WORKING AT A MISSION

“ Hey Jerry,” a friend asked,” why do you work at that mission? What’s there that makes you want to go to

work? Don’t you just get tired of trying to help people

who don’t seem to want help? I just can’t visualize myself doing what you do.”

I have heard these questions many times before and the

answer is always the same. “I love working with the

homeless people.” Yes there are days when I don’t feel like going to work but it’s not because of the homeless persons

I get to talk to every day, it may be something more administrative such as writing a manual, looking for

repairmen to do an emergency repair when we need him,

or finding out that your oven broke last night and the repairman has to order out parts for it which may take a

week or so. These are really the frustrating times, it is not because of the homeless. What is frustrating in the

administrative end is that we can’t do more for the homeless because resources are just not available. Housing

being one of the greatest needs, is extremely hard to find.

Particular housing for people with special needs such as this one that came to our attention a day or so ago. A young

pregnant homeless girl gave birth to her baby and originally wanted to give it away. But Laura and Board Member, Lila

ministered to her on numerous occasions and encouraged

her to keep the baby. After the child was born and the new mom begin breast-feeding the child, she realized how

important it was to be a mom to this child. The frustration that begins when we try to locate a place will take on a

mom with a brand-new child. There are places in Los

Domestic violence is a complex issue.

D omestic violence, or intimate partner violence, occurs when one person causes physical or psychological harm to a current or former

intimate partner. It includes all acts of violence within the context of family or intimate relationships. Besides being the leading cause of injury to women in the United States (a woman is beaten every 15 seconds), it is an issue of increasing concern because of its negative effect on all family members, especially children. Survivors of abuse, of domestic violence often find themselves trapped in the cycle of homelessness itself. Many who flee their violent situation leave everything behind; their homes, friends, families, and their sources of income. What do they bring with them? Their fear(s); approximately 75% of women who are killed by their batterers are murdered when they attempt to leave or after they have left an abusive relationship.

Angeles who would lovingly take in a new mom and a child,

but they are filled to capacity too. So Laura and Lila will spend hours on the telephone trying to find a place for this

new little family.

Last week, it was a young man in his 20s who is a regular

at the mission and finally began listening to the gospel of Jesus Christ some time ago. He approached me and told

me that he wanted to get away from this element and into a program that has Bible studies and chapel and a place

where he might even get some sort of an education or job. He heard about a place in Long Beach that had an opening,

so we gave him the bus tokens to get there and back. He

didn’t get into the organization that day, but the hopes were high that he would. A few days later he came in for

shower and clean clothes and a hot breakfast. After breakfast he walked over to a table where our guest place

their cell phones and took a charger and battery case that

didn’t belong to him. After reviewing the tapes, with our team coordinator Steve, I asked him to tell him what we

saw and that he had to return the charger and battery case or we’re going to turn the tapes over to the police. I ran in

the young man a few hours later and told him that he had a big problem that he needed to take care of. He stated he

had heard it from Steve, and had he known that the items

belonged to Leon, he wouldn’t have taken them, meaning that if it had been someone else he would’ve taken him

anyway. He seemed to have missed the messages on repenting.

My friend asked, “when you get people who are druggies, thieves, liars, alcoholics, mental cases, etc. That are

coming into the mission, how can you befriend someone like that?” “Dignity” I replied, “we treat them with dignity.”

We like to begin treating them in a way that is not the norm meaning that we will go out of our way to be as friendly

and generous as we possibly can. In the world of missions this starts from the top down, that means with me. I must

lead by example and set a code of conduct which is really a code of expectations from our staff members to treat

everyone with dignity and respect.

We do this by choosing people for leadership positions who

have the right heart to work in an environment that can be challenging along with many great rewards. Not everyone

who wants to work in a mission is cut out to do this type of

work.

It takes the right person to engage our guests with love. God’s Word says that He is love (1 John 4:8 and 4:16). If

He is love and we are to be like Him, then we should love. Sometimes it’s a challenge to love our homeless guests but

the Scripture tells us that we must love no matter what and

work with them to the best of our ability.

Working at a mission is more than a job; it’s a calling. It takes more than meeting the job requirements to care for

someone who is genuinely in need. It calls for great

patience while dealing with the multiple personalities that come through our doors with all their hurts, habits, and 2

hang-ups and understanding they are lost, lonely, and need a friendly face in whom they can trust and confide. Working at a

mission means that you must smile even when there’s nothing to smile about, and communicate with a voice that exudes compassion, care and a willingness to listen and help while tears attempt to expose themselves on your cheeks because we

are working with an involved hearts. There’s and ours.

We love to treat our guests with the same type of dignity that we like to receive, because after they leave, they may not

experience being appreciated in a dignified manner until they return the next time.

