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The Mission Newsletter – January 2013

I Prayed that God Would Kill Me

I know what homelessness is like. I lived on the streets for 10 years. Heat . . . cold . . . rain . . . it’s hard. But the worst part? Everyone looks at you with disgust, even though they don’t understand. They all had family and friends. I had no one. One time, even my own brother drove past me on the street. He just shook his head and kept driving.

It’s hard to blame them. I was a meth addict. And meth drove me all the way to the streets. Thanks to my addiction, I ended up sleeping in parks, schools, abandoned buildings, and sometimes I’d burn out so bad I’d just collapse on a sidewalk. I lived in constant fear of being robbed, mugged, or murdered.

Winter was the worst, especially when it rained. Some nights it got so cold and damp I thought I’d freeze to death. Some guys did. They’d freeze in the night and never wake up. Nights like that, I had to find some way to start a fire. Or just keep walking. I wanted to die. In fact, I often prayed that God would kill me. But He never did.

In October 2011, I finally got tired of it all and came to Union Rescue Mission. It’s the smartest thing I ever did, because that’s when I started reading the Bible. Through counseling and studying God’s Word, I heard God knocking at my heart and I opened it to Him. And today my life is completely changed.

I’ve learned that God gives everyone a gift. Mine is encouragement. So now I plan on going to college to be a drug counselor. There was a time I prayed to die. Now I pray to live to see how God will use me. I want to save the lives of guys like me.

Winter Weather

Tonight, more than 57,000 people experiencing homelessness will struggle to survive the Los Angeles cold. Without shelter, they suffer from cold-related illnesses, vulnerability to predators and crime, and even death.

Your generous gift provides precious souls with nourishing meals, a warm bed, and life-transforming programs. Thank you for helping them get out of the cold this winter.

It’s a hard world for men and women experiencing homelessness. Last summer, we found a man lying in a pile of garbage across the street — he’d been dead for days.

During the wet, cold, winter months, an average of one man or woman dies on these streets every day.

This winter, we’re offering 120 extra beds every night the temperature drops below 40 degrees or whenever it rains. It may not seem like much, but it means a lot to the man or woman who gets a bed — and it just might save their life. Thank you for caring.

Blessings,

Rev. Andy Bales, CEO

 

How Do You Say Thanks for Too Big a Gift?

Just before Christmas I heard an outstanding message by Pastor Chuck Swindoll on our local Christian radio station, KKLA 99.5 FM. He was discussing the definition of gift, with baby Jesus in mind. He started with the Merriam-Webster definition of gift; something voluntarily transferred by one person to another without compensation. I felt this was an excellent definition. A gift is given without any expectation of compensation or anything in return. In the case of the gift of baby Jesus, Chuck went on to say that sometimes we receive extraordinary gifts that dwarf anything we could give or do in return and gifts that make a simple thank you seem like not quite enough.

This is how I feel about the many generous contributors to Union Rescue Mission. You
overwhelmingly responded with year-end gifts and helped us reach a daunting $4.5 Million goal! We had to reach this goal in order to move ahead with launching a much needed jobs program for our graduate men and women, and moving ahead with our plans to relocate 12 moms and up to 30 precious children from the dangerous streets of Skid Row to the safety and peace of Hope Gardens. There was absolutely no way we could do this without your extraordinary gifts. We were completely powerless on our own. Your extraordinary gifts dwarf anything we could do or say to properly say thank you, but all we can do is say Thank You, from the bottom of our hearts! We can also express our thanks by helping URM move ahead with our good plans to bless our graduates and our moms and children.

In Acts 20:35, Paul says that Jesus taught, “it is more blessed to give than to receive”. I would agree with that completely. I’d add, “It is much easier to give than to receive”. It is easier to be on the giving end and it is more difficult and humbling to be on the receiving end, especially when the gift is extraordinary and overwhelms anything you could do to return the favor.

With all of the practice I’ve had with 34 years of ministry and 34 years of depending on the gifts of others you’d think that I would have developed a certain level of humility and become an expert on saying “Thanks”. However, when the gift is too big, like the gift of baby Jesus, or too big, like gifts of a much needed $4.5 Million, my words of thanks do not seem like enough.

