Participants:
Series Code: TDY
Program Code: TDY190006A
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00:01 I want to spend my life
00:07 Mending broken people 00:13 I want to spend my life 00:19 Removing pain 00:24 Lord, let my words 00:30 Heal a heart that hurts 00:34 I want to spend my life 00:40 Mending broken people 00:46 I want to spend my life 00:51 Mending broken people 01:10 - Hi, and thanks for watching 3ABN Today. 01:13 It was Jesus who summed up the law by saying, 01:16 "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, 01:19 and mind," and "love your neighbor as yourself." 01:22 It was also Jesus who said, "The poor, you 01:25 have with you always." Today's guest is an 01:28 example of what it means to love your neighbor 01:31 out of a heart of loving God, and they are serving 01:35 the underprivileged, the underserved, the 01:37 marginalized of the Dayton, Ohio area. It is our 01:42 privilege to have you here today as our guest, 01:45 Tom Onjukka, executive director of Good Neighbor 01:50 House. And Frank Perez is the board member, 01:54 board chair. And Karl Haffner, pastor of 01:58 Seventh-day Adventist Church in Kettering. I 02:01 want to first of all say that I was introduced 02:04 to your ministry in 2018 by accident, actually. 02:11 We were flying home from Russia, and we 02:14 were getting ready to board the plane. John 02:18 Lomacang, pastor of Thompsonville Seventh-day 02:21 Adventist Church on staff here at 3ABN- he and his 02:24 wife had missed their plane, and he was 02:27 supposed to come and do some roll for the 02:31 Thanksgiving special we did in 2018 on Good 02:34 Neighbor House and some other ministries. I was 02:37 standing in line with our general manager, 02:40 Jill Morikone. She was talking to vice president, 02:42 her husband, Greg Morikone. So, anyway, 02:46 all these names are insignificant except 02:49 for the fact that I volunteered to do 02:52 something that I thought was going to the airport 02:54 to pick up John, and Angie, his wife, from 02:59 missing their plane. Well, it turns out that 03:02 Jill was talking about this interview that was 03:05 taking place at Good Neighbor House in 03:08 Dayton, Ohio. I knew nothing about you all, 03:10 but I volunteered immediately, and come 03:14 to find out, I was going to leave the 03:16 plane from when we landed in St. Louis 03:18 and drive straight to Dayton. So, I was kind 03:22 of- I threw myself into the situation without 03:25 knowing what was going on, but I believe it was 03:29 God who ordained that, because... Right? 03:32 Providential; totally, because it was really 03:35 a life-changing experience for me to experience what 03:38 Good Neighbor House does, what it is, and 03:42 to be involved in that. So, we'll watch some of 03:44 that roll that I did later. But for now, 03:48 Tom, tell me: what is Good Neighbor House? 03:51 - Yeah, Tim. And I had a lot of fun when you 03:53 came there; it was a very enjoyable time 03:54 to do that. Good Neighbor House is a non-profit, 03:58 charitable organization that's meant to serve 04:01 the needs of our local community. Some people 04:04 have called it like a one-stop shopping. We 04:07 actually have healthcare services and we also 04:11 have human services. We have medical, dental, 04:15 eye clinic; we have special dietary needs 04:18 pantry that serves people who have some medical 04:20 conditions, and we provide food for their needs. We 04:25 also have wellness classes; we have a 04:28 thrift store and a choice food pantry. So, it's 04:32 really one-stop shopping. It's a very unique 04:35 situation to have in that community. - So 04:37 this is different from a rescue mission. This 04:40 is not a rescue mission in that you don't house 04:42 people overnight, homeless people; this is a service 04:49 to the community, and there is a cost for some 04:54 of these items but it's based on the income... 04:57 - Yeah. It's on a sliding fee scale. For 04:59 example, for dental services, it's based 05:01 on the poverty guidelines by the federal government, 05:04 and they get up to a 50% discount of already 05:08 decreased fees. We try to keep the fees as low 05:10 as possible. - So, Dayton, Ohio, for those who aren't 05:15 savvy geographically, is where in the state 05:20 as far as the...? - Well, it's obviously in Dayton, 05:24 but it's on the crossroads of interstate 70... Is 05:27 that right? 70? And 75. - Okay. And this is north 05:30 of Cincinnati? - North of Cincinnati, about 05:32 45 minutes. - West of Columbus, east of 05:35 Indianapolis. So, as far as poverty goes, 05:39 what are we talking about- the rate of 05:43 poverty in that area? Are you familiar with 05:45 the statistics? - Well, I don't actually have 05:47 the statistics for the rate of poverty, but 05:49 one of the statistics that we're not happy 05:52 about- in 2016, Dayton was the hungriest city 05:59 in the nation. - Wow. - And that really is a 06:02 statistic that we shouldn't be proud of. We've actually 06:05 changed that. It's actually gone up. With 06:09 the work of a lot of people and community 06:10 coming together, we've already made impact. I 06:14 mean, they've been doing it for years, but that's 06:15 something that they were specifically looking 06:17 at, trying to change with many of the other 06:19 pantries in the community. - Awesome. Wonderful, 06:21 wonderful. Okay, well let's talk then about 06:23 how did this all start. And for that, I'd like 06:27 to go to board chair, Frank Perez, to give 06:30 me some history on Good Neighbor House. 