Participants:
Series Code: TDY
Program Code: TDY230033A
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00:04 ♪ I want to spend my life mending broken people ♪ 00:15 ♪ I want to spend my life removing pain ♪ 00:25 ♪ Lord let my words heal a heart that hurts ♪ 00:36 ♪ I want to spend my life mending broken people ♪ 00:56 ♪ ♪ 01:07 Hello and welcome to 3ABN Today. We have a program that's kind of 01:10 personal to us. 01:12 I know, very special. 01:13 Angela and John Lomacang. You know often times we invite 01:15 guests to come to 3ABN. But these are guests that we didn't 01:17 have to invite. They actually live here and they go to our 01:21 church and they are very much a part of the ministry of 3ABN and 01:25 the Thompsonville Seventh-day Adventist Church and the 01:27 Thompsonville community. And so some of you might have heard 01:31 programs about missionaries going overseas. We've got 01:33 missionaries right here. (That's right, local) And making a 01:36 difference in the local community. So stay tuned 01:39 because you might be wondering what can I do for the Lord? He 01:41 might be saying to you Hey, look outside your window. Look 01:44 outside the doors of your church it's outside the doors of your 01:47 home. You don't have to travel far, just down the road. And 01:50 your life will make a difference and the impact to the people 01:53 that are around you and that's why the program is special to us 01:56 today. 01:58 Yeah, it's very special. It's going to be a good program too. 01:59 I'm looking forward to it. 02:01 And we want to thank you though. My wife is with me today, Angela 02:06 Some of you may or may not know that. She's the better part of 02:08 our marriage. We've been together for a long time, I 02:11 won't say how long but praise God for that. And thank you for 02:14 what you do for 3ABN as you continue giving your time and 02:18 your finances to get us ready for the coming of the Lord. But 02:21 before we introduce our guests to you today we're going to have 02:24 some music and... 02:27 Yeah, Rendall Caviness is going to share a song called 02:30 I want to be a Christian and I know that song, in my heart. 02:34 ♪ ♪ 05:30 Thank you, Rendall. (Beautiful) I didn't know he played 05:34 harmonica so well. 05:35 Oh yes, he's a professional and also he and Melody his wife, 05:41 they do the food, right, for camp meeting. They take care of 05:45 all the food, his wife does and he is a great help to her. 05:49 Thank you for that wonderful song. That really sets the stage 05:51 because our guest today didn't just say I want to be a 05:54 Christian. They said what impact will a Christian make when the 05:58 Lord is working on his or her heart. And we have all hers 06:00 today and honey why don't you introduce our family. 06:06 Okay who's the head of the Browse Around, okay, (Karen 06:12 Owens) Karen Owens and we have Kris Caviness and we have Dee 06:16 Hilderbrand. They're all church members. (That's right) 06:19 Before we dive into what you do just let the people watching and 06:22 listening know who you are. I already told them where you live 06:26 What's the role you have with Browse Around. We'll tell the 06:30 story in just a moment. 06:32 (Karen Owens) Well I wanted to serve the Lord and I had 06:35 dedicated myself to it and I wanted to do something for the 06:41 community. You know our church had a community center in West 06:44 Frankfurt many years ago and they had closed because the 06:50 building sold. And I was thinking about that and I 06:53 thought you know that would really be something great to 06:55 have in our community because there's just a lot of people 07:00 have needs. And the prices are going so high you know. You know 07:06 we have a place where they can get something to wear, something 07:08 to eat, appliances, or whatever and so I just thought a thrift 07:13 store would be great. 07:14 And the Lord brought that dream to you. We'll talk about that in 07:16 a moment because it's really amazing. 07:18 Yes but who is Karen? You and your husband work, well your 07:23 husband works here at 3ABN. 07:26 Yeah, we've been here for 26 years and we just love the place 07:31 It's been a place to grow, it's been a place to learn things 07:37 about yourself and the changes you need to make and we've had 07:42 many different positions at 3ABN and we've learned a lot. And 07:48 wonderful people. We're all human, we are not perfect in any 07:53 way or shape. But we're all growing towards the Lord and 07:57 wanting to see other people know the Lord like we do. 08:00 One other nugget. You helped take care of that little doggy. 08:05 Yeah, Ginger. 08:06 Beautiful Ginger for Kids... 08:08 From 3ABN Kids Network, yes. We raised her. 08:13 So if they ever see Little Ginger, puppy Ginger, Karen has 08:16 the joy of taking care of Ginger every now and then. Appreciate 08:20 that. And right across from us we have somebody who's been a 08:23 part of this community for a little bit, Kris Cavaness. Tell 08:27 us about you Kris. 08:29 Well Mike and I have lived here for 53 years. We're from this 08:34 area. From the moment we got married we moved into 08:38 Thompsonville and we started right away at the Baptist Church 08:41 there. So we were Baptists for years and years. About eight 08:45 years ago the Lord got ahold of us about Sabbath and that's how 08:49 we became members of the Adventist church. And I've 08:52 always had a heart for the Lord and a heart to volunteer and so 08:59 I knew that at some point when I quit working that I wanted to 09:03 volunteer. And so it was about four or five years ago the 09:08 Sabbath lesson was on community and it really convicted me. And 09:13 so God and I had a talk. Mike and I had a business on main 09:18 street for 15 years here so we know everyone, we know the 09:23 community, we've been involved in things over the years. So 09:25 then I prayed and I said God it's Thompsonville. What 09:32 possibly could I do here. You know we're a small place. So 09:38 quickly the answer came and I volunteered for a while through 09:42 the Baptist church even though I was an Adventist at that time. 09:45 But I knew everyone there. They had an after-school program so I 09:50 volunteered to work with children after the school was 09:52 out and they needed someone to watch them until their parents 09:55 could pick them up. And then there was also another clothing 09:58 give away here and I volunteered for that. So in the meantime 10:02 3ABN recruited me to come work here so I worked here three and 10:05 a half years. But when the Browse Around came around I knew 10:10 that at some point I wanted to volunteer and be a part of that. 10:13 And God just put everything into place. 