A night at the park with twins – and a newborn!

Sheryl came to Raleigh to use her nursing skills to care for her ailing mom. But when her mother passed, she had to make other living arrangements while grieving the terrible loss.

She had a newborn baby named Saye, and 9-year-old twins Shiloh and Shilah to care for. For a while, the family scraped by on child support. But that dropped to less than $500 when the children’s father was injured on the job.

She could no longer afford rent or find a living wage job.

Sheryl lost her apartment, and after that, they bounced around like pinballs. The first night, the manager of a local business let them sleep in his conference room. They stayed at the Salvation Army, a motel, on the couch of an elderly neighbor . . .

Then her options ran out.

She walked aimlessly for hours, her baby held tightly in her arms, her daughters jumping at every little noise. They wound up in a park. As the family faced exhaustion and chaos again the next day, her daughters asked in anguish:

“Why is God doing this to us?”

That’s when Sheryl finally found her way to Raleigh Rescue Mission.

“I was able to pray, have devotions and focus on what I needed to do,” she said. “I was able to write down a plan.”

That plan included using her background and education to successfully take the North Carolina Pharmacy Tech exam. Sheryl carefully saved up the small child support payments for a future home for her family while looking for a job. She remembers how she and her children felt cared about and hopeful again last Christmas. She said:

“The food was abundant. My children received a bag full of presents. The spirit of the holidays is definitely here.”

Your gifts show families like this that they can depend on God’s provision!

Sheryl finally found her way to Raleigh Rescue Mission. “I was able to pray, have devotions and focus on what I needed to do,” she said. “I was able to write down a plan.”