Gettin’ Afta’ It!
Here’s a great story of a community group getting after it! Way to go…You know who you are…
Just to re-cap our summer, our community group began serving at Exodus in June. We began on a Saturday morning and worked about 4 hours. The guys painted an apartments while the gals worked to organize the contributions closet. The ministry asked us to consider serving the children on Thursday nights while the moms attended a class on financial management. This began our journey into understanding the why behind the statistic that children of ex-offenders are seven times more likely to be incarcerated. Many of the children were in foster care while their mothers were in prison/county jail. We were shocked to learn that 75% of incarcerated women are mothers with kids under 5 years old.
Each Thursday evening, a team of women headed down to 4630 Munger Avenue. If we had more than two volunteers, the extras worked to organize the contributions closet or cleaned an apartment. We used the Watermark Starting Blocks curriculum to teach a Bible story each week. We began with “God is Love,” covered Noah, Jesus’ birth, Parable of the lost sheep, salvation message and finally, a farewell party, complete with balloons & rice krispie treats. As the summer progressed and the children saw faces they knew each week, they smiled and were delighted to see us.
The apartment we began painting in June has evolved into one we are personally invested in to prepare for a new resident in September. We coordinated with Roxann to use the $1600 allocated by Watermark for Exodus to purchase discounted vinyl flooring (looks like wood) for two apartments. Another Watermark member who works for a flooring company helped us find flooring for $1/sq. ft. We are so excited to watch this apartment be transformed. We’ve used furniture donations available through Exodus, along with many of our own touches to make it a space that a resident will proud to call “home.”
One of the best parts of the whole experience has been working together as a community group to use our skills and talents for God’s glory. One of the gals in our group is a professional interior designer. The men did a fabulous job painting and had some great guy time in the process. Another huge bonus of this ministry is that it is completely enclosed and safe for children to help. Each week, we took many of our kids there and they chose one of the younger children to shadow and encourage them to make wise choices. Our children would tell you it was THEIR ministry!
I’m going to continue at Exodus this fall as a mentor to a new resident. We walk with them 9-12 months, encouraging, exhorting and practicing the One Anothers of Scripture. I know the Lord will stretch me further through this process.
