I've got great news to share with you this week. Last week I wrote about a resident mom who heard that family members in Haiti were safe, but she was still waiting to hear from others. This week she received more great news that all her family members' lives were spared. Since they all lived in Port au Prince, it's really a miracle that among the estimated 200,000 dead that her family is alive!
A couple of weeks ago, I shared great news with you of a young mother and her child who graduated from our residential program after a year and a half of hard work, dedication, and determination. We've heard from her several times since she moved out and she and her young daughter are doing very well. We'll reunite with them in a week to celebrate her graduation!
Six of our resident mothers started classes at Frederick Community College this week. Three moms received full scholarships! For two moms, their financial aid was in question, but it came through at the last minute and they were able to head off to classes the first day with everyone else.
Also this week, five of our resident children received awards at school. One child received a Character Counts award for respect. Boy, was his mom beaming with pride! This child, his sibling, and three other resident children received attendance awards! One of these children missed 21 days of school in one year before coming to Hope Alive with her mom.
We are so very proud of all their accomplishments and mostly grateful to God for the dramatic changes He brings to each life. In the midst of this great news though, several moms and children have been sick, so keep them in your thoughts and prayers. Until next week ...
Sue Oehmig
Founder and Executive Director
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Monday, January 18, 2010
God answers prayer
Our attention this last week - like the entire nation – has been focused on the devastation from the Haitian earthquake. This tragedy hit close to home as one of our resident moms was born in Haiti and has family still living there. Soon after the earthquake, she got word that an aunt in Port au Prince was safe, but no word came about other family and friends. She waited for days trying to remain calm, checking available online websites for updates on survivors, and praying for her unaccounted family members.
The news reports are grim with tens of thousands missing and the dead unidentified and buried in mass unmarked graves. Her hope diminished with each passing day. As we and the country prayed with her, she tried to remain strong placing her trust in the Lord. Then finally last Friday, she was able to make contact – her uncle, aunt and 3 cousins are all fine! She still waits for word from other family members, but her hope is strengthened. Praise the Lord for answered prayers and the lives that have been spared!
Please continue to pray for her as she waits for word from others and processes this devastation to her homeland and the people she loves. Pray her Hope Alive family provides the support she and her children need through this traumatic experience. And pray God brings good out of this tragedy as His word promises and that relief will quickly come to those who are suffering.
Let us remember that we have a God who loves us more than we can ever imagine and hears our prayers. May we place our complete trust in Him and take every care and petition to the throne of grace! Until next week …
Sue Oehmig
Founder and Executive Director
The news reports are grim with tens of thousands missing and the dead unidentified and buried in mass unmarked graves. Her hope diminished with each passing day. As we and the country prayed with her, she tried to remain strong placing her trust in the Lord. Then finally last Friday, she was able to make contact – her uncle, aunt and 3 cousins are all fine! She still waits for word from other family members, but her hope is strengthened. Praise the Lord for answered prayers and the lives that have been spared!
Please continue to pray for her as she waits for word from others and processes this devastation to her homeland and the people she loves. Pray her Hope Alive family provides the support she and her children need through this traumatic experience. And pray God brings good out of this tragedy as His word promises and that relief will quickly come to those who are suffering.
Let us remember that we have a God who loves us more than we can ever imagine and hears our prayers. May we place our complete trust in Him and take every care and petition to the throne of grace! Until next week …
Sue Oehmig
Founder and Executive Director
Friday, January 8, 2010
Not good-bye but see you later
When a resident family has been at Hope Alive for a year or more, it’s so hard to say good-bye. The resident moms and children, staff and volunteers become a family and when one moves out – for whatever reason – it leaves a gaping hole and an empty place in our hearts.
This week, we experienced these emotions as a young mother and her 2 year-old graduated from the Hope Alive residential program. She’s excited to be moving out on her own for the very first time while at the same time she struggles with wanting to unpack and move back in where she feels comfortable, loved, and accepted. But we all agree this move is the right step for them.
This young family has accomplished so much in their year and a half at Hope Alive. Mom completed a year of college courses and is ready to start her third semester. She’s maintained long-term employment. She’s managing her money well and has learned the difference between wants and needs. She’s a loving and caring mother. She’s completed her counseling. Her daughter has grown into a happy and social little preschooler who makes us all laugh. And most importantly, mom not only feels loved, but has learned to love and trust others.
