“You helped SAVE my life! All my life I’ve been hurt and confused and constantly pitying myself because I didn’t understand why me? Why my family? I have struggled so much with feelings of hopelessness. So many times I have almost completely given up on my life. If it weren’t for my daughter I’d have ened it long ago. That’s how I felt before. Now I have shed all of those negative feelings and am now filled with the joy and peace I’ve been waiting for and deserve! - Rebecca White
“I can’t think of one part of my life that has not been changed by this experience. Mountains were moved – my heart is free. I once believed that the abundant life was not meant for me – that I was the exception to the rule. I came here needing to know that there was more to my life than what I had. You showed me that it is bigger and better than what I had hoped it could be.” - Lynn Erwin
“I came into this program with a feeling of no direction, fear of the unknown, insecurities in who I was and feelings of not being good enough. This program helped me deal with those issues in a way that brought out of me my own answers. I now feel like I’ve been given direction, I do not fear the unknown, I have a better sense of who I am, I do feel good enough and I now have confidence in maintaining what I have gained through this program.” - Raul Giron (?)
“Today I realize I am worthy of love not because of my job but because of who I am.” - Terri Robinson Professional Counselor
“This experience is totally different from anything I have ever been through. It has been good to receive vision and renew my passion for people.” - Stephen Birmham – Pastor
“What a wonderful weekend! I have never had such a life changing experience. I came here a cold-hearted, resentful woman. I am leaving a free, happy woman.” - Jenna Palmer
“I walked in these doors carrying 58 years of shame and anger over what happened to me as a child. I packed 24 years of anger at my ex-husband. I topped that off with years of guilt over how my divorce affected my 3 kids. Today, because of Discovery, I am free of the anger and shame and have forgiven myself for being an imperfect mom.” - Judy Hindelang
“I came into this program with what felt like the weight of the world on my shoulders. Now, I still have some weight on my shoulders, but it’s more like an empty backpack. And for that I would like to say thank you with all my heart.” - Jason Agan
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
September - Discovery
It was another fabulous training in September! Here are some snipits from the notes that have come in:
Sunday, October 4, 2009
September 2009 - Woodville
Great news!! The money needed to do a feasibility study has been raised! The next step is to find a qualified company to do the actual study, get the results and start designing a building that will support what the study says can be supported by the demographics of the surrounding area. Progress is slow, but it's still progress and we're headed in the right direction. Our next visit to Woodville will coincide with their County Fair where we will see many friends we've already made, and hopefully make some new ones.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
September 2009 - Roatan
We just got back from Roatan where we spent the better part of a week building a walkway for the children's home. It goes from the entry gate where the kids are picked up and delivered from school and other activities, up to the front door. Since the yard is mostly dust and dirt, this will allow the opportunity for the kids to get in and out of the house without tracking mud and dirt in everytime they go somewhere - especially during the rainy season. Here are some 'before' pictures.
We couldn't have picked a hotter time to work outside, but it was fun working with the children. They did a lot of the manual labor themselves and we hope they'll take pride and ownership in their accomplishement.
Through no fault of the kids, we broke the water pipe three times! But by the end we had become experts at it and used it as an opportunity to teach the kids how to do some repairs.
In the end, it turned out great! And what a way to bond with the children. They are all wonderful and beautiful and we look forward to our next visit with them. Our next project will be putting a new roof on the house as it has many bad leaks.
Also during our stay we visited a school in Coxen Hole. There were no classes while we were there as it was Independence Day and school was out for the week, but two of the teachers met us there and gave us a tour.
The 2-room school doesn't currently have enough space for their K-6th grade classes, so 2 classes are meeting outside until a new addition is completed. We were so impressed with the passion and dedication this young teacher has for her students and we look forward to returning on a day when we can meet the children.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
August 2009 - Discovery! Austin Update
The August training was great and we saw many people make significant breakthroughs in their life. Here's just some of what we're hearing back from the August class:
"I've got my fire back!" ~ Tiffany Paynter
"The lights are back on!" ~ Lynn Clark
"I am not scared to be loved anymore." ~ Anon.
