Latest / Our Community, Our Mission / Ep #332- Walking by Faith: Reflecting on Night of Praise 2026

Transcript

Ep #332- Walking by Faith: Reflecting on Night of Praise 2026 · Our Community, Our Mission

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_04: Gracious God.
• 0:02
  SPEAKER_04: Um Thank you so much.
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_04: Thank you for the beautiful weather that we're experiencing.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_04: Thank you for um just an opportunity to come together again and be able to talk about um all of the blessings that you give to TRM.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_04: Uh Lord, we are grateful for everything.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_04: We know that there are so many people who um are struggling or concerned about where their next meal comes from, um whether their shelter is stable, whether they're safe, um what's happening with their children or their parents or just so many concerns, Lord.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_04: So many things that just um weigh heavy on people.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_04: But Lord, we know that you are in the middle of it all and we are so grateful.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_04: Um help us to share exactly all of the blessings uh that we received um during our event, Lord.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_04: Um help us to to make sure that people know how grateful we are that they assist us in so many ways.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_04: Um Lord, but at the middle of it all, we know that you are present.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_04: And for that, there just aren't enough words of thanks.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_04: So, Lord, uh be with us as we talk about this today, um, and as we go forward in our day.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_04: In Jesus' precious name.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_04: Amen.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_04: Amen.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_03: Amen.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_01: Hello, everybody.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you for joining us for our community, our mission, a podcast of the Topeka Rescue Mission here on the last day of October, last Tuesday of October.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, I was like, what?
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_01: Well, there's only one day of the week that really matters, and that's Tuesdays because that's podcast day for October.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_05: Except that this is Monday.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_05: I don't know.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_01: It is okay.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_01: So do we want to start over?
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_05: I don't know.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_05: I think this is perfect for a Monday.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_05: That's where we need to sing just another minute Monday.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_05: Exactly.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm looking down at the cheat sheet here, and it says October 27th, and so it's actually the 26th.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_05: It is the 26th.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_05: We were gonna air this tomorrow.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_05: We were so Miriam's yeah, Miriam threw the wrench in that one.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_05: Uh-huh.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_05: See, I was gone all last week.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_05: No one has updated me.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_01: Well, thank you for joining us anyway for the our community, our mission.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_01: It's still called that, right?
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_01: It is.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, pop us.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: And your name is still Barry.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm very right, I think.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_01: We're good.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_01: And uh, if you've had a hard year, join us.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_01: It's been hard.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_04: It's apparently been a hard weekend.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_01: So well, I think this is episode number 332, and I think I'm in Topeka, Kansas, and Amanda and Miriam, and we have Jesse that's gonna join us today.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_01: So we have some really important updates.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_01: I think of things that happened and things that are gonna happen.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_05: So uh at this point, I'm not sure about anything.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_01: So if y'all listen to this and wondering if we're um um robots, no.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_01: If we're AI, no.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_01: If we're bots, we're not.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_01: We're just people here.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_01: And so we are gonna be real people here today.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_01: So thank you for joining us.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_01: Um, we have um a really cool event that's happened uh this last weekend.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_01: I think it was this last weekend.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_00: It was very thank you for clarifying.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_01: So then we have one coming up, and then we want to talk about night of praise.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_01: So let's start out.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_01: What happened this weekend?
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_01: It's called the Fall Festival.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_00: Fall Festival, yes.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_00: So um the each year we really want to put on an event for our shelter guest that would mimic a lot of the activities that many of our families get to go do.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_00: So um, you know, this time of year, a lot of families are going out to pumpkin patches or they're doing fall festivities that have to do with pumpkins and certain snacks and those kinds of things.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_00: And so a couple of years ago, uh Mike Schottle, who is our uh director of spiritual wellness, um, he and I were just talking about various things.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_00: And one of the things that we both shared and a couple of other staff members as well, was just this conviction that we want our guests to be able to have the same type of access and that um sometimes field trips are possible and sometimes we need to bring the experience to them.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_00: And so um thinking through that, Mike Schottle has done an amazing job the past several years of building this fall festival for our guests.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_00: And um, each year it looks really different.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and then you know, we build upon what we did the year before and make changes.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_00: Historically, we've had it at the Children's Palace.
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_00: And this year we tried something different of having it um outside our main shelter in Schinkel Stutzman Park.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_00: And um just want to give a lot of gratitude for Mike Schottle, uh, for Isabel and Jamie.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_00: Um, they are our trauma team, and um those three individuals really did a lot to um think through what kind of fun and what kind of activities did we want all of our guests to be able to experience.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_00: So uh Saturday for a couple of hours, we had cornhole and we had a popcorn machine popping, and we had uh pumpkins being painted, and we had pumpkin tosses, and probably the biggest hit was Miriam and Mike's station.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_00: Um and that consisted of caramel apples and caramel bananas with some toppings.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_00: And apple cider.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_00: And apple cider and water.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_00: Hot chocolate.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: Hot chocolate.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, as you can see, that's why her station was the favorite.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_04: If you've never had caramel on your bananas, I have not.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_04: I would recommend you try it.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_04: It was really good.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_04: And you know sweet.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_04: It it was it was yummy.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_00: But we say that the banana counteracted, you know, the all the caramel that we were putting on.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_00: It's like the apple.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_00: It's kind of like if you have a big hamburger or something, but you drink water, it cancels out.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_01: You know, sometimes on caramel apples, you do a sour apple with the caramel, right?
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_01: Is this a sour banana?
