What a wonderful trip to Big Pine Key to help a few families we’ve met during our time here. And of course, a visit to our friend Bob! Thank you to EVERYONE who donated and helped us! You have been a blessing to many today.
Here is the synopsis of our very blessed and fulfilling day:
We headed out early in the morning and drove out to Big Pine Key to meet up with our new friends and drop off the many donations we received this weekend. They welcomed us with open arms and were so grateful and appreciative for all you have done for them. We helped 3 families get just a little normality back into their lives, and we hope and pray they sleep a little more peaceful tonight. We left them with new appliances, new furniture, a new bedroom, dishes, and lots of clothes to go through, along with many other things. We then headed out to say hi to our friend Bob. This is the 82-year-old man we met a few weeks ago and have grown to love. We found him on top of his broken-down home, on the second floor, no roof and NOT a good floor to be walking around on, but there he was hard at work. We visited a bit, dropped off a few things, and got a hug. As we began our drive home we saw a young man with his dog walking down the street. We noticed him because a big utility truck had pulled off to the side and was handing him 2 bottles of water. We turned around and rolled down the window. Here’s our conversation:
Us: “Hi! We are with a foundation that goes around and brightens people’s day! We just wanted to stop and give you a Winn-Dixie gift card so that you can buy groceries for you and your baby (the dog). We know that a hurricane can wipe out a home, but it can also set your finances back for some time and we just wanted to help a little.”
Him: “What? Are you serious? (As he’s looking around for the hidden camera) Thank you so much!”
Us: “You’re welcome!”
And we drive off. He stood there staring at that card until we were long out of sight. We then stopped at a restaurant where our waitress said they had just opened back up. She and the other girls had been out of work, and she herself still does not have power at home. Needless to say, we presented her with a gift card for groceries as well, along with the 3 waitresses who work with her. Through tears, hugs, and a ton of “thank you”s, we arrived back home feeling very blessed. We know this is going to be a long road of recovery for all of them, and so many more, but we hope we brought just a little peace into their lives today, and we hope these stories we share with you bring you peace knowing you’ve all had a part in touching their lives. We thank you all so much. And to ALL our donors who support us regularly, we appreciate you more than you know. We could not do any of this without you.
