My small part in this amazing journey began over a decade ago.

My husband Charlie and I had changed churches due to what seemed at the time, very unfortunate circumstances. But God had a plan.

One of the first people I met a Kings Valley was Beryl Hierlyhy. Our paths were designed to meet, our destines already forged by our Almighty God. One morning during prayer time at home, the Lord prompted me to visit my new friend. I threw some muffins in a bag and knocked on her door. Beryl had just been praying as well, and said she had been feeling lonely and asked God to send a friend by to have tea with her. She said, “I didn’t think He would send you! “. We laughed about this several times over the years. The most incredible friendships of my life blossomed from that visit with Beryl.

We decided to start meeting weekly to pray for ourselves, our families our church leadership and our congregation. God sent along 6-8 prayer warriors each week. Oh how we prayed! Oh how God answered!

Pastor Don requested prayer on Sunday mornings during the service. We saw our church grow in numbers. We went from one Sunday service to two. A new addition was built. Still prayer was held in our Pastor’s office. Many, many of these Sunday mornings Beryl prayed alone. Beryl was faithful, Beryl knew how to pray. Beryl knew how to love unconditionally.

During the summer ’05, our friend Barb Glauser telephoned to tell us how God had impressed her to make prayer the main focus of her life group. Charlie and I had been feeling a stirring and knew it was God’s will for us to become actively involved in their group again.

Beryl became ill the middle of October and was hospitalized. Barb sprang into action and enlisted the help of different small groups in our church and challenged them to make the sacrifice of time necessary to become a part of the Sunday morning prayer team. Currently there are 10 small groups willing to carry on this important task.

Several friends of Jo Ann Diltz met her at the airport Nov. lst/05 to pray for her as she traveled to Toronto for surgery. Pastor Don joined us. I told him about a recent visit Charlie & I had with Beryl in the hospital and spoke to him again regarding the need for a prayer room.

Pastor Don told me there was space available in the basement, under the pulpit area if someone wanted to take on the task of building it. The next day, Charlie took his tape measure and with our Pastor, measured up an area approximately 500 sq. ft.

Even though this project was out of my husband’s comfort zone, he trusted God for Good results. We presented the idea to our life group and they were willing and excited to be a part of this project.

What a privilege for me to share with Beryl prior to her passing away that the prayer room project was under construction. Another of her prayers answered.

We went to Connecticut to visit friends in mid-November. Elaine Rousso was in the process of selling her condo and donated 2 beautiful love seats, 2 swivel rockers and an area rug for the exclusive use of the prayer room.

During the small group Academy Awards Sunday, Charlie told the congregation of our groups intention to build a prayer chapel downstairs in loving memory of Beryl Hierlyhy who passed away November 26th/05.

We were on our way. Donations started coming in and construction was started in mid-January. On Saturday, January 28th. our Pastor called and told us there was a lot of food left over, already paid for by a function held in the church that day, and would Charlie oversee getting it ready for lunch time, the donations going to the prayer room. Several people stayed for lunch, bought pies and the left over food. We raised $918.00 for the prayer room. Talk about your loaves and fishes! This was a blessing.

Charlie and a team of several wonderful men from our congregation have donated their time and expertise to launch this project. There were fire codes to consider, safety factors, steel studding, gyprock to put in place, electrical wires to run and a host of other jobs that go along with construction.

Ken Craig suggested we put to use a lighted cross originally planned for the sanctuary but because of its dwarfed size just didn’t fit and was put aside. We are going to use it to help light up the main wall as a welcomed addition.

The church also had kept a colored glass window that we took from ministry house before demolition. Charlie had it redone to look like a stained glass window and put it near the entrance to enhance the aesthetics.

Tonight, March 1, 2006 a fellow is coming to put the finishing touches on the crack filling. The ladies, headed by Cheryl McNally, will then paint the walls. We are going to ask the congregation to take markers and put the names of unsaved friends and family members on the floor, for prayer requests for salvation .The ceiling tiles, then the carpet need to be put into place next. We are still looking for discarded pews to add to the seating arrangement.

Only two of our original prayer team now attends Kings Valley. Two have joined the great cloud of witnesses in the sky and the rest have scattered.

We are hoping to be completed by the end of March. The chapel will then be dedicated to the glory of God and the memory of E Beryl Hierlyhy, faithful friend and prayer warrior Psalm 91.