Dear Friend,

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10). Life “to the full.” It’s a choice we all have to make — and It’s a choice Ken and Doris, whose stories you’ll read in this issue of Soup for your Soul had to make.

In a way, choosing the abundant life that Jesus promises seems like such an easy choice. But ask many of our guests what they want their lives to look like in 10 years, and often they can’t look past today to see what their life could be. They’ve never thought in terms of a better future because their today is hard enough. How could their future be any different?

At the Milwaukee Rescue Mission, however, they begin to see what a life “to the full” might look like. We help them work through the traumas of their past, face the realities of their present and equip them — in the power of Jesus — to choose life “to the full.”

And thankfully, they have friends like you to make sure they have the resources they need to choose the abundant life that Jesus offers. Without friends like you, without the Milwaukee Rescue Mission, they may never experience that life.

The choice you make every day, to pray for our guests, to volunteer or to send a gift of $10 or $100, may very well change someone’s life by enabling him or her to choose life “to the full” and avoid the clutches of “the thief.” The stories in this newsletter are possible with God’s help and because of the choices people like you made. And these stories may not have been possible without YOU.

On behalf of all our guests at the Milwaukee Rescue Mission, thank you for giving men, women and children the opportunity to choose life “to the full.”

Sincerely,

Patrick H. Vanderburgh, D.Min.

Dear Friend,

Every winter night, before I go to bed, I think of the hundreds of men, women and children who are sleeping warm and safe at the Milwaukee Rescue Mission — precious people who otherwise might have to spend the night in cars, garages, abandoned buildings or worse.

I know I don’t have to tell you that winters are cold in Milwaukee. It’s miserable for people like you and me. But for our homeless neighbors, it’s more than miserable: it can be life threatening. It seems like every winter we read about a poor soul who’s died in the cold. Thanks to you, however, thousands find safe refuge at the Milwaukee Rescue Mission. It’s no stretch to say that your gifts really do save lives, especially in winter.

But winter cold is not the only threat men, women and children struggling with poverty and homelessness face. Many have been devastated by a lifetime of abuse. They’ve been subjected to dysfunctional families, crime, poor education, inadequate job skills, drugs and alcohol. Spiritually, the cold, weight of sin and hopelessness keep them in darkness.

Next month, however, we will remember and celebrate their — and our — one true hope: Easter. Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection promises hope and new, transformed life for all of us. So all year-round, thanks to you, we have the privilege of leading all our guests to an empty tomb and the only One who can save their lives today and for eternity.

So today, I invite you remember all the precious men, women and children at the Milwaukee Rescue Mission who are safely off the streets, and who are sheltered in the arms of Jesus, because you cared. Thank you! Christ the Lord is risen today, alleluia!

I thank God for you!

Patrick H. Vanderburgh, President