I think I’ve seen more Santa’s Workshops advertised this year than ever before. Traditionally they are holiday shopping experiences for children to purchase reasonably priced gifts for family members. Last year my granddaughter shopped for her mom and dad, younger brother, dog Remmie and grandparents at the Santa’s Workshop in her elementary school. I still have my treasured votive candle, cologne, and reindeer bread basket she bought especially for me. But what’s most meaningful is the love that she expressed through her gift-giving.
Here at Hope Alive we too have a Santa’s Workshop each year. The sign went up this week on our conference room door where shopping bags of donated gifts are sorted so our resident moms and children can shop for each other. With little or no income, Christmas shopping is a luxury homeless families cannot afford. So Santa’s Workshop gives our moms the dignity they deserve by allowing them to provide gifts for their children. More importantly, it’s an expression of an outpouring of love and hope! They are overwhelmed by the gifts given for them! They can hardly believe that strangers care so much for families they have never met. We know this is just one more way God reaches into their hearts and souls to embrace them with His life-changing love!
Thank you to all who make this lavish expression of love possible. Thank you for keeping hope alive for each precious life we serve. My prayer for you is that you will know God’s indescribable love by receiving the gift of His Son Jesus this Christmas. Until next week …
Sue Oehmig
Founder and Executive Director
Friday, December 10, 2010
Friday, December 3, 2010
Holy moments
Yesterday, I received a weekly e-mail update from my church. Reading through the information about worship and activities for next week, I clicked on the YouTube link – Hallelujah in the Mall – “to put some lift in your holiday spirit”. As I watched the video, a peaceful feeling came over me. The video showed an outbreak of the Hallelujah Chorus from choir members strategically seated in the mall’s eatery. As the shoppers caught on to what was happening, a holy hush came over the crowd. The highlight for me was a brief moment captured by the videographer where a mother lovingly reached down to hold her young child’s hand. By the end of the Chorus, many of the observers were on their feet singing with the choir and lifting holy hands in praise to God Almighty. It was a holy moment in the midst of the Christmas rush. (Check out the link at http://www.youtube.com/user/AlphabetPhotography.)
This is the essence of Christmas. We need to put aside the busyness of the season – the absorption in the shopping, gift wrapping, decorating, and parties - and reach out in love to create holy moments offering praise to God for the indescribable gift of His Son Jesus who came to offer us peace and eternal life.
At Hope Alive, we experience holy moments almost every day with the lavish outpouring of love and compassion that we receive this time of year – from the bountiful Thanksgiving meal provided for our resident families to the hand crocheted caps and blankets made by loving hands for our two new babies on the way to the caring notes of encouragement and support written by donors and volunteers. Through every act of kindness and love, we experience the presence and love of God – truly a holy moment!
Please take time to share your holy moments with us and others to help us focus on the real reason for the season. May you and your family be blessed with a peace-filled holy holiday.
Until next week …
Sue Oehmig
Founder and Executive Director
P.S. Remember to use GoodShop - http://www.goodsearch.com/goodshop.aspx - for your online holiday shopping (complete with coupons) to take the stress out of your days. And by choosing Hope Alive as your charity, your gift giving will also benefit our resident families!
This is the essence of Christmas. We need to put aside the busyness of the season – the absorption in the shopping, gift wrapping, decorating, and parties - and reach out in love to create holy moments offering praise to God for the indescribable gift of His Son Jesus who came to offer us peace and eternal life.
At Hope Alive, we experience holy moments almost every day with the lavish outpouring of love and compassion that we receive this time of year – from the bountiful Thanksgiving meal provided for our resident families to the hand crocheted caps and blankets made by loving hands for our two new babies on the way to the caring notes of encouragement and support written by donors and volunteers. Through every act of kindness and love, we experience the presence and love of God – truly a holy moment!
Please take time to share your holy moments with us and others to help us focus on the real reason for the season. May you and your family be blessed with a peace-filled holy holiday.
Until next week …
Sue Oehmig
Founder and Executive Director
P.S. Remember to use GoodShop - http://www.goodsearch.com/goodshop.aspx - for your online holiday shopping (complete with coupons) to take the stress out of your days. And by choosing Hope Alive as your charity, your gift giving will also benefit our resident families!
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Much to be thankful for
Tomorrow is turkey day, but more importantly it’s a time to stop and give thanks to God for His abundant blessings in our lives. We have much to be thankful for!
The middle of last week, a new family moved in to Hope Alive – a beautiful young family who has been struggling with housing instability and multiple challenges since they were displaced by hurricane Katrina over five years ago. As an ex-marine, this young mother was determined to find a better life for her family so she left New Orleans with a baby and young son to live with family members in our area.
