May 21, 2019

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Messiah,

It is with a heavy heart that I share this news with you.

Late Saturday afternoon, May 18, I received a call from Charles Hopkin, our missionary in Winnipeg.  He informed me that his dear wife, Joan, had passed away earlier that afternoon.

According to Charles, Joan was not feeling well on Friday, but it didn’t seem to be anything serious. She slept well during the night and was okay on Saturday morning, asking Charles to take her to their Messianic congregation, Haverim Mashiach / Fellowship of Messiah.  She attended the service and then helped with the Oneg (after-service fellowship time) before starting to feel unwell again. Charles took her home, but she collapsed as soon as they arrived there. He immediately called an ambulance and, when the paramedics arrived, they tried to resuscitate Joan, but she didn’t respond.

So, Joan is now in the presence of her Lord, at rest from all her pain and weakness.

As you may recall, we almost lost Joan in 2013, but the Lord gave her additional years to serve Him.  At that time, I wrote:  “Earlier this summer, Joan was hospitalized and in intensive care for some time.  The doctors didn’t hold out much hope and were shocked as she began to regain strength.  ‘This is a miracle,’ one said.  ‘We haven’t done anything to cause any recovery.’“

Joan served the Kingdom of our Messiah until her last minute – just as she would have wanted.

Charles has asked me to speak at Joan’s funeral in Winnipeg on Friday, May 24 and to the congregation on Shabbat morning, May 25.  If you would like to send a note of encouragement to Charles, send it to:  encouragecharles@chosenpeople.ca. 

Please keep Charles and Joan’s family in your prayers. May the Lord give them His shalom, love and comfort during this difficult time.

In Yeshua’s love,
Jorge Sedaca
Executive Director

PS:  Should you wish to assist Charles financially during this time, we will be happy to forward any personal gifts to him directly.  Such gifts will not be tax deductible, so any cheque should be made out to “Charles Hopkin.”  You can mail it to our office and we will make sure he receives it.  Because this is not a donation to Chosen People Ministries, the cheque will not be processed in our office and no receipts will be issued.