06:34 - Certainly. Good Neighbor House was 06:36 conceived in the minds of the pastors of the 06:41 local churches in the Dayton area in 1993. 06:46 It was at that time that Dorcas Services 06:53 were provided at each of the churches in our 06:56 community, mostly suburban Dayton area. 07:00 But the concept evolved of why don't we have a 07:06 community Health & Human Services center that does 07:13 urban ministry to the inner city? That's how 07:18 it was conceived. It was the pulling of all 07:22 of the churches-Dorcas Ministries-bringing 07:31 them into a site downtown in the 07:36 urban setting to meet the needs of urban 07:40 ministry that it was much harder to do 07:44 from a suburban setting where most of our churches 07:49 are located. So, that was the start. That was 07:53 the initial thought: how do we engage in 08:00 urban ministry that is even outside of our 08:05 immediate town where we are but bring it into 08:11 the inner city and the community for the 08:14 working poor? That was the mission- how do we 08:21 help those that want to improve their 08:25 situation in all of these elements of 08:29 Health & Human Service? - Right. So, now, basically, 08:34 taking the service outside of the church, beyond the 08:37 walls of the church, because Dorcas, as 08:40 you mentioned, is the ministry. Now, is there 08:42 still Dorcas Ministry involved in many churches, 08:47 or is that obsolete? You might be able to 08:52 answer that, Karl. Is that still a thing? - Well, 08:58 the churches in the Greater Dayton area, 09:01 are all in on the Good Neighbor House, though 09:04 it is very much a synergistic working 09:07 together, very intergenerational and involves, really, the 09:12 support and manpower, the help of all the 09:16 churches of the network. We have 9 hospitals in 09:20 the Greater Miami Valley there, so the Kettering 09:23 Health Network is very invested. Our Kettering 09:28 College, our local Spring Valley Academy 09:31 school... We're all supporting the Good 09:35 Neighbor House, so this would be kind of our 09:37 Dorcas Ministry on steroids, exponentially. 09:42 - Right. And so, I guess that's what I was getting 09:44 to- the fact that, for the opportunity for the 09:48 church to, again, go outside of its walls 09:50 as a ministry inside the church to serve 09:54 as a springboard to be part of a broader citywide 10:00 ministry... Go ahead, Frank. - However, there 10:03 are projects that our churches get involved 10:07 with - both in our community outside of 10:11 the Good Neighbor House or international. 10:13 So, there is water projects; there are 10:16 mission trips. There are things over and 10:19 above our own ministry which we are so thankful 10:23 that they support that they are involved with. 10:26 So, the fact that this urban ministry was 10:32 concentrated in a site did not stop the members 10:38 from continuing to meet needs in their own 10:41 communities, projecting out to meet those needs. 10:46 - Absolutely. You made reference to, before 10:49 we began this interview, to an experience that 10:53 you experienced after you came to the United 10:56 States, having been a refugee, yourself, 11:01 where Dorcas was a part of that until... Remind me 11:08 again of that. - Well, I came to this country as 11:12 a Cuban refugee-1962. A little history: August 11:18 of '62, October of '62 was the missile crisis, 11:22 so I came out of Cuba with my mother and 11:26 sister that had come before me and came 11:30 to Takoma Park, because that's where my aunt, 11:33 uncle, that had claimed us out of Cuba, lived. 11:39 The local pastor took me to a Dorcas center there 11:46 on Flower and Carol Avenues, and that's 11:51 how I survived my first winter! I still clearly 11:57 remember the wool coat that I got- first one ever 12:02 in my life, because in my country, I never needed 12:04 it...but it helped me survive. So, my heart 12:08 identifies with the work that Dorcas was 12:13 doing in every one of the churches, and now 12:16 in this enhanced service to the inner city. - So, 12:21 you experienced what Good Neighbor House 12:24 does back then. - Firsthand. - But before it was even Good 12:27 Neighbor House. And then how did you become involved 12:30 with Good Neighbor House? - Well, I came to Dayton 12:35 in 1994 to assume the responsibility of CEO 12:40 of Kettering Medical Center-two hospitals 12:43 at that time. As the movement, the thought 12:49 of this Good Neighbor House was evolving, 12:53 Pastor and elders showed up in my office and said, 12:59 "This is what we want to do." We said we 13:03 would support it. We wanted to understand 13:06 what the greatest need in the medical area was, 13:11 and it turned out that, through a survey, we 13:15 found out that dental care was the greatest 13:18 need-that that population had no access to. So, we 13:25 encouraged and supported having dental be an integral 13:30 part of that community service. And today, it's 13:36 the largest of all the services that we provide. 13:39 There are some wonderful, wonderful stories of lives 13:44 changed- and Tom is better suited to speak 13:49 about that. The young man that was dropping out of 13:52 school because his teeth were so bad that he was 13:57 being bullied at school, and he just was 13 years 14:02 old...a young teenager, and he was bullied, 14:07 and our dentist took him. The work was so extensive 14:14 it had to be in an OR, operating room, under 14:19 anesthesia. Kettering Medical Center provided 14:22 that for our dentist, and it was completely 14:26 redone and replaced. This child AND mother 14:29 were in tears once that work was completed. That's 14:33 just a life changed dramatically from this 14:39 ministry. - Tom, speak to that. Speak to the- what 14:43 the dentist does, how does that work? - Well, 14:46 dental has... There are quite a few different 14:48 things that we do that really impact the community. 