Reverberating Impact

Do you have a close relationship with your siblings? According to a recent article by Rebecca Nappi in the Spokesman Review, brothers and sisters who stay connected have healthier, possibly even longer, lives. Siblings share a common history and are likely to be the longest relationships of a person's life. Plenty of opportunities to practice conflict resolution and forgiveness arise between brothers and sisters. (Believe me, I have four brothers — I know.) God created the family as the primary learning ground, the basis for society as a whole. Sometimes, however, as in our cover story, the influence of family is overwhelmingly negative. The enemy's number one strategy is to divide and destroy families — to take what God created for good and twist it. Sunday had to walk away from her family, but God is bringing about a rebuilding.

David wrote in the Psalms that there is a Friend who sticks closer than a brother. Sunday found that Friend in Jesus Christ, and together, they charted a new course. Sunday separated herself from her family for a time so that she might heal and build a new life. Fortunately, she found that crucial, family-like support at the Union Gospel Mission thrift store. Fellow employees and management stood by her, loved her, and prayed for her. Eventually, she turned sibling pressure on its head and began to influence her family for good. Now, her sister, Angie, is attempting to follow her lead.

When you give to Union Gospel Mission, you impact lives, and those lives impact other lives — families, friends, employers, acquaintances — and the impact reverberates in ever-spreading circles of influence. That's what we're about — not just getting people back to work, but getting them back to work as whole, healthy individuals who can make a difference in another life. Not only are you helping to spread positive influence, you are helping put an end to negative influence. Sunday was the first person in her family to blaze a different path. She broke the cycle of crime, drugs and incarceration because you helped create a safe work environment where people truly care about each other at the Union Gospel Mission thrift stores. Thank you.

Serving together,

Phil Altmeyer
Executive Director

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