“For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.”
Romans 8:24-25
July 2026
Many of the guests arrive at our door looking for more hope in their lives. Their past may have been shaped by years of addiction, broken relationships, disappointment, and mental illness. We enter their lives and begin to walk with them and help address whatever it is that has brought them to us. Transformation needs to be measured in months and years, not days and weeks.
This requires that all our staff have patience. There are no “quick fixes” at our disposal. We encourage and love consistently, even when progress is difficult to see. We know that setbacks are part of many recovery stories. Change rarely happens on a set timetable. More important than success is faithfulness, demonstrated through our staff and seen by those we are serving.
In His ministry Jesus modeled hope and patience. He patiently invested in His disciples despite their repeated misunderstandings and failures. He corrected them, restored them and continued to prepare them for future ministry. He did this after Peter denied Him, Thomas doubted Him, and others fled. His patience flowed from His confidence in what God would accomplish through Him and eventually, in them.
At Hope Gospel Rescue Mission, we believe that God can redeem anyone. No one is beyond His grace. We know that it is the gospel that changes hearts. We can trust God, knowing that even small steps matter when He is at work. Our guests often need more than encouraging words, they need to see a staff whose steady presence is a demonstration of God’s faithfulness. Recently a guest lost their job, sending them into frustration, hopelessness and despair. Our response as a staff was to be quick to listen, slow to speak and respond with measured compassion and encouragement. We continue to invest in this young man’s life, patiently waiting for better days and positive outcomes.
During the month of July, we have assisted three men who have been guests of the mission move into their own place to live. The number of months each of these men were with us varied from three months to more than one year. Although each came needing emergency shelter, each one’s path from homelessness to living on their own again took dramatically different paths.
I share this as an example of God’s faithfulness. Each individual experienced setback while staying with us. Each individual experienced moments and periods of frustration as their timetable for moving out did not flow from one simple step to the next. At the same time, we had an opportunity to serve them and love them while demonstrating patience, compassion and trust in the God who heals the broken hearted and binds up their wounds.
Thank you for partnering with us to make this ministry possible. Through your generosity, you help provide more than shelter, meals, and practical support. You help restore dignity, offer compassion, and remind each person who walks through our doors that they are known, loved, and never forgotten by God. You help us see the invisible and share the hope of Christ with those who need it most.
Serving Him together with you,
Lonnie Berger
Count it all, my brothers when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. James 1:2-4
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