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A Real Life Miracle?
We recently had a friend and supporter of our ministry say, "I hear you're in the middle of a real life miracle". He was referring to the incredible momentum we were having toward purchasing a new building, but as we sat on his words, we realized that they beautifully summarized our entire ministry.
By definition, a miracle is a highly improbable or extraordinary event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and therefore considered to be a work of divine nature. Everything about our story defies both law and logic... we are doing work that we are unqualified and unequipped to do, yet God continues to bless and grow our efforts. Being able to witness Him make the impossible, possible has been an incredible experience and given us a powerful testimony.
It's extraordinary that we are purchasing a building in Brighton. It's extraordinary that we have a ministry in Thailand. But, our God is the God of miracles, and we are seeing first hand that when we are obedient to his calling, He will always accomplish exceedingly more than we can ever ask or imagine. As The Ivy Table continues to expand, we will keep rooted in the only one who can perform true miracles. To Him alone be the glory!
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A Quick Building Update
Progress toward acquiring our new space continues to move forward. We now have raised an incredible $620,000 of the $1.1 Million total project cost. The purchase agreement is with the lawyers, and our renovation ideas are with the architects. God has been so good in sending amazingly talented and generous people to help with every step of the process.
- Matt Abraham, a business attorney at Abraham Law has offered to draft our purchase agreement for FREE
- Stan Schafer, an experienced builder and founder of Schafer Construction has offered to act as our general contractor, overseeing the entire project and coordinating all of the subcontractors for FREE
- Betsy Wagner, President of the national Hobbs + Black architecture firm, has offered her talented staff to do all of our designs, drawings, and site plans for FREE.
We are so grateful for the support of our entire community. Many, many others have reached out offering to help in a wide variety of ways, from cleaning to carpentry. THANK YOU!!!
We have already encountered several big ticket items that will have to be replaced or repaired at the building (that we were not expecting or budgeting for), including the big walk-in coolers. But, we know and trust that God will continue to provide for every need.
To learn more about what we have planned for the building or if you would like to contribute (financially or with your time, talents, prayers), please visit The BIG Dream page of our website.
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News is Spreading
Our story was featured last week in two local publications. Following a Livingston Press article, we received at least a dozen volunteer offers, some wanting to help now during construction and others after we are open.
In response to a What Now Detroit story, we received a call from a woman who runs a nonprofit downtown Detroit wanting to know how we have grown so quickly in just two years and how we raised such a large amount of money in such a short amount of time for our building. Our answer to both questions was simply...its not us, its God! She shared with us her frustrations about trying to purchase a space that would help build community in a rough neighborhood of Detroit. We had a lovely conversation, offering encouragement and prayer over what she was doing.
Although we don't often love being in the spotlight, we always love being able to share the incredible ways that God is at work. You never know who He is going to touch. Click on the images below to read both articles.
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Building Cleanup Dates
The wait is finally over...for those of you who have been wanting to get your hands dirty at the building...the time has arrived! We have scheduled two clean-up parties that you won't want to miss.
Sunday, July 14 from 10am-2pm
This Sunday, we will be hosting a very special Lunch & Lysol Party :) This exciting day will be focused on deep cleaning the bathrooms and kitchen in the building, including above ceiling tiles (which have accumulated lots of mouse droppings). We will provide a simple lunch, cleaning supplies, gloves and masks for anyone brave enough to help us tackle a building that has been vacant for 7 years. If you have equipment or supplies that you love or think would be helpful, feel free to bring them along.
Saturday, July 27 from 10am-2pm
In 2 weeks, we will host an equally fun Lunch, Lawn, & Lysol Party. This day will add opportunities for outdoor clean-up like weeding and the trimming of trees/bushes in addition to deep cleaning the indoor dining area of the building. Again, we will provide lunch and you can bring the muscle. (Because this one has an outdoor component, we are adding Sunday, July 28 as a possible rain date.)
We have created a sign-up genius for both days. Please register if you plan to attend to help with our lunch plans. Thank you in advance
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Building our Board
The Board of Directors is the governing body of a nonprofit. They are responsible for keeping its mission in focus and alive. They offer oversight, accountability, and strategy that are key to both financial stability and long term sustainability.
We are excited to announce that 3 incredibly talented members will be joining The Ivy Table's Board next week.
Kyle Hunt
Jeff Billig
Laurie Gustafson
All have been encouragers, supporters, and advisors to us for quite a while. They are an answer to years of prayer, and will bring an invaluable wisdom, strength, and fresh perspective to our board.
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Building our Ministry in Thailand | |
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We continue to provide nearly 3 tons of food each month for the underprivileged of Thailand. In order to oversee our investments there and to strengthen connections with our ministry partners, we regularly send mission teams to the country. Recently, had a team of 7 visit with the goal of providing encouragement and support. Over 2 weeks, our team did food distributions in the slums, hosted free community meals, threw a graduation party for refugee students, painted both a church and a school, and treated a group of 30 teachers to a day of enrichment and relaxation.
We also had the special opportunity to dedicate a dining hall, which we built in partnership with Community Bible Church. This dining hall will not only provide a place for nearly 300 refugee students to eat (who were formally using the dirt under some trees as a kitchen), it will also serve as an activity center and a place for them to hold weekly worship services.
A few weeks ago, we were asked to share details of this trip with the members of Community Bible Church. Please enjoy this recap video that we prepared for that evening. In the middle, it features the testimony of Pastor Gideon, the pastor of a church in the slums of Pattaya Thailand that we support. He is an incredible man with an powerful story of conversion from prison to pastor, a transformation only possible by the power of God. Please join us in praying for these very special people.
Our next mission trip is being planned for February 2025. Please contact us if you would like more information.
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Building Connections
Due to construction at Cornerstone Church, our typical large scale Wednesday ComeUnity Dinners are on hold for the summer. When breaking the news to our guests this spring that May would be our final meal until the fall, it became clear to us how important these meals were, not just for the food, but also for the fellowship. We quickly made the decision (despite not having availability to a room at the church) to continue meals outside for anyone in need, so all summer long, we have been serving dinner on the sidewalk for about 40 guests.
Each week brings a mix of people, ranging from seniors and widows who just don't want to eat another meal alone, to the homeless who have no way of preparing food in their vehicles. It has been such a blessing to be able to minister to them on a smaller scale, having more time to sit and talk, learning about their lives and hearing their stories. Although we look forward to gathering as a large group again this fall, the scaled back summer meals have given us a chance to build relationships and connections with our community guests. It has been a great reminder how God uses trials and challenges to bless us in ways that we could never imagine.
Stay tuned for our fall ComeUnity Dinner kick-off date...coming soon!
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"Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly more than we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to Him be glory"
Ephesians 3:20
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Learn more about our ministries at www.theivytable.org | | | | |