"I realized and have left behind the #1 thing that has been holding me back from being the man God made me to be. My last fear is now gone. I can now walk forward in humility and confidence, making bold and important decisions that it is my place to make and be responsible for. ~ Jeff Washington
"Instead of viewing myself as worthless, I am now priceless." ~ Jan Sibly
"I am always in my head. Now I have learned to let my heart show. I received BOLDNESS! I learned to give my heart a voice." ~ Hope
"I've reclaimed my life, found my heart and discovered God again." ~ Candace Duvall
"I don't have the guilt that I had when I walked in the room. I have so much self-confidence now that I can not believe I have come this far in such a short period of time." ~ Alma Trujillo
"Discovery helped me forgive myself, overcome guilt from the past and regain passion that had been missing from my life for way too long." ~ Jay Hanley
"I've got my fire back!" ~ Tiffany Paynter
"The lights are back on!" ~ Lynn Clark
"I am not scared to be loved anymore." ~ Anon.
"I realized and have left behind the #1 thing that has been holding me back from being the man God made me to be. My last fear is now gone. I can now walk forward in humility and confidence, making bold and important decisions that it is my place to make and be responsible for. ~ Jeff Washington
"Instead of viewing myself as worthless, I am now priceless." ~ Jan Sibly
"I am always in my head. Now I have learned to let my heart show. I received BOLDNESS! I learned to give my heart a voice." ~ Hope
"I've reclaimed my life, found my heart and discovered God again." ~ Candace Duvall
"I don't have the guilt that I had when I walked in the room. I have so much self-confidence now that I can not believe I have come this far in such a short period of time." ~ Alma Trujillo
"Discovery helped me forgive myself, overcome guilt from the past and regain passion that had been missing from my life for way too long." ~ Jay Hanley
Monday, July 6, 2009
June 2009
Woodville:
In May the Community Foundation of East Texas opened a Life Center account! For now, the money will be collected and used only for the feasibility study. Once the study has been completed and a design has been agreed upon, the account will be used for donations to build the LIFE Center itself. Also, names for a second tier committee were suggested along with potential donors. Things continue to move slowly, but in the right direction. We are scheduled to be out there the first week of July and hope to increase the passion and involvement.
Discovery! Austin:
Discovery continues to hold monthly trainings in Austin and we will be celebrating our one year anniversary at next month’s July training! It’s hard to believe a year has already passed! In June we had our highest number in attendance yet at 47. Also in June, we held our first Relationship Training with 26 couples. Check the “Success Stories” section soon for testimonies from some of the couples. In the meantime, here’s one we received from someone who recently completed the Discovery training on an ALF scholarship:
Roatan:
Just back from another visit to the island. We visited the children at the home. They are doing well and most of them just finished with exams. We read books to them and spent some quality time playing and talking together. We bought groceries to fill their cupboards with what they were lacking. They get a lot of staples from others but usually lack fresh fruits and vegetables, dairy products and with that many children running around… cleaning supplies!
While on the island this time we got to meet Mark and Susan Schuler, a missionary couple who have lived on Roatan for more than 5 years now. They do a lot for the children at the home such as taking them back and forth to school, having them to their home for tutoring and mentoring, doing devotionals and loving on them in general. They have a true heart and passion for not only the children at the home, but the people on the island and in their community in particular.
We also met up with Cam O’Brien. Cam has lived on the island some 17 years and has a passion to help improve education on the island. During our visit we heard about much of what she has been and is trying to do, including the implementation of 2 “E Learning Centers” on the island which are offered free to children (and adults for English as a Second Language) as a way to supplement their learning at school which is often quite lacking for various reasons. After meeting with Cam, we stopped by the E Learning Center in French Harbour to check it out. The kids there that day were practicing for a play they will be performing in late July. It will be performed in English, so we were able to help them with their pronunciation. They were shy, but quite appreciative of our help!
