J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 7New NewsLife

SHELTERING THE HOMELESS HEALING THE ADDICTED

426 S. McDuff Avenue Jacksonville, FL 32254 Phone 904-387-HELP Fax 904-387-9377 WWW.CRMJAX.ORG

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Chad Perce, ChairClay Yarborough, Vice Chair Dr. Barbara Darby, Secretary

Arthur CroftonJim DickensonDavid EureGregory D. Flowers

Richard MartinJennifer MasonSutton McGeheeDoug Milne

Anne NimnichtFitzhugh K. Powell, Jr.Kendall SpencerBud Toole

All rights reserved. © Copyright 2016 - City Rescue Mission Design & Photography by: Evan Hampton

STAY CONNECTEDDonate online:crmjax.org/donate

“Like” our page on Facebook:facebook.com/crmjax

Follow us on Twitter:@CRMJAX

View our photos on Instagram:@CRMJAX

CRM Exists to Transform the Lives of the Homeless and Needy, Serving Them Through the Love and Compassion of Jesus Christ.

• Twin White Sheet Sets• Bed Pillows• Shampoo & Soap (Men & Women)• Deodorant (Men & Women)• White Towels & Wash Cloths• Pro-Style Brown Styling Gel• Pink Oil Hair Moisturizer• Pink Oil Sheen Spray• Blue Magic Conditioner & Hair Dress

We Are in need

Please drop off at 426 S. McDuff Ave.

News from theCity Rescue Mission

Researchers at Texas A&M University recently found that adults who want their children to eat more greens should remove any other delicious “competition” from their child’s plate. By serving a veggie first and alone, when a child is at their hungriest, they’re more likely to eat the healthy option put before them.

Good parents and grandparents want what’s best for the children they love - from the inside out. This includes physical and emotional health, as well as providing a generational legacy of faith.

Another way you can give your best is by creating an Estate Plan that will bless your loved ones and the ministries you care about like City Rescue Mission. It can also help to:

Mitigate unnecessary taxation. Certain assets carry higher tax implications than others. Consider leaving lesser taxed items like life insurance for your heirs and retirement assets to a non-profit organization.

Eliminate potential stress and create peace. An up-to-date Will allows you to put your financial house in order. This can help your loved ones avoid unnecessary emotional or relationship strain.

For the full version of this article, ask for a FREE copy of “Impact Lives Through the ‘Power of Broke’” by simply contacting Paul Stasi from City Rescue Mission at (904)

421-5192 or pstasi@crmjax.org - or bless your family today with a God-honoring Will at www.christianwill.org/crm

Eat Your GrEEns!

same kind of different as meRead the Book. See the Movie. Meet the Man.

Join us on Thursday, February 16, 2017 for a fantastic night celebrating the best-selling

book, Same Kind of Different as Me. The book’s author, and one of its subjects, Ron Hall, will

be our special guest speaker that evening. The event will take place at 1515 Prudential Drive at the Lexington Hotel and Conference Center in

downtown Jacksonville.

Sponsorships and Tickets are available by contacting Paul Stasi at 904-421-5192 or by e-mail

at pstasi@crmjax.org. It’s an evening not to be missed!

Visit crmjax.org/ronhall for more info.

Exciting changes are happening at our Thrift Store located at 5343 Normandy Blvd! Thanks to your generosity, we’re undergoing a HUGE renovation to make the store a better experience for our customers and supporters.

If you pop by, it might look like the store is vacated, but the temporary entrance is just left of the original one. Come visit us and stay tuned for more details on all that is happening for our Thrift Store!

CRM THRIFT STORE:Yes, We’re Open!

BUILDINGON TO MY

FaithFOR THENEW YEAR

P A G E 2

SHELTERING THE HOMELESS HEALING THE ADDICTEDSHELTERING THE HOMELESS HEALING THE ADDICTED

426 S. McDuff Avenue Jacksonville, FL 32254 Phone 904-387-HELP Fax 904-387-9377 WWW.CRMJAX.ORG 426 S. McDuff Avenue Jacksonville, FL 32254 Phone 904-387-HELP Fax 904-387-9377 WWW.CRMJAX.ORG

Building on to My Faith in the New YearFrom

Penny'sPen

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Dear Friend,

We all love new things don’t we? We enjoy new clothes, new seasons, new technology, that “new car smell,” and of course the start of a brand new year. Here at City Rescue Mission we are loving our new food warehouse, our newly renovated homes, the new jobs our students are getting and the anticipation of a new Thrift Store. There is excitement in all of the possibilities that the future holds. We even make resolutions.

This year will be different. We will eat healthier, start a new hobby or maybe be kinder to others. Unfortunately, for many men, women and children that come to City Rescue Mission, there is no joy in a new year. With all of their past hurts and current struggles, a new day is hard enough to face. But thanks to friends like you, they can find a new start, new sense of independence, new purpose...new hope.

In this newsletter, I invite you to read about Chris. He has a fresh start on life thanks to all of our generous supporters. Now as you look forward to this New Year, I pray you’ll consider helping to give someone new hope, healing and change.

Thankfully,

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” - 2 Corinthians 5:17

In memory of:Our deepest sympathies are with those who have lost loved ones. A memorial gift to City Rescue Mission is a special way to offer hope to others in the name of a friend or family member.

