spring 2004 transforming lives newsletter, gospel rescue ministries

8/8/2019 Spring 2004 Transforming Lives Newsletter, Gospel Rescue Ministries

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YISIOIT 2OO1zPq,rtnering for the Future_Og_Saturday, June 12,2004, GRM will hgst a speqlal opgnhouse to celebrate a number of key program anniversaries andto un\.eil GR*\{'s vision for the furure.

Benveen now and 2006, when GRM will celebrate its l00th anniversary, several newtransitional living facilities will be opened to serve asmodels of how spiritual guidance and social servicescan be effectively provided to dramatically reduce-elapse rates and increase productive life styles. At the. une 12 open house, GRM will share details of itsplans to open and operate these new transitionalhousing facilities and provide enhanced aftercarcsupportive services for recovering men and women.

In an effort to partner more effectively with all

This spring we celebratethese anniversaries:r Gospel Rescue Ministries: 98 yearsx Transforming Lives: 11 yearsr School of Tomorrow: 10 yearsx Barnabus House: 6 yearsr Fulton House of Hope: 4 yearsr Ready, Willing & Able: 1 yearse-qments of the Washington, D.C. community, GRM is inviting various leaders from thegovemment. church and pri"'ate sectors to participate in this event. All GRM supportersare inr-ited to attend the open house. Please mark your calendar for June 12,-" p-m. Further details on guest speakers and special preqgnlqtlons will becirculated later in May.

Gospel RescueMinistriesWoshington, DC

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Looking forward to a goalPlease help us reach our goal of raisingatleast $20,000 by June 30 for

the initial transitional housing investments. You can be a charter memberof the transitional housing team by sending a gift of $20 or more.MATCHING GRAI{T OPPORTUNITYA generous friend of GRM has offered a matching grant opportunity for'te transitional housing renovation work. The donor will match dollar-for-dollar all gifts up to $10,000 made to GRM in response to this newsletter item. Please usethe enclosed response card so our men and women can benefit from this wonderful offer.


2/6

Daster inspiresHundreds of children were blessed to

receive Easter baskets, Bible books, anda chance to play carnival games forprizes at our Easter Extrava ganza, heldthe Saturday' beforc Easter. Tlic kids,

along with their parents, also ate ameal at our sidewalk cookout whilelistening to gospel music. The daywastuly a community effort - for the com-mufty, by the communify.Thanks to:OGRM program men for servin-e lunchoCorinthian Baptist for use of the churchoHere's Life Inner Cit_v for several hundred goodie bagsoMclean Bible Church for more than 100 gift bagsoVolunteers from the D.C. Metro Area community, Youth for Tomorrow, and the Pro-

fessional Convention Management AssociationoHarris Teeter grocery store for gift certificates to purchase candyaJabbok International Fellowship and Cynthia Cannon for their lovely musicoTtresday Night Praise Band for jammin'Saturday eveningOn Easter Sunday, we opened our Sunday moming chapel service to the community andTeens lend a helping handEvery year, dozens of college and high school groups - some localand some from as far as Canad visit the mission to clean, servefood, sing, pray, help with organizing and office work, and more. Weextend our thanks to the following groups who were here recently:Olmmanuel Presbyterian Confirmation Class, Mclean, VAoWallace Memorial Presbyterian Youth, College Park, MDoJewish Youth Philanthropy Institute, DC Metro AreaoBethany Bible College, CanadaoSoutheast Whitehouse, Washington, DCOLJ.S. Coast Guard Academy Cadets, Connecticuto Biola University, CaliforniaoGeorgetown Day School, Washington DCoYouth Services Opportunity Project, Washington DC

crrrrrrunity spiritrlja

Immanuel Presbyterian ChurchYouth (above) raised more than$600 for the mission on Soup-erBowl Sundav!


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I must be completely honest and say that I was not at all looking forward to this trip to theannual Narcotics Anonymous Convention. The weeks prior to the trip, I had finally realizedand accepted that I am very empty on the inside - that I har,'e been filling that emptiness withthings outside myself. Those things have always been temporan' satisfaction, and the long-term payoff was always destructive. Getting in touch with those feelin*ss was very difficultand lonely.For once in my life, I chose not to medicate, not to avoid the feelings. I allorved m-"'-self to sit still and gothrough. I went to Miss Judy and requested to go to a spiritual retreat instead ofOcean City. She told me no.She said that we would be going as a group, as a family. I wasn't happy with her decision. but one thing IOCEAN CITY: know for sure. if I knell' how to live and make wisedecisions. I would not be here at the Fulton House.So Ocean City here I come. I've never been there,and today I'm very happy that I went. The driveost l)reams Awakennt uvman's !i-nd not think about anvthins. Once we arrived. thevery first meeting that I attended at the convention

