VOLUME 20 • ISSUE 6 • JUNE 2019

Proud “Certified Excellent” member of the Association of Gospel Rescue Missions, accredited by the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability, and recognized as a “Four Star Charity” by Charity Navigator.

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GOD RESTORED MEp.6

OUR FATHER’S EXAMPLE p.7

JULY GRADUATIONp.15

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY

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EXECUTIVE BOARDCharlie Cantrell CHAIRMANStewart Vernon VICE-CHAIRBeverly Olson SECRETARY Susan Collins TREASURERBlake Sullivan MEMBER-AT-LARGEDr. Bill Argo MEMBER-AT-LARGE

BOARD OF DIRECTORSBobby CramerBuddy Glawson Mike Jenkins Frank MalloyAlfred SamsChris R. Sheridan Jeff Thompson Louis Frank TompkinsWimberly Treadwell

ADVISORY BOARDOliver Bateman III Martha BlueSenator Saxby ChamblissAshley CopelanCarolyn CraytonSheriff David Davis Ed DeforeJimmy FainMichael KetterbaughTommy MixonMayor Robert Reichert

PRESIDENT/CEOPat Chastain

03 FROM THE PRESIDENT’S DESK Save the Date

04 VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT Amy Bilsland

05 NEEDS LIST Men’s and Women’s Needs

Kitchen Needs

06 WOMEN’S DIVISION God Restored Me

07 MEN’S DIVISION HAPPENINGS Our Father’s Example

08 TESTIMONY FROM THE MISSION God’s Path for Me

10 SCENES FROM AROUND THE MISSION Good Friday Meal

14 BARGAIN CENTER Donation Pick-Up

15 UPCOMING EVENTS July Graduation

VOLUME 20 • ISSUE 6 • JUNE 2019

A community service product of Panaprint.

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Did you know that YOU can make a difference in the life of a man, woman or child at the Rescue Mission of Middle Georgia by supporting the 2019 Five Star Celebrity Classic event? By partnering with us, YOU have the opportunity to do just that. There is so much life change, by way of Jesus Christ, going on at the Mission. In 2018, the Rescue Mission had 10,804 in attendance for our chapel services, 7,697 that attended bible study, 41 professions of faith, 34 baptisms, and provided over 21,000 nights of shelter and we absolutely could not have done this without YOU.

I am personally inviting you to partner with us this year for our annual Five Star Celebrity Classic. Listed below are a few ways you can support this event and the work God is doing here at the Mission! • Purchase an ad in our golf program• Sponsor a clay shoot team• Play in our golf tournament or sponsor a team • Attend the auction or donate an item for the auction• Make a monetary donation that will be doubled in our Call to Action

This event directly funds our programs for men, women and children seeking true life change by way of Christ. God is doing amazing work in their lives and I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your support.

Thank you so much for your prayers and partnership as we work to share the love of Jesus Christ with others!

FROM THE President’s Desk

Pat Chastain, President/CEOThe EVENT KICKS OFF with a clay shoot

on Monday, September 23rd at The Meadows Gun Club at 9:00 a.m.

The SILENT AND LIVE AUCTION will be held that night at Idle Hour Country Club starting at 6:00 p.m.

The GOLF TOURNAMENT is Tuesday, September 24th at 12:00 noon at three

courses: Idle Hour, The Brickyard and Healy Point. An awards ceremony will follow at

each course. The format is a 4 man scramble.

www.fivestarcelebrityclassic.com

SAVE THE DATE!SEPTEMBER 23RD AND 24TH 2019

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WHAT PATH BROUGHT YOU HERE? My husband and I both serve and work at Christ Chapel Macon. We have been in Macon for the past two years, and prior to that served and worked at a church in Atlanta for ten years.

WHAT ARE YOU PASSIONATE ABOUT PERSONALLY? I love Jesus… more than anything, and I love serving His people. Mission opportunities in country and out of country truly ‘fill my tank’. There is nothing like sharing Jesus with others.

WHAT CALLS YOU TO SERVE AND HOW DO YOU SERVE? There has never been any separation from who I am and what I do. I have had the opportunity to serve within a church setting for close to 15 years in different roles. I do not feel called to any specific group of people, teenagers, children, adults, etc… I just feel called to serve in whatever capacity, and to all people!

WHAT ARE WAYS OTHERS IN OUR COMMUNITY CAN CONTRIBUTE TO THE RESCUE MISSION? Step out of what may be comfortable for you. Be willing to befriend, love on and serve someone else. It can be through delivering meals, working in the kitchen, serving in a ministry capacity, as a mentor, or even in the clothing mission, but take the first step. Everyone can do some, some can do more, and few can do much… but remember, EVERYONE CAN DO SOME… Everyone can help touch the life of another person.

