Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Who Are You?

We recently interviewed one of the kids.  We asked him, "Who are you?"  He answered with something we have been teaching the kids.  We hope you are as encouraged as we are, and that you will let his answer sink deep in to your heart!  Those who know Jesus can answer the same way...



If you had trouble understanding what he was saying, he said, "I am the son of a loving father..."

-- Behind Every Door Ministries

Monday, June 27, 2011

Village Oaks Harvest!


The Kids Club Garden at Village Oaks is growing quickly!  Jerry Burns stopped by the other day to give us some tips about weeding and plant maintenance.  The kids got to work with the help of some of the adult residents, and we were recently able to harvest some of the vegetables!

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

-- Behind Every Door Ministries

Friday, June 24, 2011

The Pep Rally...or...Community Meeting

 

One of our "vision verses" at Village Oaks is from the book of Jeremiah.  It is a call in part to "seek the peace" of the city.  And so, to see little encouraging signs along the way is...well, encouraging! 

We had an incredible Community Meeting on Tuesday evening.  There were 56 people present to support (and celebrate) a safer, cleaner, and better community!

We kicked off the meeting with a report from the Dallas Police Department.  They announced that there had been no reported crime in the previous 30 days!  That makes 60 straight days of unreported crime at Village Oaks!  At this announcement, the room erupted with applause and cheering.  We felt like we were at a pep rally.

After DPD spoke, we heard from DART about their efforts to support our community.  In April, DART partially suspended a route that serves our area.  As a community, we asked that this decision be re-evaluated and that we be included in the process.  DART agreed, and we have been working together towards a safer bus route.  On Tuesday, DART was present to announce their investment in our community: new bus stops, better lighting, and a partial reinstatement of the route!  Again, the room burst in to applause and cheering.  The pep rally continued.

We finished the meeting with a word from a resident.  He shared that he enjoyed living in this community and that it was improving.  He thanked DART for their willingness to listen and invest in our community.  He celebrated where we have come to and closed out our pep rally with cheering and applause.

We still have a ways to go, but we also have much to celebrate.  Let's not lose sight of the work that God is already doing here, and let's be sure to celebrate often the work God is doing!

 

-- Will Dowell & Dean Wilson

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Willow Pond VBS 2011!

The Willow Pond Vacation Bible School was last week and we had a good time!  Thank you to Faith Church for leading us throughout the week, and to all of the volunteers who made friends and helped make the week such a fun time.  Enjoy the pictures below!

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

-- Behind Every Door Ministries

Monday, June 20, 2011

Village Oaks Day Camp

The Day Camp at Village Oaks is under way and the kids are really enjoying it.  We have been participating in a variety of activities from arts and crafts to guitar lessons.  Check back often for updates, but check out some pictures of what we have been doing so far...

Reading Club:


Making Pillows:

 

Guitar Lessons:

 
 

Swimming:


Math Champs:


Around the World Math Competition:

 
 
 

-- Behind Every Door Ministries

Friday, June 17, 2011

Behind Every Door June Update

Here is the Behind Every Door update for June.  If you do not receive these, head over to our website (www.behindeverydoor.net) and click on "Receive Our Email Updates."  Type in your email address and we will make sure you get these each month.

Scars. A reminder of where we’ve been. And a friend said they can remind us of where we don’t want to go again.

When I sat down with 21 year-old Crystal at Village Oaks to learn her story, I noticed a scar next to her left eye.  I asked her about it. Let’s just say it is a reminder of somewhere she doesn’t want to go again.

Crystal’s story began in the home of her parents. At age 5 she went to live with her grandmother in Arlington.  At 16, she was back with her father. He was “in his addiction” in her words. She ended up at Promise House and Our Friends Place—where she lived when she graduated from high school.

After hearing about the darkness and difficulty, I asked Crystal if ages 16-21 might be described as “one big scar.” “Yes it is!” Do you ever get tempted to go back? Her response, give or take a couple “no’s”: “No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.” With hands waving and head shaking.

What was the bottom? Her response: “I don’t know a lot of 21-year-old people who could survive 5 months at an actual homeless shelter.”

“I had to swallow a lot of pride. I had nowhere else to go,” she said. “I saw things there that I had never seen before. It was a whole new world.”

She was giving me a timeline of events. August 23, 2010: first day at the shelter. February 7, 2011: got the key to her very own apartment at Village Oaks through the Gateway Program. March 7, 2011: Got a job at TGIF restaurant downtown.

You got a thing with dates? “I remember the good ones,” she said. “Those 3 dates were the starting of something new.”  She remembers the good ones.  The scar reminds her of where she doesn’t want to go again.

What about God?

“For a while I didn’t feel close to Him. But I knew He was there. When I started to get to rock bottom, I wanted Him to pick me up.”

Do you talk to Him?

“Yes. Same thing as me sitting here talking to you.”

She has dreams for the future. Wants 2 kids. Not sure about a husband. “I’ve been hurt so bad,” she says.

An hour after we stopped talking, Crystal came back into the office.  I was talking to a couple of our police officers when she quietly handed me 3 sheets of paper and said, “I want you to read this.”  It was something she had written while she was at the homeless shelter.

"...I am no longer a lost soul but a discovered precious jewel," she wrote.

In a different section she talked about the “house” of her old life: “But now I have called the demolition crew and knocked the house down. It’s now a clean glass house that you can see thru. When you look in the glass you can see the blessings of God and how he blessed me to be able to re-live again, covered with His blood.”

Jesus knew something about scars.  “…by His wounds we are healed,” declares Isaiah. He knows something about Crystal’s scars, too.  And mine. And yours.

Scars. By ours we can be reminded of where we’ve been and don’t want to go again. By His, we’re healed.

-- Dean Wilson

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Our Friend Rickey Brown


"I finished something. I graduated."

Those are the triumphant words of Rickey Brown, a graduate of the Gateway Program at Village Oaks after 2 years. He is moving on to the "Shelter Plus" Program in North Dallas.

He quotes Romans 8:28: "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to His purpose."

He came to Village Oaks with nothing but his backpack.  "Now I gotta get a U-Haul truck!"

He came weighed down after years in the grip of drugs and alcohol. "The elephant got lifted off my shoulders!"

He came without spiritual sight. "Scales came off and I can see now. And I'm seein' good things."

Rickey has gotten a taste of abundance.  Literally, in one case.  He won the raffle at our holiday party--a turkey dinner.  For 12 people. "I was eating really well...well after New Year's."

But it's the abundance on the inside that Rickey talks about the most.  He says he "stepped into" the abundant life. He talks about his last conversations with his mother as she was dying.  He made some big decisions in those days following her death.

Rickey's been to the bottom. "I've been down already. I'm tryin' to go up."
Congratulations, Rickey, on your graduation.  That's a big accomplishment.  May God continue to work all things together for your good.

-- Dean Wilson

Monday, June 13, 2011

Village Oaks Beautification Day

The Village Oaks Beautification Day was a blast!  Over 30 residents came out to help plant flowers, and the community looks great!  Enjoy the pictures below!

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

-- Behind Every Door Ministries