#BENEVOLENT
Ruth Costello
August 25, 2017
DEFINITION: benevolent: Shows kindness and is generous in providing aid to others.
Shivering and wet, a young South American girl in a pale yellow dress enters the home of the American missionaries that have taken up temporary residence in her town. Their 9-year-old daughter, on her own accord, offers the cold girl a coat to warm up— and not just any coat. It’s a brand new, red, white hooded, wool coat the daughter begged her parents to buy her for Christmas. Even though it’s precious to her, at the end of the evening, the missionaries’ daughter insists the little girl keep her coat.
Fast forward in time … A recently divorced mother of three is angry with life and angry with God. Out of spite, and a little out of curiosity, she travels to South America to see if the missionary work her departed father spent his life on actually made any difference. She wonders if the churches he planted still exist.
She arrives and finds those buildings very much intact. She meets a man who remembers her and invites her to his home for lunch. At lunch, as the man introduces the guest to his wife, she begins to cry and runs out of the room. She returns quickly, dragging a large round-top trunk behind her. She opens it and pulls out a coat. After many years of use, the once red coat has faded to an almost pink hue.
Ruth Costello’s eyes fill with tears as she recalls the story of her little red coat.
“It was something that changed my life right away. It’s a story of realizing that your nothing becomes something.”
“You never know the joy you’re giving. You never know what could happen from your donation.”
From its humble beginnings out of the trunk of Ruth’s car, Grace House now serves St. Joseph by providing kitchen ware, clothes, shoes, blankets, baby items, toiletries, Bibles, and prayers to 800 less fortunate members of our community every month all for no charge. In addition, Grace House serves 1,100 kids at back-to-school time.
When Ruth moved from California to St. Joseph years ago, she saw a need in this community and felt compelled to do something about it. Her ministry, which has culminated into the building at 27th and Lafayette, hosts several events throughout the year including a canned food drive, a coat and jacket drive, shoe drive, and a winter blanket collection.
“When you love somebody that’s out of your element, that’s when it’s loving like God loves. I think we just need to love more and care more.”
Ruth’s benevolent spirit and charismatic demeanor echo the words of the Book of Matthew.
“Freely he have received. Freely give.” – Matthew 10:8
#APPETIZING
There’s a lot of history, hard work and tradition packed into the Barbosa’s restaurant legacy in St. Joseph.
#PRESERVATION
St. Joseph is a city of stories. Like historic towns across the country, there are blocks of amazing homes, business buildings and neighborhoods. Founded in 1843, St. Joseph’s location along the Missouri River and national mid-point created an economic and residential boom fueled by Westward expansion, transportation and communication industries.
#INVENTIVE
For several area students, a summer afternoon doesn’t involve much channel surfing. Instead, they’ll be practicing new skills and refining others, such as giving commands. Building functions. Envisioning new virtual worlds. Making specially-created animated heroes. Working within the access interface. And coding on the back-end, for front-end awesome action and results.
#NEIGHBORLY
Part of St. Joseph’s community strategic plan, Imagine St. Joseph 2040, is to keep enhancing the beautiful place we call home. From historic neighborhoods to green spaces and new trails, this is a city willing to invest in what matters. It’s a city willing to invest in what makes both old and new even better again.
#FASCINATING
Kristen’s Coin and Jewelry is not just a store. It’s an experience. Think part Fifth Avenue, part antique store, part jewelry design gallery and part coin museum.