Shawnee Rescue Mission co-founders Glenn Blankenship and wife Melissa Blankenship said 2009 ended on an uplifting note for them that will continue to resonate throughout 2010 and beyond.

As of Wednesday morning, the mission needed one more of the two heating and air conditioning units required to open a day center for the homeless in Shawnee at 506 S. Beard. By that afternoon, they needed about $5,000 for duct work and installation of the units, as a donor called and pledged the second unit.

“The guy had been saying he was going to donate but was on the fence about it, then he saw the article in the newspaper which helped him to decide,” Glenn Blankenship said.

By early evening, another donor had called the mission with a $2,000 pledge, he said.

“I called the guy who pledged the $2,000 to see if we could put his name in the paper and he said he’d rather not, but he said he got a relative to match his $2,000 donation for a total of $4,000,” Blankenship said. “So we are only $1,000 or less away. In such a tough economy, where everyone is giving less and so many charities are struggling to stay open, it is awesome to see a brand new facility open up here in Shawnee, 100 percent paid for, debt free.

And Blankenship said he and his wife know to whom they are to be thankful.

“I don’t believe any of this is coincidence — it is so ‘the opposite of the norm’ — it has to be God,” he said. “God uses people like that little boy David to kill Goliath, that way you know it is God and not David because he is just a little boy. Same here, it is so extraordinary that you just know it is God and not we ourselves. So He gets the glory.”

In addition to God, the Blankenships said they could not express enough of their appreciation for the people who have donated time, money, service and more to the mission.

“This is all with no paid workers, all volunteers, all different folks from all walks of life and different churches, all working together for the good of those in need here in Shawnee,” Blankenship said. “Plus, we don’t even know any of these people. They just see a need and call up to help out. That’s amazing. These people are amazing.”

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