2023 Year End- Melvin’s Story
Dear Friends,
I love Melvin’s story, which you can watch below. As he described it, we came and found him in a motel room, his life a mess. We lived our mission statement: We showed up and loved him. We built a relationship with him and helped him in his pursuit of a healthier life.
As we head towards year-end, I have been reflecting on our work here at JOC and find myself deeply grateful for the way Jesus is at work.
First, I and our whole team are grateful to serve the poor and marginalized in the name of Jesus. We stand in the places that Jesus stood. The work is both challenging and beautiful. We feel honored that Jesus chose us for this.
Second, we are grateful for our friends, those we serve here along Colfax. While battered and broken, they are also beautiful. We are honored to call them friends.
Third, we are grateful for our small staff and ever-growing circle of volunteers and partners. Together we invest our hearts, time and love in our friends.
Fourth, we are grateful for all of you who support us with prayer, finances, and donations. You too are our friends, the circle of people who allow us to love our Colfax friends.
Nearly every dollar and donation we get comes from people like you—individuals, families, and churches who love Jesus and believe in our work. Your support is what keeps us on the streets, in the motels, and serving out of our Family Rooms. We are deeply grateful for each of you.
We have had a great year. Our motel outreach continues to grow. The Family Rooms are having a significant impact. We are delighted with the new space we are leasing to house one of the Family Rooms as it gives us space for offices and allows us to broaden our work. We touch hundreds of lives every week and see Jesus at work everywhere.
We want to invite you to an Open House that we are having in our new space, 9360 E. Colfax. It will deepen your sense of the work we do and will give us a chance to meet more of you. The Open House is on Sunday, December 3 from 1-4. We would love to see you there.
We would love it if you would prayerfully consider a financial gift as we head to year-end. Again, our work depends on your support. Thank you in advance.
Blessings,
Shawn (on behalf of Diane,
Co-Executive Director Kayla Horne,
and the rest of the JOC Team)