Boom Roasted with Andie S2 EP10

This is my friend Andie and she has an amazing story of saying yes to Jesus to help those in our community that are truly in need,,.....our Foster kids have a BIG helping hand with Faith Bridge

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:29

Alright, guys, welcome to Boom Roasted. I am here with Miss Andy Jamerson with Faith Bridge. So glad she's here with us today, and we are having coffee, of course. Um, she's not one of the weirdos that doesn't drink coffee.

SPEAKER_01 0:41

No, no, I live on coffee.

SPEAKER_00 0:43

So she's drinking a vanilla latte. I did put a little bit of cold foam on the top for you.

SPEAKER_01 0:49

It was fantastic.

SPEAKER_00 0:50

And then I made a shake and espresso for me with caramel and vanilla. So that's my energy for today, and it was good. It was really good. Yeah. So, and I made it at our, we have a little coffee shop at our church called Port Out Coffee Shop. So our coffee shop um sponsors like our mission trips, all of our mission work. That's awesome. So I just ran over there and made it myself today and brought it back over. So nice. That's who's sponsoring our coffee today. So I'm having Andy here today because Andy is here in our building um in Eugene Fields, and um we met each other. Actually, I was trying to think back to how we met each other, and it was actually through Coyote Hill when we first were getting started. So it was around COVID time.

SPEAKER_01 1:30

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 1:31

And we were just trying to figure out like what services were going on with um as far as like foster services and all the things. And I think we did like a Zoom and um trying to figure out like what all you do. So we were talking through that, and mostly like the way we were contacting before you guys, you know, opened up over here was your aged out services. Right. So just tell me like how I know you you guys kind of got started about the same time we got started. Yeah. 2020. Or so tell me how it how it began. What was the beginning of Faith Bridge?

SPEAKER_01 2:01

Okay. So um it was a total God thing, right? Like all good things are. Right. Um, and so let's see, during during COVID, uh, my husband and I were um, we had decided to take some classes to become foster parents. We had really felt like that draw to be a foster family or to do something in the foster care community, right? And we had lots of friends at our church um and in the community who were already either fostering or had adopted. Um, and it was just this growing community that a lot of our friends were a part of. And so we were like, you know, it's it's not like we don't know anybody who does it and it's the unknown. Like it became a very familiar part of our lives. And we're like, why are we not doing this to you? Right. Like and so we started taking the classes through Coyote Hill. We got our license through Coyote Hill. Um, but like you said, this was during 2020. You couldn't just go to Walmart and buy whatever you wanted or you know, whatever. And so um we had a friend who had who had taken in a tiny baby girl, but she didn't have any baby girl stuff. And she's like, so hey, she put on Facebook, does anybody have this, this, this, this, you know, cribs or bottles or whatever? Um, at the time we had two very young girls and two older teenagers. So we had everything that you could need from teenager all the way on down, right? Just taking up space in our house. I'm like, why, why are we storing these things when other people can be using these things? Exactly. And so I I messaged her. I was like, hey, I have a crib, I have all these things. Um, and there was some other stuff that she needed that I didn't have. And so I put out a post and I'm like, hey, um, I'm looking for this, this, this. And other friends were like, hey, we have this, we have this. And so I was able to, you know, they would put it out on their porch and I would drive by their house and pick it up from their porch and then drop it off on other people's porches, right? And just kind of played like this middleman, like the bridge per se, right? So you take the people who have stuff, you bridge it, you take it to the people who need stuff. Yeah. Um, and so that was what we did in that situation. Well, then, like a couple days later, we got a call. Um, it was like, hey, I have some some baby clothes and some toddler clothes if you know anybody who needs them. And I'm like, I I don't, but I'm sure that that need will come up. And so then they just like drop stuff off on our porch. And then other people started just randomly bringing things to our porch. I'm like, okay, um, I don't know what we're gonna do with all of this stuff, but here it is. And so my husband and I had been talking, like maybe, maybe this is another part of how we can help, right? Like we can we can have this stuff here in our house and kind of hang on to it. And then if people need it, we can give it to them. And he's like, Well, what if that's kind of how we're supposed to be helping like this community is maybe not necessarily fostering per se, but being like this resource for all of these foster families. I'm like, well, maybe. So we prayed about that, we talked about it. Um, we had a spare bedroom in our home at the time. Um and so I was like, all right, well, I'm gonna talk to our pastor about it and we're gonna see like maybe this is like a ministry that you know could be part of the church.

