I have been praying about a position like this for a long time. Over Christmas, my dad and I dreamed up a position for me, directing operations at Andre House of Arizona. In this dream position, the clothing closet was one of the first ministries that I would tackle. I wondered, “How could we help more people choose more clothes, more quickly, and in a more dignified way?”
My fourth and final semester of graduate school started up again, I got busy with classes, readings, and papers, the polar vortex happened, and then winter stuck around for an extra few months. That dream position was moved to the mental back burner. The itch to find the right place to which I could commit myself after graduation stayed on my heart, though, and I prayed that God would help me find it. My Lenten prayer included a commitment not to worry and stress about a job after graduation.
On Holy Thursday, I received a phone call from an unknown Milwaukee phone number. It turned out to be from Jim Wozniak, the president of the board of Father Gene’s Help Center, inviting me to come in for an interview. He had been sent my resume by a mutual friend who thought I’d be a great fit for the organization, knowing that Father Gene’s had been looking for someone with a heart for the mission. I was overwhelmed with a sense of consolation when I saw the job description, a deep-down sense of rightness that this was the position for which I had been praying.
I am so thankful to be here, working with a team of amazing volunteers, to help provide dignity through clothing to people in need in the Milwaukee community. I look forward to getting to know you! Please keep Father Gene’s Help Center in your prayers and know that you – our biggest supporters – are in mine.
Jessica Luebbering, Executive Director