When Deb first began volunteering with Jonathan House through her community at First Covenant Church, the friendships took time to get going. Deb and her friends felt nervous at first, unsure of how to connect. But the Jonathan House residents quickly put them at ease, and before long they were simply having fun together.
She and a friend started a regular pickleball outing with John, Yusouf and Mukama, and it was a blast. American and African friends found themselves on level playing field – laughing at good plays and bad ones and enjoying the fresh air and movement.
As the friendships grew, so did the invitations. When a scheduled pickleball game got rained out, the group pivoted to an indoor birthday celebration—complete with a surprise video call where Deb met John’s wife and kids still in their home country. Another time, she organized an outing to a community theater play, introducing friends from around the world to Broadway classics. More recently, a resident who had already moved on from Jonathan House reached out to take her to his favorite restaurant. These simple moments added up to something bigger: Deb realized this was no longer just volunteering—it was life shared in community.
Deb plays pickleball with friends from Jonathan House.
“I’ve just learned to start doing my life and inviting them in, and sharing with them what I enjoy,” Deb said. “We enjoyed dinner—I have always been a firm believer that things happen around food. When we’ve done a play now I have them over, just having them around the table is wonderful.”
This approach of bringing her authentic self—rather than striving to be some “perfect volunteer”—has shaped both Deb and her friends at Jonathan House. As she put it: “The older I get, the more I realize that we have no idea how long we have with these people, or…our own lives.” When asked what she wants to make the rest of her life about, she answered simply: “Helping other people.”
Deb’s heart for welcoming others stretches back to her childhood. Growing up on a farm, her family once hosted a refugee family from Germany, and her father modeled quiet kindness toward neighbors who needed friendship. “I knew that he impacted people’s lives, but when he died and people shared how he had impacted them…I wanted to do the same.”
A day at the farm with a friend from Jonathan House.
Now, Deb is carrying forward that legacy in her own way. Alongside years of friendship and hospitality, she has chosen to leave a legacy gift to Jonathan House in her will—an opportunity for her love to extend beyond her own lifetime.
Her story reminds us that when we bring our truest selves—not polished, but real, with our passions, joys, and even our messes—God has a way of making something beautiful happen.
Written by: Bethany Ringdal, Jonathan House Ministry Leader