Spring
Issue
2014
Las Vegas Rescue Mission
Serving the needs of the homeless in the community since 1971
I
Visit Us Online!
www.vegasrescue.org
Our website shows
how we’re helping
the needy every day.
Visit us online at
www.vegasrescue.org
to make a donation and
learn more about our
programs, fundraisers,
needs, events and how
you can help.
New Life — or No Life
wanted money and girls — and I wanted
them as fast as I could get them. I wanted
to do whatever I wanted, with no one
telling me what to do. So I did. By age 15, I
was selling drugs — marijuana, PCP, cocaine,
meth and heroin. And if you had something I
wanted, and I had a gun, I took what I wanted.
Sure. There was a cost. I spent 20 years
of my adult life in prison for drug dealing, drug
manufacturing, robbery and theft, assault and
battery, credit card fraud, money laundering
and forgery. But I didn’t care. Prison was just
a crazy, exciting free-for-all.
Then last year, I was arrested again and
faced spending much of the rest of my life in
prison. That didn’t sound so good. So when
they offered me the chance to come to the
Las Vegas Rescue Mission instead, I said “yes.”
It was either change my life or have no life.
Experiencing What God Can Do
When I got here, they handed me a Bible.
I’d never opened a Bible in my life — except
to use the pages to roll tobacco in. Oh, I knew
there was a God. But I didn’t expect Him to
do what came next. Someone asked me to
give myself to Jesus. So I got on my knees and
prayed — and my heart burst open with tears,
repentance and God’s love. Whoa!
Changing still wasn’t easy, though. They
should have kicked me out of here several
times. But God and the folks here kept giving
me second chances. And they kept loving me
through it all.
Something happened. The Holy Spirit just
worked in me in so many different ways. Now
it matters to me that I do the right thing and
obey God. I’m going to get a job and be a
productive citizen. And it’s just so much nicer
going to church than it is to prison.
This Easter season, thanks to the Las Vegas
Rescue Mission, I have Jesus in my life and I am
a resurrected man. My life is radically changed
and I love every bit of it.
Robert
480 West Bonanza Rd.
Las Vegas, NV 89106-3227
www.vegasrescue.org
(702) 382-1766
. . . . . . . . . IN S I D E
“Oh, I knew there was a God.
But I didn’t expect Him to
do what came next.”
A Message from My Heart — Bob Brunner, Executive Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
My Emptiness at the Top of the World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Year-End Drives Have Year-Long Impact . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
My Heart . . .
A Message from
r, Executive Director
Bob Br unne
Photo Courtesy of: Erik Kabik
y the
2013 BNumbers
Our Dining Hall
359,656 meals served
Our Overnight
Shelters
52,789 e mergency beds
provided
Our Clothing
Giveaway
19,603 individuals
helped
Our Recovery
Program
329 people
given hope
gas Rescue Mission,
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Thank you for inv
Rescue Mission.
less,
Your servant to the home
A
Director
Bob Brunner, Executive
Please Give Easter Hope
To Hurting People
I
t’s heartbreaking. Did you know an estimated 34,000 men, women and
children in Southern Nevada experienced homelessness at some point
last year? And in the city of Las Vegas, our poverty rate stands at 19.4%,
meaning thousands more of our neighbors are struggling to pay their rent
and provide food for their families.
2
Many of these precious people feel hopeless. But you know there is still
hope. It’s the hope of an empty tomb that Jesus left behind when God
raised Him from the dead that first Easter morning. A hope that promises
everyone who believes in the chance for new life, health and wholeness.
My Emptiness at the Top of the World
B
orn to Mexican parents in Elko, Nevada, few
people thought I had much of a future. But
I got lucky, I guess.
After I graduated from the University of Nevada
Las Vegas, where I studied marketing and theater arts,
I found employment as an electrician and audio engineer
— and for the next 30 years, I worked with some of the
biggest names in the entertainment industry: Elvis, Liberace,
Andy Williams, Lou Rawls, Bill Cosby, Donna Summer,
Whitney Houston, Cher, Robert Redford, Demi Moore,
Sylvester Stallone and so many more.
