I first met Sheila when she was 10 years old. I had just driven into St. Louis the day before and met the World Impact staff. That night I entered the apartment to exuberant chaos. It was a sleepover for 4th to 6th grade girls and they were bouncing off the walls. I remember they were at a time in their lives when they needed deodorant. I brought this up to Sheila now and she laughed, recalling, “We couldn’t afford deodorant, so we used baking soda instead.” That was my initiation into urban ministry. And although my heart broke regularly for the deep pains my friends like Sheila experienced, I had the honor of walking alongside them and loved every moment.
Sheila is now married to Andy, and they have six kids ranging in age from high school to a three-year-old. Sheila loves being a mom. Andy is a St. Louis police officer and they met on the job. After years on the force, she saw so much death daily that she afraid she was losing her ability to feel. She now works for St. Louis University teaching CPR and helping with an education grant around suicide prevention. “I like knowing I am doing something that is making a difference to save people,” Sheila said.
She and her younger brother Rico, also married with children, were just talking about the years they participated in World Impact Bible Clubs. Rico recalled being in the children’s choir and said how much he missed those years of innocence. Sheila said World Impact was everything to them, “I really cannot explain how much it meant. It was everything. I truly do not know where I would be today if it had not been for World Impact. No one else I knew went to church. So many of the kids I grew up with have gone nowhere. The connections World Impact made for us with New City [a local church plant] and the families there changed our lives forever. I am still connected to them.” They are involved in their church and community.
These days Sheila and I stay connected on social media and have had a few visits over the years. This recent phone call filled my heart. I have these memories and stories and relationships because of faithful partners like you, who have funded our ministry efforts over the years from bible clubs and camps to church planting and ministry training. Sheila is one of the jewels in your crown.
Read more from Sharon Browatzke.