WHAT ARE THINGS THAT THE MISSION DOES FOR THE RESIDENTS THAT MAKE YOU PROUD? The care for them as individuals is so important. Since I work primarily with the women and children, I see the involvement, the love and concern that goes into each of them. I have watched Linda Wessells countless times do things that are way outside of her ‘normal’ duties. She is a real life Rockstar in my book!

HOW HAS BEING INVOLVED WITH THE RESCUE MISSION IMPACTED YOUR LIFE AND THAT OF YOUR FAMILY? My favorite thing is that we have the opportunity to serve TOGETHER! To have three kids and know that they can all serve, and in this capacity is life changing and planting seeds within them that we pray will stay with them forever. My daughter, Kalon, is 12 and comes with me the first and third Thursday to serve. She serves with the kids and they love her as much as she loves them. I am forever grateful to watch her serve in this capacity!

Thank you for the chance to love on His kids of all ages! It is truly an honor to get to serve!

Volunteer SPOTLIGHT

Amy Bilsland

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STAFFPat Chastain

President/CEOTina Hicks

Vice President of FinanceDawn Burns

Vice President of OperationsArtecia Knight

Logistics CoordinatorGreg Brooks

Food Service & Maintenance Supervisor

PROGRAMSJason Beck

Vice President of ProgramsLinda Wessells

Women’s Program DirectorEmily Smallwood Women’s Assistant

Chako Holland Women’s Assistant Vernice Chappell Women’s Evening

SupervisorKiia Jackson

Case ManagerAnthony Wade

Men’s Resident Supervisor

DEVELOPMENTAmy Walker

Development ManagerKaren Kinsler

Development ManagerJaime Kaplan

Special Events CoordinatorTo Donate: Visit www.rescuemissionga.com

call us at 478-743-5445 ext. 314 or Email us - donate@rescuemissionga.com

Baby Wipes

Body Wash

Hairbrushes/Combs

Body Lotion (personal size)

Bath towels

Women’s DIVISION

Ziploc Bags (gallon size)Styrofoam Cups

Kitchen

Shampoo

Multi-blade Razors

Socks (all sizes)

Trash Bags (large and small)

Shower Shoes (all sizes)

Men’s Division NEEDS

Thanks to your generosity every month our men, women and children have their needs met. We can never thank you enough for loving on them through your donations!

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Women’s Division HAPPENINGSby Linda Wessells, Women’s Program Director

GOD Restored ME

Linda Wessells Women’s Program Director

Most of the women that are here at the Rescue Mission have never experienced the love of their earthly father. This has made it difficult for them to open their hearts to receive the love of our Heavenly Father. How special it is when these precious women do get to the point that they are able to open up their hearts to God. This reconciliation back to God can then open hearts to be reconciled back to earthly fathers. We know through scripture that God is a restorer of broken relationships and that through Christ all things are possible.

This kind of reconciliation is often difficult because it involves resolving many wounds from the past. One woman that resides at the Rescue Mission experienced emotional abuse and abandonment from her father. She felt unimportant to him because he treated his step-children better than he treated her and she believed he would rather be with them. This led to her having negative self-thoughts and always searching to be loved, especially by a man. As you can imagine, she traveled roads which resulted in unhealthy relationships. She has never felt loved and accepted for who she is. She’s grown up feeling less than and defective. She is beginning to learn that God absolutely loves her unconditionally and he sees her as perfect!

After attending rehab she initiated communication with her father which began a relationship that took years to develop. When she entered our program and started to see herself the way that God sees her, she’s been able to realize that “it wasn’t a flaw in me.” They now talk all the time and he shows her children the love that she didn’t receive, but as she says, “I am okay with that because they need it more than I do right now.”

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All it takes is for us to turn on the television, turn on the radio, or just simply walk outside and immediately it hits us....the unfortunate effects of a broken male culture. The heartbreaker is that this is not just a middle Georgia issue or an America issue, it’s much worse, it’s a worldwide pandemic. Everywhere we look, we see men with no clue of who they truly are, so they’re constantly attempting to find their identity in something, someone, or a multitude of both. Without solid, stable, and healthy men around, these boys are left to figure it out themselves, many times copying what’s being modeled in front of them. When we know whose we are, we know who we are. This is one of the greatest blessings of being a part of the ministry here at the Rescue Mission of Middle Georgia. We get to witness firsthand the absolute power of Christ come to life in men, who like many, didn’t have a healthy fatherly example or any positive male figure in their life. These men have said no more will I relentlessly try to fill this void I have in my heart with things or people. I’m done leaving a path of destruction, I’m done following the waves of culture, and I’m done being held within the grip of my sin and shame. There’s only one place to go from there, into the arms of our patiently waiting and wildly loving Father. It’s in His arms that we come to fully realize who it is we actually are, and there’s nothing in this world that can define us and allow us to see our value like He does. As Psalm 40 declares in verses 2-3....”He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay, and He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; many will see and fear and will trust in the Lord.” Because of the trust these mighty men of the Mission now have in Jesus, many do see and their lives are now transformed by God through Christ as well. We have the privilege of seeing fathers reconciled to children, and those same children coming to place their trust and hope in Christ. Even after a life of pain and sometimes deep wounding, a child will look and see that their father has somehow changed; this new father now influences the child because a child’s heart longs to follow their father’s example. We are His children, and what a wonderful example we have.

