When Cheryl and her son, Paul, walked into Gateway in the spring of 2022, they were “scraping the bottom”. Retirement in 2018 from her challenging work with Medically Fragile Technologically Dependent children and adults was followed by a stressful move from Kitchener to London. Then, in 2019, her husband Gary was diagnosed with bladder cancer, and passed away a few months later. When the pandemic started soon afterward, in early 2020, “I was left feeling spent. Like I had absolutely nothing left.” All these stresses contributed to deep loneliness and a hunger for the truth.

On the first day they came to Gateway, Cheryl and Paul had the same experience. “We found it so welcoming. It felt like home.” And after listening to the message, “we felt a lot better walking out than walking in.” It was the continuation of a journey that has helped Cheryl grow deeper in her understanding of Christian faith and her personal relationship with God through Alpha, Bible studies and other opportunities. Paul is also involved in a variety of ways, including as an usher.

This challenging season in Cheryl’s life was not the first time that God met her in a time of deep sorrow. In 2007 her oldest son, Adam, died suddenly at the age of 21 due to a heart issue. “I

didn’t even cry for about a week. It was too big. Then, when I did open those gates, I felt like I had fallen into a 10-foot-deep black pit. The next few months were filled with counsellors, a broken family, and lots of self-medicating. I would be on my feet all day at work, take my daughter to riding lessons while I mucked out our horse’s stall, and get home about 9 p.m. Then I’d shower, and to slow this train down I’d drink multiple wine spritzers until I knocked myself out enough to be able to sleep. Repeat next day.”

Then, in 2015, Cheryl was admitted to hospital with Idiopathic Cardiomyopathy—a serious heart condition that requires an implanted defibrillator. “It was like my heart and body finally said ‘enough’. It was that night that I put my life in God’s hands. And I felt that God was with me in a new way.”

Looking back, Cheryl now sees more clearly that even in difficult seasons of her life there were numerous answers to prayer, with a sense of God being with her in many practical, concrete ways. She feels blessed by the opportunity to use her own experiences to encourage others by helping with Alpha and with GriefShare. And she is thankful to be part of a caring Christian community. “I can’t walk out of Gateway without being hugged.”

Cheryl’s hope for the future is that globally many others will explore Christianity and have faith in Jesus because, “it’s a game-changer.”