A Good Day

Saturday was a full day

And a good one

In the morning was my mom's memorial service

It was both a time of grieving her absence

And celebrating her life

What a treat to see the many, many people who came to celebrate and honor her

Some whom we had not seen for decades!

Mom was definitely a woman who impacted many people by her life and love

Through her hospitality, teaching, praying and pouring her life out in loving service of others

I'm thankful to God for her.

In the evening was The Coffee Oasis Annual Gala Fundraiser

Thankfully I got a good nap in between the two:)

Because they both took a lot of social interaction and emotional energy

At least for this introvert whose body is also battling an enemy inside!

What an evening...

It was at the Kitsap Conference Center and had sold out a couple of weeks before

It's been amazing and incredible to see how God has blessed The Coffee Oasis over the past 22 years and increased the number of people who are eager to support our ministry to homeless youth

Three highlights...

1. Several of our youth shared and did an incredible job

It was the heart of the evening and made a fundraiser more like a family sharing time that couldn't help but move and impact anyone in attendance

As they heard the youth's stories and how their lives have been impacted

2. Our goal was to raise $65,000 and we raised $88,481

Oh, yes!

And, all the Puget Sound area MOD Pizza locations that night contributed 10% of their sales towards the The Coffee Oasis

So there is more to come!

We are so thankful and blessed:)

3. We announced Daniel, our son, as the new Executive Director beginning January 1, 2020

To be honest, I didn't do much announcing

But with Cindy's help got through it with a lot of tears and sat down!

What a blessing it is to pass the reigns of leadership to Daniel

Again we have much to be thankful for:)

And I was exhausted!

And I crashed:(

Basically slept all day today...Sunday

As my body tried to recoup from all the interaction and emotion

It will probably even take a couple more days to recover

It is really, really hard being sooooo weak:(

Having so little capacity for social interaction and engagement

It, as I've shared before, easily leads down a path of mental battling

And discouragement

Which is obviously compounded by physical weakness and emotional exhaustion

However, in the midst of the battle, it was a good day

I am very thankful