HERMISTON — After a decade of feeding the homeless and helping addicts find treatment, Hermiston’s Desert Rose Ministries closed its doors for good on Thursday, Oct. 19.

“It’s been 10 years,” said Pastor Jason Estle. “I think we’ve put our time into the community. The Lord is pushing us in a different direction. I’m not going to say what it is, but hopefully we’ll stay in the community. We’re waiting to hear from the Lord.”

Estle and his wife, Shanna, opened Desert Rose Ministries on Main Street in 2013 with the mission of giving aid to the homeless and addicts through Christ, said Mike Mehren, a longtime volunteer. Over the years, DRM has provided two meals a day four days a week. On Thursday, Oct. 12, 51 people came in and received a warm breakfast and lunch. It has also given food boxes and clothing to those in need.

DRM, 512 E. Main St., is certified to assist people needing housing, driver’s licenses and other types of government documents, said Mehren.

Estle said the success of DRM is due to God.

“We didn’t have Plan 1 when we opened these doors,” he said. “People told us it was a waste of time. It was all faith and trust in the Lord. We had no clue what we were going to do when we opened the doors.”

The first person seeking help from DRM 10 years ago was Pamela Lund. “She was hungry, so I went and got her a McDonald’s meal,” Estle said. “I guess you could say that was the beginning of our feeding program.” Lund has since become a volunteer for DRM.

Estle and Shanna started a church service soon after opening the doors. It was a modest beginning.

“Marlette Homes loaned us a bunch of chairs,” Estle said. “We had more chairs than we had people when we started. We didn’t advertise what we did or that we offered church services. It was just word of mouth.”

Estle, who has lived in Hermiston all his life, said they take about 30 addicts a year to faith-based treatment centers as far away as Portland and Seattle.

“We’ve probably helped about 300 people over the last 10 years,” he said. “Our whole point of being here is all about being a servant of God and sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ to anyone.”

Estle told a story of one man who he encountered early on who told him he had no faith.

“He said ‘I don’t believe in your God.’ He had seen so much darkness in his life,” said Estle. “I invited him to come down and see for himself what we do. So he started coming in and sitting in a corner. He never talked, he just watched. After about three weeks, he said, ‘I now believe in your God.’ He told me he didn’t think there was any way I could reach him. He’s still doing well today.”

When asked about his hopes for the final day of Desert Rose Ministries, Estle didn’t hesitate to answer.

“Me and my wife are praying we can take one last person to treatment,” he said. “That would be so cool.”

Before the doors are closed for good, Estle said he had one more thing he wanted to give — “a big thank you to all our donors and supporters over the years.”