b'answers, and for their missing loved ones. They, like Carolyn and me, want to understand what happened. But after a while, worry sets in, and before long things have changed from being ini-tially hopeful to thinking the worst. In time, as hope is deferred, the heart becomes sicker. Youll hear or read of someone saying, I dont know how Ill live if I do not find my son, daughter, mom, dad. And his or her search can lead to a mission.Ministry to families R ecently, Carolyn was walking through the KARM hallway, near the front door as a sobbing woman entered. Carolyn, of course, wanted to know how she could help. The woman shared that her son was a drug addict and could not live at home, but she had not heard from him in a long time and only wanted to know, Is my son still alive? She just needed to knowto hold on to that hope. About a year ago, I received an email from a mom and dad informing us that their 38-year-old son had stayed at KARM in 2019 and wondering if he had come back. After verifying the facts, I was able to confirm that their son did stay with us in 2019, but has not been back. But, I said, if you are asking us if he is here, it means you do not know where he is. I was able to share that my wife and I understood what thats like, and if they would ever find it helpful to have someone speak with, to hold their hands, to help them hold on to hope as they search, we would be pleased to do so.We are in Knoxville, the other couple is not, but we have been Zooming for 11 months now, offer-ing encouragement, prayer, and the opportunity to share and work through the guilt, shame, embar-rassment, and other feelings that can make most days, but holidays especially, challenging. In our home, at Thanksgiving and Christmas, there is always an empty seat at the table. \x02NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2022 WWW.CITYGATENETWORK.ORG 11'