14:51 I personally have had opportunities where 14:53 people's teeth, just because of, maybe, 14:56 drug use and addiction to drugs and they've 14:58 had rehab, but their teeth are just totally 15:00 gone, so we have to extract the remaining 15:04 pieces of teeth that are left, and we work 15:08 and get them full dentures. It never 15:11 changes; it's when you get the dentures in their 15:13 mouth and you give them a mirror and they look at 15:16 it, you can see their whole face is just beaming 15:19 and their eyes get misty and my eyes start to kind 15:22 of melt, too. It's just to see that change and 15:26 to see that hope that, hey, there is something 15:29 better in the future for them. - We are 15:32 the only service that provides denture services 15:36 for that population. Even other centers 15:40 refer to us, because no other center has 15:45 tackled that intensity of care. So, it's just 15:48 remarkable. - Based on the personnel that you 15:51 have that can handle that kind of a situation- 15:53 the dentist. - Yeah, and the support from 15:56 the community. - Okay, the financial support. 15:59 So, you rely... Tell us a little bit about funding 16:03 for Good Neighbor House. - Well, it comes from a 16:06 variety of different places. Funding comes from private 16:09 donors (that's a significant part), and then we also have 16:14 grants that we get. Just recently, we had a large- 16:18 it's among the top 5 privately held companies 16:23 in the nation that they came to- there are some 16:28 facilities in our area, and the person who is 16:31 over those facilities in our area came to 16:33 and talked with the CEO of Good Neighbor House 16:36 and said, "Hey, we want to do something with 16:37 Good Neighbor House." They said, "We're going 16:39 to put on a Christmas dinner for the people 16:43 in Dayton community." They want to start off 16:46 this year; they were aiming at 600, and they 16:48 want to get to a several thousand and they wanted 16:51 to have Good Neighbor House to be their charitable 16:54 organization that is their forefront that 16:57 they're supporting as a way of giving back to 16:58 the community. They gave a substantial donation 17:03 to Good Neighbor House. They said, "We want to 17:05 continue this for years to come." So, that's one 17:08 way we get support. And of course, Kettering Health 17:11 Network is a big supporter of what we do. Then, we 17:17 also have golf outings and different events 17:21 that raise funds. And we also do get some 17:24 funding from the Medicaid plans when we do dental 17:27 care, but that's just a small part of providing. 17:30 It helps provide for the cost of all the other things 17:33 that we do. - So, is your dentist paid? 17:36 Bottom-line, I mean, do you have staff that...? 17:40 - Yes. When they started, it was just one or two 17:43 days a week, half a day. And with the need 17:46 that they had, we had to have some way of 17:48 consistently providing dental care. So then, 17:51 they took on some contract dentists and they come on 17:54 a regular basis to provide that care. So, there is a 17:57 cost involved with that. - And so that's where 18:00 you base your fee for the people who need the 18:04 service- you base it on their income, because 18:06 there is a cost. And I think they appreciate 18:10 it more, maybe? I don't want to be... - It's 18:12 an enabler. - Yeah, absolutely. So, Karl, 18:16 I want to talk to you just briefly. Each one 18:20 of these points can be just an interview in 18:22 itself, so thank you all for being here. But, you 18:25 know, there's a lot in the church regarding 18:28 social justice. We have the story in Luke, I 18:35 think it was, where Jesus broke the bread, 18:37 fed the multitude, and made that miracle happen, 18:41 and the next day, the people came back and 18:43 wanted food again, and that's whenever He told 18:47 them, "You come because of wanting bread, but I am 18:51 the Bread of life." So, it's our responsibility 18:55 to teach grace but to also break the bread 19:04 and make it happen- just speak to me, I 19:07 guess, basically on that tricky balance of social 19:11 justice. - I like your phrase, "It's our 19:13 responsibility to be," and we have really been 19:17 careful about our language around our 19:19 local church. The whole emphasis has to do with, 19:24 what is the church? We're trying all to embrace this 19:28 idea that church is not the building; it's 19:32 not a service that we do on Saturday morning; 19:35 it's not a place...it's you and it's me. It's 19:40 all of us. It's there in Dayton. And so, 19:46 it's this balance between doing. Yes, we are the 19:50 light wherever we go. We are salt wherever we go, 19:54 and that's the church. So, doing and being the 19:59 church... To one of my favorite stories out of the 20:02 Good Neighbor House is the woman who came 20:04 through and she made the observation, "You 20:06 know, in Dayton, it's a lot easier to get heroin 20:10 than hope." - Mm! - Oh, wow. - And that just 20:13 struck me that, really, that's what all of us 20:17 see ourselves- we see ourselves as hope peddlers, 20:23 that we are providing hope for teenagers who 20:30 get bullied at school or for drug addicts that 20:34 need to get back on their feet again and 20:38 get in the right direction. So, you know, that's 20:40 what we see ourselves doing- as peddling hope 20:43 and light in a really dark world. - Sure. 20:48 So in other words, volunteering as church 20:55 members, as getting into the community... Tom, 20:59 speak about the role that volunteerism plays. 