August 2024 Mission Moments by Downtown Rescue Mission

KEITH OVERHOLT, MBA President/CEO

HopeHOPE LIVES HERE

is a word that is used quite often. You might hear people say, “I hope I win the lottery” or “I hope my football team wins” or “I hope you feel better”. Those statements are not really about hope, but more about wanting. Webster’s dictionary says that hope is “to want something to happen or be true.”

“HAVE I NOT COMMANDED YOU? BE STRONG AND COURAGEOUS! DO NOT TREMBLE OR BE DISMAYED, FOR THE LORD YOUR GOD IS WITH YOU WHEREVER YOU GO.”

Joshua 1:9

So many times, we are hoping for something instead of putting our hope in someone. There’s a story about an old sailor who could see a major storm approaching. As the sea became choppy the old sailor calmly lowered his old heavy anchor, battened down the hatches and went to bed for the night. He knew the night would be rough, but he put his faith in that old anchor that had gotten him through so many other storms.

Hope for me only comes through my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and that is what

we teach and preach here at the Downtown Rescue Mission. My favorite verse is Joshua 1:9 “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Which goes along with Romans 8:31 “If God is for us, who is against us?” Just like the old trustworthy anchor, our faith in Jesus will bring hope!

Here at DRM, we see men, women and children from all walks of life that are hurting and many of them have just given up to the point that they have lost all hope. The Mission leads people to hope every day because no matter what storms of life have battered us, we can always put our faith and hope in God. He is our anchor! That’s why we say “Hope Lives Here” at the Downtown Rescue Mission!

FROM DARKNESS TO REDEMPTION

“FOR

WE KNOW THAT OUR OLD SELF WAS CRUCIFIED WITH HIM SO THAT THE BODY RULED BY SIN MIGHT BE DONE AWAY WITH, THAT WE SHOULD NO LONGER BE SLAVES TO SIN—BECAUSE ANYONE WHO HAS DIED HAS BEEN SET FREE FROM SIN.“

Romans 6:6-7

Iwas in trouble on a regular basis and when I wasn’t

I was just looking for trouble. I was hooked on drugs so no matter when I would escape for periods of time, the drugs still had a hold on me. This lifestyle led me to jail and a constant struggle with my family and loved ones where I didn’t trust them and they didn’t trust me. All I was looking for was my next high to escape. The hole of sin was so deep that I couldn’t see my way out. My relationship with my wife and children had deteriorated beyond what I could imagine.

I was in Montgomery, and I found myself on church steps crying and looking for answers and crying

out to God. My wife received information about The Downtown Rescue Mission and found a way to get me there. My wife getting information and transporting me to the Mission allowed me to see the real answer I was looking for through all of my previous trouble and searching. A new mindset broke through, and I joined the Life Recovery Program to work and become the best version of myself.

This new person was a changed man who knew he needed God and was ready to reach out to Him. God heard my cry and showed me He had been leading me to have a whole new life in Him. The Ministry Team and staff at the Mission opened up the doors to truly walk with God and begin to live out His plans for my life. I now live my life for God not for my selfish desires. God has been so good to me and rebuilt more of my life than I ever could have dreamt of. I give Him all the glory as I continue to walk with Him.

–Richard Calhoun

SHELTER, SERVICE, FAITH, AND TRANSFORMATION

Ibegan my journey at the Mission in need of assistance and going through the emergency services shelter. After graduating the Life Recovery Program I started working for the Mission in March 2022, as a Front Desk Administrator for Owens House. I graduated from Biblical Counseling and in March 2024 was promoted to the Assistant Director of the Women’s Program. My role at the Mission gives me the chance to work with the women from helping them with worship in chapel to walking with them in building a deeper relationship with Christ.

“CALL UPON ME IN THE DAY OF TROUBLE; I WILL DELIVER YOU AND YOU SHALL GLORIFY ME.”

Psalm 50:15

I love that the mission is a faith-based shelter for the homeless and gives them the opportunity to see God at work. It’s a blessing to see the change in our program residents as they progress through the program. It is like watching a caterpillar transform into a beautiful butterfly.

The view I have to witness this transformation process from start to finish is a gift. I love seeing lives change through the faith in Jesus Christ and encourage the ladies that believing in Him and having Him at the center of our lives that we can do great things. My past experiences and being a Life Recovery Program graduate along with the trials help me to relate to the

girls in the program and the Women’s Emergency Shelter.

I give God all the glory for who and what I am today.