Me: We are here in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. I am with my precious and dear friend, Linda Meissner. We’ve known each other since Linda returned from Europe. What year was that?

Linda: 2013.

Me: So, twelve years. We used to work in ministry together, in Tacoma particularly, doing a whole variety of things. Linda and her family moved to Idaho during the time that COVID hit.

Linda: Yes.

Me: They moved to continue to serve the Lord, because everything they did was stopped by the government. They came to a place where they could continue their various ministries. Linda’s son Dan is a gifted musician. He was giving music lessons that couldn’t continue. Altogether, we were starting a church in Tacoma. Suddenly, we weren’t supposed to meet. So, it just got awkward, painful and difficult. So, Dan, leading his family, decided to move here (not to Coeur d’Alene) but to Post Falls, Idaho. Linda set up a brand-new coffee house in the Spokane area. Dan went looking for God’s opportunity for him in various places. What has come out of that search is a new school called River Tech in Post Falls. It’s been running for about how long now?

Linda: I think this is the fourth year. We’re very thankful for this school. We’ve seen the hand of God. Beginning with nothing, God showed us the location. Then after putting up some posters for the idea, God has really blessed it. Especially going into the fourth year. We have 77 students and seven teachers. We’re seeing not only academically, the youth growing and learning, but also spiritually. We’ve seen broken families come back together. My granddaughter Evelyn (who’s 13) and her friend have been very evangelistic. They’ve gotten about 13 kids from the school to attend the youth group in our church. It’s a new church plant here in Post Falls called Sun City. Luke, my oldest my oldest grandson at 19; he is a full-time teacher in our school, River Tech. And he’s very active in the new church plant, also worship team, youth group, etc.

Me: He’s amazing. Went on a mission trip this summer, right, this last summer?

Linda: Right. He went to Africa.

Me: Lake Victoria, right?

Linda: Yes, in Uganda. Lake Victoria is gigantic. Out in that lake there are many islands. Luke, together with a little team, went out to those islands and preached the gospel. It was very effective, and they were really happy to have that team. Luke plays nearly all the instruments. He had his guitar, and they sang to the kids. They found witchcraft there. They had to pray the prayer-of-faith and power to get that out of the way.

Me: I bet he has some great stories.

Linda: Yeah, he does. Now he’s planning to take a mission trip to Mexico around Thanksgiving time. He really cares about the people. He helps me at the coffee house a lot. And the coffee house, of course, is for the homeless and for the poor. I’m glad that he has a heart for the people that Jesus has a heart for. So, it’s wonderful!

Me: Let’s tell the people about the coffee house a bit more.

Linda: Well, God is great! When we came here, I didn’t know anybody and had nothing except our own stuff. The first thing that happened was that God miraculously gave us a location in a church that didn’t require any rent. I knew one person. That one person introduced me to another person and that’s how it went. Without having a team, or knowing anybody, one by one God bought brought volunteers or missionaries to help with the people in the street.

Spokane is a desperate city with 2,000 homeless and fentanyl is the killer here. We had nearly 400 people die on the street last year from fentanyl. We also have a lot of suicide here. They jump over the Spokane Bridge. I talked to a man whose job it was to throw dead bodies out of the Spokane River. He said he pulled one out, one or two out, every day. And now fentanyl has  even a worse chemical that they can add to it. I don’t remember its name, but it’s a fast killer.

We have a great burden for these people. God loves them and we love them. God miraculously not only gave us a team, but he has given us two Jesus vans that hold 15 passengers. We have two drivers and two co-pilots. They drive to the very worst locations where the homeless are laying in the street, on drugs, and it’s most awful. They drive there, pick up a van load, and bring them to the coffee house. God has expanded us so that we were serving hot meals, and donuts and coffee, and bottles of water.

Friday before last we fed 200. Last Friday we fed about 150. There aren’t very many places now in Spokane that feed the poor. So, we’re really needed. We’ve added clothes to it. I didn’t have any way to get clothes, but miraculously people bring by bags of clothes, blankets, sleeping bags, and shoes. One family bought us a whole big box of socks from Amazon. Whenever the clothes get low, don’t you worry, somebody comes to the door bringing a new bunch of clothes.

Me: He’s also been bringing the food to you.

