An Angel in Disguise E arly in 2017, Ken Cusson, the executive director of Victory Mission in Salinas, California, broke bad news to the board of direc- tors. “I advised the board that we were going to experience a deficit of close to $50,000 by the end of the year. That Saturday, we immediately spent time praying about this and asking the Lord to help us or, at least, show us what we should do concerning this. “The following Tuesday morning, a homeless man, whom I had never seen in the area before, asked to speak with me. He explained that he had spent the previous evening as a guest with us and was very impressed that we helped with such compassion and understanding. He wanted to say thank you in a more material way and then handed me a cashier’s check for $47,000. Surprised, shocked, amazed, delighted, and wary describe every emotion going through me at that very moment.” Ken continues, “My first response was to say, ‘Thank you, but I can’t accept this.’ However, the gentleman would not take no for an answer. So I called our treasurer and asked him to get to my office ASAP. Once he arrived and I brought him up to speed on what was happening, I could see all of the same emotions I was experiencing were running through him as well. He suggested that he accompany the gentleman to the bank the check was drawn on and determine its authentic- ity, and the gentleman readily agreed.” The check was, indeed, good. “The bank teller assured us that he was quite capable of writing a check of such a large amount. The gentleman then suggested we cash the check, which our treasurer did. He and the gentle- man then went to our bank and deposited the cash. “On the way to the bank, our treas- urer, repeatedly, asked him if he would be willing to, at least, take some of the funds for his own use, as we did not know if he had any other funds to han- dle his needs. The gentlemen kept refusing, assuring us that he would be fine, but after some continued pressure from our treasurer, he finally agreed to accept a small monthly stipend from us to help with his needs, for up to a specified amount.” A week later, the gentleman returned to reluctantly accept the first stipend. But Ken says, “Thanking me again, he walked out of my office—and we never saw him again. No one on the street had any idea what happened to him, and the police had no informa- tion on him or anyone meeting his description. He simply disappeared.” They questioned if the man was perhaps an angel in disguise or a homeless philanthropist. “We can’t say, but it is just too much of a coincidence that the amount we needed was almost exactly the amount for which the check was written. It was quite a confirmation to my staff as to why every person coming to us for help must be treated as a brother or sister who needs God’s help.” Ĩ 50 WWW.AGRM.ORG JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018 Jim is an author and speaker who feels privileged to have been able to minister to the multi-colored body of Christ in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and North America. Contact him at jim@jameswatkins.com. He wanted to say thank you in a more material way and then handed me a cashier’s check for $47,000. Surprised, shocked, amazed, delighted, and wary describe every emotion going through me at that very moment.