A Full Classroom

With the beginning of each new session I plan to take a photo in the first week. I've finally done it, although there were a couple of our ladies missing on the last day of our first week. Nevertheless, here is a picture and a reminder to pray for those in our fall classes.



Back row: Sherry, Pennie, Sandra, Tiffany, Donna
Front row: Angel, Nancy, Amber, Donna, Keri, Kim

Some of you will recognize Kim, who was one of our graduates in the spring. She has decided to come back to take our new Jobs for Life course. Kim worked many hours this summer helping us with everything from getting the clothes closets ready, to getting information out to the community, to general cleaning. She had a part in bringing some of our new participants to us and daily is a positive testimony and influence in the lives of all of us.  Remember Kim in prayer. She will have knee replacement surgery soon.

The rooms that were empty a week ago are now full of sound and activity. Although the week was shortened because of Labor Day, we had a wonderful beginning. Our first day at First Baptist Church with the mentors was so positive in every respect. After our first Jobs for Life lesson, we had lunch and Bible study. Our ladies felt welcomed and excited about the study Jeff Raines is starting on the Book of Job.

A Welcoming Space

There is a dramatic difference in our space this year thanks to the contributions of so many people. We want to share with you in this posting a little of what was and what is. As our new classes begin on Tuesday, the 6th, the men and women who begin CWJC and CMJC will have no idea of all the investment of time, work, and funds that went into giving them a lovely place to learn and to make friends.

We began a year ago in September with Mary Stephens guiding the women in the remodeling. The multi-colored room with the spattered paint was not tackled until spring. Distracting as it was, we used it as a classroom while the main classroom was being done. It now looks like a totally different room and is our lounge and second classroom. In addition to the two large rooms, the computer lab, our office, and six small rooms were redone. With new lighting, carpeting, paint and furniture, it is an inviting environment conducive to the work we will be doing. Below are some pictures of our renewed space.



 Thank you to all of you who have had a part in making this happen.



Back in the Saddle

As of the first of August  I am back at the CWJC office on a daily basis. Marilyn has been working throughout the summer and is also here daily. It was wonderful to see the new look in our space. When I left for vacation, the painting was completed, but the rooms were empty.

Marilyn O'Brien, with the help of a few others, has been working hard at getting everything put back in place after the redecorating. Supplies have been put in place, the carpet cleaned in the main classroom. etc. Cindi Palmer and Marilyn did a lot of work getting the computer lab cleared of what isn't useful to us any longer. Jack Rhine finished putting up the blinds. A couple of our graduates worked with Carolyn Strovas to finish up the sewing of the valences. They were hung this last week. Soon the furniture will be in place and what remains to be done will be done and ready to receive both the women and the men who will make up our fall classes of CWJC and CMJC.

Since the first, I have interviewed a number of women from the community and eight of them have been accepted into our program. Larry Mills is also in the process of interviewing men for the new evening CMJC program. More interviews are scheduled for the coming week and we will be accepting applications and interviewing for the rest of the month. In addition, we are expecting to have all of the new women and men from the Prisoner Reentry Education Program at Randall County in our fall sessions.

Most of the teachers we need for this session are in place. Although we have a number of mentors, we won't know about the total number needed until we finish enrolling the participants. We will have a training time for mentors on Sunday, August 28th. 

We need your prayer support in all of the preparation that is ongoing. Now that I am back I will be updating the blog every week or ten days. Thank you for reading it and keeping us in your prayers.

Telling Our Stories



Our ultimate purpose in telling stories of transformation is to bring glory to God for an experience that would not have happened without our encounter with the Lord Jesus. Many people with a story to tell ask for some guidance in the telling. The simplest outline in three points is  I. What it was like before. II. What happened. III. What it is like now.

Leigh being greeted and encouraged after sharing her story

Shortly after graduation a couple of our young women were invited to share their stories at an annual meeting of a foundation, where I was also asked to speak. Before they told their stories, I shared this poem with which many people around the world of addiction are familiar. Both those who struggle with life dominating problems and those who work with them can relate to it.

Authobiography in Five Short Chapters

I walk down the street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I fall in.

I am lost.... I am hopeless.

It isn't my fault.

It takes forever to find a way out.

I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I pretend I don't see it.

I fall in again.

I can't believe I am in the same place.

But, it isn't my fault.

It still takes a long time to get out.

I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the side walk.

I see it is there.

I still fall in... it's a habit.

My eyes  are open

I know where I am.

It is my fault.

I get out immediately.

I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I walk around it.

I walk down another street.

Portia Nelson (1980)

Many of us who are not struggling with a life dominating problem have a tendency to give up on the one who is by the end of the second chapter or surely by the third. The joy of working with the women at the Christian Women's Job Corps is walking beside those who get to the place of walking down another street. It is a special experience to hear the familiar yet unique stories of each woman and realize again what a life-transforming experience it is to come to know the Lord Jesus who lifts us out of our pits and set us on a new path.