10:16 Yeah and we're going to talk about that amazing story and how 10:19 that evolved in just a moment. But somebody... 10:21 You also have a family? 10:24 Oh sure. Mike and I have two daughters. Our oldest daughter 10:28 is married and gave us our two beautiful grandkids and they go 10:31 to the little Baptist church here in town. And my other 10:35 daughter, my youngest daughter lives in St. Louis and so we 10:39 have a beautiful family. 10:40 And your husband works here. 10:43 Oh yes, and Mike works here. Mike will never retire. He's just 10:45 wound up all the time. So he works here in the maintenance 10:48 and mows and takes care of vehicles and does airport runs 10:52 and whatever needs to be done. 10:53 Yeah, we could see his finger print all over the property. 10:56 He's a good man. Both of you. Thank you for being here. 10:59 And some people may know Dee. Dee's not a stranger. 11:04 I come and go. Different things. Yeah. (Dee Hilderbrand) 11:06 So I just...Karen had talked to me about doing this and I was 11:12 like well, I'm working. But I went part-time and then I said 11:18 well, I'm going to change. So when I quit working and go part 11:23 time to just three days I told her that I would help at the 11:27 Browse Around. But she got me involved from the beginning too. 11:30 Anyway. I'm setting up taking care of the building. I'm very 11:35 much a hands-on person so if you need things painted or shelves 11:39 built or whatever I can either help do it or I can get somebody 11:43 else to help do it. So she came to me for physical help. Right? 11:49 Is that right? (Amen) And to just make things happen, to get 11:53 it going and to go ask for things or to go get...I was in 11:59 the process of getting it started, involved. Because I can 12:03 be a little pushy. 12:05 Dee had contacts. (Yes) So she knew who to get if I needed 12:10 something. 12:11 Resourceful. I wouldn't use the word pushy but resourceful. 12:14 All right thank you. 12:15 I like that better. 12:17 Because we say around here if you want something done go to 12:19 Dee. We appreciate that about you. Now before we get to this 12:23 dream that God put on your heart I want to go ahead and talk 12:28 about...Well let me just go back First, talk about the dream that 12:32 God put on your heart and then we're going to talk about the 12:35 evolution and I'll just leave it right there. Talk about this 12:39 dream that God put on your heart about the Browse Around. 12:42 Yes. You know I have a lot of nights I can't sleep so I just 12:50 talk to the Lord. And pictures of a thrift store kept popping 12:56 up. They wanted you know clothes and food and things like this 13:02 and I just thought you know that's great Lord. I wonder who 13:06 in the church would do that. And there's no answer and so some 13:11 more things, visions, came up not visions but dreams or 13:15 thoughts of putting things together to help people in the 13:20 community. Be a full community service. And so I said well okay 13:25 Lord, after several nights of this, I said okay Lord, I'll 13:28 tell you what I'll do. I'll go to the Seventh-day Adventist 13:31 church board. I'll ask them if they would be interested in 13:35 opening up a thrift store. Surely if they had somebody that 13:38 could do that. And so I went to the board and the Pastor says to 13:43 me well you can do it. And I said, I'm not qualified. And I'm 13:48 not. I'm really not qualified. But I said well surely somebody 13:53 will do it. I'll do it until you can find someone. And the Pastor 13:57 kind of laughed at me. And the Lord just worked it all together 14:02 I don't know. I've never had an experience like this with the 14:06 Lord that He was in full control because I'm not qualified. I am 14:15 had the training to do the things that need to be done to 14:17 start a thrift store. So the Lord just pointed me to people that 14:22 could help me that could show me how to start it and I just went 14:28 day by day. Every day I'd ask Lord, okay what do I do today 14:32 how do I go about this? And He would put somebody in my pathway 14:36 that would direct me and guide me how to do that. And the next 14:40 thing we knew we had a thrift store. And it's been over three 14:45 three years now and I'm amazed at what God does because it's 14:50 not me. But I'll tell you I have a lot of wonderful volunteers. 14:53 And they're the backbone of the Browse Around. 14:57 How many do you have? 14:59 Quite a few. Quite a few. I have about five or six that are 15:04 steady. 15:06 You have like seven or eight because of the men. We do have 15:08 some men (Multiple voices) Yeah we get them to tote the heavy 15:16 stuff up and down the stairs and do some of the heavier work. 15:21 But I want to talk about the evolution of the building 15:22 because...I remember that I'm glad you brought that to my mind 15:26 because the board, Dee's on the board and we voted unanimously 15:30 for it and when I said that Karen why don't you do it, Oh no 15:33 I'm not qualified and I'm yeah right. And I think I mentioned 15:38 if God brought you to it He'll bring you through it. (Right you 15:41 did) but then we had to try to figure out where we're going to 15:45 put this community services. So we had a couple of choices 15:47 because across the street there was a building there. We tried 15:51 to get that and that fell through. 15:53 We were going to, actually it was up for auction, so I 15:59 actually went there that night. We were talking about putting a 16:03 bid in on it, on that building. 