We are excited to be making these connections with others on the island who have a true heart and passion to give back to the children and island of Roatan. We will be developing these relationships and keeping our eyes and hearts open to areas where we feel it’s a fit for ALF to get involved and participate. We are scheduled to go back out there in a few days. We are keeping an eye on the recent political developments of the country, but so far, everything we have seen and heard from people we know on the island and mainland as well as in the news shows that things on the island remain calm and normal and that the tension remains on the mainland. Unfortunately, though, the economic fallout will hit the entire country and the poorest of the poor will be the ones most affected.
In May the Community Foundation of East Texas opened a Life Center account! For now, the money will be collected and used only for the feasibility study. Once the study has been completed and a design has been agreed upon, the account will be used for donations to build the LIFE Center itself. Also, names for a second tier committee were suggested along with potential donors. Things continue to move slowly, but in the right direction. We are scheduled to be out there the first week of July and hope to increase the passion and involvement.
Discovery! Austin:
Discovery continues to hold monthly trainings in Austin and we will be celebrating our one year anniversary at next month’s July training! It’s hard to believe a year has already passed! In June we had our highest number in attendance yet at 47. Also in June, we held our first Relationship Training with 26 couples. Check the “Success Stories” section soon for testimonies from some of the couples. In the meantime, here’s one we received from someone who recently completed the Discovery training on an ALF scholarship:
Words cannot explain how much Discovery has helped me personally! I have never had a sense of peace, happiness, worthiness, and hope as I have after being in Discovery. I am a much more positive person and much more helpful to my family and friends; and I am able to use the tools that I have learned daily to continue to nurture the positiveness that I have gained. I have always dealt with certain issues that I thought were to be my core issues...but coming to Discovery made me face my REAL core issues, and face them and fight them with full force. Dealing with and conquering those issues was the greatest feeling I have ever experienced in my life. It has absolutely changed my life!!Discovery has improved every aspect of my relationships. I am able to be completely open and honest, and not be ashamed or afraid of what others will think of me. That alone makes me a better person; and a more effective friend, daughter, sister, aunt, and girlfriend. I am so much more positive at my job, and I don't let the little things effect me like they used to. I have
found that this positiveness has gotten me so many compliments and accolades than before that it's AMAZING! Discovery has also deepened my spiritual relationship. I am more aware now of my beliefs and the power of my morals and my personal relationship with God.
~ Deborah Toodle
Roatan:
Just back from another visit to the island. We visited the children at the home. They are doing well and most of them just finished with exams. We read books to them and spent some quality time playing and talking together. We bought groceries to fill their cupboards with what they were lacking. They get a lot of staples from others but usually lack fresh fruits and vegetables, dairy products and with that many children running around… cleaning supplies!
While on the island this time we got to meet Mark and Susan Schuler, a missionary couple who have lived on Roatan for more than 5 years now. They do a lot for the children at the home such as taking them back and forth to school, having them to their home for tutoring and mentoring, doing devotionals and loving on them in general. They have a true heart and passion for not only the children at the home, but the people on the island and in their community in particular.
We also met up with Cam O’Brien. Cam has lived on the island some 17 years and has a passion to help improve education on the island. During our visit we heard about much of what she has been and is trying to do, including the implementation of 2 “E Learning Centers” on the island which are offered free to children (and adults for English as a Second Language) as a way to supplement their learning at school which is often quite lacking for various reasons. After meeting with Cam, we stopped by the E Learning Center in French Harbour to check it out. The kids there that day were practicing for a play they will be performing in late July. It will be performed in English, so we were able to help them with their pronunciation. They were shy, but quite appreciative of our help!
