How the Gospel Led Lori to Peace

“I came to Pacific Garden Mission because my life was very unstable. The ups and downs were too much for me to handle alone. When I was only four years old, my mother died of a brain tumor, and for a time my family was broken apart until my father remarried. These events stayed with me and weighed me down as I grew. Later in life, I found myself at a breaking point, losing my job and then also losing both my father and stepmother within the same year. On top of that, my marriage of 18 years was failing. I needed a change. That is what brought me through the doors of PGM. I needed something to hold onto, some strength, and that’s what I found at Pacific Garden Mission.

“Initially, I had required somewhere to sleep, and I was sent to the Pacific Garden Mission by another shelter that had run out of beds. The shelter where I had been previously only had eight women and 90 men, and when I arrived at PGM, there were over 200 women and many more men. When I got here, the only possessions I owned were a backpack and a pair of jeans inside it. The staff at PGM made sure that I got all the necessities I needed including clothing, toiletries, a shower, a bed to sleep in, and three meals a day. The first night I was in the PGM chapel I heard a sermon in the nightly service given by Pastor Percy (a graduate of the New Life Program), and that is when I decided to turn my life over to Jesus Christ.

“The New Life Program has been wonderful and has many counselors you can go to for advice and mentoring. Pastor Phil had encouraged me to go into the program and thought it would be good for my spirit. Learning more about the Bible and getting closer to God has been very helpful, especially with what I have gone through, including the death of my mother and separation of my family as a young child. I am working on reuniting with my family now. I had lost contact with my two sons and am currently working on rebuilding our bonds.

“I recently was moved to the Unshackled department to work, and I am enjoying the ministry. We have a lending library for the blind where we mail out recorded Unshackled! testimonies. I help to send out orders and find it rewarding. I am very grateful for what I have here. I get the Word of God three or four times a day. One of my favorite Bible verses is 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18: “Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” That is one of the greatest things I have learned here, is to pray without ceasing. Before, when I was going through my ups and downs, I was praying unconsciously. Looking back, I can see that now. I had been praying in my own way back then and I’m praying now.”

Lori now has a second family of support and encouragement here at PGM. She attends daily Bible classes and devotions and is in a place of safety and stability. A person can have very little and feel more at peace than ever. The peace of Christ is difficult to convey in words, but the Gospel leads the lost to that peace. As God provides the spiritual peace, PGM provides young disciples of Christ every earthly necessity. PGM offers a sanctuary of study, prayer, contemplation, and healing. Testimonies like Lori’s would not be possible without your faithful support and loving prayers.

Your prayers and partnership will help save and transform more lives like Lori’s!