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_01: No, no, it was sweet, sweet.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_01: A lot of grimacing going on here.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_00: But you know, on a serious note, Barry, one of the reasons why we did that, and and I think, you know, you just sometimes if you're not in this work, you don't think through a lot of those kinds of things because you don't have the experience.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_00: But um, I'm proud of the team because the reason we did bananas is we realize a lot of the people we serve have not been able to have proper dental health.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_00: And so we have people who maybe don't have teeth or people who have brittle teeth.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and so really trying to be cognizant of that of the dignity piece.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and so yeah, it was it was popular, and um we have as of at the end of last week, 47 kids at the Hope Center.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_01: What did you see with the kids there?
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_01: What was it like?
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_01: Or the parents too?
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you know, I think um one of the things that stood out to me was how helpful dads too, but there were more moms, how helpful the moms were to each other.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_00: Because let's be real, having kids in a fall festival type setting is like herding cats, right?
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_00: Um now it was all behind chain link fence and all that, so it was okay, but they were excited and they were going from having popcorn to the cornhole to the pumpkins and just seeing all the moms like, I've got them.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_00: It's okay, you can stay there with your kid, and and all of this.
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_00: There was just this level of being a village for each other that I thought was beautiful.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and then there was just excitement where almost the kids didn't know what they wanted to do first because there was just so much stuff out there.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_00: And then I will tell you, um, there were a couple of kiddos that just came up to me, two little girls, and they gave me the biggest hug.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_00: And I just hugged them, and then you know, I looked at the mom and I said, I'm sorry, I probably should have asked first.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_00: And she said, No, it's completely fine.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_00: And they were just elated.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_00: One was in a little costume, and one had a whole handful of candy that she was just holding on to dear life, and then her other was um a bag of popcorn, and yet she still wanted to hug me, so she hugged me.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_00: And what happened?
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_00: Popcorn went flying, the candy emptied, you know, all these things.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, there was just um, I would say Saturday was not just happiness, there was joy.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_00: Um people just really, even if it was just for a few minutes, they had less worries, they had less care.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, it was just like a normal thing.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_04: I think so too.
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, it was beautiful.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_01: To be able to enjoy, and I think that's the thing that it's good for people who are listening to understand, if you don't already know, that it's not just three hots and a cot.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_01: It's speaker rescue mission.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_01: There's so much more to help people to feel good, feel better about where they are life, and and think about it.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_01: Doesn't always have to be depressing and discouraging um that there is hope in a future and uh have little events like that that make a big difference.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_00: Well, and you know, we had a neat thing too.
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_00: My mother-in-law made a beautiful quilt that she wanted to do as a giveaway, and so we did a completely free raffle.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_00: People just had to put their name in it, and then we did a drawing, and I couldn't believe how many at first people were like, Well, but how much is the raffle?
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_00: No, it's free, you just have to put your name.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_00: But then what?
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, what I over here.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, and then I just realized like, and there's nothing wrong with raffles and costs, I'm not saying that, but it did I had my own aha moment that even at fun events and all of that, the dollars add up.
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_00: And to just reassure the women, like, nope, you just put your name on it and then we're gonna draw.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_00: And then the woman that won was just so elated and appreciative um of that.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_00: And so yeah, I thought it was a beautiful time.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_00: I was thankful for staff that already worked a long week um to then give additional hours on a Saturday to do that.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but when you see the the benefits, um, it's worth it.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_04: Even the men, you know, we talk a lot about the kiddos because we expect right them to just be, oh my goodness, you would have thought we were giving them something really, really cool with those apples and bananas.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_04: I mean, they were just so gracious and so thankful.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_04: There was like no expectation that they should get something.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_04: And the number of thank yous that we received from people, just thanks so much just for doing this for us.
• 10:40
  SPEAKER_04: I mean, it was just it was precious.
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_04: It was absolutely precious.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_01: Such a beautiful thing to do, and it's an annual event that happens uh the last weekend in the We've kind of changed it up.
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_00: We've we've had it in September before, late September, um, and so we kind of tried different times of the year, but usually it's sometime between mid-September through end of October.
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_01: So you're gonna plan it again next year.
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, it's so worth it.
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_00: And I have to say one funny thing uh when Miriam talks about sometimes we forget about the men.
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so some may not know this about me, but I kind of have some rules around the Topeka Rescue Mission.
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_00: And I drive a hard bargain sometimes.
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_00: But, anyways, um the men know that I love them, but they also know that I need them to behave and that we have expectations and all of that.
• 11:29
  SPEAKER_00: Well, one of the things that I'm pretty big around here on is um not betting, not being overly competitive, because then it goes into the dorm room and we might have 18 men in a dorm room, right?
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_00: So I've been allowing uh some things such as um some, and it's completely appropriate, but some video game nights that are about racing and stuff, not gory stuff, anyways.
• 11:52
  SPEAKER_00: But I've basically put the law down that if we're engaging in this, that there's no betting and that people aren't then being ugly to each other in the dorms and they're all going to bed after all these festivities are over.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_00: And so the men have been compliant.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_00: So on Saturday, night mom.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, they do.
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_00: They're like, okay, thank you.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_00: Good night, John Boy.
• 12:11
  SPEAKER_00: Good night, Billy.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and so, anyways, there was a big group of them Saturday, and they were getting ready to go play against some staff at the cornhole.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_00: And I wasn't thinking, and I said, Well, just so you know, my bet's on y'all that you're gonna beat the staff as soon as I said that.
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_00: The men go, What?
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_00: No betting around here.
