July 2018 Newsletter

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3 Nights Under a Bridge Enough

After spending three nights under a bridge to get out of the rain, Gabriel had enough. It was bad enough that his job and girlfriend did not work out, now he was homeless. The first building block of an independent life to fall was his job. He worked at a local motel as a maintenance man and housekeeper. There were slow days when he would not be called into work that turned into not enough paid hours to live on. He quit to be freed up to look for a better job. In the meantime, trouble with his girlfriend got him kicked out of the house. Gabriel said, “At first, I was kind of scared. I had no place to go.” But three cold, rainy nights under a Roseburg bridge was all the pity party he needed to investigate his options. Using his cell phone, he went to the phone book to look up shelters. He walked into the Mission men’s dayroom cold, wet, and dirty. His first impression of the Mission was the same as how he felt about himself at the time. Gabriel said, “But, it started growing on me. I had a shower and used the restroom, warmed up, dried out. People started talking and laughing. People were having conversations. Hearing people being happy was encouraging, and I started feeling better about myself. I’m not a morning person, but everybody was up at 6am, so I thought I had better go look for work. Having a bed and things, we just take for granted.”

A week after arriving at the Mission, Gabriel got a full-time, minimum wage job. He was walking down a sidewalk on his way to a different job interview at a store, but never made it to the appointment. Along the way he met a landscaping crew at work and was hired to a position that he preferred. That was two years ago. He has been promoted and is now making $14 per hour. After sleeping in our dormitory for a month, he began renting a private room here in our men’s Transitional Housing Program. Its a program that includes weekly chapel and accountability rules including curfew, sobriety and no overnight guests.

Gabriel has lived with a physical disability most of his life. When he was just five-years-old, he had his right clavicle bone removed because of cancer. It is the front shoulder bone, and it was not replaced. There is some slouching on that side and protrusion of his shoulder blade, because it is not held in place by the missing bone. It has been an obstacle for him to overcome in relating with people and in employment. He has some limitations, but can still work a physical job. Housing has been difficult to find because of his history. At the Mission, all those issues were overlooked and a new opportunity at life was provided.

When asked about our chapel services, he said, “At first, I thought, I probably need this. It was uplifting. I never thought about it. But when I was depressed, hearing the Lord’s Word really helped. I know what Jesus did, and what He stood for, and what I try to follow. In chapel, they just said to pray, so I pray in my room.” From sleeping under a bridge, to willfully praying to the Lord in a private, rented room is what the Mission is all about.