Fall Festivals Today!

Today we are hosting Fall Festivals at Willow Pond and Village Oaks.  If you would like to attend, here are the schedules:

Village Oaks - 3:30 to 6pm

Willow Pond - 4:30 to 7pm.

-- Behind Every Door Ministries

The Great Paint Explosion

 

The hope for our Willow Pond Community Garden was to bring the community together - to work together and hope together. It happened sooner and more spontaneously than we thought.

The fence was installed on Saturday, thanks to Generous Men of Texas and Lowe's.  The following Monday brought a school holiday and an explosion of paint and community.  It began with one father dutifully helping his son to do community service that had been assigned to him because of an infraction. When all the paint brushes appeared from the maintenance department, the event evolved into a day long relay of kids alternately painting and playing.

As I looked around the homework table at Kid's Club the following day, I saw the tell tale signs of oil based paint still in hair and eyebrows and forearms. It was a sign of personal investment and ownership.  Now the garden was theirs!

-- Suzanne Wallace

Employing the Unemployable

 

A recent Friday was a big day.  We recently secured jobs for three of the Real Men at Village Oaks.  This has been a long process that started with a vision from Jesus: employ the unemployable.

Many of the men at our properties do not work.  For some, this is a choice.  But, for others it is simply a painful reality.

Many of these men get involved in things that put them in prison.  Once they get out, finding a job is very hard.  One of the men who recently got a job struggled for three years to find a job, support his family, and be a father to three kids.  But, he took the little work that came his way, jumped head first in to the community at Village Oaks, and believed whole-heartedly that God would take care of him.  God did.  He is now a foreman on a home construction crew here in Dallas.  His bosses sing his praises and Anthony just keeps singing Jesus’ praises.

For another one of the men (pictured at the top of this post wearing a Real Men shirt), he jumped from temp agency to temp agency, work project to work project struggling to find long-term work.  He ended up at Village Oaks and the Lord brought us a job to give to him.  He is now on a grounds crew that takes care of Village Oaks.  We are praying that this crew continues to grow their clients in the South Oak Cliff area, which would increase the hours for this crew and create more jobs.

We are so thankful for the work that Jesus is doing to take care of His children.  And, we are thankful that He included us in His endeavor to employ the ones that the world calls "unemployable."  To Jesus, these are His kids.

If you would like to get involved with us to "employ the unemployable," please contact us.

-- Will Dowell

Real Men

It is incredible what God is doing in and through the Real Men at Village Oaks.  More stories to come, but here are a few pictures to tide you over.

  

-- Behind Every Door Ministries

Costumes!

The costumes are coming for our Fall Festival!

 

-- Behind Every Door Ministries

Behind Every Door October Update!

The Kids Clubs at Village Oaks and Willow Pond are packed these days! What a joy. Suzanne and Rickey at Willow Pond report that daily attendance has essentially doubled versus last year.  Homework help, tutoring, learning the character traits, Bible study and discipleship...what a joy! We have learned that grades are going up among many of the kids. Thank you Lord!

The other day a few of the kids wrote thank-you letters to some of our friends.  One of the letters said: "Since I have been living in Village Oaks it has changed my life because Village Oaks is a good community and Village Oaks community makes us want to change our lives."

Another one: "When we didn't have a community center it was hard on family's that can't find anything for their kids to do on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Now that we have the community center it's easy on kids. Right after school kids go straight to the community center after school. While their at the community center after (school) they do their homework and have fun."

Another one said: "I like Village Oaks because it is a good place to live. They have a new park, a new basketball court where kids play on. Village Oaks is a great place to live. It's a big place. The community center is a great place too. The Learning Center is in the community center. You can get help on your homework there too." 

Village Oaks is a great place to live, she wrote.  Praise the Lord! The day after we closed escrow to buy Village Oaks we had a prayer service in the middle of the property.  Our friend John Wallace made a declaration that day: "This is God's land!" Then he read from Isaiah 43.  "See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland."  The passage goes on "...because I provide water in the desert and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my chosen, the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise." 

We proclaim the praise of the Lord today for all He has done, is doing, and will do.

For the decreasing of violence and crime.
For the friendships.
For the generosity of so many friends to bless the residents of Village Oaks.
For the sense of community that is growing.
For the dozens of men in the Real Men groups who have come to Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior.
For the discipleship taking place in the Women of Wisdom and Real Men groups for younger boys and girls at both properties.
For the literal new garments being worn.  And, as we talk about with our friends at Village Oaks...we thank God for the garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.
For the "oaks" of righteousness that are being grown in front of our very eyes.  A planting of the Lord for the display of His splendor.

*****

Blessings on you, friends. We send you a hug in Jesus and thank you for your partnership in the Gospel.

-- Behind Every Door Ministries

Willow Pond Garden!

Thanks to everyone who till the ground, prepare the area, build the fence, and then paint it!

 

-- Behind Every Door Ministries

Freedom

We invite you to join with us in celebrating what God is doing at Village Oaks!  On Wednesday nights at 7pm there is an addiction recovery meeting.  This meeting is packed with people who are free and people who want to be free.  This community is incredible to be part of.  Every week we are all reminded that we are broken people, but also that there is a perfect God who loves us broken people perfectly.

 

  

-- Behind Every Door Ministries

Women of Wisdom

 

-- Behind Every Door Ministries

Village Oaks Kids Club

The Kids Club is packed these days!  And, we now have 5 working computers that are used for email throughout the day, and homework and school projects after school.  Thank you again to Robert for his generous donation of time and resources!

 

 

 

 

  

 

  

-- Behind Every Door Ministries

Life in the Living Room

If you are ever in the area, stop by the Village Oaks Living Room!  There is great conversation, ESPN, and good coffee.  Here are some scenes...

 

-- Behind Every Door Ministries

Upgrades at Village Oaks!

We have just begun upgrading some of the apartments at Village Oaks!  Check out the new appliances, counter tops, cabinets, and floors!  We also installed new ceiling fans and light fixtures.  These look great!

 

-- Behind Every Door

The Investment

"What are you planning to do with your life?"  I asked this question one of our kids who is going into high school.

"I want to be a businessman or do something with science."

"That is a good answer to a question that I didn’t ask you," I said.  “That answer would be to the question, 'what job do you want to have someday.'  I am asking something different.  You only have one life to invest.  What are you going to do with it and how are you going to invest it?”

He sat thoughtfully and then said, “I want to be a good husband and a good father.”

“That,” I replied, “is a wise investment!”

-- Suzanne Wallace