• 12:33
  SPEAKER_00: That's a restriction, boss lady.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_00: So then they had a debate if I was gonna be restricted for 30 days or if I was restricted for three days, and was it a no-service restriction or just some partial?
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_00: Anyways, it was, and I put my hands up, like I folded and I said, Listen, you got me.
• 12:51
  SPEAKER_00: And I walked right into that one.
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_00: And there were probably six or seven men that were like, Yep, we're not gonna let you live that one down.
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_00: You're the betting woman.
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, Yep, that's gonna make the scanner page, probably.
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_01: But how much how much did you win?
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_00: I know I didn't win anything and I did not bet.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_00: But I say that because um sometimes, Barry, I think we um we, I don't know who I'm including in that, so I'll just say myself, we get so quote unquote busy.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_00: And if I can even be as bold as saying, sometimes we say, Man, you know, I'm overstimulated.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_00: I've had too much people, I've had this, that.
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_00: And really, we're as a society sometimes losing the power of fellowship and losing the power of connection and making that a priority.
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_00: And I got in the car and I told my husband through tears, I said, I think I needed that fall festival just as much as those guests.
• 13:41
  SPEAKER_00: And Steven said, just from the camaraderie and stuff.
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_00: And I said, Yes.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_00: And there's just so much pressure that our staff face.
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_00: There's so much pressure that our incredible guests face to try to rehabilitate and do all of this, that sometimes it was just nice to joke.
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_00: And I don't know how many people I just hugged, I don't know how many people I just sat and ate popcorn with.
• 14:05
  SPEAKER_00: That really is a precious part of life if we just slow down and engage in it more.
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_00: So I don't know, I'm just thankful for the fall festival, but I'm also thankful for just kind of the check in my spirit that it provides me each year as well.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_01: Well, sounded like a wonderful time, and uh it always has been.
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_01: And uh again, a time in people's lives that they really need to know that they can laugh and that uh yeah, you might be the boss here.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_01: Right, but you're a person too.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_01: Who actually puts her foot in their mouth every once in a while?
• 14:34
  SPEAKER_05: That's right.
• 14:34
  SPEAKER_01: So anyway, Jesse Marino, you have been on this podcast before when you were with uh the Greater Topeka Partnership.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, and you're the newest staff member at Topeka Rescue Mission.
• 14:45
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, um, in charge of mission advancement.
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_01: Is that the title?
• 14:49
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, Deputy Director of Mission.
• 14:50
  SPEAKER_01: Marketing, okay, all right.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_01: So there's another event.
• 14:53
  SPEAKER_01: Well, welcome to the podcast again.
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_01: As actually a TRM staff member.
• 14:58
  SPEAKER_01: Um so there's another event coming up um that is uh pretty cool and uh talk about that.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, so we have Turkey Trot, which is uh happening this year again on Thanksgiving Day, so November 26th.
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_03: Um it is organized by Fleet Feet, which is a um great, great partner that has been with us that last year as well doing this.
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_03: So um they reached out again to be able to have TRM participate in that event.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_03: And so our role would be to help them with our volunteer uh base to help them with the actual event that's happening um at a new location this year.
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_03: So make sure you look into their uh website or into their Facebook by Forbes Field.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_03: Um it will just provide a a better um route for the runners, um, less traffic control and things like that.
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_03: So um that'll be um like I said, November 26th.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_03: And then we will also be partnering with them to help as people are registering for the race to make a donation and or to bring canned goods to um to the race that day.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_03: Um so our we will also have a donor table um that day on Thanksgiving Day, so we can have the opportunity to as well interact with the racers and um give uh TRM more awareness.
• 16:11
  SPEAKER_03: Um also November 24th and November 25th, which is that Tuesday and Wednesday before Thanksgiving, we will be um our donor um our donor table will be at uh Fleet Feet as well.
• 16:23
  SPEAKER_03: So we can also provide more awareness of our mission um and have the opportunity for people to bring in canned goods as well that day.
• 16:29
  SPEAKER_01: Sounds like Fleet Feet really has stepped up part of the pun.
• 16:33
  SPEAKER_01: That's a great partner.
• 16:34
  SPEAKER_01: To be able to do that because they really do a lot of that work and then ask the rescue mission to provide some additional help on that.
• 16:40
  SPEAKER_01: So those races are complicated.
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, there's a lot of detail.
• 16:44
  SPEAKER_03: I had no idea until we started doing this.
• 16:47
  SPEAKER_03: I think she's uh already surpassed what they were where they were at as people registered.
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_03: That's correct.
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_03: And they're looking at about 700 people.
• 16:55
  SPEAKER_01: Wow.
• 16:55
  SPEAKER_01: How many?
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_03: Like seven hundred.
• 16:57
  SPEAKER_01: Is that right?
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_00: That's what her new goal is.
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_03: Yes, that's awesome.
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_01: That's awesome.
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_03: And she said that most of the people signed up that last week.
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_03: So hopeful that they'll get there.
• 17:06
  SPEAKER_01: Will there be an opportunity for people to walk the route?
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, you can.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_03: This is a family-friendly event.
• 17:12
  SPEAKER_01: You do have the very walk half the route.
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_01: No signs you up, Barry.
• 17:19
  SPEAKER_05: There is a 1K for the kids.
• 17:21
  SPEAKER_05: So I mean, I guess you could do the kids.
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_00: Can you imagine six foot five Barry coming in?
• 17:28
  SPEAKER_00: Go with Grandpa Barry.
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_00: Go with Grandpa Barry.
