How Far Would You Go? Pt. 2: Update on Antoinette

Last week, I met a sweet woman by the name of Antoinette whose circumstances just punched me in the gut. Why did her story affect me? It hit me so hard because I know she is not alone in her plight. I know that all around us are far too many people facing similarly frightening, overwhelming circumstances as Antoinette; some are trying to cope with even greater difficulties.

Antoinette is elderly, in poor health, confined to a wheelchair, sharing an apartment with her 44-year-old, unemployed, hearing-impaired son, and unable to cover rent, pay bills, and buy food on a very small fixed income.

I had a fairly one-sided conversation with God. OK, to be honest, it was more like me ranting and complaining, wondering aloud how I could possibly help Antoinette. I had no other connection to her other than I had learned of her situation through a dear friend, and he only heard of her through her nurse who had somehow heard of my friend's work among homeless people. We just knew that coincidence had nothing to do with it; God had given us an opportunity to help another human, for no other reason than it is the right thing to do. We decided to start by collecting some food from our own pantries and stopping by Trader Joe's for some groceries to deliver to Antoinette for our first meeting and assess her situation. It was in meeting her where she was at that we were able to see firsthand her immediate needs and begin to formulate a plan to address them.

Need #1: Food
The fact that there was no food in their home except for two cans of corn, half a jar of Skippy and some instant coffee was astonishing to me. The few bags of groceries we brought on our first meeting helped to provide fresh produce, meats, dairy, frozen meals and canned goods to last a couple of weeks. A good start, but we knew that would be used up quickly. We put the word out to our friends and received donations right away (THANK YOU!). This was enough to help restock her pantry and give them some breathing room for a few more weeks. We are also in process of setting her up with an organization called The Treasure Box that provides amazing food boxes, enough to feed a family of four, for just $30. Something she can actually afford! Awesome!

Need #2: Electicity
Antoinette and her son have been living hand-to-mouth on a small, fixed income. They used up all of her cash for the month to move into their apartment, and with no savings left to tap into, she was unable to cover the cost of her electic bill. Because they had fallen behind in payments, the electricity was scheduled to be shut off on Monday. While on the phone with the electric company, we learned that she is pretty far behind-- nearly $400. Thanks to the generosity of many friends, we were able to gather enough to pay this month's bill (about $130) and get her an extension to the end of the month.

Need #3: Furnishings
The apartment is clean and in a safe-enough neighborhood. When I tell you that the apartment was sparse, I realize that even what she does have is a luxury for millions of people around the world. Still, we felt broken for her. It contains some very basic amenities such as an oven and a fridge, a few very modest pieces of furniture (i.e., dining room table with a couple of broken chairs, two of which are used to support the small TV) a mattress on the floor of her bedroom and not much else. She sleeps on the mattress, her son sleeps on the floor. She was embarassed and apologized over and over that she had no furniture for us to sit on. No big deal, we just sat on the floor with her in her wheelchair while we visited and prayed. Within a week, our friends at Kingdom Causes were able to donate a couch for the living room, Cris and Tom with the Pepper Project donated several bags of home goods, and several other friends donated paper products, clothing, towels, etc. We are still working on 2 beds/bedding and safety rails for the bathroom.

Need #4: Community
It has been incredible to see people step up, pull together and reach out to help someone in need, someone they may never know face to face. Just knowing that there are good people who care is such a comfort, not only to Antoinette-- but also to me. It restores my hope in the goodness of humankind. It reminds me that God created people to love and care for each other, and no matter how broken and ugly our world seems to be there is still a great deal of goodness in it. Antoinette is a woman with great faith, and deeply blessed us with her sweetness. The only thing she asked of us was to tell everyone who has helped her "thank you". She really wants to be connected to a church, so Geoffrey made contact with the pastor of a local church on her behalf.

So often we go through our days and never give another thought to what kind of power we have within us. It's not until something shakes us up that we are reminded of our intimate connection to people all around the world, regardless of language, skin color, gender or ideology... and it's in those tender moments that the true beauty of community shines brightest.

If you would like to check out some of the organizations mentioned here, please take a look at their websites:
Treasure Box
Kingdom Causes
Pepper Project