Our joy comes from the little victories that we get to see on a frequent basis… Victories such as someone accepting Christ for the first time in their life; a person’s first Bible as they handle it tenderly and lovingly; the man or woman who got keys to

their own place after waiting many months while sleeping on our sidewalks and in our alleys; a certified birth certificate that makes a homeless person a someone; a job; new free glasses; a painful abscessed tooth being pulled at no cost; new clean

clothes and a fresh shower; make up and other feminine needs; a donated blanket, tent, shoes, jacket, hygiene kit, and food

to give them hot balanced meals; and so much more. It’s like every day is Christmas here at the mission as we give to those who are in need because you gave first. The day you decided to donate, you began to give a person temporarily

experiencing homelessness, dignity. We love to pass it on. jhr

3

The South Bay Church had it’s 3rd annual Oktoberfeast on the evening of Saturday, October 13. A total of 35 volunteers prepared and served dinner to the homeless men and women here at the Beacon Light Mission and Doors of Hope Women’s Shelter. Glory be to God and thanks to all of the volunteers who made this the best one yet.

4

JOE AND BRENDA

I t was a fairly nice day in December of 2017, or at least until there was a knock at the door. Joe, 81 years

young, asked Brenda, his wife of 27 years, if she would

answer the door. He preferred that Brenda talk to the person knocking, because, sometimes his failing ears…well,

just failed. Listening to the conversation the best he could, he felt that it was not good. “What is it, Brenda,” Joe

asked, noticing the sadness written all over Brenda’s face.

“We’re being evicted”, she replied.

Joe was born in the 30’s and brought up in a family that were mostly migrant field workers. They didn’t go to

church, so he didn’t have any religious upbringing. When

Joe was about 10 years old, Joe’s curiosity about the world, began to get him into trouble because he kept asking,

“why.”

Why is there a rainbow? Why do cars rust? Can we find the pot of gold the end of it? How does that caterpillar turn into

a butterfly? Why doesn’t the well ever get empty? And

many, many more, questions and most of the time nobody could answer him. He even wondered why he was created.

By the 50’s, Joe was still working in the fields but had a

hidden gift he didn’t know about but one of fellow laborers

did. One day he asked Joe why he didn’t become an artist as he could draw well and suggested to Joe they sign up for

a Technical Illustrator class that was being offered nearby.

They both agreed and decided to give the 6 month class a try, but because of their art abilities, they graduated in just

3 months.

Living in the South Bay, Joe decided to apply for work at the

local aircraft factories and was accepted by Northrop Corporation in Hawthorne. Joe worked at Northrop until the

need for planes decreased and he joined many others as

they were laid off, but he managed to secure a job at Douglas aircraft as an Illustrator, until Douglas was facing

the same problem as Northrop, and Joe was laid off. Not giving up, he applied at Hugh’s aircraft and went back to

work.

While at work one day, he saw a man doing gardening

around the building and contacted later and asked how he got his job there. Joe loved to garden and grow plants and

take care of them. “I guess it was just the farm boy coming out in me,” Joe quipped.

Joe had a friend who had started a gardening business and had 2 trucks and offered one of them to Joe along with

equipment and experience necessary to get him started. Saying good-by to Hugh’s aircraft, Joe became a gardener.

Joe had made new friends, and one was a Christian and would listen to Joe as he complained to him about his

personal problems with his wife who he eventually divorced.

Joe’s friend kept encouraging Joe to investigate Christianity and one day he gave Joe a Bible, and suggested starting in

the book of John. This confused Joe because you never start in the middle of a book and read it, but his friend was

persistent, and Joe began to read the book of John, and his

whole life began to change.

Then he heard about some Pastor that was teaching the bible to a bunch of hippies down the coast and Joe had to

see what this was all about. Listening to the Pastor made him realize he was that sinner the Pastor was talking about.

One of the times he went down the Coast to listen the

Pastor, he decided to follow Christ and raised his hand to accept Jesus into his life. A short time later, he was

baptized in the ocean by Pastor Chuck Smith.

Brenda was born in New York, but about the age of 20, she decided she wanted to move to the west coast. Her

education after high school was taking courses in data

processing and business, one of which was shorthand. Saving her money, she announced to her family she was

taking the bus to California and ended up in Hollywood, and eventually moved to Inglewood, Ca.

It was here that Brenda met Joe the gardener. It started off when a friend of Joe’s introduced Brenda to Joe in the

90’s. “We just started off talking with each other,” Brenda beamed, “and finally he asked me out on a date, and we

have been together ever since. Got married in 1991.”

“How did you two end up homeless,” I asked.

“Well,” Brenda replied. “It was like I told you at the first.”

“It all started with the knock at the door.”

After the bad news sank in, Brenda and Joe discussed the

eviction, still bewildered about what they were going to do and why they were evicted. They never missed paying their

rent in 17 years, and Joe said that Brenda was an immaculate house keeper. He was a handyman and would

fix or repair anything that broke or “needed “fixin” and did

not bother the landlord with it. They kept the apartment as if they owned it.

Both said they had heard from other tenants that the

landlord had moved out several other people, but mostly section 8 and elderly tenants, and said to each other, “it

must have been our turn.”

