We realized summer had arrived this week and it was not just the scorching Southern California heat that let us know.

On Tuesday, a gentleman who had just been transferred from our extended winter shelter beds to our emergency guest services beds, was standing outside of Union Rescue Mission on San Julian Street, when a group of young men attacked him, even going so far as to punch him in the face. Our guest fell, his head struck the pavement, and he was gone. Immediately, we all began grieving this tragic loss and for his family. There was no mention of his life or death in the news, but he was a valuable human being and very precious in our sight.

The next day one of our little boys at the Mission stepped onto the bus and was punched right in the face, leaving a big gash and a great need for stitches. The bus driver dropped him off at the curb and drove on to school. I comforted this little guy and his struggling mom and younger brother as they stepped into the ambulance.

We knew summer had arrived – our efforts to cool folks off and cool folks down with heightened care and security had started.

We delivered nearly 1,000 cold bottles of water out on the streets 4 out of the 5 weekday afternoons and we were greeted mostly with extreme thanks, to us and to the Lord. Some folks on the street were so troubled that they cursed at and threw the bottles back toward us. One troubled man even poured the cold water out in front of us despite the 97 degree weather and his extreme thirst. My most encouraging moment came when, after receiving a cold cup of water, one elderly lady moved from distress to dancing with joy!

On these days we know that we have the opportunity to lift spirits, extend the love of Jesus Christ, and possibly even save lives. Please keep our TEAM IN YOUR PRAYERS or even come and join us on any afternoon when the temperature is above 85 degrees. Blessings, Andy B

How are you beating the heat this summer?

Are there folks near you in need of cold water?

I appreciate friends and prayer warriors very much. One of those friends and prayer warriors encouraged me greatly last month. Union Rescue Mission was short on funds – it was weighing on me heavily. At 11 in the morning my friend called and said with confidence, “God knows your needs and won’t desert you or the Mission, Andy.” Due to my friend’s track record, I took his encouragement seriously.

I was on my way to a speaking engagement at a luncheon with a great group of friends in their seventies and eighties, one of my favorite groups. On my way back to Union Rescue Mission, I received a call that a $130,000 bequest had come in that met even more than our needs. I called my faithful friend to let him know what had happened. “Andy, that is good news,” he said. “I would like you to consider joining me at the fitness center 3 times a week. It is going to be important for you to stay healthy and strong for God to use you in the days and years ahead.” Again, because of my friend’s track record, I listened and joined him 3 times to work out. Then my wife and I joined the 24 Hour Fitness Center near our home.

I have been lifting weights regularly 3 days a week for 1 month, and am feeling so strong and healthy that I have set a goal to reach my peak bench press weight when I turn 50 this October -315 lbs. This means I will lift the same weight that I lifted at 25 years old!

That weight goal would not be remarkable, except that I have had Type 1 diabetes for 36 years, had a heart attack and surgery 12 years ago, and have been battling kidney (renal) insufficiency (25-30%) function for the last 9 years or so. These are only some of the health challenges I face, but you get the picture.

My body has always responded well to working out, but this time, for my advancing age, I am responding exceedingly well and feeling very good.

It is a good thing I listened to my friend. Last night I tried to get to sleep. A man who is homeless had written me earlier in the week from the library via email, “The nights I was able to use the bed in the Seed of Hope area at URM were nights that I was able to rest. I am hoping I can be placed in this area again.

Mr Bales between you and I, my spirit is shattered in a major way. Not being able to rest only makes it worse. It isn’t broken, but it is shattered.

I hope to hear from you soon.”

This man’s life resembles the life of Job – everything that could possibly go wrong has gone wrong. He later shared with me that all he has left is his faith. Well, last night he called me at 11 PM to say that he was having difficulty getting a bed at Union Rescue Mission. He was low on patience, and by the time I sorted things out and made sure he had a bed, he had left angrily. I knew that I would not sleep unless I made sure that he was safe and not on the mean streets. So, I tried through a series of phone calls and text messages to track him down, and convince him to let me drive out, pick him up, and return him to the Mission to a bed for some much needed rest. While texting and calling this friend who is homeless, another close good friend, a wealthy friend of mine and a donor to URM, was also texting me very late at night, struggling with his own life, asking for prayer. So, here I am near midnight, pretty tired, texting two friends, worlds apart, but both experiencing shattered spirits.

