Unless the LORD builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Psalm 127:1

This verse is a great reminder that the vision for The Journey Home is from the Lord, and that

He will build the home in His perfect timing for His glory. How privileged we are to partner

with you in this work of the Lord!

Much has happened since the April newsletter, so we want to catch you up on the progress. On

May 9 th we closed on a beautiful piece of land on Lee Street in Mineral. This 1.7 acre parcel used

to be a horse pasture and was offered to us at a great price by a couple in our Sunday School

class. There are trees on two sides and a gentle slope to this peaceful place. Perfect for this

home. God blessed us with an understanding Town Council who gave us permission to build a

road to the land without having the expense of completing the road further.

Our website and Facebook page have gone live. Check it out at www.journeyhomemineral.org.

You can go there to learn more about TJH and to view updates. There is even a place to donate

online. Amazingly, we are truly learning how to move into the twenty-first century!

We have done more presentations, updates and planning meetings in the community. These

have included speaking to several church groups, the Lake Anna Business Partnership, and a

community Extravaganza. We would appreciate your prayers for upcoming speaking

opportunities including a gathering of local churches (July 16), sharing with our congregation

(July 17), and with the Louisa County Social workers (July 27). There are so many wonderful

church and community organizations that we are learning about and seeking to network with

including the Louisa-Fluvanna Housing Foundation and Habitat for Humanity. The openness of

many of these people to partnering with TJH has been a great encouragement. God has truly

gone before us and given favor.

Admittedly, this process has taken so much longer than we expected. Our hearts break when we

get a call about an individual or family in great need of the home knowing that it is not built yet.

There are still so many steps to the process such as a structural engineer, geotechnical report,

site engineer, permits for water, sewer hook-ups, etc. There is a desire to speed up the process,

but then we remind ourselves that God is in control of every detail and He cares about these

people in need even more than we do. We are doing our part and trusting Him to do what only

He can do. Our hope and prayer is to break ground soon so that we can begin to be God’s

ambassadors to those whose lives are broken and are in need of help.

It has been an incredible blessing to work with the team God has assembled here. Our expert

builder, Howard, recently wrote a song about TJH after being inspired by the Lord. He will sing it

when we present to our congregation on Sunday. Lindsay, the architect, has been so generous

with her time and talent. Dex is a recent addition to the architectural team who will help us be

more efficient in getting to the building stage. Please pray for Ben and Kristi as they move to VA

July 30 th to begin the outreach of renovating affordable housing for the residents as they leave

TJH. There has been great support from many people for the home including engineers now, and

volunteers for the future ministries of TJH. How grateful we are for each one!

One huge hurdle has been funding and we know that is part of the delay. Ed has become an

experienced grant writer – including one for an elevator, as the building needs to be handicap

accessible. We ask for your prayers for God’s provision of funds to build and maintain the home.

We are so touched by the generosity of so many of you who are offering sacrificial

prayers and financial gifts for TJH. Thank you so much!

Serving with you,
Ed and Debby