Linda: Oh, he brings the food to us, too! We don’t have to buy very much food. We have a different cook every Friday that cooks three big oven pans full of food. But that’s not enough because we’ve doubled in number since December. So, the church, Full Gospel Mission for All Nations, Pastor Steve Cannon; they also cook food on Friday. So, we have different cooks from the north, south, east and west that cook for it. Then we have the church also making food. And we get this food free from Dream Center, which is a terrific church and a terrific rehab place.

I used to buy the donuts; but Dan and I get these four dozen donuts free from The Dream Center. And God just provides. Also, people bring by things like chips, or a cake that they’ve made, or a pie that they’ve made. Yeah. It’s a wonderful feeling to give!

Me: So, the people are picked up in a van. The driver takes them to the church where you have the coffee house laid out with tables, an area for clothes, an area for food, and up front you have worship.

Linda: Yes. But we’ve had to enlarge our facility. The pastor is so good. He has a folding wall between our location and the church sanctuary. I kind of grin, because at the beginning he wouldn’t allow one soul in the sanctuary. But now, when he sees what God has done with the different individuals and how many there, he lets us fold down that wall. We have moved the clothes, the music, and the microphone into the sanctuary. This gives us two more long tables for people to have space to eat.

Me: I get it. So, you’ve reoriented the focus from this way to that way. It’ll be fun to see it tomorrow night when I go there and check out all the changes.

Linda: Yes. The front is still where we have a microphone, where we have terrific testimonies of people that have been living in the street a long time, been on drugs, you know, been in jail. They tell how God has delivered them, set them free.  They volunteer in the coffee house, telling people about Jesus. We always have someone bring the word of God. I’m really insistent that we give an altar call in which we ask everyone to be quiet.

I ask everyone to bow their heads. I ask, “Is this the day that you will make a change, that you’ll invite Jesus in your heart? If you need prayer, raise your hand.” And then several raise their hand every week.

Me: And so, what happens? What happens when they’re ready to get off the street?

Linda: Yeah. Well, first I say, “Now I’m going to ask you to do something very courageous. You’ve raised your hand, but now I want you to come up here in front and sit in a chair in front of me.” And we always have four to eight or whatever. They come up. They sit in a chair and the Spirit of the Lord touches them really double heavy. Most of them cry. And I have a counselor work with each one. I shut the whole coffee house down as far as feeding and the clothes are concerned. I ask all the volunteers to move around the homeless, to meet a friend, and talk to them about Jesus.

 So, we have those eight in front getting prayer. Then we have different ones that didn’t come up getting prayer. At that point in the coffee house, it’s very wow! The conviction of God is very strong. The love of God is very strong. It’s a marvelous thing to see!

Then, workers are down around the tables and up in front with the chairs; they’re talking to the people individually. They’re able to ask the men, “Are you living in the street?” And they’ll say yes. Then we’re so happy for the Lord’s Ranch and the Director, Janice Simili. Any there who say, “We want off the street, and we want rehab, and we want to follow God.” The Lord’s Ranch comes down with a big van every Friday with men to help us with security and to evangelize. If the homeless men want that change, they can just go with the van 40 miles north to a beautiful place where there’s animals and fresh air and Bible study every day, clean clothes, and food three times a day.

The truth is, not every single one we send up there, stays. But even when half of them stay, it’s still a win-win. The others that say they want to go back down to the street, they’ve got in the back of their mind; there is a place I can go… Often then, they make a second choice to go back, they stay. We’re so thankful for the Lord’s Ranch. That’s a good solution for the men.

We also have women that are weeping. Their condition in the streets of Spokane is even worse. They’re being used by the men in the street. They have to sell their bodies to get money to get food. Some of them are trafficked. They have to obey their boss, whoever’s got them. We have these women too; they weep before the Lord, and they cry out to us, and tell us their situation.

I had a person tell me this week and it broke my heart. They said, “Oh, well those people are just lazy.”

No, no, no, no, no! Each one of them has a story. And their story will break your heart. They’re living in great trauma: No dad, no home, parents – alcoholics, parents – drug addicts, no one to take care of them even from a young age, on drugs. Their stories are just heartbreaking, and the women’s stories are especially heartbreaking to me.