• 17:31
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 17:32
  SPEAKER_01: So well, you know, the there's some history with Rescue Mission with something called Rescue Run, and then that stopped, and people really missed it.
• 17:38
  SPEAKER_01: And so now the turkey trot is stepping up again.
• 17:41
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 17:42
  SPEAKER_03: So Krista Williams took on that uh last year, and again now this year.
• 17:46
  SPEAKER_03: We're very very grateful that she's taking this on as new the new family tradition for people.
• 17:51
  SPEAKER_03: And um just also the last day to register to get your shirt, a very cool shirt that they have this year, is October 30th, so this Friday.
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_03: So just make sure that you sign up to register before then.
• 18:01
  SPEAKER_01: A lot of good details there.
• 18:02
  SPEAKER_01: So uh where can people go if they didn't remember everything you said?
• 18:05
  SPEAKER_03: Yes.
• 18:06
  SPEAKER_03: Uh there'll be stuff in our website.
• 18:07
  SPEAKER_03: I'm sorry, on our yes, on our website and also on our Facebook page, and then also on Fleet Feet's um platforms.
• 18:12
  SPEAKER_01: Great.
• 18:13
  SPEAKER_01: So that uh website's TRMonline.org, and then also the website or the uh Facebook is Topeka Rescue Mission.
• 18:20
  SPEAKER_05: Yes.
• 18:20
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, there's ways to go, and then uh Fleet Feet as well.
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_01: So that's great.
• 18:24
  SPEAKER_01: Well, you might think that Topeka Rescue Mission only does events, but they don't, they help people 24-7.
• 18:30
  SPEAKER_01: Uh the uh the Fall Festival was an internal event that TRM put on, uh, the tricky trot outside for the whole community to be a part of.
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_01: But something uh that occurred the fourth annual um night of praise um happened on October 11th.
• 18:44
  SPEAKER_01: We talked about that a lot on the podcast to help people to understand what it was.
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_01: And I I just will say before you get into this, Lamanda and Miriam, about what happened there that evening and thank the different people that did a lot of different work on that.
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_01: It was um I gotta say it as an outsider, it was the best.
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_01: It was the best one.
• 19:04
  SPEAKER_01: Um not that the others weren't good, but there was so much heart in this one.
• 19:08
  SPEAKER_01: There was so much um with the individuals that are involved in the Peka Rescue Mission.
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_01: I think 71% of the staff at Topeka Rescue Mission have experienced homelessness before.
• 19:18
  SPEAKER_01: 71% of the employed people at Topeka Rescue Mission have experienced homelessness before, which says something about the methods and what's important to navigate this ship.
• 19:29
  SPEAKER_01: And uh so and that was brought out that evening, and it was just a uh a wonderful night.
• 19:35
  SPEAKER_01: So, Lamanda, this was uh a big uh event night for you.
• 19:40
  SPEAKER_01: Um and so talk about what you want people to know about what happened, and of course, you're already in plans for the fifth annual.
• 19:47
  SPEAKER_01: We will not talk about that yet.
• 19:50
  SPEAKER_00: So just like we're not talking about warmings.
• 19:54
  SPEAKER_00: And we're also not talking about holidays.
• 19:56
  SPEAKER_00: Um, yes.
• 19:58
  SPEAKER_00: Um, no, you know, first off, um, before I get to that, Barry, I do want to just thank um all of our staff.
• 20:06
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so many people, you know, it takes a lot of hands to make something like this happen.
• 20:11
  SPEAKER_00: And um the quote unquote normal work that we do, we don't pause it.
• 20:17
  SPEAKER_00: And uh so everybody has their normal loads, and then on top of that, are thinking through um what type of event to put on, and really asking hard questions like um, what is it that God is wanting us to communicate?
• 20:33
  SPEAKER_00: Um, what type of event does the Lord want us to put on?
• 20:36
  SPEAKER_00: And um asking him to send the right people, um, filtering through the questions about finances, realizing this is the one and only fundraiser that the Topeka Rescue Mission puts on ourselves.
• 20:49
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and how do we balance really talking about the financial needs, um, but also keep it a night where we are thanking the community for what they have done and giving God glory for amazing things we see Him do and provide.
• 21:06
  SPEAKER_00: And so this is not just a fun event that we all get excited and throw together.
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, there is a lot of very intentional wisdom that goes into it, a lot of prayer, a lot of revision when we get a check in our spirit about something, when we're like, nope, we don't think we're gonna we need to do that.
• 21:25
  SPEAKER_00: And um, so want to thank all the staff, but particularly want to thank um Jesse and Miranda and Kim and Miriam because um these four ladies have been um for weeks leading up to this event.
• 21:42
  SPEAKER_00: Um, poor Kim, like she is always our basket that's catching all of these eggs when they're about to drop.
• 21:50
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and not just the hat of HR, everything, including trying to help me continue to be CEO when I don't have an assistant.
• 21:59
  SPEAKER_00: Um Miranda has um gotten into this donor position um, you know, a while ago and is really just taking it to different levels.
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_00: I never even knew we could do with just her quiet spirit, um, but her loving servant heart.
• 22:16
  SPEAKER_00: And um she did just incredible things with this event.
• 22:21
  SPEAKER_00: Jesse to um be two, two and a half months in now.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_00: And um, she comes in at a time where, oh, it's our only fundraiser.
• 22:30
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, we're gonna go from that to holidays.
• 22:32
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, we're gonna go from holidays to warming center.
• 22:35
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, it's the last quarter, it's the end of the year, oh, it's January, we start all over again.