As I laid there, fretting over both of these friends, feeling my concern and blood pressure rise, I remembered my faithful friend’s words, “It is important for you to stay healthy and strong, so God can use you in the days and years ahead.” I was then reminded, “This is why you need to stay strong, why God put you here, and why you need to keep it together, because shattered friends need help in putting the pieces back together.”

I drug myself out of bed, changed my clothes, and drove out to find my friend who is homeless, all the while praying for my other friend. I found my friend near the UCLA campus, delivered him back to URM, and secured a bed and safety for him so he could get some much needed rest. It is nice to know what my purpose is and to be healthy and strong enough to carry it out. Blessings, Andy B.

I came back about a week ago from a wonderful conference in Dallas, Texas, as people from all over the country and world came together to discuss our work in Rescue Missions. The conference is put on by the Association of Gospel Rescue Missions, or AGRM, and is designed to bring folks together to learn best practices from each other in the areas of Rescue Mission operations, fundraising, hospitality, outreach, and more.

This was one of the best conferences that I have attended, of any kind. The general sessions were lively. The new Executive Director, John Ashmen, came from a camping background, and he made the general sessions seem like a dynamic evening camp meeting, with lots of fun and great worship, along with the excellent speakers. We heard from Mike Yankoski, a young man who left college to travel with a friend as a couple of people who were homeless, experiencing the trauma of homelessness in several cities in the US. Mike gave us a young person’s perspective on the practice of hospitality and welcoming people as Jesus would. It was encouraging to get his dose of energy, passion and idealism.

My friend, Dave Raley, and I taught a well received seminar on transforming a website. We reported a 121 % increase in giving through our website and folks staying a bit longer at our website after making some changes to cause it to be more interactive, telling stories through video, and creating this blog.

At the conference, Union Rescue Mission received honors for our website (3rd Place), YouTube videos (2nd place), and this blog (1st place). This was very encouraging, but what encouraged me the most was the direction that the AGRM is moving. I can best describe that by sharing their Mission and Vision statements.

This is their new Mission Statement:

AGRM exists to proclaim the passion of Jesus toward the hungry, homeless, abused and addicted; and to accelerate quality and effectiveness in member missions.

I really like the “…proclaim the passion of Jesus…” part of this statement and the “…accelerate the quality and effectiveness…” emphasis. I don’t like the part that describes people by stating their condition and would prefer that the statement read “toward people who are hungry, homeless, abused, and addicted”, as people are much more than their condition and should not be described only with their condition.

Here is the Vision Statement:

AGRM will foster and feed a movement of diverse, energetic disciples who will see the practice of hospitality to the destitute as both a catalyst for life transformation in Jesus and a fundamental expression of their Christian faith, thus propelling the church into the lead role in society’s quest to alleviate homelessness.

I love this Vision Statement! “Diverse, energetic disciples who will see the practice of hospitality …as both a catalyst of life transformation in Jesus and a fundamental expression of their faith…..in society’s quest to alleviate homelessness.”

This is powerful. At Union Rescue Mission, we have always recognized the power that welcoming and hospitality brings to our preached words of the Gospel. We have had a long practice of caring for people and then inviting them to hear the good news, rather than making them hear the good news before being able to have their needs met. People are much more receptive when they voluntarily attend our worship meetings after having their immediate needs taken care of.

I have also always believed that some of my greatest opportunities of worship, my greatest expression of my faith and love for God, are my opportunities to give someone who is hurting and hungry a meal, a fresh cup of cold water, and my love and attention.

I am proud to be a member of the Association of Gospel Rescue Missions! Keep going John and TEAM!

What associations/affiliations are you connected with in your hopes to alleviate challenges in our society?

How is the association changing to keep up with the changing times?