Hello Everyone! The time has so quickly passed since posting our first newsletter of the Spring and Summer 2009. Fall is almost behind us and I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas and Holiday Season.

The first thing I would like to do is to thank those of you who have given so faithfully and generously in support of Shepherd’s HOPE. It is only because of your faithful support that has allowed us to feed 2000 families in the month of November. It is our expectation that this number will increase in the coming months. Believe it or not, we have been able to provide for all these families out of a 1000 sq ft bungalow, all because we have the best organized and hardest working team of volunteers I have ever had the pleasure of working with and I mean “TEAM” with a capital “T”! This is a team of volunteers that all live in the community. Very few organizations can boast that their day to day operations are totally run by people from the local

community and I am so proud to be a part of this team. Throughout this newsletter you will be seeing the faces of the people that make up the serving team of Shepherd’s HOPE.

As we told you in our first newsletter, Shepherd’s HOPE opened the doors of our walk in food pantry on March 3, 2009. But the real journey began about 4 years ago while driving to one of my jobsites. As I would exit the expressway at the same exit each morning I would notice the same homeless person. So one morning as I was preparing my lunch, I decided to prepare a lunch for this homeless person. On the third day of giving him a lunch I greeted him and I said good morning and in return he thanked me for the lunch. He then proceeded to ask me about the tomatoes I included in the lunch stating they were the best tomatoes he had ever eaten and concluded by saying, “tomorrow could you please

put a little more mayo on my tuna sandwich?” At that point we began to talk every morning. As the weather got colder I would stop and buy him a cup of coffee and we would talk about his life. I asked him how he dealt with the cold winters in Chicago. He told me that on really cold days he panhandles for enough money to ride the “L” and would ride it day and night.

I felt I had made a new friend but one day in January he wasn’t in his usual spot. For the next few weeks I would get off at different exits looking for him but was never able to find him. I never saw him again. In my quest to find him I began to notice how many homeless people there were on the streets and I would ask the Lord, “How do you want me to feed all these homeless people? I can’t possibly accomplish this.” This really bothered me, so I started praying on it. I prayed for weeks and one evening about a month later it came to me. My wife and I own a home in the Englewood neighborhood of Chicago that had previously been rented to a tenant who destroyed the

house over a period of 2 years. The house was sitting vacant while we explored what we were going to do with the house, either sell it or put it to a better use. I went home that night and told my wife the thoughts I had to open a food pantry at 5732 S. Lowe. She thought I had totally lost my mind! She pointed out that it is one of the poorest and dangerous areas in the country. I told her that is what makes it so appealing to the Lord. After praying on it for months I knew that Englewood was the community where the Lord wanted us to launch our ministry of feeding people and rebuilding lives.

This began a 3 year journey that culminated in the founding of Shepherd’s HOPE with a 5 step program designed to achieve our mission which is to recognize and meet the needs of our neighbors, pledging to help individuals become passionate contributors to family, community and society. We vow to do this one life at a time. We began step 1 – to combat physical hunger – by opening the food pantry on March 3, 2009 at 5732 S. Lowe. A journey that began by feeding one homeless man a homemade lunch has in less than one year blossomed into a local food pantry that is now feeding 8000 people per month!

Besides the food pantry, we also have a delivery program that is presently serving under resourced churches, senior citizens homes and unwed mothers facilities. We also have begun step 2 which is combating the lack of spiritual awareness. We are accomplishing this by holding weekly bible studies in the lower level of the pantry and through daily ministering of the word to volunteers and patrons of the pantry. Because a few individuals were faithful in following the prompting of the Lord, Shepherd’s HOPE is a reality; lives are beginning to change and people are coming to Christ. It is only because of financially faithful people like you that Shepherd’s HOPE has been able to feed all these people and accomplish the life changes that are taking place every day.

As we all know this country is in economic crisis but communities like Englewood are in economic collapse. Without your continued support there are many families in this neighborhood that won’t eat. We know everybody is affected by this but most of us can still afford to eat. With the holiday season upon us, we would appreciate if you would keep Shepherd’s HOPE in your prayers and please do what you can to help us financially.

Besides providing food, it is our goal to provide 1000 children in the neighborhood with Christmas stockings stuffed with candy, small toys and appropriate children’s movies or books. Listed below are a few ways you can become part of what we wish to accomplish. Please remember when you consider your donation(s) that we feed 2000 families per month and we are totally financed by your private donations.

Food Pantry Donations (one time or monthly donations will be appreciated)

Feed (4) families for 1 month $40.00Feed (10) families for 1 month $100.00Feed (20) families for 1 month $200.00Feed (50) families for 1 month $500.00Feed (100) families for 1 month $1000.00

Christmas Stocking Experience (one time donation)Sponsor (5) children $40.00Sponsor (10) children $80.00Sponsor (20) children $160.00Sponsor (50) children $400.00Sponsor (100) children $800.00Sponsor (200) children $1600.00

I want to thank everyone in advance for taking the time to read this newsletter and for making the decision to financially assist Shepherd’s HOPE through the Christmas season and into the New Year.Speaking of the “New Year”, we are making plans to put steps 3 through 5 into action in 2010. In January we will be starting a neighborhood initiative we call “The Neighborhood Revitalized” that will put every step of our 5 step program into action. We will be commencing our 4 year mission to revitalize this neighborhood in January. Our goal is to start with our biblical life mentoring

which is the heart of Shepherd’s HOPEs mission. This type of mentoring is what separates us from all other neighborhood initiatives because we teach people to be responsible for their actions and that there are consequences for not living life the way God intends for us to live. Along with the mentoring we plan to rehab or build 28 homes per year for the next four years. These homes will be rented to biblically trained families with Section 8 vouchers who are in need of a place to live. It is also our goal to expand the food pantry by the end of 2010 to accommodate for the growth we are experiencing. By the end of 2012 our plans include the planting and building of a new church.

Look for a detailed plan of The Neighborhood Revitalized sometime in January which will explain how you can volunteer or become financially involved. At this time I would like to thank you again for your faithful support of this ministry and wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

God Bless You,

Brian Anderson - Founder of Shepherd’s HOPELaura Finato-Anderson, George Bigham & George DiMartino - Founding Members

P.S. Please pray for our nation and its leaders in guiding us out of this economic crisis.

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5732 s lowe, chicago, il 60621 ph: 773 846 9494 fax: 773 846 9490 www.shepherdsHOPEchicago.org