P. O . B o x 1 1 2 5 4 , B i r m i n g h a m , A L 3 5 2 0 2 • b b m i s s i o n . c o m • S e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 9

Two Interns Find New Life in Christ at Brother Bryan Mission

Abandoned in Birmingham – Kelly Smith

When Kelly Smith went to use the restroom on his way to a job in Arkansas he never knew it would lead to a new life in Christ. Kelly’s life had not been wholesome leading up to these severe circumstances. Drinking, abusing drugs, and pursuing improper relationships with women had left him without his family and in prison in his home state of South Carolina. Once

released he had nothing so that an offer of work in Arkansas seemed like a good decision. However, when he came out of the restroom on that cold wintry day in October of 2018 his ride had left him alone and abandoned.

The next five months saw Kelly filled with anger living in shelters and under a bridge. The day he entered BBM there was a graduation ceremony where he sat next to Chris McLane on the bus to the church where the ceremony was being held. Chris said, “I was worried because the guy I was sitting next to (Kelly) looked really angry.”

His Chaplain, Curtis Reynolds, began to challenge Kelly to surrender his anger, and his life, to Christ. Kelly’s physical appearance showed the change that was taking place within him.

Kelly’s wife had died many years before but a relationship with his three children was tugging at his heart. He began to communicate to his oldest daughter through his sister. A family reunion in South Carolina came with an invitation for Kelly to visit his sister and meet with his oldest daughter. When the daughter arrived his youngest daughter got out of the car as well. The son soon arrived as well.

There were no hugs of joy at first because Kelly had some things he needed to say. “I asked for their forgiveness and the opportunity to move beyond the past.” Their answer was “YES, WE FORGIVE YOU!”

This morning each of Kelly’s children received a text from their Dad telling them of his love and care for them. They will receive another tonight. Yesterday was the same and tomorrow will not be different. The journey from being abandoned in Birmingham to being fulfilled in Christ passed through Brother Bryan Mission. Kelly, his children, and many others are grateful it did.

Chris McLane – Just Go Away

“Do you know somewhere to go when someone doesn’t know where to go?” This was the question Chris McLane was asking the Birmingham police officer. The Shelby County hospital had given him a bus pass. They had found him sleeping on their property and they wanted him to go away.

There had been others who wanted Chris to go away and even Chris wanted himself to go away. Drugs and alcohol had not been the answer and Chris had come to the point where, “I knew I was beyond human aid.”

Directed to Brother Bryan Mission, Chris’ thought as he walked was, “If I am not accepted into their program I am going to jump off the Sloss Furnace Bridge.”

Fortunately, Chris was accepted. Shortly after his arrival Chris was reading a book about the apostle Paul’s conversion. “I wanted to recreate that in my life, so I asked Jesus to be my only Lord and Savior.”

Stemming from that experience Chris has gained a peace and freedom that he has never enjoyed. Chris continues, “He (Jesus) has shown me love and kindness beyond the realm of what I thought was possible for someone like me.”

Chris recently joined a local church and was baptized. He has had the opportunity to share his testimony with others and is considering what his next steps will be. “My mindset and thinking has been changed and for the first time in a long time I have a hope for the future.”

Thank you for supporting Brother Bryan Mission where hope is found for a better life.

Mark Your Calendars4th Annual

BRIDGES TO HOPE CHARITY GOLF TOURNAMENT

Wednesday, October 2, 2019at Robert Trent Jones Oxmoor Valley

SINCE 1940

Jim EtheredgeExecutive Director

1616 2nd Avenue North

P.O. Box 11254Birmingham, AL 35202

(205) 322-0092 Office(205) 322-7820 Fax

www.bbmission.com

NEW LIFE FELLOWSHIPRECOVERY PROGRAM

EXODUS TRANSITIONAL HOUSING PROGRAM

READY TO WORK PROGRAM

MEALS, CLOTHING, SHOWERS

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Dean Nix President

John Bell Vice President

Ed Allen Secretary

Brian George Treasurer

Antyne James

Allan Causey

Sandi Gornati

Mike Graham

Bryan Gunn

Jack Knight

Denny Ragland

Keep up with

Brother Bryan Mission

or make donations

on our expanding webpage

www.bbmission.com

Our youngest daughter got married on August 3 of this year. It was no surprise that there was much discussion over wedding attire. I ordered 3 different dresses online in addition to trying on many others in stores. I finally decided to keep one that I had ordered online. Ordering this dress was a gamble because it was a clearance dress and couldn’t be returned. Thankfully I was able to make it work. The discussion then centered around what the groom and groomsmen would wear. Since my husband was participating in the service we knew we wanted him to try and match whatever they wore.

Our daughter decided on navy blue suits for the men. It seemed basic and simple but my husband, a pastor for 35 years, did not own a navy blue suit. Very early in our marriage my mother-in-law thought he would need a black suit for funerals. We went to a very nice clothing store at Eastwood Mall where she bought a black suit for him. He has spoken over way too many gravesites wearing this suit.

My mom bought Jim a suit the first year or two we were married. He still has it and wears it mostly in the spring. I bought him a couple of sport coats back in the early 90s and a couple of corduroy jackets within the past 10 years. I realized with amazement that in 35 years of marriage he has not purchased a new suit. His mother used to shop regularly at the Jewish Hadassah sale where she purchased a collection of dress shirts that she folded and put in the cedar chest. If one of her sons or Jim’s dad needed a shirt she simply went and “shopped” from the cedar chest. When she passed away I noticed that my father in law stood beside her casket greeting people in a brown suit that had part of the lining hanging down where the hem was out. That night, before her funeral the next day, I got a needle and thread and repaired the coat. He was incredulous that I thought it even mattered. Except for our wedding, I never saw him in any other suit except that old brown one, even though he owned his own steel company and could easily afford it. My husband came from a family that simply didn’t put a big priority on clothing.

