Overwhelming Agape

What an amazing night! I have heard reports already from most of you that are so encouraging. Please send out a short email to “reply all” so that we can all hear what took place.

As for the group we led to the Agape House, we had an amazing experience. About 25 or 30 of us convened there and overwhelmed them (in a good way) a bit at first with such a large group.

They gave us a huge list of cleaning jobs and we accomplished them all for them! We broke into 5 or so teams that cleaned old dirty walls, vacumed, washed windows, knocked down cob webs (matt mcgary rocked this one), changed light bulbs, cleaned out fire places, dusted old window screens etc… It was so great to see families working alongside each other. Kids and parents serving together. It was a really enjoyable time for our whole group and it only took about 1 hr and 15mins to do the whole job.

The Agape house was so blessed! Mosaic kids were cleaning grubby kitchen chairs. Carson fam with Athena and kids washed walls together. Lynna and I went around washing window. My daughter was having so much fun with me.

Attic Rebound

All I can say is “transformation” is a beautiful thing. We had about 10-15 people kids and adults. We unloaded an over cluttered and packed to the ceiling attic. We built custom shelving and purchased crates to replace the myriad of boxes and bags of items. Everything was sorted and repacked. Then all the crates were placed neatly on the shelves. 3 or 4 groups of people doing different things. Outside of some logistical and mechanical setbacks it went very well and the results were drastic. It was a great time to get to know one another in a different contexts and laugh at our limited carpentry skills etc. We also had a group go and pick up and clean a couple of vans. I wasn’t with that group, but it is my understanding that it went very well. One of the cool parts of this project was that we were there alone at night and we cleaned up like we were never there. It was like a secret “Mosaic blessing taskforce”

First thing Monday a.m. I got a call from Sharron Aller of Rebound (see thank you letter below). She said that the first thing she did when she came in was to go upstairs and look at the attic. She was just gushing of how amazed she was when she saw the shelving and the crates and how orderly and neat everything was. She explained how much of a blessing it was to her and the staff to be able to go up and quickly find something that they need instead of getting frustrated and running out and purchasing a replacement. One employee joked that they wanted to move into the newly organized space.

It was wonderful to be apart of this group and see such a daunting task be taken down with such easy in just over a couple hours.

THANK YOU FROM REBOUND:

Hello Mosaic Community,

I wish I could think of a way to adequately thank you for the amazing gift you have given to Rebound. This comes at a time when I was feeling pressure from several directions, just transitioning into my position as executive director, along with the ongoing demands of programming and finding fundraising streams for the organization. The offer of help was such a tremendous blessing for our entire staff, but we felt so overextended that we couldn’t even be there to assist. The attic had become more cluttered over time with many supplies buried and temporarily “lost” to our use. The shelving project has been on hold pending funding, so the piles just got bigger and bigger, and along with that a rising sense of frustration for all of us.

When we came in on Monday morning we were astounded by the transformation. It was beyond anything we could have imagined – all the supplies in totes and on the shelves, with additional room for more!

The thinking, planning, material and actual work that went into that project were amazing gifts to us as an organization. The best part of it was the reminder that this is God’s work and he is not limited by my finite understanding of how he will provide. I came in on Monday, saw the tremendous love gift and bowed my head and thanked God for his provision. As I reflected on that I realized how in the fray of the day to day I had lost sight of God’s power and was trying to search within to figure out how God would provide for Rebound.

Once again, the love, faithfulness and sacrifice of a group of His people have helped me to regain perspective and to realize that God does provide abundantly. It is an inspiration to see the way you have become a vital part of our ministry to families by extending yourselves in such very practical ways this weekend. We feel so privileged to call you partners in this amazing work God has called us to do. Thanks so much from all of us here at Rebound.

Sharon

Sharon Aller, MA Family Studies
Executive Director

Bucket Brigade

A thank you note from one of the people that was served through the CHORE program:

“Thank you to everyone involved in the Volunteer Chore Program. This week I received cleaning assistance from the Gauthier (?) family of Mosaic church. Dad Dave receives the outstanding award, as he took on bathroom duties. Mom Kelli vacuumed like nobody’s business. Milan washed all my windows, in the dark, and they look great during the daytime as well. And finally, 3-year-old Chayse had the most important job; he kept me out of the way while the others worked. Thanks to all–Catherine.” 

We had 12 people who grabbed the buckets and helped out five individuals. From what I’ve been hearing from our volunteers and Josie at the Whatcom Volunteer Center, things went smoothly and the people were very happy to have the needed cleaning done. In fact one of the ladies asked if they were coming back next week.

