HEART of the MISSION DECEMBER 2015
Because of you, hope lives here
I’ll be home for
Christmas
With your help, there's hope right now for those in need Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year. I enjoy getting together with my family and singing our favorite carols as we decorate our tree. The song “I’ll Be Home For Christmas,” deeply touches me … home is a place many of those we serve don’t have, yet dream about. There is always hope of “home,” either here or in eternity. But until that day comes, your support allows the Mission to be their temporary home. This Christmas season you can give a gift that will help a man in life crisis, help a single mom who has lost her home and job and is struggling to care for her children, or help our community that is stricken with a plague of drug addiction and all the destruction it causes. Yes, your gift will be as a light shining in the darkness. Like the birth of Jesus on that historic day
REV. GLENN CRANFIELD PRESIDENT AND CEO
In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. MATTHEW 5:16 NIV
5
when the world was changed, your gift will bring joy and peace to someone’s life! Right now over 800 men, women, and children are being helped each day at the Mission. Without your support, there would be no sustainable way to help these individuals who might be turned over to the streets, jails, hospitals, and early graves. When you give, you are part of life transformation taking place in the lives of many homeless individuals and their families. We need your support to continue providing help during this wonderful Christmas season. Thank you for entering the Spirit of Christmas and bringing life transforming help to those we serve in despair and making Nashville a better place.
1. GIFTS OF CASH: You may make a year-end gift by cash or check. 2. CREDIT CARD: You may use your credit card to make a one-time
WAYS YOU CAN GIVE THE GIFT OF HOPE THIS CHRISTMAS
or monthly donation online today. 3. TRIBUTES: Gifts in honor of loved ones, friends, or business acquaintances can be a wonderful and meaningful alternative to holiday shopping. 4. APPRECIATED SECURITIES, REAL ESTATE, or OTHER ASSETS: A gift of appreciated assets helps you reduce your capital gains. 5. LIFE INSURANCE: Gifts of matured life insurance policies help you give a future, sizeable gift commitment to the Mission without reducing your income today.
Contact Cheryl B. Davis, Senior Director of Development, by phone at 615-780-9488 or by email at cdavis@nashvillerescuemission.org with any questions. 2 HEART of the MISSION
DECEMBER 2015
MISSION IN MY WORDS
MERCYME Being in a band means I spend most of my time on the road. MercyMe has toured the country countless times. This gives us the distinct privilege to step outside of ourselves and meet all different types of people. One such instance was at a rescue mission in California. We spent a day there volunteering and listening to stories from homeless men who were in need of food and shelter. I specifically remember one man. It didn’t take much on my part to help him. All I needed to do was give my time. It didn’t take any special skill to serve him a meal, greet him warmly, or ask how he was doing that day. He had a rough childhood and essentially lost his family. He didn’t have a support system. I can’t imagine living without the incredible support system of my family and friends. Many people would look at this man and make assumptions about why he was homeless and what decisions he’d made to come to that point. But that wasn’t my job. My job was simply to help and listen. Over the past few years, I and the other members of MercyMe have moved to Nashville. This is our home now, and we are honored to serve our neighbors in need.
As believers, I know full well it is our responsibility to be the hands and feet of Jesus. We are convinced that fulfilling The Great Commission means helping others. It’s a no-brainer. We aren’t obligated to help—rather, we desire to help because of the love and grace we’ve received. We understand what Christ did for us and therefore, we are compelled out of gratitude to love those around us, regardless of what they look like or where their home is. While recording our holiday album, Mercy Me, It’s Christmas!, I got to thinking about what it would be like to be homeless during Christmas. Outside of being cold here in Tennessee, it would probably be lonely. But it would be so easy for people like you and me to help. With this in mind, I encourage you to pick up an extra gift during your holiday shopping trips and bring it to Nashville Rescue Mission. Something as simple as a wrapped gift could remind a homeless man, woman, or child they aren’t alone this Christmas. It doesn’t take much to help our neighbors. Together, let’s be a reflection of Christ’s love and grace. Merry Christmas!
