Stories of Change

Discovering peace instead of pain As Mother’s Day approaches, we have a young mother’s hope-filled testimony of how she was made whole through Jesus You have helped Bethany begin a new life! Delivered from her afflictions, she has recently completed our free 90-day recovery program and gone home to be with her young We hope her story of redemption and freedom from addiction brightens your hearts and minds to the ongoing love and power of God’s God is using your support to powerfully restore many lives at Pacific Garden Bethany “I am Bethany, and I am from Tampa, I came to Pacific Garden Mission because of substance My drug of choice was I knew it was becoming a problem because I would want to drink all day, every I was trying to numb the pain that was inside of “Starting at the age of 12 I would I wasn’t suicidal, but it felt like the pain was leaving me The next day, I would see what I had done to myself and would promise I would not do it again, but I “[As an adult], I also had been hospitalized several times because of my The last time I went, the doctors told my parents that I needed to stop, or I would cause my own “I have a beautiful and intelligent nine-year-old I was in high school when I found out I was pregnant, so I was a young At first, I didn’t see my drinking affecting my I didn’t realize how much it was affecting her until I had a clear “My dad was having heart issues, and he told me his heart could not handle what I, his daughter, was putting him through because he was so worried about “I heard about this place from my I decided to try it, and so I came all the way to Chicago to go to Pacific Garden I joined and completed the 90-day addiction recovery Being here helped me to not only forgive other people but also how to forgive In the past I wasn’t happy with myself, because I thought it was my fault for things that happened to me in my Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy —Proverbs 3:5-6 “The counselors at Pacific Garden Mission have helped me through a lot, and I have grown so At first it was kind of hard to have all of these feelings flow through you, all at once, because I was so used to drinking something to numb the “I am not used to dealing with these emotions, but now I can turn to God and ask Him for I’m nothing but grateful to have If I pray and talk to the Lord, it gives me humbleness and peace—instead of turning to a substance to deal with the “I know when I leave here, I am always going to have He has helped me through I pray to Him almost every day now to give me strength, and He really It’s a great feeling to know that if anything is going wrong in my life, I can just pray about Having a faith-based drug addiction program at PGM is really I don’t think I would have made it through if it “I feel like a weight has been lifted off of my shoulders because anywhere I am, whether on the train or walking down the street, I can call upon the I am just really grateful for this experience; it was like I was drawn to As Bethany returns home to her family and daughter as a spiritually renewed woman, she can begin the life God wants for She has found a new life! Amelia, Bethany’s daughter, and the rest of Bethany’s family will now be able to have her back, made whole as a fully functioning follower of You are helping mothers, fathers, sons, and daughters just like Bethany every day through your praying and giving! We ask you to pray for Bethany as she begins her new life and to pray for everyone within the walls of Pacific Garden Thank you for your continued Please help support Pacific Garden Mission today so that more men and women can overcome drug abuse and have a chance at new life in GIVE NOW!

President's Message for September 2020 PGM News From Pastor Phil In Luke 10:29-37, Jesus tells the story of the good It all starts with a question: “But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?” Jesus tells the story and then answers the question: “And he said, He that shewed mercy on Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou I believe that the Church has an amazing opportunity in light of all the unrest happening in our So many are confused, depressed, and frightened by recent Instead of retreating, the Church can be a neighbor to so many in need of During the recent pandemic, I witnessed incredible acts of COVID-19 hit the homeless population extremely We had numerous individuals that were positive with the coronavirus on quarantine in our dorms at How would they eat? Who would serve them? Would the ones serving also be infected? We had many dedicated staff stay and minister to the sick at the expense of their own Two individuals left their family and stayed around the clock to bring meals and clean clothes and to minister to the This is being a good Karen, one of our ladies who was COVID-positive writes, “I am writing to you to let you know how grateful I am for how Pacific Garden Mission took care of me through the COVID-19 These ladies cleaned the overnight guest bathroom, swept and mopped the dorm, and they made sure we got breakfast, lunch, and I don't know what we would have done without Ayanda writes, “The staff could have stayed The food, water, medication, free testing, and a place to sleep—I am grateful for all that has been provided for me in this time of hardship on Lori writes, “I have been impressed with the staff and program ladies who were not sick yet chose to work diligently to get everything us sick people But above all, for the prayers and everyone’s concern and caring, thank you and thank you for keeping a roof over my I want to thank you, our supporters, who prayed and sacrificially gave to make it possible to care for one of the most vulnerable groups in society during a difficult Imagine being homeless during a worldwide But thanks to you, they had somewhere to That is being a neighbor—thank you for your great deeds of mercy! Please help support Pacific Garden Mission today so that more men and women can overcome homelessness, pain, and addiction while finding peace in GIVE NOW!