16:04 That's across from the Thompsonville school. 16:06 From the school, yes. And they called the auction off that day. 16:12 The owners changed their mind. (Wow) And then later we found 16:16 out it wouldn't have been a good choice. God shut it down. 16:19 The Lord had impressed me that the academy had been there and 16:23 it was a vacant building sitting there on a highway. I thought 16:27 It's a good 16:29 location. You know and it was just the right size to start a 16:31 small thrift store. It's actually a community center 16:35 because we want it to be a place where people come when they're 16:38 lonely. We have a lot of lonely people come in and just talk to 16:41 us and we have prayer with them and just let them be. You know a 16:47 lot of people are lonely and they just don't have a place to 16:51 go and nobody wants to listen to them because they're 16:52 repetitive or whatever it might be you know or they don't want 16:55 to hear somebody else's troubles So and I have good staff that 17:00 really just is able to do that because their hearts are for the 17:05 community and their hearts are to help people. So, it wouldn't 17:11 be without my staff, my volunteers because they make the 17:14 place what it is. 17:15 But the building worked out. It just has a strange history. It 17:19 kind of has a strange layout because of the history. 17:22 Yeah, Kris talk about the history of that building. 17:24 The building was built by a local farmer and his sons and it 17:29 was for him to be able to take old tractors and you know redo 17:34 them and bring them back to life and all that. That's a passion 17:37 that they had. And all good Christian people too. That was 17:40 another thing, the Millers, they were really good people. I've 17:43 been in church with them too over the years. So yeah it 17:47 started out as a tractor place you know to work on tractors. 17:50 Wow and then it evolved into... 17:53 Well because it was a tractor place the front was just like 17:56 the office and then the back of the building was bigger where 17:59 they did repairs and stuff and it also had an attic that they 18:02 did storage in. But after 3ABN bought it we had a doctor come 18:08 and make it into a clinic for awhile. So they installed like 18:13 a sink and a kitchen...I don't think the kitchen was there 18:16 either then. So they kind of changed it around and made it 18:19 work for this doctor's office. So there's several little rooms 18:23 there and then the back. And so when he left and moved I think 18:30 we did some exercising there. It kind of got used. We did 18:34 exercise. There were some other things going on there. It was 18:37 always kind of in flex of who was going to do what there and 18:40 then, and then, Miss Haney came (that's right the teacher) and 18:46 had a teacher so that we could have older classes like eighth, 18:53 ninth and tenth grade or something I'm not sure about 18:55 that. And so we opened it up as an academy so it functioned for 19:02 years as an academy (junior academy) just a day junior 19:07 academy. But when Miss Haney left and we had other teachers 19:11 you know things change. Nothing stays the same or static. So the 19:17 school kind of changed and they moved everything down to the 19:19 main building and so now this building sat empty. It needed 19:27 some repairs, it needed some stuff, painting and redoing so 19:31 we started thinking about that and then...Who went to 3ABN. 19:35 Did I go to 3ABN or you went to 3ABN? 19:40 I went to 3ABN and asked them 19:41 Karen went to 3ABN and said a community thrift store. 19:42 A community center where we can meet our community and it's 19:48 strictly for the community. (That's right) Our expenses are 19:50 not for us. The money goes out to the community. We're trying 19:54 to help them with the park and the police department and the 19:57 fire department. 19:59 So our proceeds after we've paid expenses and all that the 20:02 proceeds actually goes to the community. (I love that) 20:06 And we're going to spend a little bit of time on that too 20:08 but you know the amazing thing about it is it was hard to see 20:12 what the building would become. And now we look back on it and 20:16 it's hard to imagine it not being there. You know we look 20:19 at the building the way you put it. We have a few pictures I 20:21 want to show about that. Let's look at some of the way and the 20:24 ladies really got together and made this beautiful. 20:26 Because it's laid out backward. 20:28 And the guys too. There it is. It's really like a store. 20:31 That's the main big building, the main store. The main store 20:38 is where the biggest room is but it's in the back so people have 20:41 to go around the corner. 20:42 Now where did you get these shelves, not the shelves, but 20:46 [the racks] to hang the clothes? 20:47 Oh, I have a story. Yeah, you talk about if God's in it He'll 20:53 make it happen. And at the same time we were doing this guess 20:59 what Macy's at the mall in Carbondale was closing. Mike and 21:05 I would go down there and we were able to buy their fixtures 21:07 which is all those clothing racks and all those things. 21:11 They're professional. They were in a beautiful store and we were 21:14 able to buy them for greatly reduced prices. It just all 21:19 happened at the same time so we were able to have things in 21:22 there that actually looked like a real store. It's not makeshift 21:27 God just took care of it. You know, I just love that. 21:31 Oh, we made our own counter too. 3ABN donated a counter that was 21:39 left over from a program and it had been a kitchen set so we 21:44 just took the counter off and all we had to do was buy a 21:48 counter from Menards and put it on so that it didn't cost us a 21:54 lot to get a counter. So we got those...we have a nice counter 21:58 We were able to...the church kind of helped us raise funds 22:03 to buy shelving and stuff like that. So it looks very 22:07 professional. 