I think fall is my favorite time of year. The temperature is just right, the scenery is beautiful, and there is a purpose to the days preparing for the upcoming winter. This year we have a few minor work projects to button up over the next several weeks. We are enjoying the beautiful late summer weather and spending the few remaining nice days outside. My honeybees are slowing down in preparation for a long winter. September is the time for harvesting honey and I hope to encourage my bees to share some with me this fall, maybe I’ll even have some honey to give away!
Michelle and I stay busy chasing our boys around to football games, homecoming parades, and trips into the woods to hunt for pictures or small game animals. We did manage to go camping a couple of times this summer as well. We never take for granted to blessing to live in a place where we can enjoy the change of seasons, the water, and the woods. Our oldest son Chase turned 17 this summer and has a full school/work schedule. He is a senior this year, going to school in the mornings and doing work study at a local machine shop in the afternoons. He is planning to go to college for CNC machining next fall. He loves welding, cutting and working with metal in general. Our youngest son, Jonah, turned 13 this summer and absolutely lives for fishing, hunting, and football. He is in 8th grade and enjoying his last year of middle school football before wrestling starts this winter. He has been scouting and planning hunting trips all summer and hopes to do some bow hunting this fall while it’s still warm before the regular gun deer season begins in November. He spends a lot of time with both his grandpas. It’s so nice to have family close to home.
Fall signals one of the busiest times of the year for us here at the shelter. It seems like we are always running to one place or another, if it’s not the grocery store it’s the doctor, or a job interview, or to pick up a donation of food or clothing. We typically put on 15,000 miles a year just running errands. Thankfully we have dependable vehicles and reliable staff who work together to meet the needs of our residents. We have 2 single female residents and a family of 5 staying with us right now. We have had several single men with us this summer but for the last couple months most of the calls we have received have been from single ladies and a few families. We have two single male participants in our Transitional Housing Program and they are doing well. We are serving a total of 5 households, occupying all 4 of our apartments. We do have a couple of empty beds, but they are getting scarce. Overall things are going smoothly here at the shelter, our program participation numbers are consistent year-over-year. We still have our Friday morning men’s group and are hoping to restart our Tuesday morning bible studies here at the shelter again. I have been leading the singing portion of Church services on Sunday and we are excited to take back up our Wednesday night Bible studies again during the school year. Some of our residents are interested in the discussions and message while too many are not. All we can do is provide the opportunity.
Praise the Lord we just finished our 5th year of emergency shelter operations! YTD we have provided 1,732 nights of shelter. LAST YEAR we provided 1,791 nights of shelter, just under FY 12/13, 1,848 nights of shelter. ALL TIME, 8,618 nights of shelter. YTD we have served 36 total residents including 20 single men, 4 single women and 3 families comprising 12 people. LAST YEAR we served 33 total residents including 19 single men, 2 single women, and 5 families comprising 12 people. ALL TIME we have served 175 total residents including 83 single men, 24 single women and 21 families comprising 68 people. YTD we have received approximately 123 calls from people looking for shelter. LAST YEAR we have received approximately 118 calls from people looking for shelter, just a few more than FY 12/13 with 101 and FY 11/12 with 105. We continue to average about 5 residents per night. We have had up to 12 people here at a time. We have helped people transitioning from jail, rehab, and probation/parole providing a stable supervised place from which they could find employment and seek housing. We have expanded and maintained a great working relationship with the other service providers in our community to help families find the assistance and resources they need to move forward with stabilizing their lives. We average 10,000 – 15,000 miles every year helping transport residents to doctor appointments, court dates, or even just to the grocery store.
Please keep in prayer our staff; our case manager Gene, who is recovering from triple bypass heart surgery, and our intern Russ who is recovering from abdominal abscess surgery. Both Gene and Russ are recovering well but are neither pain nor symptom free. Please keep them both in your prayers as they go through the recovery process. Kathy and I have been filling in as case managers while they recover.
Thank you for your continued prayers. It is through your persevering faith in God’s ministry here that we are able to keep doing His work in our community. We are so thankful for your donations of time spent in prayer on our behalf, the gifts of day-to-day supplies, and your generosity of financial support that keeps us moving forward in HIS perfect timing.
In His Service,
Micah Dewing
Shelter Director
Ephesians 6:18 Pray at all times in the Spirit with every prayer and request, and stay alert in this with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints.(HCSB)