I am so sad I didn’t get a picture of the two men who came to my neighbor’s house back in August, to load up appliances for a family that was purchasing the set. It was so hot that day, and I remember feeling rather frustrated with my friend who had asked if I would mind letting the buyer in his house (he was out of town that week on business and was trying to sell a lot of stuff in anticipation of a move). I was in the middle of dinner when they arrived, and I had to take the key up to his door, let them in, and then felt obligated to hang around while they loaded the appliances. The motivation to think about RAK started to take seed in my mind – and my attitude started to change. As I was making small talk with the lovely family who was there to pick up the appliances, I started to get a bit giddy imagining giving the two men doing all the hard work a nice surprise. One of them didn’t speak English and his partner did some rough translating as they asked (politely) for a towel to protect the floor, and access to shut off the water as they moved the refrigerator. It was SO HOT and they were killing themselves to get the job done. I imagined that they were paid a fee, but it couldn’t touch how much work they were doing. I excused myself and ran back to my house to get the money. As they were wrapping up to leave I met them at the back of the truck. Handing them each $50, I told them how much I appreciated the care they took for the family buying the appliances, and for my good friend’s home. They looked at me and the money, and then each other. They mumbled some thank you but seemed embarrassed, so I simply shook their hands and smiled widely at them. I’m so very thankful for the opportunity to bless them through ARG’s generosity.
– Meredith Vines
