2022 in Review

Dear friends,

Looks like we fast tracked through 2022. The New Year, 2023, is around the corner. It was a great experience to lead Enkrateia. Definitely, Enkrateia has already proven to be a “House of Hope”


The appreciation dinner for our patrons to celebrate our first birthday was a success! Our Patrons were excited and participated in the informal gathering emceed by Grand Knight, John Short. Our patrons were ecstatic to sing “Happy Birthday Enkrateia”! Thanks, Paul, for leading! Chef Asha’s Chicken Creation followed by the Birthday cake and Ice cream was a hit.

 

Team Enkrateia was introduced to our patrons and the team had an opportunity to answer the fielded questions. Patrons enquired about our progress, our needs, our fears, our joys, our challenges, our accomplishments, and our Blessings!


Our Progress:  Our house has become a home. Reconditioning is completed. Rooms furnished and are beautifully decorated. We are ready with a garden patch for the coming years. Hydrangeas are taking roots in front of the house!


Our quiet “Rose Room” turned into a “Study”. The room remains quiet and Rosie! Our Baby’s musical swing is an addition to the quietness while moms do their homework.


Our family room is for “Chilling”, watching TV, playing DVD’s, homework and playing card games. No food and beverages are allowed outside our kitchen and dining area. There are occasional exemptions!


Downstairs living room has been transformed into a “Day Care” setting where volunteers can spend time with babies, comfortably enjoying the Seasons through our beautiful large windows. There is also an office, bedroom and a bathroom downstairs dedicated to the needs of our volunteers as they spend their precious time to serve “Enkrateia”!


Our needs: We need Volunteers to run “Enkrateia” household smoothly. Babysitting, house sitting, mother’s companion, secretarial duties, baby laundry, occasional house cleaning, gardening, shopping, custodial services would be areas to help. Help is occasionally needed with Electrical, Plumbing, Heating, and Carpentry.


Everyone is gifted with a talent, and we need your gift. Please give us a call! 612.508.0217


Our fears: We answered 53 calls to date. We could not assist all of them. We do not have the capability or facilities to provide the kind of help many of the callers needed. The callers were directed to appropriate resources. We are always praying for Guidance!


Our Joys: We encouraged a few expectant mothers to contact their families and start the dialogue about their pregnancy status with their loved ones, which culminated into better relationships with immediate or extended families. This enabled a few women to remain in their own family circle for love and support.


Enkrateia was able to plant the seeds of our mission in two young mothers. One found out that Enkrateia was not a fit for her, after spending three weeks with us. We were able to serve the second mother and baby for 6 months. She started online schooling and is progressing. This young lady wants to move on with her ambitious goal of becoming an “Entrepreneur”. We wish her well!


Providing companionship during their stressful time is very challenging but also rewarding! Lending our ears, providing rides for Ultrasounds, Prenatal Checkup, Urgent care, ER or just sharing a meal with them are a few occasions to cherish! Forgot about the trip to Dairy Queen on a hot Sunday afternoon!


Our accomplishments! Enkrateia office is updated with a HP laptop, additional large monitor, and a multifunction Laser Printer. Laser printer will help us to crank out our brochures as needed. This printer saves both time and money. Another tower model computer is being added to our study/library room to aid our mothers who do not own a laptop.


Our Blessings! Of all the Blessings that God sends our way, the volunteers HE sends are among the most treasured! Jennifer Tjernagel and Jill Flood joined “Team Enkrateia”. They truly are “Our Blessings”. Another star added is “Larson Family”

It is the time of year that our friends, local organizations, and places of worship have shown their unwavering support towards “Enkrateia House of Hope”. We are grateful and obliged for your continued support!


Thank you for keeping us in your prayers, enquiring about our progress, our needs, our fears, our joys, our accomplishments, and our Blessings!


As we celebrate the birth of our “Prince of Peace” I hope, your hearts are full of reasons to be thankful. May God fill you with more Blessings than your heart can possibly hold.


With a grateful heart,

Dorothy Arockiasamy

Executive Director

Enkrateia's First Fund Raising Dinner!

