--Pacific Garden Mission /Chicago, Illinois~~

--TRANSFORMED BY JESUS/ SENORA~

-"God's Plan for Me Was to Be Transformed~"

--Senora frequently shares her story of transformation, of overcoming hardships and finding salvation. "I have been through a lot. I grew up in an alcoholic family. at the age of eight, I saw my dad murdered. At the age of thirteen I had been sexually abused by a family member. At the age of sixteen, I started using drugs to hide from the pain I was going through, pain inflicted upon me by my family. At the age of twenty, my mother died. I had three kids at the time. Growing up I had no one to show me love. My mother was there, but she was unable to show us love because she was drunk all the time."

After years of struggling with addiction, Senora reached a breaking point and knew she had to make a decision.
"At this point, I had nowhere to go. It was cold outside, and I was hungry. I just said to myself 'I can't do this anymore', and I asked God to show me what to do and where to go. I went to the police station and said I was homeless and hungry. I just wanted someplace that was safe where I could rest. They said there was only one place they could take me. That was Pacific Garden Mission.

Senora graduated the 'New Day Addiction Recovery' program here and soon after got married. She now lives in her own apartment and often comes to the Mission on Saturday's to join in the church service. Arriving with nothing but the clothes on her back and a little hope, Senora is now content and filled with the Spirit of Jehovah God.

"I didn't know that God's plan for me was to be transformed." Senora told the crowd. "Get to know God. Build a relationship with Him, and I guarantee you will be a totally different person when you walk out of these doors. Please! If you need help, do not leave before that miracle comes."

Nothing speaks of hope to the hopeless more than seeing someone who once struggled so dearly, but is now living a fully functioning life in Christ. Once someone has decided to follow Jesus Christ and to begin a new life walking with Him, that person needs a family of believers to help them.

Helping someone completely rebuild their life can seem like a daunting undertaking, especially individually, but together we can help hundreds of people do just that. It wouldn't be possible without you.

As we look forward to what God has planned for us, let us remember that together we can accomplish great things for His glory. "Nothing is impossible with GOD."

"I will mention the loving-kindnesses of the Lord, and the praises of the Lord, according to all that the Lord hath bestowed." --(ISAIAH 63:7)

[Websites: www.pgm.org // www.unshackled.org ]
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--TESTIMONY / BONITA~~

--"When I came to Pacific Garden Mission I was a heroin addict. I had been on heroin for 25 years. I did not think I was ever going to be off it. I thought I was going to die a heroin addict. You Couldn't have told me that God was going to deliver me. I remember the night I cam through those doors. I felt like I had hit rock bottom. I kept telling myself I must be close to dying soon. I didn't know I was going to come to life once I came here.

"It's amazing thinking of how I came here and joined the Bible Program. God used the women upstairs who worked here to mold me into the woman I am today. I was rough when I first got here, and I tell women every day about joining the Bible program. I tell women here 'Why don't you come upstairs and give yourself a chance? Give God a chance.'

"I tell them this is not an easy walk. After you have used drugs for over two decades, it is hard to know who you are. When I was first here, I was getting to know who I was just as much as the others around me were getting to know who I was.

"I have not looked back. Today I look at my children; I look at my grandchildren. My grand-baby brought tears to my eyes recently when she said 'Grandma, you're the best grandma in the world.' It's so amazing how I went from having no part in my family's life to where I am now. My family just sees it and smiles because they know it's only through the power of God, it is nothing that I did. It had to come from God because I could not have done this on my own. I now know the true power of God. I work for the New Day program here at 'Pacific Garden Mission' as a substance abuse counselor.

"God has turned the negative into positive. Every time I think about my life I think of Romans 8:28: "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." I went from using heroin for 25 years to now having the opportunity to share my testimony and help these ladies that come here hopeless and homeless, and I tell them to look at my life, see what God had deliver me from If God could do it for me, He could do it for them. Today I am a fully functioning follower of Jesus Christ." ~~
-"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." -(Hebrews 13:8)
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--QUIET WITNESS~~

-"Be careful to live
properly among
your unbelieving
neighbors."
-(1 Peter 2:12 / NLT)

--AMY LIVES IN A CLOSED country where it's forbidden to preach the Gospel. She's a trained nurse who works in a big hospital, caring for newborn babies. She's such a committed professional that her work stands out, and many women are curious about her. They are moved to ask her questions in private. It's then that Amy shares about her Savior openly.