Since then she’s been moving from house to house. Throughout this time, she continued working, walking 3 miles each way. They hadn’t slept in a bed since June except for the week in the Econolodge before coming to Hope Alive. Her son has been in 11 schools, but now with the stability they’ve found at Hope Alive he can begin to enjoy his childhood. He just learned to ride a bike for the first time yesterday. Her preschooler danced through our children’s center this morning saying she just loves her big new house. In one short week, this mom has accomplished more than most moms do in their first month here.
Her one wish for Christmas was a bed and a roof over their heads. Thanks to God’s love and faithfulness, their wish was granted in time for Thanksgiving. Tomorrow will be an especially wonderful day for this family.
You can read her inspiring story online in tomorrow’s Gazette. Makes you stop and think doesn’t it? I know it does me. We take so much for granted and easily forget about the basics of life that most of us are blessed with in this country. I pray that tomorrow will be a time of reflection and gratitude to God for all He has done in our lives and the marvelous ways He cares for us each day.
Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise.
Give thanks to Him; bless His name.
For the Lord is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting,
And His faithfulness to all generations.
Psalm 100:4-5
The middle of last week, a new family moved in to Hope Alive – a beautiful young family who has been struggling with housing instability and multiple challenges since they were displaced by hurricane Katrina over five years ago. As an ex-marine, this young mother was determined to find a better life for her family so she left New Orleans with a baby and young son to live with family members in our area.
Since then she’s been moving from house to house. Throughout this time, she continued working, walking 3 miles each way. They hadn’t slept in a bed since June except for the week in the Econolodge before coming to Hope Alive. Her son has been in 11 schools, but now with the stability they’ve found at Hope Alive he can begin to enjoy his childhood. He just learned to ride a bike for the first time yesterday. Her preschooler danced through our children’s center this morning saying she just loves her big new house. In one short week, this mom has accomplished more than most moms do in their first month here.
Her one wish for Christmas was a bed and a roof over their heads. Thanks to God’s love and faithfulness, their wish was granted in time for Thanksgiving. Tomorrow will be an especially wonderful day for this family.
You can read her inspiring story online in tomorrow’s Gazette. Makes you stop and think doesn’t it? I know it does me. We take so much for granted and easily forget about the basics of life that most of us are blessed with in this country. I pray that tomorrow will be a time of reflection and gratitude to God for all He has done in our lives and the marvelous ways He cares for us each day.
Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise.
Give thanks to Him; bless His name.
For the Lord is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting,
And His faithfulness to all generations.
Psalm 100:4-5
Happy Thanksgiving! Until next week ...
Sue Oehmig
Founder and Executive Director
Thursday, November 11, 2010
"I got the house!"
“I got the house! I got the house!” These words echoed through the halls at Hope Alive first thing Monday morning. One of our resident families ready to move to our after-care phase had been patiently searching for “affordable” housing in the Thurmont area. The call she had been waiting for came Monday morning. This is one of the major milestones a Hope Alive family can achieve while participating in our residential program, but it’s only the first step in a brand new life filled with hope and a future. They are moving out this weekend absolutely thrilled to have their very own place to call home. And the best part is they are still close to Hope Alive and the support network she’s created for her family. In her excitement over the news, she raised her hands to thank God for all He has done in their lives.
The other "news" we received this week was pretty discouraging. Jody Julian (our Family Ministry Specialist) received a ruling from the Department of Social Services that our newest mom's participation in GED classes would not satisfy the state of MD’s requirement for 20 hours per week of “approved activity” to qualify for Temporary Cash Assistance (TCA) ($560 per month for a family of three). The state of MD blesses welfare recipients with a $500 cash award when passing the state GED exam, but makes no allowance (for women with children under the age of 6) to fulfill the class and study time required to pass the test. If she were taking college classes, however, she would be credited with one hour of "approved activity" for each credit hour taken in addition to an allowance for study time. If her children were over the age of six, she would be required to do 30 hours per week of "approved activity" to receive TCA benefits, but she would be credited 10 hours per week for time spent in GED classes and on homework. Make sense? Not to us!
So what does all this mean for our young mother who is committed to working hard to change her life? It means this young mother will be spending 20 hours per week in GED classes plus homework time to prepare for the state exam plus 20 hours per week of community service to satisfy the "approved activity" requirement plus 36 hours in a job readiness program next week plus directed job search for 40 hours over the following 3 weeks plus her mental health appointments plus appointments for her children’s physical health plus social service appointments, etc. And don't forget about her children that she needs to feed, bathe, love, and play with. But with Hope Alive’s assistance and God’s faithful provision, she will earn her GED, land a descent job, and one day shout, “I got the house!”
This is just one issue in a growing list of injustices we are discovering within the “system”. Thanks for your interest and continued support in the important work God has called us to do. I won’t be writing next week, but check back the week of Thanksgiving. Thanks for reading!
