“Give to others, and God will give to you. Indeed, you will receive a full measure, a generous helping, poured into your hands all that you can hold. The measure you use for others is the one that God will use for you.” Luke 6:38
I can now say we are officially open! I can’t wait to share our journey in opening Harmony Assisted Living for the elderly!
Where do I even begin? Ahhh! This has been one of the craziest, scariest things I think we ever did. Before I jump in and share everything about this new journey in our lives, here are some things we learned along the way. We learned how to fully trust God, to be patient in those times of waiting and to just cry when you need to and then laugh it off in the end.
Before Surge and I got married, we always talked about our goals in life. The things we would love to accomplish with God’s guidance. We both prayed about this and finally decided we needed to jump in full force and open this home. We partnered up with two of our amazing friends in Portland, Vica and Vlad Kovtun to help us, mentor us and guide us. They actually run three of these homes back in Portland, so it’s been AMAZING having them by our side. Our men worked so hard on this remodel. Long weekends and days were spent there to get this project done and ready to open. It took us three years to finally get it up and running. We got our license about a month ago and today we have our first resident moving in so we can take care of him. We can’t wait to get to know him more and make his last years here the best.
Before I begin telling you why we wanted to start this business, I want to share how we got started. Surge and I owned a condo once we got married. We both worked full time jobs and I did blogging on the side because that was something I was very passionate about. We saved, sold our condo and moved in with Surges parents right after we bought this home to save a little more. We pretty much gave our whole heart to this place. We also partnered with Vica and Vlad not only as mentors but also to guide us financially. They flew out a lot here to help us with the remodel and everything else in between. Yes, it took us three years because we also had to work so we couldn’t give 100% all to it. The process wasn’t easy because this was something so new to us. This also wasn’t just a home we were remodeling, it was a home that had to be remodeled to standards of the elderly to be able to live there. We had to wait a long while for the City to approve pretty much anything. It was a roller coaster of a ride. We went way over budget because who stays under budget when building or remodeling, said no one ever. LOL!
Why did we want to do this? I’ve always had a heart for the elderly and a lot of it probably had to do with my Dad while he was in a coma in the past. We spent everyday at the hospital caring for him and I think it touched my heart at a young age. I wanted to be the person to take care of the elderly. To make them feel loved and most of all show them Jesus through my care. We were put on this earth not to live for ourselves, but to live and love others. I want to be a light to these people in their last years of their lives.
Before making this decision, Surge and I agreed that I would quit my Pharmacy Technician job and I would work as a caregiver to make sure we really wanted to do this. I received two years of experience while working 12 and 24hr shifts to learn everything I needed to know. My heart exploded those two years. The first couple of days working on my shift, I didn’t really expect a lot of what I saw. It made me so sad but also opened up my heart even more to give 100% in this. I got super close to the residents and learned a lot about their lives. I witnessed some of them pass and it made me sad but at the same time happy because I got to share my life with them and care for them. This job came with a lot of hard work but in the end was SO WORTH IT. This job isn’t for everyone but let me tell you this, when you meet someone that works in this industry don’t say things like, “OMG, I can’t believe your doing this!” Or “Wow, that’s a lot of work and time and you still want kids? Your crazy!” Instead, give them a hug and say WOW I wish I could do something like that and maybe even pray for them. I am saying this because I’ve heard it all when we talked about starting this business. Just because this isn’t something you would do, doesn’t mean other people don’t have a heart for it. Someone has to be there to care for these precious hearts.
This is pretty much what our journey looked like while starting our first Assisted Living. We are seriously so excited to jump in full force and love on these people. I feel like these next few months Surge and I will be learning how to balance both of our other businesses, my blogging and his tile. We will give our 100% to this business no matter and we are jumping in together. We are both so excited to do this together. I will still be posting photos on Instagram and being active on here, so don’t worry. ?
Down below I am sharing before and after photos of our remodel. I think my favorite part of this project was decorating and making every corner of this place feel homey, airy, bright and most of all welcoming. So scroll down and enjoy!
Thank you so much for reading and I can’t wait to keep you all updated on the home!
XOXO, Alena Gidenko
PC: Gina
BEFORE PHOTOS OF OUR REMODEL
AFTER
Maria B says
God bless you both in this new journey ❤️Thank you for all your love ,hard work and for caring about other humans the way you do ,and thank you for making this choice !so rewarding and so inspiring ❤️Sending you much love from Boca Raton Florida
ALENA GIDENKO says
Thank you so much ❤️
Nicole says
This is so so sweet! As an OT I totally can relate! I work in homecare now and definitely love working with the elderly the most (spent 15 years as an OT in LTC). Best of luck to you both, can’t wait to follow along on your journey!!
ALENA GIDENKO says
Thank you so much ❤️
Mom's Dish says
Wow, you guys are amazing. love what you did with the place.
ALENA GIDENKO says
Thank you so much ❤️
Darci O says
I’m incredibly moved by this announcement and I am also very inspired! I will be praying for you both in this new phase of the adventure and hope you will share more about the journey along the way. Thank you for your sacrifices and letting God use you! You will be greatly blessed!
Sending a big hug!
ALENA GIDENKO says
Thank you so much ?????
Tanya Martin says
This is so amazing Alena!!! So proud of you cousin. ???