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!

Discovery House Celebration

Our Nov 12 celebration with volunteers at Discovery House was so much fun. About 45 amazing folks came together - some meeting each other for the first time. Serving on God’s behalf is always a blessing to those who serve, as well as those being served. Thank you to everyone who has played a part to bring about this much needed transitional housing program for women and children at Discovery House.

Joy's pictures click here.

Looking for an opportunity to be a part of the excitement? I would love to come to your small group, business or gathering of your friends or neighbors to share our vision, listen to your passions and see how we can provide a gratifying experience in serving those in need. Give me a call or send me an email to schedule a date. Your continued participation is critical to the success of our ambitious program.

In the meantime, there are a variety of ways you can support the program as an individual, as a family or a group …. groceries, paper goods, tutoring, rides, playing with the kids during the weekly house meetings, serve as a life coach to encourage and be an accountability partner for a mom, adopt a family in the house for a monthly outing, sponsor a movie night in the home theatre, financial support needed for one bedroom, financial support for the house (direct support to me as a program director/resident manager or financial support to the Treats (owners of the house) to offset their holding costs on the home. I’m open to any ideas you might want to talk over.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Discovery House

The realm of possibility lies in discovery.

So much has been happening so quickly with the transitional house. We’ve decided to use the name Discovery House. The program for these families really is about discovery…their needs, their dreams, their strengths, their future, what programs, education and jobs can move them from dependency to self-sufficiency and the process to get them there. There are a lot of hoops to jump through in arranging transfers to new schools, transportation, and before/after school programs, their space availability and costs.

Ways you can help: Provide and serve a meal, provide transportation, tutor, childcare, hair cuts, administrative support, organizing, moving furniture, putting on a movie night in our theater, provide an outing (take a guest along on your zoo pass, science center or EMP or other membership passes), donate groceries, paper goods and/or cleaning supplies, and the list goes on.

Do you belong to a group either at church or through a club or your neighborhood? Is your business looking for a volunteer opportunity for your employees? I could come give a lunch hour presentation.

Give me a call or send me an email. I would love an opportunity to come talk to your group to show a 3 minute video about the transitional house and answer questions on how you can help. One idea for a group would be the possibility of sponsoring me as the resident manager or a bedroom in the house with a monthly financial contribution. Be creative. I’m open to any ideas you’d like to share.

Be looking for an invitation to an upcoming “Jewelry Party Like No Other” to donate precious metals and shop from the jewelry mistaken for precious metals that was donated. Some great pieces that would make wonderful Christmas gifts. You might want to pick something up for yourself.

Joy Roof

Day of Caring

Thanks to all who helped!

The work party at Joy's to move and prepare for rental went great! Thanks to all who helped paint, organize, garden, and so much more!
These wonderful ladies helped clean the huge new home for the transitional housing!

Cece hard at work too with a new friend...