Every Life Matters

Doesn’t this beautiful parable warm your heart? Jesus is telling us every life matters!

Our lives. Your life. And the life of each lost soul who wanders through our doors, longing to be found: The woman who seeks redemption for destructive behaviors and bad choices . . . the addict who trades his dependence on drugs for reliance on the Lord . . . the homeless mother who is determined to give her children the love and stability she never experienced herself.

At the same time, we feel blessed by these amazing individuals who have been shipwrecked in life and seek our help. Over and over again, we find as we share our strength with those who thought themselves weak, we become stronger ourselves by simply knowing them.

Earlier this year we told you about Desireay, a young mother who was physically abused as a child and turned to drugs to ease the pain. She received help at Hope Ministries to raise her children with Christ as the center of their lives. And Randy, whose alcohol abuse kept him from holding down a job. He spent years digging through dumpsters for food and sleeping under bridges at night . . . before he came to us for guidance and gave his life to the Lord.

While we’re saddened by the suffering these and so many more of God’s lambs have endured, we also marvel at their resiliency and ability to continue on. They come to us broken and in need of repair, but they have not given up. And we won’t either.

This past year has been one of the most demanding we can recall—given how the economy has resulted in new types of challenges for people here in central Iowa and a dramatic increase in the number of men, women and children seeking life essentials and safe refuge. Hope Ministries is now providing an average of 4,874 beds and over 12,100 meals per month to families and individuals whose futures have been turned upside down.

It will be a long time before many of their lives return to normal. Our purpose is to meet their immediate needs for food and shelter and give them the tools and training that lead to stability.

Today, as Jesus continues to reveal His handprint on every person in our care . . . every decision by our board of directors . . . every minute a volunteer shares with a guest . . . every prayer our church families offer for the poor . . . we know none of this would be possible without your partnership. Your life matters!

Thank you for helping Hope Ministries bring home His wandering sheep. May God bless you throughout the new year and always.