As we said our tearful good-byes this week, she said she couldn’t adequately express the difference Hope Alive has made in their lives. She said it’s not about the house or the services they received, but it's about the love and care they've experienced. She left knowing they have a family here and caring hearts that are always available – we are just a phone call (or text message) away. They will continue in our after care phase and receive case management and resources (as needed) for the coming year.
As she reminded us before leaving, it’s not really "good-bye", but “see you later”. We won’t experience their smiles and laughter that brighten our days, but they are always in our hearts, minds, and prayers and she’s already planning their first “visit” to Hope Alive. We couldn't be more proud!
Until next week …
Sue Oehmig
Founder and Executive Director
This week, we experienced these emotions as a young mother and her 2 year-old graduated from the Hope Alive residential program. She’s excited to be moving out on her own for the very first time while at the same time she struggles with wanting to unpack and move back in where she feels comfortable, loved, and accepted. But we all agree this move is the right step for them.
This young family has accomplished so much in their year and a half at Hope Alive. Mom completed a year of college courses and is ready to start her third semester. She’s maintained long-term employment. She’s managing her money well and has learned the difference between wants and needs. She’s a loving and caring mother. She’s completed her counseling. Her daughter has grown into a happy and social little preschooler who makes us all laugh. And most importantly, mom not only feels loved, but has learned to love and trust others.
As we said our tearful good-byes this week, she said she couldn’t adequately express the difference Hope Alive has made in their lives. She said it’s not about the house or the services they received, but it's about the love and care they've experienced. She left knowing they have a family here and caring hearts that are always available – we are just a phone call (or text message) away. They will continue in our after care phase and receive case management and resources (as needed) for the coming year.
As she reminded us before leaving, it’s not really "good-bye", but “see you later”. We won’t experience their smiles and laughter that brighten our days, but they are always in our hearts, minds, and prayers and she’s already planning their first “visit” to Hope Alive. We couldn't be more proud!
Until next week …
Sue Oehmig
Founder and Executive Director
Thursday, December 24, 2009
The true meaning of Christmas
This entire month we’ve experienced an outpouring of love and care from individuals and groups from all over the Frederick County community and beyond. Christmas gifts for the resident families, charitable contributions, gift cards, food, and items from our wish list have been delivered in abundance.
A Hope Alive volunteer delivered Christmas gifts on Tuesday from his family and stayed to play a while with the children throwing snow balls with them to knock the icicles off the roof and giving them piggy back rides. They gave him a big group hug for the fun they enjoyed.
This morning a local pastor dropped off handmade jewelry that was delivered to her doorstep by someone who was unemployed. This individual wanted to offer something to those in need at this time of year and felt the handmade gifts were all he could afford. My heart was so touched when I saw the beautiful beaded bracelets taped to brown paper and tucked inside a Christmas card with the handwritten message, “May the Lord bless you always.”
Also this morning I received an email from a friend who said a local Frederick merchant delivered a $100 check to her for Hope Alive instead of their employees doing Secret Santa gifts. Yesterday she had a visit from the woodcarver who made the bear that stands in front of their store – Dancing Bear Toys in downtown Frederick. He made them a new bear – a dancing one! – free of charge but asked that they auction off their original bear and donate the money to Hope Alive.
These expressions of love – and so many others – beautifully represent the true meaning of Christmas when God poured out His great love for us all through the gift of His Son Jesus.
“For God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not die, but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to be its judge, but to be its Savior.” John 3:16
Merry Christmas! Until next week …
Sue Oehmig
Founder and Executive Director
A Hope Alive volunteer delivered Christmas gifts on Tuesday from his family and stayed to play a while with the children throwing snow balls with them to knock the icicles off the roof and giving them piggy back rides. They gave him a big group hug for the fun they enjoyed.
This morning a local pastor dropped off handmade jewelry that was delivered to her doorstep by someone who was unemployed. This individual wanted to offer something to those in need at this time of year and felt the handmade gifts were all he could afford. My heart was so touched when I saw the beautiful beaded bracelets taped to brown paper and tucked inside a Christmas card with the handwritten message, “May the Lord bless you always.”
Also this morning I received an email from a friend who said a local Frederick merchant delivered a $100 check to her for Hope Alive instead of their employees doing Secret Santa gifts. Yesterday she had a visit from the woodcarver who made the bear that stands in front of their store – Dancing Bear Toys in downtown Frederick. He made them a new bear – a dancing one! – free of charge but asked that they auction off their original bear and donate the money to Hope Alive.
