For Majors Peter and Karen Eason, newly appointed pastors at The Salvation Army church in Meadow Lake in northwest Saskatchewan, the man gave off an unapproachable vibe. They knew him only as a tall, imposing figure in his 30s. Dressed in his trademark trenchcoat and fedora and constantly smoking a cigarette, he always stood in the same spot of the doorway to the hotel coffee shop next to the Army thrift store.

The Easons knew he came from Canoe Lake, a reserve about 90 minutes north of Meadow Lake, and that his name was Jeremy, but not much else. He was just the man in the doorway.

Full Circle
Fresh from their ordination as pastors in 1986, Meadow Lake had been the first appointment for the Easons. In 2007, they returned as pastors again. When he first saw Jeremy, Peter thought there was something familiar about him but couldn't put his finger on it.

One day Peter was packing excess clothing from the thrift store to bring to Saskatoon for recycling. Jeremy suddenly asked if Peter needed a hand, and started to help.

“He'd never spoken to me before,” marvels Peter. “But over the next few weeks, whenever he saw me packing clothes, he offered to help, and we would work together in silence.”

One day, out of idle curiosity, Peter asked Jeremy what his last name was, to which the usually silent man replied, “Coulineur.”

“At that moment, the blinders dropped from my eyes,” says Peter. “I asked Jeremy if he remembered me, and he answered, 'Yes, you used to pick us up for church in your stationwagon.' ”

When the Easons were first appointed to Meadow Lake, Peter drove young Jeremy, his brother and sister to Sunday school from the far east of town. The lift had been arranged by neighbours, and Peter never got to know the parents. The Salvation Army pastors were eventually reassigned elsewhere and the incident faded from Peter's memory.

Now, the past came flooding back to both men. Overcome with emotion, they embraced and have been close friends ever since.

Friendship and Faith
With the ice broken, Peter was able to find out what had gone on in the intervening years. Jeremy had endured the tragic death of his mother and had also experienced abuse from his stepfather and at the residential school he attended. Orphaned at a young age, he struggled with addictions. Homeless, he wandered the streets of the small community of Meadow Lake.

As he did two decades earlier, Peter drives Jeremy to their church. The renewed friendship has worked wonders in Jeremy's life. “Jeremy has been clean and sober now for almost two years,” says Peter. “I gave him his first Bible and he attends Bible study.”

The change has also affected those around him. Jeremy resides at Pearls Home, created by Pearl Janzen as a place for those who have fallen through the cracks of society. Pearl and her husband, Otto, as well as some of the others who live with them attend church services with Jeremy now. “They recognize that the marginalized are welcomed and loved here,” says Peter.

The people of the tightly knit community have all noticed the change in Jeremy, who is undergoing treatment for schizophrenia. He has gone from being constantly stoned or drunk with angry or violent episodes to being clean, sober and grounded.

“Whenever I need a helping hand, Jeremy is there,” reports Peter. “He helps out at the thrift store, attends the drop-in centre and the This Is My Story (TIMS) night at the church, and is happy to talk about God's transforming power.” He is no longer the man in the doorway. He has entered God's community of love and has turned his life around.

When Jeremy received a residential-school settlement from the government, he was set up with a trustee to help him manage his finances. One thing he insisted upon was sponsoring a child through The Salvation Army's overseas work. “I know the power of someone believing and investing in you,” he says. “I want to be that person for someone else, inviting them through the doorway of hope.”

Above: “Whenever I need a helping hand, Jeremy is there,” says Major Peter Eason (left)