The most incredible part of our work at the Mission is that we get to witness miracles happen every day. The miracles we get to be part of come in the form of transformed lives.

The mother and her children who come to us with nothing but the clothes on their backs and leave us with a job, keys to an apartment and with hope where there was none before.

The single dad who is raising his children on his own and finds a community at the Mission to help him through. We get to see transformation happen before our very eyes.

But, what most people don’t realize is that my life and the lives of our staff members are being transformed as well. Every person who comes to us for help has something to teach us. Some of us have learned to be grateful for the things we often take for granted: a hot shower, a good meal, a warm bed, safety, family, stability. There are deeper things we learn from our guests as well. One of our guests recently handed me a list of things he is grateful for. It included things like: good days, bad days, hard times and tough lessons. What an amazing and humbling perspective. As we continue to do our work in 2016, I look forward to what we will learn and how our staff, volunteers, donors and guests will be transformed.