22:08 Now Karen I want to go back to a little because you know you're 22:11 in the flow of it now and you look back on it thinking wow I 22:15 really held my breath because God only knew how this was going 22:18 to pan out, getting the volunteers, getting it all 22:22 started. But talk about it because somebody is listening to 22:25 this program or watching the program and saying man I've got 22:29 this burden on my heart. What was it like when you realized 22:32 that if you didn't do it, it was not going to happen. 22:35 Mmm, it was scary because when God talks to you need to take 22:43 action even if you don't know how. And the thing I like about 22:48 it was that it was not about me. It was about Him and what He 22:53 would like to do through me and He didn't need my talent, He 22:59 didn't need my abilities, He didn't need my work habits or 23:06 anything. He just needed me to say yes and when I did let me 23:11 tell you I went home and I was kind of terrified because I 23:13 thought Oh my I have no idea. I'd go down and sit in that 23:17 building, it had school supplies in it and I'd say Oh Lord what 23:22 do I start, what do I do? 23:23 Because there was a lot of stuff in the building. 23:25 Yea I had to move it all out and then paint it and then I would 23:31 look at a wall, what am I going to do with the purses. What am I 23:36 going to do with this and it'd just be "peg board." And so I 23:42 got peg board and put it up there and put the purses on it. 23:45 The shelves from the school helped with the knick-knacks and 23:48 things to that effect and then the bell tables (Oh yeah the 23:54 bell tables) worked for our shoes. (Who) 23:56 That they used to have the school bells. 23:58 And got the bell tables from school. And it just kept falling 24:03 [sic] apart day by day, I mean coming together. Yeah day by day 24:07 Because I didn't look in the future. I didn't know what the 24:10 future was going to do. I didn't know how I was going to get help 24:14 I didn't know...I didn't know what to do. And I would just say 24:18 Lord you know you're going to have to show me something here 24:21 and somebody would come in and say something and I'd say well 24:25 help me. Dee came in. She'd say I'd say... 24:26 Karen would say how are we going to get all this stuff out of 24:28 here and I said, No problem work bee. (Multiple voices) Yeah, it 24:32 was all hauled out. And then somebody volunteered to paint 24:35 and the next thing you know I went and made a little board to 24:40 start off with and invited three or four people that I knew in 24:45 the community, Kris and Dee and a few others and asked them if 24:49 they would help me develop the Browse Around because I had no 24:53 idea what to do. So we sat down and we talked about it and made 24:57 plans on how we would start it and that and the Lord just 25:01 guided us. You don't have to be talented. 25:03 No, you just have to be willing. 25:05 You have to be willing. You have to be able to listen and let the 25:08 Lord tell you what to do. 25:10 How did you get your volunteers? 25:11 I went and asked them. I went and asked people and then I 25:17 announced it at church and then people volunteered through that. 25:22 So usually it's...some of our volunteers are the oldest people 25:26 in the church because they can be available. But right now 25:31 we're open just three days a week, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday 25:34 with our volunteers so between Kris does Monday, no you do 25:38 Tuesday, I do Wednesday, and we have another lady that's not 25:41 feeling well today, Wendy does Monday. And then Karen kind of 25:47 oversees and then all these other volunteers come in and go 25:52 through the clothes. Actually we have a...Robin. Tell them about 25:55 how we got Robin. 25:58 Yes, now when people are hurt or injured they kind of make them 26:04 do volunteer work. And so, I can't remember her name but the 26:09 program called me and said that they had a volunteer that was in 26:13 the area and she'd like to be able to volunteer and work at 26:15 the store. 26:17 It has to do with Workmen's' Comp 26:18 It has to do with Workmen's' Comp and so we said yeah, I said yeah 26:22 We'll be glad to have her come in and she's been really a 26:26 blessing to us. We're like a family. We just sit there and 26:31 talk and laugh and God is so good. God just works all things 26:35 out. We have problems, we pray together. I had two men come and 26:41 volunteer. They wanted to just come in off the street and can 26:45 we help you. One was a church member and one was, he's another 26:50 faith and he comes and helps us paint and anything I need. You 26:54 know they work and do that. And I just really count on them a 26:57 lot. 26:58 Now do you have literature or books. 27:02 We have literature and books out And I put literature in all the 27:05 bags when we send the stuff out but I do have books there that 27:08 they can choose their own (multiple voices) I tell them a 27:12 little bit about the books you know. This is about Jesus's life 27:15 This is you know and you perk an interest. 27:20 Do people take those books? 27:23 They're free. I have some people come in there and take four or 27:28 five of the books. They say you know I want to look at these. 27:30 So we're taking care of people's physical needs. They come in and 27:36 they can get clothes because Karen also, she gives things 27:40 away. If you've had a fire or... If the Holy Spirit lays 27:44 something...We had a family come in and there had been a musical 27:48 instrument that was kind of expensive and we just didn't 27:50 drop the price on it. Karen kept saying, I'm saving it for the 27:53 right person, I'm saving it for the right person. So these 27:57 people came in just as we were closing. But we didn't close our 28:02 doors, we stayed open. And as we worked with them and as we 28:04 talked to them and heard more and more and the woman said 28:09 something about Oh my husband does music and he had been out 28:13 of work. We prayed with him. He had a job application in. Karen 28:18 ended up giving this man...and it was a Christmas time, it was 28:22 at Christmas time and he didn't know it. We hid it in a box. His 28:27 wife knew. His wife knew... 28:28 We put things they had gotten from the store on top of it and 28:30 we... 28:32 Hid it in the box and put stuff on top of it and down in the car 28:34 so he didn't know till later. 