Alana finds perfect fit at Inverell
Captain Alana Mills with gym owners Darren Finn and Tania Archer. (Photo courtesy of Alana Mills)
When Captain Alana Mills and her husband Robert were appointed to the NSW country town of Inverell, she prayed for a connection to the community.
Several months later, she felt her prayers had been answered when she began running fitness classes at a local gym.
With qualifications as a group fitness instructor and personal trainer, Captain Mills now feels she has established that connection.
“I prayed for an opening to get to know other parts of the community, but didn’t want to force it. I’d prayed that God would open the doors,” she said.
“Like any country community, obviously we have a lot of alcohol problems, domestic violence, even homelessness, and the drought remains a huge issue here.”
Captain Mills had combined her passion for ministry and fitness in her previous appointment in Queensland, also running classes at a local fitness centre.
“This (fitness) is a fast growing industry and one that people need in a number of ways. People need help with obesity levels, stress, sleep, blood pressure, diet, fitness and overall quality of life, and tying this in with a ministry is a great place to start,” she says.
Captain Mills says the opportunity came about through “God’s timing”.
Not long after arriving in Inverell, she needed to update her first-aid certificate. She learned that the receptionist, Tania, and her partner Darren – a kickboxing and martial arts champion and local school indigenous liaison officer – were about to open a gym.
A connection was formed and Captain Mills was offered a number of classes, mainly high-impact cardio and cardio boxing tuition, as well as general fitness instruction. These classes are made up of a diverse mix of unemployed young men, who compete in boxing and martial arts tournaments, and women up to the age of 60.
Some are Christian, some are not, but Captain Mills says the groups have been accepting of each other and bridges are being built.
There was, however, she laughs, the need to set some boundaries on the language used at first by some of the young men.
One of young men recently needed to undertake community service hours, and so after talking to Captain Mills, volunteered at the Salvos Store.
“He’s finished now,” she says, “but he has said he’d like to keep coming because he’s enjoyed it so much and his health has really improved. He’s lost quite a bit of weight and got a lot fitter which is great as well.”
Captain Mills and her husband run a busy corps and a busy family life, tending to the needs of their young daughters, but the connections being made to the community are valuable.
The Inverell Corps also runs a number of outreach arms into the community, including a “Kid’s Night Out” club with a meal and Bible teaching for up to 50 children, many from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Captain Mills says she is now looking forward to the fitness classes resuming after a short winter break.
“It really is very important to get out into the community,” she says. “I think times have changed with church – we have to go to where the people are – and not just expect them to always come to us.
“The classes have given us a door into another part of the Inverell community – into a totally different world of the young boxers – and it is an opportunity that only God could have created.”
Comments
Thank you for running kids night out thank you