Grant and Shannon’s Mission Year Newsletter for November¶
A Season of Thanks¶
As the year winds down, it feels like the pace of life quickens. Though we’ve spent more than a month settling in, it’s hard to shake the feeling that you’re forgetting something as you walk out the door. Between moving across the country and adjusting to our new home, there’s a mentality of something missing that’s difficult to move past.
For the non-profits we work at, this is the busiest time of year. Shannon is busy at Emmaus House preparing for Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations in the neighborhood. At the Georgia Justice Project (GJP), where I work, parties for donors and gifts for clients in prison are being organized. We are at full tilt through the New Year as we encourage people to give thanks and celebrate.
My work at the Georgia Justice Project focuses mostly on maintaining a relationship with our incarcerated clients. I’ve now made a few prison visits and as most could guess, prison is a scary place. For some clients, hope is easy because they’re working towards a GED or participating in a work program. For others, the future is dimmer because they won’t accept their current situation.
Recently I visited a client named Mr. A. He’s fifteen years old and serving five years for armed robbery. His brother gave him a gun and he used it to rob someone of their cell phone. Though it’s tragic to imagine spending the formative years of High School in prison, Mr. A has great potential to be a success of GJP. During our visit, he shared with us a “rap book” that operates essentially as a journal. One page had an intricately drawn heart with his mother, aunt, and sister’s names: those people that visit him most often. Sanchez, the social worker that I accompanied on the visit counseled him to internalize that love and hold on to it. Love will pull him through for the better.
That feeling of missing something is akin to a homesickness. Though we are building a home here, we miss our friends and family. Rather than despair, the season reminds us to be thankful. So thank you to all who read this newsletter. Thank you for your prayers and support.
We are excited to share that our Married Team is fully funded! Since our last newsletter, that was one of our goals and we achieved it with your help! Thank you! All donations to us now contribute to our city-wide team (17 people). Across our city-wide team, we are hoping to raise another seventeen thousand dollars before the year’s end. Please consider Mission Year in your end-of-year giving.
As the holidays come around, Good Shoppr has thousands of deals for Black Friday and Holiday shopping. Shop online at www.GoodShoppr.com and 5% of all sales will contribute to our fundraising efforts. As an Amazon Affiliate, you’ll checkout through Amazon.com so you get secure billing, fast shipping and easy returns. Shop for goods, shop for good on www.GoodShoppr.com .
Giving Thanks¶
- Our team reached its financial goal!
- We’re growing and learning in community with our team members: Josh and Debbie.
- We’ve made more friends with some of the families in the neighborhood and were invited to Thanksgiving Dinner.
- We’re encouraged by the support and love of so many friends and family.
How to Make a Donation¶
You may either use the enclosed envelope or you can donate securely online. Whenever you make a donation, be sure to include our Team Member Name and Support ID Number. Those are:
- Team Member Name: Grant and Shannon Jenks
- Support ID Number: 11-9031
Visit https://www.missionyear.org/support/jenks in your web browser to make a donation online. Make checks payable to “Mission Year” and include our Support ID Number in the memo line. Donations are tax deductible.
`Sign up <http://www.grantjenks.com/blog/mission-year/>`__ for the newsletter in PDF format for pictures and more!