28:35 Oh he was there but he didn't know. 28:38 Yeah. He was babysitting the children outside and it was just 28:44 it brought us to tears because... 28:48 His wife was just very tickled about it because you know I 28:51 asked the Lord when the right person comes you just show me 28:53 and you know she just made a statement and they were going 28:58 through a really rough time. And I said okay. Would your husband 29:05 like to have a musical instrument. She was looking at 29:08 it and she knew it was expensive and I said you know how about if 29:12 I give that to you and give it to him, it'll encourage him. And 29:18 that's what we gave him. She just couldn't believe it. You 29:19 know. That's what we're there for. To be a blessing. 29:23 It's not just the physical part. It's to also feed them 29:26 spiritually. Just like what Jesus did. He met their physical 29:31 needs and then like Karen says we pray with people. They can 29:36 come and talk. We don't try to convert them We're not (multiple 29:42 voices) All we're doing is planting love. That's why we're 29:45 there is to plant love. And that's why we look for 29:48 volunteers that have a burden to plant love in their hearts. 29:51 I heard someone once say don't love evangelism, love people 29:56 and that will be evangelism. And those are the things and I want 30:00 to talk about the impact on the community now because we have a 30:03 community board. We have a community where they gather 30:08 together and have meetings on a monthly basis and talk about... 30:13 The village board. 30:14 Yeah, it's the village board and they meet once a month and 30:17 discuss village business and I know everybody on that board 30:21 I know everybody but...Yeah we take the money to them and I 30:29 want to back up and say that we're a small community in 30:32 Southern Illinois and there's a church on every corner and 30:35 there's churches all around this community, there's four right 30:38 here in Thompsonville. And so we wanted to be relevant to our 30:43 community like the other churches are and they all have 30:46 their niche, the things that they do. And so I wanted us to 30:50 be able to have an impact on our community and so I think 30:55 that we have accomplished that and I pray that every day. I say 30:58 Lord make the Browse Around accomplish the purpose for which 31:01 you have called it. And so we've you know...but the Village Board 31:05 is so thankful and we're making inroads. You know we're making 31:10 a difference (We're making friends) Oh yeah, sure. 31:16 And the mayor, Mayor Harris, said, You know we have people 31:18 coming in to this board all the time asking for money. You're 31:22 the only one that's come in and given it to us. (Laughter) 31:25 That is true. Talk about that. 31:27 For years we've been giving them money. They want to have a park 31:32 so we're working towards that. Parks are expensive. Takes a lot 31:38 of planning. And we also help with the fire department and the 31:42 police department. 31:43 The fire department is all volunteer. It's all volunteer. 31:47 But there's some times they need a piece of equipment. 31:50 And if they didn't get it, they have to do fundraisers if 31:53 they're going to have equipment because nobody's just giving 31:57 them money. 31:58 So where's the fire department? 31:59 It's in Thompsonville. It's volunteer. 32:01 In Thompsonville. 32:03 There's a building there's a fire department building in 32:05 Thompsonville. If you haven't been on that side street... 32:09 We've seen them show up at our church a number of times, not 32:12 because we have a fire but... (multiple voices) 32:16 It's not on Main Street, it's off. 32:20 Obviously, they would be it would happen even without us but we're 32:24 making a difference and the village would probably be able 32:27 to do without us but it is such a blessing to walk in and share 32:32 what we're giving them and knowing that we're specifically 32:36 telling them we would like to help Steve, the policeman, with 32:41 his training. He indicated one time he needed a new vest or 32:45 bullet-proof vest and we were able to help with that and then 32:48 the volunteer fire department, Randy Hargot is our water person 32:55 in town and he's also on that board and they are so thankful 32:59 that we're helping them. They would have to do fundraisers 33:02 otherwise for their volunteer fire department. So you know it's 33:07 just a blessing to be able to help a small village. 33:10 Now where do you get your clothes and your cups and all 33:13 that? Where do you get all that from? 33:15 Well, we started with the church. I made a request for the church 33:20 for clothing, appliances, anything that they had that they 33:24 didn't need, if they would bring it and that's what we started 33:27 out with appliances and clothes and purses and shoes and all 33:30 those kind of things. And then people started bringing stuff. 33:36 They'd ask well is it okay if we bring donations, do you take 33:39 donations? And I said Oh yeah. Nice clean clothes. We take 33:43 donations and it just keeps growing. And people just stop by 33:49 And I put a sign out, We need used furniture and furniture 33:52 started showing up. 33:53 And you know it's amazing. You're helping us actually 33:58 really what you call that, pare down all the stuff that we have. 34:00 Dee, I need to give away some of my cups. 34:06 So we're not without donations. People...as the community comes 34:09 in because what they comment about the most is they walk in 34:13 and they're like, Oh this is so clean! And it smells good and 34:18 it's nice in there. 34:19 We hear that every day. Every day someone comments how nice it 34:25 is and how clean. 34:26 It's so organized. 