I’m getting ready and struggling with accepting and saying “thanks” to yet another too big of a gift. My wife, Bonnie, is getting ready to donate her kidney to me and give me the gift of a longer life. I get tears in my eyes even writing this. It’s a humbling gift, and causes me to crumble. It’s so big and such a sacrifice that I’ve tried every way that I can to talk her out of doing it – to no avail. I’ve told her that I don’t mind the 12 hours a week of dialysis, that I feel fine, and that I appreciate the extra time I have during dialysis to write personal thank you notes to our URM contributors. I thought I had her on the ropes and ready to say no in front of the surgeon when we were discussing potential complications, but then the surgeon said to me, in front of her, “As a type 1 diabetic, you only have a 50% chance of lasting only five years on dialysis. That sealed the deal.  We find out Friday, January 4th, the January date of the transplant surgery.

Please keep us in your prayers. Pray for the protection of my wife, Bonnie, as she shares this too big of a gift with me. Pray for me, that I will somehow know how to humbly accept this too big of a gift, and live up to being the man that she must think I am. Sometimes, it seems, thanks is not enough.

Thank you!

Rev. Andy Bales, CEO

The Mission Newsletter – December 2012

The Tragic Consequences of a Life Invisible

Steven’s ankles are swollen, his abdomen bulges grotesquely, and weariness consumes him. Forty years of heavy drinking earned him cirrhosis of the liver. Thanks to Union Rescue Mission, he’s sober now and on a waiting list for a liver transplant. But it’s a long list with no guarantees. Without the transplant, he has just months to live.

But he’s not worried. “God never gave up on me,” he says. “Over the past 40 years, he’s carried me past a lot of graveyards, and I believe he can do it again.”

Steven grew up the son of an uneducated, but hard-working father, who sacrificed a lot for his family. “My father wasn’t a selfish man. But I was. I didn’t want a slow nickel, I wanted a fast dime — and I wanted it now,” Steven says.
He got married in his early 20s and started working in the record industry. But before long, he was also a “full-blown” alcoholic.

“I became a black-out drinker and couldn’t remember what I did when I was under the influence,” he says. What he did was forge checks and rob banks, landing in prisons all over the country. He lost everything and ended up living on the streets.

“Most people saw me as a homeless drunk living behind dumpsters. But when I drank, I didn’t have to see me. I was Casper the Ghost,” he says.

In February 2011, his health was failing and his face was a “bloody mess” from a beating he received on the streets. He hadn’t bathed or eaten much in three months and his entire family had long ago given up on him.

He’d had enough and came to Union Rescue Mission. “I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior and I signed up for my man card. I was 57 years old and I had to grow up and take responsibility for my life. I did everything He asked of me,” he says. And he did much more than the basics. He learned about responsibility and even reconnected with his siblings and renewed his wedding vows with his wife.

Everything in his life improved — except his health. That’s when doctors informed him he had cirrhosis.

“What’s my New Year’s wish?” he asks. “Sure, I want another chance at life. But what I really want is just to love on my family for as long as God gives me. I want to give back and love on people. I want to share the good news of Jesus Christ with them, because I’m so grateful for what God and Union Rescue Mission have done for me.”

New Years Wishes from the Street

For people experiencing homelessness, ringing in the New Year is not a celebration — it’s a painful reminder of their personal misery and the hopelessness they feel at not being able to do anything about it.

At Union Rescue Mission, however, we give these men and women the chance to hope and dream again. Your generosity gives hurting people the foundation they need to take their first steps toward a whole new life.

In this issue of The Mission, we celebrate and honor the hopes and dreams — and the courage — of the men and women at URM who choose to transform their lives in 2013.

Todd

Last year, I was living on the streets. But Union Rescue Mission completely changed my life. My dream for 2013 is to attend Pepperdine University’s Business Entrepreneur Program, and to attend Los Angeles Community College to study architecture. I want to be an architect —that’s been my life-long goal.

Todd, 46
Union Rescue Mission Christian Life Discipleship Program

 

 

 

I was a stay-at-home mom raising five kids when my husband decided to leave us. I didn’t have anywhere to live. I thank God He led us to Union Rescue Mission. Now I’m at Hope Gardens, and I know my kids and I have a future. My goal for 2013 is, first, to make sure my kids are stable. Then I want to go to college to study anesthesiology.

Raven, 34
Union Rescue Mission Hope Gardens Family Center

 

 

 

I was a drug addict for 43 years, but thanks to God I’m clean and sober today. I’ve lived a crazy life and I’ve written a book about it. In 2013, I hope my book is a blessing to people and I get the chance to travel the country promoting it. I also want to attend Hope International University so I can study the Bible and learn His Word.

Stanley, 58
Union Rescue Mission Apprenticeship Program

Things to Do Before Year End!

