The Intangible Fuels the Tangible

I sit here in Gallery Espresso- the same coffee shop as last week in Downtown Savannah. I'm beginning to feel less like a tourist and more like I belong here. I even pet-sat for a woman down the street this weekend, and walking to her house saw Caroline, a woman I met earlier this week. It's feeling like home already.

Last week I wrote of the tangible, of the things in a non-profit, in a ministry that your mind jumps to when you think of said ministry. They are the things that motivate the donations, and ultimately is the end result, the primary goal of the ministry. For the Vine, it's seeing girls in the midst of crisis pregnancies hear the Word of Christ spoken into their lives every day, it's the education a teenage girl should be receiving, it's preparation for the motherhood they're about to embark upon. It's the restoration and the revival in their lives.

This is what inspires me, this is what gets me out of bed every morning. Already this week though, it's so clear to me that there are so many gears and parts that have to be working furiously to make the bike ride smoothly. The duck effortlessly gliding above the water is desperately kicking underneath to stay afloat. The Living Vine takes up to 12 girls at a time, this week we've got 2, and operations are still (and necessarily so, full fledged). The Vine has 16 people on staff currently, 4 of us being summer missionaries. These women perform house management shifts on duty with the girls, work in the office, work in the thrift shops that fund the Vine, perform PR, maintenance, cooking, and creative development duties to name a few. The Vine has a board of directors, and a fundraising team of volunteers called Proverbs 31 that works tirelessly to enable the ministry.

This week I got to spend a day in one of the thrift shops 'Blessingdales' all day sorting clothes and donations from "Mt. Blessing" we call it. This is one of currently 2 large Blessingdales sites where much of the funding for the Vine comes from. These take additional staffing and many volunteers to keep afloat. There was a great love seat for $50 that I was caught sitting on with Emily mid-afternoon. Emily is one of the other summer missionaries here with me from West Virginia. We were busted. It's no easy work being on your feet all day let me tell you! 

Tomorrow I'll spend my whole day making phone calls to different pregnancy centers and clinics in Florida and Alabama to get the word about the Vine out there so that people will know about us and the services we provide in case someone needs to refer a girl to us. The Vine is going through a dry transition period currently. After 18 years of operation, after-care (care after the birth) for the girls has dried up in Savannah. The Vine wants to start up a program, but currently the inflow of the girls has lessened, because there's not a solid place for them to flow out to. The 2 girls I mentioned last week that were suppose to move in last week both backed out for different reasons, and that's a rare occasion. It's discouraging, but these women on staff here are fighters, and are passionate about enduring different seasons and not letting the enemy find defeat in us here.

All of these logistics alongside many more enable the ministry, enable the effortless float on top of the water. The intangible fuels the tangible, and I'm awed by it honestly. As a finance major, I love the logistics, the administration. It's just as important as the life-changing, breakthrough conversation with a girl living within the walls of the Living Vine. It's no small operation occurring here in Savannah.

Prayer

>That the Vine perseveres through this slow period, building strength along the way, and that the Lord is preparing the ministry for seasons ahead.

>Prayer against the schemes of the devil. His deception, lies, and workings are not welcome in our home, and we pray for a shield around the minds of the girls and the staff.

>Praise that good conversation was had concerning forgiveness of the baby daddy for one of our girls. Pray that she is able to persevere in this and find it within herself to forgive.

>Praise that I am able to feel like myself and operate as myself as I fall into a new normal and get to know new people to turn to on a daily basis.

>Pray for unity among the staff, and a continued center on Christ through every detail of ministry.

I spent some of my off time this week reading until the sun went down at Forsyth Park, one of Savannah's many, but most well-known parks. The strength and vastness of the Oak trees left me in awe. Love you guys, thanks for your continued support!

Forsyth Park