Deb Ford
Heart to Hand Director
hrt2hnd@comcast.net
720-859-2513

Deb Ford, Director of Heart to Hand Resource Center is married and the mother of three: Melisa – 29, Wendy – 27, and Douglas – 25.  She obtained her B. S. from Colorado Christian University in Management of Human Resources with a minor in Psychology. While working on her Bachelors Degree, she was a trainer for the Department of Energy and authored a training manual for trainers in a professional setting. She went on to obtain her Masters Degree in Agency Counseling in 1998 from the University of Northern Colorado and has also completed much of the coursework towards a Doctorate in Family Violence.

While working on her Masters Degree, she worked in private practice and also completed a year long internship at Providence Network, leading groups and counseling women struggling with addictions and abuse. In 1999, she returned to Providence Network and served as an Interim Director at one of the Providence Discipleship Homes and, in 2000, was the founding Director of Joy House, a residential facility for women and children who were victims of domestic violence.

Deb has completed all the requirements for a Licensed Counselor in the State of Colorado, is trained in Child Play Therapy and holds credentials as a Forensic Counselor. She has over 10 years of experience working with the inner city population and came to Open Door Ministries in 2004 with a vision to reach out to the poor by providing services that were unavailable to the under-privileged population.

She and her husband have participated with several missions trips including Mexico, El Salvador and Russia. Deb also assists her husband who is Pastor of Restoration Worship Center. When not working, Deb enjoys spending time with her family, reading and spoiling her four grandchildren: Trinity, Gryphon, Audra and Natania.

 

Lucy Bruser
Heart to Hand Outreach Director
lovedbyiam@aol.com
720-859-2513

Coming from rather meager circumstances in early life, God began cultivating in Lucy a heart of passion for the brokenhearted, oppressed, needy and downtrodden.  After graduating from High School, Lucy worked for a number of years as an office manager, until God called her to Bible college.  In her 2nd year of college, God used Isaiah 61:4 to call her to innercity ministry.  “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, because the Lord has annointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty [freedom] to the captives, and the release from darkness to the prisoners [opening of the prison to those who are bound]“.  Emphasis added.

While attending Bible College, as student outreach, she was a Big-Sister to teen girls through a Christian home for at-risk youth, and was involved in evangelism and discipleship through a prison ministry.  Lucy spent two summers as an intern with an inner city ministry in Cincinnati, Ohio.  During her senior year of college, God called her to Inner City Impact, Chicago, Illinois.  After graduation, she joined their staff as Director of High School Ministries.  A number of years later she entered the corporate world, where she gained a wealth of experience in Business Administration, Strategic Planning and Development, Corporate Cash Management, Human Resources and Development, Project and Event Planning and more.

In 1995, Lucy felt God calling her back to full time ministry and she began to ready herself for this transition.  With a particular burden for unsaved and unchurched women who were beaten up, broken and struggling through life, she joined Open Door Ministries in Denver in 2000.  There, Lucy directed Chayah House, a two-year Christian discipleship home for women in transformation.  God uses Lucy’s passion for evangelism, discipleship, teaching and mentoring, to guide her in leading others on a journey out of poverty, brokenness and spiritual darkness to the compassionate and healing heart of God for redemption, restoration and spiritual wholeness in Christ.

With 20+ years of inner city ministry experince, Lucy directs the Heart to Hand Clothing Bank, Food Bank and Large Community Outreaches.  She also developed and runs a weekly 12-step Christian addiction recovery support group, Pathway Christian Meetings.   Attendees of these meetings are struggling individuals in our community who desire freedom from drugs, alcohol and other addictions, and addictive behaviors.

Marla Vlieger
Education Director
marlavlieger@yahoo.com
720-859-2513

Marla Vlieger, the Director of Education at Heart to Hand Resource Center, has taught public schools for 12 years.  She has a BS in mathematics from CSU, an MA in Christian Education from Denver Seminary, and a teaching license from UNC.  She and Bruce married in 1999 and have 3 grown children.  Bruce is currently the Co-Director of Ezra, an outreach to streetkids with Open Door Ministries.

Marla’s passion is also the underprivileged and hurting, especially women and children.  She began volunteering with a church for the homeless in Aurora in 2003 and there met Deb Ford.  This led to volunteering at Heart to Hand Resource Center and observing how to minister to the poor and hurting.  Marla’s interest in helping others attain their GED comes from passion for teaching and her heart for the hurting and needy.

With this passion for the hurting, needy and “cast aways” of society, Marla and Bruce became Foster Parents to newborn babies a number of years ago, and in that time have taken in, loved and nurtured a number of babies until the parent(s) were in a position to care for their own child, or an alternate placement plan was developed and implemented.

“Oh, the deep, deep love of Jesus” that characterizes their life together for God’s glory.