SPEAKER_02 5:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:11

Unbeknownst to us at this same time, our church leadership is on a um like a retreat. Our church was very new at the time, and they were still going through the process of like, okay, so we're we're an established church, and obviously our mission is Jesus, right? Like, he is the mission of the Christian church, right? He is Christ, right? We are Christians. So um, but it was like, where are we going to focus um the heart of Redeemer? And um, so it was going to be on foster care and adoption. It's like the heart ministry of our church. Yeah. And so we didn't know that these conversations were happening. They didn't know that our conversations were happening, right? So they get back from this retreat and I I called our pastor and I was like, hey, I need to talk to you um about some things that Ben and I have been discussing. He's like, actually, I need to talk to you also. Um, he's like, we we just had, you know, all of these meetings, whatever, and we thought this is gonna be the heart of our of our church and who can run this ministry. And it was unanimous. They said, like, Andy Jamerson can run this ministry. And I was like, oh, so you've already talked to Ben. And he's like, no, what are you talking about? And I was like, okay, so this is the exact thing that we had been talking about. Right at the same time. And so I'm like, well, have you told anybody? And he's like, no, only the people who were there at the meeting. And I was like, okay, because other random people from our church have been bringing things to our house, just showing up. He's like, I haven't told anybody. I was like, I haven't either.

SPEAKER_00 6:42

And so what like a dual confirmation for them and for you?

SPEAKER_01 6:46

Right. God's like, I got this. You guys did nothing, it's all me, right? So honestly, all we did was say yes. Wow. And it uh, so we we cleared out the spare room in our home and stuff just started coming. And we had boxes, we had bags, and we had tubs. Um, and I called our pastor, you know, maybe like a month in, and I was like, we don't have room in our house to continue doing this. And if we're using our spare room for stuff, we don't have room in our house to even foster children, right? Like I'm not gonna, I'm not gonna say no to children because there's stuff in the room, right? Right? Like that that doesn't make sense at all. So um he, um, our pastor has a car dealership, still 2020. Nobody's coming to look at cars in 2020, nobody's coming to buy cars. So he's like, why don't you take the front couple of offices and rooms in my car dealership? I was like, All right, sweet, we're gonna do that. So we moved everything into the car dealership. Maybe a month later, we were so out of space. You were max thing, too. Yes, because people kept bringing stuff. Um, and so then, you know, it was it was just a an as-needed thing. People would text and be like, hey, I've got these kids, these are their ages, these are their sizes. And me and some volunteers would go into these rooms where it was bags and boxes and just all the stuff. And we're just trying to pull stuff out, trying to find what we can and try to kind of sort as we go and label so that we know where to go for next time. And it was so it took so much time. It was so inefficient. It was ridiculous. Like we have the stuff, but it's it's not organized at all. So um we started looking for a space um in March of 2021. We decided to not break away from the church at all because they are still our, you know, our main sponsoring organization and all of that, but we decided to separate and become a separate 501c3 so that we could partner with other churches and other businesses, which also helps with like a grant writing and those sort of things when you're not underneath the umbrella of a church.

SPEAKER_00 8:52

Yes, which is what we found as well.

