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"He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the beggar from the ash heap, to set them among princes and make them inherit the throne of glory." 1 Samuel 2:8
The People's Kitchen of Grover Beach has served lunches to the homeless and/or hungry in the 5 Cities area 365 days a year for 15 years. Although it is supported financially and with volunteers by 17 local churches, housing the meal distribution portion of the ministry is often a challenge. Requirements by the city, complaints from the neighbors, and the actual labor involved with maintaining the ministry has made providing a home for the ministry a challenge.
The Grover Beach Assembly of God church stepped up a year ago to fill the need. The Bible says that "He who gives to the poor will not lack..." (Prov. 28:27) In that spirit, Brighten A Corner stepped in to serve those who were already serving, in order to "Brighten A Corner" for the People's Kitchen, the people of Grover Beach Assembly of God church and the homeless people served by them.
We created an outdoor patio area that could be used by the clients of the People's Kitchen, as well as by the congregation of the church that serves them. In addition, we completely transformed the outdoor children's play area of the church. It was our hope that we could provide a practical need with the patio area, and a place of joy for the kids who see their church feeding the hungry. We hope the aesthetic improvements of the property will help to ease the tension with dissatisfied neighbors as well as provide a place of peace and joy to all.
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Recent studies have shown that nearly 70% of American households struggle with clutter. ( Off the record, mine certainly does, but instead of continuing to work on it I am going to occupy my mind with this project instead!!) Reorganizing shows have swept through the cable industry with enormous popularity, likely because they strike a cord with the needs of so many.
Imagine that is you. Add to that a number of remodeling-type projects that have begun in your home, but haven't gotten finished. (There are a number of reality TV shows about this common scenario as well.) Top off the situation with four boys ages 2-9, the oldest of whom is blind. This was the situation we got the pleasure of ministering to.
To help meet the needs of this delightful family, we took on a 5 day project to help them out. We put the mom through a grueling 2 1/2 day process of "Clean Sweeping" each room I her house. Loads and loads of stuff to the Goodwill, and loads and loads of stuff to the dump later, we then repainted and redecorated 80% of the house. We put up baseboards and door trim, window sills and frames. We hung new curtains, added color to rooms, moved furniture, created a study area for the boys, tiled the master bathroom shower, and many other projects.
We laughed, worked, prayed, went without much sleep and watched God provide for the project that was bigger than anything we had done before it. What a joy!
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Project: Home Redesign & Organization
Our goal was to create a peaceful and functional home for a family who was pregnant with quadruplets; although one of the babies went home to be with the Lord, three are healthy and thriving in a small 3 bedroom 1 ½ bath home.
Check out these Businesses that have helped us out on the project:
API (Atlas Waste Management) - donated the dumpster
Bed, Bath & Beyond - gave a discount
Home Depot - gave a discount
Harrington Home Furniture in Atascadero - gave a discount on the couch & chair
Closets PLUS in Atascadero- gave us a discount on the Murphy Bed
Subway in SLO - donated lunch on Sat.
Cool Cats in SLO- donatedlunch on Fri.
Mari Robeson Home in the Village - donated beautiful decorator items and clothes for the babies
Chameleon Fabrics in the Village donated the fabric for the chairs
Stefanie Hilstein with Art Alignment- created and donated the handpainted dresser
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