One of the ladies had mentioned that her house was a mess so I took a team of three others and we went in prepared to do battle. Lori, Tami and Allison were the volunteers and they had that apartment in shape within the hour. The lady was so amazed at seeing her kitchen again and having her bathroom all cleaned. She seemed very happy and also was hoping that we would come back. We only had one person that didn’t answer his bell and one little old lady that was scared of Eddie’s deep voice but other than that all the jobs were done by an hour and a half.

As I look back I think that it’s amazing what little time we put in yet it had a BIG impact on all. Just goes to show that God does bless the little stuff. I was proud to be a part of it.

Gift Baskets & Wool Socks

What a night we had huh? So I had a group of about 8-10, all drawn for different reasons. We spent some time praying/listening/brainstorming and came up with several ideas. We really wanted to do some “anonymous blessing.” As we chatted, 3 families came to the surface – all connected with Mosaic – who are presently in need. We decided that with the amount of people we had who were willing to go in financially and shop, we should probably pick just one family. We were wrong! Between the 6 of us, we ended up with a hoard of cash! So, we headed up to Fred Meyer with cash gifts from those who couldn’t shop, along with the cash in our wallets and some unused Fred Meyer gift cards from Christmas. We were able to bless Zaleta and her two boys with a huge lot of groceries. Two Western students – Tanya and Garrett delivered this to her (after getting info by phone from Delia) – and actually got to spend some time chatting with her in Spanish (Tanya) and playing with her two boys (Garrett). She was SUPER warm and grateful and also appreciated the visit from these two, who are considering going back!

Two other Western students and I gathered up and got a $75 visa card, a cold stone gift card, some bath bubbles and some ninja turtle outfits. We through this into a basket and delivered it to another single mom with two boys who was overjoyed!!! Ask Julie Hall for the rest of that story because it’s awesome! We also delivered a $50 gift card for Fred Meyer to the front porch of another Mosaic family. And we had a blast!!!

Also, Johnny headed out with 2 other guys (Ethan Lowe and Ryan Rotz) to Joe’s on Meridian. They picked up some nice wool socks and headed downtown. They handed out socks to some very thankful people and had some conversations outside the Horseshoe. It was great, Johnny says.

And Jason Bourne and Willow headed out to a neighbor of Jason’s house. She’s an old lady in her 90’s with an elderly son living with her as well. They’ve been on his mind because their house is in disrepair. So, they headed over to check on her. Unfortunately, they couldn’t get to her front door because the yard was so overgrown. They didn’t want to freak her out by coming to the back door in the dark. SO – they’re heading out tomorrow at 4pm to check on her and see what can be done for her and for her son.

All in all, it went awesome. And I’ve heard from people, even those who weren’t involved in the group, that they really feel this is important to the life of Mosaic. It’s great that we have things organized for people to do and it’s SO amazing to be a blessing to an organization and have a big impact in a short amount of time together. But, it can be hard to make the transition from that into bringing this kind of action to the level of our daily lives. I think our little group Sunday night showed that there truly is a lot of need all around us (as Willow shared) and it’s so easy to ignore it. But we really can do something to make a huge impact ourselves quite easily. Also – in just an hour, with a few extra bucks and some friends. I loved it.

Ending Slavery Effort In Bellingham

Stephen Trinkaus, friend and owner of Terra Organica & Barganica, has a passion to make Bellingham an epicenter of an international movement to end slavery in the world.

Does slavery still exist? The answer is yes, and more than ever. There are more slaves today than at any other point in human history. It is estimated that there are about 27 million people living in slavery today – as you read this.

We are encouraging everyone to attend this catalytic event in Bellingham!

Recent Posts:

• The Beautiful Tree Needs List
• Battered Wife Gets Housing
• Chat Mom Gets a Car
• Thank you From Rebound
• Three Trees Coffee House

The Beautiful Tree

As we have mentioned in previous posts, we are praying that God will open up the flood-gates and provide for dozens of needs during this Holiday season. Beyond what we can do through generosity, we are hoping and praying that God will provide and multiply to meet needs that are beyond our ability as individuals and as a community. Here are the needs that were placed on the tree. If you would like to meet one of these, contact us and we will put you in touch with the person who posted the need (see contact link at top of blog).