1. Make a Year-End Gift to Union Rescue Mission before Dec. 31

2. Visit our Gift Catalog at urm.org/giftcatalog to give a gift to a guest at URM this holiday season

3. Get some info about volunteering by visiting urm.org/get-involved or emailing volunteer@urm.org

Wishing for Work

As 2012 comes to end, I can’t help but joyfully look back at all the transformed lives who’ve come through Union Rescue Mission, thanks to people who care — people like you. I think of all the men who overcame addictions, others who found new jobs, and mothers with new-found hope.

Yet plenty of challenges remain. Last summer, we were home to a record number of families, including an average of 165 children per night. I think of all the parents who need jobs. I think of all the men escaping the streets, but who now face the daunting task of finding work that offers a livable wage.

My New Year’s wish? Jobs. If people are going to escape homelessness, they must have jobs. In 2013, I’m looking forward to working with investors who will help us create new job opportunities for our men and women. Union Rescue Mission is in the business of saving lives. Heading into 2013, I pray that with the help of increasing numbers of generous people like you, we can make a real dent in the numbers of people experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles.

Blessings,

Rev. Andy Bales, CEO

Christmas Gifts Making a Difference!

The comfort of home, the joy of fellowship, the excitement of shopping! All for a great cause.

    
The Friends of Hope Gardens, is a group of compassionate women with hearts for service that have joined forces in support of the women and children living at Union Rescue Mission’s Hope Gardens Family Center.  This December 2nd you will have an opportunity to link-up with the Friends of Hope Gardens at their Annual Christmas Boutique!

Stop by to shop for a few unique, handmade, adorable Holiday gifts for yourself or loved ones. The Christmas Boutique will be held at the home of Robert and Anna Lou Weir:

4690 Encino Avenue, Encino, CA 91316 from noon until 3:00 p.m.

All proceeds will benefit the women and children at Hope Gardens Family Center.

Hope to see you there!

The Mission Newsletter – November 2012

Alexis’ Family Christmas

“To me, Christmas is all about celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ,” says Alexis, a confident 15-year-old who lives with her mother and three younger siblings at Union Rescue Mission’s Hope Gardens. “But what makes Christmas Day special is family. It was the one day a year we could just eat, hang out, and be happy together.”
See, most of Alexis’ family life has been anything but happy. Her mother, Edy, has struggled with drugs throughout her life and was unable to care for Alexis. Her father had his own struggles and left the family, so Alexis was raised by various aunts, uncles, her grandmother, and even the foster care system.
“I really didn’t have a childhood. It didn’t feel normal,” she admits. “But I think it made me grow up and be more mature, so I could be there for my brothers and sister.”
But the holidays were different.
Every Christmas, her family would gather together for a day filled with good food and joy — including everyone but her father. “If I could have just one perfect Christmas wish come true, I would celebrate it with my mom and dad together, in one place, with my brothers and sister,” she says.
Last year, Alexis’ mother finally came to Hope Gardens to get her life back on track. Six months later, Alexis knew it was time to rejoin her mom. “All children want their mother. Even though my mom messed up, I wanted to fix our relationship and I could see how Hope Gardens was helping her,” she says.
Since rejoining with her mother, Alexis can focus on being a kid again — and her softball skills. “I’ve been playing softball since I was 5,” she says. “I love the game and I’m the leader on my team. I might even get a college scholarship someday. I see girls quit all the time, but I’ve learned that you can’t ever give up. You have to keep trying, no matter how hard it gets. And that’s true in all of life.”
Reconnecting with her mom at Hope Gardens hasn’t always been easy, Alexis admits. But this Christmas, she knows their relationship will just get better.
“I’m so thankful for Hope Gardens because of all the ways they’ve helped my mom and what they’ve taught her about how to deal with life,” she says. “And they’ve also had such a positive influence on me!”

Through the Fire Into God’s Future

My daughter, Alexis, is an achiever — big time. She’s a leader and a positive influence on so many other kids, and I’m proud of her. But, as her mom, I can’t take any credit. From the day she was born, I was never really there for her.
I didn’t know how to be a parent. My own mother struggled with personal problems and was never there for me, so I never learned. And as a drug addict since the age of 16, I wanted to go out to the streets instead of raise my children.
But I reached a breaking point two years ago when I gave birth to my youngest daughter. I already had three other children, including Alexis, I had never mothered. I had never been responsible and never made a right decision. Suddenly I felt empty. I was sick and tired of hurting my family, especially my children, and I wanted a new life. I wanted to change.
So I went to Hope Gardens, where I hoped to become the mother and the person God wants me to be. When I arrived, I was determined to be open to whatever God wanted to do in my life. I’ve been here almost a year now and I am excelling. Best of all, I have all my kids with me again and we’re learning to be a family. And I’m even getting ready to start a new job. I am ecstatic!
Thanks to Hope Gardens, I’ve learned to leave my past behind me and walk forward in faith into God’s future.
I’ve spent a lifetime walking through fire, but God finally helped me get it right.

