Greetings, friends, family, and brothers and sisters in Christ,

I am amazed we are beginning to near the end of another year. This last year has been like other years in some ways, full of many highs, lows, joys, sorrows, and surprising twists and turns. This year has also included several unique challenges that have made it a difficult year for me. This has been one of the most challenging financial years that I’ve had at Daymark in a while. I’m certain there are a variety of reasons for this. The most obvious factors in this are rising costs of the health insurance premiums I receive through Daymark. These costs have been over $4400 for this last year. In addition to these costs and the rising cost of fuel and other necessities (something we have all been feeling), my income has struggled to keep up. In addition to these challenges, there has also been a significant drop in both my fundraising and counseling revenue. So as you can imagine, I have really felt significant stress and pressure this year at Daymark as my costs have increased and my revenue has decreased. My reserve account at Daymark, which I pull funds from every month to cover my salary, dipped below zero this summer, and I have worked for the last several months to get my reserve account back into the black.

In the midst of all this stress, I have continued to love my counseling work with people and have seen the kindness and generosity of God through a number of people. I have seen firsthand God renew hope in the hopeless, help couples repair and rebuild after betrayal, and bring comfort and healing to those who have deep wounds from their past.  and despite the serious financial challenges that I’ve had this year, it’s very important for Daymark to continue to stay true to our mission of providing Christ-centered counseling help to whomever God brings our way regardless of someone’s financial situation. This last year, I was able to provide about one hundred and thirty hours of counseling at either a discounted or pro bono rate for those who were not able to pay the lowest number on our sliding scale. And I would not have been able to provide this kind of practical mercy and care without your generosity and willingness to give towards our mission. A number of my discounted clients face some daunting challenges. Some of them are survivors of sexual abuse or rape. Others are living with the effects of PTSD and sorting out heavy emotions that come with stories that contain abandonment, abuse, and neglect. Some of these clients are students who are in graduate school, are also working, and don’t have much disposable income leftover for counseling. Others in this group of my clients are trying to rebuild a marriage after experiencing the devastating pain of sexual addiction and betrayal. None of these particular clients of mine would be able to receive any counseling help if Daymark didn’t offer the financial flexibility that we do. So thank you for your willingness to help those who have substantial counseling needs and who would simply not be able to afford the quality of counseling we provide at Daymark unless they could receive it at an affordable rate. When you give to Daymark, your contribution not only contributes to my salary and our office expenses, but it also goes towards God’s work in restoring marriages, helping people recover from addictions and facilitating healing for those whose lives have been shattered by trauma.

If you have not financially partnered yet with Daymark, would you consider either giving a year-end tax-deductible gift or commit to giving $75-$100 monthly for this coming year? If you would be interested in this, please reach out to our office manager, Katy Sheffield, at admin@daymarkcounseling.com . Support for Daymark can be given through sending a check
or making an online payment via the website, www.daymarkcounseling.com . I hope for each of you that as we approach another Christmas season, you would be surprised and renewed by the love of Jesus and find fresh hope again in the gospel story, that the light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.

With Gratitude,

Eric Venable
Pastoral Counselor