PROMOTING LIVING ROOM IN THE WORLD

My most recent book, One Such as Me, published in 2024 tells about how I gave birth to the Living Room ministry and the spiritual mental health support it offered. It was a ministry that brought the news of Christ’s unconditional love to those who felt rejected by the world. The unconditional nature of this love was the most significant part of Jesus that people who were stigmatized needed to hear. When the person of Jesus, as revealed through the gospel stories is taught, healing can occur.

Living Room members heard how Jesus was accepting, kind, and showing his never-ending love to outcasts during his life on earth.  Those who felt rejected gained a sense of worth, dignity, and true and deep love not available in the world. The stories fed their unique spiritual need, offering a message not always as clearly conveyed in churches—not valued as much by those who are emotionally healthy.

This is what those who were rejected by the world most need to hear. The stigmatized and persecuted people of the world are hungry for Someone who would care that much for them. Living Room was—and still is—important because it feeds that hunger.

IT WAS MY CALLING

One Such as Me shows how Living Room was my calling and nothing would deter me from following it. In the early part of the century, I wrote and spoke with enthusiasm about how people with mental health challenges could find healing through their faith. It drew much media attention. As a result, a total of sixteen groups across Canada and a couple in the U.S. were formed. My journal shows that a group had even formed in New Zealand. By 2010, I started envisioning a movement similar to Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). The need for faith-based spiritual mental health support was great and it was everywhere.

But I couldn’t carry it alone. In 2014, poor mental health made me unable to continue. I was relieved when Sanctuary Mental Health Ministries merged with the ministry and carried the work forward. However, a few years later, in 2018, they let it go because it was no longer part of their mandate. Except for three small groups that remained, the broader ministry was for all intents and purposes no more.

I was broken-hearted.

Yet I never stopped believing in Living Room. How could anyone with such a strong calling give up—especially when there had been such proof of its success in the past? I could not abandon the message of Christ’s unconditional love for people who need it so badly.

I began trying to rebuild the ministry. But the messages I had sent out in earlier years about the need for Christ-centered mental health support received no response. Promoting Living Room in my own country of Canada failed. My voice was no longer heard as it had been.

LIVING ROOM FOR PEOPLE OF ALL FAITHS

Eventually I realized that the love that Jesus offers is not for Christians alone. The Bible has shown us that his love is unconditional. And in the world of today there are millions who need the healing this love can offer—people of all faiths. Jesus is not an unknown figure for other faiths. He holds importance for many, although he differs in how he fits into their religion. Nevertheless, for most he’s a much-revered figure in history.

In his book, Faith & Mental Health, Harold G. Koenig, M.D., a person who pioneered research into the effects of religion on mental health, posed the question, “Are the mental health benefits of religion restricted to only certain types of religion? Is Christianity more effective in preventing mental problems or reducing their severity than say Judaism or Islam or Buddhism? The information we have suggests that devout, sensible religious practices typically encouraged within each of the major world religions usually correlate with better mental health.”

With God’s guidance, I gradually developed a concept that would make it possible for the unconditional love of Jesus to be accepted by other faiths. Living Room’s spiritual mental health support became possible for all people, no matter who they are, where they are, or how they worship.

I came to see that I had to go to the world beyond Canada. To all places where people live with mental health conditions and the world’s rejection—all who have a need for the healing unconditional love of Jesus.

I REACH OUT TO THE WORLD

In October 2024, I opened a LinkedIn account and set to work, connecting with people all over the world telling them about Living Room and faith-based support. I wrote posts of my own and made comments on writings I found in my feed. The number of connections I made gradually grew.

As I traveled, I was pleasantly surprised to read about how people with lived experience like me were actively supporting others. I saw how many of them held leadership positions, enjoying respect from their communities. In some places like the UK, people with lived experience were being hired for professional roles, given paid positions on mental health wards in hospitals. They worked alongside the nursing staff when better understanding of patients’ needs were required.

MY WORK WITH THE ROHINGYA

In March 2025, the first Rohingya connected with me. He was the first of what must by now be around three hundred such refugees I connect with from the world’s largest refugee camp in Bangladesh—a crowded camp housing 1.3 million people.

Ro Niyamot Ullah told me about the devastating experiences of his people. At the time, I did not realize the extent to which the Rohingya had suffered for generations. In fact, like so many in this world, I had not heard of them before this. I learned how 750,000 had fled their homeland in Myanmar to Bangladesh in 2017, victims of genocide.

The Rohingya refugees started following me because I passed along encouragement and writings that made them feel supported. Being supported and having someone stand with them means a lot to them, because the truth is that the world had forgotten them. Very few cared that they have been victims of genocide.

Over the past eight years, the refugees have faced numerous challenges, including overcrowding, poor sanitation, limited access to education and healthcare, and risks from natural disasters. They are living in tarpaulin shelters, most of them made of bamboo and tarp and with no plumbing or electricity. Because of their flimsy nature, these shelters often fall victim to fires, landslides, and flooding during the monsoon season.

I spent much online time with the Rohingya and they have come to love me and trust me, even though I’m a Christian and they are Muslim. Even though I’m a woman and all those I talk to online are men. Even though I talk endlessly to them about the unconditional love of Jesus.

Yes, they try to take advantage of my kindness by begging me for things they need to improve their lives. I have been asked numerous times for money—for educational supplies for children, for medical care for sick family members, funding for organizations they establish to try and better their lives. They even ask me for funding so that they can start a Living Room group. I could not begin to respond to their many requests, so have made a policy not to send money.

I tell them: “That’s not what God made me to do. God made me to encourage you spiritually. To encourage you in your faith.” And I tell them about the unconditional love of Jesus who came for all people equally. They are encouraged by the conversations that follow—agreeing with the things I tell about Jesus and his love. They say things like “exactly” or “I agree.” A top man in the Red Crescent Movement working in the camp has come to me for advice and spiritual support. An official of the Bangladesh government often responds to what I write.

LIVING ROOM DEVOTIONALS PUBLISHED ON LINKEDIN

I frequently post devotional writings to encourage the Rohingya and all those who read, helping them build hope and strength. The reactions these receive are positive. I try to stand up for the Rohingya with every opportunity. When they post their stories I often repost them, along with words that highlight the points they are making. I try to make what they say stand out for all the world to see. Often I pass along their stories and needs to influential people I connect with, hoping something will be done for them.

Besides giving support to Rohingya, I travel the rest of the world virtually, reading what people are saying about world affairs that I feel strongly about. And I take part in many discussions, addressing a wide variety of topics brought up in the feed. Much of it describes the chaotic condition of the world. And yet, the spiritual side of things is forgotten about though it is a big part of reality. And so, I make comments wherever I can to remind people that there is a Higher Being who needs to be remembered. Such a Being is able to do things not doable in human terms.

Wherever I go, I tell about the unconditional love of Jesus. Suffering people listen. And they find healing.

marja