First Name: thomas
Last Name: gilles
Email: gillespropertymanagement@gmail.com
Mobile Phone: 2673078269
Address:
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Birth Month: May
Birth Day: 25
Birth Year: 1965
Why are you interested in pursuing this initiative?:
i have always had an encouraging and empathetic heart for people.  i look back on my life,career and faith and recognize it is not by accident. i have been placed in this time,position in life and  experiences to help others.

Tell us about your family::
married for 29yrs and have 3 adult children

What is your experience with Zoweh events and/or resources?:
i have no experience with zoweh at this point in time. i am involved in several men's groups and this springs topic is calling. He referenced Zoweh's sage ministry and provided the contact info.

How did you first connect with Jesus in a personal way?:
I am a recovered Catholic. Relationship with God was not anything i ever was taught.  As an adult i found myself with a blessed life in family,business and recognized this was no accident and more that one person needs for themselves. that kicked off my search for purpose. Faith entered in and i recognized that the meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.  Thru faith in Jesus Christ i have developed much deeper faith, have a relationship with God,and see my role as servant to the people God has placed in my life.

Tell us about a time when you shared your Jesus story.:
Currently, i have a friend who is searching for meaning,faith,God in his life. He knew i am a believer and reached out to me with his questions. I recognized that the believers he had been speaking with were using the Bible as a baseball bat to beat him into belief.  He knew me and felt comfortable that he could have a conversation about faith and not feel pressured into believing. He wants to believe, yet wants all the answers and has trouble taking that leap of faith. thru the many mentoring programs offered at our church i realized that it is not my responsibility to bring Kenny to Christ. That is the holy spirits job. My job is to be the facilitator . With Kenny wanting all the answers, i first shared how i came to Christ. That worked for me. Kenny needs to accept on his terms and the conversations have been going on for a few years. I said to Kenny,  our small group from church has been  praying that the Holy spirit work on your heart to accept Christ. his response being i don't feel anything. Yesterday he texted me asking  when is our next  men's group meeting?   Progress!!!

Explain your familiarity with the following terms: wounds, vows and agreements.:
wounds- we all have had hurts,disappointments,and unmet expectations in our lives. Some inflicted by people,others by circumstances. Sometimes these wounds keep us prisoner. Things that have been done or we did to others. Jesus Christ is the healer to remove separation between ourselves, our wounds and God.

Vow- a promise,commitments, obligations we make to others,self,and God.     spiritual obligations.

agreements- is a contract made between people.  not a spiritual obligation.

Tell us about a significant wounding moment that you experienced.:
it is said, if you want to find out about someones character just place a large amount of $ in front of them and see how they react.

That was the position i was placed in as an executor of 2 aunts estates. Both very wealthy, although that was never known while they were alive. they lived very modestly and did not show that they were financially well off.  My parents had a different perspective. upon the deaths i was appointed executor and trustee. i was pressured by my parents to contest the will and administer the trust to their advantage. i stated to them, "that is not what i was asked to do by my late aunts".  the net results were separation from my parents. they chose to have  little to no relationship with their new grandchildren or me and my wife. Much hurt,anger,frustration was felt. My parents eventually passed away. Never was there an apology for what was said or done and the relationships destroyed and lost. Many lessons about forgiveness were learned. The realization that i will never get an apology from a dead person ,and needing a way to heal from the hurt,anger,resentment all came together in the first few years of my discovering that i can have a relationship with God and not just follow a series of rules.  Thru that relationship with God, i found the ability to forgive my parents behavior and recognized they too were broken and hurt people who did not have a relationship with Christ and only thought of themselves. That same experience has carried thru with all my interactions with people and i moved from judging actions to recognizing they do not know any different. the perspective shifts and the response and relationship changes.

Explain your personal familiarity with spiritual warfare.:
Satin is real!!

as a small business owner we had our challenges during Covid. Tenants were able to not pay rent and we were prohibited from evicting them. Most people were responsible and continued with their obligations.  There was a group of about 15 who chose to take advantage and did. The process to receive county reimbursement was long and had lots of paperwork to fill out. After almost a year and a half of this  as well as having no workers to maintain the buildings and doing it all myself, is was done filling out forms and wait months to be paid. i was emotionally,physically, and mentally at the end of my rope.  I refused to fill out more applications for covid rent relief.  at one of the evictions the constable showed up and attempted to remove the person from the unit. no answer at the door. He went in. Found the person dead of a self inflicted gunshot wound to the head. The guilt and sense or responsibility i felt for being in the position to help that person by filling out the assistance forms and not doing it was terrible. upon reaching out for help to a faith based center to help navigate this, the parable of the talents came to mind. I realized that it was satin behind all this. Satin wanted to pull me away from God and shake my faith in God by condemning me . "You call yourself a Christian and did not help that person in need".  God placed me in the position of responsibility to do His works. Satin wanted to use this a way to pull me off track and stop Gods works

Give an example of how you have heard from God.:
As a believer, works matter AFTER salvation. the combination of life experiences i had caused me to have a calling to try to reach people when they are young and able to be directed in positive way and away from all the problems the secular  world wants to place in their lives.  my wife and i raised 3 children and that was about the extent of my skills with kids. i found myself being drawn to an organization in town called "the drop". a faith based place where kids could come after school and have a safe place to hang and be with others. this was run my several local churches.  I said no way! i don't know anything about kids and relating with them beyond my own kids. I found myself driving one day in that area and my truck ended up parked in front of the sign on the building. my feet walked in and my mouth introduced myself to the staff working there. This was not me!  I completed all my clearances to work with kids and volunteered at the drop till covid shut it down, almost 2 years. the kids would interact on their terms and eventually we learned their names and their situations. I look back on that experience and realize it was God calling me to do something completely outside my comfort zone and waiting to see if i would follow His command.

Have you had any training in listening and/or engaging in another man's story?:
No formal training., but my friend Kenny would say i am a good listener and am able to engage in his story and navigate his faith journey at his pace, not mine.

Which of the following books have you read?: To Be Told ​, It’s Your Call, Wild At Heart
How did you discover the Elder-Sage Initiative?: Small Group
What is the best time to call you?: any
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