all the way down to the core of his being

To those who are interested in knowing more about what goes into a day at Waypoint. The men are up by six thirty getting ready, eating breakfast, daily chores, quiet time and off to class by eight am. The staff & teachers start their work day at seven am with a meeting, prayer & a daily report of how things are going with the men in the program. At eight am the men are divided into classes depending on how long they have been at Waypoint. The classes consist of Orientation, Regeneration, Inner Healing & Discipleship. This is where most of the material is discussed, taught & backed up with Biblical references. However, the classroom is not where all the learning takes place. When the men head to their designated work sites, that is where the application of the classroom lessons begin. The teachers cover a lot of truth during a typical class period and to absorb that information we allow the guys an opportunity to apply it. On the work site a man is given directions, responsibility, a task, maybe three and a chance to make some of his own choices. The work site is not just a place to make the men raise support for this ministry. It is a learning tool to help the man practice and work through what he has been learning from his teacher. If the environment at Waypoint was strictly a classroom setting then there would be less opportunities for the men to apply what they are learning and less opportunity mess up. Being in a residential program with a daily routine naturally provides opportunities for the men to make mistakes. However, when a man stumbles or has to work through a negative attitude, he is in a safe, Christ centered environment that shows him not only grace but how to fail and still feel and know that he is accepted. Our staff prays that Waypoint is a safe and healthy facility that builds men up to be sober physically and mentally, clean from drugs and a clean mind, and makes them into godly disciples of Jesus Christ. That is why our last class in the program before the transition phase is Discipleship. We are not here just to clean a man up on the outside but all the way down to the core of his being. Isn't that what Jesus wants to do with all of us. Not just with those struggling with drugs, but with all His people. Colossians 4:9 says it the best..."The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things and the God of peace will be with you."

After a day of class and a full day of work the men then have the evening to fellowship, play basketball, maybe some fuse-ball, have prayer groups, Bible studies and most of the time homework from their class. Their day is full of reminders that they are in a program. A place where they still need help and healing. It is not easy to be here...it is not easy to ask for help. Please be in prayer for these men. Ask the LORD to heal them, mold them & show them that each of them are uniquely made with a purpose. Pray that when each of the men leave they have turned their focus from themselves to God and to others.

Pray for these men to become disciple makers.

Thank you,

Tara & Joel

9 MEN

It has been a while since our last blog and a lot has changed here at Waypoint. God has moved in mighty ways and in so many areas. I hope you don't mind if I share a few amazing stories with you!

Our staff at Waypoint is under transition. A few of our staff have been called to go to other jobs or ministries and God has brought in a new set of men to serve. Our Servant Leadership Team now consists of Nathan, Nick & Ryan. Chuck & William are our two newest staff members. God's timeline is remarkable. God was raising up new leaders the whole time. Tara and I are blessed to be working with people who continue to follow God’s lead and are dedicated to spreading His grace, mercy and peace. Please continue to pray for the ministry in this area of transition and for wisdom and guidance as He leads us.

Praise God as we celebrated last weekend by graduating 9 men from the program….YES 9 MEN!!! That is not a typo. Jeff, Ryan, Nathan, Nick, Randy, James B, James S, David and Brandt have graduated from the program and are moving into various transition phases as they continue their spiritual journey and we are proud to say they are young men in Christ. What a blessing!  

The Lord is allowing our prayers to be answered with the Thrift store industry. For the last few months we have been praying for so many donations that we would have to give things away. We have so much stuff right now that we are able to have some summer sales, as well as give things to people who are in need. Yes, we are giving things away. Praise the LORD!

As we close in on the deadline to purchase the property that Waypoint uses the Waypoint board has a lot of very important decisions to make. Please be in prayer for them to hear clearly from the LORD, to have a long term vision for the ministry, to raise money to buy the property or relocate. Most of all please pray for the board to be unified in the midst of so many changes & growth with the program.

Last, but not least our new website is up and running. Please take a moment and look at it. Bookmark it in your favorites so if you know of someone who needs a place to get help from drugs and alcohol you will have our name on hand.
http://waypointcenter.org/
Much love & thanks from the bottom of our hearts,
Tara & Joel

packing/unpacking and digging in the closet

I wish we could say that we are half way moved in to the cottage at Waypoint, but I went to our home in Commerce last night to do some more packing and I am afraid to say we a have a lot more to pack. It is funny what a newlywed couple can accumulate in such a short period of time. Joel and I have memories from our childhood, family pictures, children's books & toys. We were blessed with a few inherited pieces of furniture bed room suits, tables and dishes. Not to mention the overflow of beautiful new wedding gifts we received. This stuff in our home reminds me of how quickly we store up things in our hearts and in our minds. Our bodies are like a building and if we don't slow down and take a mental, spiritual and emotional inventory of what we have stored up we will become so full that there is no room to move or to add new memories. We focus on the old pictures, the chipped glasses, and complain that we never use the "good china" that is still in the cabinet. I can relate this to my Christian walk. On a regular basis I need to observe my habits, my gifts and my motives to what I have and what I need to improve.