34:28 You know I really appreciate it because I've seen community 34:30 services before and when you walk in it's like, it smells 34:34 like you're in a closet and mothballs everywhere. But really 34:38 honestly, it's so well done. You have irons, sometimes vacuums, 34:43 household wear, radio... 34:46 When you go into a store and it's not well taken care of and 34:48 it's not clean and it's not nice it's like well you're not really 34:51 important. Here's stuff for you but you're poor and we don't 34:55 have to do anything special for you. People walk in our store 35:00 and they feel valued and we make them feel valued because 35:03 they are. They're God's children 35:05 I would like to say something to what Karen said a while ago about 35:09 people come in. I always pray and I'm serious, I pray God if 35:14 it is your will give me a divine appointment with them and 35:17 inevitably it happens. Someone will come in and we'll have a 35:21 moment together and the girls are in the back room working and 35:26 I'm out there in the front and they start sharing some issue in 35:30 their life and I'm able to talk to them, maybe empathize, 35:36 encourage them and you can just tell like Karen said, there's no 35:41 one at home listening to them or they need somebody to talk to. 35:44 And I just feel like that's one of my things, I'm an encourager. 35:49 And I'm listening and I can share and make them feel like 35:53 they've got somebody they can talk to. 35:55 So people just come there just to talk? 35:57 I have regulars that come in to see me on Tuesday. I have 36:02 regulars. 36:04 And hopefully to get bread. You know we have Panera bread on 36:06 every Monday. Panera gives us free bread. We just have to go 36:11 pick it up. It's just what they didn't sell that day, that night 36:13 before. 36:15 What do you do with it? 36:16 We give it to the community free You cannot sell it. That's not 36:19 allowed. We're just one of their you sign up with Panera Bread 36:22 and they will give you their leftover bread to give away. 36:27 and we not only give it to the community. If we get quite a bit 36:30 we take it up to the public school and give it to the 36:33 teachers. I've sometimes taken little things to the bank or to 36:37 the post office and let people know in the community that we 36:42 care about them. 36:44 You know what's so nice about this, and I think that Kris 36:46 mentioned this. I want to go back to this a little bit and 36:51 lay this on your heart. We started recognizing, wait a 36:52 minute if your church closed would your community miss it? 36:56 Would they notice? 36:58 Or would they care? 37:00 Would they care? 37:03 That's important that we're relevant to the community we're 37:05 living in. There's another church, every time I turn around 37:08 there's another church. Well what are we doing to make a 37:11 difference. What would make them think about us as a church? You 37:16 know we want...that's where my heart is. We come from the other 37:22 churches in the other places. So 37:24 That's right, that's right. And when you think about that it's 37:26 really important to recognize what's the impact in the 37:29 community. And so when you drive by on 34 and you look, wow, and 37:35 people have stopped from different locations to see 37:38 what's going on at community services. And we even have to 37:43 expand it, talk about that. 37:46 Yeah, we need a place to put the furniture because the shop is 37:50 actually small which I like because it's personal and we can 37:57 get together and talk. It's just a simple place but you know it's 38:00 got a lot of variety. And I come to the board and I said we need 38:05 places to put furniture so we discussed and the board approved 38:11 having a shed come in. We brought a nice shed in from 38:15 Benton and they brought it in and we have our furniture and 38:18 all kinds of things out 38:20 there that people can get. 38:21 It's a Sun Braced (?) 38:23 Furniture is very important, furniture is very expensive 38:27 So you can come get a table or something we got. We have right 38:32 now we've got a nice office desk for a computer and it's glass 38:36 and it's really pretty. Yeah, just sold a table and six chairs 38:40 So yeah people who can't Yeah. 38:44 I'm just very curious, what did you end up selling that table 38:47 and chairs for, probably a lot less than what you asked. 38:49 I did. Yeah, I had $150 on it and I sold it for $100. 38:55 But you know Karen has a heart to the point that one of the 39:05 board at the Thompsonville Village...We have a...Channel 3 39:08 does something where it's an unsung hero and they submitted 39:12 her name as an unsung hero. So she was actually on Channel 3 39:16 showing...and the cameraman was like you give money to the 39:20 community. They couldn't believe that... 39:23 Well they couldn't believe that we other than our expenses 39:27 it all goes to the community. 39:29 Right, that's true and you bring out a report for that and things 39:32 are given in a very structured way. Well let's look at that 39:36 video. I'm glad you brought that up. We have this...it was so 39:39 nice to know that they came out to little Thompsonville, our 39:41 population is under 600, over 500 and this is what the Lord 39:47 did through the joy that He laid on Karen's shoulder and praise 39:51 God somebody said This has to be known and Channel 3 News 39:55 which is seen all around Southern Illinois, ABC News 39:57 Affiliate did this story. 39:59 Well this week's unsung hero is Karen Lyn Owens. Lyn Owens 40:06 credits the dream and God for helping her open her thrift shop 40:10 And she is doing incredible things, incredible things and 40:13 let's watch the Unsung Hero this week. However, it's the community 40:16 that sets their store apart instead of employees property. 40:20 Newsweek's Brandon Merano has her story. 40:22 Just off Highway 34 in and Angel Lane lies a true blessing. 