shortly. The local shelters are
at this time full and the waiting list is
growing. Families are moving in with friends
and relatives. We see this at the food bank,
when the household requests go from a family of
4 to a household of 10 or 11.
We realize that we cannot help
everyone. The numbers alone are overwhelming
the support systems in place to offer
assistance. However, we are here to do what we
can and
with your generosity, we can perhaps
help one more family than we currently are able to
give assistance.
In the local community, we are
assisting those who otherwise would be uprooted,
especially along with their children, forced to move
in with friends or relatives. This often results in
children changing school districts, or in the case
of elementary students, moving to a different school
within the district. Without the assistance that
your donations provide, many would find themselves
literally “out on the street.”
Our current group of residents here
at the Long-term Recovery Center are some of the
most dedicated individuals who are immersing
themselves in the life-skills program, Bible
studies, and group classes. These individuals
realize the need to learn a new way of dealing with
life and the decisions that go along with it. It is
our goal to enable these individuals to contribute
to the community rather than take from it.
Chris Swanson, our long-time Pastoral
Care Coordinator, has been sidelined with surgery
from the discovery of cancer of the colon. Her
surgery was successful and she is currently
recovering. She will be seeing the oncologist soon
to make the determination of the next step of her
treatment, potentially chemotherapy. Please keep
Chris in your prayers for God’s healing and for her
family as they deal with this most unfortunate of
circumstances.
The food bank, minus the clothing
bank, has reopened at 2100 Wayne Street in front of
the mobile home park across from Foamex. This was
the only space that we could find that met our space
requirements and the financial ability to continue
operating the food bank here in Auburn. However,
our previous home in the Macintosh Bldg. was half of
the rent and utilities that we are now forced to pay
in the new location. Our current monthly needs are
about $250 higher than our previous costs.
Unfortunately, there was not enough room in this
location to have the clothing bank, so for now we
have shuttered that part of our ministry. There is
a movement under foot to build a new food bank in a
location here in Auburn, which would allow us to
have the food and clothing bank, the Christmas
Bureau, and our newly developing furniture ministry
all under one roof. More about that as those plans
develop.
In these tough economic times,
Shelter Ministries needs your prayer and financial
support more than ever. As the cost of food,
natural gas and utilities increase, so do the costs
of the Long-term Recovery Center, maintaining the
food bank, offering community assistance with
financial needs for rent and utilities, and offering
families a joy of Christmas through the Christmas
Bureau. With your help we hope to house those who
would otherwise be sleeping in their cars or on the
street along with feeding those who truly do not
know where their next meal is coming from. We are
especially concerned for the children from these
homes. We want to make sure that there is always
“room at the inn” for those in need.
Another way that you can help is to volunteer to
ring the bells next to our Salvation Army kettles at
WalMart and Krogers. Please donate a couple of
hours a week through Christmas if you possibly can.
Mention this to others as well. To schedule your
times, call our office at 925-9200.
We wish you a Merry
Christmas, not because things are merry and cheerful
as we go through some very difficult times, but
because we have been given the “HOPE” of the world.
We have the unspeakable joy of having received the
greatest gift of all: our Savior. And for that have
a very merry Christmas.
Remember
the reason for the season.