NEEDS:

• Missionaries to Vietnam desperately in need of financial support
• Family in need of Money,Gas Cards, Food
• A job for a single Mom, house cleaning/child care and a car
• Clothing for 2 boys 7 and 3
• Someone with MS in need of firewood but cant afford it.
• Canned food & Temporary housing or money for 2 Men
• Man that does not have family that Loves him, needs food & small Gifts
• Jeremy , needs good paying Job in Bellingham so he can move near family
• Love needed, for divorced lady with alcoholic Ex, and son not doing well
• Financial support for Mt. of Olives Mission in Uruapan Mexico
• VAN for Action International Ministries in Gala Uganda (appro $10,000)
• Mosaic Family needs a Queen Size Bed (taken care of) and new Tires
• Christmas Gift Basket for single mom and son (8)
• Financial/Prayer support for Student going on mission trip to India
• A woman in need of full time job that doesn’t require standing.
• Dental work for woman (62) she has no Money or Insurance
• Funding for Living Waters Conference in Bellingham, Feb.
• Small Apartment in Downtown Neighborhood for one person
• Steady job for student getting through Physical Therapy School
• Children’s Clothing for Family, Girls ages 1,4,8 |Boys 2-3-6
• Pregnant and Alone Girl in need of $400.00
• Woman taking care of 2 younger sisters and grandpa needs extra Money

PRAYER:

• Pray for family who’s grandpa just passed away
• Pray for Strength
• Pray for Roberts Mind and that Medication will work

SERVICE:

• Driving Meals at Christmas for Lighthouse Mission
• How to handle a house in neighborhood where Heroin is used and dealt

Battered Wife Receives Shelter & So Much More

Here is an update from the family that is housing the battered wife.  For those of you that were not there last Sunday night, we made this need known and have been trying to collate needs/provisions ever since.  Here is a list of what we have so far:

Donated:
Dresser (said it was a nice one)
Comfy stationary Reading chair
Leather chair and ottoman
Overstuffed microfiber ottoman or loveseat (2 years old)
Gift Cards & financial assistance has been pouring in so she can do holiday shopping for kids
Carpentry team – 3-4 guys have already committed and been at the house to work.

There has been a awesome outpouring for this women!  Not only in goods and services, but in love, communication (she speaks Spanish), legal help and prayer.  THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

CHAT Mom Gets A Car

So, we have been talking about how the Thanksgiving baskets went, how much fun it was to deliver them, the responses that we had, yada yada.  And, we have been looking forward to what we are going to do around Christmas to bless the school, the moms at Rebound, etc…  So, somebody thought, “maybe we should ask God to do something bigger.  Yeah, we can do baskets, but what if we took on something impossible, something beyond ourselves?”  This idea was brought up on Wed. night at the LC gathering and we joked about maybe buying someone a car or being able to provide something “big” like that for someone in need.

Well…. Thursday morning we get this email…  “You asked for it… Here is an opportunity for us.  A single mom in need from Rebound.”

Hi there,

We have a single mom of three children whose car just died – she is in dire need of a vehicle as she just got a part-time job and was planning on applying for another job today. She is on a very limited fixed income. I’m wondering if you or anyone else you may know has a vehicle they’d like to donate or ‘sell’ to this mom on an owner contract? If a vehicle is donated through Rebound it can be a tax exemption.

We put the word out to about 20 families and within 2 hours we had a car donated for this women.  Now we are wondering if we should ask God for even greater things!!

Thank you for being a community that is actively expressing our thankfulness to Jesus!

Thank You From Chris Cochran at Rebound

This letter from Chris at Rebound is a beautiful example of how we, at Mosaic, want to be known in all of Bellingham.  Thank you Chris and all of you who continue to BLESS our city!

Dear Matt and the Mosaic Community,

I hope this letter finds you, your family, and the Mosaic Community well.
I am writing to you to express my most heartfelt thanks to you and the Mosaic community for the outpouring of love and support they have shown again and again.

There is a concept in working with survivors of trauma known as “vicarious traumatization”, in which the person working with survivors experiences similar symptoms and emotions as those they are serving. Even though we at Rebound are not in the business of crisis counseling, we often feel tinges of this as we work with children and families dealing with pain and difficult issues.

While I have come to understand this set of emotions from my other work in social services and counseling, I do not have the same experience or vocabulary for the feeling Mosaic has brought to Rebound many times since we started working together last December. When I reflect on these feelings, the only word that comes to mind is “vicarious blessing”, as we have been privileged to work with the Mosaic community and watch your generosity of time and resources bless the families we serve in such profound ways.

The impact that Mosaic’s support has had on the women in CHAT has been wonderful to watch, as they ask, “Why are they doing this, and why do they care about us?
Furthermore, as our staff and volunteers witness this, we have had the same feelings of unexpected blessing and great encouragement. Your heart as a community has been evident in the blessing you all have been to us.

On behalf of the families we serve in CHAT, Compass, Flying Colors, Love & Logic, and Ray of Hope, and our staff and volunteers, thank you for blessing us. Your church has shown us more of what Jesus looks like as people and as a community.

Our prayers are with you, for God’s blessing and continual guidance as you seek Him in worship, inside and outside the walls of the church.

With Sincere Thanks,

Chris Cochran
Rebound of Whatcom County