Seeds and Signs of Growth

I'm not a gardener, but I love the happy feeling that comes with observing the sprouting of seeds and the promise of growth, change and maturity. Over the past few months I have enjoyed that sense of happiness every time I have been with some of our coffeemates (mentors and mentees) together.

When I pair our coffeemates, they begin by meeting weekly during the course of the CWJC program. I don't see their initial one-on-one interaction, which is a getting acquainted, sharing something of their stories with one another. It happens on Tuesday mornings for an hour and is followed by attending the Tuesday noon lunch and Bible study together. It is an obligatory time that must become much more than that if it is to last.

Recently one set of coffeemates has been a particular reminder to me of how each developing relationship is a living example of the uniqueness in relationships. Kim and Carolyn became coffeemates when Kim entered CWJC. I don't know now what was the basis for putting them together, but I know prayer was a part of it.

Last week when I was in the hospital following surgery, Carolyn and Kim came to see me. They brought a gift of a large cookie, some ice cream and toppings. It was obviously a "doing it together" ministry on their part to me. It reminded me of when I began seeing a lovely change in their relationship that bode well for the endurance of that relatioship.

Several months ago Kim had major surgery on her shoulder. Carolyn, who is a nurse, ministered to Kim with a pot of soup, changing the dressing after Kim was home from her surgery, offering encouragement and advice and more. A short time later Carolyn injured her elbow in a bicycle accident and Kim returned Carolyn's pot with some soup she had made.

Kim and Carolyn

In times since, they have taken their dogs together to the dog park, met for lunch, and done things not only for each other, but together for others. When Kim's friend, Jennifer, a young woman with special needs, moved into an apartment and needed absolutely everything, Kim and Carolyn together presented the need to our whole group of coffeemates. Everyone pitched in and soon Jennifer's apartment was furnished.

Carolyn and Kim have a relationship that is a growing friendship. With it comes a deepening communication -- real communication that is a result of content plus relationship.

  

Celebrating Milestones

I have to admit that I am not very good at celebrating anything. It is one of the things I need to learn to do better, since it's a very important piece of our program. We all need to stop from time to time and really look at what has been accomplished and enjoy the progress. My tendency is to see what is not finished and press on. But sometimes that gets discouraging and we all need encouragement.

Today I have decided it is time to celebrate a milestone. Last September we began the project of redecorating the space we have for the job corps at Buchanan Street Chapel. There were ceiling tiles falling in, tiles missing from the floor in places, locked closets full of things, etc.

With the leadership of Mary Stephens, the women in the fall session chose carpeting, paint for two classrooms and seven smaller rooms, and fabric for the valances. We started working for a couple of hours on Fridays - cleaning, emptying, mudding walls, and painting - and by the end of the fall session we were at a place where the ceilings could be lowered and new lighting fixtures installed. 

When we started up again in January some of the ladies were employed and our schedule didn't afford the same kind of time for consistently working on the redecorating. So, we built in a couple of Saturday workdays and added a few volunteers. Jozef and Jana were here to help. Elaine's husband came a couple of times and Jack Rhine helped out. Cindi Palmer has been a big help on a consistent basis. 

It has been a big task and we are not finished, but it is time to celebrate. The last large room was painted and the carpet has been installed. We moved furniture back into the office and some of the shelves in the supply room can be put back in place. For a moment we will pause to appreciate and enjoy was has been done.

A Servant's Heart and Hands

It is rather rare to see Marilyn O'Brien, our administrative assistant, on a platform. Usually she is moving and working quietly behind the scenes - taking phone calls and making them, formatting documents and forms, handling correspondence, snacks, transportation and doing many other generally thankless tasks.
The truth is that we would not function without her and I, especially, am most grateful for the tireless effort she puts in.

Marilyn reading Scripture at Graduation

Marilyn is the only volunteer, besides me, who is at the Christian Women's Job Corps every day that we meet. She is usually the first one there and the last one to leave. She also spends time at home working on her computer to make sure everything that we use from name tags, to notebooks, to thank you notes has the most professional look. Marilyn is a living example of Colossians 3:23: "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men."

When we are not in session, Marilyn is still working. At this time she is meeting weekly with Larry Mills and me to create a single set of application and interview forms that will be used by both the Christian Women's Job Corps and the Christian Men's Job Corps.

Although Marilyn will not have to be available in the evenings when CMJC begins, she will be serving as the administrative assistant for both CMJC and CWJC. But before the next session begins, you will find her helping with volunteer recruitment, volunteer training, and preparation of all those things that go into it.

When you thank the Lord for Christian Job Corps of Amarillo, thank Him for Marilyn O'Brien too.