Dear Friend,

By now, I was hoping to have better news for you. Perhaps that the economy was recovering. Or that Southern California’s housing crisis had stabilized. Or that moms and dads were going back to work so fewer people needed the Mission’s help. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. In fact, it’s just the opposite! As the recession’s aftereffects continue to drag on, even MORE people are asking for our help — more than I can ever remember seeing in my 18 years with the Orange County Rescue Mission. That has put us in a terrible bind.

Our fiscal year ends September 30. Although the shortfall I told about earlier is beginning to decrease, it’s still more than $326,917. This is our last chance to close the gap. I know it’s summertime, when giving typically slows. But we cannot carry this deficit for much longer. The fall is our busiest time of year, when any financial shortage — even a small one — could hinder our efforts to reach hundreds of men, women and children in desperate need. That’s why I’m asking you to support Operation Lighthouse, and help us keep the light on for those in need.

Remember: We still need to raise $326,917 by September 30 to erase this shortfall so that we’re ready to serve our Orange County neighbors in dire need this fall. Will you prayerfully consider sending a gift today?

Part of me is concerned because it’s so late in our fiscal year to be facing such a serious financial crunch. Then I think about the verse in Proverbs that says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding ...” and God reminds me that with good friends like you, NOTHING is impossible. That’s certainly good news for people like Mike.

Mike would be the first to admit that he’s made a lot of poor choices in his life. Getting hooked on cocaine, marijuana, drinking and cigarettes — at age 10! Selling drugs for people he thought were his friends. Giving his heart away to women who didn’t really care about him. But it wasn’t like he had a lot of good role models.

His dad was a hopeless alcoholic who caused such a scene the day Mike was born, that he got kicked out of the hospital! Mike’s mom, meanwhile, was never around to give a young boy the encouragement and support he so desperately craved. When he was 14, Mike decided “I’m done” and left home. From then on, life became one big drug-filled party — and he paid a heavy price. Two bleeding ulcers at age 18 and two heart attacks before age 21 — probably caused by the drug abuse. Several times, he tried to get sober. But every disappointment, every broken promise, sent him careening back into the dark world of addiction.

When he found the Village of Hope, he says, “so many doors opened for me. This is a world I’d never seen before. At other places, everyone is greedy. Here, it’s, ‘What do you need? What more can I do for you?’ “I’m healing in so many ways,” Mike says. “I’m learning what it’s like to be a Christian. What it’s like to be a man. All those things that didn’t matter to me before.”

Your gifts help hurting people like Mike every day. That’s why I hope you’ll send a gift to help end our shortfall, so people like Mike can begin taking those critical first steps to a better life. Mike’s outlook is so different now. “I’m not just waiting to die,” he says. “I’m living life.”

This is your chance to change the future for even more people like Mike. YOU can help end the shortfall, keep the Mission going strong as we enter the busy fall season, and give people new hope. Every day.

Please let me hear from you soon.

Gratefully,

     
     Jim Palmer, President

P.S. — We need to end our shortfall and be ready to care for the hurting families who come to our doors for help. Please support Operation Lighthouse and send your gift today. Thank you!