These expressions of love – and so many others – beautifully represent the true meaning of Christmas when God poured out His great love for us all through the gift of His Son Jesus.
“For God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not die, but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to be its judge, but to be its Savior.” John 3:16
Merry Christmas! Until next week …
Sue Oehmig
Founder and Executive Director
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Milestones big and small
Last week was a milestone week at Hope Alive. Our youngest resident - 5 months old - started sitting in a high chair to eat his cereal. He looks like such a big boy! Our next youngest resident - 10 months old - started walking! He took his first step a week ago and by the end of the week he had taken off. He was exceptionally mobile at 8 months old so walking at 10 months was no surprise to his mother, other resident moms, and staff. With his first step in our children's center, everyone came running to celebrate this important milestone in his life. There's no stopping him now!
Also last week, 5 of our resident moms celebrated the successful end to their fall semester at Frederick Community College. One mom was so relieved that her anatomy and physiology class was over (in addition to her other three classes) and she felt pretty confident about her final exam. She's scheduled to graduate with her AA degree in May 2010! Another mom proudly announced that she had passed her final exam in english and finished the semester with an 3.8 grade point average. Another mom is expecting to receive her high school diploma in a few weeks since finishing the course work at the end of November!
As Christmas approaches, don't forget to finish your holiday shopping online through GoodShop.com with a percentage of every online purchase going to support our ministry to homeless women and children - just check Hope Alive as your charity of choice. Check out our December newsletter at www.hopealiveministries.org - you'll enjoy the photos of our resident families and their messages of life-change and hope. As you prepare for the coming of Christmas, be sure to prepare your hearts for the birth of the Christ child - Jesus the Christ who came to give us abundant life and hope! Until next week ...
Sue Oehmig
Founder and Executive Director
Also last week, 5 of our resident moms celebrated the successful end to their fall semester at Frederick Community College. One mom was so relieved that her anatomy and physiology class was over (in addition to her other three classes) and she felt pretty confident about her final exam. She's scheduled to graduate with her AA degree in May 2010! Another mom proudly announced that she had passed her final exam in english and finished the semester with an 3.8 grade point average. Another mom is expecting to receive her high school diploma in a few weeks since finishing the course work at the end of November!
As Christmas approaches, don't forget to finish your holiday shopping online through GoodShop.com with a percentage of every online purchase going to support our ministry to homeless women and children - just check Hope Alive as your charity of choice. Check out our December newsletter at www.hopealiveministries.org - you'll enjoy the photos of our resident families and their messages of life-change and hope. As you prepare for the coming of Christmas, be sure to prepare your hearts for the birth of the Christ child - Jesus the Christ who came to give us abundant life and hope! Until next week ...
Sue Oehmig
Founder and Executive Director
Sunday, December 6, 2009
The healing journey
Last week I had breakfast with a dear friend who led the development efforts of Hope Alive's program services. She had attended a mental health conference the day before and shared some fascinating information with me. She explained that with individuals suffering from mental illness, there can be a lack of development or blockage in the prefrontal lobe of the brain where the "executive functions" occur such as memory, reasoning, decision-making, and problem solving. This problem can be compounded by substance abuse. Only after a woman has been clean and sober for a year or longer does she begin to deal with the emotional issues that have started to rise to the surface. Through therapy, healing, training, and coaching, the development of the executive function of the brain takes place.
So what does all this mean for Hope Alive? As my friend listened to the conference presenter, she began to see Hope Alive's need to serve as this executive function as a large percentage of homeless women suffer from these issues. It will mean more training in this area for our staff, greater tolerance, patience and grace for slow progress, and even more intense coaching and training for our women as they legitimately need longer to gain the skills and functioning needed to achieve self-sufficiency. As we have over the past 3 years, we continue to dedicate ourselves to developing the most effective residential ministry possible to end the cycle of homelessness for the families we serve.
On a different note, we have been amazed at God's outpouring of support this holiday season ... from generous donors, faithful volunteers, and individuals and organizations holding special fundraising events to benefit Hope Alive as well as "adopting" our families for Christmas. God is faithful and pouring out His abundant blessings to meet the ministry's needs. I pray you had a blessed Thanksgiving and are preparing your hearts to celebrate the birth of the Christ child. Until next week.
