The Joy of Choice
By Hannah Rodgers
As I mentioned in the last blog post, the reason a lot of people come to the Mission is that they have run out of healthy relationships. This can most likely lead to a feeling of hopelessness and as if the cycle of poverty is an inevitability in life. If poverty has been the only way you have lived your entire life, there was probably not many opportunities for you to make choices about what you did, ate, wore, or where you slept. If there was a choice, it probably was a decision between bad and worse. Choice is one thing the Mission can offer men, women and children who come to Haven of Rest for help. Dedicated staff and volunteers are here to help people turn their hopelessness into hope and help them achieve things they never thought were in their reach.
“Sew Powerful showed me I don’t have to be poor.”
What an amazing testimony in just one phrase from Sanya, a woman who is attending classes at Harvest Home. This quote shows that when you have knowledge, a support system, and a desire to make a positive change in your life the sky is the limit.
Sew Powerful is a social enterprise class in which women can learn to sew a myriad of different items like tote bags, place mats, aprons, pot holders, phone carriers, glasses cases, and so much more. Not only are they learning a marketable skill, but they are learning how to start and manage a micro business that can supplement income or support their families.
One of the things that Haven of Rest has to offer people staying with them is the opportunity for a hand up, not a hand out. It is the goal of the ministry to empower and lift up men, women and children who are staying at the Mission and put them on a road to financial, social, and spiritual sustainability. Our comprehensive programming, like Sew Powerful, offers individuals a chance to change their lives with the help of our staff and volunteers. In a manner of speaking, we help people understand that they do have a choice in what their future holds and that it can be joyful.
Please pray for Sanya and all the men, women and children who are at the Mission, ready to make positive choices for their future and the future of their families.