SPEAKER_01 8:54

Yeah, yeah. Um, and unfortunately, you have to do that, right? And so we did. Um, we still partner with Redeemer Church, they were still fantastic, the pastors on our board, all the things. Um, but we we became our own 501c3 and we rented a space. Um, we opened that space in July of 2021, so five years ago. And about two months later, we ran out of room and we needed another space. And a couple of months after that, we ran out of room again and we needed a big storage facility. Um, and it's just the way the programs have grown and the reach has grown. Um, all of it is just it's expanded so much further than I could have ever thought five years ago. That's it.

SPEAKER_00 9:39

Isn't that crazy to think about like COVID in your bedroom or on your front porch, really? Right. And then it just grew and grew and grew. I mean, and honestly, if the Lord would have showed you that plan, then you'd be like, I can't do that. I don't have time for that, I don't have the resources for that. Right. You might have said no.

SPEAKER_01 9:57

Right. Like I've got babies. It's you know, I've got teenagers, I've got a husband who works far away. Like, no, no thanks.

SPEAKER_00 10:07

I can't do it.

SPEAKER_01 10:08

Yeah, but a little bit at a time, you know, it it does make it easier to say yes. And God is so gracious to not be like, here's the giant plan that I need you to say yes to right now. He's like, here's what I want you to say yes to, and we'll we'll go as we go. Exactly. Right? Just keep saying yes, and those doors just keep opening, and it's fantastic.

SPEAKER_00 10:25

Well, uh years ago, when I first started doing mission work, I was reading um this book um called Kisses for Katie. And it's a beautiful book of this young lady who is from Brentwood, Tennessee, that wanted to do just a short-term mission trip to Africa, like teach a preschool class. Like, so she was going when she was 18 years old, gonna teach this little preschool class and then come home, go to college. You know, it's gonna be an experience. And she gets over there and she realizes, like, no, like, I think this is supposed to be my life. And so she ends up going over there, and this whole ministry explodes from her. She has this ministry now called Amazema Ministries. It like ends up, she adopts like 13 girls, she has a refugee camp, she has an after-school program, she has a full school compound, like it's massive. And like there's a whole story behind it. But I get to the end of this book and I'm just like sobbing because it was this girl that was just like, I'm just going to teach preschool, you know? And then it ends up being this massive thing. And I'm like, Lord, like, how did she do that? Like, she didn't have like a covering, she didn't have this whole background in ministry. Like, how did this happen? And so I'm just waiting for the Lord to like download like what was this master plan? And he was like, Oh, she said yes. Yeah. She said yes, like that's what happened. And then it just took me back to like, you know, the scripture where Isaiah, where where the Lord said, you know, I just looked across the the earth and I was looking for someone. And he said, Well, here I am, Lord. Like, send me, I'll go. Yeah, I'll say yes to that. Yeah, you know, and did Isaiah know that that would gonna mean he was gonna be stoned and run out of the city and that people are gonna mock him? Probably not when he said yes, you know, you know, and it it's not all roses and petals whenever you say yes to ministry and when you say yes to serving people, it's not no, you know, and you sacrifice a lot to for it, you know, and it's not you're not patting your pockets for sure to say yes to ministry. And but you know, the the reward is so great. And my husband, one time we even laughed because my husband thankfully has an amazing job, and that's why I get to do ministry. It's because he is the supporter of our family. And uh he was talking about this uh bonus he was getting, and um, he was, I was like, Well, I that's fantastic, babe. I said, Because my rewards in heaven, you know, because that's where my bonuses are being laid up, you know. But I'm just so thankful though that the Lord is so gracious with us and he does give us, like you said, like those little pieces of just say yes to this today, you know, and you thought it was gonna be this, and it ended up being like, and now you guys are expanding to a whole nother city. Yes. So whenever I started talking to you, you guys, an hour from here from Hannibal, and you know, I drive over there to get stuff, and you drove over here to bring stuff, and now we buy this building, and then it's like, hey, you want to be here?

SPEAKER_01 13:16

You know, and you're like, Yes, we do.