21:04 - A volunteer role is very big in Good Neighbor 21:07 House. That's how we work. We have a core 21:10 staff that's paid; but in large, most of the work 21:15 that's done is done by volunteers. We need 21:17 up to 70, 80 volunteers a week to fill in all 21:21 the positions and the tasks that are there. 21:24 The volunteers are... When they work there, 21:28 you can just see the caring attitude that 21:31 they have. There's a story that I'm reminded 21:33 of. There's a lady that had lost food stamps, 21:36 and she had two children. It wasn't by her fault; 21:40 it was some glitch in the system. She was 21:43 at the county commissioners office yelling and throwing 21:46 things off the desk and mad as anything. Then, 21:49 one of the board members who was from the commissioner's 21:51 office gave me a call, and we were closed already 21:54 for the day. He said, "Could you see this 21:56 person?" I was kind of like, "Oh, she's yelling 21:58 and mad..." So he came with her and brought 22:01 her there, and she was still angry and she was 22:04 recording everything that he was saying. 22:05 One of the volunteers said, "Ma'am, I can take 22:08 you back," and I thought I better go back with her, 22:12 because I thought, "You know, she may be a little 22:13 angry and stuff." As she was back there, the volunteer was 22:16 just saying, "Hey, would this be good for you? 22:19 Would you like this?" and she kept putting 22:20 food in her basket. I watched this lady's- 22:23 the anger on her face, she was just kind of 22:25 standing there and it started to melt away. 22:27 All of a sudden, she just stopped and started 22:30 sobbing. This volunteer, all she did- she didn't 22:34 say anything. She just took her arm and pulled 22:36 her close and said, "It's going to be okay." 22:39 It's going to be okay. Giving hope and the 22:42 compassion that Christ in us allows us to do 22:47 that and to see that in action, even though we 22:52 have many days-sometimes, there's challenges and 22:53 so forth-but there are those times that you 22:55 touch a person and it makes a big difference. 22:59 - So how long have you been executive director? 23:01 - I came there in July 2016. - Okay. So, this 23:05 is being recorded in 2019, and that's three years; 23:10 but in public service, as all of you know, 23:15 those can be like dog years. They can be like, 23:18 7 years for every actual year, because that can 23:21 get to you. But to watch you as you tell 23:24 the story and to see your eyes glisten over, 23:28 this is fresh to you. And one of the things 23:33 I would like to ask a lot of people that serve 23:37 in the ministry...how do you keep it fresh? How 23:40 do you keep your heart... You see a lot of abuse, 23:44 I'm sure, of the system. Any of you are free to 23:49 speak on how you keep that fire lit, that this 23:54 is, every day, you go in and know that you're 23:56 going to deal with people like this- I'm not saying 23:58 "people like this" in an ugly way; I'm just 24:00 saying the needy. So, just tell me how you 24:04 keep your heart pure to it. - When you see 24:08 the change that takes place in people's hearts 24:14 and lives, when you see the gratitude that they 24:18 express which you hear so little of today... Everyone 24:23 thinks that these individuals are just taken advantage 24:28 of. - Yeah. - They're just trying to get ahead 24:31 just like I did in 1962. The clothing that was 24:40 given to me just made a huge difference. I see 24:44 that replicated time and time and time again in 24:51 the work that the Good Neighbor House does. One 24:55 of the ministries that we have is parking 24:58 ministry. Our facility, as you know, has plenty 25:04 of parking available- over 100 parking spaces- 25:09 and there is a Single-A baseball team a block 25:15 away. Well, they play 71 games in town. If 25:23 they don't make it into the playoffs... - Right. 25:26 - This is their 20th year and they have 25:28 not made it? times. - That's another subject. 25:30 - But, but-! Volunteer men, or women... The 25:40 parking is $5 per- we raised about $35,000 25:47 in a season to support the ministry. And time 25:52 and time again, people bypass other parking 25:59 stations to come and park for us and make 26:04 their donation, because they believe we gave 26:08 them a flier per car. Well, that flier is like 26:12 a testimonial of a ministry that God has 26:15 commanded us to do. 35,000 fliers to 35,000 cars 26:24 every season for $35,000. Is that a deal or not? 26:29 [laughter] - That's wonderful! It's just, 26:31 what an exciting way to see that there are so 26:33 many ways to serve the Lord, and to serve the 26:37 community in this case, when you just kind of 26:40 get out of your own little box and let God kind of 26:44 really work on your mind and say, "Well, what about 26:47 this? What about this?" - We had parkers that 26:49 come and say, "I was homeless, but you guys 26:52 turned me around!" He was driving his car, he 26:56 had a job, and he pulled his $5 and