Excuse me while I tell you that it’s very heartbreaking because we have no place to send the women. After they’ve prayed and really met God for two hours at the coffee house, then they have to walk out the door. The van takes them back down to that street where they were laying, and its hell!

Well, I can testify that some of them have made it even without going to rehab. We’ve had many make it and go to the church where we’re located. Others that come back every week, the coffee house being like their church; they have pulled themselves through. They look tremendously better, comparing the first time we met them with three months later. Yeah, but we have no rehab for them.

And you say, “Linda, are there no women’s rehabs?” I’m telling you just the raw truth. Yes, there’s a Union Gospel Mission. They have a good rehab. And Teen Challenge has a good rehab. The Dream Center has a good rehab. Salvation Army has a good rehab. Well, you say, then what’s the problem?

The problem is, there’s such a long distance between where we’ve picked them up, from laying in the street on drugs, from bringing them to the coffee house. Now they’re going to choose a new life. They’ve still got drugs in their veins. They’re not good enough.

Me: What do you mean?

Linda: They’re not good enough to go to these good Christian rehabs! They will not take them unless they’ve been drug-free for such a long time. They can’t smoke. They can’t use their phone. They must have recommendations. They must have an ID, which is good. I’m I mean, I’m for it all. But our kids that just come in that night to our coffee house, they don’t have that.

We need a transition place, or we need a down-traffic place. Well, yes, there is a down-traffic place in Spokane, but the report I get from everyone is, it’s full of drug addicts. I mean they don’t get any help there. Drugs are everywhere in that place. They’ve got to go to a place where they can down traffic, where it’s clean. We desperately need this place. We thought that we had found one this time, that time, that time, and that time. But no. None of them ever worked.

Me: So, it needs to be a unique place where people can come while they’re detoxing from the drugs, where they won’t be able to get more drugs while they’re there, and where they can get some help getting ID. What else would they need, to be able to get into one of these other places? They need ID. They need to be drug free. Is there anything else?

Linda: They’re not going to be able to smoke. That’s not so bad. Just a few things, like that, a recommendation.

Me: So, somebody who’s good at getting people free of addictions would need to be able to run a place like this, and have the skills to know how to work with these people, and keep them safe.

Linda:  if they’ve been trafficked, keep them safe from the men that have been using them and the temptations that are in the street. It’s a transition house, actually. If we could get a transition house, as soon as they go through it, now they’re free of drugs. Now we help them get ID. Now we can recommend them, and da da da da da. Then they could fit into the Dream Center or into the Union Gospel Mission or into other places like that.

Me: Many years ago, back in the 60s when you were working with David Wilkersonson in New York City, didn’t you do that with that ministry? I mean, you’ve seen that happen successfully, correct?

Linda: Yes. We did it right at Teen Challenge. We worked the streets several hours a day, six days a week, and when we found one that was on drugs, we could bring them home with us. We had a special room in Teen Challenge, the detox room. We had good Christian music in the detox room. It was comfortable. We had different ones of us on Dave Wilkerson’s team. One or two of us would stay by their side. For example, if you’re on heroin in 72 hours, you would have broken the habit basically and then of course you have to be taken care of after that. But we did that right among us. But nobody will do that here.

Me: Do you know why?

Linda: No. We thought we could try it. I mean Dream Center’s been really good to us. They give us the food. They thought they would try it. They took…. They tried it; taking them from our place, the coffee house, over to their place, to their women’s center. But it didn’t work out positive for them because our women were so.… No, it just didn’t work. And finally, they had to say to us, we just can’t do this.

But the pastor there, a youth pastor, Rosie Peterson, she’s fantastic! She has spoken with me now. And I have another couple that work… I have many couples, but a certain couple that works at the coffee house; they have worked at Union Gospel Mission for almost 39 years. So, they’re really professional with the homeless. We’ve talked, “We’ve got to get our own place. We have to get our own transition house.”

The problem is, when we found a place, they wanted me to run it; to put it through my nonprofit, Faithful Five. But I am already booked to the full. I have so many people around me. So many people calling me and texting me; so many people to take care of, because I have 30 people on the team. I have their phone numbers, and I keep track of them. I talk to them and help them through their problems. And then we have a whole bunch of the first-fruits, many newly saved ones. And I get to have their phone number and help them through their situations.