SPEAKER_00 13:18

Yeah, yeah, we do actually, you know, and so and it's just expanding and people are growing and knowing more of who you are, and like, what's it gonna look like in five more years? Yeah, I don't even know.

SPEAKER_01 13:28

I don't even know. Um, and and I'm always the you know, rose-colored glasses, the silver lining, like everything is gonna be, it's all good, right? Um, but even if it's not, it's all God. Yeah, right. Like, like when Paul met Jesus, when Saul met Jesus, right? Um, and he said yes, if if he had known, hey, you're gonna be arrested and you're gonna be shipwrecked and you're gonna be beaten and you're gonna spend a lot of time in jail, would he then like, oh, let me rethink my yes, right? But if he hadn't said yes, we wouldn't have all of his letters, we wouldn't have that encouragement, we wouldn't have that discipline. Yeah, and like going through um Philippians, especially, like, right, like, like it's so encouraging. And he's writing it from prison, right? Right. So would I still have said yes if he had been like, okay, so in five years, like here are all of the things, right? Like I said, he's gracious. So he says, you just say yes right now, and we'll make it through this. I already have the plan, I already know how it's gonna end up. You just have to say yes every step along the way. So saying yes in the little steps is easier when you know that God has the entire plan already taken care of. Right. And whether it includes shipwrecks and prison time, like I hope I don't. But if I do, am I still gonna say yes? And I hope my answer is still yes.

SPEAKER_00 15:01

Yeah, I do too.

SPEAKER_01 15:02

Yeah. So five years from now, I have no idea.

SPEAKER_00 15:04

No, none.

SPEAKER_01 15:06

But I'll just keep saying yes.

SPEAKER_00 15:08

Right. And that's what I tell people all the time because they ask a lot of people ask the questions of like, um, how do you do it financially? And I was like, I have no idea. Like, I don't have the answer to that because I don't do it financially. I don't have the means to do it financially. And I think that's one of the crippling things for some people is they're so afraid to say yes to something because they're like they can't figure it out. They can't like in their minds work out how does this work? Well, I don't know how it works, right? Like that's not up to us. No, it that's God math. Like it's up to him to stand up. That's right. Yes, you know, it it says it's according to his riches and glory. Yes, you know, so whenever it starts to crunch time, because when we bought this building, yes, I mean, we had a miracle and how we got obtained the building, like, and that was great, but that didn't mean that I wasn't gonna get, you know, the electricity bills that are, you know, thousands of dollars a month. Like, then what do I do? You know, well, then I have to rely on the same one who gave us the miracle to get the building, right? It's okay, God, what do we do then?

SPEAKER_01 16:13

Yeah, yeah, his calling on our lives is not dependent on our financial situation.

SPEAKER_00 16:19

No, because if it was, I'd be in trouble.

SPEAKER_01 16:21

I'd be sitting at home sipping my coffee by myself, right? Being like, all right, now what, God? Because you showed me all of these awesome things, but I said no because I'm scared and I I can't plan it out on paper, I can't figure it out. So no. God's like, um, I'm a little smarter than you. Yeah, I got this already. Just say yes.

SPEAKER_00 16:41

And so many people I think just miss out on such big things because they can't figure it out in their own minds. And if they can't figure it out in their own minds, but I'm like, if you have to figure out everything yourself, like how limiting is that? Oh gosh, yeah. I mean, I mean, think about just even being a parent. Like, I think about, I mean, my first child I had at 19 years old, and I knew nothing, right? Like, right, absolutely nothing. And even the parent I am, because my last child I had at 30, like I like when they say you're a different parent to every child, that's real. Yes. That is absolutely real. And so we go into so many things not knowing what we're doing, you know. We just we're really taking a chance, but but with the Lord, like it's not really taking a chance. Like, we're believing that God has it.

SPEAKER_02 17:29

Right.

