Most people think of Christmas as a joyful, happy time. Not me. All I ever felt was sadness. Christmas reminded me that I couldn’t provide for my kids, that I was a failure and a hopeless addict, and that no one cared. In fact, no one had ever cared. Not when I was molested as a child. Not when I struggled in school. Not when I started
drinking and smoking at 15 . . . because I felt so worthless. So, if no one else cared, why should I?
I was 18 the first time I got arrested, and that started a 12-year cycle of sobriety, relapse, homelessness, seedy hotels, and jail. I had my first child at 20, but I lost custody of him to my mother. I chose drugs over everything else because whenever I was sober, the despair
Roseann's Christmas Joy
“I am truly grateful beyond words for all the donors who helped transform my life. Thank you!”
“I like being at Hope Gardens with my family, and I like how they take care of us. They teach us about Jesus, and I get to listen to Bible stories and sing about God. We have our own room and a bathroom, and last Christmas we had a little tree. I got a baby doll, a horse, and a hairy dog for Christmas. My favorite thing about my mom is that she loves me. I want to be a mom like her when I grow up.” —Joy, 6
Then, in 2015, I gave birth to my beautiful daughter, Joy. I only got to hold her for two days because I was in jail again. My family took custody of her, and I was devastated—but that’s when God started working in my life. I suddenly felt this overwhelming peace, and I heard God say, “Don’t worry. It’s all going to be OK.” I wanted something better for me and my kids. I was so broken, I didn’t know how to get there, but I knew God did. Two years ago, I finally surrendered everything to God. He then led me and my kids to Hope Gardens. Here God showed me who I really am. I’m not a failure; I’m not worthless; I am His child. He healed my brokenness, surrounded me with love, and built a foundation for my kids and me to thrive today and into the future. Last Christmas was unlike any I had ever experienced. Here at Hope Gardens, we were safe. We got a small tree, and thanks to URM’s Christmas Store, I was able to provide the best Christmas my kids ever had. Best of all, we were a family. We were together. We were home. When I think of it now, it hits me: That was the first time I ever experienced Christmas joy—the joy of the Lord, the joy of family, the joy of new life. All that joy is a gift from people like you who care so much for people like me. I am truly grateful beyond words for all the donors who helped.
Christmas Countdown
Please Give Twice the Hope to Men, Women, and Children This Christmas!
Offering true hope and healing to all the families we serve at Union Rescue Mission and Hope Gardens, THANKS TO YOUR SUPPORT!
This holiday season, as many people continue to struggle in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, hundreds are turning to Union Rescue Mission for help. Many are families just like Roseann’s. Like the baby Jesus on that first Christmas, these families have no home. $2,200,000 Needed by Christmas To meet essential needs for food, shelter, and life-changing care, $2,200,000 is needed by December 25. Thanks to a $500,000 matching gift, your generous gift of $25, $35, or more will be
MATCHED and DOUBLED to help hurting children and their families here at Union Rescue Mission.
Please send the most generous gift you can today. Thank you!
Rush your gift to provide meals, shelter,
and a way home for the holidays.
Andy's Advent Devotional
We’re inviting you to sign up today for Reverend Andy’s series of special daily email Advent devotionals! The days leading up to Christmas can be a wonderful time of preparation and anticipation of that joyful event. During this special season of Advent, we want to provide you a unique way of reflecting on the birth of the Savior and the joy and comfort that can bring to each of us.
Each day until December 25, you’ll receive a special Scripture message that reflects upon the joy and celebration of this special Christmas
season. Please join us in the celebration by visiting urm.org/AdventDevotionals and signing up today!
Thank You for Providing Gifts and Hope for Our Kids
URM’s 31st Annual Christmas Store
The holiday season is often a painful time for families devastated by homelessness. For 31 years, however, Union Rescue Mission’s Christmas
Store has brought joy into their lives when they needed it most. This year, more than 200 children at Union Rescue Mission and Hope Gardens Family
Center will receive brand-new gifts because of the 31st-annual Christmas Store. On December 15 (downtown) and 17 (Hope Gardens), more than 200 moms and dads with little or no income will enjoy the dignity of personally shopping for gifts—free of charge—which they will give to their children on Christmas morning. Thanks to the Christmas Store—and generous friends like you—hundreds of families will find new hope and a way home this holiday season. Union Rescue Mission is accepting unwrapped toy donations for the Christmas Store through December 9. For more information, please contact us at 213-673-4875 or
email Volunteer@urm.org.
URM Celebrates Grand Opening of Angeles House
In late January, Union Rescue Mission will officially open the doors of Angeles House Family Center in South Los Angeles. The three-story, 75,000 sq. ft. facility will house up to 86 more families, like Roseann’s, that are devastated by homelessness in Los Angeles County.
These families will find new hope, healing, and a way home through services such as:
• Case management counseling
• Medical & dental care
• On-site daycare • Job search & placement
• Community job opportunities
For more information, please contact volunteer@urm.org
NOTES FROM ANDY
Home for Christmas
We are happy to announce the official opening, in late January, of our brandnew Angeles House in South Los Angeles—just in time for the holidays! What a perfect Christmas present for up to 86 more families currently struggling with homelessness, because not only will they be safe, but they’ll also receive the real help they need to escape the streets permanently. The holiday season can be hard for people devastated by homelessness. That’s why, thanks to your support, we always go all out, from Thanksgiving to Christmas, to make all those we serve at Union Rescue Mission, Hope Gardens, and now Angeles House feel extra special. From our Christmas Store to special holiday meals and events, you help spread holiday cheer. For many, this will be the best Christmas they ever had. For now, this is their home, and we want it to feel that way. But home is more than a roof over their heads. It means welcome, it means hope, it means a foretaste of our eternal home, which is in the arms of Jesus, loved by Jesus. Because of you, the men, women, and children we serve here will experience the only real Christmas hope—the hope of home in Christ.
Merry Christmas!