A tribute to Diana Desens
“In Jesus’ name. Thank God!”
Words uttered from Diana Desens as she did the absolute honor of cutting the ribbon for our soft opening of the Desens House this month!
Over a decade ago, Jonathan & Alissa Evans had conversations about the vision of a house in Oswego for those to rest, reintegrate, and renew as they worked through their recovery and sobriety. Through many years of ups, downs, and lots of prayer, we stand here today with a house!
Diana Desens did the honors of opening this space. Her family is one of the founding families of Elim Grace Church. What started as a small group in their home has turned into many generations of blessings and lives transformed in and through Elim Grace Church. Her family gave back to multiple families, organizations, and churches in the Oswego community. The Desens House aims to continue that call as we build to set generations free one life at a time, specifically for women struggling with substance dependency.
We have seen God move in the lives of those women within our tribe over the past two years! We cannot wait to continue to see how God uses this space for more transformations, more stories, more healing, and more breakthroughs.
Our Public Ribbon Cutting will be Wednesday July 19th from 4-6 PM at 264 W. 2nd St. Oswego!
Chicken BBQ Fundraiser!
Karen Valentine & Charmaine LaLiveres are powerhouses when it comes to serving people and loving them through their food! We are so excited for our upcoming Chicken BBQ fundraiser on Saturday July 8th, 12-4 PM, Elim Grace Church!
Please purchase your tickets here by Wednesday July 5th to allow time for our fabulous chefs to shop and prep! These meals will be pick-up only. We look forward to meeting you!
“Work Day” Look Back!
BEFORE
AFTER
BEFORE
AFTER
This is just a small snippet of the projects, frustrations, laughs, joys, decisions, friendships, and work days shared together over the past 2 years preparing the way for our recovery home! We have spent the past 2 years cultivating a vibrant tribe of beautiful women in recovery from all sorts of hurts, habits, and hang-ups. We are confident that this house will only continue to bless and grow our tribe towards healing and restoration! We cannot express the amount of gratitude we have for the time, efforts, donations, and prayer over this house from our community.
Thank you for loving our tribe so well and being the hands and feet of Jesus!
Living Free Campaign!
| Looking for a different way to financially support our recovery community? Please consider donating to our Living Free Program! Through The Desens House’s Living Free Program, we aim to support women in our tribe by financially funding different mental health supports that fall within the 8 dimensions of wellness. These short-term, launch pad supports will be approved by our Executive Director and will fall within the mission of The Desens House: faith-based, community driven model of recovery dedicated to transforming and restoring broken lives. We aim to walk side-by-side with our crew to set them up for success while receiving care from our community! Potential examples of these supports include providing 3 months of funding for sessions and co-pays with a mental health counselor at Integrative Counseling Services while simultaneously assisting to connect with health insurance to continue care, providing a summer of Holy Yoga class fees to assist a friend through a long summer of change, or purchasing 1 set of Celebrate Recovery Step Study books to support someone through their journey with the program. We are excited to see how God works through this gift of financial provision. We thank you for supporting the hopes and dreams of the women in our tribe! |
OUR REGULARS
Life Skills
Come Cook with Us!
We are continually looking for community members to come cook with us and teach us how to make simple dinner meals. We would love your help in making these nights happen!
Provide your best contact information so we can reach out to you promptly. We will partner with you to help make the night fun & seamless! We always laugh, eat, & connect over these yummy meals.
Facts & Snacks
Facts, Snacks, Talks, & Tea: A Call to Speakers & Storytellers!
We love to bring you topics and discussions around recovery to help break the stigma that surrounds addiction. Some previous events have included personal testimonies, chronic pain, mental illness/health, anxiety, exercise, and trauma-informed care.
Stronger Together
We love the opportunity to grow stronger together week after week. We have walked together, talked together, and stretched together; growing our muscles and our relationships. Join Amy Champlin and Erin Hicks for yoga, aerobics, and other fitness classes at the Connection Point!
TUESDAYS AT 9 AM
Reach out to Amy at:
Our Community Garden at Fruit Valley Orchard! This Spring we were given baby chicks raised by a local kindergarten class!
Writers Nook
The Writers Nook is a place where we collect stories, essays, poetry etc. around recovery, hope and transformation. Writing can be a powerful tool to process trauma, rebuild self-esteem, and support sustained recovery. Every story is unique, special and significant.
Interested in submitting work? Do so here!
Alive with Alpha
Week after week, we have gathered together in the quiet Connection Point basement to pray together, study God’s word together, and grow closer in fellowship. We have switched gears to dive into the free, fun, and authentic Alpha Course!
“In a world of isolation, anonymity, and keyboard-warriors, Alpha offers content and guidance for churches, ministries, and individuals to create a space for honest and open conversations about life’s biggest questions. Everyone is welcome and no questions are off limits.”
Breakfast
Weekly on Wednesday, we serve breakfast at Elim Grace Church. We enjoy the homemade goodies, hot coffee, and delightful conversation. Life can be tough, but we are in this together! And you never know who you’ll bump into here!
We had a blast watching our community grow and connect this month!
Join us Wednesdays at Elim Grace from 9-11 for breakfast!