SPEAKER_00 17:30

You know, because we're giving him our life and we're saying we want to make a difference. We want to leave a mark on this world, and we want to impact the widows and the orphans, like the scripture says, it's our job to do. Yes. And so we're going after them and we're gonna say, like, okay, well, this is what we can do. We know that, especially in America, there's all these, like, we don't even wear out our clothes. So that's easy. So put it out there, right? I need these. Like, like we're going on a mission trip and we needed certain sizes. I people are like, Well, how do you get those things together? I said, I can have those things in 24 hours. Yeah, I'll put out the sizes online, and everybody has them. Yes. Because in America, we don't wear out our clothes, and I people always have extra. Yeah, you know, and so our stuff, our fill in the blank. That's right. I'll admit, you know, we change our decorations, you know, every year. Right. You know, and so like, and that's why you are able to have what you do for your kids. And it's just like trying to figure out, and so many people are just like, how do you do that? And it's like, it really is as simple as the yes. Quit making excuses for it and do just do something. Just do it.

SPEAKER_01 18:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 18:34

Just do something, you know. And if you've got an hour in the week and when people are like, Well, I don't really have time, like, come on, look at your cell phone. How much time have you spent scrolling? Yeah, you do have time. Yeah, it's just about the priority, right? You know, of where you're putting that time and what you're doing with that time. Because our partnership and what we have found is a gap, and is was as simple as you saying, like, okay, I thought it was going to be foster parenting. Well, it was actually helping foster parents find resources that they need. And then with us, it was okay, where are the gaps at with services in our town? And what we found was not just foster parenting, but what we found was a gap was like, especially with those aged out kids. And that's what's really growing with us. Like, where are those kids at? Where are they going? Right. Like, what are their needs? Like, who's helping them once they're out of the system? Yes, you know, and so and whose responsibility is it to care for them? Right. Right. I think it's the churches. I agree. I agree. Because if it's not us, then who?

SPEAKER_01 19:37

Right. Well, and the scripture says, you know, widows and orphans. It doesn't say widows and orphans until they turn 18. Right. And then your hands off. Like there's not an age limit on caring for people. Yeah. Yeah. Um, and that's kind of how our like carry-on program came about. Is, you know, at first we were, you know, we had clothes, we had shoes, we had school supplies, whatever, right? Well, then we got a call for a placement for a girl who was getting ready to graduate high school, getting ready to age out of care, but she didn't have anybody to give her like that push into adulthood, right? She had like three months left in care. And we got a call. And I was like, I mean, you know, it would the first thing you think is, okay, we're gonna be like this stopping point, right? She's gonna graduate and then she's done. And I'm like, well, she's done what? Right, right. Like, who's gonna help her move into her first place? Who's gonna help her apply for college? Who's gonna help her get a job? And then I'm like, I'm bawling, I'm talking to my husband, I'm like, who's gonna be at her wedding? Who's gonna pay you for her wedding? Who's gonna give her like these are legit things, right? Right? And I'm like, oh my gosh, we can't just be like, oh, peace out, you're 18. So the carry-on program was kind of born um from that placement. Yeah, um, where it's like, now, now what would you need next? And what would you need next? And so she's like, Well, this, this, this. And I'm trying to think, okay, when I was 18, like I joined the army. So I didn't have these needs. Yeah. Um, and the military is still a great choice if anybody wants to do. But um, unfortunately, a lot of kids who do age out, they don't graduate high school. Yeah. So then they need to get their GED or their high set if that's something they choose. But they still they can't just be homeless. They don't have a place to live anymore, right? Like they need, oop, they need all of these things. And so um, you know, the carry-on program through that we help them with all of these things. You know, we furnish their apartment, we help them find an apartment if necessary, or find a job, or get into, you know, whatever programs it is. And I totally get it that by the time they're 18, they're ready to be done with programs and people in charge of them. Yes. And so they're, like you said, we have to find those kids because they're not typically raising their hands being like, hey, I'm over here, I want to be part of your next program. Yeah. I want more people to be in charge of me. Right. Like they're done with the system, they're done with the man, they're done with all of it, right? Like they want to figure things out on their own.

