The Move is Complete!

Offices: 7735 Mockingbird Lane, San Antonio, 78229

 

 

Archived Information Below———–

Many of our families have stopped by to see the new FEAST facility and the reaction is always the same…a sense of awe at the amazing provision of the Lord! When you drive up to 7735 Mockingbird Lane, San Antonio, 78229 , the long sidewalk pulls your eyes forward until it ends at the grandeur of the double doors of a southern style plantation home. As you pull through the gates, large oak trees line the drive up to the beautiful historic mansion that houses our temporary FEAST Resource Center and Offices. There are often deer lounging in the grass on the front lawn and throughout the Denman Estate Park that borders our new home. It seems like a sanctuary, miles from the bustling city although it’s really not that far from the busy Fredericksburg Road.

When the Denmans selected this section of land for their “country estate” it was considered the edge of the Texas Hill Country. Designed in the style of Oak Alley in Louisiana, Mr. Denman’s attention to detail was amazing. Using reclaimed historic woodwork from a beautiful home that was being demolished in downtown San Antonio, the Denmans rescued and repurposed many of the beautiful architectural elements that would have been lost forever. The Estate consists of almost eight acres of park-like land, the beautiful mansion, a separate two-story carriage house, a greenhouse with pavilion, and Mr. Denman’s hill country style library with a view of downtown San Antonio!

Now with the booming city on all sides, this estate remains an oasis where the next chapter of FEAST’ legacy will begin! After a short time of remodeling, the FEAST Offices and Resource Center will be moved from its temporary spot in the mansion to the separate building that was once Mr. Denman’s library. The Mansion will then be repaired and used for workshops, seminars, retreats, and events. The Carriage house will be retreat housing for seminar speakers or others seeking a quiet place to pray or to get closer to nature and God. The beautiful park-like surroundings will be welcoming to families and children as they enjoy working in the greenhouse, walking the trails, having lunch or a nature class at one of the picnic tables and watching the ducks and turtles at the nearly completed refurbished pond.

With a new understanding of the kind of venue and space we have at FEAST, there are so many exciting opportunities for growth! Many of FEAST homeschool special events will now have a very special and inviting place for you and your family to enjoy. Feel free to drop by to say hello. We will be glad to see you!

Some have asked us about sports and co-op. Think of the new location along the lines of administrative offices. Our sports and co-op coordination will be orchestrated from this location but the sports practices and games, as well as the weekly co-op classes, are outsourced at one of the many San Antonio sports complexes and the co-op is housed in a beautiful local church’s family life center. Maintaining and housing both of these programs was very expensive at our former location as we were required to maintain such a large facility all year for the small amount of time that it was actually being used. By outsourcing and sharing facilities with others, both FEAST and the families we serve will save money!

Stay tuned as we continue to share ways that you can be a part of this growth. We have lots of work that needs to be done at our new location. If you can spare a day or even a few hours, let us know and we will schedule a project perfectly suited for your skills or talents.

Our prayer is that our new home will be a blessing to all of our FEAST homeschool families and within our community! Most of all, we hope to faithfully steward these gifts that the Lord has given and to continue to be faithful to Him in 2019!

Welcome Home FEAST

With abundant gratefulness to God for His direction and provision, FEAST is excited to announce our NEW location! We are very thrilled to share this moment with you that has been in the works and under much prayer and consideration these last few months! Today, we get to officially announce the news that the beautiful and iconic Denman Estates, a historic San Antonio family residence, will now be the home to the FEAST resource center and many other new ventures and outreaches of the FEAST staff and families. Located at, 7735 Mockingbird Lane, San Antonio, 78229 .

One of the matters closest to the homeschooling family’s heart is that of a legacy – a special and meaningful history that can inspire and transform generations to come. FEAST is excited to not just have a new place to call our FEAST home but to have one rich in legacy, history, redemption, and hope.

