What’s Up in the Tree “The Word says the desire alone to do good is not enough to overcome our flesh. I am called to war against the flesh, to live my life in a tug-of-war as my flesh urges indulgence and the Holy Spirit constrains me to righteousness. The only way I’m going to find victory over this war is having a right relationship with Jesus. Submitting is the best thing I have ever done. The freedom and power that comes with just letting go and letting God is a beautiful thing.” A resident wrote this as a reflection on Galatians 5:16 “So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.”
May 2021 In this issue: COVID in the Tree, New Board Members, From a Volunteer, Branches of Growth with Jeff
COVID in the Tree At the end of 2020 everyone said they hoped we would not have another year like that again. And now we can say we hope we never have another month like April again! 4 of our 6 residents came down with covid-19 within just a couple of days of each other. One of our men was hospitalized for about 24 hours. All are getting stronger day by day and it looks like there will be no long-term problems. We are thankful that staff members who did not have natural immunity had had the opportunity to be vaccinated so none of the staff got sick. We are very thankful that things are back to normal and we hope that we never have another month like April again!
New Board Members We enthusiastically announce that Chris and Joanne Farley have joined the Board of Directors. We are pleased to have them.
From a Volunteer “Why do I volunteer my time at the Jeremiah Tree to serve on the board? My sister died of a heroin overdose in 2014. The feeling of loss and anger toward Satan and his demons for trapping people in addiction is just as real today as it was in 2014. If my service can lead to a man transforming his life through Christ to beat the addiction sparing him pain as well as the family who loves him, I want to do all I can. Oh....and I love messing with Jeff Carter, our Executive Director. ;)” – Jamie Fee, Board president Jamie has done many things at The Jeremiah Tree over the years, from working on the electrical to the roof, from cars to hiking with the men to Board president. Thank you, Jamie, for serving so faithfully! There are many ways to become involved at The Jeremiah Tree. There are needs for volunteers, financial supporters, prayer supporters, and church liaisons. If God is leading you to be involved somewhere come join us in this work. God is active and working in these men!
Branches of Growth with Jeff Transform OR Conform? As I sat on the picnic table the other day with a couple of our residents who were not in quarantine, I looked at Tod and said, “Hey, didn't you show up here in handcuffs 7 months ago"? He said "Yes, I did.” My thoughts were like yep, God can take a guy who was a drug addict and criminal and make him a light to others. As I watch these guys either transform or conform [allow Jesus to truly transform them or to simply conform to the rules we put in place], you can see the change or not the change. It's not our place to, nor can we, transform someone, but we can and do share the love of Christ and His transforming power.
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