Center for Student Missions

Mission Statement: To

provide an effective urban

ministry experience that

transforms lives, influences

churches and communities and

honors Christ

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J U S T I N A N D K R I S T A P E R R Y 3 6 2 7 W A L L A C E S T R E E T P H I L A , P A 1 9 1 0 4 2 6 7 - 2 4 9 - 1 7 4 5 J U S T I N @ C S M . O R G

PERRY Paper2 0 0 9 F A L L E D I T I O N

the

As I was looking back on the

summer here at CSM Philly I felt that there

was a void and that we missed something. We had some great groups that learned all

about the city, themselves, and how to serve others but there was a richness that was

missing. The thing that was missing was

Joetta & Roy from Hands of Hope ministry. We have worked with Hands of Hope

ministry from the start of CSM Philly in 2002. It has impacted the groups in some

deep ways. Hands of Hope ministry was

founded by Joetta and she is and has always been the only employee. Her job is to

minister to the people who live on the streets and at times be nothing more than a

friend or a hug. The closest thing Hands of

Hope has as a second employee is Roy. When I think of Roy my heart fills with joy.

Roy lives on the streets and, in my view, is an urban prophet. When the groups serve

with Hands of Hope they make bag

lunches and travel around the city handing

out lunches but more importantly they talk and pray with the folks on the street. Our

first stop is always Roy and Roy blows them

away. They approach Roy a little scared and hoping he will receive the lunch they

have prepared for him but they end up getting more from Roy than they could ever

give him. Roy gives them a challenging

sermon and blows their stereotypes of homeless people out of the water. I always

get the question “Why is Roy homeless?” and I always say, “I am not sure how he

became homeless but I am sure if he really

wanted to get off the streets he could but he sees this as a ministry and challenges

people’s faith and changes the way they stereotype homeless people.

Over the past year Joetta has

experienced one hardship after another and was unable to take our groups out to Hand

of Hope. Groups missed out on one of the

z The Best Part of my Job zEvery year each CSM site gives a special gift to the ministry partners they work

with. CSM tithes the amount they receive in income and donates it to the ministry sites. For me, it is one of the best experiences I get to participate in. The following

is a story about some of our experiences this year.

JOETTA & ROY

most challenging and impacting ministries that we work with. This past October, we were getting all our tithe

appointments together and got cool little gum-ball machines as gifts to give to the volunteer coordinators. To our surprise we were able to get ahold of Joetta and set up a meeting with her. In the past, we have always taken Joetta out

to lunch and have Roy join us, when he can. So on a Friday in October we pulled up to TGIF to have lunch with Roy

and Joetta. As we sat around the table with them it felt like a family reunion. Joetta and Roy have both impacted my life in ways they will never know and to be able to fellowship with them again filled a void in my heart. When we got

to the time to present Joetta with a gift and donation she was so surprised. She said “I didn’t think I would be getting any of this stuff this year because I didn’t take out any groups this summer.”. I told her “One summer of not taking

groups doesn’t change our relationship at all, we are here to come along side you and help you through these tough

times.” At that point I knew why I worked for CSM and how they care so much for the people in the city. A couple of weeks ago a group got to serve with Hands of Hope with Joetta and Roy had a sermon ready for them.

Fundraising Update - I need your help!!So, as many of you know, part of my salary is from donations I receive. Each year I have a goal to reach and over the past years we have come pretty close to that goal. Currently, we are $7,000 off the amount we raised last year and $15,000 away from our goal this year. We have a higher goal this year because of all the new expenses that come with a little one. I know there are so many places and people asking for money during this season and it has been such a tough year with the economy. Know that your donations allow us to be able to do full time ministry in Philadelphia. If you have any questions about CSM and our ministry in Philly shoot me an email or call me! I would love to talk with you! There are three ways you can support me in my ministry at CSM

1. Fill out the card that came with this letter and send in a donation.

2. You can donate online at http://www.csm.org/donate.php

3. You can join my prayer team at http://www.csm.org/prayerpartner.php

Thank you in advance for your support and prayers.

We are trying to build our email database so if you would like to receive our newsletter over email please mark it on the

support card or email me at justin@csm.org

*Contributions are solicited with the understanding that CSM has complete discretion and control over the use of all donated funds.