Gashland is now in its third year of support for CarePortal, which is part of the Global Orphan Project. The GO Project is headquartered in Kansas City, and was founded in 2004 by a local businessman, Mike Fox, and his wife Beth. Elder Mark Johnson heads up GEPC’s work with CarePortal, and shares highlights of their recent efforts. 

      This new year of 2024 is off to a great start!  GEPC is making a significant impact on the lives of people in our community.  Not just in our immediate surrounding neighborhood, but all around the KC metro region. Many of you are already familiar with CarePortal. It is an online platform that matches families in need with a church that is ready and able to step up and help meet that need. Let me tell you about some of the families that we have helped over the past few weeks through CarePortal:

       Sue is a single mom who is raising four sons.  She recently moved to KCK, fleeing her abusive husband.  She had gotten behind on her utility bill, and was also having trouble putting food on the table for her four growing boys. We were able to pay off her electric bill, and we also sent her a gift card to help with grocery expenses.

       Vicki is a single mother of four kiddos, and she lives in Clay County. On a frigid Monday in January, while the snow was coming down, we received an urgent request for food. She had no food to feed her family. She had applied for food stamps, but that assistance had not yet started. Many food pantries in the area were closed due to the inclement weather. We were able to provide emergency food for this mother and her children.  Gashland EPC provided 4 bags of groceries, plus milk, and a pizza!

       Lori is a single mama, and she lives in Wyandotte County.  She gave birth a few weeks ago and the baby’s name is Nolan.  Nolan is having some medical difficulties, and this has made it difficult due to the extra care that is required.  The baby is receiving care through Children’s Mercy Homecare Services.  Lori has fallen behind on her housing expenses and was not able to make her rent payment.  We were able to help by paying the rent, and this took a huge burden off of Lori.

      Dear Gashland, please pray for these families.  Our goal is not just to provide Christ-like compassion and generosity, but we want these dear people to come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, our Lord and    That is where the Holy Spirit comes in.  As we show love to these folks, pray that the Spirit will touch their hearts in a deep and meaningful way.