Meet an ex-cop who traded his gun for a sword.

Men like Rodney Tanaka turn your gifts into the care and love that transforms lives at Union Rescue Mission.

For 31 years, Rodney Tanaka policed the streets of Gardena, where every day he witnessed “the worst of the worst” — kids joining gangs, innocent children getting hurt, overdoses, stabbings, shootings, and the grieving mothers, fathers, and families the victims leave behind. His goal was to retire as Captain of the police force, but God had other plans. Five years ago, Tanaka left the police force and joined Union Rescue Mission as a chaplain, where he now ministers to hurting men like those he left on the streets of Gardena.

Being a policeman, I experienced a lot of things that God used to prepare me for coming to Union Rescue Mission. Most of the guys I minister to now have the same issues as the men I dealt with as a police officer. The only difference between what I do now and what I did as a policeman is that I’ve traded my gun for a sword — which is my Bible.

I love these men. Maybe that’s because when I was growing up, I drank, did drugs, and ran with the wrong crowd. I could easily have ended up on Skid Row. But God showed me compassion through many caring people and saved my life. And I want to show that same compassion to the men here.

And it’s not hard to care for these men when you know where they come from. These men grew up with parents struggling with addictions and mental issues. Most were neglected, beaten, abused, and never felt loved or needed.

These guys need attention, support, and someone who cares about them. Without that, a man loses hope. And when they lose hope, there’s nothing left but darkness. So I care about them, and through God’s Word I show them He cares about them — and I teach them God’s rules of life and how He hopes for them to live. Many of them are now back with their families, and if they ever need help they know who to call. They don’t all make it, and that hurts. When one of my guys goes back to the streets, I’ll often go out looking for him. I think it’s important to show that you care enough to leave the other 99 sheep to search for that lost one.

I believe Union Rescue Mission is where God wants me. When I can help one guy break through the darkness and succeed, that’s what keeps me going. This is the kind of ministry Jesus did — and someone will have to drag me out kicking and screaming before I leave this place.

Sugar Bear Finds Home

Seems like everyone loves Sugar Bear. On Skid Row, gangsters and prostitutes trust him. While inside Union Rescue Mission, recovering addicts confide in him, the chaplains respect him, and all the children feel safe in his strong, playful arms. He’s a legend on these streets and everyone knows him — but for most of his life, he didn’t know himself.

“Inside, I was lost from the day I was born,” says Sugar Bear, whose given name is Robert. “If you’re lost in a city or something, you can eventually find your way. But it’s hard to be lost within yourself and identify where you are. Especially when you never had a beginning.”

Born to a mother struggling with severe mental illness in Long Beach, Sugar Bear ran away from home by the age of eight and never had anyone but the streets to teach him how to live. He’s slept on streets from Pasadena to Long Beach, and Skid Row to Hollywood, selling papers, shining shoes, dancing, cooking, picking pockets, burgling cars, selling dope, using dope, and running from police. He’s been shot in the back and shot in the chest, and he even spent several years on Death Row — a story he won’t talk about.

But sitting in prison, waiting to die, he started reading the Bible.

“I always prayed and told God that I was all by myself and didn’t have nobody else,” he says. “And God told me that no matter what I’ve done that was bad, everything was going to work out. Jesus had a plan and special purpose for my life. So when I got out of prison, I quit drugs and came to Union Rescue Mission to get my life right.”

When he got to Union Rescue Mission, Sugar Bear was a broken man. “I’d been crying inside my whole life,” he says. “Then God put me here, and I found a family I never had.”

Today, Sugar Bear is a full-time volunteer at the Mission. “This is my home. I’m just a crazy man, but everyone pays attention to me here, and it’s just beautiful,” he says, laughing. “Union Rescue Mission gave me love I never got anywhere else in my life.”

Don’t Miss the Miracle

I hope Sugar Bear’s story inspires you. It’s hard to imagine a human being growing up with less going for him. A traumatized little boy with a mentally ill mother, he learned the rules of life from the streets.

But today, Sugar Bear is one of the finest human beings I know — and one of my best friends. When he learns I’m going out on the streets of Skid Row at night, he joins me to make sure I’m okay. He protects the ladies living at Union Rescue Mission, the kids adore him, and every man here listens to him. He’s a big, courageous, loving teddy bear — and a walking miracle.

Union Rescue Mission is filled with walking miracles just like Sugar Bear. That’s because we offer hardened, hurting men and women more than “three hots and a cot.” We offer them love and friendship, point them to God, and teach them the truth — and the truth transforms them.

Every day, Sugar Bear reminds me that no matter how damaged someone’s life is, you can never give up on them. You might miss out on a miracle.

Blessings,

Andy Bales, CEO