sunflowery's Diaryland Diary

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Mary Jo and Our Dreams of Kids

Supe and I finished reading a fascinating biography last night. It is the biography of Mary Jo Copeland. She's a Minneapolis native who grew up in less than stellar conditions. She was abused and lived in a home where her father abused her mother, her mother never cleaned or picked up and no one really cared about her. She met her husband in high school and they married soon after much to his parents disappointment. They were young and poor but making it work. Then they had 12 kids! For most of their years, they lived in a 3 bedroom bungalow in Brooklyn Park, MN. Can you imagine? 6 boys sharing one bedroom and 6 girls sharing the other. Wow!

Throughout this time, Mary Jo began volunteering with Catholic Charities. To make a long story short, through her experience with Catholic Charities, she started her own public outreach, growing from a tiny storefront to a HUGE campus in downtown Minneapolis. All of it paid for with private donations. She has a food shelf, lunch kitchen, clothing and shoes, and housing for families in transition. Her dream now is to build a children's home where kids in peril can live in a stable, loving environment.

As Supe and I were reading the end of the book in regards to this children's home, we were both stirred passionately. Mary JO's dream is also our dream. Supe longs to work with at risk youth and I long to be a mom. Mary Jo's set up would have loving, committed married couples living with 10 kids in a home together. It's not built yet...but we feel that this is where we belong. We feel it as if it was our dream too.

We talked about it last night. I want to write Mary Jo a letter and introduce ourselves to her and tell her about our dream and how it fits with hers. Supe wrote her a poem too. We are just enamored of her and her story. Check it out if you have the inclination. Here is the story of a woman raised in poverty and abuse, married into more struggling, had 12 kids and came out to be a one woman ministry of love for the poor and broken hearted in Minneapolis. It certainly goes to show you that one person, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, certainly can do a lot to make this world a better place.

11:16 a.m. - Sunday, Jan. 18, 2004
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