An answer to prayer
Steve and Sally Voorhies prayed for their son, Christopher, to have his own life when he reached adulthood. The Dwelling Place answered their prayer.
“When our first child was born and we knew he had Down Syndrome, we began praying that someday he would live happily independent of us,” said Sally Voorhies. “We wanted Christopher to have his own life. We prayed for that from the time he was born.”
The Voorhies’ prayer was answered in 2002 when The Dwelling Place opened to young men who experience developmental disabilities.
Christopher was in middle school when Steve and Sally moved from California to Wenatchee, Washington. A previous public school teacher, she had homeschooled Chris, teaching him to read, write and do basic math. In Wenatchee, he entered public school.
Over the years, different acquaintances in the Central Valley suggested that the Voorhies meet John and Kathy Bangsund and their son, Matt, who also has Down Syndrome. But it wasn’t until the family began looking for a place where Christopher could live as an adult with full-time care that they sought out the Bangsunds.
A mutual friend connected them. Soon afterward, the Bangsunds invited Christopher’s family over for dinner at their home in Leavenworth.
“Matt and Chris played basketball right down there,” Sally recalled, pointing out the window from her seat in the kitchen of The Dwelling Place. “The four of us adults just talked while the boys tossed the ball around, and they seemed to get along really well. Then we had them for dinner so they could see our environment. The guys laughed, hit it off again, and enjoyed each other. At that meal, Kathy inquired if Chris would like to spend an overnight. He thought he would. Later, Matt spent an overnight (with us). Basically, we just let the boys become friends.”
The Bangsunds explained their plan to start a faith-based home for Matt and how they wanted to invite other independent young men to join him. They believed Christopher would be a good fit.
“We asked Christopher, ‘How would you like to live there and not just visit?’” Sally remembered. “‘Any time you want to come home, you can. You’d have two families.’ He contemplated the idea for about two seconds and replied, ‘I think I would like that.’ So he moved to The Dwelling Place as the second Amigo (after Matt Bangsund) on September 11, 2002, when he was 21 years old. He just felt wanted from the beginning.”
Steve and Sally love seeing their son happy and fulfilled by sharing life with the other Amigos.
“They have genuinely real friendships. To be a friend you need a sense of equality. For the first time in his life, he has real friends.”
Sally emphasized that the Bangsunds taught each of the men that God has created everyone with a purpose, and thus every human being deserves honor and respect.
“It’s a lesson that all of us can stand to learn,” she adds. “All persons are valuable just as God created them, as God wanted them to be—not as who WE might want them to be. Many people are afraid of those who are different, especially if they’re developmentally delayed or in some way handicapped.”
Sally has observed that not only have the Bangsunds given Christopher a home and a family, and empowered him to live into all God has created him to be, but they have also helped the men form strong relationships, including a bond with their larger community.
“The Dwelling Place enables people not to be afraid of special needs individuals. Kathy often has the Amigos (Friends) do volunteer yard work, shovel snow, or stack wood for older folk.” As residents experience the joy of serving others, new relationships blossom and everyone’s world is enlarged.
Like the other Amigos’ family members, Sally and Christopher can’t go out together without her meeting one of his friends, co-workers, or acquaintances—including, once, a state representative who greeted Christopher by name and with a hug.
“Here’s another thing I love,” she went on. “They have the dignity of earning their own money. They use their salaries to buy pop, go out to dinner, or attend plays, concerts and movies. They participate in every sport known to personhood: They bowl, ski, golf, fish, play basketball, racquetball, baseball and soccer; they play everything. Further, they have groups that they do things with; theater camp, for example. And they entertain guests from the community, like Lucky Hat UNO night.”
Sally believes that John and Kathy care for the Amigos as for their own family. When John was in his last days of cancer, in the final day or two of his life he called each one of these men to his room individually to give him a blessing.
“He told them how loved they were by him, by Kathy, by their families, and by the Lord, and that he would see them again,” Sally voiced, blinking back tears. “No wonder these guys are affirmed. There’s no place like this. I just can’t say enough about this place."