SPEAKER_00 21:58

They think they do, but they don't know.

SPEAKER_01 22:00

How yet. Right. They most likely have not had that guidance, have not had that education, have not had a person in their life to say, here's where the DMV is. Yeah. Do you know you need to go there? Here's where the social security is.

SPEAKER_00 22:13

You know you have to have that when you go down there. Right.

SPEAKER_01 22:16

The health department, that's a thing. Yeah. You can go there and get your birth certificate or get a checkup. Right. Or whatever it is.

SPEAKER_00 22:24

Or you need a specialty doctor. Well, you have to go to a regular. Yeah, it is. Those are things that you just take for granted. Yeah. You know, or I would, as a young woman, I would have called my mom, I was like, what do I do? Right. Like, right. You know, what do I don't know what to do? And then, you know, but if you don't have that, then what do you do?

SPEAKER_01 22:41

Right. We took a young man to set up a bank account because he had gotten his first job. And they're like, okay, so now we need your banking information to direct deposit. He's like, What is that? You can't just give me a check. And they're like, no, we don't do that. So we had to go to the bank. Um, and you know, you've got to have 50 bucks to open an account. He didn't have 50 bucks. Yeah. So we pay to open his account. Um, and the lady slides across the little keyboard thing, the little pad, and she's like, Okay, enter a pin. And he's like, Looks at me. He's like, What is a pin? I was like, just four digits. And he's like, What? Four digits? I'm like, any four, any number that you can remember, just type it in. He's like, what like one, two, three, four, or like seven, seven, seven. I'm like, you can anything. You can make your make it your social, make it your birthday, make it your favorite numbers, whatever. And he's like, like, like this? He types it in. So even something as simple as that, they've never known. Yeah. You can't fault somebody for not knowing what they don't know. Yeah. Right. And so we think it's simple. Enter a pin. He's never heard the word pin in the pin.

SPEAKER_00 23:41

And it's frustrating too because it makes you feel not confident in yourself. Yeah. You know, it makes you feel um like you don't even want to say it out loud because then am I gonna I'm gonna, they're gonna think I'm dumb. Like, you know, it's do are they gonna understand? Like, so and I think that's the thing. Like the program that we had just launched here called the Empowerment Program, it's the same thing. It's like, how do we how do we help them build that confidence? Yeah, where they feel like they can ask for help, they can get more positive adults in their life that they can be like, how do I do this? You know, when they don't know, right, you know, and because like you said, like I wouldn't even thought about that. You don't know what a pen is? Like, right, I mean, why would it be simple? Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_01 24:22

Like, yeah, never had to do that before. No, never had a personal finance class. Yeah. I mean, it's it's commonplace in a lot of high schools now to do that. But is that covered? I don't know. Right. I I have no idea. He had no idea what what that was or how to open a checking account or you know, any of the things. Right. And so I think when we when we're teaching and mentoring these young kids too, we need to think like like forward thinking, right? Like what maybe they don't know so that we can present that information or go through those steps without making them feel dumb because they don't know it. Exactly. Cover the answers to the questions before they feel like they have to ask them. Right. Because I don't want them feeling dumb or not asking, because they they need to know. Right.

