Rural Missouri - October 2022 - 38

Above: These clients are working in exchange for items they need. Right: James
and Marsha Whitford are the founders of Watered Gardens Ministries in Joplin.
seeds and watching them grow. "
Shelter Director Jocelyn Brisson knows exactly what those who
walk through the shelter doors are thinking and needing. The formerly
homeless methamphetamine addict of 38 years was raising
her son on the streets of Los Angeles years ago. She ended
up completing 400 hours of court-ordered community service
at Watered Gardens in Joplin.
" I was pretty sure God couldn't love somebody like me
because I'd done some pretty bad things, " Jocelyn says.
" But I'm living proof you can be on skid row living in a
cardboard box and turn your life around. So I don't want
to hear anyone tell me, 'I can't do this' because they can if
they want it bad enough. I started college when I was 50 and have a bachelor's
and a master's degree. Anything is possible. "
Those staying in the shelter also meet weekly with a member of the Care
Coordination Team to set physical, emotional and spiritual goals as well as
receive help with housing and employment assistance. The hope is when the
time is right, the individual should be able to transition into self-sustainable
living and healthier relationships.
The Washington Family Hope Center helps homeless mothers and children,
allowing them to stay together as a family until the time they can get back on
their feet. Mothers help in the house in exchange for food and board for their
family.
Another arm of the ministry is the Forge Center for Virtue and Work. Men
who walk in the Outreach Center's doors and work for room and board can,
after three months, apply to participate in the Forge program. There they
take steps in the intensive program to make the changes, both inside and
out, which will get them to their long-term goal of freedom from their former
lives. The program averages 16 months but can be longer if monthly goals
are being met by the student.
" I came from a drug addicted, very broken family. By the time I was 11
years old, I was using, " says Mike, a 36-year-old resident of the Forge program.
" I feel like I've finally found peace and I'm learning that I have value. "
Forge Director Jamie Myers began with Watered Gardens as a volunteer
seven years ago. Today, she's one of the instructors at Forge.
" This is the hardest job I've ever loved. I get to walk alongside these guys
and have a front row seat to what's happening in their lives on a daily basis, "
says the dedicated teacher. " I know what we're doing here works because I've
seen the ashes God has taken and turned into something beautiful. "
38 RURAL MISSOURI | OCTOBER 2022
Last year, 29,437 needs were met with
70% of those being earned by clients
partnering with the Worth Shop.
For more information about Watered
Gardens Ministries or to make a donation,
email life@wateredgardens.org
or call 417-623-6030. Hear more about
Watered Gardens Ministries at
gotc.us/moreaboutwg.
Watered Gardens is located at 531
Kentucky Ave. in Joplin.
Watered Gardens Ministries is
funded through private donations.
Joplin
http://www.gotc.us/moreaboutwg
Rural Missouri - October 2022

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