Monday, June 8, 2009

Newsletter #10, June 08, 2009

Summer 2009


JUNE 2009 9th edition

One of our brothers in coming home!

Jeff Wells, husband of Laura, father of Connor (6) and Evan (3) is seven weeks from rejoining his beautiful family and our church community. To announce his homecoming, our Saturday morning Men’s Fellowship is busy assembling a welcome home celebration after worship services in August.

Jeff has gifts: accounting, bookkeeping, finance, taxation, formation and management of trusts, web marketing, bank and credit card reconciliation, QuickBooks expertise, blog and social networking, and still more.
His overriding interest is finding a job, being a breadwinner and the man in his home. Our interest is assisting him through Christian counseling, and mentorship on a continuous basis. Please let Pam or me know what your thoughts are and how you might explore using his services.

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SNAPSHOTS

Ladonna called back today. She was more intact than the desperate, tearful woman of 6 weeks ago. Then, she had exhausted her options and was about to be turned back to the streets. She, 47, a college graduate, now “clean” for months, had appealed, without success, to multiple service agencies for a roof over her head in a fit environment .Either she didn’t qualify or the meager facilities were full. One shelter gave her our name and number. There was one bed open and we were said to be her last hope. But it would take a dollar or two to pay for her care, life skill training, and counseling. LaDonna prevailed. Without our assistance, she’d be forced back into the streets to do what she didn’t want to do to make it through her day.

Today’s call was to notify us that the shelter was closing its’ doors in 2 days. They had not received their funding. LaDonna had worked odd jobs the past weeks, anything legitimate, to share in the costs, but jobs were scarce and discontinuous. I got on the horn and reached the Monterey Reinvestment Board and Loyanne Flinn who commiserated with us on the lack of beds for women, abused or down on their luck. She did suggest the Resource Housing Center which I promptly called and spoke with Elisa Hupt, who volunteered to take the case. She mentioning a shelter in Salinas with 2 emergency beds, and if that failed, to provide resources for a 3 month period!

I’ll call LaDonna tomorrow to check how it's working out 

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S.S., one of our Angel Tree families, adopted by the Clayton small group two Christmas’s ago, was about to be homeless 3 months ago. Well, the Lord pointed us to Craig’s list, where an Angel lay. Just the day before this Good Samaritan had placed a notice that her gorgeous home would be vacant for 2 months and was being offered free of charge to a needy family. We were able to bring the parties together and this Christian family of 5 moved in to the home in an exclusive neighborhood in Carmel.

But, all stories don’t have a continuously happy course. The 2 month stay has ended. Dad, didn’t find a job and now has relapsed and is back behind bars. Mom, a great mom, now, alone once again, raises her 3 lovely children, ages 6, 8, and 13, with her job as a home health aide. Once again, God to the rescue! His angel in Carmel has located another home, Carmel of course, where the family can stay, rent free, for perhaps 4 months, enough time, hopefully for things to simmer down and for S.S. to secure a richer job more consistent with her gifts and talents.

Meanwhile the Men’s group is scurrying about to provide furnishings (beds, chairs, sofa, tables, lamps) in this lovely but bare home.

Bill Ziering Ziering@pacbell.net 831-250-7921 In His service