Thank You, Michelle!
““I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.””
We celebrated the dedicated work of one of our long time volunteers in Lewiston, Michelle Richards. Michelle and her husband Ryland moved into the Tree Streets Neighborhood over a decade ago, seeking to love their neighbors as Jesus does. She has served at The Root Cellar in many capacities over the years, but most notably as volunteering to establish and lead our English Language Learning programming.
On a snowy, January day in 2014, Michelle helped to launch our first teach of English teachers. We welcomed a group of teachers from a church in Texas who had had a large scale program in Texas. Over a few days, we were trained and ready to go, but it was Michelle that anchored this effort.
Over the last 9 years, she volunteered her time to choose curriculum, create lesson plans, train teachers, evaluate students, launch a tutoring arm of the program and was always willing to step up when needed. Over the years, these classes has empowered well over 1000 students with the English language while welcoming them into a new home and city.
Last week in Lewiston our students, staff and volunteers gathered during our English Celebration to say "thank you" to Michelle for faithfully serving and loving her neighbors in the way of Jesus. As you can see from the photos and the video, this was normally done with a baby on her hip. She and her family are embarking on a new ministry opportunities that will lead them away from the program. We look forward to continue to seek the Kingdom of God in Lewiston alongside of Michelle, Ryland and each of their children.
