Photographer Jacqueline Horning and some of her friends spent an afternoon at the Mission. Here’s what they saw:
See her photo blog here
“I drank from the age of 17 to 48. I couldn’t imagine life without drinking. But I feel great now. It’s amazing what God can do.
A few months ago, the Mission hired me to be the full-time Food Service Supervisor. I’ve always felt called to ministry. I love being able to serve the men in this way.
Jesus says a tree is known by its fruit (Matt. 7:20). I want my life to be a testimony to what God has done for me. I want to bear good fruit.”
“My family was so disappointed in me. They visited me only once in prison and said they weren’t coming back. For 4 years I was alone.
I wrote to the Mission from prison and was accepted into the program. I came right here when I got out. Now I’m drug free and I’ve started my job search.
I’m grateful that God keeps His promises to His children, like in Matthew 7:7-12. I asked, and God answered. I visit with my mom or brothers every week now. They’re happy I’m here; they’re proud of me. I’m glad to be in a position finally to be a blessing to my family.”
“For 19 years I was a welder mechanic fabricator. Then I was laid off and I couldn’t find full-time work. I had no where else to go when God brought me to the Mission.
I want to do more with my life than just weld. I want to do ministry. I was praying about this when someone from my church asked me to consider a ministry position as a welding instructor at a Christian school – Vocatio Career Prep School.
I’m excited about what God is doing in my life. I’m starting membership
classes at my church this spring. I want to live out Titus 1:9 – I
want to pass on to others what God has taught me.”
As one resident of the Mission’s New Life Program put it, “I have an invitation to a big family dinner for Thanksgiving this year…here!”
Bob has been trying to reconnect with his family, but that bridge is proving difficult to build. In the meantime, Bob was delighted to know that he would be at home with fellow residents, guests, staff and their families for our Thanksgiving feast. We truly have much to be thankful for!
“…whatever one sows, that will he also reap…let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:7-9
In late May, it took Arthur, a New Life Program graduate, two trips on the bus to bring us the plants he was donating to the Mission through the generosity of his boss at the Chestnut Hill Business Improvement District. If you wandered into the Mission’s courtyard in June, you would have seen four containers full of these young, tender plants. Beautiful, but small. By August they had grown into huge, magnificent displays of life and color.
It took lots of water, nurture and time for the flowers to reach their full potential, but reach it they did! In a way, the flowers are a picture of Arthur’s own life.
When Arthur came to the Mission in April of 2009, he was struggling. But he grew and blossomed as he began making good choices. He worked hard to overcome an addiction; he learned to forgive, even as he has been forgiven by the Lord. He patiently looked for work and ended up with a great job – the very one that gives him flowers to bring to the Mission each year!
Five years later, Arthur continues to mature and blossom. His life is a blessing to all who cross his path. For Arthur, the Mission was the place God used to nurture him, the place where his roots were able to grow. Now, he’s giving back – helping to create a nurturing and beautiful atmosphere for the men who are coming after him.
Arthur’s flowers are a picture of what happens inside the Mission all year long – growth over time that leads to the flourishing of life.
At the Whosoever Gospel Mission, we talk a lot about the laws of the harvest.
Actions have consequences. When we make good choices, we eventually reap benefits. We encourage our men as they begin sowing good seeds – like working hard to improve their education, overcome addictions, sharpen their job skills, create a budget, invest in family relationships & build good friendships.
When we sow good seeds, we don’t always enjoy the benefits right away. It takes time for seeds to grow. It may take a while before a job search blossoms into a good job. It can seem like a lifetime before a family member responds to a man’s letters and reaches out to their son, their husband, their father. But time and again, change happens. Flowers blossom. Beauty unfolds at the Mission. The Lord blesses perseverance.
Small seeds have a way of yielding large harvests. The consequences that ripple out from individual choices are great and diverse. Choosing to faithfully follow God in the small things often results in big blessings. We see this happening time and time again.
Sharing the JoyWhen you support the Mission, you are helping to nurture growth in the lives of homeless men. A financial donation, a kind word, a tutoring session, a job lead, a prayer – all the ways in which you give to the Mission, you help water tender young plants as they grow and blossom. The resulting beauty blesses moms and dads, sons and daughters, churches, neighbors, coworkers and friends.
And as with Arthur’s flowers and his very life, the beauty of a restored life is a delight to all who have the pleasure of passing by.
We had the privilege of celebrating Joe’s graduation from the New Life Program last week. It quickly became evident that Joe’s success was the whole community’s success. As testimonies were shared and comments made, one truth was emphasized over and over – God puts us in community to bless, encourage, lift up and help one another. For Joe and many other men and women – residents and staff alike – the Mission becomes a community where we help and are helped, we bless and are blessed. We tip out hats to Joe and his wife – to their commitment to persevere in love with God and one another while Joe completed the New Life Program.
If you could meet Helen I think you’d agree that she’s a pretty awesome kid. Raised by her single dad from birth, this 9-year-old third-grader loves to dance and play the flute (and pound away on the drums when she gets the chance). She’s a helper by nature who loves to serve. At church, she sings in the children’s choir, serves as a junior usher and dances in the Christian arts ministry. Her dad, Robert, even has her help him out in the church’s food and clothing pantry ministry.
Robert always wanted to raise Helen God’s way – to teach her to know and love God, and to know God’s love for her. He wanted to show her a lifestyle of sharing God’s love with others. Because of Robert’s example, following and serving God is a way of life for Helen.
But Robert’s life was not always heading in the right direction. Before Helen was born, Robert’s life had spiraled out of control. He was ensnared in a life of drugs and crime. Robert came to know the Lord in 1999; that same year he was incarcerated.
In 2003 Robert came to the Whosoever Gospel Mission. He credits the Mission’s classes, chapels and staff with being the tools God used to pluck him off the path he was on and set him on the right one. It’s where he finally committed his life to the Lord, found the strength to overcome his addictions, and as he says to “dust off” his brain.
Robert graduated from the Mission’s New Life Program on March 17, 2004 – just four months before Helen was born, and he’s never looked back to his old life. Today, in addition to being a fulltime dad, Robert is a Certified Peer Specialist and Trainer for Northwest Human Services, a missionary of his local church, and an alumnus of the Whosoever Gospel Mission.
One of Robert’s greatest joys is bringing Helen with him to the Mission as he serves as chairman of his church’s annual dinner and chapel ministry at the Whosoever Gospel Mission.
Robert has a very simple but heart-felt message for the Mission’s friends and donors – thank you. Because of strangers like you who loved Robert enough to help him by supporting the Mission, Helen has a dad today. And that’s made all the difference in the world!
Robert’s church brings a double feast of spiritual and physical food
