We can trust God with the unknowns ahead because he’s already in the future. What’s ahead is best for me because what lies behind me is a history of God’s faithfulness and goodness in my life!
It’s been a long road for us getting ready to open the home. Before I, Natalie, was hired, Charonne had hoped the home would be open by now. Once I was hired we planned to open at the end of last year, then we planned for a soft opening on Valentine’s day of this year. Add a worldwide pandemic that shut everything down, that increased labor costs, which also made contractors hard to come by and busy to lock down, it at times still feels like a lofty goal to open this summer.
While this journey has been longer than we hoped it has allowed for us to make some amazing connections, to grow with our community, to invite people in to truly see our heart and vision come to life and to play a hands-on role in bringing this dream to life. We have been blown away by the people who show up to support and encourage us, the messages we get on social media and via text of the importance of what we are doing and the lives we have already touched, and God continues to provide financially above and beyond what we could have hoped for and we are so excited for all that’s to come!
A few weeks ago my pastor gave a message he called “Pencil Faith”. He talked about how when we plan for our futures, when we write things down, we usually use a pen, but maybe we need to start using pencils, to allow room for God to work and move. So we’ve penciled it in a few dates and want to invite you to pencil in a few dates with us! *Things in bold are definitely happening and things in italics you can be praying for them to happen on our proposed date!
March 19th Volunteer training at Weatherstone Church in Waukesha. We are so excited for our first volunteer training! Come learn how you can get involved with One Hope 27 and hear more about our plan and vision for our Support Home as we get ready to open in just a few months!
End of April/Beginning of May – Soft opening event at our home “Mom and Me”. We are so excited to open our support home and invite moms and their children in to connect, learn more about us, and make lasting memories! If you’d like to be a sponsor for this event or donate needed items please reach out to our lovely intern Mary at marymarquardt203@gmail.com
May 7th Our second annual Mothers Day 5K! This year we are so excited to run with all of you in person at Washington park! There will be a 5K (can be cut short for kiddos), activities and food trucks from our community including Pete’s Pops. If you’d like to be a sponsor at this event or have your food truck participate please reach out to Natalie at natalie@onehope27.org
June 1st – Official One Hope 27 Support Home Opening!!! We are so excited to see this dream come to fruition, to begin welcoming mothers into the home and see restoration and reunification happen!
September 29th 2nd Annual Restoration Fundraiser! We had such an amazing time with so many of you last year at our fundraiser that this year we found an even bigger place so we could celebrate with even more of you! We know this is still a ways out, but we wanted you to be able to save the date for an amazing night out. Even though we’re at a different location this year, we’re still bringing back a wonderful dinner from Chef Kent of the Gardens Wedding Center! We can’t wait to share more with you about this amazing night!
I love what my pastor said about Pencil Faith, that it’s about connection not control! As much as we want to control things, have everything happen on our timeline, maybe there’s more good, more growth, more blessing and provision when we give up control and focus on the ultimate connection, the connection we have with a trustworthy, good, and faithful God.
“We can trust God with the unknowns ahead because he’s already in the future. It may be unknown to us, but we’re close to someone who it’s known to”. We can look at our own stories, our own past unknowns and look to the future with confidence. “What’s ahead is best for me because what lies behind me is a history of God’s faithfulness and goodness in my life”!
And that’s a truth you can write down in pen!