A Resurrected Life

When a perfect storm upended Renee’s life, she needed a second chance. She found it at Atlanta Mission, thanks to you.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” — 2 Corinthians 5:17

Two years ago, Renee and her family’s life was falling apart. Life had never been easy for her, but she did whatever she had to do to survive and keep her family together. Eventually, she couldn’t do it anymore. She needed hope. She needed a brand-new life.

Renee was raised in the church by her grandmother, but at a young age, she met a man who led her in another direction. “I was too young,” she says. “He pushed me into a new world of drugs and the streets, and everything went bad after that. I knew right from wrong. I just got lost.”

By the age of 37, Renee had five kids and a long history of going back and forth to jail. It was a destructive and unstable life, but she was still determined to hold her family together, no matter what.

“Atlanta Mission is all about Jesus, and He gave me the strength I needed to do what I had to do.”

A few years ago, however, the life she knew was unraveled. Her grandmother died. Her oldest son was killed. Another son went to prison. She discovered her 4-year-old son was being abused– then she ended up homeless. “It was all too much,” she says. “I needed help, but I didn’t know what to do. Then I came to Atlanta Mission.

Over the past 12 months, Renee and her son experienced the life-transforming grace and power of Jesus Christ at My Sister’s house.

“I got my son into the daycare here, and that was a big help,” she says. “Then I could work on me. I made a list of all the things I wanted to accomplish in a year, and I got to work. I got into counseling and learned all kinds of new life skills. I got into a job-skills program, learned how to be a chef, and I found a job– the first real job I ever had.– as a cook at Georgia Tech.”

Renee has come a long way in the past year. She is currently serving at My Sister’s House as an Emergency Workforce Assistant amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Someone recently asked her, “How’d you make it?”

“Jesus, honey,” Renee said. “Atlanta Mission is all about Jesus, and He gave me the strength I needed to do what I had to do. Jesus changed my life– Jesus and everyone who supports Atlanta Mission. For the first time, I have hope that we’re going to be OK, and I’ll be able to put my family back together. I have a lot of people looking up to me now, and I have a lot to live for.”

A New Creation in Jesus Christ

For decades, Emily was devastated by alcohol, drugs, and homelessness– and she felt hopeless it would ever change. Until she came home.

When I first came to Atlanta Mission in January 2015, I was completely hopeless. I had spent decades addicted to alcohol, cocaine, and crack. It got so bad, I ended up homeless for almost eight years, at one point even living under a bridge. I went days without eating or drinking. I was often dehydrated, and sometimes had hallucinations. In winter, I feared I’d freeze to death. I ruined relationships with my family, including my two kids. I was on the brink of death, and I had lost all faith in myself and even in God.

But the day I walked into Atlanta Mission and My Sister’s House, I knew I was home. Over the next year, every single act of kindness the people here showed to me planted seeds of new faith and healing that drew me closer to God and the life I’m living today.

Since leaving Atlanta Mission in February 2016, I have worked for the Georgia Council on Substance Abuse to help people in recovery by bringing education, advocacy, and training to struggling communities all over Georgia. I also became a Certified Peer Specialist to support even more people in recovery.

“I am literally a new creation in Christ, and I am so blessed and I truly thank God for you.”

In addition to my work, I sponsor two wonderful ladies in long-term recovery, I’m rebuilding relationships with my children and family– including my new grandson! I’m an active member of North Atlanta Church of Christ– and I just earned my MBA degree.

Thanks to your support for Atlanta Mission, I’m not the same person I was before. I am so blessed to literally be a new creation in Christ, and I truly thank God for you.

Help Us Provide Hope this #GivingTuesdayNow

During this time, we are all being asked to stay home. But what if you didn’t have a home? That is the reality for the men, women, and children currently at our shelters. If they weren’t staying with us, they would not have a safe home in the midst of this crisis.

When you donate to Atlanta Mission on #GivingTuesdayNow, your dollars are going directly toward providing safe shelter, nourishing meals, and a healthy environment for those in our care right now.

We invite you to make a financial donation today and join us on this journey of hope.

Transforming Families in Jesus Christ

Dear Friend,

As Mother’s Day approaches, I’m reminded once again of that special love that bonds so many moms and their children. So it truly breaks my heart whenever I see women and children devastated by homelessness, desperately searching for food, shelter, and safety.

That’s why I’m always so grateful when vulnerable families like these walk through the doors of Atlanta Mission. Almost immediately, you can see a sense of peace come over them when they know they are safe.

Over the following days, weeks, and months, as they experience our love and care for them, these same mothers begin to realize that a new life really is possible for them and their children. And as that hope takes root, they begin to find healing for the emotional pain they have endured for so long. As they grow more confident, they take advantage of job training opportunities that will enable them to provide for their family. And, together with their children, they start down the path to new life, completely transformed by Jesus Christ.

This is the kind of new life your compassionate generosity makes possible for mothers like Renee and Emily, who you will read about in this issue of The Light. Thanks to you, mothers just like these, along with their children, are growing into the people Christ always intended them to be.

As you celebrate Mother’s Day, in just a few weeks, please remember all the special moms and children who are thriving today thanks to your support for Atlanta Mission and the transformational power of Jesus Christ.

Blessings,

Jim Reese
President & CEO