40:27 Well it's a dream that the Lord gave me and He kept pestering me 40:31 with this dream night after night till the wee hours in the 40:33 morning till I finally says okay I'll do that. I'll go to the 40:37 church board. I'll ask Thompsonville Seventh-day 40:39 Adventist Church will you support me if I do this and they 40:42 did. 40:44 The Browse Around Thrift Store and Community Center isn't your 40:47 normal type of thrift shop. 40:48 People come in here. It's a place to come and just talk. 40:51 Open Monday through Wednesday from 10 to 3 the store's main 40:56 mission: Helping others in the community. 40:58 So I went to talk to Mayor James Harris and he said they needed a 41:07 park, a city park. And I said well, we'll donate for that and 41:10 we've been doing that for three years. We also help the police 41:13 and the fire department. 41:15 After paying the bills to keep the place open all the profits 41:17 from the thrift shop go back into the community. 41:20 We keep it a very low prices. If there's a fire or something 41:24 happens and somebody needs help we just give it to them. You 41:28 know we're just here to help. 41:30 Help the small town of Thompsonville is more than 41:32 thankful for. So far this year this shop has raised more than 41:38 $4000 for the town of Thompsonville. If you'd like to 41:40 nominate someone making a difference in your community 41:42 head to WISLtv.com/unsung. For Unsung Hero Brandon Merano 41:46 News 3. 41:47 Wow. I've seen that strip before The hairs on my arm just went up 41:51 to know that wow how beautiful that is. Praise God. Praise the 41:56 Lord for your willingness. You know God turns fear into 42:00 fascination. 42:01 Yeah you know you just don't think you can do something and 42:03 it was very fearful to even come and ask you about it. But I was 42:07 thinking somebody else was going to do it. (Laughter, multiple 42:13 voices.) But when you said the Lord qualifies... 42:16 The called. Qualifies the called... 42:17 Yeah, I said Oh my okay. 42:20 Because you were sitting there. I could see you know you were 42:22 sitting at the board. You came to present this that evening. 42:25 And I was a board member at the time and I said well Karen why 42:28 don't you do it. And Karen went (shakes head) I'm not 42:32 qualified. But God is qualified. 42:34 I'd like to say something about the volunteers. There's no age 42:38 limit on volunteers. We have two ladies, precious ladies, that 42:43 are in their 80s and they can work circles around us. And it's 42:49 just amazing and their spirit and their...well we just have 42:53 the best time. We visit and talk and laugh and share and pray and 42:57 you know it's a blessing to volunteer. 42:59 So you could be young. 43:01 You could be young, you could be any age. 43:04 And it's just your own community I know that most of us now 43:08 Isaiah 6:8 And I heard the voice of the Lord saying whom shall I 43:12 send and who will go for us. So when you read that scripture 43:16 stop and think like Pastor Lomacang...We were talking 43:19 in the beginning of this program You don't have to go to Africa 43:22 or Asia or South America. Even to another town or another state 43:28 If God lays a burden on your heart to make your church make 43:34 a difference in your community, Look around. He'll open the 43:38 doors because like Karen said, If God is in it, there's no 43:40 stopping. He'll help you do something like this in your 43:44 community if you're willing to do this. And He provides. 43:47 When He calls people He provides and He trains. I've watched 43:51 Karen grow in amazing ways. It's been so much fun and all of us 43:58 it just makes a difference in our lives doing this. And 44:03 everybody out there, every church can make a difference in 44:06 their community. Just step out. 44:07 That's right. (Just step out) And do it right. 44:11 The scripture I want to share is Matthew 5:16: Let your light so 44:14 shine before men that they will see your good works and glorify 44:18 your heavenly Father. 44:21 Kris that was just in my head and you know I'm going to say 44:23 to Karen, I know when you open the doors whenever whoever's 44:26 in charge opens the door that day, it's like turning on the 44:30 light. It's like letting the light shine. Wow, how wonderful 44:33 that is. And now let's talk about some of the future plans 44:35 you have for the Browse Around because I know we're talking 44:39 about some things we talked about at a board meeting but just 44:41 share that because we're going to reach out to the people 44:44 watching and listening. 44:45 We're thinking about a food pantry. 44:46 Oh no, we're not thinking about it. We're stepping out in faith. 44:50 There you go, there you go Dee. 44:52 It's going to happen. 44:55 So I was wondering well where am I going to put this food? 44:58 pantry because the Lord was impressing me to do that and 45:02 Kim our community service director had suggested that we 45:07 do this. And I thought well Lord where am I going to put, the 45:11 building, I mean we're packed in here. And one day I was walking 45:15 by my office and I looked in there and I thought well that 45:19 would make a food pantry, just the right size. So I went and I 45:25 asked the health, and we have our lady that comes in and does 45:29 massages, and for diabetes, blood work and things like that 45:34 She's a nurse. (She's a nurse.) So she can do your blood 45:38 pressure and do the pinprick for sugar. Oh yes and she does 45:44 back massages for free. You can donate but... 45:47 I asked her if I can move her office to the laundry room. Now 45:51 the laundry room's not small, it's not junky, it's nice. And 45:54 she said sure, she didn't care so I moved into her office and 45:58 she moved into the laundry room and now we're painting and going 46:01 to figure out the shelving and all this stuff and hopefully 46:05 sometime in the next two or three months Kim says that we'll 46:09 start getting food in. 46:10 (Wow) Because Kim got somebody who stepped up. Kim's going to 46:14 help you provide the food. You don't...That's not something you 46:17 have to do. But she has connections. 46:19 You know we even have a vision we talked about this at one of 46:21 the board meetings recently about expanding the building. 