I am very excited to send out an update about what God is doing at The Refuge. The Lord has done big things in the last month! Monday we signed a lease to rent a property where we will be able to launch our men’s residential ministry. We had been praying that God would lead us to the right spot and He did! God provided a house that is outside of town and large enough that we can easily house at least 6 guys or even more. It is a perfect setting for our men’s program and God has been truly gracious to lead us to this property! We are beginning the process of getting the house ready for the launch of the program. I am working on a list of everything that we need to furnish the house. We will be making this list available on our website and on Facebook, and soon will be passing it along to local churches, so that people can see what kind of needs we have and consider how they can help meet these needs. This could be in the form of donating items ,or by donating funds to help purchase things that are not received. Check back at the end of the week or early next week to get that list.
The goal is, Lord willing, to launch the men’s program in January of next year. I am still praying that God will provide a connection with a company that would give jobs to the men who come to The Refuge. Please pray with me that God would lead us to the right company. I will be traveling to Port Orchard, Washington next week to visit a program called The Mission House. The Mission House is led by a man named Oliver Underwood, and I am blessed to be connected with Oliver and The Mission House through a national network of Bible based addiction ministries called The Addiction Connection. I am very excited to go see Oliver and The Mission House in action! There is much that I can learn and I am so thankful that Oliver is willing to let me come out and visit. At the end of July, I will be traveling to visit a program near the Twin Cities called The Redemption House. Through The Addiction Connection, I have been able to meet Justin Lakemacher who serves as the Program Director at The Redemption House. I am excited to go see The Redemption House in action and learn from them as well. I am so thankful to be connected to solid Bible based, Gospel centered addiction ministries. I don’t want to reinvent the wheel when it comes to addiction ministry. My desire is to take what works at other ministries around the country and bring it to The Refuge.
Please pray for some fundraisers that are coming up in July. God has opened a door for The Refuge to operate a food stand at the Madison County Fair (in Winterset) from July 17-21. We are looking for volunteers who could serve in the food stand in the evenings from 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. during the fair. If you would like to help out please send me an email at benfunkhouser@gmail.com. If you want to help but are not available on one of the days for the full 5 hours, we are flexible and will take any help you are willing to give! The Refuge is also going to be selling food on July 22nd when RAGBRAI comes to Winterset. There has been a lot of planning and preparation for RAGBRAI to roll into town and it is sure to be an exciting day. I am working to fill 3 shifts with 5-7 volunteers per shift on July 22nd. The first shift will be from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., the second shift will be from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., and the third shift will be from 6:00 p.m. to close. If you would like to help, please email me at benfunkhouser@gmail.com and let me know what shift you would like to help with.
Save the date on September 27, 2019 for our annual Fall Banquet that will be held at Saylorville Church. I am excited to have Justin Lakemacher from The Redemption House coming to be the keynote speaker. This Fall Banquet will be the most important one yet, as the plan is, Lord willing, to roll out all the information about the residential program, and to begin taking applications shortly after the banquet. You won’t want to miss the Fall Banquet this year! As always, we will have a silent auction. The Fall Banquet has become a key fundraiser for The Refuge, as last year we were able to raise around $10,000 at the banquet. Single seats are $30 per person or you can sponsor a whole table (8 seats) for $200. You can register on our website at www.refugewinterset.com.
One quick update about my personal fundraising as I close. By God’s grace I have been able to raise 92% of my needed regular support. The Lord is so good and faithful! This hasn’t happened because of me, but because of God’s grace and help. I am praying and working to have the last 10% in place by September 15th. This is an important goal, as it will allow my salary to be taken care of as the men’s program launches this winter. Thank you for all your prayers and support of The Refuge. These are exciting days as the Lord is on the move in big ways!
Blessings,
Ben Funkhouser
benfunkhouser@gmail.com
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