• 22:40
  SPEAKER_00: Um she's smiling, yeah.
• 22:44
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but she brought just such a renewed passion um for wanting to do good.
• 22:52
  SPEAKER_00: And um that showed in the excellence um of this.
• 22:56
  SPEAKER_00: And Miriam, you know, Miriam is just the end-all be all, and Miriam can go from talking about things like magnets to really strategy of sponsorships and communication and donors.
• 23:15
  SPEAKER_00: And so I just appreciate all four of them because this one was a big juggle just because of what we all individually had loads on, but then also trying to pivot a new venue, um, new teams, all of that kind of stuff.
• 23:31
  SPEAKER_00: So a lot of gratitude for them.
• 23:34
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I will get to gratitude for our sponsors as well, but to kind of answer your question, what do I want people to know about Night of Praise?
• 23:41
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I've thought a lot about that, and I think it all goes back to um walking by faith.
• 23:52
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that's the easiest way that I can summarize what I hope people take away from year after year.
• 24:01
  SPEAKER_00: Whether that is me as the CEO is addressing people in the audience of how everything we do every day has to walk by faith because there's a lot that doesn't make sense.
• 24:13
  SPEAKER_00: There's a lot that we do where we need the Lord's discernment.
• 24:17
  SPEAKER_00: We don't know what this person's story is, we don't know if it's unsafe.
• 24:22
  SPEAKER_00: We don't know if we need to give tough love, we don't know if we make an exception.
• 24:27
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, it's just constantly challenging the status quo, constantly challenging decision making, constantly trying to figure out how to advocate on a bigger scale with the community.
• 24:42
  SPEAKER_00: And so I think my role as CEO in this time is am I modeling and asking others to walk by faith with us?
• 24:53
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I, whether people are believers or not, we see guests, unsheltered neighbors, everything.
• 24:59
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes when they go to take that next step, they don't know what the outcome's gonna be.
• 25:04
  SPEAKER_00: They're scared, they're nervous, they're overwhelmed, but they do take the next step, whether that next step is small, like a shower, or is it larger where they're about to get keys because of all the steps they've done?
• 25:18
  SPEAKER_00: And then lastly, this financial piece.
• 25:20
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so it's not just walking by faith for staff, it's not just walking by faith if if it's someone experiencing homelessness, but it really is this financial piece.
• 25:29
  SPEAKER_00: And um this year, each year we've kind of built upon how do we communicate that we need financial support, and how do we not bombard people, how do we not um send out alarms where it seems like we're not thankful for the donors that we do have, but really showing what we have is not keeping up with the needs that are coming in, and how do we articulate that?
• 25:58
  SPEAKER_00: And so that is what we do as well with our finances here at TRM is that night, which the team will talk about, what we raised, and we're grateful for it.
• 26:11
  SPEAKER_00: I think it was extremely successful.
• 26:14
  SPEAKER_00: But are we ever going to that night of make up any deficit or or bring in hundreds of thousands of dollars?
• 26:21
  SPEAKER_00: I have no clue.
• 26:21
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know what the Lord's will is.
• 26:23
  SPEAKER_00: What I do know is that if we want this focus of night of praise to continue to be modeling walking by faith, then we have to know that after we leave Night of Praise, our faith has to remain in the Lord of what He's doing with it.
• 26:38
  SPEAKER_00: And I think my aha moment of this year was night of praise is beautiful in itself and it's successful on a whole different level of measures.
• 26:49
  SPEAKER_00: But night of praise should be a ripple, and it should be a ripple effect that then you're you have people going and talking about the rescue mission.
• 26:59
  SPEAKER_00: You have more people sharing on social media, even if you get one new donor, and then they go and talk, and then they spread awareness and they try to get people to help us.
• 27:09
  SPEAKER_00: And so, um, you know, overall, night of praise is our annual fundraiser and it is a beautiful night, sharing testimonies, all of that.
• 27:17
  SPEAKER_00: But my aha moment really has been everything we do with Night of Praise before, during, and after should be modeling and also advocating for all of us to walk by faith in the needs that TRM has.
• 27:34
  SPEAKER_01: That's important.
• 27:36
  SPEAKER_01: It is in another podcast to talk about what does it mean to walk by faith.
• 27:40
  SPEAKER_01: I think that we really could do well to because some people say, well, you just throw caution to the wind.
• 27:46
  SPEAKER_01: Not that.
• 27:47
  SPEAKER_01: No.
• 27:47
  SPEAKER_01: You know, what is faith?
• 27:48
  SPEAKER_01: Faith is a verb, it's an action thing.
• 27:50
  SPEAKER_01: So we'll talk about that another time.
• 27:52
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 27:52
  SPEAKER_01: So, more specifically, it was a balance between a praise time, thanking the Lord, people coming together to worship, um, and also making aware of the needs of Topeka Rescue Mission and inviting people to participate in support.
• 28:09
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and this year um we had a couple of different things.
• 28:13
  SPEAKER_00: Um, one was um Miriam, Kim, Miranda, and Jesse really were putting some thought and heart into we only have an hour, hour and a half to try to do so much.
• 28:26
  SPEAKER_00: And one of the conundrums that we kind of had was how are we showcasing stories and testimonies?
• 28:33
  SPEAKER_00: Um and not just the typical videos and and interviews and stuff, which are great.
• 28:38
  SPEAKER_00: And one of the ideas that bubbled up out of that was to kind of do these, we've named it cardboard testimonies.
• 28:45
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but that was a way that we could showcase multiple, I mean dozens of um testimonies, but also do it time efficient, do it in a powerful way.
