Early Christmas morning, the men in our Changed Life Recovery Program will gather to celebrate the holiday together – a holiday made meaningful through your generosity. They will begin with a special breakfast prepared by the kitchen staff, followed by prayer and worship. As they sit in the circle together, each man will take his turn to share what he is grateful for and how his life has changed since he came to the Mission. We will listen as they frequently run out of words, unable to describe such a powerful transformation that can only be understood when experienced.
Next, they will open their Christmas presents –gifts from those of you who adopted a resident and his family. In preparation for the gift exchange, we ask the men to share their own Christmas wish lists to help the Adopters shop.
This past year, your generosity gave one man the work boots he requested. Another received a set of tools. When Rich* was asked what he wanted for Christmas, he would not answer at first. He said he didn’t deserve a Christmas gift but was persuaded to submit his request anyway. Come Christmas morning, when Rich received the wished-for item, he wanted to give it to a homeless person on the street, again feeling undeserving of keeping it for himself. In this beautiful moment, our team convinced Rich that the gift was, in fact, for him and used the opportunity to illustrate grace: unmerited favor.
Roger’s relationship with his family was in tatters because of his addictive behavior before coming to the Mission. However, he still reached out to his daughter to ask what she wanted for Christmas. Her wish list consisted of expensive electronic items, which Roger could never buy himself. They were both stunned when she received everything she asked for in abundance! These gifts that you gave became a positive step toward Roger’s reconciliation with his wife and daughter. Your big hearts of kindness – during the Christmas season and every day – help restore men’s broken lives.
*All names have been changed
