Old man “J” shuffled into the mission on a cold September day in 2021, mumbling to himself. His grey hair and beard askew, it soon became obvious he was hungry and needed a warm shower and clean clothes.
When asked his name, he gave three names and claimed to be near a hundred years old.
He had no Identification and refused (or didn’t know) his birthdate and seemed quite confused.
Read MoreMark felt ashamed when he dialed the Rescue Mission las winter.
People like him didn’t go there. But frost bite had blackened his toes and his heater was nearly out of fuel. The roof collapsed just as the cold hit and he was doing his best to keep his cabin warm… but losing the battle.
Read MoreCassie had been a resident at the Mission before and she knew the people.
She had a history of addiction and had gotten clean there, but after several months away she fell again, hard. This time when she arrived at the Mission, her eyes were blackened from a recent
Read More“We gather together to ask the Lord’s blessing;
He chastens and hastens his will to make known;
The wicked oppressing now cease from distressing.
Sing praises to his name; he forgets not his own.”
( Prayer of Thanksgiving)
Every Thanksgiving, when I was growing up, we would gather for assembly at Denali Elementary School…
Read MoreThis a story of a courageous man and a wonderful family that is now part of our community. Doug was living in a tough neighborhood down south. He had already raised a four kids to adulthood so his mind was more oriented to retirement than raising another family. However, one day he met a distressed neighbor carrying an infant. She was complaining about how her life was in shambles and how difficult things were. Sensing there was a deeper problem, Doug asked a simple question: “Why don’t you give me that baby?”
Read MoreAs a child my grandmother would ensure we would go to church as often as she was able to take us, which was pretty often. However, there was no questions or anything on what we had learned that day in Sunday school. Needless to say I really hadn’t learned anything about God or his unconditional love for me.
Read MoreAll the people of the village were afraid their families would go hungry, so they hid what small amounts of food they had from their friends and neighbors. Starvation was picking them off, one by one. In the story “Stone Soup,” a stranger comes to town with a stone and a gift. While everyone in the village was ruled by fear and starvation, the stranger showed them that by having faith and sharing, all could be saved:
Read More“Firefighters don’t just run into a fire. They assess the scene, gather their equipment and conserve their oxygen until they are inside. Approach the COVID-19 virus as if it were a fire.”
Read MoreI remember my days as a kid in the humid Indiana heat of July playing Christmas music and singing along. I definitely got more than a few weird looks, but there was just something about the joy and love surrounding the season that I wished it could be every day. Truthfully, I never really grew out of that phase — you can still find me playing Christmas music in July — but it means something different now.
Read More
