Christmas hope starts here - Union Gospel Mission Twin Cities

Men’s Campus &
Programs
Bethel Hotel, Central Services, Chapel,
Christ Recovery Center,
Dental & Medical Clinic,
Discipleship Program,
Men’s LifeNet Learning Center
435 University Ave. E.,
St. Paul, MN 55101
651-292-1721
Women & Family
Programs
Naomi Family Residence
77 9th St. E., St. Paul, MN 55101
651-222-7962
Child Care Center
109 9th St. E., St. Paul, MN 55101
651-224-9970
I just finished watching one
of my favorite holiday movies,
“It’s a Wonderful Life.” And it
got me to thinking ... What
would the Twin Cities be like
without friends like you?
A MESSAGE FROM
I shudder to think.
KEN COOPER,
Without generous folks
EXECUTIVE
DIRECTOR
like you, there’d be no
emergency shelter. We
wouldn’t have a kitchen. There’d be nobody
there to welcome a homeless man who comes
in on a cold night.
In other words, not only would there be “no room in the
inn,” there wouldn’t even BE an inn! What else would disappear without your
support?
• Our discipleship program, where 25 guys are working to turn their lives around.
• The Christ Recovery Center, where 60 men are learning to live clean and sober.
• The Naomi Family Residence, keeping 75 kids and their moms off the
streets of St. Paul.
And what about all those folks who come to the Mission at Christmastime
looking for a second chance? Without your kindness, they’d be on the street (or
perhaps in jail) instead of staying sober, paying taxes, and giving their kids a
stable home life, and the chance for a better tomorrow.
Fortunately, you’re as committed to seeing lives changed as I am! And for
that, I am grateful to God.
Thank you for your prayers and financial support — during the Christmas
season, and throughout the year.
What you’re doing is more than charitable. It’s life-changing!
Women’s LifeNet Learning Center
109 9th St. E., St. Paul, MN 55101
651-225-8019
Women’s & Men’s WorkNet
109 9th St. E., St. Paul, MN 55101
651-222-2471
Promise Program
375 St. Anthony Ave.,
St. Paul, MN 55103
651-224-3024
Snail Lake Ministry Center
580 W. Hwy 96,
Shoreview, MN 55126
651-484-2023
Children’s Gospel Mission
1407 Washington Ave. South
Minneapolis, MN 55454
General Offices
77 9th St. E., St. Paul, MN 55101
651-228-1800
www.ugmtc.org
M I S S I O N
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C H A N G I N G
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The Heart of the Matter
Union Gospel
Mission Programs
Dear Friend,
TwinCities
December 2004 Vol. 2 No. 6
INSIDE
2
M E S S E N G E R
Christmas hope starts here
“God, I don’t
want to die!”
If not for the generosity of friends like
you, many needy kids wouldn’t get
any presents this year.
Merry Christmas,
Ken Cooper,
Executive Director
P.S. So many hearts will be changed this Christmas because of your kindness.
Thank you, for joining hands with us to see hope restored!
Special Holiday
Call to Action
As we prepare a special holiday
surprise for families staying at Union
Gospel Mission, we have been
collecting new bedding and linens
but have noted several shortages,
including:
• full and twin-sized sheets
• pillows and pillowcases
• comforters/bedspreads
• towels (all sizes)
If you can help by donating any of
these items, please contact Marlene at
651-292-1721 ext. 220.
WANTED:
Drivers to
haul kids around
What are you doing Wednesday
nights from 5-9 p.m.? Or Monday
thru Friday, 2-3 p.m.?
If you have a little extra time,
and think you might enjoy driving
a vanload of kids to youth
activities, the Twin Cities Union
Gospel Mission wants to meet you.
Soul Source, the Mission’s youth
program, needs volunteers to
transport kids, ages 12-17, to a
wide variety of weekday programs.
If you’d like to help, please contact
Crystal Young at 651-228-1800, ext. 317.
2
For many single moms, coming
to the Naomi Family Residence
at Christmastime is an answer
to prayer.
When
Christmas
turns ugly
3
“Kids, there isn’t
going to be any
Christmas ...”
77 Ninth Street East
St. Paul, Minnesota 55101
651-228-1800
Ken Cooper,
Executive Director
For more information,
visit us online at:
www.ugmtc.org
A Christmas turkey is the perfect
centerpiece for a hungry family’s
holiday meal.
Our dining room is packed during the
holidays, when the homeless know there’s
a special Christmas dinner on the menu.
Bags of groceries mean bundles
of hope for many families in the
Twin Cities each Christmas.
True Life Stories
“God, I don’t
want to die!”
Reformed
alcoholic finds
life worth
living after all
Last in a three-part series
EDITOR’S NOTE:
Gale says he feels like he
wasted the first 55 years
of his life. When he
wasn’t drinking himself
half to death, he was
watching others die
from alcoholism. Now
that he’s gotten sober
with the help of the
Christ Recovery Center, he says he’s determined to make
up for lost time.
