Peninsula Rescue Mission
COMING ALONGSIDE HURTING PEOPLE...LEADING THEM TO THE CROSS
House of Refuge, PRM Newsletter
January, 2015
Volume XXXIV, No. 1
Hope is Found Here!
Happy New Year from PRM!! As we reflect on 2014, we are grateful to God for all that was
accomplished. (Check out our website to see statistics from 2014! - http://www.prm.info/stats.html)
We are grateful not only for God's provision for this ministry (through folks like you!!), but also for the
many lives that were changed as the gospel went forth!!!
The stories of the men of PRM never grow old. Recently JR shared his story with me, and he
opened with, “I just got here….I hitchhiked from St. Louis, Missouri!!!” This was certainly a first for
me!! As you can imagine, I was instantly intrigued. The story unfolded with JR, a Missouri native,
ending up in North Carolina years ago, meeting his wife, and later living in downtown Newport News
only one street over from PRM! His wife's grandfather actually did some of the painting when the
Lindley Building was built back in 1999. Small world!!
JR, along with his wife and children, moved back out to Missouri to be near his family, and things sort of fell apart. As he sat in
my office, JR spoke of his divorce, other failed relationships, and separa-tion from his children. I turned the conversation to
spiritual matters, and he openly admitted he does not have a relationship with God. The idea of faith in God is
so foreign to the way he was raised. He said, “Some people are raised in church; I was raised in a bar.” JR
remembers being too short to see over the pool table in the local bar. So he could learn to play pool, his
parents would set him up on the rail of the pool table so he could practice. He said they never had much
money. For his fourteenth birthday his parents got him a pack of cigarettes.
He thinks he believes in God, but the faith to believe anything more than that is beyond him. I
shared the gospel with JR, and we discussed the change God can make in his life! He listened
respectfully. However, he is not ready to decide what he believes
about Jesus and salvation.
Join me in praying for JR and for the many other men who will
Superintendent
hear the great message of hope while at
PRM in 2015!!! Thank you, and Happy
New Year!!!
PRM
A Note From Alan - Hope in 2015
We most often enter a new year by looking at prospects the game, but I'm not sure they will” - Biblical hope is
for the future. How many times have resolutions for the certain. Biblical hope is the anticipation of a certain reality
new year reflected hopes for better things in our lives and that just hasn't taken place yet. We know it is I certain
those of our loved ones!
because the promises of God are always kept.
He never goes back on His Word!
Better organization in the office/home
Better budgeting of finances
On a constant, frequent basis,
Better church involvement
people come to the Rescue
Better exercise patterns
Mission for help. In varying
Better devotional life
Better eating
degrees, their hopes have
been brought very low. It is
What we are looking at
exciting, gratifying to watch
here is what we call
a man who thinks there is
no hope for his situation
“HOPE!” Now there is an
amazing word - “hope.”
find that hope! A recent
When I am sleepy, I hope for
conversation with one of
bed-time. When I have a
our residents revealed how
hopelessness had nearly
tooth-ache, I hope for the
dentist's help. When I am
destroyed his life! But now
hungry, I hope for food. When
Christ has come into his life,
the money gets low, I hope for
and he is filled with hope for the
future. His gratitude for the help of
pay-day. Hope is vital to well-being;
the Mission's ministry is
take away hope, and you remove a key
overwhelming. He spent Thanksgiving with
element in our ability to cope with the world
a former Mission resident whose family is “being
where we find ourselves. I have often said that one
of the worst things about Hell is the utter absence of hope - I restored.” That showed him more of what God can do - and
what his own hopes for the future may contain.
sincerely believe that!
A country church's messaging sign recently said this “We can have a hopeless end, or an endless hope.” Those
are striking thoughts - and each excludes the other in any
individual life. “Endless hope” comes only from a
relationship with God through Jesus Christ. The only person
facing a “hopeless end” is the one who has said “No” to
God's offer of life in Christ. While the concept of hope in our
culture implies some uncertainty - “I hope my team wins
May God bless the many of you whose prayers, support,
and volunteer help enable us to hold out “hope” to the dear
folks who look to us for help. Perhaps only eternity will
reveal the impact of your participation in this ministry to
“the least, the last, and the lost.” Happy New Year to each of
you from your partners at the Peninsula Rescue Mission.
