While working in New Jersey with ReachGlobal Crisis Response,
Lenny would often grab a quick meal at a local restaurant. A waitress, Jennifer, couldn’t help but
notice his ministry shirt. She asked him
about what he did. Lenny explained that
they help people recover from disasters.
“People provide the materials, and we provide the labor.” This led to a conversation about God. Jennifer said in her southern drawl, “I pray
all the time.” She was raised Catholic
in North Carolina, but she was no longer involved with any church.
The next time Lenny came to eat, they talked again. Jennifer asked, “Do you think you could help
me?” Lenny asked if she had damage from
the storm. She replied, “No. That’s not the kind of help I need. I need financial help.” She went on to explain that her boyfriend was
in jail for a D.U.I. charge for 9 months.
He had a good job, and now she was struggling to pay rent. Lenny explained, “We don’t normally help
people financially, but I will ask. Give
me copies of your bills. I have a couple
of places I can ask.”
They met for coffee that week, and she brought her
bills. They talked more and Lenny
learned more about where she stood in her faith. Then Lenny started making calls to different
churches and organizations. They all had
more requests for funds than they could help meet. The youth pastor from Tom’s River gave him a
list of organizations who might be able to help. Lenny and his wife Sue split up the list of
calls, but everyone said “no”.
Lenny called Jennifer’s landlord. She was behind $3,000 in her rent. He was charging her $10 a day interest. That meant an extra $300 above her $1300
monthly rent. Lenny pleaded with the
landlord to drop the interest to help her out. He would not budge. He had his own late fees to pay. Sue and Lenny prayed about what to do
next. They e-mailed church friends and
supporters and set up an account for bills.
The first week, $650 came in.
The landlord waited a couple of weeks instead of evicting
Jennifer and her two teenage sons. The
next week $500 came. The gas company
needed $200 next or the gas would be cut off.
$300 came in, and the kids were home when Lenny came to deliver it. They wondered who he was. Lenny checked and found out there was no food
in the cabinets or refrigerator. She was
putting all her money into rent. Lenny
went shopping for them.
George suggested that Lenny needed to reach out to her
boyfriend Brian in jail. Visits were
strictly limited. Lenny called the jail
and explained he was a missionary and would like to visit and bring Brian a
Bible. The response was, “We don’t consider
missionaries clergy, and if he wants a Bible, we will get him one.” He was allowed to go with Jennifer. Brian cried when Lenny explained how he was
helping. Lenny talked Brian into going
to Rehab for his drinking.
Brian told Lenny that he used to go to a local church. Lenny contacted the church. The pastor said he was happy to meet with
Lenny, but their benevolent fund was almost empty. When Lenny and Jennifer met with the pastor,
the pastor said, “I only had $200 when you called, but I now have $1,500. What do you owe the landlord?” Lenny added up the amounts and interest on
his calculator. It came to $1,440. Jennifer broke down in tears. Lenny placed his hand on hers and asked, “You
know where this came from, don’t you?”
It was a God moment. The pastor
asked if she needed food. He took them
in a room with a freezer full of meat and shelves of canned goods. She took several bags of food home to her
family. Then, enough money came in to the
account to pay her electric and half of her gas bill.
Lenny took Jennifer and her sons to dinner and called and
let them all talk to Sue. The boys asked
about Lenny’s job. The one boy
responded, “Gee, I’d really like to do something like that.” Later, Jennifer sent a thank you note to Sue,
and Sue sent her a book. Brian and
Jennifer plan to attend church when Brian is done with Rehab. Please keep this family in your prayers.
