By KEVIN CHIRI
Slidell news bureau
SLIDELL – Jody and Jennifer Scharfenstein spend much of their lives in charge of two local ministries that “help hurting families.”
Seeing many different family situations, Jody is quick to note that “people can justify splitting up very easily.”
Yet the amazing thing about the Scharfensteins and the ministries they operate is that they too could have taken that path with plenty of justification after their daughter, Savannah, was killed in a parade accident in Slidell on Dec. 10, 2006.
Instead, Jody and Jennifer drew upon their faith to get through the tragedy and now head not one, but two incredible ministries based in Slidell.
As with other charity groups, fundraising is critical to their success and to that end, the eighth annual Savannah Smiles Golf Tournament on Friday, Nov. 7 at Pinewood Country Club is a vital event to support that work.
Savannah Smiles was the initial ministry that was born after the accident. Jody and Jennifer went through their own challenges financially dealing with the death of Savannah, and later wanted to create a ministry that would help other families who lost a child.
Several years later in 2010, Savannah Manor was opened to provide a home for families in crisis and on the verge of splitting. Jody said that he and Jennifer, as Bible school teachers at First Baptist Church in Slidell, saw many families with difficulties caused from some “bad decisions.” They wanted to help and eventually believed they needed to provide housing to get through those challenges, which would be coupled with counseling and other assistance.
“Savannah Smiles is still where our heart is, to help families who have lost a child,” he said. “But as time went on, we saw families at the church that needed help, or they were going to split up. We wanted to do something to help.”
The result was the purchase and renovation of property in Slidell where three small, but comfortable homes, were ready for families to move into. One home is utilized for an on-site resident manager, while two families in need can use the other homes.
“Our heart is to help hurting families and over time God showed us that our lives were going in a different direction,” Jennifer said.
Not only did things multiply for the Scharfensteins in terms of the ministry work they were doing, but Savannah Manor has also changed in that it originally housed traditional families with a mom and dad, but now is open to help single moms with children.
“We currently have two women, each having four children, in the two homes,” Jennifer said. “We have them involved and engaged in a Bible study and they are heading on the right track.”
As Christians, the couple makes no secret about the instruction they will give families in crisis.
“Families need to build their life around Christ and more than anything we need Godly dads,” Jody said. “But whatever the need is we see in the family, we will try to address that. The question is whether the family is willing to do the work it takes to improve things. Not all are willing.”
If a family is going to inhabit the homes, they must be recommended by a local church, then agree to be part of an active Bible study and attend church. If they have financial problems, counseling is provided, and if they need job skills, that is provided also.
One of the first families who utilized a home was ready to split up after three years of marriage and four children, all under the age of 3.
“They were living with her parents, which is not a good thing to do,” Jody said. “But now they are together and on their own and doing great.”
Jody said that he has gone through his own personal transition, leaving a job he held for 18 years in the maritime industry, then holding a different job for one year, followed by going on his own to become self-employed as he renovated and sold homes.
“God was showing me I needed to do more purposeful work,” he said. “I was working so much and I was tired of serving God on fumes.”
But several months after doing the home renovation business, Jody was offered a full-time job at First Baptist as head of Children and Recreation Ministry.
Jennifer said their Savannah Smiles ministry is still as needed as ever and they continually get phone calls from families who have lost children, or those trying to help them.
“One thing about knowing when and how much to help a family in that situation is that the loss of a child is pretty definitive. There isn’t much question about whether they have a need at that time,” Jody said. “But we are still very careful and thorough about who we network with to know when to help.”
The ministries are funded with half of the money raised through fundraisers or donations, while 50 percent of the ministries are funded through a private donor.
As their own children grow older, now with three daughters ages 10 to 20, the Scharfensteins remain an inspiration to many people for what they turned their own grief into.
“Jody and I have come up with a simple line that has helped us do a lot of things God shows us to take on. ‘Just Start’ is our line together,” Jennifer said with a smile. “It’s always been our theme, then God steps in and makes things happen.”
Since starting in 2007, Savannah Smiles has given over $200,000 towards final expenses for children. In 2013, the ministry helped 89 families with burial assistance for their children.
For more information on either ministry or to help, call 985-690-7444 or mail checks to “Helping Hurting Families,” at P.O. Box 2103, Slidell, La., 70459. They are also on the web at savannah-smiles.org.