Even on the coldest days, the light still shines

Mission Arlington® is powered by prayer.

As a cold, and perhaps wet, front moves into the Metroplex, people everywhere are bundling up to keep warm from the cold weather.

As the Mission Arlington® family closes out this beautiful year, we do it with gratitude for the generosity of the individuals and families in this community which surrounds us. We are thankful to God for you.

Tonight, to close out the year, we will gather to hold hands, sing, read Scripture, and to pray.  Prayer forms a kind of warm fabric which covers and keeps our work alive, vibrant, and humble throughout the year.  Every morning – all year long – the mission family begins the day in prayer.  We pray together as well at the close of each day.

This year, we began to set alarms at 10:00 a.m. each day, stopping to pray in those moments.  We are asking people to join hands with us, no matter where they are and what they are doing by stopping to pray for Mission Arlington® and its work at 10.  If you haven’t joined us in this movement, would you join hands with us in the new year?  We covet and appreciate the prayers of God’s people for His Kingdom’s work.

Because of your gifts, your loving support, and your prayers, more than 800 people a day received food, clothing, furniture, and/or emergency financial assistance.  Those who were sick, but couldn’t afford medical care, could still see a doctor or a dentist.  Families were able to eat a Thanksgiving meal in their own home, and children had toys under the tree on Christmas day.  Most of all, we were able to share Christ, and to teach his word each week, and every day, throughout our community.

How is it possible for us to say thank you to each of you for all you have done this year.  We praise God for your faithfulness, and for the privilege we have of walking this journey with you in these days.

May each one, and every family truly be blessed in this new year. We are looking forward to 2015.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Mission Arlington’s front door.

Mission Arlington® last updated its website in 2008, six years ago.  The website was a gift to us by developers, and it worked beautifully as a vehicle to communicate the work here at our place.  After six years, however, the “behind the scenes” technology made publishing ever more difficult.  This past Summer, we knew that the time for a new website had come.  Through a special donation, once again, we were able to find a new way to communicate with you.  The end result is what you see here.

There are a few new features of this site which we are proud of:

1. The updated design is fresh and “easy on the eyes.”  We’re pleased with our new look, and the comments we have received so far indicate that you like it too.
2. This website can now be translated “at the touch of a button” into multiple languages. We routinely operate in at least two languages here, and at times throughout the year, we do our work in six or seven languages with the help of translators. We truly serve an international community, and the ability of the website to be read in several languages is a plus for our extended family.
3. Our website has always been fairly representative of our work, which meant it operated in multiple layers, and that it was fairly complex. The new website contains the same content as the old one, so the same problem exists when attempting to find relevant material.  To address this concern, we’ve added a search box.  Now, users of the site will be able to search for the material they need without clicking through all of the layers.
4. This website automatically adjusts to hand held devices of all types, and computers of all sizes automatically.  When you open the site from the phone, you can now see what you need without much difficulty.  This is a huge improvement over the inflexibility of our old site.
5. The Mission Arlington® curriculum is the most used portion of our site. Our curriculum currently is being downloaded 2,500 times a day, and it is being used to spread the good news of God’s love all over the world. Now, users can search for the curriculum in several ways – by scripture, by series, by topic, etc.  We expect there to be a learning curve as people learn how to use this new approach, but we believe this will ultimately help users find what they need from our extensive library of free Bible curriculum.  Users can also use the search box from the home page to find curriculum they need in much the same way they used to find the curriculum in the old site.

We are so grateful for all the ways you support our work here.  Don’t hesitate to send us feedback about this new site, or to let us know how we can be supportive to you.  2014 has been a good year.  We are looking forward to this new year, and we are grateful to have an updated way to stay in contact with you.  May the Lord bless you and your family here at year’s end.

Merry Christmas from your Mission Arlington® Family

On Christmas day, Mission Arlington® closes. It is the only day all year that we aren’t here. There is a beautiful calm, and quiet to this place, as our families are celebrating Christmas at home. We have been so blessed this Christmas season, as we have watched the incredible generosity of this community – day after day, and as we have watched our Lord make all of this possible. We are truly honored to be a part of this great community.

On Friday morning, we’ll be back. Our trucks will be picking up your donations; our food pantry will provide food, and we’ll be here to love our Lord and to serve the people – alongside of you.

