Mission Moments - Snapshots from the Soul
Every person who passes through the doors of City Union Mission has a unique story to tell - every man, every woman, and every child. Some stories are gripping, some are interesting, and some are heartwarming, while others are heartbreaking.
We have captured several stories that may change the way you view homelessness forever. Here is your chance to take a glimpse into the lives of a few of our precious clients, volunteers, and donors. We hope you will take a minute to engross yourself in these powerful testimonies. Please place yourself in their shoes, and join them in their past sorrows as well as their newfound joy.
Johnny E.
Psalm 121
I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; From where shall my help come?
My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth.
He will not allow your foot to slip; He who keeps you will not slumber.
Behold, He who keeps Israel Will neither slumber nor sleep.
The LORD is your keeper; The LORD is your shade on your right hand.
The sun will not smite you by day, Nor the moon by night.
The LORD will protect you from all evil; He will keep your soul.
The LORD will guard your going out & your coming in From this time forth and forever.
Johnny is a graduate of the Christian Life Program, and is currently on staff with City Union Mission as the Shelter Manager. He is responsible for everything that goes on at the Men’s Shelter. To say it’s a key position is to put it mildly. He’s been doing this for almost 2 years, and before that he worked at the Mission’s Receiving Center.
Johnny says that the true test of the value of the program comes after graduation. “It was after I graduated April 30, 2004 from the program that God really began to work in me. I still had not completely given everything to Jesus. You know you can follow the steps in the program, but if you don’t have Jesus in your heart you’ll fall back into the old habits that got you into trouble."
"I was having difficulty finding a job. My physical condition prevented me from doing any lifting, and most things required that, so I just prayed a lot. The Holy Spirit started to convict me of the illegal things I had done in my past. Convinced that I had to own up to each one of them I began a process of turning myself in to the authorities for each offense."
"I usually ended up spending only a few hours, maybe a night, in the jails because my family would come and bail me out. But during the time I was in the jails I would talk to the guys, many of whom I knew from the streets, about Jesus. I would tell them what He’d done for me, and that He would help them to. I told them about City Union Mission too and how they had taken care of me when I was on the bottom. Some of them took me up on it."
"One of the guys that I talked to one day in jail was Don King. I told him to give me a call when he got out. He said he would, but he didn’t. Now I had pretty much felt I needed to stay away from the places where I used to run around in, but I got this vision or word or whatever from the Lord to go back down there. So I drove around and there I saw him. It was Don King, and he saw me too, but was trying to hide from me. I pulled over asking him why he never called me. He gave me this lame excuse that he had lost my phone number, so I gave it to him again and told him he better call me this time. Well eventually he did, and now Don has graduated the program as well. His life is back on track. Praise the Lord!"
"The guys from the streets, they know me. They know what my life was like. I didn’t care about anybody or anything. They see the difference and thankfully, some of them come to talk with me about what Jesus has done and still is doing in my life."
"Getting the job at the Receiving Center was a real blessing, but I really wanted to be at the Men’s Shelter, cause that’s where my heart is. I love these men and they love me. Now I have a group of guys from my church come down to disciple the men. They’re always on my mind. Even when I have a day off, I’m here. I just miss them."
"I love City Union Mission. They’ve been such an awesome blessing in my life. The biblical foundation is what makes the difference. It takes Jesus to change a life. The slogan, “Putting the Pieces Back Together” is right. That’s what we do here, through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
Like Johnny, you too can have Jesus in your heart. Please click here to find out how.