From the Desk of Jill Keenon, Operations Director:

In Psalm 19:5 it talks about how the sun lives in the heavens rejoicing like an athlete eager to run the race. Yesterday we watched two of our daughters and some friends run the Chicago Marathon. It was interesting to see the different types of athletes. The ones in the front were sleek and strong and knew just how to run to finish the race with grace and speed. The next group had trained hard but was not quite as polished.

As each group went by you started to see some runners with great handicaps dedicated to finishing the race. Most of the 40,000 finished the race. Everyone one of them had a story that made them become an athlete eager to run the race.

In our race to the finish line as Christians, some of us seem strong and polished but what did it take to get us to there? Others of us have obvious handicaps but we keep going. I am not saying there are many ways to get to heaven. There is only one race with rules set up to qualify but in the race itself God has made each of us unique in how we got there as long as we first qualify by asking Jesus for forgiveness and for his salvation. Then our journey begins with that first step on the race route.

There were people encouraging all the way yesterday, and in Hebrews it says we have a great crowd of witnesses cheering us on. Whether you are a great athlete or one that seems to have many handicaps it is one step at a time and suddenly you will be at the end. Even though in the middle seems like you might have missed a turn and landed in hell, keep going on the path and the Lord will be at the end to catch us and say, "Well, done good and faithful servant!" Thank you to our two daughters, Denise and Tina who ran the race yesterday and are running their spiritual race everyday, for their inspiration.

COLOMA PLACE HOME

• The Dyers are in surrounded by boxes and furniture. Sue will move in on Tuesday. Pray for the Dyers to be able to get it all sorted out and organized so they can concentrate on the ministry at hand.
• Pray for Sue has her heart will be relieved to be out of her home and broken having to leave her children.

• Finally, Pat is opening up about his emotions and has correlated his pent up emotions with his physical reactions in the past as well as the present. The Quicks are going to talk to the case worker about getting him some counseling and how to handle his mom. She too, needs some psychological help. Pray the caseworker will get on it. Often they move so slow that the parents and the children have high anxiety about being apart and not knowing how it all works.

• Margie passed her driver's permit. Now pray we can drive with her without getting scared to death. She left for New Orleans last night for that mission's trip with Tyndale Publishers, her employer, as I mentioned last week. Pray for this to be a great experience for her and for her to grow from helping others and making friends on the trip and, of course, for safety while working and traveling.
• Melissa needs salvation. She does not seem to want to change. The way she is she could live her life and never change. It hinders her relationships and growing up but because she goes to work every day and handles the day to day things okay she may not see the need to change. Pray for her to see her need for the Lord.
• Joel has made some strides but I would still like to see, before he leaves our home in the near future, some improvement in his relational skills. His shyness is hard on him and hinders some of the goals he has for himself and then he beats himself up in his head. Pray for some healing in this area for him. Paul and he are meeting to work on some of this. He is a great kid and the world needs to get to know him.
• Pray for the agency that Brenda was with, that they would release our last check from August and September. They are holding it because of her allegations about us. I have to keep giving my anger and bitterness to the Lord about this. It feels awful to be wrongfully accused and then having to defend yourself makes you feel guilty when you are not. Regardless, we need the money to pay this month bills.
• Paul ended up having pneumonia & bronchitis. He is on antibiotics and is healing slowly. He is having trouble staying awake and can't get any work done. Pray for his energy to come back. This whole thing started in early August, and I am sure he is tired of being sick and tired.

In Christ's Service for the Community,

Paul & Jill Keenon
Open Door for Teens, Inc.

From the Desk of Jill Keenon, Operations Director:

In Christ's Service for the Community,

Paul & Jill Keenon
Open Door for Teens, Inc.