12/15/08 - Women's Dinner was Yummy!

Thanks again to the hard work of our volunteers, we had a delicious dinner served up and filled some hungry bellies. Also, we had a lot of new volunteers this time around and they were all wonderful! Thanks to everyone who came out to Breakthrough for the first time. We appreciate all the help that you were able to give! :)

The menu was amazing (much thanks to Rebecca) and consisted of Pot Roast, Mashed Potatoes and the best Broccoli that I've ever had - along with some delicious homemade sugar cookies, thanks to Rachel's mom. With the weather being so bitter cold outside, it was nice to have piping hot food to offer the women staying at the shelter - and I'm sure it made their day a little warmer too.

Speaking of the cold weather - we heard some good news a while back that the women's facility just received funding so that it can stay open 24 hours. This is marvelous news! Now the women will have the option of staying at the Joshua Center during the day and taking care of their personal business in the warmth and safety provided there. :) WooT!
The new 24-hour policy is not in effect yet, but is starting on January 1st, 2009. What a great way to start the new year!

12/11/08 - Dinner was perfect!

Thursday night's dinner was a huge success! Everyone had a great time and the guys really appreciated us taking care of everything, even clean-up. :)

The room was set with tablecloths, breadbaskets and even candles at each table. Plus, our wonderful hostess, Lauren - did a great job of setting the mood and helping our guests feel cared for before they even sat down.

After sitting down to their tables of four (each named after a reindeer) - the guys were introduced to their own two servers. Then the guys had their choice of several different items - a few different main dishes and they got to choose 2 side items from a list of about 6. Shrimp, steak, corn casserole, green beans, potato salad, cheesy potatoes, roasted red potatoes, the list goes on and on!

They had a great time! We heard lots of laughter and served lots of seconds. Plus, the kitchen staff did an amazing job of getting the order out for the servers in record time!

It was a truly amazing time and I feel really blessed to have been there to experience it. :)

I'm excited for next time...

Men's Dinner - Restaurant Style!

The Christmas Season is upon us once again. And this month, in an effort to share part of what the Holidays are all about, we've decided to do something extra special for the guests at Breakthrough.

On Thursday, 12/11/08, we're going to serve dinner at the men's facility restaurant style. This is different than anything we've ever done at Breakthrough before and we're very excited for this extra special serving opportunity! We need lots and lots of volunteers for this to work, though - so spread the word among your own circle of influence.

We're going to need (no experience necessary):

• wait staff
• cooks (prepare and bring side dishes and/or dessert)
  
• kitchen staff
• bussers (to refill water and bread baskets as needed)

If you've ever even thought of helping out before, this is the month to come on out and give it a shot. I promise, you won't regret it! :)

As always, let me know if you have any questions or problems - and keep in mind that you need to let me know if you'll be joining us so that I can have an accurate headcount.

We really hope to see you at this extra special Holiday dinner!

Love and Hugs!

Christmas Store! 12/20/2008

Don and I have found ourselves on the committee for the Christmas Store. If there's one thing I enjoy, it's committees. Another thing is Christmas Stores. So, yes - we're happy to be a part of the planning for the Breakthrough Christmas Store.

Here's a little more information on what the Christmas Store is all about (take from Mandie Eime's email):

Breakthrough is having a Christmas Store on Dec. 20 to provide our neighborhood families and homeless guests with a dignified way of purchasing gifts for their loved ones.

We need many churches, groups, offices, and families to donate toys, games, personal items and gift wrapping supplies. There are several ways you can collect the needed items:
*Organize a gift drive at your church or office
*Host a holiday party and have guests bring toys and other items
*Plan an afternoon Christmas shopping trip with your group
*Buy items yourself

You can drop off gifts, tape and wrapping paper at the Breakthrough Ministry Center, 402 N. St. Louis Ave., any day between 9am-9pm. All donations must be received by Dec. 17.

Questions? Contact Tony Escobar at 773.346.1705 or tescobar@breakthroughministries.com

In regards to donations: I was thinking that we could have a Willow Chicago - Breakthrough Christmas party. Instead of bringing gifts for each other - we could bring gifts that could be used as donations for the Christmas Store. If you have an idea or suggestion you want to share, please do!

In regards to volunteers: We're still in the planning stages of what this is going to look like for 2008. Since Don and I are new this year, we're not sure how many volunteers are usually needed or what the shifts might look like. But - we DO know that it's going to be held on Saturday, December 20th. So - if you're going to be in town then and you're looking for something to do - keep this event in mind. It would be GREAT to have you join us for a day of spreading Christmas cheer! :)

Stay tuned for more information and details. :)

Joshua Center - 11/17/08

I'm always amazed by how much the women at the Joshua Center can eat! :)

Seriously though - the homemade Macaroni and Cheese was absolutely delicious and a huge hit! The ladies came up for seconds and even thirds in some cases. Our fabulous chef, Rebecca sure does know how to make some warm and filling foods!