Psalm 9:18 “For the needy shall not always be forgotten:
The hope of the poor shall not perish for ever.”
The Peninsula Rescue Mission exists for the purposes of aiding the poor and needy,
providing shelter for the homeless, and sharing Christ with those who seek the same.
Mission Moment
Did you know that you can easily make your
donations (one-time and recurring) online?
www.prm.info/donate.html
Mission Needs
Did you know that each
first-time guest has a one-on-one
meeting where we get to hear
his story, find out particular
ways we can help him, and
share the wonderful gospel?
Every man, every time!
Did you know that a local business
donated hams to PRM that we were
able to use at Thanksgiving?
120 hams!!!
Did you know that just before
Thanksgiving a local Christian school
collected over 1900 cans for PRM?
1,976 cans to be exact!
With so many wonderful volunteers in 2014 there's no way to put
a finger on just one moment. Thank you all for a great year of
service to the men and families in our community!
We are a men's shelter, and inside every man is a boy who loves
a bowl of kid cereal! Donations of coffee and cereal will help
brighten the morning for our guests!
Memorials That Live
Worthy of Honor
Bettie Mallory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Arthur D. Mallory
Betty Nobles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . L.R. Nobles
Beulah Kaiser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Denbigh Christian Church
Carl Jester, husband . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Eva Jester
Charlie Moore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Don & Andrea Connelly
Charlie Moore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Stacy Gutierrez
Chaten McCrary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Parlie McCrary
Clarence Hancock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Patsy Hancock
Dan Autry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Shirley Autry
David C. Davis, brother . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Floye Donadio
Donald F. & Ruth B. Hudgins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A Friend
Dorothy J. Youens, mother . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Larabeth Youens
Doug Connell, husband . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Arlene D. Connell
Dr. Frank Pape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Brenda Robbins
Dr. Frank Pape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jerome Robbins
Earnest Hancock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Patsy Hancock
Edward Smith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sharon Melson
Edward Tilghman, Jr. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sybil J. Murphy
Elijah Joyner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nancy & Vince Snidow
Elizabeth Garber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Thelma C. Kiser
Elizabeth Jean Snyder, daughter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tom & Jean Snyder
Ethel Bowers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Helen Fowler
Eula Ross Bivens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Karen Hargette
Frank Hardison, Sr. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Arnold & Betty Young
Frank Pape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mr. & Mrs. Lloyd Sorenson, Jr.
George M. & Lillian F. Hudgins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A Friend
Harvey Mashburn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Frances Mashburn
James C. Goforth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kenneth Epker
James C. Goforth, Jr. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ann Goforth
James C. Goforth, Sr. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ann Goforth
James Odell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Betty Odell
John Munick, Jr.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Virginia Millner
John Piazza . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Janet Piazza
John R. Brooke, husband . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Violet M. Brooke
Josephine Overby . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Will & Maggie Kemp
Karen Rudloff, daughter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . William & Sandra Johnson
Lauva Beth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dorothy S. Hefner
Leroy “Woody” & Margaret Woody . . . . . . . . . . . . . Arnold & Betty Young
Lib & James Jones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tara S. Daniel
Lin & Helen Stancil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Arnold & Betty Young
Loaraine Jones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Parlie McCrary
Alice Nell, aunt 90th birthday . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nancy & Vince Snidow
All Bithynia Sunday School Teachers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bithynia SS Class
Annie Bell, aunt 90th birthday . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nancy & Vince Snidow
Arnold Young, birthday . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Betty Young, wife
Barbara & Lindsay Poteat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nancy & Vince Snidow
Betty McCall, 80th birthday. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Frances K. Gunn
Edna Hamby . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Betty Neher
Emma & Rhett, birthday's . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mimi Leveille
Jennifer & Hal Thompson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . James Morrow
Mr. & Mrs. Jesse R. Rawls, parents . . . . . . . . . . . Richard & Johanna Rawls
Ms. Doris S. Bowen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Marjorie Lambert
Natalie West, 4th birthday . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Marjorie Lambert
Nancy Snidow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Vince Snidow, Jr.