• 28:58
  SPEAKER_00: And so um Kim and Jesse kind of sent out an email to staff asking, hey, if anybody wants to participate, um we would love to um just have everybody see what the Lord's done through you.
• 29:12
  SPEAKER_00: And we had about two dozen people that um signed up, and so then they uh kind of turned it over to Rachel and Crystal here as staff members, and they ended up having a kind of sign, painting, decorating a couple of days.
• 29:28
  SPEAKER_00: And on one side of the cardboard um was what that person was facing, challenges.
• 29:34
  SPEAKER_00: Um, we had everything on there from addiction, prison time, suicide attempts, um thoughts being um scary, all these things that people had dealt with.
• 29:46
  SPEAKER_00: And um, they walked in front of people and they were vulnerable and they showed that.
• 29:50
  SPEAKER_00: And then they got to the middle of the stage and they flipped it to show what they were delivered from, what was the answer to prayer.
• 29:57
  SPEAKER_00: Um, some even were so honest of we're still waiting for an answer.
• 30:02
  SPEAKER_00: This is still a struggle.
• 30:03
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and kind of by that walk by faith um piece, and not everything is on our time zones, right?
• 30:10
  SPEAKER_00: Of of how we want things fixed.
• 30:12
  SPEAKER_00: And so um there were thoughts in that.
• 30:14
  SPEAKER_00: And then um we, you know, we did an interview as well to highlight our assistant director of facilities and maintenance, um, Chris.
• 30:25
  SPEAKER_00: And I really hope that that, and I think it did, we've gotten feedback on it.
• 30:30
  SPEAKER_00: But he was a gentleman living in a tent with a child.
• 30:34
  SPEAKER_00: And while we could probably dedicate a whole podcast to that as well, um, my heart behind this was to show that none of us agree that anyone really should have to be in a tent.
• 30:48
  SPEAKER_00: But also to try to shed light that the reason this dad had a son in the tent is because he was fighting for the holistic healing that he wanted he and his son to have.
• 30:59
  SPEAKER_00: Now, that could be very controversial, and I knew that going into it, and um, so I addressed it from the stage of, okay, Chris, if people right now are thinking that you're a bad dad and that you put a child in danger, what would you say to that?
• 31:12
  SPEAKER_00: And Chris being able to, in full transparency, as much as he could, articulate that he he never wanted to lose his son.
• 31:21
  SPEAKER_00: And he wanted more than anything to be a dad.
• 31:24
  SPEAKER_00: He just truly didn't know how to do it all.
• 31:27
  SPEAKER_00: And then, you know, years of addiction and years of abandonment and all of these things, he just knew he wanted to take care of his son, and so that was a portion of it.
• 31:37
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and then we can't forget the bands, you know.
• 31:40
  SPEAKER_00: A big thank you um to Bill Horn from FBC, who helped Brian and Marcy from um Fairlawn Nazarene Church.
• 31:50
  SPEAKER_00: Um, they were a great um one musical talent, but also the tech crew, um, also with Chris Ireland um from Grace Point.
• 31:58
  SPEAKER_00: So thankful for them who really made the production happen.
• 32:03
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but then I also then had the same band at two different times playing worship songs that had themes of what had just transpired or what was going to.
• 32:13
  SPEAKER_00: And so when I say intentionality, the heart behind it was really how do we talk about food insecurity?
• 32:20
  SPEAKER_00: How do we talk about shelter needs?
• 32:22
  SPEAKER_00: Um, how do we give statistics?
• 32:23
  SPEAKER_00: How do we give the testimonies?
• 32:25
  SPEAKER_00: We could be there hours.
• 32:27
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean, really, and I'm really thankful for the team because I um, you know, I'm type A, I'm OCD, I know all of that, and um, I'm very hard on myself.
• 32:39
  SPEAKER_00: But I told the whole team right after we did it, I have such a peace because I feel like myself, not speaking about them, but for the first time I feel like I just was so aligned with what God wanted.
• 32:54
  SPEAKER_00: And there wasn't pressure of was the ass good enough?
• 33:02
  SPEAKER_00: Was the ass not good enough?
• 33:04
  SPEAKER_00: Did it run too long?
• 33:05
  SPEAKER_00: Did it run too loud?
• 33:06
  SPEAKER_00: All these things that I have gotten feedback on that you processed, you know, as the CEO.
• 33:13
  SPEAKER_00: And all of that was just freed off of my shoulders.
• 33:18
  SPEAKER_00: And I just had such a peace, and I thought, I don't know what this fundraiser is gonna bring in.
• 33:23
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know what impact it made on the person sitting there.
• 33:26
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know those things.
• 33:27
  SPEAKER_00: What I do know is um that I we covered this event in prayer.
• 33:33
  SPEAKER_00: I know that we focused around Christ's transformation, I know we focused around um the need of food and the need of shelter and what the team does, um, bringing a different light and personalizing uh people's struggles as struggles, not people being problems.
• 33:53
  SPEAKER_00: And I think the team really executed that.
• 33:56
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that we really um showcased what God is doing and what we need people to rise up and and still help us with.
• 34:06
  SPEAKER_00: And I think we did that.
• 34:09
  SPEAKER_01: It's a tough spot to be in to try to do a performance and have expectations on yourself as well as everybody who is a part of it, um, and funders as well.
• 34:21
  SPEAKER_01: Um, at the same time saying, I want to put the Lord first in this and honor him.
• 34:26
  SPEAKER_01: And it sounds like you got to that place where you got released.