May this Christmas, for each of you, be truly blessed. From our family to yours, Merry Christmas.

Mission Arlington®’s Christmas Store closed today at 6 p.m.  For ten days, this free store swirled with volunteers, eager to lend a helping hand at Christmas.

Families in need placed their children in the childcare, then picked out gifts for those children from a room full of toys for kids of all ages. Those gifts were wrapped with care, and help was often available to carry people’s gifts to their car for them.

Every adult who came through got to hear the Christmas Story, told in various ways, straight out of Luke chapter 2.  Many people responded to that story, wanting to know more about Christ, or by becoming Christians themselves. Through yesterday, 324 adults had accepted Christ.  Many more wanted to know more or had questions.

Final numbers aren’t in just yet, but by the end of the day on Monday, 24,429 children had received toys from the store.

Mission Arlington® will still be open tomorrow, Christmas Eve through 4 p.m.  We will be making final bike deliveries, providing toys to families experiencing a last minute emergency before Christmas, and receiving donations from the community.

We are so humbled by the way you gave, volunteered, and prayed for us through this beautiful season.  We are so grateful for your constant support.  Together, one life at a time, we are making a difference in our community.  Thank you!

To God be the glory!

Christmas Store Opens: December 12th – 23rd, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily (closed Sundays). You can bring new and/or nearly new toys to the mission offices up through Christmas Eve. (For Holiday Toy Ideas, click here.) To volunteer in the “store,” call 817-277-6620. If your family or someone you know needs help at the Christmas Store, click here to discover the details you need.

“It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas” is perennially one of the top ten Christmas songs. Written by artist Meredith Wilson in the 1950s, it seems just as relevant and fun with each new Christmas season.

It really is beginning to look a lot like Christmas, after all, at Mission Arlington^®. No, there isn’t snow on the ground like there was at this time two years ago. However, there have been a team of people working since last Christmas, on the “Christmas Store.” Toys have been organized and moved into place, getting ready for the public opening of the store on December 12th.

There is a beautiful spirit which permeates the hearts of those here at Mission Arlington^®, but it seems especially energized in these days leading up to Christmas.  The generosity of this incredible community just continues to make us smile.

Knowing that hard working parents – in a moment of crisis – are going to be able to take care of their children for Christmas, because of that generosity, just feels good.  Before it is over, more than 30,000 children will receive Christmas gifts from the “Store.”

Beyond that, and as important as anything we get to do through this season, is that we tell the “Christmas Story” to every adult who comes through the Christmas store.  Many of those adults will hear that story this year for the very first time.  For many, that very story will change their lives forever.

Because of a baby born in Bethlehem 2,000 years ago, it really is beginning to look a lot like Christmas at Mission Arlington^®.  We are grateful!

With Cyber Monday approaching, you have an opportunity to support the work of Mission Arlington® through eligible purchases online at Smile.Amazon.com.

Many of you have already been providing support in the weeks leading up to and through Thanksgiving. Some of you have been giving directly to Mission Arlington®.

We are truly blessed, and we are so grateful for you.

If you are thinking about ways to provide support, the Amazon Smile option is a good way to help.  As you are purchasing items in preparation for Christmas through Amazon, simply choose this link to provide support for Mission Arlington/Mission Metroplex®.

SUPPORT MISSION ARLINGTON® THROUGH AMAZON SMILE…

When you purchase through Amazon Smile on behalf of the mission, Amazon contributes 0.5 percent of your purchase to Mission Arlington®. When everyone purchases through Amazon Smile in this way, it really adds up.

Thank you for all you do to support our work here. We are really excited about the Christmas season.

Today, people will gather from across our community in their own homes, with their own family, to share a Thanksgiving meal, and to express thanks to God for HIs provision.  This will be a meal provided by the Lord through the generosity and faithfulness of the community which surrounds and supports Mission Arlington®.

It is no exaggeration to say that thousands of people all across our community joined in this effort to make it possible for this day to be a  blessing for so many families. Because everyone did their part, about 6,000 families (26,000 people) will have what they need for their families on this important day.

