A homeless mother of three tried to message a friend on Facebook to ask for
help, but instead sent the message to a stranger. She had no idea that talking
to the wrong person on Facebook would turn her life around.
Amy Rickel and her children moved to Green Bay, Wisconsin, to be nearer to
their father. She thought that moving there would make her life easier,
but things didn’t work out that way.
She and her children were living in a hotel when her car broke down and she
didn’t have enough money to pay the hotel bills. She even lost her job and
was soon living on the street.
Not having a place to sleep with three kids was not in her plans.
She didn’t know what to do, so she decided to send her friend a message on Facebook.
Rickel typed a message from the bottom of his heart, asking for prayers and
help during the hardest time in his life. But she didn’t realize she was typing
the message into the wrong chat box until she sent it by pressing the button.
After she sent her message, she looked at the name of the person who would get
it and saw that it wasn’t her friend. Instead, she sent a request for help to
Brian Van Boxtel, whose name was similar to that of her friend.
“Oh, no! Wrong message! Rickel told the stranger. He didn’t know that his
mistake would change the rest of his life. As she cried her eyes out and tried
to figure out what to do, Boxtel sent her a message.
Rickel checked her messages because she was desperate and found out that Boxtel
was willing to help her even though he didn’t know who she was.
He thought that God sent her message to him for one reason: to help him.
Boxtel decided right away to pay for Rickel’s hotel stay after he read his message.
How would Jesus act? Boxtel thought for a while before telling the homeless mother
that he would bring the money to see her.
On a cold December day in 2016, Rickel never thought that a stranger would help her.
When she read his answer, she was surprised, but she was also glad for his support.
Boxtel did more than just pay the hotel bills. He also talked Rickel into setting
up an online fundraiser on GoFundMe so that other people could help him get
his life back on track.
Rickel wasn’t sure how the GoFundMe page would turn out, but she did what Boxtel
told her to do and told the truth about her situation on the popular site. She typed:
“We stayed in a hotel that we can’t afford anymore, and all the shelters that
take children have long waiting lists.
The mother was helpless and needed help to keep her kids safe. She thanked people
ahead of time for helping her, but she had no idea that her call would quickly go viral.
Kathy Schumann saw Rickel’s page to raise money for her family and felt bad for the
mother and her kids. Schumann gave Rickel his van right away, then cleaned out a
room in his house and asked the four people to move in.
Chad Morack, another kind person, found the GoFundMe page and decided to help Rickel.
When he found out that she was a registered nurse, he used his network to connect
her with Alexandria Witkowski, a recruiter.
Witkowski thought Rickel had a strong resume, so she worked hard to find him a job.
Soon, the mother of three was asked to come in for an interview, and on
January 3, 2017, she got the job. Rickel said:
“I am quite surprised. I still can’t believe it.
The GoFundMe page has raised more than $4,000, which Rickel could use to give
his children a better life. A bad message changed Rickel’s life for the better
and brought him close friends.