Hope for the Holidays

Here are a few ways you can bless others — and enjoy God’s blessings in return — during the holiday season.

Give a Gift through our Online Gift Catalog Store and help change lives this Christmas.

 

 

Sign up for Rev. Andy’s Advent Email Devotionals as we remember the true meaning of Christmas.

 

 

Give a Year-End Gift to make the New Year brighter and better for men and women experiencing homelessness.

 

 

Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10). To me, that statement summarizes completely everything that Christmas is all about — and it’s what Union Rescue Mission is all about.

Yet as we head into the holidays, that verse and this holy season hold special meaning for me. Last summer, I experienced a heart attack and needed quadruple heart bypass surgery. The problem was, as a diabetic with bad kidneys, most doctors didn’t want to operate on me. Few gave me any long-term chance to survive or live a healthy life.

I’ve lived my life well and feel like I’ve done what God asked of me, so I wasn’t afraid. But I thank God, I did find a willing doctor — and I am alive and healthy. I’m back from the brink! And this Christmas, I have a new determination to share the real message of Christmas to all our guests on Skid Row — that Jesus came into the world to bring them — and all of us — new life and hope, which only He can give.

Merry Christmas!

Rev. Andy Bales

He Has Written You On His Hands

I recently received a call from the leader of another Mission.  He was enduring a difficult time in leadership much like one I experienced not too long ago.  It has really shaken him up, and I understand his pain. Not long after that call I received another call from a loved one who just didn’t know how he could carry on in this life.  He’d attempted suicide twice in the last few weeks and was focused on ending his life.

It is difficult to know just what to say to someone who is so discouraged, especially when you are facing lots of challenges yourself.  However, I was really helped by the daily devotional that I send out to my team every day.  It is called Morning and Evening by Charles Spurgeon, and some times it hits me right between the eyes! The scripture and lesson that helped me know what to say to these two gentlemen, and to myself, came from Isaiah 49:16.  I shared it with both of these men and I also shared it with about 300 people experiencing homelessness when I preached in Union Rescue Mission’s back parking lot last Sunday for the Love LA Service.

“Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands.”

-Isaiah 49:16

“I have graven thee.”It does not say, “Thy name.” The name is there, but that is not all: “I have graven thee.” See the fulness of this! I have graven thy person, thine image, thy case, thy circumstances, thy sins, thy temptations, thy weaknesses, thy wants, thy works; I have graven thee, everything about thee, all that concerns thee; I have put thee altogether there. Wilt thou ever say again that thy God hath forsaken thee when He has graven thee upon His own palms?“

-Charles Spurgeon, Morning and Evening.

If you believe God has forsaken or abandoned you, don’t be mistaken.  Not only has he not forsaken or forgotten you, but he has written you on the palm of His hands!  Wow, how encouraging is that?  What a picture that is of Jesus Christ, even from the Old Testament, in that when He took those nails into his hands on the Cross, He wrote us into his hands, all our pains, all of our sins, and all that we are, into His hands.  I hope this will encourage you as much as it has me.

Bless you,

Rev. Andy Bales, CEO

Hannah Forster – Making a BIG Difference

Hannah started with a flyer. The idea was simple – hand it out to her neighbors, ask them to collect clothes they would be willing to donate, and Hannah would swing by and pick them up.

“Each year I look for ways to make the world a better place” says Hannah.

Well Hannah, that is exactly what you are doing.

Hannah collected 80 bags of clothing to bless the families at Union Rescue Mission.

It is people like this that are making a difference in the lives of families experiencing homelessness in LA. Little acts of love go a very long way. We can’t thank Hannah and all of her neighbors and friends who donated enough.

