OCTOBER UPDATE FROM JIM & KAREN...
We are rested and home to continue God's work. We feel extremely blessed to have had that week away to just simply be. To rest in His Creation of the ocean, the beaches, the coves, the sand. Creation is simply magnificent and gives us just peace being able to rest in it, physically.
Many of you read on Facebook the details of our trip to California, but for those who didn't, here's a brief overview. Our main reason we chose California for our trip was to visit Homeboys Industries. We received an email on Friday, the day before we left stating no visitors or tours allowed. Although disappointed, when we reached out to explain why we were coming, the answer was still no, sorry.
We flew into Los Angeles on Saturday, spent an awesome day on Sunday with great friends, Gene and Carol Wood. 30 years ago, Gene was our pastor here in Cincinnati and was influential in bringing Jim to know Jesus. Thru many racquetball dates and conversations, lives were changed. Carol was our church's MOPS leader (Mother's of Preschoolers), which I (Karen) attended. Thru her leadership, I began to reconnect with God and made life-long friends. We went to their son Tony's church, where he know Pastors, toured around Orange County, CA, and had a fabulous lunch. It was SO good to see them after 30+ years. They were influential in literally saving our marriage. GO GOD!
Monday - our day to tour Homeboys. We decided to just take a drive in LA and just see the building, take pictures to be able to say "we were here". God had other plans. The Homegirl café window was open (not the inside), so we stopped for coffee and tea and a pastry. Homegirl Café is: "At the heart of Homegirl Café is the goal to a safe space for our clients, particularly females, many of whom have experienced domestic violence and the challenges of single parenthood, in addition to the usual obstacles created by gang involvement and incarceration. Homegirl Café provides a supportive environment for clients to receive on-the-job training in conjunction with Homeboy Industries. Empowering individuals to undertake what is often their first 'real job'. This successful program has developed into a pipeline, creating strong female leaders who in turn, mentor others and can confidently proclaim, "I've been where you are, and I know you can do it."
We had a great conversation with the staff there who explained about their shut-down to visitors. Still disappointed, but grateful to have that conversation, he told us to go around the corner where the main entrance was, maybe we could talk to someone there. Homeboys was open for gang members and staff coming for their Monday morning start for the week. We chatted with a security staff who listened and told us to wait here. He returned with news that YES, we'll give you a tour AND founder Father Greg Boyle was here and asked us, "would you like to see him?" WOW! We were humbled and honored and overwhelmed by God's goodness and provision. So in we go, told we are the first tour in 6 months!
W
e met Enrique, our tour guide. He served 22 yrs of a possible life sentence, released after petitioning the parole board. He went to Homeboys for help in starting a new life and is now, 2 years later, on staff. He shared with us his life verse. Romans 12:1-2."Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."At this point, 2 days in, our trip had met more of our dreams than every expected. We asked ourselves, why do we doubt God? Why do we E V E R doubt! He always gives us our hearts desires in HIS timing. His timing for us was to be where we were.
We were taken out back to where Father Greg was sitting under a protected tent. Not only because of COVID, but because he has leukemia. He continues to work through that and hasn't and won't quit, he said. He was a delight and we chatted about his visit to Cincinnati. He spoke a couple of times at Xavier University and remembers Skyline...of course! We prayed with him and of course got a pic!
Learn more about Homeboys at their website here: https://homeboyindustries.org/
We were truly blessed to be there. There are so many similarities of the work we / BLOC do here in Cincinnati. Thank you for praying for our trip.
The next leg of our journey was to visit my mom's sister and family. It had been a very long time since I saw my cousins. It was a really nice visit.
The rest of our trip was rest and relaxation on the beaches and coves and bike trails of Huntington, Seal, Laguna and Sunset beaches along the Pacific coast of CA. Lots of sunshine, perfect weather and time spent together.
Update on Redeemed Home with Karen
Redeemed Home is flourishing with 3 phase-1, 1 phase-2 and 3 phase-3 residents, who are all doing very well. We welcomed Christine into the fold and she is well on her way to having a great start to a changed life. We will be having a graduation on October 23rd for Katie. Also joining in the celebration, we will honor Tonya, who graduated in early summer, but because of COVID, we haven't had the opportunity to celebrate with her. So they want to share this day together. We will begin with dinner. We will provide the main dish and drinks and guests are asked to bring a side-dish or a dessert to share. Then we will move to the sanctuary for a time of worship, which both ladies have requested. These two ladies love the Lord so much and have such inspiring stories. If you'd like to join us, just let me know.
Friday, October 23rd - 6 pm @ McPherson Church. 931 McPherson Ave, Cincinnati, OH 45205.
Continued needs for Redeemed: Volunteers! Weekend volunteers are needed. Usually 4 hour shifts. If you would be interested in spending time with our ladies, just reach out to me!
Physical ongoing needs are toilet paper, paper towels, cleaning products, personal hygiene products.
Some bigger wants/needs: outdoor chairs, funds to get screens made for the windows, two ring doorbells (one for each house), plastic bins for storage, MP3 players, need 6 - music is healing and in phase 1 the ladies don't have access to their phones. They continually ask for a way to listen to music privately.
Ladder of Hope / LIT House / Jail Ministry with Jim
The partnership with the LIT Movement has been nothing short of an amazing blessing for me. They already had the programming and the personnel and all the connections I would need to reach out to men in need and if they would be a good fit or not for them and the houses. It is quite an extensive orientation to make sure the potential resident understands all the rules and expectations of a Christ centered recovery program. The accountability is quite impressive and I love being a small part of it all. Since the partnership, it takes the pressure off of me to run or oversee the operations of the houses. This way I can just focus on the outreach into the Justice Center and prisons when they reopen.
One of the guys (Toreono) that we've been praying for, entered the LIT House on Monday and he has been hitting the ground running and hitting all the meetings he can. It's been such a joy to watch him grow! I continue to meet new guys every time I visit the jail, it amazes me how open they are. They are not seeing anyone from their families, only clergy is allowed in, and only through the window. I will have the privilege to go to court with a new guy next week that I just met this week. Just show up!
God continues to lead us, protect us, guide us and provide for us. We couldn't do this without the prayers and financial support we receive. We are humbled and thankful. If you want to hear more, we would love to chat. Contact info in the right column!
We would love to hear feedback!
Happy Fall Y'all!
Jim & Karen
No comments:
Post a Comment