June 2014 Newsletter

Download a PDF to read the full newsletter. Or read our featured article below.

---

Gateway To A New Life

David could not afford to drive to work. He lost his last job for a lack of gas money. Like so many others in Douglas County, just getting that job was hard to do. Then it was only part-time, and he had to drive from his native Myrtle Creek to Roseburg. One day, he called his place of employment to tell them that he did not have the gas money to get to work. He asked for a day, so he could do some day labor to earn gas money, but they said, “No.” He was unemployed again. David has a family to feed; rent to pay. Their water was shut off for lack of payment.

Many of the larger employers around Myrtle Creek use employment agencies in Roseburg. He could not afford to get to the employment agencies with the consistency required to get a job. In a word, the answer was, “migration”. As others have left Roseburg for opportunities in larger cities, some leave still smaller communities for Roseburg, a regional hub of employment activity and social services.

Having a work ethic was never a problem with David. After his stint in the Army, he worked in fast food, sawmills and logging. He took his family responsibilities seriously, deciding to resettle in Roseburg for work possibilities. It was a great plan, but not one that he could implement on his own. He needed some temporary assistance, then he would be independent again. The solution that David devised was for him to move into the Mission dormitory, while his fiancé and ten-month-old son.

David said, “Once I moved to Roseburg, it only took three weeks to find work. Every morning, I got up and looked for work. I got a job by going to a mill every day. I was behind on bills. I needed a job. I just begged them, until I got a job. Every morning, I was there. They saw that I was serious and reliable, and I got the job.”

The process was not all tenacity on his part. There was a bit of bravado, a courage of just taking one necessary step after another, a defiant confidence when he was really very worried for the future. He does not mind sharing that tears were shed while talking to and praying with a volunteer after an evening chapel service.

After three weeks on the job, he moved his family into a very cramped motel room with all of their belongings. He stayed in the Mission dormitory. He then determined that the next step to selfsufficiency was for him to rent a room in the Mission’s Transitional Housing Program and store some of their possessions in that room. After a total of three months on the job, David and his family were able to move into their own place together again. Hope was fulfilled.

More than employment and housing was achieved. More than hope for a future in this life resulted. David said, “The Mission brought me back to God. The nightly chapel services, listening to the Word, it spoke to me. It turned me back. I believe the Lord died on the cross for our sin. I want to lead the life He wants us to live. There came a point where there was no more denying it.” Now he has an eternal hope as well.