then gave 26:59 ANOTHER $5. So, yeah. We see lives changed, 27:05 and that's to the glory of God. - Amen. - One 27:08 thing I love about the parking is to see Frank 27:10 and his grandkids out there. It's very, again, 27:14 intergenerational; it just gives an opportunity 27:16 for all ages to help and serve. - So, Tom, 27:21 speak about the children that come through Good 27:26 Neighbor House... Parents bring their children in 27:29 because of the lack of medical insurance. What 27:32 role is that? - Well, what we've noticed is, 27:36 because Dayton is a center for drug epidemic 27:40 and it was on one of the TV programs some 27:42 months ago; but we're seeing grandparents 27:45 who should be retired and being able to support 27:50 themselves. Now, they're having to take on grandchildren 27:53 because their parents are no longer in the 27:55 picture, and we're seeing them coming with their 27:58 grandparents. Some of them come on a routine 28:01 basis and they've become almost part of the family, 28:03 because they have nowhere else to go. So, that's 28:06 where they come and they take their classes 28:08 on nutrition and cooking and exercise and so forth. 28:13 Then sometimes, the children are there besides 28:14 them, sleeping, and sometimes they listen. 28:16 But we try to have something for everyone. 28:19 - Right, right. So, specifically, giving 28:22 some of those classes some of the topics for... 28:25 - Well, there's nutrition, we have Bible classes, 28:28 we have exercise classes; we even have art classes, 28:31 because we don't want to just say, "HEY, you 28:33 gotta learn to eat well," but there's something 28:34 that they can do to just kind of have a 28:37 broader base for them to learn and just to have 28:40 a time... And during that art class, one of 28:43 the staff is actually- she's been a counselor 28:45 for 40 years, and she uses that time for them 28:48 to just be talking with them. But that made 28:51 me think of another thing that we do in 28:53 the dental department. There's a dentist that 28:55 comes there twice a month and he does 28:57 tongue-tied babies. He's one of the few in the 29:00 whole state that does this procedure, and they 29:03 just do a small laser procedure. And here 29:06 are parents that have a few-week-old child 29:08 that is having difficulty nursing, and the mother 29:11 is going through the guilt of saying, "Maybe 29:13 it's me; I can't do this right," and they get 29:15 this procedure. And within that minute, after they get 29:18 it done, they bring the mother to a room and 29:20 she nurses and the baby latches on, and you can 29:23 see the change in the eyes of the mother. 29:25 It's like, "Wow!" This is amazing. They have 29:28 people from 3, 4 hours away, driving to come 29:30 for that procedure. - Wow. You know, I 29:32 remember that procedure. Actually, we were blessed- 29:35 the dentist that does that procedure was 29:37 there when we were taking the roll. In fact... 29:39 - I think he's on the roll. - He is on the roll! 29:41 So, I would like for us to just go to that. 29:43 This is a rather lengthy roll of what we did last 29:46 Thanksgiving, but you'll really get an idea of what 29:50 Good Neighbor House is about through this. Enjoy 29:52 this, and we'll be right back. 30:10 - As the fourth largest metropolitan area in 30:12 the state of Ohio with an estimated population 30:15 of one million, Dayton, Ohio has long been 30:17 associated with aviation, Orville and Wilbur Wright 30:21 having constructed and demonstrated the first 30:23 powered flight. But in the heart of the city for the 30:28 past 25 years, a group of dedicated volunteers 30:31 has committed their time, energy, and compassion 30:34 to serving the needs of the underserved in the 30:36 community. This is the story of Good Neighbor 30:39 House. 30:45 - Getting involved in Good Neighbor House is part 30:48 of my ministry at the Kettering Adventist 30:50 Church, right, as pastor. The first... And we called 30:55 it community services; we didn't call it Dorcas. 30:57 We called it community services, and it was a 30:58 little brown house that the hospital kindly let 31:01 us use. It was treacherous, because the hallway and 31:04 the stairway up to the third level was so narrow, 31:07 and hauling stuff there was a challenge. They 31:10 gave us, also, the garages right on that 31:11 property. We had a van that we went around to 31:15 the community, and we would pick up and deliver 31:17 furniture. I remember going all over Dayton, 31:21 picking up beds and settees and chairs 31:23 and bringing them there. They work on them and 31:26 then taking them out and delivering them. 31:27 We were the only community service entity that was doing 31:30 that. We realized that we'd outgrown the little 31:33 brown house. - After 18 years, the faith-based 31:37 non-profit relocated to their current 12,000 31:40 square foot state-of- the-art facility where 31:42 volunteers continue to provide the neighborly 31:45 care that Good Neighbor House has been known 31:47 for. - Good Neighbor House has been here 31:49 for I don't know how many years. So, I started doing 31:52 it on Mondays and slowly just...whenever I'm 31:56 here, I enjoy coming down and working with 32:01 whatever. - Though Good Neighbor House began in 32:04 1994 by providing food, clothing, and household 32:08 items to neighbors in need, they've expanded 32:10 their mission by not only providing goods 32:13 but teaching how to make better choices. 