MERCYME has received numerous awards and nominations, including American Music Awards, Billboard Music Awards, Dove Awards, and Grammy Awards. Originally from Columbus, MO, but now residing with his family in Nashville, TN, Nathan Cochran joined MercyMe as their bass player in 1997. DECEMBER 2015
HEART of the MISSION 3
lost the fight. Less than a year later, Amy’s parents divorced. “Life was hard,” she admits. “On top of all of that, I was picked on for wearing hearing aids.” A genetic hearing impairment had left Amy with 25 percent hearing loss in both ears. She fell prey to depression and by the age of 16, had attempted suicide. “I didn’t know how to deal with my emotions.” BECAUSE HER high school years were
filled with turmoil, Amy decided to earn her GED. This was followed by a job at a local gas station, where Amy’s supervisor first introduced her to prescription drugs. “I had no idea what I was getting myself into,” said Amy. “I had never used drugs or alcohol.” She continued to use pills while working at the gas station, but three years later, when she quit that job, she quit the pills, too. It was only her second time in a bar when Amy met and started dating her boyfriend. She had no idea he was an alcoholic. Eventually, his struggle came to light and in the process, he bribed Amy with pills so she would ignore his drinking. This worked for a while. But when she got pregnant, she put the pills down once again. “After our son was born, I experienced postpartum depression,” said Amy. “My boyfriend didn’t like me taking pills, but for some reason, he was okay with me drinking. He would bring home bottles I was seven years old when my little of vodka and offered that to me instead of pills. I drank all the time. I knew I needed sister died. Life from that point on help, but I wasn’t sure how to get it. I went to detox twice and once to rehab. But was never the same. staying sober never lasted.” Despite her AMY GREW UP in a small town where she attended a addiction to alcohol, she and her boyfriend made plans to private Christian school. Her family went to church on have another child. a regular basis, and while Christmas in their home was “Once I knew I was pregnant, I wanted to quit drinking,” filled with holiday carols, the focus was never on gifts. said Amy. “I tried to detox myself. For four days I was “Christmas was about Jesus,” said Amy. throwing up, had the shakes, and even blacked out. I finally By all outward appearances, life seemed normal. But called my mom, who took me to the hospital. When we her younger sister was battling cancer and the trips to the told the ER staff I was pregnant and detoxing from alcohol, hospital consumed most of her mom’s time. This was all they refused to treat me.” Amy had ever known. Her sister was only five when she
Because of you, hope lives here
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“I know we have a long road ahead of us. But I can’t wait to tell my daughter about God, and what He and Nashville Rescue Mission have given us. Coming to the Mission saved her life, and mine.”
“LAST YEAR, there was no Christmas for me or my son,” said Amy. “I was hungover and spent the day after Christmas drinking. The next day, I broke down and asked my family for help. That’s when we started looking for long-term treatment options.” Amy went to a two-week detox program, then she was ready. “I called so many places, but once I told them I was pregnant, they turned me down. I was ready to give up when I stumbled across Nashville Rescue Mission’s Life Recovery Program. I will never forget that feeling of relief when the person on the other end of the phone said, ‘Yes, please come, we’d love to help you.’ It gave me hope.” Amy’s sister agreed to take care of her son while she got the help she so desperately needed. Braving an ice storm, Amy and her brother drove to Nashville where she entered the Mission’s Life Recovery Program.
AMY’S BABY grew a little bigger and stronger. And
when her daughter took her first breath of life, Amy was overwhelmed with love. “I know I don’t deserve any of this. Yet, God has chosen me to receive this gift of life. He knows what I’ve done to my son and what I did to my daughter, and He still loved me enough to bless me with a miracle.” “I came to the Mission knowing everything love isn’t. Love isn’t neglecting to wash your child, or drinking two liters of vodka a day. It isn’t drinking even though you carry the gift of life inside of you. It’s not gathering your two-year-old and all his toys and going into a room with the door closed in case mommy dies during detox. I know these things because this is who I was when I arrived at the Mission. Today, I know what love is because I have experienced it every day since that first day.”
TODAY, Amy has graduated from the Mission’s Program “SHORTLY AFTER arriving at the Mission, I went to see a and is living in transitional housing. She intends to stay in specialist. I learned I was having a girl. But sitting in that Nashville, surrounded by those she now considers family. room alone, in an unfamiliar town, as the doctor continued “My kids are going to grow up with lots of aunts,” shared to tell me all that was wrong with my daughter—the Amy. “I’m looking forward to Christmas this year. It’s not weight of what I had done was too much. I was terrified. about the presents—it’s about celebrating new life.” I didn’t know what God’s plans were, but I knew what “I know we have a long road ahead of us. But I can’t wait I deserved.” to tell my daughter about God, and what He and Nashville Back at the Mission, Amy confided in the staff, Rescue Mission have given us. Coming to the Mission expecting to be condemned. But they didn’t condemn her. saved her life, and mine.” And at times Amy wanted them to. “Did they not see what I had chosen to do to an innocent child? Instead they stood beside me and we started a journey together.”
