Rescue Portland October 2011
PDXMission.org/ Email Twitter.com/ PDXMission Facebook.com/ PortlandRescueMission
The Road to Freedom Danielle Found Hope along the Way Her boyfriend had been arrested. She was in physical pain from heroin withdrawal and alone in a new city. Danielle was completely defeated after her first week in Portland. “I was dope-sick and lost. I knew I needed help.� Danielle carried few belongings, but she bore the heavy burden of a deeply painful past. When she was just 14, one of her first boyfriends kidnapped and raped her. Already lost in a world of drugs and depression, Danielle continued to pursue unhealthy relationships and addiction, looking for security as a vulnerable teen. CONTINUES INSIDE
Embracing Others in the Journey While the majority of the people we serve in our New Life Recovery Ministry are from the Portland area, some residents take literal journeys to reach our doors. Both Danielle and Philip arrived in Portland depressed and overwhelmed—ready for life as they knew it to end. Though decades apart in age, their stories are similar. Both had difficult beginnings; both chose addictions and the open road as escapes. Danielle began wandering early by hitchhiking for a few months as a teen. This led to several years of travel that brought her to Portland. Philip moved around fairly often, and he hit the road again last year to leave yet another bad situation in a decades-long series of missteps. The isolation that comes with homelessness and addictions is all the more painful in unfamiliar surroundings. And yet in Portland, both Danielle and Philip took sharp, unexpected turns in better directions. And both detours began when a caring person expressed the love of God and offered encouragement and assistance. Danielle and Philip both entered our New Life Recovery Ministry where they found hope, purpose and a new path for their lives. Despite all the bumps and turns, they landed in the graceful arms of their loving Father. And for the first time, they each speak of a supportive family in Christ. They truly experienced the transformational power of God when they stopped running and became rooted in healthy relationships. Thank you for reading, for supporting the Mission and for believing in God’s love for all the people we serve. I hope you’re encouraged to know that hurting and homeless people are able to experience the transforming embrace of Jesus because of your support of the Mission. In His grip,
Eric Bauer, Executive Director
P.O. Box 3713 Portland, OR 97208-3713 503-MISSION (647-7466) www.PortlandRescueMission.org
Mission Needs Help us gather blankets, sweatshirts, hoodies and long pants to keep men, women and children warm. We also need: • Socks • Sleeping bags • Backpacks • Deodorant (spray or solid) • Disposable razors • Toothbrushes • Toothpaste • Travel-size toiletries • New undergarments • Jeans • Life Recovery Bibles (NLT) • Yard equipment: mowers, weed-eaters, leaf blowers • Digital video recorders for our Learning Centers Your donations of practical items make relationships possible! Please bring donations to the Burnside Shelter at 111 W. Burnside, Portland, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Short-term street parking is usually available at our front door.
Watch KOIN Local 6 and Give Hope! GIVE HOPE TELETHON • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 16 Help KOIN Local 6 and Portland Rescue Mission feed and care for hurting and homeless men, women and children right here in Portland. Tune in to our Give Hope Telethon special at 7:30 p.m., hosted by Oregon’s Miss America, Katie Harman. Stories from men and women in our recovery ministry will also be featured throughout the day, along with special coverage during the evening news coverage. Tune in again! Charlie 97.1 FM on Oct. 28; KPTV FOX 12 Oregon on Nov. 10; and KINK 101.9 FM on Nov. 15
The Road to Freedom CONTINUED FROM FRONT COVER
Family life wasn’t much better. As soon as she could, Danielle escaped her hometown to a life on the road, hitchhiking and living on the streets. “I was living life on my own terms and had a great sense of freedom, but I was still lonely. That was the hardest part.” Even on her own, Danielle needed drugs and men to soothe the pain that haunted her. When the drugs wore off in Portland, the emptiness left her facing depression and suicidal thoughts, things she’d dealt with for nearly a decade. “For the first time, though, I could feel how precious life was, and I didn’t want to die.” Like so many others, Danielle found steady access to food and shelter in Old Town. She even heard about Christ. “A woman I knew prayed for me. She looked me in the eyes and told me God loved me.” Raised by atheist parents, Danielle had always doubted there was a God who cares. “When she said that, I didn’t even know I needed to hear it, but it filled up an empty place in my heart. I broke down and cried.” The love of Christ and the generosity of others were essential first steps for Danielle to survive homelessness. But she didn’t just want to get by— she wanted to heal. There were sexual addictions, codependency issues, suicidal tendencies and other emotional trauma she needed to face. Danielle learned about Shepherd’s Door, Portland Rescue Mission’s women and children’s ministry, where dozens of women like Danielle are able to work through those root causes of addictions. When she walked through the doors, she knew she was in the right place. Danielle began to learn how drugs and poor habits only numbed her pain—they didn’t take it away. She discovered that some of the trauma she endured as a young woman—abuse, violence, sexual manipulation— weren’t her fault. The lies and addictions that had imprisoned her for so long began to fall away. Danielle deepened her faith in the God she first learned about on the streets. “All my life, I’d been meeting my needs with my addictions. Christ gives me freedom from my addictions and from myself. When I focus on Him, my struggles are put into perspective.” Danielle’s been able to open up and form healthy relationships with other women at Shepherd’s Door.
