Surprise coffee for incredible worker, words of hope, and something as simple as picking up a lot of garbage have made for some amazing good news stories this past week.

 

Justin Bieber shares message of hope, redemption

Seven years ago, Justin Bieber was arrested by Miami police for impaired driving and resisting arrest.

"Not proud of where I was at in my life. I was hurting, unhappy, confused, angry, mislead, misunderstood and angry at God."

Bieber says a lot has changed in his life since then.

"God has brought me a long way. From then til now I do realize something ... God was as close to me then as he is right now."

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Shoeboxes head for island with no power, no airport

Over 100 children, nearly half of those in attendance, recently committed to a relationship with Christ at an Operation Christmas Child event in a small Pacific island.

In early December 2020, a team of four set sail for Enubirr aboard Cloud Nine, a 57-foot ketch filled with 30 cartons of Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts. For six-and-a-half hours, the boat rocked across the sea until the team had traversed the necessary 40 miles with their precious cargo.

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Dan Bremnes shares thoughts on anxiety with story behind his song

Christian artist Dan Bremnes is opening up about his struggles with anxiety and the Biblical response that helped him.

'Let That Go' is a song by Dan Bremnes released in 2019 and talks about his struggle.

"The song is really about my struggle with anxiety. Anxiety is sort of a hot topic these days and my definition of anxiety is this. The fear of the future," he says. 

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Jeremy and Adrienne Camp open up about marriage and faith

"Marriage doesn't complete you. Jesus completes you," Jeremy Camp says to encourage married couples. 

Jeremy and Adrienne Camp published a book on marriage together in 2020 called In Unison: The Unfinished Story of Jeremy and Adrienne Camp.

"We wanted to be super honest in our book and say, ‘These are the things we've learned.’ We don't have it figured out ... we're still on a journey," Adrienne says.

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Starting off the new year back in school and on a high note

With students back in school physically, one Winnipeg principal talks about the way the school has changed and what has thankfully stayed the same.

Jaime Siska is the principal at St. Boniface Diocesan High School, a school for students in grades 9-12. 

"We serve the church's mission of education. We want to educate the whole student. We're here to serve the students, parents, and the Catholic community but welcoming all faiths with a Christ-centered environment," says Siska.

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Manitoba actor in new Christian film streaming on Amazon Prime

An actor from Steinbach played a big part in a new documentary by Refuge 31 Films that is now streaming on an Amazon Prime super-channel.

Laura Turner says her portion of the documentary was shot last year in mid-October.

"I was a part of the dramatization. There are people talking and being interviewed and then you see the person that they are talking about in the dramatization and that is me. It was so much fun!"  Turner says.

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Ice castle labour of love for North Kildonan family

A new addition is coming to a popular photo stop on the front lawn of a Winnipeg family.

Looking for ways as a family to avoid watching an overabundance of television, Dave Robinson began planning out an ice castle wall.

Dave and his adult son Stephen began forming the ice blocks in November, including allowing some to melt in the family's front entrance, thankfully not melting Dave's wife Corrine's patience at the same time.

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Pastor picks up over 26,000 lbs of garbage around Winnipeg

A local Pastor and his wife have found some strange items on their daily walks picking up garbage. 

What started out as a way to stay fit after gyms closed turned into a huge benefit for the community. 

"Last March, when the pandemic restrictions started to come, gyms were closed and so my wife and I decided we'd go for a walk. There was a lot of snow on the ground but it was beginning to melt and we noticed that there was a lot of trash that was finding its way to the top of the melting snow," says Rod Giesbrecht, Senior Pastor at Tabor Baptist Church. 

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WATCH: New video for Jordan St. Cyr's hit single 'Fires' out now

A new video for Jordan St. Cyr's single, 'Fires,' is a powerful visual testimony of God's goodness in the face of uncertainty, using actual people and their stories as the actors.

The song was originally written a few years ago, inspired by the story of a man St. Cyr met who shared his testimony with the singer.

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UGM thankful for support during COVID-19 outbreak

A ministry is asking for prayers of unity as their residents return to their normal activities following extreme isolation.

Two weeks before Christmas, Union Gospel Mission became the site of a COVID-19 outbreak.

"It was actually heartbreaking because these guys are dealing with enough as it is," Martin Chidwick, Development Director with Union Gospel Mission says.

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Hospital staff happy to receive coffee break with closed down cafeteria

The entire rehab department at the Victoria General Hospital gratefully receives some recognition in the form of a hot cup of coffee and muffins. 

The entire unit was nominated through CHVN's Brewed with Gratitude. Drive Home Show host Sylvia St.Cyr brought a coffee break to the staff.

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After visiting Auschwitz, this beautiful piece of music flowed out of Steve Bell

January 27, 2021, commemorates the 76th anniversary of the biggest concentration camp, Auschwitz, being shut down during the Second World War. 

Back in 1992, the Winnipeg Christian singer/songwriter Steve Bell was touring Poland playing music alongside his Jesuit priest and friend Dougie. During that time, they had a day off and decided to go visit Auschwitz. 

