September 2025 – God's Resort

Dear Friends of God’s Resort,

We are so very thankful for your support in helping our residents along their journey of healing and wholeness! Lives and generations are being changed because of your partnership and kindness!

Sarah grew up with an abusive, alcoholic dad who left when she was young and then wasn’t around as she grew up. Her family struggled a lot because of all the chaos and pain. By the time she was a teenager she was in a bad crowd and began her addiction. This would lead her to serious legal issues and prison. Darkness enveloped her life. She had her little girl Journey, but because of her addiction she had no idea how to care for herdaughter, and so addiction stole everything from her – including her child. That was her wake-up call from God!

Having hit the bottom of her addiction, Sarah went to a recovery program that led her to God’s Resort! I like nicknames, so I call Sarah, “Peaceful One,” because she exudes peace!!!JESUS, The Prince of Peace, is helping her walk in that peace! I also have a nickname for Journey! Her nickname might be called a nickname phrase! Every time I see Journey I say, “Your name is Journey; you’re on your way to see Jesus!!”And she will always smile really big and give me the high five handshake! Sarah says that God’s Resort was the piece she needed to bring Journey back home at 17 months old! Speaking of that Sarah said, “That meant the world to me, I am so thankful for God’s Resort!!”Sarah has stability for the first time in her life! She has a job she enjoys that provides for her and her daughter. Sarah is active in the community and her church! She is spiraling up!

Thank you for helping Sarah and Journey get where they couldn’t get without a community of grace and healing like God’s Resort! May God bless you!!If you would like to give a special gift towards helping families like Sarah and Journey find healing and stability, click here.

Love and prayers,

Jay St. Clair
Executive Director

Love Your Neighbor Day 2025!

This year’s Love Your Neighbor Day was nothing short of amazing! From the moment volunteers arrived, there was an undeniable sense of joy and unity as we worked side by side to care for the God’s Resort community. TOGETHER, we tackled yardwork, painted, wrote cards, cleaned, spruced up our neighborhood, and completed many other projects that will bless our residents for months to come! Everywhere you looked, you could see volunteers serving on Pearl Street and God’s presence was in the middle of it all.

One of the highlights of the day was lunch, prepared by Dan Corral, with help from Doug, Jeremy, and Ethan. They prepped, grilled, and served up gourmet bacon-wrapped hot dogs that had everyone coming back for seconds! Their kindness and talent made the meal as memorable as the work accomplished.

We are so thankful for every volunteer and supporter who made this day possible. Your love for God’s Resort shines brightly, and together we are making a lasting difference. Thank you!

Current Serving Needs:

· Thursday morning Coffee and Chat Breakfast Team

· Overnight volunteers at The Well

· Christmas shoppers for our upcoming Christmas Shoppe

If you are interested in any of the above, contact Machaela Cantu at machaela@godsresortjoplin.org!

Michelle, The Peacemaker!

I’d like to introduce you to one of our beautiful residents, Michelle. Michelle has stayed with us for almost a year now. She will be celebrating one year with us on October 22! We are very thankful for Michelle, and she brings so many blessings to The Well!

Jay St. Clair loves giving people nicknames, and he has given Michelle the nickname “God’s Belle.” The definition of “Belle” means “a girl or woman whose charm and beauty make her a favorite.” If you know Michelle, you know for sure that she loves beauty and charm. We rarely see Michelle leave The Well to go anywhere without fixing her hair up, putting on makeup, and patiently manicuring her eyebrows. God created Michelle to be a woman with the desire to be beautiful and charming. We believe that all women desire to be beautiful and charming!

For the longest time, Noi thought that Michelle’s nickname was spelled “God’s Bell.” And that spelling fits Michelle as well! She always “rings the bell of peace” when tensions are high at The Well. Michelle is a peacemaker who helps silence negative emotions and negative attitudes! She knows how to speak truth without condemning or being judgmental. One time, when another resident’s friend had a poor attitude, Michelle said, “When you do stuff like that you will miss out on your blessing.” That gave her resident’s friend something to think about, without feeling that Michelle was attacking her or being unloving. Michelle was able to speak truth in a loving way (Eph 4:15). When we think about Michelle, we are reminded about Matthew 5:9, where Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”

Michelle has never had a problem with getting along with any of our other residents. She is a sweet friend and sister in Christ for everyone, even those who are hard to love. We encourage all the women at The Well to learn from Michelle’s life – to be a child of God, a peacemaker, a woman who loves and respects who God created her to be, beautiful and charming, a person who calms the chaos and negativities, and a person who loves everyone by gently speaking truth.

God’s Resort Youth

This month we have continued to focus on ways that we worship God, and next month we are shifting to focus on walking in Jesus’ footsteps and FULLY following Him! Our God’s Resort kids have been blessed with some new shoes by Christ’s Church of Joplin, and they are ROCKING those new shoes! We are SO incredibly blessed by our God’s Resort community and partners! We couldn’t have had as much fun outside this month without some of our VERY LOVED volunteers. Rain or shine, we love to have some FUN, and our volunteers do the same! Some of them even served with our kiddos at Love Your Neighbor Day. Needless to say, we value ALL of you deeply and are SO thankful for all the prayers, time, and donations you give to our kiddos.

Each month we have a memory verse, and as an incentive anyone can get a piece of candy if they fill in the blanks on the board in the kids’ room. Recently, one of our sweet kiddos filled it out after stating that she couldn’t spell very well! She definitely got her candy and is also learning the blessing of storing the Word of God in her heart! We have had the privilege of loving on SO many kids this year! As the summer has ended and the school year has begun, please join us in praying for these neighborhood kids and their families! They are really seeking our Lord and Savior!