I believe that a power greater than myself can restore me to sanity

Try to imagine a life where none of those needs were being met in a healthy way.  That was me just four years ago. I lived only to please myself; and alcohol, sex, and drugs were the primary ways in which I did that. The only things that I was willing to learn were those things that served my own self-seeking motives. I had  no capacity to love anyone or anything except a bottle of booze. My life’s purpose was to work to earn money in order to buy more booze. That lifestyle eventually lead to my becoming homeless.

I’m an educated, relatively intelligent guy, but still, I found myself living in abandoned buildings, earning enough money doing odd jobs so that I could stay drunk.   I’ll never forget the day that a very kind police officer caught me in one of those buildings. After doing a criminal background check, he told me, “You’re not a bad guy, you’re not a criminal. Why are you living like this? This isn’t living, it’s just existing.” His words were burned into my mind, but still I continued to get drunk every day. I found another abandoned house and settled into what I thought was freedom. Then finally, after the odd jobs ran out (I was a drunk; no one in their right mind would hire me), I surrendered. I cried out for help.

Two days later I found myself lying in bed at a rehab. After the second day there, suffering from the effects of withdrawal, I sent a prayer up to a God that I didn’t even believe in. “If you are up there and if you are who you say that you are, something’s got to change. No human being should have to live like this.” The next morning, I was kicked out of the rehab, not released, but kicked out because of something that I said to another resident. He felt threatened by what I had said, probably with good reason.

So, with six dollars in my pocket and a bus ticket to Pittsburgh, I wandered off into that bright August day with no plan, not knowing where my next meal was coming from, not knowing where I was going to stay. I had no fear, no anxiety. A strange sense of calm and serenity had come over me.     
                                                

The next day, I ended up at the Washington City Mission, thinking that I was going to be eating cold soup and sleeping on the floor. That couldn’t have been further from the truth. Those kind and gentle people welcomed me with open arms. They showed me love. They taught me how to discipline myself. They fed me (not cold soup). But most importantly, they showed me how to open that door to God. They said that if I was willing to die to that old way of life, I could have a new one with Christ at the center of my recovery. I’ve been sober ever since.

That was four years ago and I’m now employed at the Mission. I’m happy, healthy, and profoundly grateful to the staff at the Washington City Mission and to my God for giving me a new life!

I came to believe that a power greater than myself could restore me to sanity.       

    

In Christ,             Mark Schneider

“Praise to the Lord for He is the source of all good things in my life.”

My name is Brian L, and I want to share some of the things that God is doing in my life. First of all, I want to thank all of the people who live, work and support the Washington City Mission.

I don’t know where I’d be without all of your help. I’ll start by saying that this isn’t my first time at the Mission. It’s my 3rd. The first 2 times I was just passing through. I came with ulterior motives. I wanted to find what seemed to be normal wants for most men. Shelter leads to a good job, help with housing, and don’t forget that beautiful woman to top it off. And those first 2 times I got exactly what I wanted. But I failed to leave with the most important thing the Mission has to offer, and that is a personal relationship with God. Today I understand that accepting Jesus Christ as my Savior and having that personal relationship with God is the most important thing in my life. When I have those things, everything (and I mean everything) else that I ever wanted will be given to me. What I’ve found out was that my priorities were in the wrong place.


I’m just gonna share one of the testimonies that I have about how God has worked in my life here at the Mission. I’m a 46 year old man. I’ve never knew my biological father. I’ve always wanted to just look at him and see his face. I didn’t want anything from him and I wasn’t mad at him. I just wanted to see him and ask him a few questions. Nothing to deep, just things like: What is your favorite color? and Do you have any health problems. Just simple stuff. I guess just like any kid who didn’t know a parent would want to ask. But I thought that that would never happen. And I was ok with it. Matter of fact it was one of the last things that was on my mind. But not God’s.


Ever since I’ve been here at the Mission God has been breaking strongholds in my life that were keeping me from being the person that I know I was capable of being. God has given me a peace and joy that I thought only other people could have. He’s put people around me who really care about my well being and most important my soul. Thanks again Washington Mission. But anyways I happened to get a hold of my biological dad’s phone #. I had it for about a month but kept putting off calling him because of my fear.