"I was always fascinated by it, the story, so I wanted to go." Bell says.

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Tauren Wells continuing to shed light on the darkness that is human trafficking

Christian artist Tauren Wells is partnering with the Tim Tebow Foundation to help stop human trafficking the best way he knows, through music. 

Wells wrote and released the song 'All God's Children' to help raise money to fight human trafficking, especially those that are being sexually exploited. 

He and his wife have three sons, which was part of what brought this passion alive inside of him. As a father he felt he had to help fight for children who don't have a voice. 

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United Church releases devotional focusing on loving those on journeys

The United Church of Canada is publishing a book about "physical and spiritual journeys undertaken during times of change" in anticipation of Lent.

Faith on the Move: Daily Reflections on Hope and Change is edited by Dr. Julie McGonegal, a writer who specializes in the intersection of language, culture, and ethics. Her latest project, published by the United Church, looks at those factors through a lens of travelling. 

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Teacher gets A+ from parent for Brewed with Gratitude

An emotional drop-off Thursday morning surprised a local teacher with a much-needed coffee break.

Mary-Ann Mitchler teaches at Oakenwald School. A parent of one of her students, Melodie Michalchuk, nominated the teacher for her commitment to students.

"She has been the most supportive, kind-hearted and compassionate teacher to my daughter and to her students," Michalchuk writes in her nomination.

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Local artist puts Scripture to music for latest release

Sharalee Smith is releasing a new single and using what she learned while at Hillsong College in Australia. 

Smith grew up in Manitoba but did a bit of world travelling before settling down again in Manitoba with her husband and their four kids. 

"We went to Hillsong International Leadership College back when we were first married. We headed off to Australia and did a couple of years of school there. In the first year of marriage, we moved across the world together and just had a great experience and establishing roots in our faith together," says Smith. 

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'I can't believe God used me this way,' says creator of Bears on Barrington

What started as a way to destress has become internationally recognized and a way to connect with others struggling. 

A local Winnipeg woman, Vinora Bennett simply started sculpting snow as a way to combat her depression but it quickly grew into something more.

"I was going through a lot of stuff, I still am, and I needed something to occupy my mind. I don't know why building a snowman was something that was so important to me but I really wanted to do that," says Vinora Bennett, a Winnipeg woman. 

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'Beware of destroying one another': Kay Warren quotes Scripture in call for unity in response to pandemic

A well-known Christian speaker and author says that Christians should be united in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, after a flood of negative comments on her social media pages earlier this week.

On Tuesday, Kay Warren, wife of Pastor Rick Warren, posted that she and her husband had received the COVID-19 vaccine. Within hours, hundreds of people had posted with angry remarks, with people either upset that the Warrens got the vaccine before others, or angry that they decided to get the vaccine.

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Man making 'last-ditch effort' to share gospel in Ojibwe in later years

Since he can't travel across the world, Jimmy Keesic is turning to YouTube to share much-loved scripture in hopes of opening hearts to Jesus.

Jimmy Keesic has done Bible projects before including being a key translator in making the cannon accessible in Ojibwe, but in his latest project, Keesic is looking closer at specific Bible verses and talking about the verses in the language he cares so much for.

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COVID test positivity rate lower than 5% in Winnipeg

Some childcare workers will be eligible to access their COVID-19 test results sooner than the general population.

The current five-day COVID-19 test positivity rate is 7.5 per cent provincially and 4.9 per cent in Winnipeg.

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For King & Country pairing up with Lecrae for remix of 'Amen'

Five-time Grammy-award-winning duo For King and Country is releasing a brand new version of a personal song to them.

The third studio album for the brothers, Burn the Ships, was released in October of 2018. It has 11 songs on it, including the original 'Amen'. 

On January 29, 2021, they are releasing a new version, pairing up with Christian hip-hop recording artist Lecrae and Tony Williams alongside his choir.

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We are Messengers teams up with legendary country singer Vince Gill

'Image of God' is being released in a new, slow, and more purposeful version as We are Messengers feature singer/songwriter Vince Gill.

The original song for 'Image of God' was initially released in September of 2020 and this new one on January 29. 

"I couldn’t believe it when Vince Gill said he’d do a version of “Image of God” with us. Then I really couldn’t believe it when he was cool with us coming to his home and doing this live, raw stripped back version of one of the most important songs we’ve ever released," We Are Messengers posted to Facebook on release day. 

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Stay-at-home moms finding encouragement in time of isolation

Parents are discovering some unusual things happening with their children this year.

Diane Kroeker is a mother of four and homeschools, something many parents are trying for the first time this school year.

Typically, Manitoba's homeschooling community has events and meetups from time to time but this year those and her children's other activities are on hold. She says for the most part their day-to-day has not changed much.

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Watch musicians perform together from across the world this weekend

An unlikely musical combo will be performing online this week.

Despite restrictions prohibiting in-person performances due to COVID-19, the virus isn't keeping musicians from getting creative together.

The Brandon University Indigenous Music Festival will be streamed online this year.

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