Cabo Pictures

Blessings of the Season

Wow! I woke up to snow this morning. What a contrast to what I woke up to just a couple of days ago!

Aimee, Travis, and I spent Christmas at our timeshare in Cabo, Mexico. I am so grateful for this timeshare and free AK Air miles to give us an almost free vacation. Check out the blog for some photos. As we were arriving in Mexico, my dear 96-year old mom suffered a stroke. We didn’t receive the news until Monday morning and she passed away that evening. We called the hospital and the ICU nurse held up the phone to her ear, as we shared with her what a great mom and grandma she was to us and that we loved her so very much. We also told her how much we knew she loved us and what a selfless life she lived. Aimee prayed over her. For mom, her passing was a blessing. She lived independently on our family farm in Eastern Washington until that day. For those of us left behind, we will miss her greatly. She, however, had the awesome pleasure of spending Christmas with Jesus, my sister and my dad and others who joined Him before her. For this I am comforted.

During my time away in Mexico, Discovery House was blessed with several people covering my responsibilities (Sheila Bandel, Lorien Trott, Suzanne Auten, Kandi & Mark Dodrill). Thank you to all of you. You rock!

While away, I realized how important it will be for me to take regular breaks away from the 24-hour a day responsibilities of the needy moms and kids I serve. This allows me to gain the fresh perspective of The Holy Spirit, refuel my compassion tank, and recharge spiritually, mentally and physically. Having uninterrupted time for thought and prayer was much needed. If any of you’d be interested in providing coverage for me in the future, please let me know.

We welcomed new residents about two weeks ago – a mom and four kids ranging in age from 5 to 10. Last night we also welcomed a mom and her three and five year olds, who joined our happy house. This place is hopping with excitement and action. With the addition of more residents comes a host of needs. If you have a couple hours on a weekly basis to meet with and encourage one of our moms, please prayerfully consider this two-way street of blessing.

One of our residents at Discovery House just received the special news that she has been approved for permanent housing. The wait lists for permanent transitional housing is incredibly long. It has been almost two years for this woman. Discovery House provided her with a safe home, community to share life with others in the house, some budgeting skills and a lot of hope and encouragement. Her bilingual skills were an amazing help to us with many Spanish speakers in the house. She also volunteered with the Dental Clinic and the Heart and Home store in Bellevue. She is a great example of someone who is making a difference in the lives of others with very limited resources.

Enjoy the pictures (coming soon) – we definitely enjoyed ourselves in Mexico. I’ll be posting more text and photos of Christmas in Mexico.

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and are able to take some time to spend with those you love during this special season. Happy New Year! May you be blessed and may you bless others.

Peace,

Joy Roof

Merry Christmas!

Feliz Navidad from Mexico!