Caring is Contagious
May 24, 2010 By WebMaster
Caring is contagious. It's much like
the principle of reaping and sowing: sowing kindness reaps more
kindness. John Clifton from Somebody Cares St. Augustine recently
shared an example.
"Late in 2007, we were made aware of
a need: a 68-year-old polio victim and now a cancer patient had to
shower outside using the garden hose because he could no longer get
into the tubs in his mobile home. When we met with Mr. Lewis we knew
that we had to help, what we didn't know was how. "
The estimate for gutting his bathroom
and building a handicap accessible bathroom for him was in the
thousands of dollars. A local plumber agreed to do the plumbing work
and Somebody Cares volunteers agreed to provide the manual labor, but
this still left the financial need for the cost of materials.
"Somebody Cares St. Augustine had some funds but not nearly
enough,” John says, "and our partners at the Council on Aging
were willing to also help with some of the cost of materials. We
stepped out in faith and started this project.”
After several months, Mr. Lewis had a
beautiful new bathroom with an open shower with multiple shower
heads, a toilet that was the proper height, and a sink he could roll
under and a tilted mirror.
"Mr. Lewis was very grateful and
told us if there was anything he could ever do to help us he would."
Recently, he was given an opportunity to keep that promise after
he was blessed with a new power chair.
"He called us and said he wanted to
donate his other one--still in perfect working condition--to us.”
John notified the SC St. Augustine network that a power chair was
available for someone in need, and it turned out that Pastor Allan
Penill of New Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church had a member of his
congregation with just such a need! "We picked up the chair from
Mr. Lewis and delivered it to New Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church,”
John said.
Somebody Cares founder Doug Stringer
received an email recently with a similar message from a man we'll
call Ted. "About 25 years ago,” Ted recalled in his email to
Doug, "you walked into the bar of a hotel and ministered to me. I
was and had been a Christian, but weak as milk for 20 years. About a
year later my wife talked me into going to a revival, and there you
were again!”
Ted said that because Doug cared enough
to sow into his life all those years ago, he is now serving God 110%,
is involved in prison ministry, and goes on mission trips. "I never
new serving God could be so much fun!”
"I just wanted you to know that
because you listened to our Lord Jesus and walked into a bar as bold
as a lion, you really had an influence in my life.”
As John Clifton says, "When we
continue to serve the needs of the less fortunate in our midst, the
Somebody Cares St. Augustine's BEE CARETAGIOUS motto becomes more
than a theme.” And just as we see every day in lives of people like
Ted and Mr. Lewis, every time you partner with Somebody Cares in
giving, prayer, and action, your seeds go far beyond meeting the
immediate need to impact other lives months and even years down the
road. Give
a gift today! Thank you for caring!
"My children, we should love
people not only with words and talk, but by our actions and true
caring." 1 John 3:18