And then just people calling: “It’s about my son. Can you help him? He’s in the street and da, da, da, da!” I’m in a full-time ministry right now. And I can’t be overseeing a transition place; just can’t do it. And I don’t have the money to do it. But this prayer which we’ve been praying…. All the other prayers, they get answered. Here comes the food. Here comes the clothes. Here comes the singer. Here comes the workers. Here comes the vans. Here comes the people to drive the vans. Here comes the security guys. Everything we’ve needed to run this thing. And it’s a big thing now. But no answer, no answer for the women! And winter’s coming.

This really breaks my heart. The winter’s coming! Its not fun to sleep out in the street when the winter’s coming. Spokane has closed down so many shelters. There’s not enough shelters at all! We need 1,500 more shelters to cover for Spokane.

Me: You mean 1,500 beds?

Linda: Yes. We have very few shelters. The city has not been good. That’s what I’m trying to say. It’s been closing down shelters instead of increasing the shelters and closing down the places where they can get fed food. Shalom feeds them. We feed them.

Me: Has the city been good for you, working with you in this feeding project that you’re doing?

Linda: Well, I have not had much contact with them until recently. They began to hear about it; that the Jesus Coffee House is picking these people up and bringing them in and giving them food, but we are not on their official list of helps.

Me: I see.

Linda: But we are going to knock that one, just automatically, because our first fentanyl addict was living in a hell and I’ve been working with her now for two and a half years. She’s been clean and she’s very well spoken, you know. Now we have other fentanyl addicts and other jailbirds.

Me: And I think I’ve met her, that one.

Linda: Oh, yeah. Well, she’s really strong now compared to them. And she works, she gets her money from a place that helps the homeless find housing. God’s been so good on housing. When they really pray to Jesus, he gets them housing, even without the rehab. So, God is working even without the rehab. We see many of them getting their housing, getting a job.

Me: But what you’re saying is there’s still a need.

Linda: Oh, there’s a gigantic need. I I don’t understand why God hasn’t answered this need. I’m just being personal. He’s no doubt working on something that just hasn’t appeared yet. And we say, “That’s great God, but hurry up, the winter’s coming!”

This is a beautiful sunny day here in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, North Idaho. And it’s not bad to sleep out here in a sleeping bag; but I’m telling you, the winter winds. They say we’re going to have a tough winter this winter. Um yeah, we need help.

Me: And if you have a sleeping bag, but you’re on the street and it rains, you’ve got a wet sleeping bag.

Linda: That’s it. That’s absolutely right.

Me: Wet clothes, no dryer, no roof.

Linda: The thing here is not just to classify them as the homeless. Talk to them! I encourage you. Meet some of them. Talk to them. Ask them, “How did you end up here?” Some of them had nice houses. One of our ladies had a nice job in the city. She has four children.

Ask, “How did you get here?” It’s a heartbreaking story; step by step, by step, how they got down there. It could happen to anybody. Yeah, I love those people and I’m not ashamed of it. And beside the rehab part of it, we’re doing what God wants us to do.

Jesus said, “I was hungry, you fed me. I was thirsty, you gave me a drink. I was naked, you clothed me.” So just on that level, we’re hitting the mark according to Jesus’ teachings. And then, as you’ve heard, we are discipling them and seeing them change.

I sat at the church where the coffee house is located a couple Sundays ago. I visited them. I sat in the back row, and looked around. Wow! I looked around. He’s been in jail. He’s been on drugs. They’ve been in jail. I counted 10 people sitting in the church pew that Sunday that I had met when they were in hell, in jail, on drugs, da, da, da, da, da! All of them were sitting there praising the Lord. That was so fantastic, I tell you!

So, I’m enthused about what we do and it’s growing! First, we were just our team with the coffee house. But now many other ministries and churches are helping us in manpower or by bringing clothes. or food. We’re six, maybe eight. We’re seeing a great love among the brethren. No division, about what denomination; we never ask that. It’s whether you have a burden for the lost and you want to help Jesus put some clothes on these people. We all work together in great love. The street people always tell us when they get back in the van to go home, “Oh, we felt so much love. Oh, we just love that place!” I mean, they love us. And they’re spreading the word. They’re spreading the news that we’re located there.