Sue Oehmig
Founder and Executive Director
The other "news" we received this week was pretty discouraging. Jody Julian (our Family Ministry Specialist) received a ruling from the Department of Social Services that our newest mom's participation in GED classes would not satisfy the state of MD’s requirement for 20 hours per week of “approved activity” to qualify for Temporary Cash Assistance (TCA) ($560 per month for a family of three). The state of MD blesses welfare recipients with a $500 cash award when passing the state GED exam, but makes no allowance (for women with children under the age of 6) to fulfill the class and study time required to pass the test. If she were taking college classes, however, she would be credited with one hour of "approved activity" for each credit hour taken in addition to an allowance for study time. If her children were over the age of six, she would be required to do 30 hours per week of "approved activity" to receive TCA benefits, but she would be credited 10 hours per week for time spent in GED classes and on homework. Make sense? Not to us!
So what does all this mean for our young mother who is committed to working hard to change her life? It means this young mother will be spending 20 hours per week in GED classes plus homework time to prepare for the state exam plus 20 hours per week of community service to satisfy the "approved activity" requirement plus 36 hours in a job readiness program next week plus directed job search for 40 hours over the following 3 weeks plus her mental health appointments plus appointments for her children’s physical health plus social service appointments, etc. And don't forget about her children that she needs to feed, bathe, love, and play with. But with Hope Alive’s assistance and God’s faithful provision, she will earn her GED, land a descent job, and one day shout, “I got the house!”
This is just one issue in a growing list of injustices we are discovering within the “system”. Thanks for your interest and continued support in the important work God has called us to do. I won’t be writing next week, but check back the week of Thanksgiving. Thanks for reading!
Sue Oehmig
Founder and Executive Director
Friday, November 5, 2010
Hope is where I'm supposed to be
Two weeks ago a new family moved in to Hope Alive. Their first week with us was a huge transition for this young mother and her two little preschoolers - new house, new bed, new people, new day care, new home! The staff lovingly worked with this family to help make a smooth transition. For the first couple of days there were many tears from her children as they tried to figure it all out. But it wasn’t long before they had made new friends with our other youngest residents, were enjoying the playground and feeling at home.
Yesterday I watched these two young children in Abba’s Angels (our child development program for infant through preschool). The little girl was happily preparing breakfast in the play kitchen. She and her “guest” were eating honey buns and apples. Her younger brother was busy babbling to the staff as we assembled for prayer. Both of them excitedly joined our prayer circle to hold hands with the new adults in their lives that they have so quickly come to know and trust.
These are just a few of the comments their mother has made since they arrived … “I knew I needed to consider a solution to moving from place to place. When I called one day and “HOPE” appeared on my caller ID I knew this is where I am supposed to be.” “Beside a couple of family members, I have never trusted anyone to care for my child as much as I do Miss Ashley.” “What I like about this place is no one looks down on you because you are homeless; they just understand.”
This family has started attending a local church. Mom started her GED classes this week knowing her children are safe and well cared for. In just a few short weeks, this young family has found new stability in their lives and hope of a future. Thank you for making this possible by your support and interest in the work God has called us to do. Until next week …
Sue Oehmig
Founder and Executive Director
Yesterday I watched these two young children in Abba’s Angels (our child development program for infant through preschool). The little girl was happily preparing breakfast in the play kitchen. She and her “guest” were eating honey buns and apples. Her younger brother was busy babbling to the staff as we assembled for prayer. Both of them excitedly joined our prayer circle to hold hands with the new adults in their lives that they have so quickly come to know and trust.
These are just a few of the comments their mother has made since they arrived … “I knew I needed to consider a solution to moving from place to place. When I called one day and “HOPE” appeared on my caller ID I knew this is where I am supposed to be.” “Beside a couple of family members, I have never trusted anyone to care for my child as much as I do Miss Ashley.” “What I like about this place is no one looks down on you because you are homeless; they just understand.”
This family has started attending a local church. Mom started her GED classes this week knowing her children are safe and well cared for. In just a few short weeks, this young family has found new stability in their lives and hope of a future. Thank you for making this possible by your support and interest in the work God has called us to do. Until next week …
Sue Oehmig
Founder and Executive Director
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Next step of the vision
For the past month, God has been stirring my heart again for the next step of the Hope Alive vision. With three families graduating from the residential program this year, we are reminded that the lack of affordable housing in Frederick County remains a major barrier for our families that are prepared to be on their own. Of the four families that have graduated from Hope Alive, only two are able to maintain housing in Frederick County.
Our first resident family is moving from temporary rental housing – provided by a generous donor for two years – to permanent affordable housing just across the state line in PA. We celebrate their achievement, but are troubled that this mother can’t afford Frederick County’s fair market rent on her own ($1,461/month for a two bedroom apartment) and is forced to move her family away from the community that has so strongly supported them for the past 3 ½ years. She’ll be able to commute to her permanent full-time job, but she’ll most likely be searching for a new faith community and transferring her children to new schools. Hope Alive is still only a phone call and short drive away so we will continue to offer our emotional support as we always have. We’re finding that even though our families move out of Hope Alive and successfully complete the after-care phase, we never sever the ties. We will always be family!
