It’s a familiar refrain around Bethesda: “Once again, we stand back and marvel at the goodness of God.” Opening a new home from scratch is always a risk. Nothing is in place. And when your new contract starts in two months, you scramble.
And we did. And, from the outside, it even looked easy.
Was it easy? Some parts seemed to just fall into place. Other parts took a strong work ethic.
But when you look back at all the moments, decisions, delays, encouragements, and unexpected connections that formed this home, what emerges is a blessed orchestration. Leaders said yes to submitting a proposal during an overextended season. We were invited to view a property we didn’t yet need; one that, in God’s timing, was still available eight months later. A manager stepped out of a beloved role to take on the uncertainty of starting a brand‑new home. A friendly message to a stranger sparked a friendship and later revealed one of the families we would soon be supporting in this new home. Viewed together, it all just seems meant to be.
Where Faith and Discernment Come In
Last September CLBC invited service providers to submit proposals for new services. Bethesda responded to the call, despite being short‑staffed and still searching for a new COO. Decisions about expansion are not made lightly. They are made with prayer, discernment, evaluation of capacity, and with trust that God will guide us. CEO Tori Dalair recalled the conversations being around our commitment to meeting a need in our community. “We felt called to do everything we could to live out our mission and stretch ourselves to create more spaces of belonging. We trusted the experience and dedication of our team and grounded our decision in prayer, trusting that the Lord goes before us. There were many RFP opportunities during that season, and our leadership team was discerning about where we felt called to step in and where it wasn’t the right time.”
One of the main risks was finding a new home in the Abbotsford area for the 4 people who would eventually be moving in.
On November 17, 2026, Bethesda was notified that we were the successful proponent to start a new staff-supported home to support two people immediately and two other people within 6 months. Suddenly, we needed a property—and fast. There was no time to build. No time for a lengthy market search. The contract would begin in just a couple of months.
That’s when Dawna Braun, Acting Chief Services Officer, put in a call to the property owner who’d reached out to Bethesda at the beginning of the year. Through a church connection, the owner knew about Bethesda and was interested in offering us property for lease. He had a home available and two large multi‑bedroom apartments in an Abbotsford complex originally built for seasonal farm workers. Our senior team had toured the units but, at the time, there was no need.
Would they still be available?
Amazingly, the two apartments were. After re‑connecting with the owner, conducting site visits, and completing the assessments and negotiations, a lease was signed for December 1. As Tori shared, “Time and time again, we see that the Lord goes before us and makes a way. Looking back, it’s remarkable how He orchestrated our connection with a space we didn’t yet need in the summer. Along the way, God gently and beautifully reinforced that this was His plan. We are so deeply blessed.”
More Than a Property Decision
Bethesda is blessed with deeply experienced staff, but opening a home in less than three months, especially during the Christmas season, requires extraordinary commitment. And with one or two key leadership roles temporarily vacant, the challenge was even greater.
Francine Lee, the most senior person on the service team and Director of Services, brought decades of experience launching new services—and when Granite Home needed to be up and running in record time, that experience was essential. Francine volunteered to help lead the work and walked alongside the team through each key step, offering steady guidance and support. One of her direct reports, Sava Duran, an experienced Abbotsford manager, was promoted to Acting Service Coordinator and asked to set up this new home from the ground up.
Sava leaned on Francine’s knowledge and perspective as he made decisions and moved the many pieces forward. By February, he had assembled the staff team, appointed a team lead, furnished and equipped the home, and set up all administration and IT systems. Renovations—such as a larger bathroom with an Argo tub, accessible fixtures, and a small office space—took longer than expected, but even the waiting held unexpected blessing. The families needed more time too. God was preparing all of us.
Personal Relationships Smooth the Transition
Any time a child moves out, it’s a big moment for parents. When that child has a disability, even if they are a young adult, the uncertainties multiply. Parents wonder: Will my child be known? Loved? Understood? Will staff know what to do?
Meeting with an experienced manager who has walked through complex medical or behavioural situations before is reassuring. Meeting with someone you already know—even more so.
In the first meetings, both sets of parents and Sava recognized each other immediately. A friendship formed by a chance encounter through an in‑law—kids playing on the same sports team years ago—small threads woven before any of us saw the bigger picture.
For the families, this familiarity helped to ease some of the concerns. For our team, it was another holy nudge—another reminder that God was weaving this together.
A New Home, A New Beginning
What began as a series of decisions, risks, and small acts of faith was no longer just an idea or a plan, but had become a reality. A home with doors about to open, rooms waiting to be filled, and lives about to intersect in new and meaningful ways.
When move‑in day arrived, the home was ready and so were the people. The first two to move in brought with them their own personalities, interests, hopes, and family traditions. For the new staff team, the first few weeks were full of learning: discovering daily rhythms, adapting communication styles, preparing favourite meals, and all the while fine-tuning to create as welcoming environment as possible.
These early days became the first threads of a shared story that will continue to unfold over years of life together.
A Story Only God Could Orchestrate
As we look back over the many pieces that brought Granite Home into being, we recognize an invisible hand placing each piece where it needed to be: a proposal submitted in faith, a property kept available, a leader stepping forward at just the right time, staff forming a team with shared heart, and families discovering unexpected connections. It is a picture of God’s goodness and His power to work things out in ways we could never orchestrate ourselves.
More than anything, this home represents our enduring commitment: to walk with people and their families through life’s joys and challenges as fellow travellers. And we are grateful to be in it with them.
Granite home in Abbotsford opened in March 2026 and will be home to four people with diverse abilities. We ask God’s protection and grace on this home that over time it becomes a home of true belonging and caring relationships.