October 6, 2025
Dear Friends, After hearing about our progress over the last 3 years, going on 4, a patron came forward to foster us! A dinner for “Rooting” for Enkrateia House of Hope’s Mission. We were obliged! Trinity Lutheran in Waconia, came forward to host! Thank you for Championing us, Trinity! Volunteers were ready to take on another challenge! An Italian Dinner. The response to Enkrateia’s midyear update was extraordinary. Thank you notes accompanied by monetary support and the guaranteed prayers for Enkrateia’s wellbeing is greatly appreciated. We had 94+ supporters come for dinner and found out what our wing bearers are doing to help the displaced young women in need and how each one of you could help! Patrick Kirsch, our Spiritual director, talked about our Mission and Vision. Core 4, our Executive Team briefed the patrons about Enkrateia’s Intake process, Volunteers, Mother mentors, and daily activities at the house. Italian dinner was served by a team of volunteers from St. Therese Catholic community in Deephaven under the leadership of our Chair, Marilyn Olson. They were troopers! We had Lasagna (meat, veggie and gluten free), Fresh green beans off the garden, fresh fruits (a combination of all berries, melons and grapes) Salad, Italian bread, and dessert (of course we had chocolate) and beverages. It was a great opportunity to meet and greet our patrons in person. The informal and laid back setting promoted mingling. It was a gathering of people who believed in the cause! I am happy to note that the” Italian dinner rooting for Enkrateia House of Hope’s Mission” was a success. You, the sustaining as well as the new donors, helped us raise 25K. Thank you for spending September 29th evening with us to show your support and making the event a success! Let us plan to celebrate Enkrateia’s 5th birthday in 2026 and Root for 50K? Yours sincerely, Team Enkrateia!  Note: Hats off to our Fundraising Chair, Marilyn Olson “The Energizer” keeping Enkrateia in her heart and mind always and bringing awareness about Enkrateia’s mission to all whom she comes across in her daily life! She is on a Mission!

Mid Year Update 2025

July 25, 2025
“A midyear update from Enkrateia! “ July 2025 Dear Friends, Enkrateia reached its full capacity! We have three moms and 3 babies! The Enkrateia team is busy! Our volunteers are busy! 16 Guests have reached out to us this year in 6 months. We did help all of them in the little ways that we could. Quite a few of the Guests had a toddler along with the baby that they were carrying. Though we had a small room open, we could not help the mothers with toddlers, since our home is not toddler friendly! One Guest moved out in January and is settled with her own apartment. Her mother mentor Tami has done a wonderful job of settling and following up with her. Guest “C” had baby boy “D” in March. Mom and baby are warming up to their roles. Mother mentor Kim is on her toes darting between her work, family and Enkrateia! Second Guest “M” moved in as soon as our second room opened. Mama “M” and baby girl “M” are keeping House of Hope busy. Mama M had her wisdom tooth (3 of them) surgically removed and her mother mentor Jennifer and volunteers were busy taking care of Mama and the baby. Mama M is being tutored by a volunteer English teacher to accomplish proficiency in English and Mama is making strides in communicating in English. Third Guest “A” came in on June 4th. She started her onward journey on July 2nd after a short stay with us. We wish her and the sweet baby Boy “D” all the best in their journey forward. We need you! E nkrateia House of Hope is a mission run by Volunteers! God and Angels are priceless so are our wing bearing volunteers! Enkrateia is often run off with doctor’s appointments, Gather and Grow, Walgreens and Target visits. Mother mentors are on call 24/7. Our awesome volunteers are trying to be available as much as they can. The care coordinator is available only on 3 days during the day. Garden was planted in mid-May! Grateful to Melinda and Helene for taking charge of the garden. It looks beautiful. As we express our gratitude to all of you, for your support, I would like to share with you a kind note that one of our Guests “DJ” and the little boy “I “(you might recollect) sent to their mother mentor Jennifer. Jennifer has been in touch with DJ for the past three years. DJ lives out of state, bought a small house, had a baby girl, boyfriend works 2 jobs and planning a summer wedding with 18 guests. Jennifer is planning to crash the wedding party! Dear Enkrateia, I would be lost without my experience with y’all. You guys gave me and my son a safe place, a beautiful town and yard and love. With your help I was able to take the time to think about my future and my hopes and dreams. While I did not finish college the knowledge I did obtain is helping me plan our family business and that would not have been possible without the encouragement of everyone that's a part of House of Hope. You guys helped bring our Heavenly father into our family and into our everyday lives. My life and the life of my family have changed so much from the knowledge I gained being around such amazing people. I hope you guys get to help so many other mothers and family on your journey. What you guys did for me still matters to this day 🫶🏽 We wish her joy and peace filled family life! God Bless, Dorothy A Arockiasamy (Executive Director)