Place of Promise

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in His love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: that he lay down his life for his friends.”
John 15:9-13

Dear Friends,

The experts say that there are five necessities for life. First, we all need food, water, shelter. Secondly, we need safety and security. A need to belong, to be cherished and loved by at least one person is third followed by a need for self-esteem, respect, a feeling of importance. Finally, we all need to experience self actualization.

Thanks to all of you, we at Place of Promise have truly experienced “abundant life” this Christmas season and have entered this new year encouraged and in awe of the goodness of God and His people! Your outpouring of love for Place of Promise is unsurpassed since we began. Your many beautiful gifts and expressions of love have brought us humbly to our knees before our God, seeking the grace to love as we have been loved! We have been given so much and are prepared and determined to serve, giving back with the heart of God!

Many who come to Place of Promise have lacked the food, water, shelter that we all need. One came who had been sleeping under a bridge, eating whatever he could find that was thrown away by others. Thanks to the many of you who gave to us so generously, Place of Promise not only had the food, water and shelter we needed, but we really feasted together this Christmas season! We were given turkeys, a huge ham, pizza for our party, Chinese food for New Year’s Eve and lots more. We shared a wonderful Christmas dinner at Christ Church United! It was a joyful time for all! Many residents spoke of this being the first Christmas celebration they had had in years and for some, it was the best ever! Our main goal at Place of Promise is to help each one get to know God and begin an intimate love relationship with Him through Jesus Christ. As we enter into His love, we are transformed into His likeness; able to love as we have been loved. Certainly, God’s provision to us through each of you has helped us all to draw closer to Jehovah Jireh, our Provider!

Many who come to Place of Promise are filled with fear and unbearable anxiety. Safety and security have eluded them for years. Many of their family members and friends are consumed by the same fears. Words like rest, serenity, peace, security, tomorrow are absent from their vocabulary. Again, thanks to you, we experienced new heights of safety and security! This year has been a year of growth for Place of Promise which we see as an honor, privilege and blessing. However, costs have also gone up with the increase. Costs have also just gone up because oil, gas, medical expenses are on the rise.

We had a couple months when we weren’t sure we could make payroll. We were anxious about mounting debts, rising costs and the ever growing need. Many of you gave such generous year end gifts that increased our faith, lifted our spirits and encouraged our hearts beyond what I can express to you in words. We were also able to have a Christmas party for our residents and their friends and families. We had over sixty people in attendance- a record number of family members came! It was a wonderful experience to see the radiant faces of mothers who weren’t sure last year if their children would be alive this Christmas! It was a blessing to see tears of gratitude spill from a father’s eyes! It was a pure delight to see children reunited with parents! We couldn’t have had such a party if the Christ child had never been born! We couldn’t have had such a party if you had not given as it has been given unto you!

At almost every intake interview, I find myself witnessing severe emotional pain, loneliness, and a spiritual deadness that threaten to drive me from the room. People who come to Place of Promise are often crushed, all alone, defeated and hopelessly lost and most have been that way for years. Bad choices are made in the midst of their darkness. Searching for love, seeking to belong, attempting to feel special and important, they find themselves in bondage to a self-centered desperation to meet these needs. Their own efforts are in vain. The isolation becomes unbearable to them and to others as the self-absorption consumes their every thought and action. Utter failure becomes a daily occurrence and hope gives way to despair. Bitterness, fear, resentment, misery, self-pity begin to seep into empty spaces they’ve been longing to fill. A choice for new life, a complete makeover, and the willingness to let go and let God, through the staff of Place of Promise, manage this new life are the only absolute criteria necessary for one to enter the program. At the time of the interview, meeting the criteria for admission may not seem so difficult. However, the daily choice and surrender can become overwhelming and terrifying for residents and staff alike.

Ah, but the perfect love of God drives out all fears! The outpouring of that amazing love through so many of you this Christmas set us free! We all felt so loved, so cherished when we received the Christmas stockings, the collection of gifts from companies, churches, the gifts for our children from some of our most faithful friends! No longer did we feel alone, struggling to meet our own needs, paying all our own bills. You reminded us that we belong to a huge, extended family of God that loves us and is there for us! We all felt loved and cherished! Some began to believe for the first time that they could find all they have ever needed and longed for in that Christ Child of Bethlehem born so many years ago. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Let’s not forget that final need of self actualization. You have given to us this Christmas out of hearts filled and over flowing with God’s love! May your joy in giving be equal to the joy we have in receiving! Please consider allowing us the opportunity to give back to you. We could come and worship with you at your church or home. We could share our experiences of God’s love with you. We can pray for you as you pray for us. You can come visit us: worship with us, dine with us, work with us, play with us. Let me come teach the mentor training classes at your church or small group. Let us love as we have been loved!

Again, let me, on behalf of all of us at Place of Promise, thank you for your generous outpouring of love to us this year! Please let us continue to love one another as we have been loved. God bless you all!

Serving with Christ’s love,

Beth Kidd, Director