When Tom and I set out on this journey in May of 2018,
we clearly didn’t know what to expect. Even though he had not yet given his
life to the Lord, Tom whole heartedly supported my ministry and pushed me to
get more involved. I say pushed because I have my insecurities and trust issues
and, at that point, I was walking into unknown territory. But as with all things,
Tom plows right through with an assurance only he can muster and always thinks
things will work out great. I love that about him!
You see, the whole time that I was taking ministry classes,
Tom was watching, encouraging and supporting me emotionally. He would get me Christian
movies, like “The Bible” and then watch them with me… something he was not
interested in before. When things got rough and I was clearly not myself and
under attack, he stood by me and went through the process with me.
As we left our secular jobs to volunteer in a world
with no income, I was the practical one. I would ask, “How will we buy food?
How will we pay for gas, parts, bills? How will we survive financially?” Tom
would always say that it will be fine. ‘We will do what we have to do.’ Tom
spent a huge amount of money, almost depleting his savings, on building that
bus for us. We saved what we could, and sold almost everything that we had to
bank roll this life change. In the gap, I kept trying to lean on God’s word, but
given my past, I tend to be skeptical.
Mat 6: 25-34: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about
your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear.
Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow
or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are
you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single
hour to your life[a]?
28 “And
why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do
not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all
his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the
field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not
much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’
or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things,
and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his
righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for
tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
After
a year and a half of building the school bus into an RV, we were ready. It took
a while to figure out where to go. I had emailed several places that were not
on the RV Maps list but to no avail. First stop was New Mexico.
We
envisioned a utopia of Christ’s love healing the sick surrounded by perfectly
loving Christians. We were going from structured secular positions to a
discipleship program where students become staff based on their time in the
program. This was shell shock for us both as we tried to navigate through how
to help without hurting. We started this journey thinking that we were going to
change the world, instead we discovered that it didn’t need changing, we did. (That
isn’t completely true, there was a need for many improvements and life lessons,
but until our hearts were humbled and lined up with what God wanted, we were
fighting a losing battle. Because it wasn’t a battle at all… it was a mission.)
Not
surprisingly, God put people in our lives (Thanks Wyatt & Pastor Jason) who
helped Tom hear God’s calling on his life. Wyatt encouraged him to attend church
with his wife regularly and Pastor Jason fed him the word so eloquently that Tom
was baptized in August and gave his life to the Lord. As we all know, that is
just the beginning of life changes God makes in our hearts.
We
left New Mexico and drove our big blue bus to California. We were allowed to
park our bus in the front courtyard for a short time. A sequence of events took
place that was nothing short of miraculous. Our first meeting with the director
and assistant director made us fall in love. They had the kind of love for the
students that we did. Tom said something profound because, for the first time
that I can recall, he pronounced his faith in God out loud. He said that he
knew that we were meant to be here despite what decision they made about us and
that he was not going to worry about it. He knew God put us here. This was a
major indication of his growing faith! Tom always worries and analyzes and
questions things.
Needless
to say, we stayed to do an internship for six months. We were told up front that
it doesn’t guarantee a paying job when we finish. The internship could go on
for quite some time before a paid position in our area opens up. There were
many students before us who were in line to be paid. We weren’t going anywhere.
Tom let them know that, once he finished the internship, with only the $350 a
month stipend, he would have to find work in the community to help us
financially.
But
things got even more difficult. We had to find a place to park the bus. The
county had given notice that we had to move it. I don’t know if you realize the
cost of living in California but parking our bus was going to cost more than
our stipends put together. We could have given up. We had many people express
interest in helping but they fell through.
Our
persistence and Tom’s doggedness, paid off. God blessed us with a ranch that
would charge only half of what they could get in exchange for Tom’s help on the
ranch. My worry was, with a 40- hour internship, when was he going to find time?
But Tom is a work horse. He just does it.
Our
passion has always been the students. This is what brought us here. In the
short time that we came here, Tom had started reading the bible and ministering
to the men and women with such love and selflessness! Tom’s ministry flourished.
