Dear Friend,

 

There’s something about Thanksgiving that always brings me back to what matters most. It’s one of the few days when we really stop and say out loud that we are grateful. And I think it’s one of the most God-focused days we have.

 

Because gratitude has to go somewhere. It has to be directed to someone. And when I think of everything happening here at MRM, my first instinct is always: thanks to God.

 

When that vertical focus is in place, the horizontal follows naturally. Gratitude for God’s goodness spills over — into neighbors, into community and into the work we share together.

 

That’s what I see here at the Milwaukee Rescue Mission every Thanksgiving. And it is, truly, remarkable!

 

Neighbors come to us hungry and hurting. A meal, a safe place to sleep — both are real and necessary. But there’s a third dimension, and it’s the best part: the life change that begins when someone encounters God’s restoring love and says “yes” to a new life. For 133 years, we’ve seen this happen time and time again.

 

Many of our volunteers have seen it, too. They show up on Thanksgiving morning because the joy they experience from serving others keeps bringing them back.

 

This is a place filled with thankful people. We know where every good thing comes from. And I am grateful to God for your part in helping our struggling neighbors at Thanksgiving and throughout the year.

 

What God does with a willing heart — year after year — is truly remarkable!

 

Gratefully,

Patrick H. Vanderburgh, D.Min., President