We are excited to be making these connections with others on the island who have a true heart and passion to give back to the children and island of Roatan. We will be developing these relationships and keeping our eyes and hearts open to areas where we feel it’s a fit for ALF to get involved and participate. We are scheduled to go back out there in a few days. We are keeping an eye on the recent political developments of the country, but so far, everything we have seen and heard from people we know on the island and mainland as well as in the news shows that things on the island remain calm and normal and that the tension remains on the mainland. Unfortunately, though, the economic fallout will hit the entire country and the poorest of the poor will be the ones most affected.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Roatan - February
February 24, 2009
We are excited to report that we are in communication with Pastor Glen about approving a sponsorship program for the children! Through ALF we will seek to sponsor the 25 children at the home out to individuals or small groups who have a heart, passion – and commitment – for the well-being of these children. I have received approval from the pastor and have asked a young woman on the island who was raised in the home to help us by getting bios on each of the children. We will combine the bios along with individual photos and start finding involved and committed sponsors.
Pastor Glen has also agreed to let this young woman work with the kids once they do get sponsored, to help them write their sponsors on a regular basis, and to help translate letters to them as they come in. We are excited to have her help us, and who better to have a heart and passion for these children than one who benefitted from the very love and care that was given her in the same home for so many years.
We are excited to report that we are in communication with Pastor Glen about approving a sponsorship program for the children! Through ALF we will seek to sponsor the 25 children at the home out to individuals or small groups who have a heart, passion – and commitment – for the well-being of these children. I have received approval from the pastor and have asked a young woman on the island who was raised in the home to help us by getting bios on each of the children. We will combine the bios along with individual photos and start finding involved and committed sponsors.
Pastor Glen has also agreed to let this young woman work with the kids once they do get sponsored, to help them write their sponsors on a regular basis, and to help translate letters to them as they come in. We are excited to have her help us, and who better to have a heart and passion for these children than one who benefitted from the very love and care that was given her in the same home for so many years.
Woodville - email from Scott Yosko
February 9, 2009
Here is an excerpt of an email from Scott Yosko, Police Chief of Woodville and Life Center Committee Member:
“On a side note, I don’t think either one of us are aware yet of the magnitude of change that you two have initiated in Woodville. I believe that the LIFE Center may only be the match that lights the torch. The County is really getting excited about the green aspect that Kimberly is promoting, especially for the new Justice Center. All in all, Woodville has the potential to move to the forefront of tech…and all by working together toward common goals! Economic development possibilities become enormous too. Maybe some of our kids will stay here to raise the next generation when it is all said and done. It is what we have prayed for.”
Thanks again!
Scott
Here is an excerpt of an email from Scott Yosko, Police Chief of Woodville and Life Center Committee Member:
“On a side note, I don’t think either one of us are aware yet of the magnitude of change that you two have initiated in Woodville. I believe that the LIFE Center may only be the match that lights the torch. The County is really getting excited about the green aspect that Kimberly is promoting, especially for the new Justice Center. All in all, Woodville has the potential to move to the forefront of tech…and all by working together toward common goals! Economic development possibilities become enormous too. Maybe some of our kids will stay here to raise the next generation when it is all said and done. It is what we have prayed for.”
Thanks again!
Scott
Roatan - January
January 20, 2009
Over the past couple of months several friends and Discovery alumni have gone to Roatán and spent some time with the children. One group included a professional artist who spent a day giving the kids art classes. She did face painting and let the kids decorate and keep their own hat and t-shirt. They had a ball! Also two other friends, Shawn and Bill, spent 4 days working on the children’s home painting, cleaning and doing repairs. Bill even bought a power washer and took it with him on the airplane! (Not sure how!) They said all the kids were a great help. They power-blasted, scraped and painted the entry way. They removed the screen netting off the front of the house which was so thick with dirt you could barely see through it, but was like new when they put it back. They had a lot of special time with the kids and made some special connections. Everyone who has gone has said they can't wait to return!
Over the past couple of months several friends and Discovery alumni have gone to Roatán and spent some time with the children. One group included a professional artist who spent a day giving the kids art classes. She did face painting and let the kids decorate and keep their own hat and t-shirt. They had a ball! Also two other friends, Shawn and Bill, spent 4 days working on the children’s home painting, cleaning and doing repairs. Bill even bought a power washer and took it with him on the airplane! (Not sure how!) They said all the kids were a great help. They power-blasted, scraped and painted the entry way. They removed the screen netting off the front of the house which was so thick with dirt you could barely see through it, but was like new when they put it back. They had a lot of special time with the kids and made some special connections. Everyone who has gone has said they can't wait to return!
