HOLLAND, MI (WHTC-AM/FM, Jan. 31, 2023) – A Biblical example comes to mind following a “small” fire at the Gateway Mission men’s center earlier this month.
In Genesis 50:20, the patriarch Joseph said that the act in which his brothers sold him into slavery was meant for evil against him, “but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.”
Eleven days ago, a blaze broke out in a kitchen storage area at the center off of River Avenue and West 7th Street, and while installed sprinklers doused the flames quickly, the water damaged a substantial amount of food stores used by the Mission to feed their “guests.” Interim Executive Director Jay Riemersma put out a call for help shortly after the incident in a video that many area churches showed to their congregations that weekend, and the response was overwhelming.
Riemersma added that the Ottawa County Department of Public Health needs to certify all safety protocols before the kitchen reopens, and such approval should come sometime next month.
