This Thanksgiving‑week episode is a lively grab‑bag with Josh and Kristel swapping fresh stories from the field. We recap a whirlwind week at the Compassion Center, share a new pilot program giving seniors real choice for household essentials (not just groceries), and talk candidly about our biggest constraint right now: space. The rooms are buzzing with classes, events, and inventory—so much potential, not quite enough square footage.

Josh and Kristel share how years of experiences, skills, passions, and dreams converged into one four‑pillar framework that unifies their work across Baltimore Relief Network (BRN), Haven City Church (HCC), and the Food Access Coalition (FAC). The conversation covers how the pillars align logistics, community, long‑term development, and sustainable rhythms of rest.

Key numbers and updates

* BRN pallets of food received in 2024: 3,922. 2025 year‑to‑date food pallets: 3,957

* Quick updates: federal shutdown impacts, BRN development and fundraising, and Kristel’s meeting at the Compassion Center

How we got to a unifying principle:

* Origin story: The moment the “buckets” snapped into place and why this framework keeps efforts aligned across BRN, HCC, and FAC

* Provision: From chaos to choreography in relief logistics, how pallets become people stories with dignity, Tuesday–Friday routes, and a “no‑shame” script

* Community: Turning a food line into a welcome table, first‑timer journey, and two simple follow‑ups that build trust

* Development: Tools that form people, not just fix problems—couples prompts, a volunteer ladder, and a simple goals loop

* Renewal: Rest as infrastructure—micro‑retreats, table practices, and a “small celebrations” policy that sustains joy

Ways to engage:

* Baltimore Relief Network

* Haven City Church

* Food Access Coalition

* Sermonprep.app

* Unitypath.app

* Parable Vineyard

Kristel and Josh swap observations from the week—from why herds of cows line up with Earth’s magnetic field to a mesmerizing track made from mushroom electrical pulses. Then they turn to the local and national ripple effects of AI’s surging power demand, community reactions to infrastructure, and what a possible federal shutdown could mean for SNAP and neighborhood food access. Along the way: Ravens fans leaving early, volunteer care at the Center, serving Spanish‑first families, and a reflection on building a life with intention.

In this episode, Josh and Kristel walk through a typical week in their lives, highlighting the work of Haven City Church (https://baltimorechurch.com), The Baltimore Relief Network (https://baltimorerelief.com), and The Food Access Coalition (https://feedbaltimore.com). They share food distribution numbers from their Tuesday and Friday operations, discuss how 30% of food produced worldwide goes to waste (https://www.zerohedge.com/economics/30-food-produced-worldwide-goes-waste), and explore what it means to live in a food desert using Baltimore City's mapping data (https://planning.baltimorecity.gov/maps-data). The conversation shifts to immigration myths and the current political climate, drawing from Benjamin Cremer's theological response (https://benjamin-cremer.kit.com/a-theological-response-to) and data on changing marriage patterns in the US (https://usafacts.org/articles/how-has-marriage-in-the-us-changed-over-time/). They also tackle why people don't trust charities (https://www.perplexity.ai) and end on a lighter note with some puppy videos (https://www.instagram.com/reel/).

What does it take to walk away from a stable government job and start a relief network from scratch?

In this episode, Kristel Turansky shares the story behind Baltimore Relief Network—from her years as a Contracting Officer navigating the bureaucracy and intensity of NIH to the moment she decided to leave it all in 2025 and build something entirely different. You’ll hear about the chaos, the clarity, and the conviction that carried her from government contracts to neighborhood relief.

This isn’t a polished origin story. It’s real, messy, and full of the kind of decisions that change everything.

In this conversation:

* Why Kristel left her NIH Contracting Officer role in 2025 after years on the business side of government science

* The early days of building Baltimore Relief Network with no roadmap

* What it’s like to trade institutional stability for grassroots impact

* How body-and-soul work shapes everything Josh and Kristel do

Want to support the work?

Learn more about Baltimore Relief Network and how you can get involved: http://www.baltimorerelief.com

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