From our Founder, Amy Privitt (from 2020):
My story began four years ago in the kitchen of my home in Weatherford, Texas. It was 4 a.m. and I felt God calling me. It wasn’t the first time, but maybe it was the first time I listened. I got down on my knees and surrendered my life to Him. I told God I would go anywhere and do anything he asked.
Things had been building up in our home for some time. My husband and I had always had a great marriage, but our final three years in Texas tested us. I realized that I was tired—tired of the rat race, tired of running around, tired of the city, tired of chasing kids at sports, tired of working so much. As funny as it may sound, I had an urge to live more like the reality shows we watched. I wanted to move to the country.
We put our house up for sale, which shocked our friends and family. It took a year to sell our home, but little by little things fell into place. Two weeks after we sold the house, my husband found a job in Post Falls, Idaho, and I found a teaching job in Coeur d’Alene.
We rented an apartment and looked for land to build, but the right plot never came up. One day it hit us that we needed to look at homes in Spirit Lake. When we found our current house, we knew it was the one God had picked out for us. It would give me the freedom to retire from teaching and start ministry work, though I had no idea when, where, or how.
I felt compelled to take a job at the local coffee shop, Brickel Creek Coffee. While working there, I started to have visions about people coming together as a community, helping each other and feeding people. This led me to volunteer at the local food bank. Most of the people I met seemed surprised that there was a need for food, but I knew that if God was asking me to do this, there was a need.
In the meantime, God had been bringing people to the coffee shop who would eventually volunteer to serve free meals for Cup of Grace. I rented the Spirit Lake Senior Center and paid for two months. That same day, I received a surprise donation that would help cover the rental!
At our first free community meal in January of 2017, everyone was laughing, talking, and having a great time. Fifteen volunteers showed up to help, and 23 people came to enjoy the free food, music, and community spirit. The next week, 20 volunteers and 55 community members showed up.
If you would like to help our cause, or if you need help yourself, please contact us today. We are excited to keep building and strengthening this community, and to see what else lies in store for the sleepy little town of Spirit Lake.