• Bottled Water
• Individually Wrapped Snacks
• Feminine Hygiene Products
• Razors
• Deodorant
• Bus Passes
• Men’s, Women’s and Kids underwear – all sizes
• Women’s and Children’s socks
• Coffee
• Coffee Supplies; Non Dairy Creamer, Sugar, Sugar Substitute
• Coffee Cups
• Paper Products; Paper Towel, Napkins, Toilet Paper
• Cleaning Supplies
• Backpacks
• Sleeping Bags
• Men’s jeans; 32×32, 34×32, 36×32, 38×32, 40×32
• Men’s, Women’s and Kids hoodie sweatshirts (not blue or red, please)
• Magazines
• Sponsor for Care Notes (approximately $100/month)
• Power Point Projector
• Acer PC; five needed to complete computer lab; purchased at Costco

www.turlockjournal.com/section/12/article/13240

As we prepare to launch our Winter Relief Ministry for this season, we have more exciting news to share with you. Turlock Gospel Mission will be adding another ministry called the Homeless Assistance Ministry (H.A.M.). We are currently looking to locate this ministry in the Turlock Youth Center building on East Avenue. It will be open during the day from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM and will provide a safe environment for our guests during the day, off the streets and out of bad weather. We are blessed to have Pastor Tim Guerino join our team. Many of you know Tim as the Senior Pastor of Sunrise Christian Church. He will still be with Sunrise, but Pastor Mark and others will be assuming more of the day to day responsibilities to free Tim to launch H.A.M. Tim has an excellent background for this ministry in that he was responsible for operating the Syracuse Rescue Mission for 7-1/2 years. He is a trained first responder and was the second clergy person on site at Ground Zero on 9-11. Please introduce yourselves to Tim as you see him around T.G.M. Once H.A.M. is set up, we will have an open house for volunteers and staff to come over and have a look, prior to opening.

Our vision for H.A.M. is:

• Helping people restore relationships with self, family, friends and others through Christ
• Offering hope to our guests through dignity, purpose and commitment
• Connecting people to the right resources, agencies and individuals to help put them on the road to recovery
• Assisting guests in reconnecting with our community in a positive way
• Offering a safe environment during the day

We are hoping to open H.A.M. at the same time as we launch the Winter Relief Ministry (W.R.M.) for homeless women and children this season so that we can offer shelter 24 hours a day through at leastthe beginning of April. Our startup target date for both is 11/13/11.

The second piece of exciting news is that we are in the process of purchasing a property. We hope to have this transaction completed before the end of the year. This property contains a large warehouse with a surrounding lot and the lot next door, totaling just under an acre of land. These two lots are located on D Street, between Broadway and South 1st Street. Chris Kiriakou, our Board President is working to create a fund raising committee and we expect to launch a fund raising initiative in the communityin the very near future.

As we move forward with these new developments, as well as with preparing for our fourth winter of housing homeless women and children, the next few months are sure to be extremely busy. We will be looking for everything from materials to labor in getting H.A.M. ready, along with the vital church partnerships and all of the items needed to make this year’s W.R.M. effective at the same time. But, the absolute most important thing we need is prayer. We firmly believe that we are acting in obedience to the Lord, responding to the doors He has opened. No decision has been made without a great deal of prayer, and that approach will continue in force. As you have often heard me say . . .” unless the Lord builds the house, we labor in vain.” Please consider this personal invitation to pray without ceasing for these initiatives. To support this commitment, we will be putting together a prayer team. If you would like to be a part of this team, please let Cindy Noah know.

Of course, none of this would be possible without you, our incredible volunteers. Each one of you are such a blessing. There is no one who can do what you do, bring the heart that you bring, or touch the lives that you touch. This ministry would not be complete without each one of us walking in obedience to the Lord, responding to His invitation to serve the hurting and the homeless of our community. “Thank you” seems so inadequate. Please know how very much each one of you is deeply appreciated and how grateful I am to our Father for knitting us all together in this ministry. I am deeply grateful to be servingHim together with you.

Gratefully,

Rev. Jeffrey Woods
Executive Director

P.S. As you pray for TGM, please feel free to share with Tim or Cindy or me anything you sense the Lord might be laying on your heart! We don’t want to miss Him in any way. Thanks!