A couple of weeks before the wedding Jim and I went to Macy’s. I had seen an ad for suits that were $99. We searched the racks at Macy’s and found a navy blue one in his size. But they were all slim cut and Jim looked like a summer sausage when he tried to button the coat. We also didn’t care for the fabric. We decided we would wait. As we drove away from the mall I noticed a men’s clothing store that we had never been inside. I suggested that we go in and look around. By now it was only an hour until closing time. We were both intimidated by the vastness of the store and what appeared to be racks and racks of clothing from which to choose.

We were greeted cheerfully and asked if we needed help. We expressed our desire to find a navy blue suit for our daughter’s wedding. The first jacket the salesman got had a price on the sleeve that was a couple thousand dollars. We quietly said that was way more than we could spend, so the salesman brought out another one. Jim tried it on and it looked great, so he then was taken to the dressing room to try on the whole thing. It was a little over $300 and I saw hesitancy in my husband’s face. I said to him that I thought we should get it. I said it had been so long since he’d had a new suit. He continued to look doubtful. Only when I said, “We need to do this for Jane”, did he relent. The suit was measured and marked and left for alterations. The wise salesman brought a very nice pair of shoes to try on to mark the pants’ hem. Jim said quietly to me that they hurt his feet. We didn’t get the shoes but we did pick out 3 new ties…they were “buy 1, get 2 free”. I realized later that Jim was given

The New SuitBy Kay Etheredge

In Honor of Given byFrank Barker Banks and Evelyn FarrisJohn Bryan Edward and Gail Parrish AnonymousSigurd Bryan Sara BryanFrances Costanza Sarah JalilB.T. Elliott Sue ElliottBetty Hill Jane MooreTyler Kerley Margaret FitzgerrellDon Steel Barbara GravesHelen Thigpen Ed ThigpenMarla Wilson N. Jerald WilsonTom Zobel Mike and Mary Ellen Zinser

In Memory of Given byR.B. Bagby Betty Louise BagbyMrs. E. Earl Baggett H. Mack JollyGeorge Chiotakis Irene ChiotakisThomas W. Christian Duncan Y. ManleyDon Davis Charles BancroftDonald Davis Harriet DavisB.W. Elliott B.T. and Susan ElliottGeorge Kovakas Irene ChiotakisM.J. Long B.T. and Susan ElliottTrey Middlebrooks Debra BerlandGeorge D. Nix Russell and Nita YarbroughBeecher and Geraldine Olive Denny and Susan RaglandTom Roberts Jebb Roberts BlankenshipEd Roberts Jebb Roberts BlankenshipClarence M. Small, Jr. Duncan Y. ManleyJohn Steel Barbara Graves Don and Jane SteelAnn Stinson Jere and Ruth ChandlerAlton J. Wiseman Gerald WisemanSonya Womack Ben an Kim Glass Lura GlassRussell Yarbrough, Sr. Russell and Nita Yarbrough

Gifts to Brother Bryan Mission in Honor or in

Memory of…

A very special way you can both Honor a Loved One, Great Friend, Teacher, or Other Special Person - and

help Brother Bryan Mission, is with a gift in their honor to Brother Bryan Mission. We will mail a card of recognition to the Honoree(s), letting them know

we received a gift from you in their honor.

a lot of ties that belonged to a friend’s brother who passed away and that was back in the early 90s. It was seriously time to upgrade his wardrobe.

The wedding has come and gone and I can say that, even without the new shoes, my husband looked great. The suit fit him so well and looked wonderful. All the wedding clothes have been put away. My dress hangs in the closet, and Jane’s wedding dress is in the bag from the store waiting for me to have it cleaned and put into an heirloom box. Jim’s suit hangs in his closet and he commented one day, “I’ll probably never wear it again”.

I know he sees it as something frivolous. From our one trip into that store, I know that a $300 suit is not an expensive suit, but for us it was. I know that Jim buys generally a new pair of shoes a year for himself, but he buys I don’t know how many Bibles to give to men who need a new one. More often than not, anything he wears has our dog Caesar’s hair on it, and that is because, every single morning except Monday, Jim takes this 17 year old dog of ours for a car ride. Caesar is almost blind, almost deaf, and wears a cone because of neuropathy. A month ago we decided it was time to put him in diapers. One of the few joys he has left in life is riding in the car, and Jim obliges, even if it means he goes into board meetings wearing dog hair.

I don’t know if this will ever make it onto the BBM site because he will poo-poo me talking about him. I wish the salesman at the clothing store knew that it was his first new suit in 35 years…only because I’d love for him to know the kind of man I married. The kind who cannot possibly justify something he considers frivolous unless it’s for someone else.

I will encourage him to wear the suit, and wear it often. I saw how he looked when he saw himself in the store’s mirror. I saw his face when he put it on, days before the wedding, to show Jane. And I saw his face when he walked his youngest daughter down the aisle and I felt his shoulders heave during the ceremony as he whispered, “I’m not ready to do this”. Most everyone there was looking at the bride and I was too, but I also was looking at the man she calls “Daddy” who was wearing a new suit that he had to be almost forced to buy.

I’m grateful I married him 35 years ago and there are some things I just know. When a package comes in the mail it’s almost certain it’s a Bible Jim has ordered and I smile whenever I see one.

The other thing is that somewhere on that brand new navy blue suit, as he clutched our daughter’s hand, I’m sure there were more than a few dog hairs.

The New Suit

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