THE COFFEE OASIS 822 Burwell Street, Bremerton, WA (360)

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1 Volume 8, Number 1, March Hope in Christ Ministries THE COFFEE OASIS 822 Burwell Street, Bremerton, WA david.frederick@thecoffeeoasis.com (360) Dave Frederick, Executive Director ENLARGING OUR BORDERS! This issue of our quarterly newsletter is filled with amazing information updating you about what is going on in every area of the business and ministry. I trust that it encourages you greatly. However, before we get to that, I want to give you a brief update on all the projects that are in process. Construction began on the Oasis Teen Shelter on March 26 th Hallelujah! This has been a long time coming, delayed due to the last minute need to procure $200,000 in pro bono labor and materials in order to begin construction, due to bids coming in way over the original cost estimate. Thanks to the goodness of God and the generosity of many people, we are almost there and able to begin the project. Please contact us if you are available to help with this much awaited project. As construction on the shelter begins in the upstairs of CO1, we are in the midst of raising funds for the final phase of our capital expansion project downstairs. To recap Phase 1 was the purchase of our building which was finalized on August 31, Phase 2 is the construction of the teen shelter and center upstairs. And, Phase 3 is the downstairs remodel of the Coffee Oasis to strengthen the business in support of the ministry and help build financial sustainability. This will include a much needed interior and exterior facelift, an upgrade of the kitchen to increase our catering capacity and an installation of a larger coffee roaster to increase our coffee sales capacity. We hope to complete our fundraising and begin the remodel around July The Coffee Oasis-Poulsbo expansion has been much in the news and increasingly a part of my daily schedule! On March 2 nd I signed the lease on the building the city of Poulsbo is leasing us at a greatly subsidized rate, and the plans were turned into the city planning for the permits necessary to remodel the building. Poulsbo Rotary did a phenomenal job raising funds and awareness. We anticipate an opening date around June or July, as funds continue to come in to support this expansion effort. In tandem with the capital expansion projects at CO1 is one more important project the purchase of the office building and parking lot behind CO1. To complete our expansion in Bremerton we needed office space (The shelter project eliminated our office space) and more parking (It has been difficult to improve CO1 business with only 8 parking spaces). COA (Coffee Oasis Administration building) directly behind CO1 is God s amazing provision! We are in the final stages of procuring a loan to purchase the building and in the meantime have moved in and are leasing it from the owner. Finally, we are excited about the possibility of a new location for Coffee Oasis-Port Orchard. With our lease ending at our current location in September and our need of a larger location for both the coffee house and drop-in center, we have been praying about what to do. We will keep you informed as things develop. At the same time, if any of you are aware of any possible provision, please let us know. Happy reading and thanks for your support!

2 WHAT S HAPPENING? HOPE INC Sheila Folk Networking with businesses in the community and connecting youth to on-the-job training opportunities in partnering businesses is the heart beat of HOPE INC. The Job Preparation Classes are where a youth starts. Attending 7 sessions provides a youth instruction in decision making, communication, values, conflict management, cover letters, resume building and a mock job interview. We currently have 11 community businesses providing on the-job training. To name a few: Anthony s and Noah s Ark in Bremerton provide food service training, The YMCA offers internships in front desk admin and landscape/maintenance along with general work skills in the gym and pool areas, Kitsap Humane Society is creating an internship in Animal Obedience Training and Olympic Bike and Skate teaches youth how to build, maintain and evaluate bikes. Upon completion of the bike internship, each intern is given a bike which they can continue to maintain with ongoing contact with Fred, the shop owner. Awesome! Partnering Hope Pat Steele 53 youth are currently active in case management and others are applying. At this time, we only have 21 mentors. This is a huge need. How about a success story? A. has been clean and sober 55 days. He has made his last 5 case management meetings. Subsequently, he has found a job at a street taco stand and found a second job doing some janitorial work. He just enrolled in the OC GED program. Jon Stroup recently joined our team as a case manager. The biggest challenge he finds is the inconsistency of the kids in making their weekly meetings. Sometimes we want change for them more than they do. A second challenge is youth getting the cart before the horse if I only had a job; that would solve all my problems. The bigger picture is that a place to live, decent clothing, good hygiene and a sense of work ethics are all foundational to getting and keeping a job. I am learning how to listen, Jon says. 116 youth applied for Case Management in 2011 Oasis Centers Jacob Wischoff Many of these and other businesses have extended opportunities to their interns for ongoing practice and even employment after the completion of the training internship. Amazing! Do you own a business? Would you consider partnering with us? 33 youth were involved in job training in Bremerton 2pm to 5pm Monday thru Friday + three evenings a week provides hours of opportunity to connect with kids. Along with the normal hanging out, pool, ping pong and Wii, afternoon planned activities include things like football, hikes and art classes. Recently Jake has been enlisting guest speakers to share during the evening talk times. As a result, A. came to a relationship with Christ, R. said, I want to look into this myself, and C. said he is now pondering heaven and hell.

