GIVE, CARE, SHARE
Compassion that
C om p els STORY BY KATHRYN JONES
ucked away off of the Hwy. 190 East service road inside a tiny shopping space sits an unassuming little building with a bright pink sign. It reads, “Compassion That Compels,” and although you may not have seen it yet, there are big things happening within those walls. Moved by a powerful mission from God, the ladies behind Compassion That Compels minister to women with cancer all over the world. Their grassroots endeavor is Northshore homegrown, but their efforts have gone international. As you step into their space, you can feel the magnitude of the work being done here. There is a reverent quiet buzzing through the room as the ladies speak softly with one of their guests. Without prying into their conversation, it is obvious that they are speaking love upon this gentleman, whose wife is undergoing cancer treatments. Rosie Combe or “Mama Rosie,” Compassion Cottage Manager and Prayer “Compassionista,” who has a welcoming spirit, expresses how excited they are to tell their story. But their story is not just one, but many stories stitched together to create a message of hope and faith. Founder Kristianne Stewart, the Board of Directors, and Director of Innovation Jules Montelaro, lead “Compassionista” Rhonda Ebel, and Mama Rosie gathered together to begin telling their story. “It all started with a letter and a sweater,” Kristianne begins. She tearfully recounted the story of watching her two sisters-in-law, as well as her own sister, battle cancer and the letter of forgiveness bestowed upon her by her sister-in-law Sonja. “In her letter, she asked me to forgive her, and I in turn asked her to forgive me.” In her testimony, she recalls the moment of peace by Sonja’s bedside where she offered her own cardigan sweater to keep her warm, as well as the comfort and direction she found in Sonja’s letter that would eventually lead her into the journey of creating Compassion Bags.
Kristianne, with a small team of women, began her efforts in July 2013, such a short time to have touched so many thousands of lives. “But Compassion didn’t start because of cancer,” Kristianne reminds us. “It started because the heart of everything in life is not only having compassion for others, but the ability to forgive one another and forgive our sins.” It is a simple gesture that has changed the lives of over 8,000 women battling cancer worldwide. A tote bag lovingly packed and prayed over filled with the tools these women will need to navigate this journey. The tote itself is designed to give women a space to carry their many belongings to and from treatment centers. It is equipped with a copy of the “Jesus Calling Devotional” by Sarah Young, a custom prayer journal, organic tea and soft mints to help with treatment symptoms, a BPA free mug, a custom notebook for notetaking during doctor’s visits, a pen, a custom blanket, and a Chick-Fil-A gift card for nourishment. But the most valuable of all of the items included in the Compassion Bag are the prayers and the support offered by the Compassion That Compels Team. With a staff that knows no worldly limits, these ladies have traveled across the country to meet and minister to the recipients of their bags. It is so much more than a service that provides tangible comforts to women in need, but rather the real gift is the support network that Compassion has created for these women from diagnosis to remission and beyond. It is a ministry that heals the spirit and eases the heart. Compassion That Compels sports several programs that are designed to support women throughout every stage of this journey. Jules walks me through the On Your Feet program, intended to help women through the aftermath of cancer and the assimilation back into a world that may look different on the other side of treatment. “They’re coming to adjust to a world where the