Bob lived in his car in winter. Until you provided a way out.

Bob used his license plate number as his address.

That’s because he lived out of his 1999 Subaru last winter. He was living off his savings and eating meals from a local deli.

Every night, he’d try to find a safe place to park to get some sleep. You can imagine how scary that might be. He had even heard about a rest stop where someone was murdered. So he moved around from place to place throughout the Twin Cities so no one became suspicious.

And through bitter cold nights, he’d run his car for hours on end to keep warm. The gas he needed quickly burned through his meager savings. It was another roadblock.But one that gifts from people like you took out of his way.

Bob’s life wasn’t always this grim. Once, he had everything. A good job. A nice home. He’d love to tell you about his road trips to Canada, seeing the sites in California. But the stress of his job began to take its toll. He had turned to alcohol use to cope. Eventually, his marriage fell apart and he lost his home.

“Money was getting pretty bleak,” he admits. “I needed help.” It was time to hit the brakes.

“It’s pretty hard to cook in your car.”

He checked in to short-term treatment. But soon discovered he needed more time. Thanks to you, he had the Christ Recovery Center to turn to. He could finally get out of his cold car and get the time he needed to fully recover.

“I didn’t know where that road was leading,” he says, “but I was pretty certain it was going in a good direction.”

Your Mission staff trusted him early on. That trust gave him the courage to let others into his life. Living in the car, he’d lost touch with people and gotten pretty lonely. Now, “I have friends here,” he says.

Bob still drives the old Subaru that kept him going through the cold winter. Now, he’s back to work and giving back as a volunteer driver for the Mission.

All he needed was a pit stop to get him refreshed and refueled. A pit stop your generosity provided.

“Now, I feel I have a direction to go in life,” he says. “I’m a lot more confident that I’m going to step out and successfully continue on.”

Thank you for providing Bob with the good direction he needed in life. Your gifts make it possible for men and women like him to find a fresh start.