After years on the road, Danielle enjoys her new home and community at Shepherd’s Door.
Hearing their stories, relating to them and sharing her own experiences has taught her invaluable lessons about trust and friendship. Those positive relationships—a supportive family in Christ—gives her great hope for the future.
“For the first time in my life, I know I can still grow up and be whoever I want to be—whoever I’m meant to be.” Danielle hopes to live in the newfound freedom of her faith by volunteering with mission groups in faraway places. But it’s not the travel she’s most excited about. Ultimately, like that woman who told her of God’s love, Danielle wants to share Christ with people who are desperate to receive Him.
Scan with RedLaser app or other QR code reader.
Danielle realized potential for her future at Shepherd’s Door! See more at www.PortlandRescueMission.org/Danielle
Change in Direction
Philip’s Journey to New Life
Philip was exhausted, emotionally shut-down and depressed when he came to Portland last summer. He’d given up on getting his life back on track. He’d lost hope—hadn’t had it for decades—and he was ready for his life to end on Portland’s “Skid Row.” Just a week earlier, Philip had left the house of his mentally ill, drug-addicted friend in Salem after waking up hung over and on a dead-end road. “I drank a couple beers that morning, watched TV and I couldn’t deal with it, so I said, ‘I’m outta here.’ I tried to hitchhike, but nobody would pick me up. So I finally gave up with the thumb and kept walkin’.” The two-day, 70-mile journey to Portland didn’t lead Philip to anything better. “Right after I got here, I watched a man convince a girl to shoot up. It was disgusting. I didn’t trust anyone.” Hungry and hopeless, Philip walked into Portland Rescue Mission one night for dinner. “I was bitter, mad at the world, hated everything and everybody.” But he spoke to June, one of the Mission’s Outreach Staff, and his heart began to soften.
“June took time to talk to me at the Mission that night. She was compassionate. She listened to what I had to say. I just told her I was tired.” Philip got a bed that night, and the next day he decided to enter New Life Recovery Ministry at the Mission. His path took a turn from homeless destitution toward a transformed life, free from destructive addictions. Philip attended classes that peeled back the veneer of his addictions, revealing the trauma of his early years. He’d faced many more challenges than most kids his age. “The first drink I had was at 14, and I was just amazed at how it took the emotional pain away.” He continued to pursue ways to erase the pain in his life, through drinking, other drugs, suicide attempts, or using anger to avoid relationships and responsibilities. At the Mission, Philip learned how to face trauma, rather than avoid it. “Now I rely on God to get me
Philip and June catch up often, maintaining a friendship that started on Philip’s first day at the Mission.
through things; I don’t just expect Him to make things disappear.” By learning that God provides strength to endure life’s hardships, he knows he can move on from his past. “When I realized God forgives me for putting my addictions before everything else, I actually forgave myself.” And forgiving himself has opened the door for new relationships in Philip’s life. He is immersed in a community life with other residents, caring staff and countless volunteers. “I see value in being close to brothers and sisters in Christ. I belong in God’s family, and He’s not gonna let me go.” Philip looks forward to the next road in his journey, and he knows it’s wide open. “God led me here, and I have a future that’s part of God’s plan.”
Scan with RedLaser app or other QR code reader.
Step into the rest of Philip’s journey. Watch his video online at www.PortlandRescueMission.org/Philip
Philip came to the Mission looking for some food and a place to sleep, but because of donations like yours, what he really found was hope. Thanks for considering a gift today!