WYLIE L. ANDERSON Ms. Sharon AndersonRUTH C. AIELLO Ms. Jacqueline PowellKRYSTINA ANDERSON Mr. & Mrs. Robert Flynn Mr. & Mrs. John GebertMR. & MRS. JASON J. BELL Mr. & Mrs. John L. MurrayKALEEL ELLISON Ms. Linda Frigo Mr. & Mrs. Francis KaminskiELEANOR FOX Mr. & Mrs. Charles BrittainO.J. GAYLE Dr. Joseph StokesSALLY GIBSON Mr. & Mrs. Brian Blocker Ms. Nita Johnston Ms. Carol Nelson Ms. Sarah J. Nemeth Mr. Douglas WallRUBY WILES GILREATH Mr. & Mrs. Anthony PicrasFORBES GRACE Ms. Jean SchraderMYRA HAYES Preceptor Iota Rho XP4259

ROBERT M. HONEYCUTT Grace Pres. Church of Douglasville Mr. Rallis L. PappasJACK HUDSON Mr. & Mrs. E.F. Harwell Ms. Dorothy MillerANNE LEGAN Mr. Howard S. LeganJIM LESNIAK Ms. Margaret FischbachPATRICIA MONTGOMERY Beauclerc Faculty FundJESSIE & JUSTICE RUDIN Ms. Barbara BradfordJOHN SIMKO Mrs. Doralee SimkoDAYTHEL STOKES Ms. Lynn Chalmers Dr. & Mrs. James E. Cousar Mr. & Mrs. Billy R. Engle Ms. Carolyn Johnson Dr. & Mrs. Thomas R. VirtueDICK SUDDATH Mrs. Barbara S. StricklandTHOMAS ULDAL Mr. & Mrs. William BacciVIRGINIA BRIGGS Riverside Chapter 218

In honor of:A gift to City Rescue Mission is a great way to provide hope and to remember a birthday, anniversary or other special occasions! Please consider a donation in honor of someone as a gift to your clients, friends or family members.

MeMoriAl & in Honor of Gifts

STEPHEN SLOAN Judy Ferrell Mr. & Mrs. Gary GarverMS. MERLE ELLIS Jane E. SteinmeyerPATTON AVERA Mr. & Mrs. Steve Avera Mr. & Mrs. Michael Johnson Mr. & Mrs. Jeremy SmithRAY MARTIN Hendricks Avenue Baptist ChurchCHARLES RICHARDSON Cynthann BarkerLANCE & MARY TAYLOR Mr. & Mrs. Eugene GabrielKATHLEEN WOOD Frank Denton

Chris is a student in City Rescue Mission’s LifeBuilders Program. He is one of the best guys serving in the maintenance department. He has a bright future ahead of him. This is Chris’s story.

I’m from Michigan, but out in the country. I grew up loving to hunt, trap and fish. It wasn’t

until the age of 17 that I experienced living in the city when we moved to Detroit. I was always surrounded by alcohol because my mother and step father drank. I never wanted anything to do with it. I remember the first time I got drunk was in 1989 at age 13 during the Detroit Pistons championship game. Thankfully, my drinking didn’t progress from there right away.

A few years later my buddies and I would get drunk every weekend. I just loved to party and lived for it. I would get along with anybody and enjoyed every minute of it. My reality around me didn’t carry any weight on my mind. I drank to escape it all. Shortly after that, I began smoking marijuana. I had to live through two divorces as a child, and it was tough on me. I was pulled back and forth from a young age.

I was a functional alcoholic, but I found myself in lots of trouble. One time I even showed up to work intoxicated and in possession of pills. For 11 years I worked for a cabinet company. I loved what I did and I was good at working with my hands. When the Michigan economy tanked in 2007, I was laid off, as a lot of people were at that time, especially in the Detroit area. I wound up homeless and living on the

street with no savings or anything to fall back on.

I never had God in my life, and I carried a lot of resentment with me all the time. Unemployment checks stopped coming.

It was then that I came to stay in Florida with my mom, but my craving for alcohol never left me. I decided to come to Jacksonville. I

drank the day before I came into CRM’s New Life Inn. I was passed out on the street right there on the corner. The following morning before walking in the door, I told God, “I’m tired. I can’t fix this. I’m just going to rely on you, try my best and do what I’m asked.” There was nothing I could do by myself anymore, so I gave it to Him. I was never much for words when it comes to prayer. I made a decision for myself to get my life right. It’s been a little over a year now, and I have never looked back.

I have a firm foundation in my relationship with God. I let Him direct me in all of my decisions. Every day instead of resentment, I now carry with me the things I learned in the LifeBuilders classes, and I apply them. I appreciate so much all the things City Rescue Mission has gifted me. Things aren’t forced on the students here. It is obvious that it comes from a place of love. I feel completely free. I’m not in a hurry because I know God works in His time. I’m content. Everything is going to be ok as long as I keep doing what God calls me to do. That’s the power of faith. Mistakes will probably happen, because I’m not perfect, but I know God will take care of me. After sleeping under a bridge, I know things can only improve. God gives me reasons to do things when I can’t find a reason.

I have a lot of things I’m looking forward to. I have a PEL grant to attend Florida State College of Jacksonville and perhaps pursue a degree in HVAC/Refrigeration that seems more my speed.

For anyone else looking to change the direction of their life, City Rescue Mission is a place designed to help people. Those people have to make that decision and have God direct them. Just let go, have faith, and then watch it grow.