He served, then received.

A man names Jesus (pronounced “hay-sus”) showed up one Saturday morning to serve. We were thrilled to have a Spanish speaker with us and thankful for another volunteer willing to give up time to help others. As he served, we managed to communicate in broken English and broken Spanish with one another and we found out he was from Lugo Alto Church and on the list to receive furniture for his empty apartment. But before receiving his furniture, he wanted to serve other families.

So for two Saturdays in a row, he lifted, loaded, unloaded and delivered furnishings to other families in need and helped pick up furniture donations. On the third Saturday it was his turn to receive. We showed up at his empty apartment where he and a friend were waiting to help, once again. The team unloaded an apartment’s worth of furnishings including 3 bedrooms, a living room and a dining room, with lamps, linens and kitchen items. He was beyond excited and wore a smile on his face the whole time!

As we spoke together in our two languages and some translation throgh another volunteer, we found out that he was coming from Venezuela and had made his way to Atlanta through Miami. He came alone, leaving his wife, siblings and parents behind, in hopes to bring them to join him. They were in dire conditions in Venezuela, where a month of wages will get you $3 and simple medicines can cost you $100—the country is a very difficult place to live.

After he received his papers and found a job, he was able to arrange for his wife, brother and mentally-disabled sister to join him in this apartment he secured. But it had no furnishings and they have little money. So, we were able to jump in and provide for them, just days before his family arrived! He was so grateful.

We are so inspired by people who are willing to serve and volunteer, even when they have nothing. They are willing to give even before they receive! Please continue to pray for him and his family and that his parents will also be able to immigrate.

Joy & Serving [impact with every interaction]

Many of you may know this wonderful man, Victor Reed. Victor has been volunteering with Fully Furnished for years and his impact is felt across the many interactions he has with people every week.

He started with our ministry by showing up on a Saturday to move some furniture — as many of you have done over the weeks, months and years. But he found his real niche in serving when he found out about the Restoration Team. Now for months and months, every Tuesday, Victor shows up and helps lead the team in bringing new life to furniture that is broken or worn down. Without a big commotion upon entering or leaving the warehouse, Victor quietly works. And without realizing, he brings Christ’s peace, love and joy.

Anyone there on a Tuesday knows Victor and sees Victor. And although they don’t hear much from Victor, they feel Victor. His steady commitment to serving each and every week, bad knees and all, reminds us all of the importance of giving back to others.

But Victor didn’t stop there — many months ago, he realized that his own church had a moving truck that sat idle a lot of days of the week. After permission from his church, he came to us and asked if we wanted to use it. Knowing our needs were growing beyond Saturdays, he offered to bring the truck over a couple of Fridays a month and drive it to any needed deliveries. And of course we said YES! And thank you!

Now that we have 2 of our own trucks, we shifted our days and Victor now brings it out a Saturday or two per month to give us a much needed third truck. Victor’s commitment to serving and willingness to create a partnership for us with his church is impacting more people than we will ever know. Every piece he helps restore will bring more joy and love to a family in need, showing how much others care for them, because of Christ’s love. Every time he brings that truck over and drives it, more and more families are able to be served and their lives will be forever changed as they step out of poverty and into a fuller life.

Take a few minutes and hear from Victor in this video. Hear about why he serves and finds joy in his weekly volunteering with FFM, and oh so much more. You don’t want to miss these 3 minutes of Victor and his nuggets of wisdom amidst a spirit of peace. Watch here.

If you’d like to volunteer, then we know we can find the perfect spot for you to serve using your specific gifts, talents and passions. Find out more here.

Not Just Any Group [impact with every interaction]

What a group! This group of 20-25 men are truly making an impact with every interaction they make at FFM…with one another, with volunteers, with recipient families, and even with our checking account! And here’s how:

Every Wednesday night, this awesome group of men, mostly from Victory Church, come together at our FFM warehouse to share food, fellowship and studying of the Word. Yep, they use our space, and no, we don’t just do that for any and every Bible study group. BUT these guys are not just any group.

The last Saturday or every month, this group of men come out and serve our families. They show up at 7:30am and load up, drive out and deliver much needed furnishings to families all over town. They follow this with picking up items from donors, taking them back to the warehouse and unloading. By 12:30/1pm they leave having made a huge impact.

But they don’t stop there. They worked out a cool partnership with another ministry they volunteer through, to provide us with incredible food boxes for that Saturday. So, they show up that day with food boxes in hand to bless those 4-6 recipient families for that day. We don’t usually provide food to anyone, but these guys wanted to surprise those families on their serve Saturday with this extra blessing of love and provision from the Lord. And those food boxes are making a huge impact.

