Last Dec. 31, Mario found himself homeless and dejected. He had no one to support him. Nothing to live for. Nothing.

Mario walked to the Mission for a meal. He had already decided it would be his last.  “I was going to go outside afterwards and just let the cold overtake me,” he explains. “I couldn’t see any other way out of my misery.”

A debilitating addiction and its consequences brought him here. But even on the streets, he tried to live with honor. Do the right thing.

Over several months Mario had prayed, ‘If only there was a place where I can work on my addiction and grow my faith, too…’

Mario says he thought such a place was just a fantasy—until your gifts—and God—answered his prayers!

On his way to the dining room on New Year’s Eve, Mario overhead someone talking about the Christ Recovery Center. The next day, he went in and spoke with the director, who told him, “There’s one bed left; it’s meant for you!”

As Mario progressed through the program, he doubted himself. In the past, he’d acted impulsively if something happened that he didn’t like. But he also knew that doing life his way didn’t lead to healthy outcomes.

This time, “I gathered the strength and stayed,” Mario says. “I knew I couldn’t recover by myself. When I do things my way, it always works out for the worst. I had to follow another path, and that’s when I decided to surrender my will.”

Mario says, “I can experience emotions again. I have compassion and see things differently. My anger has subsided, and I make better choices.”

This Christmas, you’ve given Mario the gift he couldn’t get himself: a brand-new life!

If you hadn’t provided a bed for Mario last year, he might not even be around anymore.  Now, he knows that—

“God waited for me,” Mario says. “He never gave up.”