We Still Need Shelters

As you may know, I’ve been speaking up for Rescue Missions and shelters, while much of the country has been discrediting our work.  In some recent blogs I have said:

“Resources are moving and moving quickly, away from shelters and transitional housing beds, towards housing first initiatives, which is believed to be the new way to end homelessness.  See my earlier blogs for notes on this.  As the resources move, shelters, transitional housing, and the beds therein are being removed from the scene, and the number of precious people on the streets, in tents, and in cars continues to increase.  However as the next count rolls out, the easier more accurate part of the count-those in shelter and transitional housing beds-will have dwindled, and the more difficult, nearly impossible part of the count, going out on the streets looking for people, will continue to be difficult, and it will appear, or be made to appear, that homelessness has decreased, when in fact, homelessness has increased”. Continue reading »

Trutanich Fighting the Good Fight on Skid Row

One week ago, I sent the below article to the LA Times in hopes they would publish it.  Unfortunately they declined.  However, I hope you will take the time to read this article and stay informed on the situation of Skid Row.

Los Angeles City Attorney Carmen “Nuch” Trutanich has a strong record of supporting solutions to Skid Row’s problems so it was disappointing to read a recent Los Angeles Times editorial that implied otherwise.

Trutanich first distinguished himself through an innovative lawsuit to protect the many Skid Row residents trying to stay drug-free. From lessons he personally learned during his monthly Skid Row walks, Trutanich filed a pioneering injunction in 2010 against 80 persons known to sell drugs to people experiencing homelessness. This injunction bars these 80 predators (and other individuals as they are identified) from setting foot on Skid Row. The injunction was crafted after Trutanich consulted with social service providers who know that easy access to drugs is a curse for Skid Row residents fighting addiction, mental illness and drug abuse.

Continue reading »

The Mission Newsletter – September 2012

The Miracle of a Thanksgiving Meal

When Jesus asked His disciples to feed 5,000 people at a single sitting (Matthew 14:13-21), I’m sure they looked at the few fish and bread loaves they possessed and panicked. I know how they felt.

Over the next two months, my cooking staff and I at Union Rescue Mission must figure out how we’re going to feed more than 4,000 hungry men, women, and children at our annual Thanksgiving celebration! And I’m tempted to panic, too. But I know that Jesus found a way to feed those 5,000 people — and so will we.

I’ve been involved in church ministry all my life, and I’ve always had a heart for the less fortunate. I’ve also loved cooking since I was a child. So when I came to Union Rescue Mission last year as Executive Chef, responsible for serving over 2,500 meals — breakfast, lunch, and dinner — each and every day, I was able to combine two of the greatest passions of my life.

But no day is more important than Thanksgiving, and last year’s celebration was one of the most extraordinary days of my life. Somehow I had to figure out how to cook 500 turkeys, along with hundreds of pounds of gravy, stuffing, mac and cheese, sweet potatoes, salad, green-bean casserole, rolls, and pies for one single meal! It took us more than two months of 16-hour days to get all the food we needed and to prepare it all.

But I loved every minute of it. Some people think it’s just food, but it’s more than that. It’s ministry. The people I’m serving are precious people who are alcoholics, drug addicts, prostitutes, former inmates, hurting single mothers, and innocent, disadvantaged kids. They need more than good food; they need hope and to experience God. And for one meal, for one day, I can help give that to them. And last year, thanks to a lot of caring people like you, we did just that.

I wish you could have seen it. As I mingled among the thousands of people from Skid Row who joined us for Thanksgiving, they were no longer addicts, prostitutes, and hurting moms and kids — they were grateful people filled with joy. God worked through you and me that day to give hurting people a glimpse of what life could be like again.

Today, I’m already looking forward to what God will do through you and me this coming Thanksgiving. Whatever you give, large or small, we’ll be part of God’s Thanksgiving miracle.

The Fuel of Thanksgiving Love

Last year, at Union Rescue Mission’s Thanksgiving celebration, I remember joining one of our volunteers, an actress from the TV show The Bold and the Beautiful, to eat with some of our guests. Among them was a beautiful older gentleman in a wheelchair who lives here on Skid Row.

We wheeled his chair through the building, ate with him, made sure he got an extra helping of pie, and hugged him goodbye. The look of joy on his face told me he received more than a Thanksgiving dinner — he was home again, touched by the love of friends and family who cared for him, transformed for a moment by the love of Christ.

That’s what our Thanksgiving celebrations are all about — a taste of home, a touch of love, and an encounter with Christ. Because when our precious guests experience these, many times they leave the streets, come in to our program, and we truly show them the way home forever. Without you, however, none of this is possible. Your gifts provide the fuel that makes love come alive at Thanksgiving and all year round.

Thank you!

Rev. Andy Bales, CEO