SPEAKER_00 25:05

And and building that solid relationship with them so they feel like they can if they come across those things. Right, you know, without without feeling like they're gonna think I'm an idiot, you know, because I could just think about that so much. That's such a terrible feeling, you know, to think like they're gonna think I'm not smart because you already feel so insufficient for not knowing what you don't know, right? You know, but you don't know until you get there. No, you know, right, and just so many, so many of those things, because I moved out when I was 17 years old, but I still have my mom like and my dad one phone call away. Like every time I needed something, going to the grocery store. I mean, I didn't know what to do. I've never been grocery shopping on my own, you know, going to the bank for the first time. I was like, I don't know how to fill out this deposit slip. Like, what do I do? But I had my mom on the phone, like this is what you do, you know. But if you don't have that, you know, and I think that's where, you know, seeing that that is such a need for those positive role models in their life that they can, because like, you know, what you were saying about just like crying, figuring out, like, oh my gosh, this is a this is a real need. We we had that same experience with when we had our foster in our house, they were trying to get us to take his sibling. We couldn't take a sibling, but we were asking about uh the sibling of a sibling that had just aged out. They had brought her from another state and into this state. She knew no one. She aged out in 20 days that they brought her into the state. And so I asked the question, like, well, where is she? Maybe we can help her get into some services, connect her with you guys. And they were like, Well, we don't know. You brought her from Oklahoma to Missouri, you don't know where she is right now. No, was her last address? We don't have that. Did you do her exiting interview? Because by law, yeah, they have to? No, because we don't know where she is. Well, have you told someone that she's missing? Right. No, because she's an adult now. So so you brought a minor into our state where she has no connections whatsoever. She doesn't know anyone or any services, and she's just walking around somewhere, as far as you know, or dead in a ditch. And I just I was so mad. I could have burned everything down that day. I just, I they gave me your name, which I don't even know if they were supposed to do that, but by that time she was an adult. And I went over to Denise Demeron, she's over United Way, and we just sat down and we just started going online, like social media, looking everywhere. And we ended up after several days, she ends up calling me. The girl does. She had made it all the way back to Oklahoma on foot. And I told her her name was Amelia. It was her first name. And she said, I said, Amelia, well, she calls me because I was like, if this is you, please call me. She calls me and I said, Amelia, oh my gosh, we've been looking for you. She just starts sobbing. And I was like, Where are you at? She said, I made it back to Oklahoma. She had miscarried homeless on our streets and had nobody. She didn't know anybody to call. She didn't have a phone to call. She was completely homeless here. That should never happen. No, never happened. No, by someone else's hand. Someone else. And I'm just like, no, no, that can't happen anymore. There has to be a central place where they at least know I can call this person if I need help. Like these services are available. At least they'll connect me with where to go. But the fact that someone just drops you off somewhere, I was like, hope you can figure it out. What do we expect from them?

SPEAKER_01 28:39

Right. And I I definitely expect better from whoever it was that did that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 28:43

Like, how how does that happen? How how dare you? Right. Like, how dare you? I was, I was just, like I said, I was so angry. I was so angry, but it also ignited a fire in me to say, like, okay, we then if they're not going to do it, the agencies that we have in place as a government are not going to do everything they need to, whether there's excuses of lack of funding or not enough people or overworked employees, okay, all the excuses, whatever it is, we still, as a people, excuse me, as a people and as Christians, like, okay, now we know though. And we have to do something about it. Right. You know, and we have to be there for those, for those children and those people that did not have mothers and fathers to teach them, or they had people in their life that did not teach them well or know how to take care of themselves or love themselves enough, you know, to say, hey, like you, you matter. Someone cares about you. Right. You know? And so, like, and I think that's really uh her her life and what happened with her is really ignited that, hey, we've got to start catching these kids before they end up miscarrying on the street and having no one. Right. Like, how do we get them before they get there?

SPEAKER_01 29:55

Right. Well, and filling in that gap not only, you know, helps those those children who are now becoming adults, but it also, I feel like that would alleviate some of the burden on our government systems as well, too, right? Like you said, they are understaffed and underpaid and overworked and all of the things. Um, and so if we can step in and say, hey, let us, let us help you with this, let us be, you know, the bridge, let us be the whatever it is that fills in this gap so that you're not feeling like you have to and people are getting missed because you you don't have the resources and you are overworked. I I couldn't imagine that job. Um, but also the kids on the other end of it, like we can't, we can't allow that to um to hinder them or to have them experience those things that are completely unnecessary. So yeah, how do we how do we fill that in and ultimately help these children, but also help the system, right?