Long before San Antonio grew and spread north, the home was nestled in what was considered the edge of the Texas Hill Country! Now with the booming city on all sides, this estate remains an oasis in our crowded city. The former residence of Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert Denman was specially designed with a beautiful portico of Tuscan columns and an elegant wrap-around upstairs veranda with cast iron railings. Viewed at a distance from the road, this home continues to amaze with its attention to detail and grandeur. After this home was built in the 1930s there was largely a halt on such building projects due to the challenging economic times that fell on our nation during the Great Depression. However, homes like this one were built to last. With unparalleled craftsmanship, the special home of the Denman’s has been preserved to this day!

With a new understanding of the kind of venue and space we will have at FEAST there are some challenging and exciting opportunities for growth! On this property, there is not only this iconic mansion, but there is also the library of the Denman’s. This will be housing our offices and resource center you have come to know and love! The mansion itself will provide an opportunity to host special events to expand FEAST’s ministry and continue the legacy of the estate’s previous owners. Whether families in the area are interested in a quiet retreat center for a meeting or conference, an elegant and sophisticated wedding venue, or to get away on the beautiful park-like seven acres of quiet country can be a perfect choice! Many of FEAST’s homeschool special events will now have a very special and inviting place for you and your family to enjoy.

Stay tuned as we continue to share ways that FEAST will continue to expand our ministry and ways you can be a part of this growth. Our prayer is that this new venue will be a blessing to our staff and all of our FEAST homeschool families and community! Most of all, we hope to steward the gifts the Lord has given so as to be faithful to Him in each step. We look forward to continuing this race together with your family!

 

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And the Transition Begins!

Thanks to all of our friends that have pitched in and helped us relocate to our temporary housing for the next 90 days. Instead of using expensive temporary offices, the new owners of the FEAST Campus have allowed us to rent some of the portables so that we can continue to serve our families without interruptions.

FEAST will temporarily house the bookstore, resource center, and offices in the Bluebonnet and Live Oak portables at 25 Burwood. Please use the Burwood Portable parking lot during this time. For safety reasons, access to other areas of the campus will not be allowed due to the remodeling and construction that will be occurring.

Meanwhile… our current services will continue. New services will be announced as they are developed.

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What better way to celebrate our upcoming move than with a packing party!

Bring your family and come to join the fun. Many hands make light work! Working together as we always do, we will be creating warm, wonderful memories of our final days on Burwood Lane.

Many have asked, what can we do, well so many things are still being used that prevents us from packing early so our last week will be “all hands on deck”! Until then, you can bless us with your prayers, and by donating as much time as you can spare to help us prepare for the move. We have boxes to assemble, closets to clean out, and cabinets of supplies to box up. We also need folks to help us tidy up the exterior as well as giving empty rooms a quick vacuum. We will do anything that can be done ahead of time. We want to leave our beautiful location as clean as possible to welcome the new owners.

The August 27 – 29 Packing Party will be for our offices and bookstore. Bring some snacks to share and come ready to have fun at this box-up-our-belongings bash! Contact Linda Whiten if you have questions. lwhiten@homeschoolfeast.com

     No worthwhile endeavor has ever been accomplished without a great deal of effort on the part of someone. Moving FEAST is no exception!
     As our moving date draws closer into focus, we now see so many little tasks that must be handled in the next 8 weeks. With each one comes a long list of considerations; Will we need this at our new location…will this old desk last another few years or is it even worth moving?
    Our staff and volunteers have been busy cleaning our closets, desks and storage areas and making sure that anything that we are not taking to the new location, that is and usable, is placed in the moving saleroom.
     At this time we have some really good leftovers from our giant garage sale, along with interesting donations from our stuff the truck promotion, and loads of great supplies and used teaching materials that have been added to the moving saleroom. In addition to the moving saleroom, we also have large items such as desk, both large and small, chairs both structurally sound and some requiring minor repair or recovery. Even a few extra shelved and tables. All have been lovingly priced low as a blessing to our homeschool families. Come by any time the office is open and see if there are items that would bless your family.
     We will keep you posted on our new address and exact move date as details are finalized. Contact Linda Whiten if you would like to be placed on the list for Moving Day Volunteers! lwhiten@homeschoolfeast.com

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Every Step of the Way

A strong desire has come over me to have a heart to heart discussion with you. I want you to know and understand everything that is going on here at FEAST. The team and I are working as diligently as we can to make sure that we carefully transition every aspect of the services that FEAST offers. Knowing that change can be hard, we want you to know that we are here and available every step of the way. The one that remains constant is our Savior.

