Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; say to those with fearful hearts, ‘be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you.’ Isaiah 35
As I was reflecting on 2016 preparing to share the successes and triumphs experienced by those in our ministry and our volunteers I received an Advent Devotional from my former boss and mentor, Stan Beard. Day 1 focused on Isaiah 35: “Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; say to those with fearful hearts, ‘be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you.’ “
This caused a stirring of great hope in my heart. God WILL strengthen the feeble hands of our staff. God WILL steady the knees of our mentors. God WILL save our Bridge mothers and their children. The blind will see, the deaf will hear, the lame will leap, the mute will shout for joy! He can do these things for our Bridge families and for those that love them!
As I thought about this I realized that this was not just in the future, God is already at work in wonderful ways. During this past year…
- Two mothers successfully completed The Bridge to Hope and now live in a home they can provide as a single parent. Praise the Lord!
- Two “Bridge Kids” were baptized by their sponsoring church, and one child and his mother are now members of their sponsoring church, La Casa de Christo.
- One mother began Vocational Training in hopes of an opportunity to enter the workforce with a marketable skill.
- One mother left high school as a teen, today she is working hard to obtain her education by participating in a GED program.
- 85% of our current mothers entered with a belief in God, what they found at The Bridge to Hope is an opportunity to grow and mature in their faith.
- One sweet mother came with no understanding of God; however, she was open to join us at The Bridge to Hope. Her dedicated team is tenderly loving her where she is at.
- Each mother has received spiritual teaching, they are taken to church weekly by B2H mentors, and attended a weekly Bible study designed just for our mothers.
- This year we also celebrate along with one mother who entered B2H without her children. They had been removed from her care and placed in foster care system, this year they will celebrate Christmas as a family in a safe and stable home, because of you. All our families will wake on Christmas morning in their home at The Bridge to Hope.
- All families entered The Bridge to Hope without employment, four mothers obtained employment with the ability to provide for their families as well as start a savings account for their future; an important step to move towards stability.
Many of you have been an important part in making this happen through your giving. Thank You, for you have made it possible for us to serve God by serving homeless single mothers and witness God at work.
If you have not given, please consider giving a year end gift to a ministry that provides housing focused on restoring mothers by binding them up with the love and restoring strength that is found in Christ. This year up to $400 for those filing singly and up to $800 for those filing jointly can be claimed as a dollar-for-dollar-tax credit against your state taxes! Instead of going to the state they are redirected to provide a safe haven for a single mom and her children.
In this coming year, we desire to provide transformational housing to more homeless families. But for that to happen we need new churches to partner with us and become a sponsoring faith community to a homeless single mother and her children. We also need those willing to stand in the gap offering hope and a home to those in need. We are thankful if you have given to The Bridge to Hope. If you haven’t, we are prayerful you will consider The Bridge to Hope in your year-end giving. What a difference a haven can make in the lives of a single mother and her children.
Won’t you consider taking this step to change the future of a homeless family in the year 2017? Help us be tools to give strength for another now homeless family, and end homelessness One Family at a Time.
Wishing you and your family a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year,
The Bridge to Hope