Sometimes the men that need a place like Waypoint are at a place where they feel trapped, no where to move. They have memories of their childhood that are not good. Pictures in their head that this is the only way to live and "I can't breathe, there are so many piles of clutter." "If I try and clean this house now it would take forever to make it straight and fresh, this is impossible, where do I start?" The men are overwhelmed by the junk in their life that they just want to walk away. I praise God that there is a place like Waypoint. That there are godly leaders and teachers. That there are godly lessons and applications that can help these men.

So please pray for these men to keep focused, to dig into the back closets of their heart and head to clean out all the clutter that is keeping the men from living a godly, clutter free life. There are lots of memories, plans, and thoughts that they need to give over to God, to be laid at the cross and to be thrown out completely. There are lies that the men have been told that they need to work through. Please pray that these lies will be replaced with God's word and God's truth. That Christ will be the cornerstone of a new foundation for these men to live by.

For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians 4:6

--Impower--

I know I have mentioned this before but I want to reitterate it again and to stress the importance of your prayers for these men, their families, and our staff here at Waypoint.  We are always in need of volunteers, money, and donations.  However, these gifts can never impower a man in recovery like the power of prayer.  Prayer is more than calling upon God to bless these men.  Prayer is intereceeding for someone who lacks the strength or faith to ask.  A man coming out of addiction is at his lowest point in his life.  Why else would he be here!  He needs to be focused on getting sober, staying clean from drugs and alcohol, and working through his relationship with God.  I want to encourage you to pray for the men, their wives, their children and their parents.  More speciffically please lift up the man and his constant reflection of looking into his own heart, his daily struggle of being at Waypoint and his future.  Each man needs prayer for his place in the work force, his role with his family, and the transition for both. 

Each man is burdened by the weight that others carry in order for him to be here.  Imagine if you were sick all the things that would go undone while you were getting treatment.  The yard work, the home improvement projects, tucking your kids in bed, helping with the bills, the cost of the treatment, etc.  All of which are insignificant to his life being saved and restored.

Yet, we have not because we ask not.  I am asking each of you to consider praying for one guy daily.  Please lift him up to the LORD.  Ask the LORD to meet the needs of each man and his family.  Their needs spiritually and physically, emotionally and socially. Your commitment to pray will provide rest for the man so he can recieve healing from God.  So he will recieve power and strength to stick with the program.  Everyday the men wake up and no one is forcing them to stay.  It takes commitment and hard work to continue on their journey.  Your prayers are important and life changing for these men and their families.  Please pray!

 

March......into eternity

Joel and I have been blessed with the opportunity to be a part of something bigger than we could every imagine.  So are you! As Christians, we are all living for eternity.  Not an eternity as we forsee happening as this earthly body and soul passes into the next but for an eternity that we can grasp today.  Yes, today!  Joel spoke last week to the men here at Waypoint about our recent mission trip to Honduras.  The question "When does eternity begin? came up.  Well it begins the day we are introduced to our Savior.  We either begin living for Him or living without Him.  So as you drive down the rode, sit at your desk, prepare dinner, you are not living just for the next few hours but you are living for or against eternity.  So today as Joel goes to classes, meeting and the office; as I go to the thrift store, the storage and donation area and meet with customers, we have the opportunity to see God, hear from God and walk with God.  Life on earth might not be Heavenly all the time, but the relationship that we have with God is only the beginning of how amazing life on the other side is going to be. As you look at the faces of the people around you try and remember that they might not know God and the way they are living is not leading them to eternity with Him.

 We are always in need of prayer.  Waypoint has flock leaders, classes, teachers and staff to talk and lead the men here in the program.  However, you never know when a man is going to make that decision to leave early.  This week we had a man leave before his 10 months was over.  I know that God taught him a lot while he was here and he left with a deeper understanding of living a Christ centered life.  But these men need your prayers daily, please be in prayer for them beginning with our staff and wives.

We love you, you are supporting us in so many ways...your prayers are intereceeding in ways that we can see God working.

Joel and Tara

Nick and Corwin
Dave and Gail
Elizabeth and Jeremy
Todd
Shane
Chuck

James
James
David
Mark
Jared
Greg
Tripp
Jeff
Chris
Alex
Randy
Nick
Ryan
David
Micah
Lotten
Nathan

from Honduras to Alaska

As most of you have seen or heard that Joel and I have had a safe and wonderful time traveling on our trips to Honduras and Alaska. We especially enjoyed the people and getting to know them. We were blessed in Honduras with enough craft supplies to keep the youth occupied for the entire week. The youth were so willing to learn, to play, to share and to work with all of us. We had an average of 45youth each day in Vacation Bible School and left each youth with a Spanish New Testament Bible on the last day.
We journeyed to Alaska for Joel's training class at the Fairbanks Rescue Mission. We were greeted by an overwhelming amount of love and hospitality from our Christian brothers and sisters in Fairbanks. While there God provided meals, a washer and dryer, a place to stay and a vehicle to drive. All of our needs were met! On the last night in Alaska, God gave us a spectacular view of the Northern Lights. Green and bright, sometimes straight across the sky and other times bowed like a rainbow, the Northern Lights were a splendid ending to the two weeks of beauty that we had been taking in. Overall, I would have to say the people are what made both trips absolutely wonderful.