“FOR I AM THE LORD, I CHANGE NOT;” Malachi 3:6a

Educating the next generation…one family at a time! Please hear our hearts and know that our mission, to promote and support the benefits of parent-directed education, remains unchanged. Let’s look at some of those services:

INFORM

• the community by acting as a clearinghouse of educational information through our resource center, MANNA Magazine, social media, and website.
• the general public about the diversity of private, parent-directed, tutoring, individual discipleship and other customized forms of education that may fall under the heading of homeschooling or private schooling in Texas.
• interested parents by directing them to local homeschool and special needs support groups for support and encouragement

ASSIST

• parents and educators academically by providing orientations, workshops, testing, co-ops activities designed to support their educational needs.

PROMOTE

• social community
• good citizenship and civics
• leadership training and development through sports programs, student council, etc. 

A good organization will change with the needs of the people they serve. By offering less of what you don’t need any more of what you do, FEAST can grow alongside families in their homeschooling journey. We welcome the change that the Lord has brought across our pathway and we are trusting what our obedience to His mandates will bring. I want to invite you to be a part of this exciting transition at FEAST! As we move forward, send me your ideas, questions, comments or concerns at lwhiten@homeschoolfeast.com. I value what you have to say and I’m eager to work with you in serving the homeschool community. 

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When was the last time you moved? Maybe recently, or like us maybe 18 years have passed! You never know how much “STUFF” you have accumulated until you start planning a move! Just the thought of sorting and packing can make your head spin until you stop and think about the blessings the Lord has planned for you in this move.

This is not our first move, the FEAST Organization has been an integral part of homeschooling in Texas since the mid- 80s and over the last 30 years, FEAST has operated out of four different locations. Each time God has faithfully made it clear when it was time to move locations as He directed us into a better position to serve the homeschool community of South Texas. FEAST Leadership believes that the Lord has clearly indicated that the time has come for our next move and we are excited!

“…He directed us into a better position to serve the homeschool community….”

As we move locations, with our FEAST Sports and Co-op at different locations, our mission to promote and support the benefits of parent-directed education is not changing. You can be sure that FEAST Leadership and the method by which we carry out the mission of FEAST are also adapting to what the current and future needs are for the homeschool community, even as it changes. Carrying out our vision to inform, assist and promote homeschooling; we will be increasing our network by collaborating with homeschool groups and organizations, educational organizations, churches and area colleges.

“…we will be increasing our network by collaborating with homeschool groups…”

Our hearts are overflowing with gratitude as we see the Lord going before us and preparing the way for all of our programs! (old and new)

In Sports our AD, Scott Lane is working with the Commissioner of each sport to ensure their needs are met. In some cases, sports fields and gyms are being located and secured. Coaches are excited and are preparing their plans for 2018/2019 sports seasons.

Co-op is being restructured in preparation for next year. Things are going well as teacher applications and class lists are almost complete for 2018/2019. Co-op will be meeting at a new location that will allow room for growth while fostering a close-knit community. Although we will be under a different roof, the hearts of our families will be the same. It will be centrally located in the north-central area of SA. More details to come as agreements are signed with the location.

“…Although we will be under a different roof, the hearts of our families will be the same.”

New FEAST Resource Center – The newest update is in the area of the FEAST Bookstore. The FEAST Staff have tracked the trends of the bookstore use and they continue to decline. This doesn’t surprise us as bookstores across the country are reporting the same decline. Fewer people shop at their local bookstore but rather are ordering online with free shipping and delivered to their front porch in two days. We totally understand we are busy parents too! So, rather than a bookstore, we are excited to announce that FEAST is going to create and launch a “FEAST Resource Center”. We will start by selling down our current bookstore stock, and the staff will begin preparing our supplies for the resource center displays, orientation classes, and newly added services.