As this month comes to an end (and I continue to purge my household...because I have to confess that I was so incredibly busy these past two weeks that I failed to complete the expected tally marks on my sheet of paper sitting by my pile of stuff!), the overwhelming lesson in it for me has been this.
There are opportunities out there.
I wrote last time about the Hope House shelter in Shawnee, OK where up to 12 kids at a time are placed when there are no foster care homes available for them. It is my hope to be able to write next time about our Council outing to one of a couple of locations in Oklahoma City helping with the homeless or inner city ministry. And this past Monday, Amy and I got to catch a glimpse into the heart of another ministry in Shawnee, Project:Safe.
My friends inspire me... I spent all morning and part of the afternoon at Amy's house working on formatting a cookbook. She's been collecting recipes and typing them out for I-don't-know-how-long so it can get printed and bound and given to the clients of our church's food pantry by the one year anniversary of the storms that changed our community forever. She'll poo-poo this post and say that it was nothing, but I know better. So this is your shout-out, Amy ;) I can't wait to see it on paper! My part of the project was to collect some of the stories that demonstrated God's incredible provision for the work He was doing in the storm's aftermath; talk about a humbling and invigorating experience! Our God is ALIVE, my friends! If anyone would like me to send along those stories just let me know! It will build your faith.
After a late lunch, we headed toward town to visit this Project:Safe we had heard about. Honestly, we had tried to kill two birds with one stone and run by it when we were in town visiting Hope House but we had been unable to find it. But a few days later I had happened upon it as I drove through town, saw the sign, and did a 'U' to go back and see what their hours were. Now we were back, and the young woman who came out to help us unload gave us some wonderful insight into the mission and the heart behind the work being done there.
Project:Safe is a battered women's shelter that seeks to provide everything a woman might need when she flees from an abusive situation. They have beds for 15, some in a family room setup and some grouped for singles to use. They feed them all and have someone there at the shelter 24/7 to be available for emotional support, help with children, or whatever else might be needed by the women. Obviously, it's in a confidential location... where Amy and I visited was the office and what they hope will help to fund the operation - a thrift store. The things we brought that day went straight into the inventory of the shop, which is currently only being opened on an occasional weekend due to it's newness, lack of volunteer help, and disorganization. Right now it's like a giant garage sale, but they hope to get it set up and operating on a regular store hours basis. When they do, they hope to be able to run it solely on volunteer power... just like they do everything else. Funding is never a sure-thing; most of it comes in the form of grants that are never guaranteed to be renewed, so having support in a self-sustaining form would be a weight off their minds. When we asked what we might be able to do to help them there were two responses.
The first was volunteering, of course, especially for when the store was up and running regularly. But even before then there is the opportunity to take part in getting the store to that place. And there are other things that, she said, the volunteer coordinator could tell us more about.
The second was donations. Big ticket items are always the first things to go when the store is open, things like furniture, bedding, and small appliances. Money, of course, is always helpful. But the thing that I wasn't expecting to hear was food. "Maybe do a food drive," she suggested. "That would be a big help." Cooking for fifteen women at a time can take a lot, she said. And she pointed out that many of the women they are helping were coming out of living conditions where they may or may not have been allowed food, or had been belittled or abused for eating. The freedom to eat could make them eat like it was the last time they had the chance. Sometimes you don't really know what people need until you ask. There's a little sub-lesson within the bigger one... Just ask what people need!
These community outreaches, plus the church's, plus the two we're tossing around working together on this next month just goes to show... opportunities are out there. I have to admit that when I was reading this chapter from Jen's perspective I was a tad underwhelmed. She lives in Austin, for crying out loud! Of course she has abundant outlets for service and donations! And where am I? Tribby, Oklahoma... And yet two of our discovered ministries are located in Shawnee, which is the nearest 'real' town to me. The city isn't far and my own church has a food pantry.
The truth of the matter is, there's work out there to do and places to do it if you're really interested. But it's not likely to come and stand right in front of you waiving bright flags in your face to get your attention. I never would have noticed Project:Safe's sign if I hadn't just spent 20 minutes wondering through downtown Shawnee looking for it! If you're busy complaining that there's not a good place to volunteer or get involved... may I make a suggestion?
It's time to stop complaining and start searching.
Because opportunities abound!
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