Suzy stood in stunned silence and waved sadly.
She knew in her heart that she would never see her foster daughter again. “That was it,” Suzy recalls. “From that moment on, our whole world collapsed.” With no job, no money and little left to live for, she turned her back on everyone and everything and took to the streets. It was a far cry from the good life Suzy had once known. Only Robert, her husband-to-be, went with her. They slept in parks and abandoned houses. They spent their days roaming the city on bicycles. When life became too painful, they would lose themselves in a drug-induced haze. “I didn’t even believe in God anymore,” Suzy confesses. But God never stopped loving Suzy or Robert. And when their dreams were dead and buried, friends of the Rescue Mission like you stepped in to resurrect them.
By the grace of God, you were there for them, when, as Suzy explains, “My family didn’t believe in us. We didn’t even believe in ourselves.” They had just learned that Suzy was pregnant, and they knew they had to give their baby a chance to be raised in a safe, healthy environment. That’s what was waiting for them at the Rescue Mission.
It took three months to get in, but the wait was worth it. “We no longer have to worry about being hungry all the time,” Suzy says. “We were when we were on the street. Nutritious food is very important for pregnancy, and they provide that here,” she adds. “We have a nursery, clothes — the Rescue Mission has supplied us with all the baby necessities we could never imagine ever getting.” But the practical help they needed to turn their lives around is only part of the story. Thanks to the spiritual support and counseling they received, Robert says, “Who we are now is 180 degrees different from when we first showed up.”
Robert says he will always remember the day he agreed to go to church because he’d seen the difference it was making for Suzy. In his own words, “I walked into church a manly man. Five minutes later, I was bawling. These were people like me,” he relates — real people, with real struggles. They’re the same kind of people that have poured themselves into his life at the Rescue Mission. The result? Robert and Suzy have been clean for 10 months now. Their lives are stable again. Most important, they have a happy, healthy baby boy, who will grow up in the good and godly home that every child deserves. Thank you for giving Robert and Suzy a chance to live again!