Since coming to the Christ Recovery Center, Gale says
he’s not only stopped drinking but has gotten back many
of the things he thought he had lost forever.
“This place helped me to restore my relationship with
my family,” he says. “I now
have three grown boys who
“You never know
love their dad. And the
Mission made that possible.
when you’re
I’ve got five grandchildren
who love their grandpa,” he
going to touch
continues. “The Mission
someone’s life
made that possible.”
“I’m very active in my
with what you say.”
church,” he notes. “My
dignity is back. And I’ve got a
list of 60 sober friends in my back pocket that I can call
on at any time — and I’ve never had sober friends before!
The Mission made all that possible.”
Even his health is back, he says.
“When I had open heart surgery a couple years ago, I
thought to myself, ‘God, I don’t want to die,’” Gale
remembers. Until that point, he didn’t care whether he
lived or died.
Now he often speaks at AA (Alcoholics Anonymous)
meetings, which he considers part of “giving back.”
“You never know when you’re going to touch
someone’s life with what you say,” he says. “I’m now
doing some of the things that the Lord wanted me to do.”
The bottom line for Gale is this: “The Mission totally
changed my life. It’s taken me from being a street bum to
being a well-respected citizen. And a taxpayer. I actually
pay my taxes! And pay my bills.”
“I’m just very grateful to be in a position to do that!”
he adds.
When
Christmas
turns
ugly
Holidays that were unforgettable ... for all the wrong reasons
Even at his stepsister’s
funeral, Donald only
thought of himself
Donald had done some pretty
shameful things to fuel his drug habit.
But this was the absolute worst.
It was Christmas, and his
stepmother had just come to town
to bury Donald’s stepsister, who
had been brutally murdered.
During the funeral, Donald saw
his stepmother’s purse unguarded
and stole what he thought was a $10
bill. It turned out to be $100 —
which he quickly used to buy dope.
Dope that turned out to be fake.
Donald has made amends since going to his
“I felt terrible,” he remembers.
stepsister’s funeral — and stealing money from
But that wasn’t the worst part.
his stepmom.
The next day, when Donald’s
stepmother went to the grocery store to buy food for her grieving grandkids,
she reached into her purse — and discovered the $100 missing.
“That was the money I smoked up that night,” Donald remembers.
Six years later, when he got out of prison and tried to return the
money, his stepmother didn’t want any part of it.
“Go buy something for your nieces and nephews,” she told Donald.
“They’re the ones you stole the money from.”
Daughters
unmoved
by junkie
dad’s tearful
apology
Last Christmas, Steve
got two hours to spend
with his estranged
daughters.
It was an ugly scene, Christmas is a stressfull time for broken families.
he recalls.
“I tried to say I was sorry,” Steve says, recounting the years of abusing drugs
and alcohol. But his teenage girls were unmoved.
“We can’t believe you,” they told him. “We can’t trust you anymore!”
Not that anyone could blame them.
After 11 years of being clean and sober, Steve had started using drugs again. All his
daughters remembered was how they stood by helplessly and watched his life unravel.
“They’d heard it all before,” Steve explained. “The promises. The firm
resolutions. They watched me go in and out of hospitals and psychiatric
wards and chose not to be a part of it anymore.”
When the two hours were over, Steve left “in utter shame.”
“I had become something that I never wanted to be,” he says. But he
just couldn’t stop. After their visit, he went back to using drugs and
alcohol again — and to no one’s surprise, ended up in the hospital. Again.
Both Donald and Steve have now found new life at the Mission, thanks to generous gifts from friends like you.
When a parent must break the news ...
“Kids, there isn’t going to be any Christmas this year.”
Julie Covert still remembers the couple — with
three young children in tow — the day they came in.
It was early December and their car had broken
down.
“It was a major expense and I think they were
overwhelmed,” says Julie, a volunteer at the Mission.
When they came to the Mission, they only had a fake
Christmas tree to celebrate the holidays.
Through tears, the parents explained to their kids,
“There isn’t going to be any Christmas this year.”
But they were wrong.
They hadn’t counted on the generosity of people in
the Twin Cities — or our Adopt-a-Family program.
On December 23, a van pulled up in front of our
shelter filled with Christmas presents. For more than a
half-hour, giggling volunteers unloaded decorations, toys,
and clothing.
The little girl got the Barbie House she wanted. The
boys got their Christmas wish, too — Lego sets.
“Why did you do this?” the mom cried in utter
disbelief. “I can’t believe Jesus loves us this much!”
But God does love this family. And He used the
kindness of friends like you — and the powerful
outreach of Union Gospel Mission Twin Cities — to
bless this family and others like them.
This year, more families need assistance. With your
help, we’ll have something for all of them — whether it’s
food baskets, children’s toys, or brightly wrapped
presents with new clothes inside.
“It’s a huge blessing to see another family blessed,”
Julie says. “It reminds you of the old saying, that it truly
is better to give than to receive.”
Imagine the squeals of delight when a child is told
they’re not getting any toys for Christmas — and then
the Mission delivers an armload of presents!