Three Dogs and Two Women

I want to take a moment to just say thank you for your prayers and help! Thanks to those who have rallied to cover my responsibilities at the house! Recooperating has been easier due to a friend graciously opening her home to me, while others watch over the the daily needs of the Discovery House ministry. Staying here with Anne-Marie's makes me feel like I'm wrapped, pampered and protected. (Cece has joined the pack with Anne-Marie's two dogs - hence the title.)

My first follow up visit with the cardiologist is tomorrow. I'm looking forward to starting my "new life style" and am hoping to get released to start back working.

This has been a good time to reflect. I've been learning that I am a "starter" not a "maintainer". As I've gotten systems, processes, etc. in place I will be calling on others to actively and regularly participate. A big realization that I've had is I am not meant to do everything. And I'm obviously not able to continue at the pace that I was at and stay healthy.

Joy's Heart Update

If you haven't heard already, Sunday morning Joy had a minor heart attack. She says she "suffered" a heart attack because of the amount of pain that she was in prior to diagnosing what happened. She spent three days in the hospital and had surgery putting two stints in her heart.

Currently she's recovering at her friend Anne Marie's house. Thanks for all of your love and support!

If you're interested in helping her, we're compiling a list of needs to cover while she's away from the Discovery House. So please let Joy know.

Blessings,
Aimee (her daughter)

Changed Hearts

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

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!