Dear Friends,
In this most unusual holiday week, can I share some of our delights at Mile High Ministries? And if I may, I’d like to invite you to consider celebrating these joys with a donation to help us grow into the coming year.
I’m well aware of the hardship and turmoil that has touched us all. We are close to the realities of suffering daily with our community of staff and resident families at MHM.
Even as we grieve, we must also celebrate the goodness in and around us. Among the most striking images of 2020 for me were families pulling up to Joshua Station in their cars, masks on their faces, opening the trunk to pull out boxes of food for our families under Covid-19 lockdown protocols this past spring and summer.
Out of concern to not spread the virus to our residents, those masked providers would often rush to pile the food onto designated tables before jumping back in their cars. But sometimes they would stop and look around for a moment. And sometimes they would have tears in their eyes.
Overwhelming generosity continues to sustain our daily work of building people and communities. This Thanksgiving of 2020, when many people across the country adapted by gathering around computer screens to be with loved ones, our Joshua Station family gathered in exactly the same way. With donated feasts delivered to each resident unit Wednesday evening, we enjoyed live music and delightful conversation together on Zoom… forks in hand! There was great eagerness and satisfaction in connection.
In fact, in lieu of our beloved Thursday night dinners that so many volunteers have enjoyed with our families, we’ll be holding online dinner gatherings with residents Thursdays during the pandemic going forward. Of course we miss lingering around those round tables upstairs with 80 moms, dads, and kids. But there are new opportunities… for instance being virtually invited into each other’s homes at Joshua Station, and attentively listening to voices in the group that might otherwise be lost in the din. And a bit of new live music to share each time!
This week I’m inspired by people like you who have given so joyfully and freely amid many obstacles—seeking no credit, simply because of the presence of God in your hearts and your care for others who might be struggling. Safe, supportive housing will be critical for our families so very close to the edge, as they take steps toward greater self-sufficiency in 2021.
Will you consider Mile High Ministries in your holiday and year-end giving? On behalf of those who benefit from your generosity, thank you!
In Christ,
Jeff Johnsen
Executive Director
