I took a day off from the village today. Instead, I spent the day serving my father in law, age 90, and the church. Howard is a wonderful man. Everyone who knows him, loves him. We went to see his chiropractor and his GP. Then we went to Lutheran Church of Hope to work on a project for Easter Sunday. Everyone at the church knows Howard as well. It's a great thing that we get to share time together.
One item of note from the village. Iowa Medicaid Enterprises heard about our project and is now calling me to arrange a get together. My how things have changed.
Tomorrow will likely be another light day regarding Hope Village. I have numerous church / Holy Week projects to wrap up. I promise to keep you all appraised of any significant events.
JohnDana
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
A Vision Revealed
Well, I have to say our big invite went exceotionally well. We had 122 people turn out for "A Vision Revealed". 63 people resonded to our request for information cards. Better than that, 2 people asked to be our Volunteer Director of Fund Raising, two more people asked to be the volunteer CFO. And about 1/2 dozen asked for a tour of Village Northwest in Sheldon to see the inspiration for Hope Village.
I was overwhelmed. Apparently, the performance improved over the dry run last week. All I can say is the Holy Spirit showed up and did his thing.
Now, the hard work begins. We are comitted to contacting everyone who responded to the information cards with in one week. The we need to schedule a volunteer meeting, identify top performers, devide into teams and start work n the business plan. Like I said, now the hard work begins.
I was overwhelmed. Apparently, the performance improved over the dry run last week. All I can say is the Holy Spirit showed up and did his thing.
Now, the hard work begins. We are comitted to contacting everyone who responded to the information cards with in one week. The we need to schedule a volunteer meeting, identify top performers, devide into teams and start work n the business plan. Like I said, now the hard work begins.
Monday, April 6, 2009
More Good News
When you are on a mission from God there are great moments…and not so great moments. The great moments come when you KNOW you are doing His will. The not so great moments always involve doubt.
I’ve just had a great moment. Last Thursday, I did a radio interview on “Here’s to Your Health with Karla Calumet”. I was nervous. I called many of my friends and asked that they pray for me. I asked them to pray for peace, calm, and that the Holy Spirit would use me to advance the mission of Hope Village. You know what? That is EXACTLY what happened. As I waited on hold for the interview to begin, I could feel your prayers. I felt calm, joy, and peace. I knew He was with me.
So, why I am writing about it now? Well, I finally got to hear the interview. Karla has posted it to her web site, www.herestoyourhealthkarlacalumet.com . There is a tab for “radio shows”, then 04/01/09 links to an mp3 file. The quality isn’t great but the message is loud and clear. God showed up and used me to spread the word, Hope Lives Dream Big! What an absolute joy it is to be his servant.
And tomorrow is our big invite. A Vision Revealed is our public launch. We are meeting at Lutheran Church of Hope at 925 Jordan Creek Parkway in West Des Moines, IA. Our meeting begins at 7:00 pm and will run for 45 minutes with a question and answer session to follow. I hope to see you there.
I’ve just had a great moment. Last Thursday, I did a radio interview on “Here’s to Your Health with Karla Calumet”. I was nervous. I called many of my friends and asked that they pray for me. I asked them to pray for peace, calm, and that the Holy Spirit would use me to advance the mission of Hope Village. You know what? That is EXACTLY what happened. As I waited on hold for the interview to begin, I could feel your prayers. I felt calm, joy, and peace. I knew He was with me.
So, why I am writing about it now? Well, I finally got to hear the interview. Karla has posted it to her web site, www.herestoyourhealthkarlacalumet.com . There is a tab for “radio shows”, then 04/01/09 links to an mp3 file. The quality isn’t great but the message is loud and clear. God showed up and used me to spread the word, Hope Lives Dream Big! What an absolute joy it is to be his servant.
And tomorrow is our big invite. A Vision Revealed is our public launch. We are meeting at Lutheran Church of Hope at 925 Jordan Creek Parkway in West Des Moines, IA. Our meeting begins at 7:00 pm and will run for 45 minutes with a question and answer session to follow. I hope to see you there.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
I apologize to anyone following the blog who may have expected daily posts. If you don’t know me, that may be a reasonable expectation. But I am not what you would call normal, average, or ordinary. I don’t fit the mold, ANY mold. When God created me he had a special purpose in mind. And now, after dozens of years and many seasons, I know why.
God chose me to build a village. Hope Village. I don’t know why he chose me. I don’t need to know why. He did. Truth be told, I’m a coward. After considering the fates of Moses, wandering in the dessert for 40 years, and Jonah, three days in the belly of a whale, when He called, I said, “Yes Lord!”
He has blessed me with many gifts: a gift of grace, lots of love to give away every day, compassion, a bit of bizarre, a dab of disrespect, an immeasurable drive to accomplish the undoable, and friends in abundance. Which brings us to the point of this post, my friends.
On April 2nd, we had a dry run of the “A Vision Revealed” program” and it was BAD and my friends let me know it. In the words of Donkey, “Wow! Only a true friend could be that truly honest”. I knew I was blessed when the development team, my friends, asked what they could do to make the presentation better.
So, on April 7, (see events tab on the web site), I only need to tell the story of Hope Village. The team will take care of everything else. This serves as one more reminder that Hope Village really is a God thing. I hope to see you all there.
God chose me to build a village. Hope Village. I don’t know why he chose me. I don’t need to know why. He did. Truth be told, I’m a coward. After considering the fates of Moses, wandering in the dessert for 40 years, and Jonah, three days in the belly of a whale, when He called, I said, “Yes Lord!”
He has blessed me with many gifts: a gift of grace, lots of love to give away every day, compassion, a bit of bizarre, a dab of disrespect, an immeasurable drive to accomplish the undoable, and friends in abundance. Which brings us to the point of this post, my friends.
On April 2nd, we had a dry run of the “A Vision Revealed” program” and it was BAD and my friends let me know it. In the words of Donkey, “Wow! Only a true friend could be that truly honest”. I knew I was blessed when the development team, my friends, asked what they could do to make the presentation better.
So, on April 7, (see events tab on the web site), I only need to tell the story of Hope Village. The team will take care of everything else. This serves as one more reminder that Hope Village really is a God thing. I hope to see you all there.
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