Our small group of volunteers was wonderful and we even had the opportunity to start a few conversations and get to know some of the guests a little better in between bites of food.

ALSO - There's great news!
We just recently learned that the Joshua Center was awarded some funding from the government to stay open 24 hours. This is a HUGE blessing! We're not sure when the 24-hour shelter will be implemented, but prior to this funding, the women had to leave the shelter and were only allowed to come back in around 7:30PM. It's so cold outside now, it'll be good for the women to not worry about how they're going to stay warm.

The next meal we're dishing up at the Joshua Center is Monday, December 15th. Let me know if you want to join. :)

Men's Facility - 11/13/2008

The meal last night was a HUGE success. Cara helped out by making some stellar Swedish Meatballs. We also had Alicia and Shelley bring some baked goods in for dessert.

The menu also consisted of some green bean casserole (of course), broccoli with cheese sauce, noodles with gravy. And everything was amazing!

We worked hard - but it was so worth it. The guys thoroughly enjoyed everything and we had SO much fun.


Here's a cute pic of the group of volunteers (to protect the privacy of guests staying at Breakthrough, we will not post pictures of them on this blog without their permission). Lauren took a bunch of photos too. Keep checking back for possibly more photos of the evening! :)

Love and Hugs!
Amanda (&Don)

Needed Items Drive - SUCCESS!

A special thanks to everyone who made a donation to the Needed Items Drive. We were able to fill up an entire vehicle with all the donations!

As we pulled up to drop off the goodies, several male guests hopped out to help carry things in - they were so grateful and helpful that we didn't have to carry a single thing!

And of course, the most wonderful part - you have helped to meet some of the most basic needs that Breakthrough guests encounter.

THANK YOU! :)

Annual Benefit Dinner great turnout!

The much-talked-about Annual Benefit Dinner took place this past Friday, November 7th at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare.

It was a wonderful evening. Not too fancy - the dress code was business casual, but the dinner was delicious and the entertainment was thoroughly enjoyable. Arloa is a talented speaker in her own right, captivating the audience with real-life stories of people who have benefited by partaking in the resources that Breakthrough Urban Ministries provides - both guests at the housing facilities and children in their coaching and tutoring programs.

Erwin McManus was thought provoking and challenged the entire audience to live a life that makes the world a better place just by being part of it. Or closer to his actual words, "live the biggest dream that allows you to do the most amount of good for the world around you". It was fantastic. Really. (He also said, "I really doubt that you'll get to heaven and God will say, "Now - why did you go to Africa and help all those orphans dying of aids?!?! I really wanted you to go to Hollywood and be a huge moviestar instead!")

Entertainment also included a sand artist - something you really need to see first-hand to fully appreciate. And one of the true highlights of the evening - the children's choir. Just beautiful!

I wish that every single one of our Breakthrough Volunteers could have joined us for the magical evening. If you weren't able to make it and would still like to donate, follow this link: https://app.etapestry.com/hosted/BreakthroughUrbanMinistries/OnlineDonation.html.

I hope to see you there next year! :)

10/20/08 at the Joshua Center

Serving at the women's facility (aka, the Joshua Center) is different from serving at the men's facility. If you're a regular reader of this blog, or if you've served at both places yourself - you already know this.

Conversation is not nearly as easy. Acceptance is not guaranteed.

But we are not called to be emotionally or physically comfortable. And we are not called to love only when it's easy. No, instead we're called to be ambassadors of reconciliation. We're called to share God's love with people in tangible ways, even when it's hard. And especially when it's not reciprocated.

The eleven volunteers from last night did an amazing job of sharing God's love. Between the 'kitchen crew' and 'conversations crew', we made some major progress in letting these women know that we genuinely care for them.

And next time - Nov 17th - we'll do it again. ;)

No. Serioulsy - I don't really play chess...

We had 9 volunteers last night for our 2nd Thursdays dinner at the Men's Facility. It was an absolutely wonderful time and true community! :)

Once again, Don did an amazing job of orchestrating the delicious meal. We served sliced ham, cheesy mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, homemade cornbread (even some jalapeno cornbread) and homemade chocolate chip cookies. The only complaints we heard were of full bellies.

One of the guests was convinced somehow that I not only was an excellent chess player, but that I had actually played HIM two months ago. And won. By a landslide.
Needless to say, I lost last night's "rematch". ;)

But if we have any serious chess players that read the blog - you should seriously consider coming out to the men's facility with us next month, on November 13th. Because I have a friend staying there that I'd love for you to meet...

