A homeless woman of three attempted to message a friend on Facebook for assistance but instead received a message from a stranger. She had no idea that chatting with the wrong person on Facebook would change her life.

Amy Rickel and her children relocated to Green Bay, Wisconsin, in order to be closer to their father. She expected that moving there would make her life easier, but that was not the case.

Her car broke down, and she and her children were staying in a motel since she didn’t have enough money to pay the hotel expenses. She even lost her job and ended herself on the streets.

It was not in her plans to be without a place to sleep with three children.
She didn’t know what to do, so she decided to message a buddy on Facebook.

Rickel sent a message from the bottom of his heart, pleading for prayers and assistance during this difficult time in his life. But she didn’t notice she was putting the message into the wrong chat box until she pressed the button to send it.

She looked at the name of the person who would get her message after she sent it and noticed that it wasn’t her friend. Instead, she made an assistance request to Brian Van Boxtel, whose name was similar to her friend’s.

“Oh, no! The message is incorrect! Rickel informed the stranger. He had no idea that his error would impact the course of his life. Boxtel sent her a message while she was crying her eyes out and trying to figure out what to do.

Rickel checked her messages because she was desperate and discovered that Boxtel was willing to help her despite not knowing who she was.
He believed that God had given her word to him to assist him.

After reading Rickel’s message, Boxtel resolved to pay for his hotel stay right away.
What would Jesus do? Boxtel paused for a moment before informing the homeless mother that he would bring her money.

Rickel had no idea that a stranger would assist her on a frigid December day in 2016.
She was astonished by his response, but she was grateful for his support.

Boxtel was responsible for more than simply paying the hotel costs. He also persuaded Rickel to create an online fundraiser on GoFundMe so that others might assist him in getting his life back on track.

Rickel had no idea how the GoFundMe page would turn out, but she followed Boxtel’s advice and expressed the truth about her circumstances on the famous website. She wrote:

«We stayed in a hotel that we can no longer afford, and all of the shelters that accept children have long wait 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.