Celebrating every success is important. For struggling families it’s always, one step at a time, one day at a time, one job interview…it doesn’t matter how small or how big the success or victory, it’s how you rejoice with one another that counts.

There are many stories of families finding victory. It may be a job, a house, or maybe an “Ah Ha” moment in one of their classes. A victory may come in the form of keeping your temper in control or being able to open up a checking or savings account. Successes are happening everyday.

As we come to an end in 2009, we are celebrating being in our new home for an entire year. It’s been a year of “complete growth” now that the shelter is full. Celebrating a full shelter is one thing, but celebrating the lives touched is even better! We have celebrated victories and growth with over 65 families this year and expect to do twice that by next December.

We all know the real reason we celebrate the season. It is, of course, the birth of Jesus. But what I remember each and every day is that He isn’t just the reason for the season, He is the reason My Father’s House continues to help families change their lives; so they can hope for a better future. A future where they are no longer alone. They have a new extended family at My Father’s House who loves them unconditionally. Now that truly is a reason to celebrate!

This Christmas as we reflect on the families who have come and gone. We realize that we have been blessed too. Blessed by those who believe in what we do, who we are and what we can accomplish in the lives of others. It takes all of us working together to make this happen. From the 250 volunteers and staff to the board members and donors, we are so blessed to have so much to celebrate at My Father’s House.

If you have ever thought that you could contribute, volunteer or help families in need, don’t just think about it…act now. Call us and get involved in the lives of others. You can make a difference not just for today, but for the future. We’re counting on you to help us have a reason to celebrate.

May God bless you this Christmas Season!
Cathe Wiese, Executive Director

As the shelter grows (27 families and growing) we find ourselves stretched to the limit. It is a wonderful opportunity to serve the families who come to live here, but it is also overwhelming.  Besides the increase in families we have increased staff, programs, children in childcare, volunteers and volunteer opportunities and of course a huge increase in finances.  Like who would have thought that we have to keep doubling our garbage service?  electric bills? wow…I know it’s part of the budget but I do prefer to consentrate on the families and not the needs associated with the provision.  But it all ads up and through the past 11 months God has been faithful (through you, our donors) to pay all our bills and help so many families get a new start on life.

It’s because of our desire to help families that we have fund raisers throughout the year.  I am very excited about our upcoming Christmas Concert & Tea with Michael Allen Harrison, Julianne Johnson & Friends because it has been quite awhile since we have worked with Michael and because our Kids Club Choir will be performing for the first time.  I know that this will be a lasting memory for the kids as well as the attenders!

So, join us on December 19th from 11am to 1pm and get blessed and be a blessing all at the same time.  The old church only holds 300 people, so don’t delay get your tickets SOON or you may miss out.

God bless you as we fly into November and the holiday season!  We wish you and your family the start of a great season of love, family and for all of us here, HOPE for a brighter tomorrow.

Cathe

The families are still amazing: children resilient and full of joy, parents hungry for change and growth and healing. Our volunteers, and there are more of them now, still come and bring encouragement and grace just by being here.  The staff still cares for each other, still cares for these residents and tries to honor Christ in all we do.  Nothing has changed at all…its just all bigger and there’s more love being passed around.

Today I got to tell another family we have a place for them; they’ll soon join the others here working to rebuild and move into a new life as a family.  This is what My Father’s House is about.  The building is different and the organization is growing, but God still does what He does…and we’re honored to watch Him do it here.

Christ be with you,

Sam

TWO BABES IN A MANGER

In 1994, two Americans answered an invitation from the Russian Department of
Education to teach morals and ethics (based on biblical principles) in the
public schools. They were invited to teach at prisons, businesses, the fire
and police departments and a large orphanage. About 100 boys and girls who
had been abandoned, abused, and left in the care of a government-run program
were in the orphanage. They relate the following story in their own words:

It was nearing the holiday season, 1994, time for our orphans to hear, for
the first time, the traditional story of Christmas. We told them about Mary
and Joseph arriving in Bethlehem. Finding no room in the inn, the couple
went to a stable, where the baby Jesus was born and placed in a manger.

