One year ago, Mathews resident Amy Ashberry didn’t know it would be possible to fulfill a special mission that was placed on her heart.

However, on Saturday, that mission, called “Faith in Wheels” was formally completed when Ashberry hosted a dedication ceremony of a new handicapped-accessible van for her sister’s friend Alyssa Briggs of Gloucester. The ceremony drew more than 50 people, held Saturday night at Mathews Chapel United Methodist Church, Cobbs Creek.

Alyssa was involved in an automobile accident at the age of six that left her paralyzed from the waist down, requiring her to use a wheelchair for mobility. Her new van will give her the independence she has been so desperately yearning for.

Ashberry began raising funds for Alyssa’s new van last fall. “A year later, we’re all finished and her van is in the parking lot,” she said. Through various fundraisers such as bake, lunch and yard sales and individual donations, Faith in W...