Some people accumulate possessions; others accumulate memories.
Jim Bebo has done both, living in 27 cities along the way. But today, “home” to him is clear, familiar, and deeply grounded: Hearthstone, WesleyLife’s community for healthy living in Pella.
“They treat me very good here; this is my home,” Jim says. “I feel they are family here, and I can’t imagine living anywhere else.”
Jim relocated from New York to Pella in 2009, finding a home in a Hearthstone independent living apartment before moving to a more comprehensive level of care as his health worsened.
With every step, Jim’s sense of stability has increased.
So has his gratitude.
Supported by the Promise
A big part of that stability derives from the WesleyLife Promise, which ensures that if a resident’s financial resources are depleted through no fault of their own, they will never be asked to leave their home with WesleyLife or experience a reduction in the degree of care they receive.
Supported by generous donations to each community’s Good Samaritan or Good Shepherd Fund, the Promise has been a part of WesleyLife’s mission since the organization’s founding in 1947.
For Jim, it’s represented far more than a reassurance; it’s a lifeline.
“I have a history of a lot of illnesses,” he says. “My kidneys are not healthy, and I was told five years ago that I had three years to live. Well, I have lived five years since then, and the care I receive here is a big part of that.”
Without that support from WesleyLife, Jim knows his future would look very different.
“If not for those who have donated to allow me to stay here, I would be homeless,” he says. “And if I were homeless, I could not live because I need medical care.”
Jim’s sense of home is not just about walls and windows. It is about community, compassion, and the reassurance that comes with a promise kept.
“I hope I can stay here forever,” he says. “This is the best life I have ever had.”
Grounded in faith
Faith and gratitude are central to Jim’s story; WesleyLife’s Christian foundation matters deeply to him, and he credits his beliefs with helping him live through hard times. He looks at WesleyLife’s donors as “an extension of the hand of Jesus.”
Asked what he would say to a donor who has contributed to the Promise, he pauses, steady in his appreciation.
“I wouldn’t know where to begin,” he says. “I would be speechless. I am so grateful. I would have to tell them my life, with the safety and stability and lack of loneliness I have now, wouldn’t be possible without them.”
Watch Jim’s message of gratitude here.
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