Needed Items

Breakthrough has a "want list" posted on their website for both their men's and women's facilities. Some of these items are always in high demand. Among them:

• deodorant
• bar soap
• towels
• socks (for men)
• underwear (for men)
• travel size personal hygiene products
• toothbrushes
• toothpaste

We're working on possibly having a Shower or Drive of sorts to collect some of these items. If you already have some of the above listed items, remember to bring them with you the next time you volunteer at Breakthrough. You can also drop them off with Don and I to take with us the next time we go.

Otherwise, if it's in your budget, try to remember to pick some things up when you stop by the store. Great deals on deodorant and bar soap can be easy to find if you're looking for it. :)

More love... more power

Our first time having dinner with the women at the Joshua Center was good. The guests seemed to like the soup and bread bowls - and especially the cupcakes. (But who doesn't love Rachel's cupcakes?) There were eight of us volunteering - all women. Correction: all really great women! ;)

But this was a very different experience from serving at the men's facility. Not better. Not worse. But different. Not the same energy. And not as much energy.

This is the information that Breakthrough's website offers regarding the services they offer for women:

Breakthrough’s Women’s Services Program provides support for women in crisis. Programming focuses on both emergency and long-term needs and is designed to help women break the cycle of homelessness, abandonment, addictions, domestic violence and abuse.

The struggles that homeless women face are somewhat different than the struggles of their male counterparts. Most of that is based on their gender and the violence they can be and are subject to based only on their stereotypical gender weaknesses. Because of these struggles and experiences most - if not all - of these women have been deeply emotionally hurt as well. (For stats and more information check out http://new.vawnet.org/category/Main_Doc.php?docid=558)

Similar to serving our brothers at Breakthrough, our challenge as ambassadors of restoration and reconciliation (2Corinthians 5:11-21) involves making ourselves available emotionally to these women and obliterating in our minds any differences that may be between us. To reach out to these women with consistent caring and an honest attempt to restore wholeness. Perhaps eventually.

Understanding the extreme hurt and loss these women have experienced, there are many ways that we can make this honest attempt to restore wholeness. Our own dear Hannah suggests:

"I think it would be healing to see some men who interact in a loving way with women, whether married to them, dating them or just single guys interacting with their sisters. And us women, in turn, showing healthy interaction with men."

My prayer for these women is that they can find healing for the traumas they have been through and my prayer for our volunteers is that we can meet the needs of the women at Breakthrough in small and big ways.

2 Corinthians 5:18 (Amplified Bible)
"But all things are from God, Who through Jesus Christ reconciled us to Himself [received us into favor, brought us into harmony with Himself] and gave to us the ministry of reconciliation [that by word and deed we might aim to bring others into harmony with Him].

It's seriously the best green bean casserole...

Well, at least from what we heard. It was all gone before we had a chance to even taste the finished product! I'm happy to announce that the green bean casserole will become a regular side item on the 2nd Thursday meal rotation. :)

The six of us that trekked it out also served fish, pork chops, rustic potato salad, rolls and iced brownies. Like always, the food was a huge hit! After making the late plates, the only thing leftover was some potato salad and the very satisfied guests at Breakthrough.

Rainy Tours are still good... ;)

6 of us sludged it out to Breakthrough for the always-encouraging and amazing tour. There is so much vision and obedience in the leadership at Breakthrough that you can't help but to feel inspired.

We started at the women's facility at 3330 W Carrol that also houses the preschool the children's tutoring and coaching activities. Breakthrough has a great model for developing a network of people and opportunities for the otherwise under-resourced kids growing up in the community of Garfield Park. And we were able to catch a glimpse of the contagious and aggressive vision for growth in their community development in the next three years.

From that point we rode in the Street Outreach RV that's used to reach people, particularly women, where they're at. Keith and Bill were our tour guides and explained how two teams will go out every Friday night between 10pm and 3am. One team stays with the RV to provide hospitality and food to whoever enters. The other team actively goes out and seeks to meet people where they are. Though the ministry at one time was called Bridge of Hope and specifically targeted women caught up in prostitution, it has since broadened it's scope to include anyone that needs to experience the love of Christ through common decency and hospitality.

Next we arrived at the men's facility which also houses the job/skills training and mental/medical health facilities (the women have their own medical treatment room in the women's facility). After touring the men's facility, we were privileged to hear even more of the vision that Breakthrough leadership has for the future of their outreach to really reach out to the entire Garfield Park community.

If you'd like to get involved or check out a future tour, you'll be in for a real treat. Just let us know.

New Volunteer Night!

Willow Chicago has a new opportunity for serving dinner with Breakthrough Urban Ministries! On the third Monday of each month, Rebecca and Rachel will be heading up the kitchen efforts for the evening meal at the women's facility. :)

Our new night starts on Monday, September 15th and we're super excited to get started.

Please give Rebecca and Rachel encouragement as they get started in their new roles as the head cooks for our new additional volunteer night. Thanks everyone!

Blessings to you!
Amanda (&Don)