A Night of Service, Struggle, and Sovereign Grace at the Welland Table
Tonight was one of those nights that reminds us why the table exists.
The cold cut through coats and gloves, the kind of chill that makes most people stay inside.
But still — 21 volunteers, from 14 to 84 years old, showed up to serve.
We laughed.
We shivered.
We poured hot chocolate with numb fingers and handed out blankets with grateful smiles.
And in the middle of all that, something deeper unfolded.
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
— John 1:5 (ESV)
A Guest in Crisis
Tonight we spent time with Gary — a guest who has been trying for weeks to leave Welland and return to London.
He arrived shaken, exhausted, and visibly burdened.
In a quiet moment, he confessed something that struck all of us:
He said that part of him wanted to go back to jail.
Not because jail was good.
But because the streets felt worse.
Four years behind bars for murder, and yet he said, “The streets are worse than the worst jail. Out here, they’ll knife you for a pack of cigarettes.”
It sounded extreme — until you remember the reality many of our guests face:
danger, addiction, betrayal, trauma, and a daily fight just to survive the night.
Darkness doesn’t hide itself in Welland.
But neither does grace.
Grace in Conversation
After hearing his story, I introduced him to several of our volunteers — the young, the old, and the ones who have been shaped by grace in their own ways.
We talked with him at length about the grace of God:
- That even though our hearts are inclined to do evil,
- Even though sin lives in every one of us,
- Even though none of us are righteous on our own,
God’s grace is still abundant — overflowing, unearned, sovereign, and real.
Gary listened.
Really listened.
And little by little, the hardness in his posture softened.
His eyes steadied.
Hope — the smallest spark of it — flickered.
“But where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.”
— Romans 5:20 (ESV)
A Glimmer of Hope
Before leaving, Gary told us something incredible — something that made every cold finger and trembling volunteer worth it:
“I guess not everyone is evil. I believe.”
That was grace speaking.
Not the grace of volunteers, or programs, or warm food —
but the grace of a God who sees the murderer, the broken, the homeless, and the lost…
and still chooses to show mercy.
Tomorrow, we’re arranging to help get him back to London — to a place where he has stability, supports, and a chance to breathe again.
Please pray for him.
Pray for safety.
Pray for a renewed mind.
Pray that the seed of belief planted tonight would find good soil.
And pray for our volunteers — that God would keep giving them:
- Wisdom to speak truth,
- Compassion to see every person as His image-bearer,
- Courage to love even those whom society fears or discards.
“For while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
— Romans 5:8 (ESV)
A Final Word
Tonight was cold.
But grace was warm.
Thirteen volunteers stepped into the night not to fix the world, but simply to love the person in front of them.
And God took that small act and wove hope into a heart that thought all goodness was gone.
This is why we keep showing up.
This is why the table exists.
Not to solve homelessness —
but to shine a little light
into the places where darkness thinks it has won.
Please pray for Gary.
Pray that God would meet him where he is, carry him where he cannot walk, and finish the work He started tonight.
And pray for us —
that we may continue to serve boldly, humbly, and with the kind of love that only comes from Him.
“Let all that you do be done in love.”
— 1 Corinthians 16:14 (ESV)
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