River of Life Ministries supplies food to local residents
Bob and Liesa Jones would tell you what they do is simply to help people in need, but most likely, what they bring to people is a true feeling of being cared for and looked after. As pastor of River of Life Ministries in Tower, Jones clearly saw his purpose in life, and he knew it was to assist the community of Tower, as well as citizens in surrounding areas.
?I BELIEVE God called us to Tower,? said Jones. ?We are there to shed a little light. What we do is not about getting our name out, it?s about getting food out to the community, and in the hands of those who need it most.? Jones said his mission to feed the people in his community began about a year ago when he visited Pastor Joe Glover, who ministers the Word of Life church in Hart, Michigan.
?Pastor Joe told me about their food pantry, and all the people in his community they are able to feed,? said Jones. ?I told him I wanted to feed 1,000 people a year in my community, and this year we have fed just about that many.?
The food Jones supplies to local families comes in truckloads as part of Operation Blessing, which is a non-profit humanitarian organization based in Virginia Beach since 1978. In its efforts, it helps to relieve human suffering around the world by combating hunger, among other services.
?From last June until now, we have supplied 80,000 pounds of food to the Tower area and surrounding communities,? said Jones. ?People are sometimes in tears when we deliver the food to them, and we are finding that the kindness is spreading ? families will actually split the food we give them with other families in need ? they take only what they need and then spread the wealth.?
AS ONE of the bystanders during the recent fire that leveled Cedar Log & Lumber in Millersburg, Jones said the need came over him to assist in helping those who lost jobs in any way he could.
?I was going past the fire and thought ?you?ve got to go back and help those people,?? said Jones. ?We gave food to all of the employees who were affected ? it should hold them over for about a month.?
Recently, Jones and his wife, as well as their three children, Seth, Maggie, and Alex, helped unload two semi-truckloads of food, which were driven up to Tower by volunteer drivers. Croad Salvage of Onaway donated the use of a much-needed refrigerator truck, and a number of friends showed up to help the Jones family deliver food to families in Tower and Onaway.
?It was like a parade of trucks driving through neighborhoods, handing out food to anyone who n
Diane Ricketts of the Black River Party Store, Clare and Jane Rose of Harbor Fence Company in Petoskey, and Lynn and Jackie Roemer also helped unload food, and deliver it door-to-door throughout the area.
?Between seven adults and three children, we were able to hand out all of the food to people,? said Jones. ?The key ingredient in making this happen was the people who helped us out. We would like to continue to do this on a monthly basis, but we will need fuel donations to keep it going.?
Donations can be sent to the River of Life Ministries in Tower. The non-denominational church opened its doors, and has been reaching out to its community ever since.