Sun beats Snow
God is so good and faithful! Our 17th Annual golf event held one year ago had an all time first of snow on the course sticking to the ground. So much so that when rolling a golf ball it picked up snow and became a snowball. Not this year – the 18th Annual event was full of sunshine!!
Our golfers were very thankful for the good weather. It was not a balmy 75, but 57 that eventually hit the low 60s by the time we finished, which was so nice compared to snow. Most things are just relative – they are what they are. So many analogies that can be found on a golf course; now just to convince the team of this and be able to play a little bit more. After all, golf is good self-care, at least to me. Others may find it stressful and therefore, not contributing to self-care.
For me, golf is all about the fellowship and humility. For instance, at the event I had two eagle putts, but left both those greens with pars (humility). And then again, I hit a shot into the nice clear brook and my caddie quickly chimed in with, “let the recovery begin”. We had a good laugh (fellowship) and then put the ball grabber to use.
All in all it was a fantastic day. A day that reminded me of how good our God is. Do you know that prior to the event six out of the last eight months found Beacon of Hope in the red financially. In fact, 2023 saw most non-profits around the nation have donations decrease by 20-30% from the previous year. Yes, our numbers may be lower, but our God can do so much with the little, because little is much when God is in it.
And that is what we are experiencing here at Beacon of Hope. We are rejoicing that five of our student interns just graduated. However, we are not able to replace them with five new ones. We are trusting God to continue to provide and allow our supervisors and volunteers absorb some of the wait list. Be in prayer for workers. The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.
We are not discouraged – there is hope on the horizon. Beacon of Hope has worked with 19 higher educational institutions over the past 17 years, representing 133 student interns. And with successful meetings lately that former number will increase to 21. Praise God for His provision of future Kingdom workers. We are so blessed by His generosity. He knows what we need and He will provide.
The 18th Annual golf event has raised to date currently $43,131. If you are reading this and realized you forgot to sponsor a golfer there is still time to send in a check or go to the website. Checks get mailed to Beacon of Hope, P. O. Box 2703, Holland, MI 49423. And the website is: https://beaconhope.net/give
Thank you for your support and for being a part of the healing of the broken – bringing hope to the hopeless. You are making a difference one client at a time. Your gift of $43 will cover the cost of one entire counseling session. A gift of $600 will follow a client from beginning to end. Just think, you get to be a part of the path to healing. Provide some hope today by giving now!
Providing Hope & Healing,
Kyle Thompson EdD LPC
Executive Director