• 34:31
  SPEAKER_01: Do your best you can and let God take it from there.
• 34:34
  SPEAKER_01: And uh, it's that faith we don't just throw it to the wind and say, I hope it all works out.
• 34:38
  SPEAKER_01: It is actually action, but at the same time, it's a step of faith.
• 34:42
  SPEAKER_01: And so you did that.
• 34:43
  SPEAKER_01: You know, you were talking about the signs, um, how people very vulnerably put down their struggles on one side, they get up on the stage and flip them around to say this is where I am now.
• 34:54
  SPEAKER_01: That is very powerful, but the most powerful one to me was Kenny Ball.
• 34:57
  SPEAKER_01: Kenny Ball was jumping up and down about the change that occurred in his life.
• 35:01
  SPEAKER_01: Anybody knows Kenny?
• 35:03
  SPEAKER_01: He's uh um addicted to meth for years and years and years and on the streets, and uh uh according to him, he was uh kicked out of the rescue mission a hundred times.
• 35:13
  SPEAKER_01: At least, right?
• 35:15
  SPEAKER_01: But he's he's here on staff now.
• 35:16
  SPEAKER_01: And yeah, so just that that message that came through and Chris's testimony, and it was a beautiful night.
• 35:24
  SPEAKER_01: So a lot of people were involved.
• 35:25
  SPEAKER_01: You can talk about staff, there was board members involved, volunteers involved, there were some sponsors involved.
• 35:30
  SPEAKER_01: What else would you like to say uh before we wrap up today?
• 35:36
  SPEAKER_00: Um I want to mention all of the sponsors, and we've mentioned this several times over the years of, but I want to say it again.
• 35:47
  SPEAKER_00: Um this is our annual fundraiser, and so it would be so nice if this event brought in$100,000 every year.
• 35:54
  SPEAKER_00: Or a million, or a million, two million.
• 35:57
  SPEAKER_00: Um and and maybe one day it will.
• 35:59
  SPEAKER_00: It does.
• 35:59
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 36:00
  SPEAKER_00: And we don't even know it yet.
• 36:02
  SPEAKER_01: Um ripple effect.
• 36:04
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 36:05
  SPEAKER_00: And so um, we get that, but we also know that um we want this to be a night where um believers of all different um denominations come together.
• 36:19
  SPEAKER_00: We want this to be a place where someone, if they're not sure they're a believer and they're wrestling, we want this to be a place where someone's had church hurt and they miss um this, but they're not ready to go back to church.
• 36:33
  SPEAKER_00: Like we just want this to be a place where people can come and see what hope can really look like.
• 36:40
  SPEAKER_00: And um we know that.
• 36:43
  SPEAKER_00: And so one of the ways that we have tried to say, okay, how do we still keep a focus on this being a fundraiser, but also um be a time where we're not putting that before this beautiful event we're trying to do?
• 37:00
  SPEAKER_00: And so one of the ideas that I uh talked with the board about earlier this year, or maybe it was last year, honestly, after we debriefed from last year, and I just pitched the idea of can our team really go after sponsorships in a personalized way for this event and try to raise so many dollars and still try to raise however many dollars we need to the night of, but can we put the focus more on sponsorships?
• 37:26
  SPEAKER_00: And so I really, um if there's any sponsors listening right now, not only did you help us put this evening on, but you really are the strongholders of this fundraising night because we are trying to find this balance of fundraising, but then also not putting um pressures of that the night of over the experience of the Lord as well.
• 37:50
  SPEAKER_00: And so when I say thank you to the sponsors, um, not only are we thanking you for being sponsors, but we are thanking you for being um big parts of the reasons why financially the evening was a success financially.
• 38:06
  SPEAKER_00: And so we're grateful for that.
• 38:08
  SPEAKER_00: Um so want to start off with our um media sponsor.
• 38:13
  SPEAKER_00: We're really thankful for um Lamar.
• 38:16
  SPEAKER_00: They're the ones who do our billboards, and we're thankful for that.
• 38:20
  SPEAKER_00: Um I was guilty of trying to take a picture of one, but we won't talk about that.
• 38:24
  SPEAKER_00: I know I was parked kind of.
• 38:26
  SPEAKER_00: No, I wasn't.
• 38:27
  SPEAKER_00: You mean because it was a red light.
• 38:29
  SPEAKER_00: That's right.
• 38:30
  SPEAKER_00: Moving slow.
• 38:31
  SPEAKER_00: Um, yes, but no, um, so thankful.
• 38:33
  SPEAKER_00: And that is fun.
• 38:34
  SPEAKER_00: People get so much excitement by that.
• 38:36
  SPEAKER_00: So a big thank you um to Lamar whenever um everybody sees those billboards.
• 38:41
  SPEAKER_00: Braun sponsors, um, thankful for um April Kelsey with Farm Bureau Financial Services, um, thankful to John Parker with Topeka Natural Therapeutics, Brad Hutton, Samco, who is um a vendor with us and actually did four brawn sponsorships, Onyx, um Salon and Wellness Spa with locations in downtown and Nodo, The Wheelbarrel, which I probably eat there way too often, The Pad, Miss Karen Teeter, Sensations, Denali Financial Group, and Genesis Realtors, Miss Kristen Cummings.
• 39:20
  SPEAKER_00: Again, those were the bronze sponsors.
• 39:22
  SPEAKER_00: Also want to give gratitude for the silver sponsors, um, solitaire head spa, Genesis Realtors, which is Mr.