I was good at my work and I was very successful
financially. Backstage, I experienced a lot of parties, alcohol,
sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll. I also got married and raised
two sons, who will always be my greatest legacy. In short,
I accomplished everything I set out to do.
The problem is, I reached the top of the world but I felt
empty. Then, by the late 1990s, my marriage failed. My boys
were almost grown. I had no goals left in my career and
I was bored. So I filled the emptiness with girls half my age
and more alcohol.
But it all started to catch up to me, especially my health
— pancreatitis, diabetes, staff infections, fractured sternum,
bad hips. Then I added opiates to my addictions.
sermon and Bible study. And slowly something happened.
I won’t say I found God — instead, God found me.
He filled my heart with joy and my eyes with tears. And
I felt peace for the first time.
Thanks to God, and people like you who support the
Las Vegas Rescue Mission, I know my life isn’t over. I’m not
sure what God has in store for me when I leave, but Jesus
is coming with me. And as long as I keep him first in my
life, the rest will happen.
Josa
The Walls Come Down
By the spring of 2013, I knew I needed help or I was
going to die. So when I heard about the Las Vegas Rescue
Mission, I decided to come. I read all the Christian books
they gave me, attended all the classes, and listened to every
“I filled the emptiness with girls
half my age and more alcohol.”
And that promise is the reason the Las Vegas Rescue Mission reaches out to “the least
of these” — thanks to generous people like you who share our hope in a Risen Savior
and compassion for hurting people.
Your Gifts Bring New Life to Hurting People
Your generous gifts and prayers for those who are hungry and homeless at the
Las Vegas Rescue Mission offer new hope and the chance for new life. Thanks to you,
God is transforming the lives of hurting men, women and children!
Every day, more of our hurting neighbors come seeking our help. They need hope.
They need to know someone cares. And they need caring people like you to give them
another chance for new life in Jesus Christ.
To give your generous gift today, please use the enclosed remit slip, or make your
donation online at www.vegasrescue.org. You may also call us at (702) 382-1766.
Thank you for being an Easter friend to men, women and children who need your help.
very day,
“Emore
of our
hurting
neighbors
come seeking
our help.
”
3
Year-End Drives
have year-long impact
Our biggest drive — our Annual Food Drive
provided food throughout the holidays but will also keep our pantry full
through much of the upcoming year, allowing us to continue serving needy
families and individuals who might otherwise go without food. Thank you to
the over 250 locations that collected food this year! And thank you to every
person who gave — you have fed hungry people!!
Our Coat and Blanket Drive
continues to provide warmth to the
homeless through these winter months.
Special thanks to MyLVTV and RC Willey
for eight years of collecting coats
and blankets!!
Our Toy Drive
made Christmas gifts
possible for over 1,500
families — thank you to
all who gave!
Volunteers make things happen!
Every single day, volunteers make an impact at the Mission.
Without the thousands of volunteers throughout the year, it would not be possible to serve so many in need in our valley.
Thank you to the countless individuals, families, churches, civic groups, student groups and businesses that give of their
valuable time to make an immeasurable difference in the lives of those in need.
Thank you!
My Easter Gift
YES, B ob, I want to help give new hope and life to hurting people.
Here’s my Easter gift of:
m
m
m
m
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$20.50 to provide 10 meals and other assistance
$30.75 to provide 15 meals and other assistance
$61.50 to provide 30 meals and other assistance
$
to provide as many meals and as much care as possible
Please bill my credit card: m VISA m MC m AMEX m DISCOVER
NAMESIGNATURE
ADDRESS
EXP. DATE
Las Vegas Rescue Mission
P.O. Box 270400
Las Vegas, NV 89127-4400
CITY / STATE / ZIP
EMAIL ADDRESS
AP
lease mail this completed form with your Easter donation, or you may give your gift online at
www.vegasrescue.org. Your gift is tax deductible as allowed by law. You will receive a receipt.
RM_44-0203_B03LV
ACCOUNT NO.