Don't get me wrong - we have more than enough to do right now, but with Hope Alive’s improving financial stability I’m praying God will make a way for us to remove this significant barrier by exploring affordable housing options in 2011.
If you are interested in learning more about this need or joining with us in this effort to eliminate one more barrier to self sufficiency, let me know. I'd love to talk to you! Until next week …
Sue Oehmig
Founder and Executive Director
Our first resident family is moving from temporary rental housing – provided by a generous donor for two years – to permanent affordable housing just across the state line in PA. We celebrate their achievement, but are troubled that this mother can’t afford Frederick County’s fair market rent on her own ($1,461/month for a two bedroom apartment) and is forced to move her family away from the community that has so strongly supported them for the past 3 ½ years. She’ll be able to commute to her permanent full-time job, but she’ll most likely be searching for a new faith community and transferring her children to new schools. Hope Alive is still only a phone call and short drive away so we will continue to offer our emotional support as we always have. We’re finding that even though our families move out of Hope Alive and successfully complete the after-care phase, we never sever the ties. We will always be family!
Don't get me wrong - we have more than enough to do right now, but with Hope Alive’s improving financial stability I’m praying God will make a way for us to remove this significant barrier by exploring affordable housing options in 2011.
If you are interested in learning more about this need or joining with us in this effort to eliminate one more barrier to self sufficiency, let me know. I'd love to talk to you! Until next week …
Sue Oehmig
Founder and Executive Director
Friday, October 22, 2010
God appointed reunions
Last night was Hope Alive’s annual Resident Achievement Banquet. What a blessing to celebrate the Abundant Harvest that God has produced in the lives of our resident families! As promised, it was truly an inspiring evening hearing the successes and testimonies shared by our resident moms. There was not a dry eye in the house. Check out today's Frederick News Post for a photo and coverage of the event http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/news/display.htm?StoryID=111454.
Also last night, God appointed reunions for two of our residents that He orchestrated “behind the scenes”. This past Tuesday, a new family moved in to Hope Alive – a young mother with two preschool children. Reconnecting with her brother who had been in prison and then a halfway house is one of her immediate goals that she shared with Jody even before she moved in. God ordained that reunion to occur last night! Her brother knew she was referred to Hope Alive, but didn’t know she was already a resident. He attended last night’s banquet at the invitation of his pastor friend and mentor that he had connected with while in prison. Needless to say, they were both shocked and ecstatic to meet each other face to face in this unexpected place and time. It was an emotional reunion!
Secondly, one of our graduate moms was walking past my table to go to the buffet line, when she stopped in her tracks having recognized my guest as her ESL classmate from last year. My guest had passed FCC’s dental assistant program this past spring and her state licensing exam so I asked if she'd be willing to tutor one of our Hope Alive graduates who had completed the dental assistant program the previous year but was too nervous to take the state test. My friend said she’d be happy to work with her. To my surprise, the two women I was trying connect already were and God appointed their reunion last night. God is always two steps (or more) ahead of us in working out His plan in our lives!
Were these reunions coincidental? No way. I believe God perfectly appointed these two reunions to occur last night in His perfect timing! Isn’t our God amazing? Yes indeed!
Until next week …
Sue Oehmig
Founder and Executive Director
Also last night, God appointed reunions for two of our residents that He orchestrated “behind the scenes”. This past Tuesday, a new family moved in to Hope Alive – a young mother with two preschool children. Reconnecting with her brother who had been in prison and then a halfway house is one of her immediate goals that she shared with Jody even before she moved in. God ordained that reunion to occur last night! Her brother knew she was referred to Hope Alive, but didn’t know she was already a resident. He attended last night’s banquet at the invitation of his pastor friend and mentor that he had connected with while in prison. Needless to say, they were both shocked and ecstatic to meet each other face to face in this unexpected place and time. It was an emotional reunion!
Secondly, one of our graduate moms was walking past my table to go to the buffet line, when she stopped in her tracks having recognized my guest as her ESL classmate from last year. My guest had passed FCC’s dental assistant program this past spring and her state licensing exam so I asked if she'd be willing to tutor one of our Hope Alive graduates who had completed the dental assistant program the previous year but was too nervous to take the state test. My friend said she’d be happy to work with her. To my surprise, the two women I was trying connect already were and God appointed their reunion last night. God is always two steps (or more) ahead of us in working out His plan in our lives!
Were these reunions coincidental? No way. I believe God perfectly appointed these two reunions to occur last night in His perfect timing! Isn’t our God amazing? Yes indeed!
Until next week …
Sue Oehmig
Founder and Executive Director
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