Since August, Joel and I have been able to be a part of Waypoint with the expectation that Joel and I would one day be part of a similar ministry team when our internship was complete. We never dreamed of God meeting our expectations in so many ways. Joel's most recent training in Alaska is going to put him as the only Genesis Process Counselor in the state of Georgia. The Genesis Process is a 30 day intense class for Christians who have relapsed or continue to relapse. He has already had one man graduate from the class and two more men interviewing for openings to go through the class.
As well as, our Director and Program Director have offered us a place to live on the property. This has come as such a surprise and we are very grateful to the LORD. We will be making a more permanent transition in May. We have learned how to be patient, how to trust God with our finances, and how to give Him everything without holding anything back. And yet, He deserves so much more!
Philippians 4:19 :"And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus."
Love, Tara & Joel

there are just some days

So there are just some days that we all feel unworthy, shameful and depressed about something. Whether it is a lonesome feeling or a consequence to an action that we made, there are just some days that we experience these feelings. So I carry on knowing that God is my stronghold, my strength and my true hope. But what about people who lack this knowledge? Are there really people who don't understand this truth? Are there people who have really never heard that God is there refuge and strength in time of need? Imagine with me for a moment...through all the rough and crazy things you have experienced in your life and you didn't know God or His plans were to help you and not to harm you. This is where many of the men, here at Waypoint, are in their life. These men, along with people you meet everyday of your life, are part of a lost people group. There is a large population of people who know of God and His promise of eternal salvation but have not grasped His forgiveness and grace. There are people walking around in shame because they cannot imagine a God of forgiveness. And why should they when we as Christians fret over what others have done to us, and how that person has hurt us, and we cling to OUR pain and wallow in OUR self pity. Are we really setting the example of FREEDOM? Are we really setting the example of JOY? If you, who have Christ living in your heart and have the Holy Spirit guiding you, still stumble, fall, sin and have a hard time accepting others as they are. Then imagine how much harder it is for people who don't walk with Christ and in the Holy Spirit. People who do not have this hope carry their own shame, guilt and depression. This is a heavy load to carry. So when you think of Waypoint today, please pray for these 20 men who are beginning to understand God's promises are for them. Please pray that these men accept hard days as days that the LORD is working in their life. As days that God is bringing healing to the deepest parts of their heart. Without the Holy Spirit I would be heavy with the worries of this world. I praise God for His assurance, forgiveness and His hope that He gives to each of us.

Love,

Tara & Joel

--Prayer Requests:

-Joel and I are leaving for Honduras on Saturday. We will be going with his parents, Todd, another staff member from Waypoint and 11 others. We appreciate your prayers for the mission trip and for Waypoint while their schedules are shifted while we are gone.

-Joel as he is in class for a week Feb. 13th-18th, receiving his certification in "Genesis" a relapse program. Our trip to Alaska for Joel's training Feb. 13th - 21st

-Waypoint's Thrift Store and Nursery to spread God's Word to the community

 Thank you!

We can not do it alone...

Dear Friends and Family,
Thank you for reading our blog and staying up to date with our ministry at Waypoint.  Over the last few weeks the men have been covered in the Spirit of Christmas.  The men were given gifts as well as given gift cards in order for them to purchase gifts for their families.  Along with the miraculous story of Jesus and His birth.  Every man in the program has heard the true meaning of Christmas. 

When we came back from the break Dave, our program director led a group class where all the men were able to share what Christmas was like for them this year.  Most of the men admitted how grateful they were for their families (parents especially), their children, their wife (who continues to love and show them forgiveness), and the reality of how materialistic this world is. 

Unconditional love...was an overall favorite for me.  These men are sober for the first time in a long time.  These men are learning and seeing that their family's, for the most part, love them and are not out to destroy them.  There are a few who were truly victimized by their family members.  They are finally able to see God wants to pour out on us, His unconditional love. 
Since Christmas the men have struggled with being back in the program and that coming back was hard.  The men know they are here for a reason but truly need your prayers for encouragement and hope.  Please lift them up.  Just because they are in a program getting help doesn't mean they have arrived yet.  They need angels to surround them and the Lord to go before.  They need help to fight this battle.  They need their brother's and sister's pettioning on their behalf because they are too weak right now. They can not do it alone. Please don't forget these men...please pray for them.

James B.

James S.
David C
Mark C.
Evan
Randy
Roland
Ryan
Mark H.
Jerad
Chuck
Greg
Tim
Chris
Jeff
Lawton
David K.
Nick
Tripp