Rex Whiteman's February Message

Candy hearts and cupid. Romantic movies and sappy songs. Fluttering eyes and long goodbyes.

That’s what “love” is to many of us, especially this month. Love is a product, bought on store shelves. It’s a nice candlelit dinner for two, or a weekend trip with your sweetheart. Love for Julia*? It’s making sure her three year-old daughter is safe from an abusive husband and father. It’s working herself to the bone to guarantee that a precious little girl has a warm bed and nutritious food. Love is caring so deeply for someone that she cares nothing of herself. Love is knowing that when Julia greets her daughter’s bright green eyes each morning, she sees hope where there once was none.

At Union Mission, love is what we feel, deep within our hearts, each time someone like Julia walks through our doors. It sometimes hurts, this love; broken hearts are painful. But oh, the joy, when we see those whose lives were shattered pick up the pieces of their broken hearts and make a new life for themselves.

Today, as others around you celebrate the “month of love,” I’d like to ask you to join us in healing broken hearts. Maybe you can give $10. Maybe you can give $500. Maybe it’s something in between. Would you look within your own heart and, as you have done so faithfully in the past, find compassion for someone like Julia? You see, Julia thought she found love. But just three years after the birth of her daughter, her husband turned violent. She explained away the bruises, the scratches and the missing patches of hair. She thought she was in love, after all.

But there was a greater love, you see. It was the deep bond she felt with her daughter. Julia finally fled to safety—only to realize that in leaving her husband, she was left with nothing herself. No job. No income. No home. That’s when it became Union Mission’s turn to show love. With nowhere else to turn, Julia found caring case workers at The Mission who helped her find an apartment.

Once there, we helped fill it with furniture, linen, food—and, above all, love. Today, Julia has a steady job, a church family and a stable home life. It’s a far cry from the days when her heart was broken and she and her daughter’s lives were in danger at the hands of a man who didn’t know how to show love. I am so honored to partner with you in this great work we’re doing together. Thank you! While we are the instrument, it’s your love for others that heals broken hearts. Never forget how important you are in this effort.

Today, another Julia may walk through our doors, three year-old daughter in tow, looking for love. For nearly 100 years, we’ve never had to turn anyone away because we lacked the resources to help them.

By responding to this letter today, you are ensuring we never will.

-Rev. Rex Whiteman

President and CEO
Union Mission

(*while Julia and her story is real, we have changed her name and some distinguishing details to protect her anonymity.)