Because of her good work, some co-workers were envious and accused her of stealing some medicine. Her superiors didn't believe them, and authorities eventually found the culprit. The episonde led some of her fellow nurses to ask about her faith. Her example reminds me of what Peter says: "Dear friends...Be careful to live properly among your neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to Jehovah G-D." (1 Peter 2:11-12)

Our everyday lives at home, in our work environment, or at school make an impact on others when we let God work in us. We're surrounded by people who are watching the way we speak and behave. Let's depend on God and have Him rule our actions and thoughts. Then we will influence those who don't believe and this may lead some of them to turn in faith to Jesus.~~

--"Father, help me to live in such a way that Your name will be honored wherever I go. Help me to never be ashamed to share my faith in Jesus with a lost and dying world. Amen. "

--ODB/KO~

--THROUGH THE VALLEY~

--"Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me."
---(Psalm 23:4)

--Please / READ PSALM 23


Lanai (not her real name) was imprisoned in a North Korean labor camp for crossing the border into China. The days and nights were torture, she said, with brutal guards, backbreaking work, and little sleep on an ice-cold floor with rats and lice. But God helped her daily, including showing her which prisoners to befriend and share her faith with.

After she was released from the camp and living in South Korea, Lanai reflected on her time of imprisonment, saying that Psalm 23 summed up her experience. Although she’d been trapped in a dark valley, Jesus was her Shepherd who gave her peace: “Even though it felt as if I was literally in a valley full of the shadow of death, I wasn’t afraid of anything. God comforted me every day.” She experienced God’s goodness and love as He reassured her that she was His beloved daughter. “I was in a terrible place, but I knew . . . I would experience God’s goodness and love.” And she knew she’d stay in the Lord’s presence forever.

We can find encouragement in Lanai’s story. Despite her dire circumstances, she felt God’s love and leading; and He sustained her and took away her fear. If we follow Jesus, He will lead us gently through our times of trouble. We need not fear, for “[we] will dwell in the house of the Lord forever” (23:6).

ODB/AP

--Personal Testimony of Carresha~~
-(From Pacific Garden Mission/ Chicago, Illinois) ~
--(May 2019)

-"I attempted suicide three times. Once at age 14, once again at 17, and then again when I was 19. My third attempt occurred shortly
before I came to Pacific Garden Mission. I was going to start engaging in things that were not of me, which included using drugs and
selling my body. After my third suicide attempt, I prayed out to God and told him "I am tired of living this lifestyle. Everyone says I am
young and have my whole life ahead of me, but I don't feel like I do." I cried out to Him and said, "I am so tired of feeling this way. I
can't do this anymore. Please help me."

"When I got to PGM, I met with an intake counselor, and she asked me if I wanted more out of life. I told her I would think about it, and I
didn't join the Bible program right away. I wrestled with the choice and kept going back and forth in my mind. On Christmas day, after
getting a lot of encouragement from the women around me at the Mission, I felt the Holy Spirit telling me to go upstairs and join the
women's program.

"After the third day upstairs, I had an emotional breakdown, and as I faced my life and my circumstances I wept tears and tears and more
tears. It was after this that I finally opened myself up to Jesus and let Him move into my heart. I was saved permanently on January 19,
2019, and at that time I said, "Lord, I'm all yours. I don't care if I lose or gain people, as long as I know who my God is, I can get my life
straightened out. I know you will help me, Lord."

"For those in the younger generations coming up now, if you do not yet know God as your Savior, that's alright. One day, He will send
someone like me or the leaders at PGM to share the news of His incredible love for you. There is a God, and He loves us all so much
no matter what we are going through. He can forgive those who come to Him in faith. Call on Jesus, and He will answer you. The best
answer is to be saved from this sinful world, and accept Him into your life.

"For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." --(Romans 10:13) ~ Please don't give up hope. Jesus is our blessed
hope. Come to Him, just as you are and He will help you get your life straight.
--Pacific Garden Mission/
--1458 South Canal Street
Chicago, IL. 60607-5201
--(Phone/ 312-492-9410)