32:15 - I started coming to Good Neighbor House 32:18 first in 2016. I came for the pantry at first, 32:25 and then I noticed that they had classes. They 32:29 had different classes that you could attend, 32:32 and they were interesting, so I started that. - In 1996 32:37 came the expansion to offer dental, medical, 32:40 and optometry services. - When we started the 32:43 medical work and things like that, we staffed 32:47 almost everything- the dental eye, everything- 32:51 with all volunteers. The doctors all 32:52 volunteered, they brought their staff members and 32:55 they volunteered. We had volunteer people who 32:58 worked with the paperwork stuff and everything else. 33:01 And then over the years, they received a 33:05 number of different grants that have kind of propelled 33:09 it forward and now, many of the people that work, 33:12 our paid staff and paid physicians and doctors 33:17 and people because of the volume of what we're 33:19 doing now, we can't just... Staff, and with 33:21 volunteers, couldn't be sustained that way 33:22 anymore. - As demand has increased through 33:26 the years, God has faithfully supplied 33:28 well-equipped workers in amazing ways, leaving 33:31 them well-aware that it was truly the Lord's 33:33 provision. - When I came to Good Neighbor House, 33:37 we were kind of in the midst of a transition, 33:41 because a previous executive director 33:43 had passed away unexpectedly, and they were looking to 33:47 fill that position. Marcia Ehlers, she's the 33:51 assistant director, and she kind of is more involved 33:53 in the thrift store and the food pantry. - My 33:56 background was not in non-profit, and we were 34:00 always connected, my brother and I, to Good 34:01 Neighbor House. My mother was one of our 34:03 founding mothers. Always, when we would clean out 34:06 a closet, no matter where we were in the world, it's 34:08 if you get anything, you give it to Good 34:10 Neighbor House and that's kind of the way we were- 34:13 kind of brought up to being involved with Good 34:16 Neighbor House. My mom was one of our volunteers 34:18 here as well as one of our founding mothers. 34:20 She worked in our clothing department for many years. 34:23 A position became available here and she said, "You 34:26 should apply as the assistant director," 34:27 and I thought, "There's no way. I mean, I don't 34:30 have a social work background; I'm not 34:31 a pastoral staff member." And ironically enough, I 34:34 got the job, and God kind of put me where 34:37 I needed to be as far as learning how to pray 34:40 with clients, learning how to understand some 34:42 of the people's temperaments when they come into visit 34:45 Good Neighbor House. - Good neighbors don't 34:48 let neighbors go without food or clothing. The food 34:51 pantry at Good Neighbor House is well stocked 34:53 with a variety of healthy food where families are 34:55 allowed to choose items specific to their dietary 34:58 needs, while the adjacent thrift store offers new 35:01 and gently used clothing at affordable prices. 35:03 These basic needs are at the heart of Jesus' 35:06 words when He said, "I was naked and you clothed 35:08 me. I was hungry and you fed me." - But I've 35:12 never actually worked in an organization where 35:14 they have a thrift store, a food pantry, and wellness 35:17 classes - and then they have a medical, dental, 35:19 and eye clinic. And of course, I found out that 35:24 it's really... Adventist community services is 35:28 that's how it started. And to me in my mind, 35:31 as I think of Adventist community services, as 35:33 a young child, I remember in our church, there was 35:36 an old house beside the church. There were some 35:38 old ladies, folding just some few pair of clothes 35:41 and a few cans of food. And to me, that's what 35:44 Adventist community services was. When I 35:47 came here, I was blown away by the involvement 35:50 of the area churches- and even the community, 35:53 how they're involved in supporting the ministry 35:57 that we have here. - Father, I pray that 35:59 today, we will make a decision to make a 36:03 difference in the life of someone. - We've 36:06 always had an Open Door Policy at Good Neighbor 36:07 House. If people can buy into the mission 36:11 of Good Neighbor House, then we'd love to have 36:13 you be part of the team. You don't have to be a 36:16 Seventh-day Adventist to do that; you don't 36:18 even have to be a Christian to do that. I mean, we try 36:21 to grab people from all over the place who just 36:23 love people and care about people and we 36:26 put them to work here in being able to serve 36:28 and do that! It's been a phenomenal model and 36:31 it's been an outstanding result that's come out 36:34 of all of that. - A wise man once said, "Wherever 36:37 you turn, you can find someone who needs you." 36:40 Even if it is a little thing, do something 36:42 for which there's no pay but the privilege 36:44 of doing it. Remember, you don't live in the 36:46 world all on your own. - I started volunteering 36:49 at the Good Neighbor House in August of 36:52 2013. That's when I started. Now, what 36:56 continues to motivate me here at Good Neighbor 36:59 House...Jesus. I'm the hand and the feet that 37:06 He talks about in His Word. He's trained me 37:10 to be here at such a time as this, and every 37:14 skill set that He has trained me has been 37:17 needed here at Good Neighbor House. He 37:22 has touched my heart in a way that when I meet 37:24 clients, some will just come to me and say, 37:28 "Would you have prayer with me?" I say, "Sure!" 37:30 And then others will join in. Or I could just 37:34 be singing a song here at my desk, and someone 37:38 may pick up and hear me singing. But truly, the 37:42 service of the Lord is why I'm here; I am here 37:45 for no other reason but to a servant of the Lord 37:50 and to go ye therefore and do whatever His 37:53 will is. His will for me right now is to be here 37:58 at such a time as this when what He's trained 38:04 me to do is so much needed. I love it. 38:06 I love it. - But my connection occurred. 