staff to know he calls us to rest.
47:06
SPEAKER_02: And we will never be what he needs us to be if we think we know better and can push and push and push and push and ignore, ignore this incredible gift that he gave to us, which is this opportunity to disconnect from the craziness that is life and just rest in him.
47:29
SPEAKER_04: It's kind of new discussion that's going on in regards to a lot of things, but it's the word with.
47:35
SPEAKER_04: Um oftentimes in social services um we do things for people rather than with people.
47:42
SPEAKER_04: Topika Rescue Mission has this great opportunity, yes, to do things for people, but also invite them to do it with them, with the different programs that TRM has, um, opportunities for guests to volunteer in places like the kitchen.
47:56
SPEAKER_04: And so um the same thing goes with God.
47:59
SPEAKER_04: We can do things for God or we can do things with God.
48:02
SPEAKER_04: And when we get that perception or that understanding that God is not just, hey, here, go do this, but that he is actually doing this, and we get to do it with him.
48:13
SPEAKER_04: Right, that kind of puts a perspective of balance in there.
48:16
SPEAKER_04: And though to your point, Lamanda, he's running the show here.
48:19
SPEAKER_04: Um yes, there's a CEO, yes, there has to be HR department, yes, there has to be um payroll taxes, yes, there has to be insurance, right, Miriam.
48:28
SPEAKER_04: And yes, and yes, and yes, and yes.
48:30
SPEAKER_04: But at the same time, if we pull it back, there's no way people can make all this happen.
48:36
SPEAKER_04: God has got to be in this.
48:38
SPEAKER_04: And so uh it about that balance part of of turning it off.
48:42
SPEAKER_04: Um, it's like uh what is the how does the Lord view that?
48:46
SPEAKER_04: So, Matt, just one more thing.
48:47
SPEAKER_04: Um, you're kind of new in this particular position.
48:50
SPEAKER_04: Uh it sounds like you're all in.
48:52
SPEAKER_04: Yes.
48:52
SPEAKER_04: And uh you got a team that um you supervise um that are around the clock 24-7.
49:00
SPEAKER_04: Talk about the team.
49:01
SPEAKER_04: What have you learned about them?
49:02
SPEAKER_04: I'm thinking Kenny Ball, for example.
49:05
SPEAKER_03: You know?
49:06
SPEAKER_04: Kenny Ball, we've had him on the podcast before.
49:08
SPEAKER_04: Um long-term, um, admittedly, uh drug addict, uh, methamphetamines, for years and years and years on the streets.
49:16
SPEAKER_04: He's a rock star of helping people here at Topeka Rescue Mission now.
49:20
SPEAKER_04: So talk about your team.
49:25
SPEAKER_01: The thing the thing that always comes to my mind with the team is is the fact that they're the greatest group of guys that I could probably have asked for regarding a team.
49:35
SPEAKER_04: That's saying something coming from your background.
49:37
SPEAKER_01: I'm telling you.
49:38
SPEAKER_04: And military having a team.
49:40
SPEAKER_01: Absolutely, absolutely.
49:42
SPEAKER_01: It's their heart, Barry, is is what it is.
49:45
SPEAKER_01: Every single guy on that team that I have um is just an absolute joy and and a blessing to me.
49:55
SPEAKER_01: And just exactly to what you guys were talking about just 30 seconds ago about with.
50:02
SPEAKER_01: Um I I'd I'd always, always emphasize the fact that we get to serve with each other.
50:15
SPEAKER_01: Um and I I know for a fact that every single one of those guys that that I get to be a part of a team with uh shares that exact same heart.
50:27
SPEAKER_01: Um you know, we we have gone through uh some some transition, some growing pains uh over these first couple of months that I've been here.
50:40
SPEAKER_01: But just every single day, just being able to to watch them and and see them take my heart for for what I have for the mission, and asking them to have that same heart and just constantly remembering to lean on the Lord and rely on that fruit of the Spirit that He gives us every single day with joy and peace and kindness on long suffering.
51:12
SPEAKER_01: Um man, they they just they take that and they just run with it.
51:18
SPEAKER_01: And and the fact that they they show that to each other in in in the in the struggles, the fact that they show that to our guests every single day.
51:29
SPEAKER_01: I'm I'm I'm telling you, there's too many stories already for me to even give you guys an example.
51:34
SPEAKER_01: But that that is that is the greatest thing uh about them is just their their unity.
51:40
SPEAKER_01: You know, when I first came on is one of the biggest stressors that I talked about with them was unity and just always staying together and and and keeping our hearts knitted together uh in the love of Christ.
51:52
SPEAKER_04: I think uh um anybody that served our country, um, it's always important to say thank you for your service, um which uh we we do that here today, but also thank you for saying yes to this service.
52:04
SPEAKER_04: Um I think that um by um what we've heard today, what Lamanda has introduced you as, um, with your heart, this is the kind of servant that God calls.
52:17
SPEAKER_04: And how important and valuable that is to every person that walks through the doors of Topeka Rescue Mission.
52:26
SPEAKER_04: Even if you have to say no, can't do this right now, um, even though you may have to tell somebody they have to leave for a while because of behavior, because you're protecting the others, uh, whatever the case might be.
52:38
SPEAKER_04: It's a servant of heart of people first, and uh so very grateful um that God would send you here.
52:44
SPEAKER_04: Is there anything else you would like to share today for our listeners to know?
52:49
SPEAKER_01: Just that I'm I'm excited.
52:51
SPEAKER_01: Um I'm humbled to be a part of this team.
52:54
SPEAKER_01: I I I truly, truly am.
52:56
SPEAKER_01: I I I love every single person that I get to serve with every single day, and that includes everybody around this table right now and and everybody in every department.
53:05
SPEAKER_01: Um I love them with my whole heart, and I I just I just cannot wait to be able to continue serving with them in whatever capacity the Lord wants me to.
53:16
SPEAKER_01: That's awesome.
53:17
SPEAKER_01: I appreciate it.
53:18
SPEAKER_04: Matt Fessman, uh director of shelter services here, Topeka Rescue Mission, uh another form of service with his life, uh, here helping uh those that are in great need with love and uh and also with passion.
53:33
SPEAKER_04: So glad you found your passion, brother.
53:35
SPEAKER_04: Thanks.
53:35
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, so thank you for listening to our community, our mission.
53:38
SPEAKER_04: Again, you've heard from one of the frontline workers here at Topeka Rescue Mission today.
53:42
SPEAKER_04: If you would like more information about Topeka Rescue Mission, you could go to TRMonline.org.
53:47
SPEAKER_04: That's trmonline.org.
53:50
SPEAKER_04: And thank you for being a part of our community, our mission.