• 39:30
  SPEAKER_00: Greg Armbrooster, Samco, again, we're grateful for them, reliable Green Handyman, Capital City Church, Sugar Creek LLC, Tom Bryan, Tristan's Auto Wash and Detail, and Hazel Hill, which I could probably spend a lot of money there too because it's chocolate downtown.
• 39:53
  SPEAKER_00: Um, thank you to our gold sponsors.
• 39:56
  SPEAKER_00: Those gold sponsors include Endeavor Private Health, Lighthouse Bible Church, World Insurance, Bizbox, Topeka Baptist Church, All Tech, Topeka Fellowship, Samco, Midland Care, and TRM board members.
• 40:20
  SPEAKER_00: Grateful for all of those gold sponsorships.
• 40:24
  SPEAKER_00: And last but certainly not least, our platinum sponsors of the evening.
• 40:30
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and so that was the twenty five hundred dollar sponsors, correct?
• 40:36
  SPEAKER_00: That was Premier One, a big thank you to Premier One, Samco, a big thank you for Samco and Dwayne and Beth Fager.
• 40:47
  SPEAKER_00: Again, a big thank you to the Fagers for all that they do to help not only TRM but also our community.
• 40:54
  SPEAKER_00: So a lot of gratitude goes into those sponsorships, not just for sponsoring the evening, not just for the financial investment that they do to TRM, um, but that it really is the primary source of our financial blessings of that night.
• 41:11
  SPEAKER_01: Great amount of detail goes into this uh event, like it ever does every event uh that goes on.
• 41:17
  SPEAKER_01: Jesse, you mentioned about the turkey trot that's coming up and all those details going into that.
• 41:22
  SPEAKER_01: Even uh the uh fall festival has a lot of planning that goes into it.
• 41:26
  SPEAKER_01: So it's not just that you can have something happen, it's something that you work on to be able to make things um occur.
• 41:34
  SPEAKER_01: So And one more thing, Barry.
• 41:36
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, because it's not necessarily a sponsor, um, but you know, we did talk about being thankful for Fairlaw and Nazarene Church for having us.
• 41:46
  SPEAKER_00: This was the first year to be there, and um, they already mentioned be wanting to have us back, and so hopefully we're able to do that.
• 41:53
  SPEAKER_00: So thankful for them.
• 41:54
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and we mentioned the musicians and the leaders of that also want to give um a thank you for Hall's printing because they did give us a discount as well on the programs.
• 42:05
  SPEAKER_00: And so it's just incredible when we see everybody say yes to something of how it comes together to make something even better and more beautiful.
• 42:14
  SPEAKER_04: And it doesn't take arm twisting, you know.
• 42:16
  SPEAKER_04: I think as I was listening to talk through all of those sponsors, sometimes all it needed was us to just ask.
• 42:24
  SPEAKER_04: Just ask.
• 42:25
  SPEAKER_04: And and they were just so willing.
• 42:27
  SPEAKER_04: So it it isn't it isn't difficult when you just let people know that we need their help.
• 42:33
  SPEAKER_03: And if you lost count, that was 35, but we did have two ananimous, so that was also very grateful.
• 42:40
  SPEAKER_03: We were also very grateful for those ananimous sponsorships.
• 42:43
  SPEAKER_02: So, and so what was the total amount raised?
• 42:48
  SPEAKER_02: 26,600 for sponsorships.
• 42:53
  SPEAKER_02: That's amazing.
• 42:53
  SPEAKER_00: And then the night brought in uh close to 10,000.
• 42:58
  SPEAKER_03: So a little bit over$9,000.
• 42:59
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 43:00
  SPEAKER_00: So then total we're looking at I have to do the$35,000.
• 43:05
  SPEAKER_04: About$35,000.
• 43:06
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, about$35,000.
• 43:07
  SPEAKER_01: That's a great event.
• 43:08
  SPEAKER_03: And so, yeah, night of donations before and after it all together was about$10,000.
• 43:12
  SPEAKER_03: That's a great event.
• 43:13
  SPEAKER_01: Well, to marry him to your point where you know sometimes all you have to do is ask.
• 43:17
  SPEAKER_01: That depends on who's asking.
• 43:19
  SPEAKER_01: And depends on if people understand who it is that's asking and do they believe in the organization that's asking, because there's a lot of asks going on.
• 43:28
  SPEAKER_01: So Topeka Rescue Mission serves a incredible service in the community.
• 43:33
  SPEAKER_01: A lot of people know a little bit about it, some people know a whole lot about it, and some people aren't quite sure if they know anything about it.
• 43:40
  SPEAKER_01: So, as oftentimes has been said, is that until you get on the inside, you uh you will say, uh, I never knew.
• 43:46
  SPEAKER_01: And so so many things happen with the Topeka Rescue Mission.
• 43:50
  SPEAKER_01: Well, thank you for unpacking these different events uh that have occurred and are yet to occur with the Turkey Trot.
• 43:57
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you, as a listener of our community, our mission, um, can participate not just in events, but anytime with Topeka Rescue Mission by signing up to volunteer to give financially or materially, or you can also do the biggest thing, and that is take the needs to help our neighbors in need to the Lord each and every day.
• 44:18
  SPEAKER_01: So thank you for being a part of this uh podcast.
• 44:20
  SPEAKER_01: If you want more information about Topeka Rescue Mission, you can go to TRMonline.org.
• 44:26
  SPEAKER_01: That's TRMonline.org.
• 44:28
  SPEAKER_01: Follow on Facebook and also like, share, all that good stuff.
• 44:32
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you for being a part of our community, our mission.