Sue Oehmig
Founder and Executive Director
So what does all this mean for Hope Alive? As my friend listened to the conference presenter, she began to see Hope Alive's need to serve as this executive function as a large percentage of homeless women suffer from these issues. It will mean more training in this area for our staff, greater tolerance, patience and grace for slow progress, and even more intense coaching and training for our women as they legitimately need longer to gain the skills and functioning needed to achieve self-sufficiency. As we have over the past 3 years, we continue to dedicate ourselves to developing the most effective residential ministry possible to end the cycle of homelessness for the families we serve.
On a different note, we have been amazed at God's outpouring of support this holiday season ... from generous donors, faithful volunteers, and individuals and organizations holding special fundraising events to benefit Hope Alive as well as "adopting" our families for Christmas. God is faithful and pouring out His abundant blessings to meet the ministry's needs. I pray you had a blessed Thanksgiving and are preparing your hearts to celebrate the birth of the Christ child. Until next week.
Sue Oehmig
Founder and Executive Director
Friday, November 20, 2009
Every day life-change
I am continually amazed at the tremendous life-change God brings to our resident families at Hope Alive every day. This week one of our resident moms couldn't wait to announce she had completed all the work required for her external degree program and she could have her high school diploma in hand by year-end. Now she's enrolling for the spring semester at Frederick Community College and just took her placement tests this week. She couldn't wait to tell EVERYONE she had passed her math and english placement tests and was ready to sign up for her spring classes. As we talked about her success, she shared that this was a dream she never thought she'd achieve.
Also this week, another mom's testimony for our Christmas newsletter provided a strong message about the new life God has granted her and her two children. Her son no longer kicks and fights with his teacher, but she received the best report ever on his changed behavior when she went for her parent/teacher conference. Her daughter is getting As and Bs instead of blank papers marked with an F. Check out the Christmas issue online in early December at hopealiveministries.org - you don't want to miss this family's amazing story.
In this Thanksgiving season - and every day - we are especially grateful to God for all He has done and continues to do in the life of this ministry and every family we serve. Thanks for your love and support as we work together to serve families in need.
On a different note ... we have something new and exciting we'd like to share with you just in time for the shopping season! It's the new Hope Alive toolbar - once added to IE or Foxfire, each time you shop at more than 1,300 stores (Amazon to Zazzle!) a percentage of your purchase will automatically be donated to Hope Alive - at no cost to you (and you may even save money as the toolbar provides hundreds of great coupons and deals!). The toolbar also has a search box and each time you search the Internet, about a penny is donated to Hope Alive. http://www.goodsearch.com/toolbar/hope-alive. I just purchased my grandson's birthday gift this way and I feel great knowing that I got him exactly what he wanted AND a percentage was going to benefit Hope Alive families. Please pass this along to all of your friends. The two minutes it takes to add this toolbar to your browser can make a difference of a lifetime! Until next week ...
Sue Oehmig
Founder and Executive Director
Also this week, another mom's testimony for our Christmas newsletter provided a strong message about the new life God has granted her and her two children. Her son no longer kicks and fights with his teacher, but she received the best report ever on his changed behavior when she went for her parent/teacher conference. Her daughter is getting As and Bs instead of blank papers marked with an F. Check out the Christmas issue online in early December at hopealiveministries.org - you don't want to miss this family's amazing story.
In this Thanksgiving season - and every day - we are especially grateful to God for all He has done and continues to do in the life of this ministry and every family we serve. Thanks for your love and support as we work together to serve families in need.
On a different note ... we have something new and exciting we'd like to share with you just in time for the shopping season! It's the new Hope Alive toolbar - once added to IE or Foxfire, each time you shop at more than 1,300 stores (Amazon to Zazzle!) a percentage of your purchase will automatically be donated to Hope Alive - at no cost to you (and you may even save money as the toolbar provides hundreds of great coupons and deals!). The toolbar also has a search box and each time you search the Internet, about a penny is donated to Hope Alive. http://www.goodsearch.com/toolbar/hope-alive. I just purchased my grandson's birthday gift this way and I feel great knowing that I got him exactly what he wanted AND a percentage was going to benefit Hope Alive families. Please pass this along to all of your friends. The two minutes it takes to add this toolbar to your browser can make a difference of a lifetime! Until next week ...
Sue Oehmig
Founder and Executive Director
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