Contents

This blog details the story of 490 Outreach, a non-profit that concerns itself with aiding a variety of people in distress, but principally recovering alcoholics and addicts.  It operates two sober living homes and provides some food and clothing aid in general, and such other outreach as it can.

The history of how I (Dean) came to join the Seventh-day Adventist Church and how it came to be that my wife and I run this aid organization can be found in the first six blogs dated March 17 through March 19 of 2017.

Dean and Katie West

The first three of them, "First Impressions!", "Second Impressions!" and "Third Impressions" tell how I met with the Adventists for the first time over a quarter of a century ago.  The next two are "The Long Gap in Faith" and "Church Shopping" which show how I found my way back to the Adventists, after that 25 plus year gap.

The sixth one is called "The Road to Outreach" and gives a very brief overview of how my wife and I came to be running an outreach program.

There are more articles than these six, of course.  The intent in those is to share some of the trials and tribulations - and hopes and successes - of a sober living home.  Some of these will be in the manner of updates as to our activities.  

The next 20 are "flashbacks" sharing various stories of what has took place on our journey into the world of an outreach ministry.  They will have the name of the article and the date of it's original posting.

Finally, past that, the articles will be new (from this re-incorporation) and continue on as before.  Answering questions.  Or asking for aid for various projects that come up from time to time.  Still other ones will be my own thoughts and meditations and struggles, for I am myself a recovering alcoholic, and while it's been many years, one is never cured.

We hope you'll enjoy this blog, and that you will get a sense of what we are striving for.  If any of you feel that you or a loved one could benefit from what we are offering, please do not hesitate to contact us at 217-720-2568.  Or if you have it in your heart to help, please visit our website at www.adventistassistance.org and make use of the paypal feature there.

Thank you, and God bless you!

Dean and Katie West