Colorado Trip

It was my great privilege to travel to Arvada, Colorado to visit Hope House of Colorado and meet with their leadership. Since determining to establish Chloe's Place as a self-sufficiency home for teen moms, this trip as been highly anticipated.

I arrived on Friday evening(10/31/08) and enjoyed some time to gather my thoughts, relax and prepare a full day on Saturday.

Lisa Steven, Founder/Director of Hope House of Colorado, greeted me first thing Saturday morning and we went directly to Hope House. Amie Walton, Program Director met us there and shared in the tour. There are currently 5 Hope House Residents who all welcomed me warmly. The moms and their kiddos were quite simply precious.

Lisa and Amie had prepared well for our full day meeting. We reviewed policies, curriculum, hand books, budgets etc. We toured the ‘house’ and the new GED lab. They shared resources for software, curriculum, fund raising training. They had so many wonderful ideas and proven processes to share. They gave me hard copies of business and program documents and forms.

One of the friends of Hope House joined our meetings for most of the day, she has taken on the task of developing the process for replicating Hope House. Her insightful questions and expertise was very helpful in sorting out important questions that will help not only Chloe’s Place, but other self-sufficiency homes that will be established under the tutelage of Hope House.

The president of the Hope House Board of Directors, kindly met with us for an hour or so sharing words of encouragement and wise counsel. He is obviously an astute business man with a heart for the ministry.

We enjoyed a wonderful lunch in Golden, CO. They knew this Midwesterner would enjoy a closer look at the mountains. It was awesome... and we were viewing the foothills!

On return to Hope House the ‘moms’ were just returning from a shopping trip. They had all purchased lovely evening wear for the upcoming Wassail Toast ( a major fund raising event for Hope House). They had new party outfits for each of their children as well. The girls were happy to share that they did not exceed their budgets and to pose for a picture.

Our evening ended with a dinner meeting at Olive Garden… one of my favorite restaurants.

The leadership of Hope House of Colorado has given us an awesome gift. Not only have they provided an excellent model, business and program resources, but a kinship of sorts. Our hearts beat in the same rhythm, longing to honor our Lord as we serve teen moms and their children. It will be a great joy and privilege to continue to work alongside Hope House staff, learning from them and sharing our insights as we follow their example.