I did not imagine, when writing the April Quarterly Newsletter, that Covid-19 would still have such a significant effect on all of our lives these three months later. The Journey Home staff has been reviewing guidelines, praying, and seeking God for wisdom in when to open the home to guests in light of this pandemic.

TJH Board believes God has shown this is the right timing because He has provided (as He has continued to faithfully do!) House Managers for the home. After interviewing three excellent candidates, God made His choice clear. We are thanking God and are excited to welcome the Ludwinski family on July 15.

The family in our Next Step Home has done well. We have been able to minister to them while following Covid-19 guidelines. However, they will thrive much better with the relationship building and programming of The Journey Home (TJH).  Now that we are in phase three, we plan to move them into TJH in late July.  Another family will follow soon afterwards. There are other possible guests for the home and we will continue to seek God for His timing in when it would be best to move them in. Please pray with us for discernment and for the spiritual well-being of our guests. The plan is to go slow to adjust to the needs of our guests and seek to keep them safe with necessary precautions.

Many of you are volunteers wondering when you will be able to participate in opportunities at TJH. The staff will be in touch with you when the timing seems best. In the meantime, please complete the Child Protection Training Course and information requested of you in a prior email. Thank you to those of you who took the course and sent in the requested forms. Special thanks to the meal crew volunteers for completing the difficult Safe-Serve Course. (At least one volunteer stated they pulled out some hair during that online course!)

One modification caused by the virus has been that the Fundraising Committee has decided to change our scheduled August 29 Fundraiser Celebration Dinner to an online GIVING WALL MARATHON. Beginning Friday, August 28 at 6pm until Sunday, August 30 at 6pm we will be “Building Lives One Puzzle Piece at a Time”. This virtual fundraiser can be participated in on our Facebook Page (accessed on FB via journeyhomemineral or from the website journeyhomemineral.org) from the comfort and safety of your home. For those of you who participated in our Envelope Fundraiser at the Open House, you will recall the board set up in the Multi-purpose room with envelopes that had amounts listed on them from $1 to $200. You simply selected an envelope, put that amount inside as a donation to TJH, and placed a puzzle piece on the puzzle of TJH building. Our hope is to virtually complete the envelopes through your donations and finish the puzzle. Once the puzzle is completed, over $20,000 will be raised! This will be our only Fundraiser this year (no Yard Sale, etc.). Please consider donating the amount you would have given to enjoy the dinner and the evening festivities.

We really wanted the dinner this year to be a celebration of what God has done to make TJH a reality. So, we will be celebrating on the FB page with pictures, live chats with staff, testimonies of guests, virtual tours of the building, gift certificate give- aways and much more! Watch for information coming in the next few weeks. There are some of you, our faithful donors, who are not able to participate due to economic constraints of the virus. If you can’t give, we understand and ask for your prayers instead. Those of you that are able, we thank you in advance for your generous support. There have been many more applicants due to the hardships the pandemic and “life” have caused. Thank you for caring and helping us to bring the hope and healing of Jesus to those who truly need both.

The Giving Tuesday online event May 5 raised over $3,000. Thank you to all of you who participated. Virginia, the Office Manager, did a wonderful job setting up and managing this event.

We are thrilled to announce that the solar field is now fully operational. What a blessing to have our utility bills taken care of by the sun that God provides. Thank you to Ben who has worked hard with the many details to make this happen. He has also completed a shed to house our outdoor equipment (praise God for the generous donation of a lawn tractor), basement shelves, and overseeing the installation of a generator. Thanks, Ed, for being his able assistant.

The multi-purpose room of the building is being used by another faith-based group for a course to help hurting people heal. It is a joy to partner with our community to use the facility to encourage others in their relationship with our Lord.

After many years of praying, preparing and seeking to be obedient to God’s vision for The Journey Home, we are excited to begin to use TJH as God has led. Thank you for being a part of this amazing journey. We are grateful to work alongside of you to bring hope and healing to people in great need of both. We are so grateful for your involvement and your prayers as we continue to “transform lives for the road ahead”.