Several West Windsor and Plainsboro residents were responsible for completing a home for a single mother and her two children, ages 8 and 13. A Journey Home is the name of an extreme home makeover-type project sponsored by the South Brunswick-based church Journey 2L2. The goal was to find a family who was transitioning from homelessness to a house of their own, and then provide paint, furniture, appliances, linens, curtains, and anything else to make this house a home..##M:[more]##
Working with the transitional housing program, Naomi’s Way, Hamilton resident Denise Gutierrez, Journey 2L2’s Community outreach director, successfully connected with the needy family, and discovered both her immediate needs and some of her wish list items. Word went out to members of Journey 2L2 and the community to start collecting small tables, table lamps, floor lamps, curtains, bedding, beds, bean bag chairs for a teen’s room, storage cube ottomans, dishes, glasses, silverware, mixing bowls, cutting boards, kitchen towels, pot holders, trash cans, bathroom towels, a TV stand, coffee tables, end tables, a kitchen table, and chairs.
The family moved into the empty apartment on June 2 and on June 9, the Journey 2L2 members put their plans into action. When they sent the family out for the day they put the final touches to the family’s new home. They brought in the furniture, decorated each room, and filled the kitchen with dishes and the refrigerator with food.
The West Windsor residents who worked on the home include the pastor of the church and his family, Bob and Linda Cushman, Carith Cushman, Adam Cushman, and Meredith Cushman. Plainsboro residents include Eric Geller, Anthony and Malinda Sands, Mary Ferraro, Bob and Olive Daniell, Janet Hutton, and Anthony and Nancy Musco.
“It’s funny how many times we encounter people who don’t really believe we will serve them and then ask for nothing in return,” wrote Cushman to his congregants. “Our world has become unfamiliar with simple acts of love and kindness. God has put us on this journey to change hearts one-by-one, a little at a time. One of the early visions we had for Journey 2L2 is that we would be a church where people would see the reality of a real and loving God through partnering with others in loving people with no strings attached.”
