Jenise vividly remembers that day in 2015: She was riding a bus, overwhelmed with fear and hopelessness. She had been diagnosed with uterine cancer, and she didn’t know if she would survive. And what would happen to her 10-year-old daughter? Then she saw him — a complete stranger moving directly toward her.

“I was coming from a doctor’s appointment. I thought I was going to die,” she recalls. “I didn’t want to talk to anyone. I was terrified this man was going to talk to me. And he did.”

The man looked her in the eye and simply said, “God says it’s going to be OK. You’re going to be alright.”

Jenise never thought much about God before. She struggled her whole life, feeling alone, unable to make ends meet, and hopeless that her life could ever get better. Then she had to deal with cancer. But when she heard the man’s message, she realized for the first time, someone cared. God cared.

She miraculously survived the cancer, but continued to struggle in her life. When she ended up homeless, she came to Joy House. She credits Joy House with giving her the tools she needed to transform her life. The love and care she found here gave her the courage to connect more with others. She’s even in college, studying business. But she says the most important thing is that she’s learning more about Jesus and how to trust Him for everything.

“As a donor, you gave me food and clothes,” Jenise says. “But what you really gave me was hope. You gave me a vision for what my life could be. And you gave me the chance to raise my daughter on a foundation of Jesus Christ.”