3 An amazing opportunity has been offered to our Oasis Center youth: Island Lake Camp has opened up 20 discounted spots for our youth to attend camp. Wow! We will be having 5 different fundraisers to offset the cost. The first one is a Spaghetti Feed on April 15 at Summit Ave. Presbyterian Church in Bremerton. $10 tickets are available at The Coffee Oasis and at Summit Ave. Pres. We d love to have you join with us in this endeavor. Oasis Center Port Orchard Paul Morris Hello! A lot has been happening here in Port Orchard over the past couple months. We ve started doing all sorts of activities ranging from guitar lessons to creative writing to having tea time (with Erica)! It s been wonderful seeing kids who when they first arrived would barely talk to you or look you in the eye now engaging, being creative and finding their voice in a constructive way. Many of them have completed our culinary arts training and some have even gotten a real job! It s been amazingly beautiful to see God working in their lives through the Coffee O and our wonderful volunteers. I cannot say enough about how God has blessed me personally through getting to know and truly love the kids at the Center and Port Orchard in general! We have some big things around the corner: looking for a new building, expanding the Center and partnering further with local schools trying to get kids off the streets and out of dangerous situations into stable housing with good jobs. Please pray! God loves Kitsap County and these kids, prayer is needed! Real change can only come through God s grace! Oasis Centers field trip to Woodland Park Zoo Street Hope Daniel Frederick Kitsap County Sheriff s Department asked if we would partner with them to reach out to the 4 neediest apartment complexes in their jurisdictions. These complexes have 100% low income tenants of which 40% have mental health issues. During spring and summer school breaks, these complexes have the highest volume of calls. Currently we have established relationships with 2 of the complexes. We will be kicking off with a big Easter celebration at one; the apartment managers have thrown open the welcome door to us. Pray for this golden opportunity. We are hoping for churches to partner with us in these endeavors. How about your church? Call us. In addition to these county outreaches, another Easter celebration is also happening in one of Bremerton s 4 highest crime neighborhoods. We are seeking to establish an ongoing presence and outreach for the sake of Christ. Both of these outreaches are being spearheaded by home community groups of The Refuge, the church arm of The Coffee Oasis. Plans are already underway for the Bremerton Block Party. June 23 rd is the date to remember and begin praying about. Growing community partnerships are setting the stage for an amazing day. We ll have more details to share on this in our next newsletter. Michelle Tapia heads up our street and school outreach in South Kitsap where the schools have given wonderful opportunity for our workers to reach out to students on campus. In a recent conversation with three girls, each shared dreams of the future but also of the hopelessness of ever reaching those dreams as substance abuse has quenched the life out of them. In turn, they asked Michelle about her dreams for the future and she found the opportunity to share about her faith. One of the girls later found her way to the Oasis Center after school where they were able to talk more about God and pray together.

