photo #1722757

A couple of weeks ago as my wife and I were on our morning (7:30) bicycle ride we saw this tiny older lady sitting alone on a bench at a local park. My wife and I rode to where she was sitting and asked her if we could buy her breakfast at a local restaurant close to the park. At first she was hesitant to speak with us, but as we continued to communicate with her she told us that she had heard about us from other local homeless people. Needless to say, I still felt that she didn’t have much trust in us, so I asked her if we could bring her some food which she agreed to. My wife and I rushed straight home, fixed her a box of snacks, a few cans of tuna fish, Vienna sausages, Pork and beans, and canned fruits, and a few bags of assorted chips.When we got back to the park she was sitting at the same bench where we saw her. Her face lit up when she saw us approach her with the box full of goodies.Yesterday Dec. 22, 2021, my wife and I went to a local restaurant for breakfast as we sat there deciding what we would order a waitress came to our table and told us that she had recognized us from TV as advocates for the local homeless. As we continued to communicate with her, she told us that she too was inspired by our kindness towards the homeless and the local needy. She told us how she had bought this woman a small tent and that she was coming to the restaurant to pick up the tent. While in the middle of a sentence she screamed, “here she comes,” she had recognized her at a still far distant, needless to say, it was the same older lady we had met a couple of weeks ago. As she came closer to the restaurant, I noticed that she was not peddling even though she was on the bicycle. When she entered the restaurant we invited her to join us for breakfast which she gladly accepted. As we carried on the conversation, I asked her why she did not peddle the bicycle and instead walked the bike. To make a long story short, her bicycle did not have a chain where she could peddle her bike. Before we left the restaurant we told her to meet us at 2 pm at the same park we had met her two weeks ago. We told her that we would get here a new bicycle that she could peddle and ride. She gladly agreed. We got her the bicycle, adjusted the seat, put headlights on the front and red rear lights on the back, installed two baskets front and rear for her belongings. The look on her face was “PRICELESS.”Here, look for yourselves. God is good.What was funny, she asked us if we get paid for doing what we do for the homeless. I happily, with a big smile said “YES,” you just did, Mary.