Throughout the story, the children and orphanage staff sat in amazement as
they listened. Some sat on the edges of their stools, trying to grasp every
word. Completing the story, we gave the children three small pieces of
cardboard to make a crude manger. Each child was given a small paper square,
cut from yellow napkins I had brought with me. No colored paper was
available in the city.

Following instructions, the children tore the paper and carefully laid
strips in the manger for straw. Small squares of flannel, cut from a
worn-out nightgown an American lady was throwing away as she left Russia,
were used for the baby’s blanket. A doll-like baby was cut from tan felt we
had brought from the United States.

The orphans were busy assembling their manger as I walked among them to see
if they needed any help. All went well until I got to one table where little
Misha sat. He looked to be about 6 years old and had finished his project.
As I looked at the little boy’s manger, I was startled to see not one, but
two babies in the manger. Quickly, I called for the translator to ask the
lad why there were two babies in the manger. Crossing his arms in front of
him and looking at this completed manger scene, the child began to repeat
the story very seriously.

For such a young boy, who had only heard the Christmas story once, he
related the happenings accurately.. .until he came to the part where Mary put
the baby Jesus in the manger. Then Misha started to ad-lib. He made up his
own ending to the story as he said, “And when Maria laid the baby in the
manger, Jesus looked at me and asked me if I had a place to stay. I told him
I have no mamma and I have no papa, so I don’t have any place to stay. Then
Jesus told me I could stay with him. But I told him I couldn’t, because I
didn’t have a gift to give him like everybody else did. But I wanted to stay
with Jesus so much, so I thought about what I had that maybe I could use for
a gift. I thought maybe if I kept him warm, that would be a good gift.

So I asked Jesus, “If I keep you warm, will that be a good enough gift?”

And Jesus told me, “If you keep me warm, that will be the best gift anybody
ever gave me.”

“So I got into the manger, and then Jesus looked at me and he told me I
could stay with him…for always.”

As little Misha finished his story, his eyes brimmed full of tears that
splashed down his little cheeks. Putting his hand over his face, his head
dropped to the table and his shoulders shook as he sobbed and sobbed.

The little orphan had found someone who would never abandon nor abuse him,
someone who would stay with him…FOR ALWAYS.

I’ve learned that it’s not what you have in your life, but who you have in
your life that counts.

– Author Unknown

 As an adult, camp continued to play major role in my life, as I worked as a volunteer counselor, on staff and even as a speaker at various camps.  Few things give me more joy than watching kids share that same enthusiasm that I had as a child at camp and watching them learn about themselves and grow in their relationship with Christ.  There is something about being in the outdoors, surrounded by the constant energy of kids that makes the experience none less than magical.

The experience of camp, however, is expensive.  Not all families can afford to send their children, so summer camp often remains a middle to upper class luxury.  At My Father’s House, sending a child to camp is usually last on a parent’s mind, as they struggle to find employment, housing, and the provide the basic essentials for their family.  Very few of our children have had the opportunity- camp remains as yet another thing that they will not be able to experience because of the challenges of poverty.  Sadly, these are the kids that could benefit the most from going. 

Last summer, several camps stepped up and offered full scholarships for the children at MFH to go to camp.  The kids were ecstatic- I had the opportunity of driving them out to Eagle Fern Camp, (which just so happens to be the camp of my childhood) and they could hardly contain their excitement.  They all wanted to know what the cabins looked like, who was going to be their counselors and when they could go swimming.  When we picked them up once the week was over, the excitement had really just increased.  They wanted to sing us the songs they learned, tell us about about the friends they had made and the adventures they had had.  But most amazing of all, many of these kids had developed a relationship with Christ and they couldn’t help but spill over with the way it had changed them.  Truly, for those children who had so little and had been disappointed so many times in their short lives, it was an experience of a lifetime.

 This summer, thanks to scholarships from several camps and generous donations from Gresham Ford and the Gresham Rotary Club, we have the opportunity to send even more kids to camp.  We are even able to send some of the children who were living here last summer.  Many of those families now have apartments and jobs, but still cannot afford the extra expense of camp.  One 10-year-old boy has already started marking down the days on his calendar to when he can return to Eagle Fern.  His excitement is wonderfully contagious and strangely familiar.  We can’t wait to see this same excitement on the faces of the kids currently living in our shelter.  We have truly been blessed by the opportunity to send these kids to summer camp, an experience that they surely won’t forget. 

