January 2021 Newsletter

New Beginnings

Dear Friend,

While Hope Gospel Mission is a rescue mission, in many ways it feels more like a home.

We want all who come to the Mission to feel welcome and safe to open their hearts to God’s love. Instead
of fighting to survive, we want residents to shake off their burdens and learn to trust God for everything. He
is fabulously generous. No one has to earn His love. God gives to all who ask, seek and knock on His door.
He has a wonderful way of answering and making everything new.

We pray for everyone here to look deeply at the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. There is no greater love
than to see the perfect Son of God giving Himself as payment for our sins. That is the love that heals
wounded hearts. It makes everything new.

Some people might say we should tone down the Gospel message and just offer food, shelter and therapy.
But there are already clinics that provide physical and mental healing. Hope Gospel Mission is a place
where God heals the soul of a person, forever. Thank you for making people feel at home and loved
here. Your partnership makes all things new in this special place.

Sincerely,

Sandi Polzin
Executive Director Hope Gospel Mission

A special thank you to Andersen Corporate Foundation and Wisconsin Counties Association Services for your generosity! You are changing lives of people in desperate need!

The Best is Yet to Come for Tom

Tom was sober for ten years — one of the best times in his life. He had a family, a good job and
a nice house near Madison. But when an important relationship broke up, everything else crumbled
as well. He went back to his old ways: selling marijuana and dabbling in Oxycontin and other drugs.
Then a friend offered him heroin.

“One day I was really depressed, so I got high on heroin. That’s when I really spiraled down,” Tom
recalls. He went to work high, crashed a vehicle and lost his job and his home. He stayed with a friend
in Eau Claire and switched from heroin to meth. Before long, Tom was in jail. It was the best thing that
could have happened to him because that’s where he learned about Hope Gospel Mission.

“I turned in my application from jail,” Tom says. “All I had to do was show up when I was released, and
I got in right away.” Tom had been to rehab before, and he immediately saw what makes Hope Gospel
Mission’s program special. “God is always number one here!”

Tom says he had always believed in God and had prayed to Him as a child, but lost touch with Him over
the years. Now, thanks to the Mission, he has a personal relationship with Christ and attends church
regularly. “I always put God first. If I don’t, I know how I’m going to end up.”

In just a few months, Tom will graduate from the program and start working again. “I want to do better
for myself,” he says. “The Mission is helping me do that.” Tom is already making plans for a new career
in car sales, arranging visitation with his son and daughter in Madison and working on gaining custody
of another son, born recently and abandoned by his mother.

Tom knows now that his ten years of sobriety were just a taste of what God has in store. “Lives change
in a short amount of time at the Mission,” Tom says. “Even if someone doesn’t stay and complete the
program, their life is already changed for the better.”

Thank you for making Spirits Bright in 2020!

Thank you for your generous part in making the holidays bright at the close of a dark and difficult year. You provided a warm and inviting place for men, women and children who had nowhere else to go.

Things were different, but still joyful at our Christmas dinner. We gave out delicious and filling to-go meals for everyone to enjoy.

As always, Christmas was a time of great joy at Hope Gospel Mission. Please accept our thanks for blessing our residents with your gifts and prayers during this very special season, and offering them the faithful love of Christ for the year ahead.

Thank you!

Just the Beginning of a New Life for Rick!

For years, Rick felt like the black sheep of his family. He had become addicted to pain killers after having back surgery in high school. Later, he switched to heroin and had all kinds of problems with the law. Eventually, he became homeless.

“I felt ostracized,” he says of those lost years, thinking at the time that others were to blame. Now he knows that was not true, but it took an overdose for Rick to realize how much his family still loved him.

For months, his mother had asked him to try Hope Gospel Mission. Rick finally agreed.

“There were a lot of rules at the Mission, a lot of structure,” Rick recalls of his first days here. “It took a while to realize it was for my benefit. The first month was really hard.” So hard, in fact, that Rick relapsed. "I messed up, and they gave me a second chance,” he says. “I’d never felt like I wanted a second chance before.”

Rick made the most of it, becoming “laser-focused” on the program. “I realized how much I had gained and how much I had to lose,” he tells us.

However, the biggest reason for the change in Rick’s life is faith. “I don’t feel like I have to do everything myself. I can put my trust in Jesus.” Rick tells us he has read most of the Bible since coming to the Mission. “My f avorite person is Paul. If God can take someone who persecuted Christians
and turn him into one of the biggest missionaries the church ever knew, He can do wonderful things with me, too!”

Rick has connected with a local church, which is “super-welcoming to people from the Mission. They’re so thankful you’re there, learning to have a relationship with God.” Rick is interested in ministry, and hopes to help others who struggle with addiction. Career-wise, he plans to serve an apprenticeship as an electrician.

Being at the Mission has been “a wonderful experience” for Rick, especially hearing from his parents how much change they have seen in him. No longer feeling like the black sheep, Rick says, “Everyone is a sinner, and we all fall short. But every week it gets better and better. This is just the beginning!”

You helped us through 2020!

