Angel Food went great! Sixty Six boxes were distributed. We had 6 Junior Vols helping today! Four kids performed community service and six adults gave time. This is a record Angel Food crowd for us. The distribution went smoothly. All of the kids did a good job. Way to go team!
I have to share about something that happened at the thrift store today. It's one of those moments that makes us remember why we're here.
A lady (we'll call her Jane) her son and his school age daughter came in to shop. They've not had the best of luck lately. The son had to move back in with his mom after losing his job. He's had a hard time finding something but is actively looking. Jane is a domestic violence survivor who walked away after living with it for 25 years. A short while ago she had surgery and is still recovering. Jane is no stranger to hard times. But none of that matters today because it's special. She was shopping because her other son was getting married - in less than 5 hours!
She didn't have a dress to wear and they had less than ten dollars to buy one with.
A volunteer and I went to work. In less time than it takes to type this we found two possible dresses. One was a soft, ivory creme with a sash that tied in the back. The other was beige with glitzy sequins and a matching jacket. Both were georgous! Our volunteer found shoes in her size that would go with either dress. Faster than your head can spin we whisked her off to the bathroom so she could try them on. It's hard to tell who was more excited her son, the granddaughter, Jane or us.
When Jane emerged from the bathroom to ask our opinion we couldn't believe our eyes. The volunteer and I drew in a deep breath as our mouths dropped open. She stood here hesitantly for a minute. Then, her son that had come with her let out a whoop of delight. The soft ivory dress looked great on her but that wasn't what we all noticed first. What we saw was a woman transformed! Her smile lit up our store. She was as radiant as though she was the bride herself.
Wow!
Over her protests, we gave her the dress and shoes.
She was very grateful and promised to bring pictures to show us later. I tried not to get teary and almost make it. Almost.
Under her arm was something else. We sent a new Bible as a gift to the young couple. She said her son had been raised in a Christian household and would welcome the gift. We gladly gave it to her.
We can't wait to see the photos. Mostly, we can't wait to hear what a great time she had at the wedding. We are sure she had the time of her life. Jane came in looking for hope. She found it. When she left, Jane was walking on air.
Thank you for making that happen.
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