He had told them from the start that he wasn’t a minister but their answer was,
‘everyone ministers here, brother.’ And he does.
When
his internship ended, he was asked to head up the Grace Harbor project. This is
a 90- bed facility for homeless women and children and women with life controlling
issues. He would be a foreman of sorts. He would teach the men from the men’s
center how to work construction tasks and use equipment during the day. Electric,
plumbing, building, demolishing and all that comes with it. He knew immediately
that this was his calling. He accepted.
The
men in the program love working with him and many ask to do their internship
under him. He is such an excellent teacher and mentor for them. They are
learning skills that could carry the into careers in the world if they choose
to use them. When he started a bible study every day before they start work, initially
they weren’t all for it since, in their eyes, they study it every day. But they
have quickly learned to love discussing the bible together and learning more in
depth. Keep in mind, my husband has just started reading it himself and
yet God is using him in such a tremendous way!
I
should clarify something about my husband for you. This man needs hip
replacements, has a bad back and major joint pain. Just before we left Arizona,
a doctor told him that he needed hip replacements but she wouldn’t do it yet
because it would fail. She said, rightfully so, that he was the type of patient
who would not listen to orders and would do things he isn’t supposed to, too
soon, and cause it to fail. Essentially, wasting the surgery on him. She was
right.
He
is the first one on a ladder, though ladders are the hardest on him. He will
bull doze through any job with no concern for his physical pain. He comes home
every night hunched over and in pain, but all he talks about is how great it
was and is filled with stories of learning, joy and brotherly love. Nothing
will stop him from God’s calling on his life. He does what he has to do.
Always. His plan is to finish Grace Harbor and then see if he can get a double
hip replacement. This is his plan….
In
my time here, I have been working with the women and working in the finance
office as part of my internship. When my internship was over, and despite the women
students being my ministry, I was offered a paid position in the office doing
finances. There was no money in working with the women and they desperately
needed me to work full time in finance. Despite the income issue, I originally said
‘no thank you because my heart is with the students.’ However, after discussing
it, I agreed to take the position of finance person because we literally lost
everyone in the office except me. God called me to serve where they need me and
we had a desperate need in the office. (We still haven’t found anyone to help
with this job.)
My
husband, mind you, is old fashioned. He insists that he needs to bring in money
to help and refuses to allow me to do it alone. Nothing I can say will change
his mind. Now, against his heart’s desire, he feels that he has to fulfill his
original agreement to work only part time so that he can bring in an income. Now,
he works three and a half days a week on Grace Harbor, and the rest of the week
and weekend on the ranch and as a handyman. When Grace Harbor
goes full time, he will work full time and work his full weekends on the ranch
and doing handy man jobs with no time to rest his broken body.
Oh,
and did I say he also has chickens and a garden? He is such a Kramer on coffee.
He never stops. He loves those chickens and the eggs that they provide. He loves
gardening too. Literally, he is busy all of the time. If he isn’t working on
these things, he is keeping our internet, plex, toilet, electric, plumbing,
vehicles and everything running.
He
is tired, broken and sore and the last to admit it. All he wants to do is work
on Grace Harbor full time with the men, teaching and sharing the word with them.
Yet, he is working so very hard to also fulfill his obligation at the ranch to
cover rent and to work as a handyman to bring in money. Money truly is the root
of all evil… but in this world, it is a necessary evil.
So…
here is the point… we have something called Missionary Support. You can send in
a donation as often as you like to support someone in the ministry and they get
it along with their monthly stipend.
If
your heart feels led to… please support Tom Shellberg with a monthly donation so
that he doesn’t feel that he has to work on anything other than what God
has called him to do. Please support him with a monthly donation so that he can
work full time on the Grace Harbor women and Children’s Center.
Please
mark the memo section as Missionary Support-Tom Shellberg and send to:
Adult
and Teen Challenge Monterey Bay
PO
Box 1807
Watsonville,
CA 95077
God
bless you for whatever you can give
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