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A Family Legacy “The Mission helped me become the man I am today. It was my daycare. It was my first job. It’s where I donate and bring my kids to volunteer.” Shane Miller grew up at Nashville Rescue Mission. His grandfather, Dr. Carl R. Resener, was involved with the Mission for 41 years, serving as Executive Director from 1971-1998. While Shane was growing up, his mother would leave him with his grandfather while she went to work. Shane would then spend the day following his grandfather around the Mission, an organization that would one day become a big part of his family’s legacy. “When I was about 13 years old I got my first summer job. I helped with the construction of the Mission’s current building. We demoed and
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reconstructed the downtown Sears Department Store for the Mission’s use.” This gave him a behind-the-scenes look at how his grandfather implemented leadership in the organization’s development and growth over multiple decades. It gave him the unique opportunity to be constantly surrounded by those who were different from him. It enabled him to learn empathy and compassion at a young age and instilled character traits beyond his years. “I remember being just seven or eight and watching my grandfather greet the men every single morning. He’d look them in the eyes and say ‘hello,’ or ‘good morning,’ and thank them for being there. I didn’t understand why he did that so I asked him. He told me that he was sure to talk to each individual because there was always a chance that a warm greeting could change someone’s life.” This dedication to pursuing relationships and sustainable change wasn’t wasted on Shane. These are the same values that he’s currently teaching his own children, encouraging them to treat everyone the same and exude positivity and happiness. “We’re in a world that thrives on negativity.
Nashville Rescue Mission is the place you can walk into and see happiness and smiles and people working so hard to change their lives for the better. Everyone is excited— whether it’s an employee or a guest being served.” To continue the Resener legacy, Shane brings his two older children, Tyler and Kaydence, to the Mission to volunteer in the kitchen. He wants them to grow up with the same dedication to serving others that he was surrounded by. “Everyone who works at the Mission and donates their money and time are picking up right where my grandfather left off,” he shares. “If he could be here he would have a smile on his face. It’s grown so much and is an explosion of kindness. I’m blown away every time I step in the building.”
START YOUR OWN FAMILY LEGACY BY HELPING OTHERS Sign up to volunteer alongside the Millers by going to nashvillerescuemission.org and clicking “Get Involved.”
MAKE THIS SEASON
BRIGHT
FOR NASHVILLE'S HOMELESS
HERE’S HOW YOU CAN HELP: DONATE an item off the Christmas Wish List*—gifts for men, women, and children. Visit nashvillerescuemission.org and download this year’s Christmas Wish List. ORGANIZE a collection at your church, workplace, or community center. Collecting items like socks, underwear, toiletries, journals, and more. GATHER your friends to throw a Christmas party at the Mission! Moms and kids are often at the top of the list, so think outside the box … think about how you can be a blessing to a single woman who is homeless and alone this season. *For the purpose of this list, we request all items be new.
DECEMBER 2015
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W
COLD WEATHER WISH LIST
With cold temperatures on the way, the Mission is gearing up to protect our city’s homeless population from the elements.
The following items are urgently needed: • Coats • Hooded Sweatshirts • Flannel Shirts • T-Shirts • Winter Gloves • Heavy Socks • Thermal or Fleece Tops and Bottoms
• Winter Shoes and Boots
LIVES YOU HAVE
TOUCHED OCTOBER 2015 Daily Avg
Monthly
1,999
61,963
Nights of Lodging
810
25,125
Chapel Attendance
619
19,200
Education Hours
95
2,937
Bible Class Attendance
22
685
Decisions & Prayers
35
1,080
Volunteer Hours
141
4,373
Meals Served
Travel n/a Assistance
35
Program n/a Graduates
10
• Hats and Scarves • Hand and Foot Warmers • Backpacks
is a proud member of
• Lip Balm • Blankets, Sheets, and Towels
Donations can be dropped off at the Mission’s Donation Center, 616 7th Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37203. Open Monday – Saturday, 7:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. 639 Lafayette Street, Nashville, TN 37203 615-255-2475 | nashvillerescuemission.org