Churches come together to help community

For nearly five years, a local group has been serving the community, from assisting residents as they move into new homes to installing ramps and making homeowner's decks accessible. Fishers of Men began in 2020 and includes Pastors Dennis Conner (River of Life Assembly), Dave Martin (Heritage Bible), Kenny Evans (The Bridge Church), and Joe Blalock (Lower Columbia Baptist, Skamokawa). These volunteers have been diligently working to fulfill the mission of building compassion not only for the community but for their fellow man.

The group meets at River of Life Church (45 Main. St.) each Thursday from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. for Bible Study, but the members often come together in other ways too. Local resident Chuck Smith, who serves as the group's president, talks about the idea to branch outside his church to look for volunteers "because there's more men in four churches..." to help build up compassion for the community with the love of Christ. The by-product of that would be service supporting a safety net for those who otherwise who could not afford what they needed for their own livelihood." Local resident Terri Elfers benefitted from Fishers of Men when a group of 10 men replaced her plywood ramp and added a railing. "It's really great for the community," said Elfers. "It's nice how they can get donations from the community to pay for the materials for people who can't afford them. Without them, I would have never had a decent ramp... It's helped me tremendously... I feel a lot safer now when I walk up and down the ramp. It's a Godsend to have it."

Local resident Misty Boutiette "shared a need" with her respective church concerning possible black mold in her rooms upstairs. "I was a single mom of four kids at the time and trying to figure it all out and support my four children by myself," said Boutiette. "Getting new windows was not anything I could do. Our home was older, so I just shared that need. The next thing I know, I get a call from the Fishers of Men saying they raised money and bought windows for my house and asked if they could come in and install them... They replaced them with the vinyl windows and then cleaned up everything and trimmed it all out. It was amazing... All I had to do was say thank you and just be blessed by them, which was fantastic."

Paul Simonis, who not only serves as the group's secretary and treasurer but as Conner's assistant pastor at River of Life, said of the group, "This has been absolutely heartwarming - number one - that enough guys in our community are willing to come out sometimes on really nasty days and work. The other side of that coin is that the recipients are just over the moon about things."

One of those "over the moon" residents is Isha Sarah Snow, who arrived in Cathlamet five years ago while going through what she described as a "pretty difficult situation." Fortunately for her, Snow found a very welcoming community since she walked in the door. "Ever since I've gotten to Cathlamet, they have done everything they can to help me get and stay on my feet," said Snow. "I truly believe I was led by faith here. I think God put me where I needed to be, honestly, because I was just praying and looking for a safe place."

Describing herself as physically disabled, Snow, who has now had cancer twice, found herself in a wheelchair for many years and unable to do any heavy lifting. "I really needed some help," she said. "I didn't know what to do... I ended up calling Fishers of Men because someone had said they help people in the community... They said they would talk to their congregation... It was only a week's notice, but they got to me, and they had coordinated their schedules. I think it took all of maybe three hours to move an entire apartment... I would not have been able to do that... I'm just so thankful for them, their organization, and their willingness to really drop everything at a moment's notice and pick up and help people who are in need of it. They're a huge gift to this community. I can't say enough praise about them."

Considering being part of Fishers of Men is a blessing in and of itself, Simonis said, "These projects are irrespective of church. There is no requirement. If they have a need, we do it. That's kind of our mission statement... Our mission has been to expose guys around the community to God and Jesus Christ... Over the years, I've had an awful lot of fellows who have shown up and put in their time...It's been an absolute blessing to us."

For more info, call 360-795-2033.