Our Father’s EXAMPLE

Men’s Division HAPPENINGSby Jason Beck, Vice President of Programs

Jason Beck, Vice President of ProgramsHappy Father’s Day!

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God’s Path FOR ME

Testimony FROM THE MISSION

I grew up in the small town of Hawkinsville, Georgia in a neighborhood where kids played together. We were always playing at each other’s houses. I lived in the kind of neighborhood where if you were there at dinner time, then you were expected to sit down and eat. When I got to high school, I rode the same half mile strip until we had to be home before curfew. We stood up for one another no matter what. No one from outside messed with us. We had the whole town behind us.

I am the youngest of four boys. My three brothers had a different dad than I did, but we never believed in half siblings. My mother and father went to church so we were pretty much there every Sunday. My dad suffered from an addiction to cocaine, and my mother had stuck by him over and over, but she had finally had enough. One Sunday when my dad and I got home from a race in Alabama, my mom had my dad’s things packed up and on the kitchen table. This was one of the first traumatic events that ever happened in my life and caused me to hold on to resentments until just recently. For years, I’ve never been able to even acknowledge that this caused a great deal of grief in my life. After their divorce, my mom did the best she could to provide for four growing boys. She sometimes worked three different jobs. My dad began disappearing from being a part of my life at all. He would pick me up on “his” weekends, but would drop me off at my granny’s house so he could continue to use drugs. Not only was my mom not home much because she was working to provide, but I also didn’t have a father figure in my life. This caused tremendous abandonment issues. I always felt like I wasn’t good enough and that I had been the cause for my parents’ divorce. My mom has always tried to make up for the divorce and my dad’s absence but this has caused our relationship to be very unhealthy. She has

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Testimony CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8

been a constant enabler which has made me feel like I was above ever getting in trouble. She was always there to “save” me from any consequences of my choices. I always said when I grew up that I didn’t want to be anything like my father and that I would break this vicious cycle. Turns out, I ended up being just like him. I have allowed drugs to rule my life and have caused the same issues in my sons’ life that I experienced as a child. I also am remarried and have been a constant let down to my wife, Kim, and daughter, Brianna, whom I vowed to never let down. Guess what…..? I most certainly did just that. I have never been there for anyone but Cal.

I began smoking weed at 11 years old. This was a daily occurrence. Like I said, when we were growing up, we were close knit, but we also did a lot of drugs too. I had my first knee surgery at 15 and began taking prescription pain medication. I soon became addicted. After knee surgery number 2, I was basically taking them daily to even be able to function. At 20, I was introduced to cocaine by none other than my own father. I became instantly addicted. After a month or so I began a love affair that has lasted for the better part of 10 years with the devil himself (crack cocaine). After going through a yearlong treatment program, I celebrated graduating by getting drunk the very first night. I finally, after all this time, had reached my bottom. I didn’t want to continue killing myself. If I didn’t get help, then my life would soon end. Certain death was inevitable. I had reached the end of a very difficult path in my life. I was tired. I had burnt almost every bridge that I ever had. My uncle was a very dear friend of Pat Chastain and I had seen him preach many times at Celebrate Recovery. Finally, my wife found out just what he was connected to, and we found out about the Rescue Mission of Middle Georgia. I had played around long enough and was basically at a crossroads in my life. I had to choose between life and death and I came to the Rescue Mission program on October 8th, 2018. I have been here for about 6 ½ months.

When I think back to my first day here, the first thing that pops into my head is the big blue sign out front, JESUS CARES. Honestly, when you step on to this property it’s like a big sigh of relief. There has been so much life change here, and truth be told, it never was about the drugs. I was overwhelmed when

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SCENES FROM Around the Mission

Good Friday MEALWe were overwhelmed with joy as we served our community at our Good Friday meal. We had a great time of praise and worship and were able to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with others!