38:15 My wife for 42 years was a nurse at Kettering 38:19 Hospital. She was in charge of the behavioral 38:21 health department- the adult behavior health 38:23 department. So, when she retired, she came 38:28 down here to volunteer. Then she said, "Hey, maybe 38:32 that's a good idea. That's something you might get 38:34 interested in." So, I followed her down one 38:36 day, and together, we volunteered for about 38:40 a year and a half. About a year and a half after that, she 38:43 passed away. 38:52 I'm still working here as a volunteer in 38:54 honoring her. Predominantly, I've been helping out back 38:59 in the pantry. What makes this organization so unique 39:03 is not only do they have food for those 39:07 that need food; this is just an incredible 39:10 organization with all kinds of services that 39:14 just run gamut from A to Z. - Good Neighbor 39:18 House relies on volunteers willing to reflect Christ's 39:21 compassion, unselfish caring, patience, and 39:24 just plain loving one another. - We get a 39:26 lot of volunteers at Good Neighbor House 39:28 who may not be people that are able or willing 39:30 to come into our building and work at our zip code. 39:33 Instead, they work at their zip code and then 39:35 they bring their time and talents to us. It's 39:39 been absolutely amazing. We have a couple who 39:41 worked together. He buys the yarn, and his 39:44 wife makes us beautiful hats, scarves, and 39:47 sometimes, even, they'll bring in gloves or have? 39:52 It's absolutely amazing to see these 39:54 beautiful products going out the door and them 39:58 using their talent. That's a talent, and 40:00 to say, "Hey, I might not be able to come 40:02 down there physically or drive down to Good 40:04 Neighbor House, but I'm going to spend 40:05 some time every day or a couple times a week 40:09 just dedicating myself to making things that 40:12 you can give to your clients," is just amazing. 40:15 - Going beyond the basic needs of food 40:17 and clothing, Good Neighbor House is meeting 40:19 a need in the area of medical services, as well. 40:24 Good Neighbor House offers a wide range 40:26 of medical, vision, and dental services at 40:28 affordable prices to those who would 40:30 otherwise be unable to afford them, thus 40:32 improving the lives of thousands of their 40:34 neighbors. 40:42 Mayline? was born August 14th; and at her two-week appointment, 40:47 the doctor noticed her lip tie 40:49 and that she probably has a tongue tie. All 40:53 three of our boys were lip-tied and tongue-tied. 40:56 - So tonight, you're getting ready to do 40:58 a procedure. - It's called frenectomy 41:02 or frenotomy, treating these tight things. We 41:05 all have these parts. Sometimes, they're too 41:08 tight to allow us to use our mouths properly. 41:11 What we're seeing tonight are infants that can't move 41:14 their tongue to feed. So, we cut through it, 41:19 give them some freedom, and hopefully allow them 41:22 to eat better. Later, speak better; later, 41:24 swallow better, so... - It's a chain reaction. 41:28 So you do this procedure how many times here at 41:32 Good Neighbor...? - I come here one night a 41:35 month to take care of them. I come after my 41:38 day at work in my own office, so it's my time 41:41 to come help. - Awesome. That's great. Well, thank 41:44 you for helping. And we're going to go to 41:45 the procedure right now. - Great! [laughter] 41:51 - Lack of access to quality healthcare 41:53 services is a growing problem that many 41:55 economically-challenged neighbors face every 41:58 day. With medical cost rising, insurance plans 42:01 diminishing, and hard-working people having trouble 42:04 obtaining the help they need, the Good Neighbor 42:06 House stands as a living example of loving God 42:09 and loving each other. Both paid and volunteer 42:12 practitioners provide quality care for individuals 42:15 and families who are not eligible to receive it from 42:18 other sources. 42:24 - So, the procedure is finished. How do you 42:26 feel like it went? - It went very well. The 42:29 parents were in the room; they were totally 42:31 okay. "We know this is needed," we took care 42:36 of it. They were the cheerleaders, and 42:38 assistants helped support the child while I did the 42:41 work. Took 15-20 seconds. And the laser that I 42:45 resealed the nerve endings- so they really 42:48 don't have much feeling. And as soon as we're 42:50 finished, we put them to the breast... 42:54 And in this case, everything was pretty 42:56 fine right away. The child has some learning 42:58 to do. Those muscles that are anchored, have 43:02 never moved, and now they gotta learn to move. 43:06 Mother nature takes over. God is so cool 43:08 how He put us together. - Right? 