Last year, with your faithful support, Hope Gospel Mission provided:

EVERY MEAL, NIGHT OF SHELTER, CLOTHING ITEM AND ACT OF KINDNESS MADE LIFE BETTER FOR SOMEONE WHO REALLY NEEDED IT. NOW THEY WANT TO SAY ... THANK YOU!

Thank you for Making a Difference!

Gifts Given in Memory

(Persons being honored are listed first)

Patrick Pacheco, Richard and Veronica Schahczinski	Brent Talledge, Jinny Telledge
**My Parents, Terry Hams**	Bruce Stovern, Beverly Schultz
Dorothy A Miller, *Ralph Miller*	Shirley Neikirk and Rodney Rhude, Dale and Janice Albricht
**John Mark Johnson, Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Montanye**	William Brehm, Sheri Hall
Bessie Whalen, Mr. and Mrs. Howard Hanson	Jim Coleman, Neil Hemenway
William Pagel, Jo Anne Pagel	Karen House & Kay Brown, William and Patricia McCann
Jane Berry, Anonymous Donor	Philip Machmeier, Deb Machmeier
Dick Toycen, Ellie Toycen	George and Merna Johnson, Bill and Jennie Stewart
Mathew Peirce, Tamara Alfaro	Leonard (Huntz), Randy, Roger Geissler, Brian and Kristine Geissler
Ron Lude, Richard and Patricia Ghyselinck	Gordon Hong, Sr., Angie Hong
Addie Eytcheson and Kevin R., Marlene Eytcheson	Michael Blaeser, Roberta Blaeser
Mike and Gail Eytcheson, Marlene Eytcheson	John Olynick, Delores Olynick
Carter Carlson, Jason and Stacey Carlson	Verna Schmidt, Gregory and Dorothy Plantz
Health Care Workers, Robert and Patricia Anderson	Duane M. Fern, Dawn Fern
CJ Robinson & Lynne Farmer, Justin and Heather Knutesen	Sheila Kvapil, Sheila and Anthony Kvapil
Jerome and Carole Frederick, Tracy and John Guhl	Wilfred G. Burlingame, LaVonne Burlingame
Volunteers & Contributors to My Recent Political Campaign, Charlene Warner	Bernice Gessner, Allen Gessner
Harry Bargamian, Richard and Veronica Schahczinski	Steven V Dickinsen II, Steven and Rosann Dickinsen
Rich Urban, Howard Eytcheson, Susan Eytcheson, Michael and Gail Eytcheson	Judy and Bob Strader, Jamie Bilderback
Matthew Geske, Jerome and Gladys Geske	Jeff Irving, Connie Irving
Russ Minnich, Lois Minnich	Marian Jenson, Roger and Victoria Jenson
Ruth Blake, Kelly and Michael Blake	Jeffrey Kohlbeck, Paula Kohlbeck
Tim Easker, Chippewa County Human Services	Carol Porn, Richard Porn
My Grandchildren, Connie Anderson	Kyle Christian, David and Carolyn Christian
Geoffrey Charles Schaaf, Charles Schaaf	Ken Hoepner, Marvin and Audrey Samplawski
Sam Buckley, Dr. Bruce and Terri Buckley	Lorena and Manus Kime, Brian and Lori Barquest
Corey Mayer, David Mayer	Don Pritchard, Kathleen Pritchard
Deborah Konkel, Carolyn Hathaway	Judi Slagle and Jared Zibolski, Betty Zibolski
Virginia Vahlbusch, Russell Vahlbusch	My Sisters: Judy and Marlene, Robert and Jan Wickstrom
Eddie Porter, Jean Porter	Our Parents, James and Rita Sendelbach
Randy Maug, Arnold and Beverly Haugen	George Faunce, Margaret Faunce
Entire Essential Medical Workers, Mary J. Bowe	Lori Nault, Michael Nault, Jr
Loved Ones, Roberta Peterson	Carolyn Johnson, Daniel and Carolyn Johnson
My Family, Kathy Bernier	Jenson Merriam, Brian and Judi Merriam
Gregory John Bredlau, Dennis Bredlau	Leonard M Alter, U.S. Army, Carol Alter
Lori Goeppinger, Elice Seebandt	Alf and Lucille Nygaard, James and Dorothea Higgins
Russell Spencer, Larrie & Bev Olson, Chuck and Kim Olson	Justin Biesecker, Wayne and Susan Seichter
Wilfred G. Burlingame, LaVonne Burlingame	Donald Samuelson, Donald and Mary Samuelson
Tony Zizzo, Gayle Zizzo	Celia and Balser Mattern, Roselyn Persons
Edward Gilmartin, Kevin Gilmartin	My Son Daniel, Lois Nelson
Robert and Audrey Gayhart, Thomas and Sharon Coates	Beth Daines West, Jeanette Daines
Joan Nesbit, Florence Gullickson	Barb Johnson, Jesse and Teri Olson
Rachel Binczak, Dan and Jean Binczak	Lynn Lorenz, Ronald and Greensky Deerdorff
Maurice and Irene Perry, Luann Perry	Warren Wangen, Karen E. Metzgar
John Henry Igandan, Oladapo Igandan	Michael Blaeser, Roberta Blaeser
Florence Strauch, Vernon Strauch

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