On Tuesday evening last, when it was snowing so heavily, my husband and I enjoyed a traditional pancake dinner at home by the fireplace to celebrate Shrove Tuesday, prior to Ash Wednesday and the beginning of the Lenten Season.  Later, at about 9:30 while we were watching election returns on the TV, the power in our home suddenly went off!  We waited briefly, hoping that our power would return ... but then, after waiting for some time, we finally decided to go to bed.  But we couldn't remember which light switches were on and which were off ... so it was hard to go to sleep knowing that at any moment lights may go on again all over the house.

 

The fact of the matter is that we were out of control of our situation.  We were powerless.   Lying there in the dark, we remembered an earlier storm of a decade ago when we were without power for several days, and immediately we began worrying about the meat in the freezer, the lack of heat in the house, and the possibility of the water pipes freezing and bursting.  And on and on!

 

It's hard to be out of control of your environment and your life.  We are not used to having our power cut off.  We pay our bills on time and have sufficient money in the bank to pay the extra cost of heating in the dead of winter.  The poor are not so.  They have no reserve wealth.  They often have no control over what happens to them.  They are powerless, which is shy they come to the Mission as a last resort in life.

 

It is here at the Mission that we try to help them get back on their feet; to get control over their lives; and to gain the power to persevere and succeed in some new venture.  But more than that, it is here that we also try to emphasize the truth of that Old Testament Proverb, "That he who takes control over his own spirit is more powerful that he who takes a city!"  Proverbs 16:32-33.

 

I think that being powerless was a good lesson for me to learn at the beginning of Lent 2008, for Lent is meant to be a time of personal introspection and reflection.  I just hope that the lessons of the next 39 days are not quite as dramatic!

 

I wish you a Blessed Lenten Season and look forward to Easter Sunday when we rejoice again that "He is risen!"

 

 

Lord, hear our prayers for Baby Casey.  At four months of age, Casey weighs just ten pounds.  She is still recovering from heart surgery and is having problems with fluid in her lungs.  Her mother Stephanie is very good about taking Casey to the doctor and giving her the prescribed medications.  However, Casey's recovery is slow and the problems are many.  This little girl needs our help and the comfort and healing of Christ Jesus.  And Stephanie needs our prayers as she does her best to help Casey improve.

 

Lord, hear our prayers for Lydya Omondi and her husband and three daughters in Kenya.  We pray for the safety of this family and that they not be touched by the violence erupting among the different tribes of their nation.  We also pray that Lydya will be successful in her application to bring her family to the United States.

 

Lord, hear our prayers for the homeless living under bridges, in cars and in other makeshift shelters in the snow and cold.  May they see the lights of our Mission and come in to rest and to nourish their bodies.  Please open their hearts and minds to the grace and forgiveness of Christ and may their lives be forever changed by your love.

 

We also need empty egg containers.  We have a donor who will bring us 30 to 40 dozen fresh eggs each week....if we can obtain egg cartons to hold them.  This is something that I KNOW we can do!  Please save your empty egg cartons for us.

 

Lastly, we use coffee mugs in the Mission cafeteria.  Yes, they are all mismatched....and we love the variety!  If you have some advertising mugs or other coffee mugs that you are not using, please donate them to our cafeteria.  When you bring them to the Distribution Center, please label them "For the Mission Cafeteria."

 

Thank you!

Local area youth will meet on February 22 and 23 at Pershing Auditorium for the annual Dare 2 Share training meeting.  Dare 2 Share is training teenagers to transform their world through faith.

 

Each year Dare 2 Share collects food for People's City Mission.  This year food will be collected on February 23.  Please start setting food aside now for this collection.  And....if the teens do not make their way to your door on February 23, please bring your cans and boxes to our Distribution Center at 21st and N Streets during the next week.  Thank you.

 

 

 

Our 2007 Annual Report is available.  If you would like a copy, please email me and I will forward it to you.  barbmccall@neb.rr.com

 

The Curtis Center will be dedicated on Friday, April 25.  We will also have an open house for the public on Saturday, April 26 and May 3.  Please mark these dates on your calendar and plan to join us.  You are all welcome!

 

There are also two ways in which you can express your support for this project in a permanent way. 

 

The first: sponsor one of the 60 studio apartments in the Curtis Center for a donation of $10,000.00.  The apartment you sponsor will bear your name or the name of your designee as a permanent memorial.  For example, the apartment I sponsor would be called "the McCall room."  This is an ideal way for individuals or groups to show their support for our men who are working for a better life.  Your donation will be used to underwrite the programming and other needs of the Curtis Center. 

 

The second: purchase a memorial brick to be placed around the cross at the west entrance to the Curtis Center.  The cost is $100.00 per brick.  Bricks will be engraved with either your or another's name.  

 

To order bricks or to sponsor a studio, please contact Rebecca Weber at 475-1303 or rweber@peoplescitymission.org.   

 

Today a Girl Scout Troop brought cookies for our youth in Club E.D.E.F.Y.  What a treat!

 

We also thank you for the Valentine's Day treats and supplies.

 

We sincerely appreciate all of these special gifts and gratefully acknowledge the love and support they express.

 

We keep 100% of the proceeds from the coupon books that we sell.  To date, Community Day has raised over $48 million for nonprofit organizations.  This is a great way to help PCM as you shop for bargains.

 

Please call Rebecca Weber to purchase you coupon books.  475-1303

Director of Donor Development