Many of you “shouldered the load.” You publicized the need, knocked on doors, sent out e-mails and communicated through social media, so that you could gather the food, load it into trucks, and bring it down to Mission Arlington®.  Others just went out and bought turkeys and Thanksgiving food, driving it down here. We were humbled and honored to the point of tears watching you drive through with such tangible blessings for other people.

Still, others of you gave of your time. You took days off from work, or when you were out of school, and could have been doing so many other things, you still chose to come here for a few hours, or for a day. Your sacrifice has not gone unnoticed. Your hands carried 5,000+ boxes of Thanksgiving food, passing it along assembly lines of people, from one place to another. You went home tired at the end of the day, but hopefully fulfilled, and blessed.

Others have you couldn’t come, but you have prayed, and sent checks of love, so that turkeys would be available, and that we could be here to assist in the activities on this beautiful day.

Today is truly a day of Thanksgiving.  All praise to our heavenly father who keeps his promises, and gives good gifts to his children.  Praise His name for His provisions.

With the Black Friday weekend approaching, you have an opportunity to support the work of Mission Arlington® through eligible purchases online at Smile.Amazon.com.

Many of you have already been providing support in the weeks leading up to and through Thanksgiving. Some of you have been giving directly to Mission Arlington.

Others of you have been coming individually, bringing your families, and/or your teams to lend a hand.  Turkeys and Thanksgiving food are being unloaded, placed onto trucks, and into freezers. Thanksgiving boxes are being built, lists are being made, and so much more that helps Mission Arlington® get ready for Thanksgiving morning.

Others of you are driving in from all across the DFW Metroplex with car-loads of turkeys and Thanksgiving food.  Students have been working hard on school-sponsored food drives, so that children and families in our community will have Thanksgiving food on this important and special holiday.

Thousands of volunteers will drive downtown to Mission Arlington® on Thanksgiving morning, by 8:00 a.m. to give of their time, making the day special for other families, before they celebrate the holiday themselves.

We are truly blessed, and we are so grateful for you.

If you are thinking about ways to provide support, the Amazon Smile option is a good way to help.  As you are purchasing items in preparation for Christmas through Amazon, simply choose this link to provide support for Mission Arlington/Mission Metroplex®.

SUPPORT MISSION ARLINGTON THROUGH AMAZON SMILE HER…

When you purchase through Amazon Smile on behalf of the mission, Amazon contributes 0.5 percent of your purchase to Mission Arlington®.  When everyone purchases through Amazon Smile in this way, it really adds up.

Thank you for all you do to support Mission Arlington.  We are really excited about Thanksgiving day deliveries, and Christmas is just around the corner.

The City of Arlington film team was here at Mission Arlington yesterday, filming a few moments of activity from a very fulfilling day.  We love the way this community comes together to provide for people’s needs at Thanksgiving.

We hope that you enjoy this article and the video from the City of Arlington Website. Click the link, and it will take you to the article and video:

”Mission Arlington Helping Families on Thank…

Thank you for all you do to help us take care of the people.  If you have time to volunteer, come on down. There is always plenty to do.  On Thanksgiving morning, we are asking volunteers to arrive at 8:00 a.m. here at 210 W. South St. in downtown Arlington. Thanksgiving food is still needed. Click this link to discover what you can bring to help.

We love doing this, and we love walking this journey with you.  It truly is more “blessed to give than to receive.”

Thanksgiving is upon us once again, a little more than 1 week away.  Last year, Mission Arlington® gave away turkeys to 26,000 people, or 5, 943 families.  It took about 5,200 turkeys to help that happen.

Based upon the number of requests we are receiving, and the intensity of the personal need we are experiencing, it looks like we will serve at least that many people again on Thanksgiving day.

It takes about 6,000 volunteers to make that work.  Volunteers are invited to serve here any time before Thanksgiving, of course, but also and especially on Thanksgiving day.  Volunteers should arrive by 8:00 a.m. to start the day.  Here is a link for more information:Thanksgiving Day Information

We are about half way towards our goal of 5,000+ turkeys.  Could you help us spread the word?  Could you help out by bringing a turkey to our main offices downtown?  We still need about 2,500 turkeys to help Thanksgiving day work.

Pictured above are a group of college students with their professor from the West Coast University. They brought 11 turkeys with them this morning.  We are so blessed by this wonderfully, generous community.

Thank you so much.