Years of prayer provided a foundation for the development of the Village of Hope campus. Following years of fruitless looking, through help from E.J. Lorenzi, the Mission was able to locate an appropriate property where a dream could be realized. More prayer and the generosity of many allowed sketches and diagrams to become detailed plans which were turned into buildings. Buildings have become homes and places of healing, and lives are being changed. The power of answered prayer is evident at the Village of Hope.

DAV Chapter 31 (Disabled American Veterans) is a non-profit organization dedicated to advocating, assisting, and supporting America’s Veterans and represents the Atwater and Merced area. The group recently invited Bruce Metcalf, the Executive Director of the Rescue Mission, to speak at their May meeting to share about the work of the Rescue Mission. He discovered at the meeting that members of the DAV often got together for lunch once a month in addition to their regular meetings. Upon hearing this, DAV Chapter 31 was invited to come to have their lunch once a month at the Village of Hope campus. On June 16th, members of the DAV Chapter 31 - California, members of the Marine group MCCV, and members from the VFW 4327 Merced, came to the campus and shared lunch together with veterans who are living in the Hope for Veterans building. This gathering was a huge success as stories were shared and new friendships developed. At this event, the MCCV (Marines) presented a plaque to the Mission recognizing their work with homeless veterans. The Mission looks forward to hosting these veteran groups on a regular basis and appreciates their interest in reaching out to care for disabled veterans in our community. Another demonstration of the power of prayer in positively impacting lives.