But they don’t stop there. As a group, they collect funds and put them into one pot to divide among different community causes, needs and ministries. They agreed as a group to commit, and have been giving to Fully Furnished Ministries, a monthly financial contribution. And those dollars are making a huge impact.

These guys are no freeloaders. They are volunteers and donors. They are men of word and deed. They are choosing to make an impact with every interaction and opportunity. If you see one of them out on a Saturday, be sure to ask them about the many other ministries and organizations they are helping and contributing to — and pray for them. We need more men’s groups like these, impacting lives for the Lord.

If you’d like to give of your time, talents or treasure, then we would be blessed! Click here for more info on giving financially and serving by volunteering with us.

Recovering & Serving Simultaneously [impact with every interaction]

Meet Jeremy Mitchell (left) and TJ Burras (right). They work with His Way, a Christ-centered recovery program for men based in Huntsville, Alabama. As they expanded to Atlanta over the summer, we connected with them to see how we could partner together. And it turned out to be an incredible opportunity for impact at every interaction.

Our first step was bringing them items to furnish their recovery rooms. During their 6-month program, their duplexes house men for the first 30 days, where they have a daily regimen of recovery classes, Bible classes, counseling sessions, and afternoon work/serving. As we delivered beds, dressers and bedside tables to their new housing, we discovered another way to partner together. Their men needed a place to serve in the community as part of their recovery program.

These men now come to our warehouse twice a week to volunteer. Led by James West, they show up each time with great attitudes and a willingness to serve. The incredible part of this is, not only are they helping us and giving us free labor, we are watching them experience God’s healing in their lives as they serve the community in this way — doing something unselfish, and understanding their role in a connected community.

It’s also been a joy to watch James connecting with these men week after week. They look forward to the time they get to spend with him and they relish the minutes they sit together at the end of their shifts, as James pours into their hearts and lives. This is a rippling life impact as they recover and heal and reconnect with their wives and children, moms and dads, and others — building their lives back in a healthy way and God truly restoring their families and futures.

Join with us in praying for His Way ministry, the men in the program, their families, and that every hour they spend with FFM will help them in their journey of healing and wholeness in Christ.

If you know of an organization or church that may want to partner with us in giving, serving or bringing us families in need, please contact us here.

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.

Maryam's Story [more than just a sofa]

Maryam’s battle with cancer years ago not only stripped away her health, but also her possessions. She, along with her husband and two girls, slowly lost many of their belongings as she needed more and more medical help. During that battle, a wonderful wealthy woman with a huge house full of furniture offered for her to come over and pick out anything she wanted for her home and take it with her. This couch was one of those pieces and Maryam has treasured it ever since.

Year after year, this couch was a “home base” for her family as they have lived life together. It’s made it through move after move to new apartments in their family journey. But the latest move to a different smaller apartment meant this very special sofa could not stick around for them.

Maryam had taken such good care of this sectional, year after year, that it looked in top condition and ready to sell. Her friends encouraged her to sell it, but she insisted that she wanted to pass along the blessing that she received in her time of great need. So she called Fully Furnished Ministries.

As we picked up this couch and prayed for her and her family, we were reminded about how nothing is truly ours…it is God’s and he chooses to pass it along to family after family and be a blessing. And he gives us the opportunity to be a part of that if we so choose. She chose to be a part of passing that blessing along and we pray the next family will do the same, by giving of their own when they have more.

Maryam prayed over and cleaned this sofa before we arrived. She wanted it to be ready to be a blessing! We invite you to take a minute to pray right now and see if God will speak to you about how He wants to use you today or this week to be a blessing in someone’s life. Is it with a possession you can pass along? Is it a kind word? Is it a money contribution to our ministry or a family in need that you know? Let’s just see how God will keep His giving cycle going!

For more information on how you can donate to our ministry and be a part of more people impacting more people, click here.

Daniel & Jason's Story [it's more than just furniture]

Meet Daniel and Jason. Both serve as volunteers for our ministry. The two of them were complete strangers from very different backgrounds. Yet God brought the two of them together over furniture.

In November of 2019, Daniel arrived to serve with FFM as part of his church, Lugo Alto. Jason also arrived to serve as a part of his church, Victory Church. They met while loading their truck for the day and served together. Throughout the day, they got to know each other and became fast friends. In Jason’s words, “they just hit it off.”

Daniel, Spanish speaking with little English, asked Jason if they could start hanging out so that he could practice his English. And so they did so a few times over the next few months. These two men of God, from very different backgrounds coming together over furniture? Only God could orchestrate that.

“It’s more than furniture…furniture is just the vehicle God uses to show us all His love, grace, and mercy.”