I didn’t know how this man was going to react and I was fearful of being hurt. But a friend told me that all fear was is False Events Appear Real and he was exactly right. But you know how it goes when you’ve lived all your life in fear (Fear of love, Fear of success, Fear of getting hurt) it’s really hard to break its grips. But with God everything’s possible. And I truly believe that. So it was time to put it to the test.


I picked up the phone and made the call. His wife answered the phone and I asked to speak with John. As she was handing him the phone I lost all faith and fear rose up again and I hung up. I just couldn’t do it. Too many feelings started to arise and I had given up. I cursed myself for being a sissy and swore I would call sometime in the future. Now here’s where God steps in. You know they say that you’re supposed to do all that you can then God will do the rest. Well it’s true! My phone rang and it was John A. my biological father. We talked and he wanted to have a DNA test done. He would pay for it and he seemed anxious just like myself about the results.


So we had the DNA test done and true enough he was my father. He lived in Virginia but he was coming to Washington in about a week. To make a long story short we met and went out to dinner and had that talk that I always wanted to have with my father all my life. I didn’t particularly like the man but I got a chance to see what I would look like when I got to be 65. We opened a line of communication that needed to be opened. And I’m thankful. The lesson I’ve learned from all of this is that there’s nothing too big or small for God. He allowed me to see that I really didn’t miss that much not having that man in my life growing up. I’m not like my father. Although he’s a big deacon and very successful I’m so glad I’m not like him. He’s shown me that being brought up with 3 women was truly a blessing. And he’s shown me that I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.


Thank you Washington Mission because if it weren’t for you, none of this would have transpired. I wouldn’t have had a safe place where God could mold me into exactly what he wants me to be. Oh and my father’s favorite color is blue – just like mine.

Temperatures have Reached a Critical Level

Do you know what it's like to sleep in a car on a freezing cold night?

John and Marge married a few years ago. They were doing O.K., but then they both lost their jobs within a few weeks of each other.

Unable to find work, their money ran out and they had to leave their apartment. For weeks they slept in their car. One night they nearly froze.

"We had nowhere to go. I was scared," said Marge. "I didn't know what was going to happen to us. And it was so cold in the car."

Someone told them of the Washington City Mission. They stayed here until they found work and got back on their feet.

When the next cold night comes along and you hear the wind howling outside and see snow covering the cars, please think of people like John and Marge who are safe here at the Washington City Mission.

They are grateful, as are many more.

Our costs to provide heat and hot water for each person works out to $2.25 each day. That isn't much money, but it adds up when you have up to 100 people staying here on a cold night.

If you would like to send a gift we will use it to continue this work of mercy that goes on throughout the year. Everyday someone new walks through our door, driven by hardship of some kind. I'm grateful that good friends like you allow us to care for people in times of need.

Please send a gift if you can. We need you. Thank you!

Dean Gartland
President

A Family is Restored

What does the Washington City Mission mean to my husband Paul and me? It was a beam of light at the end of the road; a place that brings light (life) back to those who are down and out with no place to go. I knew nothing about the Mission until Paul went there. I certainly did not know then that it would change my life forever!

Loving someone with an addiction is not easy. The addiction has control of them, and they will lie, cheat and steal to get what they want, but there is a good person inside of every addicted person. The Mission helps people recover – if they are willing to help themselves and to believe. The Mission shares Jesus Christ with its clients, teaching them, as stated in Proverbs 3:5-6, Trust in the Lord with all of your heard and lean not on your own understanding, but in all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your path.

I started attending the Mission’s chapel services solely to support Paul and found myself beginning to enjoy the services. I will NEVER forget the chapel service on Thursday, December 5, 20002. In front of the pastor and everyone there, I went forward and gave my life to Christ. That’s when I realized why I was there – not just for Paul, but God wanted me there for my healing as well! Because of the Washington City Mission, I found God and Paul was restored to the man that had been pushed deep down inside. Now we faithfully attend our church and serve together in our Lord Jesus Christ’s Name.

So, if you feel you or someone you love has lost it all and are at the end of the road, go to the red brick building called Washington City Mission and find life worth living! Maybe your dreams will come true. My husband’s dream did – he’s president of his own trucking business. A dream that materialized just by making a stop at the Washington City Mission.

May God bless and keep you.

Marylin Walker