I called many places and was unable to find anyone open on a Saturday who could help with Genesis' broken hearing aid. On a positive note, Jim got up early to start working on the 1987 Plymouth Sundance a few of us had bought for Marybel. After driving it, I'm sure the car will work well enough, but's it certainly not worth a penny more than the $1,500 we paid for it! I also called Kenny Hood to ask if we could have Marybel share her testimony in our Sunday School class the next morning. Kenny said he just got called into work, and had asked Ken Woelk to lead the class. When I finally reached Ken Saturday evening, he confessed he had not started preparing for the class and was excited to have Marybel speak! Obviously, this was just part of God's plan.
Marybel shared her heart among a lot of tears in our class that morning. She was not sharing as someone who knew the end of her story, but as someone in the middle. She was so grateful and gave praise to God for watching over her family. Overall, her presentation was very welcomed, but also uncomfortable. It's one thing to read a story like this. It's another one to meet the person. It's hard for a suburban, American Christian to relate to an immigrant living near poverty. We finished the class by gathering around Marybel, praying for her, and then taking up a collection for her. How much? $200!
The next order of business was meeting with David Hall who was in charge of the Benevolence Fund. He indicated he could authorize up to $500 with very little red tape. He and I were pleasantly surprised when I opened up the cut-off notice for Marybel's electric bill. It was for exactly $500.00!
In the worship service, Marybel was beaming, full of joy. When the offering basket came by, she grabbed most of the cash she had just received from the class and put it in the basket!! I swear I almost took it back out!!
After the service, someone brought her a TON of food, clothes, microwave, toaster, etc, and later that day, another family gave more clothes for Genesis. And how about this? I had a very good friend donate his time to detail the inside of her car! Suffice it to say, when she went home, she could barely fit the kids in the car!!
2 more people came forward to help with the hearing aid... $350!
There are still many challenges to face: The hearing aid has to be replaced and will cost $2,250. Ever will face trial this coming Tuesday, Feb 8. And there are other things I don't have time to mention right now.
She can get a payment plan for the hearing aid, and she will get a tax refund shortly to help her get by for another month.
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