SPEAKER_00 30:50

Like all of it. Yeah, how can we work together and do better with that? Yeah. And say, like today, I mean, we had we had a government agency come in our building today, had no idea we existed. We've been here for six years. And some of it is because there is, you know, sometimes there's a rivalry, you know, between government systems or other agencies. And we're like, can we just put all that aside and just say it's for the kids? Yes. Like we're doing this. We all want the same thing. Right, right.

SPEAKER_01 31:18

We have to cooperate, we have to work together. We can't, like, we're not competitors. No way. Oh my goodness, no. There, there's enough problems to go around. Right? Like, we don't have to fight over a handful of them. They are everywhere.

SPEAKER_00 31:30

Yeah. So, like, we have to learn to work together. We have to. And put that aside, I don't care if my name is on anything. Same. Just can we just help these kids? Can we can we get in the way of of these kids to keep them from being on the street, keep them from thinking that their only way of life is on the streets and and choosing crime or addiction or or or the way of life of their parents and just repeating cycles. Like, can we get in the way of that and and letting them know that there are people that actually care? You know, and and I I get it. And I'm not blaming all the people that work because it's not everyone, because I know there are genuine people that actually care about their jobs and care about their children, and there's not enough of them to go around. I totally get it. It's not their fault, you know, um, not always. And so, but we've gotta we've got to just keep saying yes. And the more of us, us believers that can keep saying yes to what God is calling us to, the little things, you know, like I had a lady the other day that bring she she buys suitcases that she finds at yard sales, and then she'll go buy this little neck pillow to sit on top of it that's cute. And she's like, I know this is simple, but it's just something I really feel called to do for foster kids. And she just brings them in drop spot. And that sounds so small, but it's a big deal. It is a big deal, you know, and and that if everybody would just listen to those little bitty nudges from the Lord of just do the small thing, right? You know, just start here. We have another lady that makes um these drawstring backpacks for our food pantries. She finds leftover materials and she just handmakes these little bags, and that's what we put our bags from our food pantries. Like all of that matters. And instead of people just being like, it's not enough, or I don't have anything to offer, it's just like, please just say us. Right. Just say yes. It may not be, you know, a 30,000 square foot building like this, you know, and and I didn't know it'd ever be this either, but just like the little things, like all of those little pieces coming together matters, you know, and and if we can like roast our excuses, and that's you know the premise of what we do on the show, like roasting those excuses and just saying, like, hey, we're just gonna all do it for Jesus. Yeah, just saying yes to that.

SPEAKER_01 33:41

Yeah. So yeah, because a 30,000 square foot building means nothing if there aren't all the little yeses along the way to fill it up. That's exactly right.

SPEAKER_00 33:50

That's exactly right. Because we can't exist in this 30,000 square foot building if everybody doesn't say their yeses. Right. Because I'm not big enough to fill this bottle.

SPEAKER_01 33:58

No, right? I'm not the Faith Bridge in Mowberly, same. It's a it's a 20,000 square foot storefront. So we have three stores and our storage facility inside of there. Yeah, but without all of the yeses, we just have an empty building. That's right. And that's pointless, yeah, right?

SPEAKER_00 34:15

Like, yeah, and it takes us all. So thank you for coming today. Of course.

SPEAKER_01 34:19

I appreciate it so much and having coffee with me. Oh, the coffee was fantastic. Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 34:24

So we'll have to do that again. I'll have to come um bring you over to the church and let you see our little coffee shop sometime. Yeah. So it's been great. So thank you for joining us on Boom Roasted. We hope you guys will watch it on YouTube or Facebook or any of the Audible platforms. And guys, make sure that you go out and do something amazing for Jesus. Say yes and keep saying yes.