Pearl Johnson, 93rd birthday . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gladys S. Hostetter
Shirley Benson, 80th birthday . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Marjorie Lambert
Terry & Rhonda Laufer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Edna B. Kelley
The Hinson's, 55th Wedding Anniversary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Barbara Hinson
Walter T. Latham, Jr.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jonathan Latham
In Honor of...
Did you know that you can easily keep
up with PRM by following us on FaceBook?
www.facebook.com/PeninsulaRescueMission
Did you know that the men of PRM were served a feast
on Christmas Eve? Ham, shrimp, and scallops!
Did you know that in November 2014 we had an all-time
record of volunteers serving meals? 359!!!!
Did you know that every man
coming to PRM is given linens for his bed,
hygiene items to get cleaned up, clothes
if he needs them, and a hot supper?
This happens within the
first 2 hours of their arrival!
Did you know that you can check out all
of PRM’s statistics on our website?
www.prm.info/stats.html
Did you know that there is no way we could ever do
these things without your prayers and support?
Thank you for you partnership in this ministry!!!
Given by...
Mamie B. Forsythe. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Doris Coles
Martha Lee Blalock. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Marilyn Lyles
Marvin Krushen. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Betty Krushen
Mary Shepard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Elizabeth Whistler
Mr. Ed Hibbard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mrs. Violet M. Brooke
Mrs. Joy Overby. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gwendolyn A. Moore
Nancy C. Pierpont . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P. Kenneth Pierpont
Paul L. Means. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Judy Means & Family
Perry York . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mrs. Thelma Kiser
Rachel, wife . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Robert Scouse
Rev. W. Donald Ambrose. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . John & Sharon Reinke
Richard Clarke . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mary Clarke
Ridley & Rachel Reid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sherry Ward
Rob Pullen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mom & Terri
Robert McKitrick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Brenda Robbins
Robert McKitrick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jerome Robbins
Sue (Sugenia) Johnson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bob & Linda Glover
Sugenia McGee Johnson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Julie Houbolt Winter
Toy L. Markham. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Walter Raines
Walter L. Lassiter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A Friend
Walter Milliner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Marilyn Lyles
I talk to a lot of homeless men who need help, but the truth is we all need
help. We are not God. We have needs, weaknesses, limitations, and
confusion. We need help. We are also sinful, and as a result we know
that we do not deserve the help we so desperately need. I just finished a
conversation with one of our men who struggles mightily to accept our
generosity and God's grace because he knows he doesn't deserve it.
We all need help to live our lives — help with our families, spouses,
children, jobs, health, finances. We need help. But we don't deserve the
help we need. So what can we do? Try to deny it and be a superman
who doesn't need anyone or anything? Try to drown our troubles with
worldly pleasures and distractions? Quit when we realize that failure is a
possibility? Or simply give way to the paralysis of despair?
Hebrews 4:16 declares “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and
find grace to help in time of need.” Jesus Christ came to shatter that despair with hope and to humble that superman
or superwoman and to rescue that drowning wretch.
Yes, we all need help. No, none of us deserves the help we need. But we can say “no” to despair,
pride, and sin. Look at what God says. Because we have a great High Priest, the throne of God
is a throne of grace. And the help we get at that throne is mercy and grace to help in time of
need. Grace to help! Not deserved help, gracious help.
You are not trapped, say no to that lie. We need help. We don't deserve it. But we can
have it. We share this with the men here at PRM every day, that we can have it
right now and forever. If we will receive and trust in our High Priest, Jesus
the Son of God, and draw near to God through him. Through
your support PRM provides
Asst. Superintendent
gracious help in the light of
Christ to lost and hurting men
John’s Journey - We All Need Help
in desperate need.