So, many of you have been asking questions about the past six months and what has been happening at Branches. I have come to the realization that I have fallen short on my updates. So, I thought I would take some time on this beautiful, warm day in sunny Florida to write to you all. (Sorry, I had to make you all jealous about the weather, I only get two months out of the year where it's valid.)
I wish I could sugar coat this update and tell you how wonderful things have been and how amazing my job is. While it is an authentic statement that I still love every second of my job and the community in which I serve, I have to be honest about the past six months. The truth is that every day since the fire has been a challenge. We decided the day after the fire (when we MUST have been delirious from sleep depravation) that we would not stop programming. We would be resourceful, creative, and diligent in our efforts to keep every single program running that Branches offered the community. We would not let this violence against our church and community stop us from the service which we have been called. So, for the last seven months, we have done just that. We have been serving all 125 families in our program out of a tent, two small classrooms, and a port-a-potty. To be honest, looking back, I don't know how we managed.
I moved into a small three bedroom house two blocks from Branches and my house, along with my boss's house have become “second Branches.” We had to do programming at our houses three nights a week because there was just no space. There's not a night of the week when youth and young adults are not at my house: receiving tutoring, doing laundry, editing college essays, having Bible studies, and of course EATING! (All services they should have been able to receive at Branches over the past few months.)
Now, in no way, do I want you to construe this email as complaining. I am taking the time to paint the picture of what the past seven months has been to show the direct contrast of what has happened over the past two weeks. For seven months, we have literally been working seven days a week, sometimes eighteen hours a day, trying to keep up programming, trying to serve (often more than we were capable of), simply put: trying too hard to do too much. It has seemed like an uphill battle all leading up to last week.
Last week, when our kids came back from Christmas break, we were finally able to move into the portable building. We now have 7,000 square feet of space. We have a kitchen. We have four toilets. We have four classrooms. We have three offices. We have a roof over our heads. When it rains outside, we do not have to worry about flooding. When it's hot we do not have to bathe in insect repellent. In essence, it's the promise land! God has brought us out of the wilderness. And I realize that's a bit of an over exaggeration, however, after what we have come through, to us, it seems to ring true. The better news is that this portable building is still only temporary. In seven months, through the generosity of our supporters, we have been able to raise the TWO MILLION dollars needed to start our new building. Therefore, this summer, we will begin constructing a new building and church sanctuary that will make our “promise land” of a portable look like an outdoor tent and port-a-potty.
It has been a demanding past few months. To say the least. However, things are shifting in Florida City. God has seen us through our trials and is helping us to prosper and to build a hope and a future in South Florida. I am so grateful for the support each of you have given me through these trials and tribulations and am even more grateful to start a new future in this community I love.
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