was a "share your secrets" meeting. The timingcould not have been more perfect. The main speakerwas an ex-police officer. who was also running for acity council seat. After listening to his story, I felt so much freedom because he shared what he believed to behis worst secret with hundreds of people. That gave me so'nuch hope and encouragement. All these years, I have/een hiding the fact that I don't feel whole, complete oradequate. That has taken a lot of work, a lot of pretending,and a lot of mask wearing. Sharing the secret has givenme tremendous freedom and has relieved me of enorrnousamounts of unwarranted stress.The trip was a total blessing and success. I got to enjoy

the beach, to see the sun set, to allow the waves to rollover my feet. I got to play my favorite sport. volleyball.The ladies and I rode bikes on the pier. As a finale, MissJudy treated us to a ride on a roller coaster, which wassynThere will be ups and downs, but as long as I stay on theright track, I will reach my destination. I want to thank thestaff at the Fulton House and Gospel Rescue Ministriesfor this opportunity. It was definitely life changing.

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annual Fulton House trip to theIY arcotics Aruonymous Conu en tion

Conre and hear thetestimonies of God's gracePlease join with the GRM family at 10 a.m.on Saturduy, June 5, at the Corinthian BaptistChurch (next door to GRM) for graduation.You will be blessed to hear the testimonies ofgraduates and others progressing throughGRM's one-year residential program.

-tlrllhdn frfindBrt0Rillh ilSl0l for the ttrTtlRil

x To open and operate new transitional housingfacilities and provide enhanced aftercare services forrecovering men and womenx To provide enhanced adult literacy, academic enrich-ment and computer training in the School of Tomorrowx To significantly expand Ready, Willing and Ablex To partner more effectively with all segments of theWashington community to provide hope and resources tohomeless and needy men and women


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Beady" Willing & Able eelebrates firstanniversary. eonsiders exrDansionThe job transition program, Ready,Willing & Able, has been a blessing to GRM

since GRM began hosting the program inour facility in April of 2003. Through theprogram, 14 men are cuffently living at GRMand working as street cleaners on Capitol Hillunder a contract u'ith the Capitot HillBusiness Improvement District (BID).

These men live on the mission's fifth floorand eat all of their meals here. They have allof GRM's programs available to them toassist them as they transition from home-

lessness, underemployment and/or drug addiction to productive and healthy living with meaningful jobs.GRM is seriously considering expansion of the RWA program as RWA passes its first anniversary inD.C. With neighborhood improvement a priority in many areas of the city, it is possible that RWA couldtake on contracts with other BIDs in the city.With the growth of the program comes the need for up to 45 more beds. GRM is exploring how toprovide the additional space since it would not be feasible to house these new residents at the GRMfacility. RWA would like to have its own facility as it does in New York City, where RWA has had greatsuccess since its inception in 1992. RWA also operates in New Jersey, Philadelphia, and Romania,providing jobs and transitional housing for hundreds of men in those locations. GRM's goal is to collabo-rate with private organizations -- churches, non-profits, foundations, businesses -- and the federal and D.C.govemments to generate the funds for the needed housing.'1rl Chanee to lVork"s lYorld Bank'GRlYIpartnership errntinues to grrrwWith more than six years of partnering, the World Bank and GRM have helped toprovide meaningful employment opportunities for more than 35 men and women

who have completed the one-year recovery program at GRM. This partnership wasrecently highlighted in two significant ways.On May 4, World Bank President James Wolfensohn was the keynote speaker atthe Greater Washington Business Philanthropy Summit. He commented on theWorld Bank's dedication and commitment to making its progzun , " A Chance to Work,"viable.During the same week, an article appeared in the Washington Business Journal on

the "A Chance to Work" program. GRM is proud to be associated with the World Bank in this ven-ture, which has helped many men and women take their places in the private sector workforce and toexperience all the benefits that come from applying themselves in a diligent way.

Mimi, a FultonHouse graduateand currentWorld Bankemployee

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I'm Virginia,4l years old. I'm from Brazll, South America. I came from afunctional family with good parents, and I had a good education. I'm a graduate inphysical education. I was a ballerina, and I used to teach it. I speak four languages,but I became an alcoholic. I never thought I could become one.I never drank until I was about 33 years old. I wasworking as a bartender. I was depressed, and I startedmedicating myself with alcohol. I didn't know alcoholism is adisease and that it is progressive. Alcohol became my priority.I became insane. and I didn't care about anything but alcohol.I lived to drink and drank to live.Before. I had a eood life. ri'onderful familr'. sood husband and

I didn't knon' u'hat it u'as.

oooooo" [fud] oauetr.m.e and. {ryuc, me,a cfranrc ta otaxl

s,at)t. aga,in,ttbeautiful children. nice house. ne\\'car.-.job...and I ended up losing e-r'erythin-e--spesral_ly_what wal the most impo{qq!1g mE my family.I becanre homeless. I drank to forget. and later. I drank to forset that Isomethins \\'as \\'rong n'ith me. I n'as aln'avs lookin_e tor somethin_e. butI became like an animal and spirirualll' dead.