Because their social security is low, (at poverty level) they

have tried to get jobs, but Joe said that nobody wants to hire him because of his age. He has applied for a job of a

greeter at big-box stores, but they turned him down too.

The one possession they have left is Brenda’s 1979 Toyota

Celica, which is in beautiful shape. They are already saving their money to pay for their Insurance and car license, plus

they put a little aside to maintain the car. They go out

almost everyday looking for affordable housing but are either turned down or it is to expensive.

7

Online Shopping at

Amazon.com

N ow you can donate items to the mission from the

comfort of your own home or office. We have created an Amazon Wish List. We have diligently searched for selected quality items that will last for the best possible prices within the amazon.com website.

Amazon Instructions: Go to Amazon.com and in the upper right corner hover over the lists button and select Find a List or Registry and type in

Beacon Light Mission or Doors of Hope Women’s Shelter. There you will find their list of needs. “Check Out” as you normally would, selecting Beacon Light Mission or Doors of Hope Women’s Shelter as your shipping address. The items will

be sent directly to the mission. It’s as easy as that! If you need assistance call Gina at (310) 830-7063.

Mission Needs � Men’s Jeans (size 34-48) Urgent � Men's Underwear � Women’s Underwear (size 5-6-7)

Urgent � Razors � Dish Soap � Latex Free Gloves (Lg, XLg)

Food Needs � Spaghetti � Linguine � Penne � Farfelle (bowtie pasta) � Rotini

Canned Food Large # 10 cans please � Chili � Green and/or red enchilada sauce � Diced tomatoes � Tomato sauce � Green beans � Corn

Other Food Items � Vegetable oil & Olive oil � Cornstarch � Flour � Mayonnaise (gallons please) � Cornbread mix

Current Needs

Hygiene Kits A hygiene kit is one of the most requested items our homeless friends ask for, and one the most asked question as to what to put in a hygiene kit from those who want to make up hygiene kits. Based on our experience at the Mission and in the field, we have put together 2 suggested hygiene kits: Quart size Ziploc bag: � Tooth brush; 9 oz tooth paste; floss � Soap, small i.e., travel size � Shampoo, motel size � Mouth wash, non-alcoholic � Band Aids, 8 pack � Hand cream, small � Lip Balm � Comb � Cotton balls and Q-tips, 6 of each in snack size

Ziploc Gallon size Ziploc bag: � Tooth brush; 9 oz tooth paste; floss � Soap, small i.e., travel size � Shampoo, travel size � Mouth wash, non-alcoholic � Band Aids, 8 pack � Hand cream, small � Lip Balm � Comb � Cotton balls and Q-tips, 6 of each in

snack size Ziploc � Wet wipes, 10 or 20 count � Skin cream � 2 disposable razors, or � Packaged razor with shave cream � 1 pair of crew socks

Hard candies are always nice, but no water, sodas, fruit drinks, etc. “Love”

notes & tracts are especially appreciated.

Beacon Light Mission & Doors of Hope Women’s Shelter 525 Broad Avenue Wilmington, CA 90744

NONPROFIT ORG US POSTAGE PAID

SAN PEDRO CA PERMIT 102

DONATION DROP OFF

You may drop off your food, clothing or other donations any time between 8:00am-6:00pm for both Beacon Light and Doors of Hope. Just go to the back gate of the Beacon Light Mission or Doors of Hope and honk your horn. Someone

will come out and collect your donations.

Financial donations on our websites:

Beacon Light www.beaconlightmission.org

Doors of Hope www.doorsofhopewomensshelter.org

Or by mail to:

525 Broad Avenue, Wilmington, CA 90744

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Roy Barile, President

Christian Bower, Secretary

Kent Meyer, Treasurer

Paul Dever

Lee Ettenger

Dan Fox

Gretchen Goldsmith

Margaret Grieco

Pastor Jewel Jones

Ronald Okamoto

Lila Omura

Anthony Sogliuzzo

CONTACT INFORMATION

Beacon Light Mission 525 Broad Avenue, Wilmington, CA 90744

(310) 830-7063 email: beaconlightm@aol.com www.beaconlightmission.org

Doors of Hope Women’s Shelter

529 Broad Avenue, Wilmington, CA 90744 (310) 518-3667

email: dohws@att.net www.doorsofhopewomensshelter.org

�

I can do all things through Christ

who strengthens me.

Philippians 4:13

We are a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that is qualified to receive tax-deductible donations.

MISSION STATEMENT

Our mission is to minister the love and

grace of Jesus Christ to the homeless in the South Bay by providing a safe and nurturing environment where they can receive food, clothing, temporary shelter, discipleship and spiritual encouragement in their present life circumstances.

In September

with your help,

we were able to...

1458

Attended

Chapel Service

serve 106

meals per

day

assign 1387 beds provide

showers for

378*

*Open showers are for any homeless man or woman. Each person is given clothing, hygiene items and served a hot

breakfast.