“Just trust in God and He’ll take care of you,” Russell says with an easy confidence. And to look at him now, you’d never guess the road he’s walked. But not much more than a year ago, Russell couldn’t walk at all. An accident had shattered his ankle and left him confined to a wheelchair. Suddenly work became an ordeal. Barely able to function, Russell lost his job, and then his unemployment benefits ran out. Still wheelchair bound, he was evicted from his apartment — when he turned to the Rescue Mission, he had nowhere to go but the streets. Holidays like Easter were especially discouraging, because he spent them alone.

Thanks to you, Russell isn’t alone anymore. You were the hands and feet of Jesus that welcomed him to the Rescue Mission around Easter last year, where he found friends who were eager to help. “I’m grateful to have a roof over my head and food to eat,” he says. Because you made sure he got the medical care he needed, Russell is also out of his wheelchair. But the best gift you’ve given him — even better than the training that’s preparing him to be employed again — is a new appreciation for how much God loves him.

“I’d been relying on other things, when I should have been relying on God,” Russell admits. “God has done a lot for me. I’m looking forward to staying on the right path.” Thank you for helping him find that path, and for encouraging him to keep going when he wanted to give up.

You helped give Russell his life back.