Roatan - December
December 21, 2008
We just got back from another visit to the children’s home. Usually we do some painting or other project while there, but this time we had nothing on our agenda. We always fill up the back bed of a pick-up with groceries every time we go, and we were particularly glad we could do it this time as we found the cupboards almost completely bare. Apparently it’s harder for them during the slow season. With less tourist traffic, they get less donations. During high season when more cruise ships come in, a lot more people stop by and help out with food, etc. The pastor said they always make ends meet as there is always a hotel or grocery store who helps out, but it was alarming to see just how bare the pantry and freezer were.
We’ve been there enough times now that the kids know us and seemed genuinely happy to see us. We really want to focus on the long-term aspect of building relationships with these children and let them know how special they are.
We visited briefly on business with the pastor then spent some good quality time with the kids. David played several games of soccer while I visited with some of the girls. I have developed a real heart for the older girl, Deysi, who is 13 and at such a vulnerable age.
I brought several Dr. Seuss books with me on this trip to read to the children. Once I began, they swarmed us! I knew they didn’t understand everything I was reading from “Green Eggs and Ham”, but they loved the sound of someone’s voice reading to them. Half-way through the book I could stop short of finishing a sentence and they yelled out the final words. “I do not like green eggs and ham. I do not like them…” “Sam I am!” they would all say!
We just got back from another visit to the children’s home. Usually we do some painting or other project while there, but this time we had nothing on our agenda. We always fill up the back bed of a pick-up with groceries every time we go, and we were particularly glad we could do it this time as we found the cupboards almost completely bare. Apparently it’s harder for them during the slow season. With less tourist traffic, they get less donations. During high season when more cruise ships come in, a lot more people stop by and help out with food, etc. The pastor said they always make ends meet as there is always a hotel or grocery store who helps out, but it was alarming to see just how bare the pantry and freezer were.
We’ve been there enough times now that the kids know us and seemed genuinely happy to see us. We really want to focus on the long-term aspect of building relationships with these children and let them know how special they are.
We visited briefly on business with the pastor then spent some good quality time with the kids. David played several games of soccer while I visited with some of the girls. I have developed a real heart for the older girl, Deysi, who is 13 and at such a vulnerable age.
I brought several Dr. Seuss books with me on this trip to read to the children. Once I began, they swarmed us! I knew they didn’t understand everything I was reading from “Green Eggs and Ham”, but they loved the sound of someone’s voice reading to them. Half-way through the book I could stop short of finishing a sentence and they yelled out the final words. “I do not like green eggs and ham. I do not like them…” “Sam I am!” they would all say!
Woodville - City Council Meeting
November 27, 2008
We were invited to be present at a city council meeting that was being held with the mayor of Woodville, council members, and the committee members for the LIFE Center project.
The meeting went well and although there was evidence of wanting to be cautious, everyone seemed to be excited at the idea. The biggest concern seems to still be knowing whether the town of Woodville will be able to financially maintain something of the size and scope that is being considered. It has always been one of our criteria that the building have a good business plan and make good business sense. The next step to move forward is getting a professional company to do a feasibility and demographics study determining what the community could realistically support. It was decided that Dianne Bass pursue this through her community foundation.
We were invited to be present at a city council meeting that was being held with the mayor of Woodville, council members, and the committee members for the LIFE Center project.
The meeting went well and although there was evidence of wanting to be cautious, everyone seemed to be excited at the idea. The biggest concern seems to still be knowing whether the town of Woodville will be able to financially maintain something of the size and scope that is being considered. It has always been one of our criteria that the building have a good business plan and make good business sense. The next step to move forward is getting a professional company to do a feasibility and demographics study determining what the community could realistically support. It was decided that Dianne Bass pursue this through her community foundation.
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