43:14 But the most important goal of the people behind 43:17 Good Neighbor House is providing spiritual guidance 43:20 that will lead to a richer, fuller life of health, 43:22 wellness, and spiritual fulfillment. Showing 43:25 love to people in need the same way as Jesus 43:27 Christ did is their ultimate goal. In 43:30 short, the mission of Good Neighbor House 43:32 is empowering healthier communities by fostering 43:35 the physical, emotional, and spiritual wellness 43:38 of their neighbors. 43:40 - And His will for me right now is to be 43:43 here at such a time as this, when what He's trained me 43:49 to do is so much needed. I love it. I love it. 44:00 - What a great synopsis of what you do and who 44:03 you are. It was interesting to hear you talk as we were 44:07 watching that about the people that are serving 44:11 there at Good Neighbor House, and that is the 44:15 heart and soul of what you do, I love. 44:19 So, just mentioning a couple of those 44:21 people... Kudos to you who volunteer. And 44:25 that goes for anyone who volunteers in 44:28 ministries like this! You are so vital, and 44:32 you don't go by unnoticed. So, are there any other 44:36 things that you want to hit on regarding 44:39 anything we've talked about? - Yeah! You 44:42 know, the volunteering... It's designed, any age can 44:45 help. One of the things that we talked about 44:48 during the roll was, there's a 10-year-old 44:50 girl that heard about Good Neighbor House 44:52 and she was impacted. She wanted to make a 44:55 difference. So, one day, there was a mother that 44:59 came with a minivan full of toilet paper; and she 45:03 said, "Oh, where can I drop this off?" And then 45:05 she proceeded to tell me the story that her 45:07 daughter, who had her 10th birthday just a 45:10 few days before, said, "Mom, I don't want to 45:12 have any birthday presents. I don't want 45:14 to have a birthday party. I want people 45:15 to buy toilet paper for my birthday gift so I 45:19 can give it to Good Neighbor House." And 45:21 it was just something that just touched my 45:23 heart. It's like, what a blessing! I mean, 45:24 when you volunteer, it's a blessing; and when you 45:26 see what it does and the impact on the community, 45:30 it's a huge blessing. - Oh, my goodness. 45:32 What a... Yeah. That's a wonderful story. Yeah. 45:35 Frank. Any closing ideas or thoughts that would 45:39 encourage our viewers to be part of ministries 45:41 like this in their community? - Well, 45:44 when you see the volunteers also ministering to the 45:50 foundations where they work or they're involved with and 45:56 draw support to the Good Neighbor House... 46:00 We, every January 1st, we pray for this ministry 46:07 because we will need a million dollars to care 46:12 during that year for all the ministry that we do. 46:17 It's not feasible. We thought, "This huge 46:20 support from a very engaged community." 46:24 So, we are thankful, we are prayerful, but 46:27 it is a miracle every year that that ministry 46:33 is so well-supported. - And a million dollars 46:37 for all that you do there... To see all 46:40 that you do... I don't know how you can even 46:42 do it for a million dollars. - The volunteers. 46:45 - Because it's...yeah. It's that support. Karl, 46:48 once again, speaking to the roll of the church, 46:52 being involved in this- I want you to just 46:55 reiterate how important it is for us to be involved. 46:58 - Yeah. We usually send off the people from- 47:02 and we don't call it "church" because we 47:04 are the church, so you're not leaving 47:06 the church. But when we leave our Saturday- 47:08 morning gatherings after our services, I will usually 47:12 just say, "Okay, go live and love like Jesus. 47:16 Go and be church." But I think that's a good 47:20 send-off to our viewers. Go be church wherever 47:23 God puts you. - That's great. I've heard it 47:26 said that when we leave the church service, that's 47:30 when the service begins. - Exactly. - Tom, mention 47:34 to me about the way our viewers can be 47:38 involved. This is not a franchise, Good 47:41 Neighbor House is not; so this is a locally-started and organic 47:45 thing... So, I believe you mentioned that 47:49 some of the viewers had given after watching the 47:51 initial airing of that piece we did for Thanksgiving. 47:56 How else can they get involved? - Well, as 47:58 you mentioned, it's going to be on the 48:00 screen there. They can go on our website; that's 48:03 probably the easiest way to get in contact, 48:05 and they can browse through and see where 48:07 they can, if they feel led to make a donation, 48:10 that's the way they can do it. But after 48:12 the Thanksgiving program, we had a great response. 48:14 We had people from the West Coast responding, 48:16 we had people from Bermuda calling, we 48:19 had someone from Pennsylvania sending 48:21 in a donation, and they were- I know that they 48:25 support their local church and the ministries 48:27 locally, too, but sometimes, there's something else that 48:30 you see and say, "I want to support that, 48:32 too, because it's making a difference where there's 48:33 a need." - Wonderful, wonderful. Gentlemen, 48:36 let's watch the roll here, go to the address, 48:39 and we can see how you can get involved. 48:45 - Good Neighbor House is a multi-service 48:47 operation, providing community service in 48:50 the Dayton, Ohio area. Their services include 48:53 a food pantry, a thrift store, and dental work 48:56 along with Bible classes, nutritional counseling, 49:00 fitness, and exercise. If you would like to 49:03 support their ministry or if you'd like more 49:06 information, please visit: |
Revised 2019-03-14