One Bright Star!

For the past three years OCJ has joined with the church I attend Fountain of Life International to provide a family Christmas Experience for the foster children we work with. It may be a busy time, the days approaching the event but it is totally worth the hours.  Hours of matching gifts with names and ages of young people.  Some we have met before and others we only know their age and gender.   The whole time while putting gifts together, I am praying that God shows me what they need and like.  My goal is for each young person to get something that fits with them.  This year was a bit easier with some of the gifts because I have met more of the kids we are giving gifts to. 
Sunday morning on the day of the event, I was finishing wrapping the gifts and getting things ready. As I was wrapping one of the boys homes presents, some of the items got a bit mixed up and I was not sure what I had done foe each boy.  So I fixed as best as I remembered and prayed that each got what they needed and wanted. 
the Christmas party was a fun event of bowling and fellowship with the kids.  Because we are working with group homes and things change all the time, we had to search and find the gifts of some of the kids that came with another house.  That part was a bit crazy, but part of working with group homes.  Everyone got their presents, and I started to mingle with the different homes. One of the boys in a home got a journal and pen and was almost in tears because that is what he is interested in and he couldn't believe that we knew what to give him.
Monday as we (the OCJ Staff) were discussing the event, it was told about a young man who lost his mp3 player a few days earlier.  At the party he received a new mp3 player and he started to cry.  I heard that I have to say that even though we may not know every one of the kids, God does and he cares for each one.  he knows their needs and if we listen we can help meet their needs.

Thanks for sharing these young people with me and have a Very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. 

Living Without

Sometimes words fail me as I try to express what I see.
Today I had the opportunity to drop off a beautiful 9 ft Christmas tree to one of the shelters we work with.
I was not away of the how different a shelter was from a group home.  The shelter is supposed to be temporary until the child is placed with a family or in a group home. 
When a child arrives at the shelter, they have nothing, no family, no clothes, nothing, just what they are wearing at the time.  Their rooms are bare, just something else to tell them they have nothing.  Nothing that reminds them that there is hope, that they can dream.  Nothing but blank walls and no doors.

This just reminds me of the need.  These young people need people they can count on.  People to help change a house to a home. 
Is that person you? Not sure? Here are a few steps to see if this is a fit for you.

Volunteering

The first step requires in an honest self evaluation to determine the amount and depth of your involvement.  Ask yourself, “How do I want to get involved?” The answer to this question will assist you identifying the amount of time and effort you are able to provide within the time frame of your current work and personal life schedule.
–        What are your strengths?
 –        What are your passions?
–        What does your current schedule allow?
–        What can I do to make the most impact?
 An honest evaluation of these questions and your ability to identify these areas of involvement will be every foster care and every non-profit agency’s greatest ally. The goal is to match your passions and strength with the agency of your choice or individual child’s greatest corresponding need. This will also keep you from over committing, leaving a lack in services provided, resulting in a bad experience for everyone involved. The reality is that the need always outweighs the availability of caring adult volunteers, resulting in volunteers being stretched to thin or placed in an area you feel uncomfortable in or unqualified for. Be upfront in communicating, this is where I would like to get involved and the amount of time I have to volunteer. 

Sound like something you are interested contact us at ocj1@offcampusjams.org.

Thanksgiving Holiday

Well Thanksgiving has come and gone.  This year I had the opportunity to attend 3 Thanksgiving dinners. 
The 1st dinner was held at my church with  wonderful group homes in attendance.  It was a great night of food and family game time.  The noise level was so high, you had to leave the room to hear yourself think :-).
It was a great night!

The 2nd Thanksgiving dinner was a little smaller at a club house with a group of friends wanting to get involved with our group home families.  We had a great time of movies, food, billiards, and fire pits. I met some amazing young ladies that are new the group home family. The evening was enjoyed by all.

The 3rd was with my family on Thanksgiving day.A fun time playing games and eating turkey :-)

How was your Thanksgiving?