— John Dance, Executive Director

During the pandemic last year, the two friends lost track of each other. Earlier this month, Daniel, needing furniture himself connected with me. While talked he also asked me if I knew of Jason's whereabouts. I contacted Jason and the two friends reconnected.

Through furniture, God has something for all of us. The volunteers, furniture donors, and yes those we bring furniture to. If we listen with our hearts, God is talking to each of us as we engage with one another and share what we have with one another. Perhaps it looks like furniture, but is so much more.

If you’d like to help us impact more people and give more than just furniture, click here and donate much needed funds for our ministry.

Millie's Story [more people impacting more people]

Last Wednesday, James West (Board Member) and John Dance (Executive Director) went out for a pick up. This dear 88-year-old young lady, Millie, wanted to donate her lovely bed and we had someone in urgent need of it and with the bonus of it getting there in time for Father's Day. Why go out on a Wednesday, during the week? Because THERE WAS A NEED and WE CAN! (Now with our own trucks and our weekday work.)

Not only did Millie bless us with her bed, but she also made a donation on the spot to help the least of these as well. This is what people can expect with the Lord. We can all present our needs, through prayer, through communicating with God Himself. He will answer. And he will use us all in a variety of ways to accomplish fulfilling those needs!

Being a now full time ministry that goes out several times during the week and weekend is a huge blessing and responsibility. We have more work now than ever before and with that comes more need for regular paid team members who can show up several times a week and more operational costs because of our expansion. You can be a part of this growth in a big way by donating in this special time for our ministry. Find out more here: https://fullyfurnishedministries.org/donate-more-people

Starting all over

Oftentimes, we have people wonder and ask, “How does someone need a whole apartment of furniture?” or “How is it that someone has a child or children sleeping on the floor?”

Though the answer is rarely the same, and every person we serve has a different story, there is hardship in every single one. And for some, the answer is simply “I’m starting all over.” There are differing circumstances for why they are having to start all over — off the top of my head, I can name a few, like house fires, domestic abuse, homelessness, job loss, the domino effect that leads to the loss of a storage unit, and more. And nearly all of these cases of needs come through our incredible community partners who are addressing other areas of need for those families and we can step in to fill in the “furnishings” piece of the puzzle.

For this single mom of 5 pictured below, she was thrilled to have us step in and help in the process of starting over in her life. We delivered a bunk bed, dresser and sofa to fill in a bit of her starting over puzzle. In the same day, we delivered to another single mom who had suffered domestic abuse and was starting over with her 3 kids. They received 2 twin beds, 2 dressers and 2 night stands to give her children a “real room” in which to live.

Pray for these families in our communities that are starting over. They’ve been through a lot of hurts and are finally in a place where they can start fresh and make a new life for themselves and their children. And if you’re interested in getting involved through your time, talent and treasure, click around our website and find the area where you can give!

Click here to donate your time and talent as a volunteer, either moving furniture or refurbishing it.

Click here to donate your treasure of furnishings. Click here to donate your treasure of finances.

Bringing faith into a moment

This family of 4 couldn’t have been more happy to see us at the front door of their apartment one Saturday morning. The mom with two little boys had recently secured an apartment and then found herself welcoming her mom into the home as well, after her father’s passing. She has a steady job, but definitely struggles as a single parent providing for two children. Her mom had sat by her father’s side as he fought cancer and then passed away. They decided it was best to move in with one another.

When we arrived, the kids had big smiles as they opened the door and saw us bringing down furniture to their door. The two boys had been sleeping in a cot and travel pop-up crib and were ready for a real bed. The grandmother had been sleeping in her single bed in the living room. Her bed had become the hangout spot in front of the tv. The three of them were more than excited to bunk together in a room after getting a whole set of living room furniture. The mom couldn’t believe the full dining set we could squeeze into their small apartment eat-in kitchen.

The woman and her mom shared with us how faith had been a part of their family many years ago. But after some hurtful treatment from others, they had put it to the side. The grandmother wore a cross and shared how her church was in her heart. The mom was touched by our group prayer together outside her door at the end of our time there, saying they hadn’t prayed in that way since her grandfather (a pastor) had passed away.

Meeting families in need and being able to not only fulfill a practical need, but bring faith back into their lives, even just in that moment, is such an incredible gift and opportunity for us as a ministry—to ultimately show them that love from God is what motivates us to help others and God is ready and waiting for them to answer his knock on the door.

Please join us in praying for this family and other families we serve. Pray that we would have more conversations of faith with those that need to hear and that the love of Christ will be what they see.

If you would like to join our Hearts Team and go out on deliveries to speak with and pray with recipient families, click here and we’ll get you scheduled for a serve day: Hearts Team.