Me: That’s great! That’s beautiful.

Well, for our people who are watching this interview, there’s at least a couple of applications, if not more, to the story. One of them is, there may be somebody out there who would like to help by providing the transitional housing for women who need it in Spokane. Somebody who has the skills and would come and be a part of the answer to that.

There may be somebody else who has financing who would like to help purchase a property that could be used in this situation. There may be somebody out there working for the Spokane government who knows how to get through the legal loopholes and how to guide the ministry toward making this happen. Those are all really practical things that apply directly to what you’re doing.

But there’s also the general story that Linda has of this passion on her heart; how she came here to the Spokane, Idaho border area. She started this ministry to reach people who need it, and God has provided every single thing she’s needed; including a place without being charged any rent, including workers, including food and clothing. God has built this step by step. I have seen you do this more than once.

She did this in the King County area, too. More than once.

So, you may have some sort of vision on your mind, passion God has given you. It may be in the area of the homeless. It may be in some entirely different area of society. But you may be thinking, I want to do this… but I don’t have the resources. And Linda’s example is stepping out. As she steps out, God has been bringing solution after solution, over and over again, for years, to meet the need because he’s called her to do this.

Linda: Yes.

Me: If God has called you to do the vision that’s on your heart, then step out and begin moving forward in it. And may God bring to you all the resources you need in order to establish what he wants to do through you on planet Earth. We all have a purpose. We all have a destiny. We all have work to do to bring heaven to earth in a greater way. Every single person was created with a purpose, including you. And so, we want to encourage you to live for the Lord and serve him. Be blessed. And see the mighty eternal reward you will build in heaven that no one can steal from you or take from you, as you choose to lay your life down for him.

There’s a scripture that says something about how if we want to save our lives, we need to lose them. If we lose our lives for Christ’s sake, then we will find them. It’s this dynamic principle of the kingdom: Live for yourself; it doesn’t work out. Live for the Lord and vistas open before you because God is on your side to help you. You’ll get to know him better in the process of serving him in whatever capacity he’s called you, because it becomes a supernatural thing.  

Linda: Amen. I’d like to say that if you would like to reach me, I am on Facebook, Linda Meissner, and Messenger. One way you can help, I have a few sponsors and that helps me with buying the utensils, coffee cups, coffee creamer; all the things we need every week. You can help us financially. If you ask me on Facebook Messenger, I can tell you how. My nonprofit is called Faithful Five. You can help that way. Also, I get many letters on Facebook. You may have a son or a grandchild that’s in a situation, or maybe my counsel, or maybe I can help you. So, don’t be afraid to reach out to me. Yeah, we could connect.

Me: Very good.

Linda: We did it!

Me: We did!  So, go, go, go, go, and serve the Lord!

Linda: Yes! Amen. Amen. Amen.

Me: Bye!

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Copyright 2025

Note: Pictures are from the ministry, websites, or from pixabay.com.

RESOURCES

Websites:

Linda Meissner’s Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/linda.meissner.7

Faithful Five Nonprofit: https://www.faithfulfive.org/

The Lord’s Ranch, Spokane: http://www.worldharvestmissions.org/current/lords-ranch.html

River Tech School: https://www.rivertechschool.com/

Video playlists of the time Linda and I worked together in Western Washington:

Evangelism Team Training by Linda Meissner – https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3omWYhSBhvnCyOxFUyqwB3bxRQW_yBTr

Catacombs at Tacoma Faith, Playlist – https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3omWYhSBhvkhV_OlscHIuxCyzuYcsOIk

 Tacoma Gospel Choir’s First Performance Ever, Playlist – https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3omWYhSBhvm6J4b8hpMwqhIpeyfVtduH

Testimonies, Preaching, Etc @ Jesus People Coffee House with Linda Meissner, Playlist – https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3omWYhSBhvltqD-bLt-PZcg2QmicTN9r

Prayers and Prophecies @ Jesus People Coffee House with Linda Meissner, Playlist – https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3omWYhSBhvnCyOxFUyqwB3bxRQW_yBTr

Worship by the Evening @ Jesus People Coffee House, Playlist – https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3omWYhSBhvlKElisit86RESvLpPaX2pL