BeacontheChanging Lives by God’s Grace

Your Generosity at WorkThanksgiving 2016

Over 75 years of Changing Lives by God’s Grace CharlotteRescueMission.org (704) 333-HOPE (4673)

“I not only lost five years of my life to alcohol, but five years of my son’s life as well!”Anthony’s story continues inside...

We praise God every day for bringing men and women to our door to begin new lives in our residential Rebound and Dove’s Nest programs: Lives without addiction. Lives free of poverty and abuse. Lives now filled with grace.

More often than not, these transformations start with a simple meal, just like the 16,258 being served in the month leading up to Thanksgiving.

We also praise God for you.This ministry – the meals,

the shelter, the professional counseling, the life-transforming recovery programs – is only possible with your support.

We praise you for fulfilling Christ’s command to feed, shelter and care for our brothers and sisters in need. And, we share with you His promise: “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these, you did for me.”

In Partnership for Changing Lives,

Rev. Tony MarcianoExecutive Director

A MESSAGE FROM TONY

Anthony’s story… continued

A nthony remembers his own father taking him fishing when he was 12 or 13. They would both drink. But alcohol didn’t become a real

demon in Anthony’s life until he was 15, when he began drinking heavily – and smoking marijuana.

“My son was born when I was 24, so I stopped smoking marijuana. But the alcohol continued. Today, he’s nine, but I lost the last five years of his life…”

“I couldn’t keep a steady job,” Anthony remembers. “I could get good jobs, but then my addiction would just pull the carpet right out from under me.”

Anthony came into the Rescue Mission twice, and left both times, before he was really ready to make a commitment to turn his life around.

This time, Anthony committed to our Rebound program, and graduated last October! “I just keep praying to God, asking Him to keep me sober one day at a time.”

And once his life was straight, Anthony could focus on others.“Now I can be the father to my son

that I should have always been. But I can’t get those five years back, and that’s hard.”

Once Anthony left the Rescue Mission, he attended and graduated from culinary school, with his family and friends from the Rescue Mission attending the ceremony. Today, he’s reunited with his son and works at a local restaurant.

“If you want to change your life, to start a new journey and put the past behind you,” he says, “I recommend Rebound!”

“I gave more time to alcohol than I did to my son.”

“The most important thing in my life was to get my son back!”