By: Steve Lowe, Executive Director One of the great blessings I’ve enjoyed over the years of leading The Joy House is to marvel how faithful the Lord is to answer a need/prayer with those He sends to partner with us. The Lord has recently reminded me of His faithful provision. As the Sherry’s transitioned out of their role as girl’s house parents it also meant that I was losing my maintenance person as Bill had been doing that over the past couple of years. Around the time they were transitioning I got a call from our friend Dan English (see Dan's picture above). Dan and I have met each other several times over the past few years through area churches and mutual acquaintances. He explained to me with his current job as a pilot he had several days at home throughout the month, and the Lord had placed The Joy House on his heart as a place to serve. I immediately asked him if he had some maintenance skills. It turns out he has some serious skills in maintenance. What a coincidence, right?? Not a chance. This was all orchestrated by the Lord. Dan had the gifts we needed and more.
He has spent several hours here the last couple of months taking care of lawn maintenance, making simple repairs we needed, and even tackling a significant task of replacing some fascia board on our counseling center and reattaching the gutter. This was about a 12 to 14 hour day of work. What a blessing it has been to have Dan step in with his gifts to meet our needs. It is one less thing I have to be concerned with as he has stepped into the role of helping keep our campus beautiful and maintained for the ministry.
Aside from Dan, we’ve got some wonderful tutors who volunteer their time weekly at The Joy House to serve in educating our students. We’ve had other volunteers bring meals to our homes, and others still who have shared a hobby or skill with our kids. We’re grateful for all of our partners, who volunteer their time and efforts to benefit all those who are served through The Joy House.
I’m convinced that the Lord will take any gift, skill, hobby, etc… that you have and can use it for His glory. Have you taken inventory of the gifts and talents you have to ask how the Lord can use them to benefit an individual, your church, or a para-church ministry like The Joy House? I’d encourage you to pray and consider how you can be used. It is as much a blessing for you as it is the ones you’re serving.
If you’re interested in a volunteer opportunity at The Joy House, please contact me via phone at 706-253-7569 or via email: steve@thejoyhouse.org.
Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms. - 1 Peter 4:10 | 