46:24 Let's to figure out ways of expanding the...I mean it's 46:28 exciting to see that what was a fearful project has become like 46:32 it's now becoming, we're beginning to see wow, you build 46:36 it, God will fill it. And we're going to do our part because we 46:39 have a ton more to give. 46:41 You had a wonderful idea of how to do a building. 46:43 Yeah, we talked about containers. Shipping containers and they're 46:49 not as expensive as putting an actual physical structure up. 46:51 Trying to build it with wood and and it's probably maybe the most 46:57 weatherproof option we can get. 46:59 Yeah and you just finish the inside of it. 47:01 We're going to make that happen Now we're looking at something 47:04 that can happen and that's the nice thing. We have a wonderful 47:07 group of people ladies and gentlemen. We even have a couple 47:11 of mascots. Dogs somebody... 47:15 Ginger greeters that come out and greet the people. 47:18 I went there the other day and both of them came to me and one 47:21 wanted to rub belly and one... But now let's talk about people 47:24 that are watching the program, we want to reach out to some of 47:27 you that...We have our treasurer here today who also is a part of 47:31 the treasury for the Browse Around. Talk about how people 47:33 that are watching or listening can reach out and be a part of 47:36 that if they can't be here physically. 47:37 Yeah, it's very easy. If you want to help the Browse Around you 47:42 just give to the Thompsonville church and just mention on there 47:48 put a notation or whatever it is for the Browse Around. And it 47:53 doesn't have to work this way but I happen to be the church 47:55 treasurer and I'm also the Browse Around Treasurer, because 47:59 the Browse Around it is under the church umbrella, it is a 48:02 ministry of the Thompsonville Seventh-day Adventist church. 48:05 So you can put your...if you want to reach out to the 48:08 community, you want to do a ministry, go to your church. 48:12 They will put you under their umbrella but you can function, 48:17 have you own...The Browse Around has its own bank account but we 48:21 also have an account for the Browse Around within the church 48:23 too, within their budget. So you can help the Browse Around if 48:27 you feel like it and you get impressed to do that or you can 48:31 start your own. It's not...I love the name the Browse Around 48:35 because people come in like Oh just come in and browse around. 48:38 Relax and enjoy yourself. But if you have a burden on your heart 48:43 to make a difference in your community God will open the 48:46 doors for you. If God's in it He will provide. So your church can 48:52 help you and also you can set it up independently but under the 48:55 umbrella. 48:57 Okay, now I have a question. Browse Around. We advertise 49:00 Browse Around on 3ABN Radio for the local community. Where did 49:05 that name come from? 49:06 Well I think it came from one of our church members. I think it 49:09 was Gloria Nolan. She opened up the first one in and she really 49:13 had a knack for doing that and she got a lot of things coming 49:20 in. She loved to go to garage sales and things like that and 49:24 she picked stuff up and would bring it into the store so... 49:26 That was in West Frankfurt. That was West Frankfurt. It was for 49:29 the school. 49:31 She was very resourceful 49:32 Yes, she was. 49:34 She knew how to stretch a penny. Praise the Lord for her impact 49:38 and now a seed planted many years ago carries on to go into 49:42 a dream. And so dreams are not scary. It's just that when we 49:48 think that we have to accomplish it on our own and you realize 49:50 it's not just you that God put that dream on but it's your team 49:55 Yeah, yeah, our church. I'm grateful that our church stepped 50:01 up to the plate and was willing to move forward with it. Because 50:06 it wasn't a known thing you know and I was unqualified (Laughter) 50:13 So you really took a chance in putting it in my hands and I put 50:18 it in God's hands. I just said well you got me in this mess 50:22 you're going to have to get me out of it. He did a pretty good 50:25 job. 50:26 Now a food pantry. (That's right) 50:28 And now we're going to have a food pantry. I don't know where 50:34 the food's going to come from but I didn't know where the 50:36 Browse Around was going to come from. And God was able to do 50:39 that so I'm sure that He'll be able to provide our needs for 50:42 the food. 50:44 And my God shall supply ALL your needs (in unison) according to 50:47 His riches in glory. 50:49 Just by asking. 50:50 What's that in your hand? Ahhh, and He'll turn it into 50:55 He'll bless those loaves and fishes. You know I want to share 50:58 the scripture before we go to the address roll. Because when 51:02 you think about the gospel, the gospel is more than just 51:05 preaching and teaching and giving Bible instruction. It's 51:09 making an impact on people's lives and it's amazing how 51:13 Matthew 25 brings out that impact. When the Lord talks 51:18 about when we stand before the Lord and he would say the King 51:21 will say to those on His right hand, inasmuch as you've done it 51:26 to the least of these, you've done it to me. So Karen you've 51:30 got a crown waiting. Kris you got a crown waiting, Dee and all 51:34 the other people that have worked at Browse Around and 51:36 are volunteering at Browse Around here in Thompsonville are 51:39 going to have a crown one day. And we want that to be something 51:42 for God's glory. Now we're going to take a short news break and 51:45 in this news break or in this address role you'll be able to 51:49 get the information that you need to pray about the Browse 51:51 Around or to even give your financial support for some of 51:56 future projects. After that we'll be right back. 51:58 If you would like more information about the Browse 52:03 Around Community Thrift Store you can contact them at 52:06 20710 Shawneetown Rd. Thompsonville, IL 62890 52:24 you can call (618) 627-7622 or email them at 52:33 BrowseAround@tvsdac.org |
Revised 2023-09-21