4 David White heads up the street and school outreach in Bremerton. Recently, while hanging with kids outside the mall, he observed two underage youth light up. Upon approaching them to give them fair warning that the mall security would soon be around, the following conversation ensued: David: What s up? Y: Do you smoke marijuana? David: You re trying to sell it to me! That messed up my life. Y: Doesn t affect mine. The security guard arrived and kicked the youth out. David followed them and continued talking. Y told of being kicked out of school for stealing an ipod and smoking weed. David s response: I thought you said it doesn t affect your life? Why do you smoke it, anyway? Y: It numbs the pain. I sell it to buy food. David: What s a meal worth to you? A conversation? Y agreed and David had a chance to share Christ over a hot meal. 64 youth connected to services leading them out of homelessness in 2011 Ministry Internship Macarana Acuna Macarana joined us a month ago for a year. She comes to us originally for Chile but lived 8 years in the Basque Country of Spain. A couple of stints with YWAM here in the US has given her a vision to be used by God to minister to street youth here in the United States. Macarana is currently involved with worship and women s ministry at The Refuge, developing tools to deal practically with addictions along with pointing those struggling to the source of freedom Jesus, participating in street outreach and she is using her graphic design skills to help promote many of The Coffee Oasis events. Business as Mission Transforming lives spiritually, economically and socially to the greater glory of God. Mats Tunehag Marketing Michele Lewis Getting The Coffee Oasis on-line store up and running has been a monumental task for Michele. You should check it out! Her work on streamlining our technology is making for greater efficiency both internally and externally. Michele s other chief area of focus right now is establishing stronger relationships with churches in our county. The two fold benefit to churches is the opportunity to be involved in hands-on local mission ministry and also to support such ministry financially by selling our fresh roasted coffee. Think your church might be interested? It is a great way to support local missions when your budget is already committed elsewhere. Contact Michele. Coffee Oasis Bremerton (CO1) Rocky Basile The kitchen at CO1 is a hopping place. Besides the orders that come from the front counter, the staff of CO1 produce the baked goods for all the locations and prepare the food for the catering orders. (Keep that in mind for your next catering needs!) Job trainees through HOPE INC and Pathways to Success (a community agency) have the opportunity to complete both culinary training and barista training at CO1.

5 Coffee Oasis Drive Thru (CO2) Angelica Gawron Never under estimate the amount of ministry that can take place through the windows of an espresso drive thru. The staff at CO2 are ready and willing which is why they have so many opportunities to pray with their customers. Two weeks ago, one woman prayed to receive Christ into her life! Praise God! Aside from business, barista training is another important aspect of life at the drive thru. The standard training is 100 hours. Some trainees, like the current one, have an extended program of 180 hours. These are great times of investment in youth. Coffee Oasis- Port Orchard (CO3) Curtis Zulauf Building the business at CO3 has been challenging. The profit from February was very encouraging. N. recently completed a culinary internship at CO3. He subsequently applied and was hired at another restaurant in Port Orchard where he is currently working. Exciting! R. is doing community service at CO3 and finding himself listening more and more about God that everyone likes to talk about there. Gerardo and Guiany Acuna have recently joined with the team at CO3 to be trained in the workings of The Coffee Oasis and the greater picture of Hope in Christ Ministries. The Acunas, originally from Chile, have spent the past 8 years in Basque Country of Spain and sense God leading them to be part of the planting of The Coffee Oasis in partnership with Impact Basque in Spain. Coffee Oasis- Government Center Allison Steward (CO4) If you are ever in the Norm Dicks Government Center in Bremerton, be sure to drop by the espresso stand by the elevator. This stand also hosts barista trainees. Allison finds that the best conversations with customers happen when there are trainees. The employees throughout the building do a great job of supporting The Coffee Oasis outreach through business. How Can YOU Help? 1. Pray for our wonderful staff and volunteers that are represented by each of these businesses and ministries. 2. Volunteer! One of our dreams is that EVERY youth in case management would have a mentor to walk through life weekly with them, helping them achieve the goals that they come up with in meeting with their case managers. 3. Support in so many different ways: a. Buy coffee b. Get your church to buy coffee c. Buy a sandwich or latte or salad d. Let us cater your next event e. Contribute monthly our monthly financial need from donors is now $20,000. f. Mention our ministry to a friend g. Ask your church if we can share about Coffee Oasis with your church 4. Pray! We know that God delights to do above and beyond what we could ask or imagine and that is what we hope for. Thanks for your faithful and generous support! And if you are interested Coffee Oasis is to be featured on King 5 News on Thursday, March 29 th, on the 5pm news during the Making a Difference time slot...check us out! Thanks again.