Blessings,
Heather Wiese

Volunteer Manager

These last few weeks, it seems rebirth has been happening all around us. I’ve noticed once barren trees sprouting life, grass is starting to grow, and daffodils are exploding out of the ground in every yard. Even the sun is re-emerging after months of wet Oregon grayness, announcing the coming of spring longer and longer each passing day.

Here at the shelter, our families have seen their own rebirth, finding jobs and housing and preparing to move on…all within a two week period, eerily in rhythm with the changing season. For them, having walked in the darkness of despair and hopelessness for months, this new season is a rebirth…from homeless to home, from despair to hopefulness, from lost to found.

Death, through barren winter, through despair and loss, through the Cross of Christ, is not the end of the story. The first rays of spring sun shine through the clouds, on an empty tomb, on landscapes and lives awakening to new hope: the warmth of life resurrected and renewed. This is grace.

Sam

This is what sets My Father’s House apart. We meet the immediate needs of our residents, we motivate and hold them accountable, and we teach them life skills: parenting, budgeting, communication, and much, much more. But, most importantly, we share the experience of life with them. We work tirelessly to build healthy, deep relationships with every family who stays with us. And in this context of true community, grace is free to enter the story of each individual who passes through here.

I’m absolutely convinced that real change: the kind of change every person who comes to stay here needs, the kind of change I’ve needed, inevitably takes place through relationships…in community. It can be difficult to face those things in life that cause us shame or despair. Facing our weaknesses and struggles, and sharing them with others takes great courage and faith. Yet, this is what happens here, time and time again. And what a gift to be a part of it!

It’s not just me, either. There are countless others involved in changing lives through My Father’s House. From office help to mentoring, from modest monthly pledges to earth-shaking financial gifts, from the giving of food or clothing to faithful prayers offered in churches and living rooms across the city and state. Every beautiful thing that happens in the life of a family here is a shared joy.

I love watching it happen, day in and day out, in the lives of the moms, dads and children who live here. And through it all, I’ve been changed as well. The stories of these families have entered my story, their journeys have become a part of my journey…and I will never be the same. So, to you the reader: consider how your life might impact the life of another… how your journey may be enriched through touching the life of someone in need. For each of us has something to give, and in giving ourselves away, we have very much to gain.

Peace be with you,

Sam Pierce

Helping families transform their lives is what My Father’s House is all about, giving families the opportunity to become successful. Zig Ziggler puts it this way, “Success means doing the best we can with what we have. Success is in the doing, not the getting-in the trying, not the triumph. Success is a personal standard-reaching for the highest that is in us-becoming all that we can be.” Helping someone ‘be all they can be’ is one of the greatest rewards you can experience. Recently we received an email from a single father, Galen who left our shelter in September. He writes, “The streets hold no hope for the homeless and when you’re down and out the thought of a normal life, really doesn’t exist. With just a prayer and our loving friends at My Father’s House, Sadie and I have found new hope and trust in God. I want to thank you all, from the bottom of our hearts for being so kind and for giving us this gift.”

The challenge of success for My Father’s House, in doing the best we can with what we have, lies in 2008. Increasing from helping five families at a time to thirty will stretch and grow our entire organization. Our goal hasn’t changed, just expanded. Thankfully, our facility will be paid in full when we move in. No mortgage for us! But operating a huge 27,000 square foot building will still increase our expenses. From the very beginning, our financial goal was to have 10,000 people giving just $10 per month. But we are not quite there yet. We can’t house, teach, support, encourage and love on people without being able to pay the electric bill, gas bill, water, garbage and…well, you get the picture. We need you to partner with us in helping families transform their lives. So, if you’re wondering just how you can support My Father’s House, may I suggest helping one family at a time, by making a commitment this year of $25.00 a month. You will be glad that you have helped make a difference in transforming a family’s life forever!  Visit our website for more information!

Cathe