ro'ur killins--it;lf. I ktre*God came into my life again through a pastor friend and his family. But I wasn't ready at that time. Iknew God, but I didn't have a personal relationship with Him. Now I do!Today I'm happy again. I'm sober. I'm very grateful and thankful that God chose me and picked me up fromthe streets and brought me to the Fulton House ofHope. Today I have goals, dreams and I have hope. I knowGod will restore everything that I lost. I'm close to my Father Lord, and because of His grace and mercy, Hewed me and gave me a chance to start over again.\./ I don't want to be like I was before; I want to become a better person. Now I am God's child and Iglorifu Him. "Through Christ, all things are possible." I can testit/ to that! Special thanks to the staff for their

rnc onditional lov e. -U h4inia. S tutaMy name is George Williams. I'm44 years old, born and raised inWashington, D.C. I was raised in a very abusive home. From ageT to 14,I wassexually abused by -y father. I also saw my parents fight and separate often. Myfather was very abusive in other \ rays. verbal and physical.r r I started using dru,es at the a,ge of 8. For many years, I5 nnu ftnsu, dealt u'ith a lot of shame and euilt about the thinss that hadutgrnste' tftat J

eq,n hte e Ukdealt u'ith a lot of pain. and hate for myself and my father.Because of what he had done to me, I also went to prison for7 years for physically disabling two people when I was 25.lr,* "l ** ptutt After coming home from prison and not getting any help with what I was dealing withemotionally and mentally about my past, at the age of 32 I was using PCP, crack andalcohol. I became homeless by age 33 and was living in shelters and on the streets. For thepast l0 years, I tried many other programs but would not allow anyone to help me becauseI had lost trust in anyone and I was thinking all I needed to do was get off drugs andalcohol. Then I would be all right. But that was not the case.

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I came to GRM's Transforming Lives program in August of 2003 after many years using drugs and.lcohol and not being able to deal with the way my life had turned out. Since being here, I have allowed God totow me His love, care and understanding that I never saw before. I now know I'm not alone anymore, that I canvrrave a life free of my past through the forgiveness of God. God helped me find myself and gave me hope, after manyyears of feeling lost and hopeless inside. So thank you GRM for believing in me. - getqo Williana


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"Closing Thoughts"John JacksonExecutive Director

Dear Friends and Partners of Gospel Rescue Ministries,Thank you for your continued prayers over the past three months. Wehave witnessed God at work in many lives. We continue to see many new"trophies of God's grace."While reading the Psalms recently, I focused on the following verses:For o day in Thy courts is better than a thousand outside. I would ratherstand at the threshold of the house of my God thsn dwell in the tents ofwickedness. For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord gives gracesnd glory; no good thing does He withhold from those who walk ap-rightly. O Lord of hosts, how blessed is the man who trusts in Thee.Psalms 84:10-12.God has blessed GRM in many ways over the past year, and I believethat God has some new and exciting ministry opporfunities at GRM. We

want each man and woman at GRM to experience God's grace and gloryand to learn to fully trust Him.Our primary goal will always be to reach men and women for Christ. Butwe want to do more to restore family relationships, to locate meaningfuljobs, to provide enhanced educational and life skill opporfunities, and toincrease transitional housing and aftercare supportive services.Our vision for the next two years, leading up to our 10O-yearanniversary in 2006, is to establish major new transitional housing facilitiesfor men and women graduates of GRM, including a high level of aftercaresupportive services to help prevent relapse during the vulnerable two-yearperiod after graduation.Thank you for standing with us as we take steps to make thisvision a reality. We are asking God to strengthen us and to increase ourlevel of dedication, commitment and compassion as we remain faithful andobedient to His calling.

In His Service,P.S. Thank you for continuing to pray for my granddaughter, Nicole, who isundergoing chemo therapy at John's Hopkins for cancer. We are praying tbrhealing and comfort, and for wisdom for the doctors.

Thank you for your words and actsof kindness and encouragement!x "Nicole is in my prayers. God is listening and watching over her.God bless." -dormaa "My love, thoughts and prayers are with you, your family, and yourprecious granddaughter, Nicole. God bless you." -Patriciax Eddie participated in one of GRM's residential programs severalyea{s back. He recently returned to GRM to make a sizeable donation,saying that he wanted to give back to those who had helped him.Thank you, Eddie!

Gosrnl Rnscun MrnrsrRrnsof Lfrashington, DC810 5'h Street, NWWashington, DC 20001(202)842-173rFax: (202)898-0285

Volume 5, Issue 2 Spring 2004ExrcunvE DIRECToRJohn JacksonDEFOTTEXEffiDon MelvinBoeno or TnusrpesDavid Van DuzerChairman

Jane Bond William HarperJohn Jackson Albert Manola

Rudolph Pruden Charles RobinsAl LawrenceJeff Wright

Donald Melvin

M#8e'1em-t'!!i' i'-rir'tq1' ffiPlease send us an entttil.l

[email protected]

spring 2004 transforming lives newsletter, gospel rescue ministries

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