Where the trail met the couches.

We were thrilled to have the opportunity to partner with a Trail Life group once again this year and provide an incredible experience for this group of kids. They spent an entire weekend with us and what a weekend it was!

On Friday, they showed up with their bags packed and ready to serve. We gave them a quick orientation that evening, they had some dinner and the picked out their spots to sleep over in the warehouse (say hello to couches!). It was quite a late night with all the excitement.

On Saturday, they woke up bright and early, had their breakfast and got ready to head out on the trucks for deliveries and pickups. These 15 kids and 4 adults went out and changed the lives of 2 families, providing them with fully furnished apartments. They followed up those deliveries with 15 pick ups from donor families. But they didn’t stop there…

They came back to the warehouse, unloaded those items, and then jumped into helping us organize and clean up items in the warehouse. Starting off the year with a well-organized warehouse and open space for items is key for us and these boys made it happen!

They spent another night sleeping on the couches, but it was an early night and you could hear the crickets chirping this time around. They had really worn themselves out with all the work they did on Saturday.

We kept the weekend rolling with an early morning on Sunday, heading out to a church these kids don’t normally go to — Victory Church, one of our partners. It was a great experience for them to be around a different style of Sunday service, as well as a variety of cultures that attend this church.

We can’t say enough of how these kinds of unique experiences impact these children, as well as our own ministry. These boys even shared with us great new ideas of how our ministry can serve! We are so thankful to have the opportunity of serving alongside Trail Life and we applaud all that they are doing for building up young boys to be humble servant leaders!

An Empty Apartment [impact with every interaction]

[Names changed for privacy.]

Meet Anthony and Kiara. They have twin 2-year-old boys and a 4 year-old-boy…that’s a handful. They recently moved to the Atlanta area from New York, via Colorado. They found themselves with only the few belongings they had that fit in the car when they arrived. Through our partner, Frontline Housing (United Way), their needs came to us.

Candace, one of our Needs Assessor volunteers, was assigned this need and gave Kiara a call, as is the usual process. After a few tries with no answer and no space in voicemail, plus unanswered texts, Candace all but gave up on being able to help fulfill this need for this family. Then a few days later while driving, she got an unexpected call back from Kiara. She pulled over and listened.

After hearing about the children, their needs and the difficulties they’ve had, she wrote down the furnishings they needed and asked Kiara if she could pray with her. Over the phone, right then and there, they prayed. The next time Candace came to the warehouse and Kiara was on the list for delivery, she began walking the space to pick out the pieces so needed by this family and these small children: a sofa, coffee table, beds for everyone, chairs, linens…it seemed they had nothing but clothes and car seats.

The following Saturday, our Hearts Team joined the Hands Team on the delivery to Kiara and Anthony. Together, the furnishings were delivered and the personal connection was made. We found out their story and heard some more of their needs that have yet to be filled. We heard about how they had been in this apartment they got through Frontline Housing for 2 weeks but their kids had been staying with family because they had no beds for them (they were coming to the apartment that day to live again with their parents). We talked with them about finding a church and gave them contacts for continued help and connection in the community. We asked them what they needed prayer for and they shared and we prayed. And impact was made at every interaction.

This is one reason we always say, “It’s more than furniture.” Furniture is the temporary need and we fulfill it. But the ultimate need is the gospel…and we live and share it through the furniture. Please join us in praying for this couple and their children.

If you’d like to donate furniture or give financially to help make moments like these possible, visit our homepage. Thank you for being a part of our ministry.

Ms. Turner's Story [it all belongs to God]

Ever wonder what REALLY happens to your donated furniture once FFM picks it up? As you probably already know, we in turn give it to a family in need. But what does that really mean? They are often with little to no furniture for a matrix of reasons. Divorce, domestic violence, loss of everything in a flood, fire, or even mold, just to name a few. Sometimes its grandmothers simply stepping in to save their grandchildren.

“It all belongs to God…We’re just redistributing what’s His. ”

— Jay McDevitt

On June 25th, because of your faithfulness to give, we were able to bless five families with furniture. Remember, we don’t purchase any furniture. We take your donated furniture and “redistribute” what belongs to God “to the least of these.”

Meet Ms. Turner (name changed for privacy).

Ms. Turner is a grandmother who recently gained custody of her grandchildren and is going through the DFCS process. She needed some items urgently to be a qualified custodian. With the items we delivered today (bunk beds and dressers) they can sleep comfortably and gain permission to stay with their grandmother during this stressful time.

Every piece of furniture donated and every dollar given leads to a unique story of people impacting people. Thank you for your donations of every kind!

To find out more about how to donate to our [more] people campaign to help hire part time staff for us to increase our impact, click here.