There’s not much better than walking in the door of Discovery House and having kids run towards me yelling “Miss Joey, Miss Joey”. Joy is a difficult name for Spanish speakers to pronounce but who cares if someone pronounces your name right or wrong, when you’re greeted with a big smile, so much excitement and a hug.
Oh how I wish I could share some special moments with you in the way of photos of the families here at Discovery House. With many of our residents landing in this safe place from domestic violence situations, I can’t take the chance that their perpetrators are searching the internet for evidence of where to find them. Now that the house is filled to capacity and relationships are beginning to develop, I am seeing some signs of trust, friendship and softening hearts. With eight kids between the ages of 3 to 10 in the house, this shows up as kids from several families playing together instead of clinging to their moms. It shows up with a mom on the carpet reading a book to someone else’s child. It shows up when mom’s work out a problem together rather than remaining silent. The love of Jesus is surfacing.
We are in need of volunteers willing to help transform lives by meeting on a weekly basis to encourage these women. You provide a willing heart and about an hour a week and I’ll provide training for you. If you are a Spanish speaker, I have women who do not speak English. I also have English speaking residents. What I don’t have is enough time to do everything myself. Please take time to pray about this opportunity to discover if this is a way for you to serve our Lord to show His love to the broken. Yield to the tugs at your heart…you’ll be so blessed.
Do you love researching? The Discovery House also needs volunteers to research topics and processes for becoming a documented citizen, education and training programs for the women, helping them look for available jobs to submit applications for work, and a host of other opportunities just waiting to be discovered and a process developed.
Many thanks to Lorien Trott for transporting and attending weekly ESL classes with one family, to Kara Morrison and her two girls for providing supervision and entertainment for all the kids in the house during our weekly house meetings, and to Ron Ross from Bellevue First Presbyterian, Don & Karen Perry, Julie and Steve Poole, Bonnie Smith, David & Debra Hitchcock and Jim & Ellen Minish from Westminster Chapel’s community life groups for sorting donations & “stuff” in the garage, moving & assembling beds, weeding flower beds and hauling away the clutter. What a great way for the Perry family to break in that new truck! And yes, the mattresses made it all the way to the dump!
Thank you, Cami Keyes, for coordinating the collaboration with YES (Youth Eastside Services) for counseling services. If any of you have any services or trades to donate or collaborate, please contact me.
Specific items needed: paper towels, toilet paper, zip lock gallon and quart bags, twin bed water-proof mattress covers, and kitchen towels to name a few. These donations are also tax deductible.
As always I am thankful for your partnership and urge you to consider supporting me financially. My work here is as a volunteer and I receive no financial support from Jubilee REACH. When you give small amounts they add up significantly to cover my living expenses each month to allow me to continue serving at Discovery House.
Many blessings,
Joy