We can never thank our volunteers enough for giving of their time to deliver and serve meals to our community. You truly are examples of the hands and feet of Jesus and we love each of you for your servanthood.

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Testimony CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9

I first got here because of how kind everyone was and willing to help make me feel accepted. This is the second time that I have entered a recovery program so I was skeptical. There’s just such a different atmosphere here. I didn’t think I would be able to abide by all these different rules, but much to my surprise, there was only three. I’d never heard of a Grace process until now, and it helped me become more willing to accept whatever the Rescue Mission had to offer. My biggest challenge during my time here at the mission has been accepting the fact that God has put me here for a season of my life. It has been hard being away from my family at home, but I have come to realize that this path has been chosen for me. Everything that I have struggled to accept has worked out just the way that He wanted.

During my time here, I worked in the kitchen for a couple of months and the outpour that the community donates towards the greater cause is unbelievable. Also there are many different doctors and dentists that provide care to the residents and offer services that we could never repay them for. It is truly heartfelt for someone to graciously give their time and resources to someone who has nothing to offer them. We also have volunteer drivers that offer their time to take us to and from appointments, church services, etc. At Christmas, none of us were able to offer a single gift to our children, but guess who stepped up? The Rescue Mission and their donors were able to provide a better Christmas than I could have probably provided by being at home.

The Rescue Mission has provided me a new way of life in recovery by way of Jesus Christ. It has allowed me to push through hard times without taking my eyes off of the goal. I want to continue to grow and become more Christlike even when my time here is up. It has also been a safe place that I was able to talk about and heal from all the baggage that I have carried for all these years without worrying about judgement. I have also made some really close friends and brothers in Christ that I know I could call on in times of struggle. It has impacted my family by restoring relationships that I just knew were completely thrown away. My wife trusts me now. I have a great support system at home that just truly wants to see me succeed. There’s so many on “Team Cal” that I never even knew before here, but most of all I have Jesus on my team!

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“Even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of

the glory of God” – ROMANS 3:22-23

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Bargain CENTERBARGAIN CENTER STAFFShannon Haskell Vice President of Retail Operations

Niger Brown Store Manager

Shameka Davis Production Manager

DRIVERSArt Ellis

Curtis Roundtree

Daniel Baggett

Reginald Reeves

MAINTENANCERon Ellington

Travis Wilson

Please visit our

BARGAIN CENTER FACEBOOK PAGE

to find out about sales and see photos of some

of the available inventory.

www.facebook.com/ MissionBargainCenter/

Shannon Haskell, Vice President of Retail Operations

Did you know that YOU can help change lives right here in Middle Georgia?

We also PICK UP items from your home or business. If you have a large donation all you have to do is call us at 478-743-5445 ext. 314, and we will schedule a time to come pick up your items. It really is that simple.

All of us have items around our house that are no longer being used. Maybe it’s some clothes, furniture, knick-knacks, electronic devices, toys, linens, or antiques. Maybe it’s even something bigger like a car. Those items can be donated to the Rescue Mission’s Bargain Center. At the Bargain Center your unused items are turned into merchandise for our thrift store. That merchandise is sold to fund the programs and offer this community a place to shop; now that’s CHANGING LIVES! It’s that easy!

This year make your spring cleaning mean something. Donate an item or items and help change a life! Because when you...

DONATION Pick-Up

DONATE LOCALTHRIFT LOCAL

YOU CHANGE LOCAL!!

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Bargain CENTER

THE RESCUE MISSION OF MIDDLE GEORGIABOARD OF DIRECTORS AND STAFFREQUEST YOUR PRESENCE AT OUR

Graduation CeremonyFRIDAY, THE TWELFTH OF JULY

TWO THOUSAND NINETEENAT SIX THIRTY IN THE EVENING

RESCUE MISSION OF MIDDLE GEORGIA 6601 ZEBULON ROAD | MACON, GA 31220

(OUR NEW CAMPUS)

COME SEE THE RESULTS OF YOUR COMPASSION AND GENEROSITY AS WE CELEBRATE THE

ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF OUR LATEST GRADUATING CLASS.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CALL THE RESCUE MISSION OF MIDDLE GEORGIA

AT 478-743-5445.

6:30PM PRAISE | 7:00PM GRADUATION | 8:00PM REFRESHMENTS

P.O. Box 749 | M

acon, GA 31202

RETU

RN

SER

VIC

E REQ

UESTED

Nonprofit

U.S. Postage PAID

Permit # 232

Macon, G

A

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GIVE YEAR-ROUNDC

onsider becoming a m

onthly giver and have a lasting im

pact throughout the year! Find out how

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BARGAIN CENTERShop at 3375 N

apier Avenue or donate item

s to a great cause. For

large pickups

call 743-

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