Well praise be unto our Jesus!!! May He receive all the glory, honor, power and praise through our loving surrendered lives unto Him. How blessed we are to be called children of God because that is who we are-children, born not of natural descent nor of human decision or a husbands will, but born of God! (John 1:12-13). All that God asks of us is to receive Him, to believe in His name. If you are having trouble coming to receive of His name, you are not alone. There are many who are so caught up in the battles of life that they can’t receive in their hearts, the Gospel; John 3:16-17-For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him…

We at Hope have received and now our “hearts” are to share this single most important event a human can do; receiving of the Life of the Son. If you or anyone you know are having a hard time receiving this message in any way, please call us at Hope. There are never any charges for our services, so money is not an issue. All of us here have overcome many of the battles you are now facing.   Jesus is the way, the truth and the life, no man comes unto the Father except through Him. We are non-denominational and solely about the promoting of Jesus Christ as life at the center of our core-to help hearts heal, now and unto eternity! Choose you this day-Blessings and Life in Christ, Joe

As we are sure you’re all aware, the price of everything keeps going up with unfortunately no end in sight. This has helped cause the number of financial gifts that Hope normally receives to plummet. Therefore, next month we are initiating a Go Fund Me Fundraiser for Hope Ministries. You will find a link for this on our Annual Fundraiser page. Any gifts from you personally would be most appreciated, and spreading the word or this newsletter with your friends and your church would also be a great help. We know that we can count on your prayers for a favorable outcome of this fundraiser so that we may continue to “Help Hearts Heal “Blessings; The Hope Ministries Staff  

LEW GERVAIS, ADDICTIONS ~ PASTORAL COUNSELOR

I’m back!!! It has been six weeks since the triple heart bypass and aortic valve replacement surgery. For those first two weeks I made the extra effort to follow the doctor’s orders to give my body time to recover and heal. Of course, I did have a lot of help from my wife who followed me around to make sure I obeyed the doctor’s orders. After two weeks of home imprisonment, it felt like imprisonment to me, I started slowly returning to my regular routine of meetings at Hope and at church. However, my counseling schedule was still on hold because I needed to rely on the generosity of friends to get me to and from those meetings. The most humbling part was that I couldn’t even ride in the front seat of a car because of the possibility of an accident. I was told that if the accident didn’t kill me, the airbag most likely would. So, I had to promise that I would only ride in the back seat. Well, that all ended on May 28th with my last visit to the surgeon. They freed me to drive and resume my responsibilities at work as long as I didn’t pick anything up over ten pounds. That was easy for me because the heaviest thing I needed to pick up at Hope was a pen or maybe a book. I am sure none of my books weighed ten pounds. The surgeon informed me that I have recovered very quickly compared to other people my age and younger. I chalk that up to all the people who were holding me up in prayer.

     It felt so freeing to finally be able to drive myself anywhere I needed to, or wanted to go. I felt like I did when I was 16 and got my first driver’s license and car. It sure felt good to get back in the saddle again at Hope. This week has been busy as I reconnected with many of the people I was counseling prior to the surgery. My coworkers did a good job of filling in for me in my absence, but they were more than ready to see me back in my office again. I have also begun to take on new clients this week. I never realized how much my work at Hope Ministries meant to others and to me. When I was homebound for those first few weeks my total routine was turned upside down and inside out. If that is what retirement might look like for me, I will probably keep working until I drop dead.

I would like to sincerely thank each and every one of you for your ongoing prayers for my recovery. I can’t even begin to explain how safe I felt throughout the whole ordeal. Throughout the entire process of procedures, surgery and recovery, I felt the awesome presence and peace of God holding me up, and healing me for the past six weeks. Today I don’t even feel like I had open-heart surgery at all, that is, except when I cough or sneeze. That is when I am reminded that my body is still healing. Back again! Lew

TOM & BARBARA MURGATROYD, HOPE OFFICE ADMINISTRATION & ANGER MANAGEMENT COUNSELORS, PRISON FELLOWSHIP /ANGEL TREE

Barbara and I originally had a ministry called Gateway to Life which entailed going into the state prison near us and teaching various Bible based classes. Several years ago, that prison closed down, so now we focus on Angel Tree every Christmas, Anger Management counseling, talking to the spouses of the inmates that will be coming home soon, counseling newly released inmates and all of the office and financial work which helps to keep our doors open. Blessings, Tom & Barbara

ALICE IANNANTUANO – WOMEN’S COUNSELOR

Lord, you say, I hear it in my ear, You will make a way, your way, in the wilderness and streams of abundance in the wastelands of my past. Provisions I haven’t dared to behold, yet they come and I behold them. The righteous live by faith, this is my theme. Morning by morning, He awakens me and opens my understanding to His will. I’m accomplished, polished, already defined to do His will, purposed created, formed in the womb before time, my time, became here. He has called and I stood upright in heart, His own, bought with a price, redeemed. I am His, no longer wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and I no longer lie naked in the cold without clothing or covering, soaked by mountain showers, huddled against the rocks for want of a home. My trust and security is in you alone Lord; you seek after me all day long, assuring my comfort and rest be in you and only you. You are my refuge and strength and my glory to whom I owe all; my saving grace from above whose diligence He has set aflame in mine own heart to go forth in His witness. Amen, I am not my own. Father, may it be that all who have ears to hear will hear. I ask that you would tap their hearts to call Hope Ministries where they would be welcomed with open arms, where they are and how they are, in the love of Christ. God’s blessings to you; Alice

GINA LINDQUIST –ADDICTIONS-PASTORAL COUNSELOR-PASSION MINISTRIES

The devils first temptation to Jesus was to attack His identity. God spoke at the Jordan river after Jesus was baptized saying “this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased”.  (Matt 3:17) But in the desert, hungry, thirsty and tired, He was vulnerable, so Satan posed the question “If you are the Son of God”. He uses the same trick on us today. We lose our way, things happen beyond our control, or questions seem to go unanswered, so there’s the enemy, trying to steal away the identity we have been given as children of God. He’ll say things like, If God really loves you then why did that happen, or look what you just did, and you call yourself a Christian? He doesn’t want you to know the truth, that God’s love is unconditional and once you belong to Him nothing can change that. God recreated you in the image and likeness of Him, gave you a purpose and everything you need to carry that out.  As a beloved Son, Jeus had a purpose but if He had forgotten who He was, it would have never been accomplished. Too many Christians are living fruitless lives, struggling with needless difficulties and not fulfilling their God given purpose because they don’t know or have forgotten what was accomplished for them at the cross. We are now beloved sons and Daughters of God because according to John 1:12 we were given that right when we believed on Jesus.  At Hope Ministries we are here to remind you or teach you, who you are in Christ Jesus.  No matter what your current situation is in life, the truth of God’s love is the first step to helping your heart heal. Let us show you how seeing yourself through God’s eyes can empower you to live the abundant life that Jesus said He came to give. Call or come by and let us bless you today. Gina