Could You Help Me

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.