I'm not sure this is a moment that can be shared through a simple blog post. I don't think I can possibly capture the raw emotion, but here it goes....... Last week a gentleman came to me as I was working in the store and told me he had heard that we could help with free haircuts. He had walked from downtown Vancouver, where he was staying at the Share House. He had a job interview the following day and wanted to be sure he looked his best. I took him a couple doors down to
Classic Clipper. (they have been donating their services to people who come to us in need). I asked the owner to give him a cut and shave and went back the store and asked Korry to make sure he had bus money to get back down to the
Share House. That was the only interaction I had with him.
This week he came in and re-introduced himself to me and told me he wanted to volunteer some of his time at the store because he was so grateful for the haircut. He went on to tell me that he was humbled to have to ask for such a small thing, but he was grateful that I had not made him feel humiliated.
He got the job that he had interviewed for but found out that they could not place him in a Vancouver store and the opening was for a Tigard area store. His car had broke down and he couldn't afford the $140.00 alternator to fix it so he wasn't sure how he was going to start work on March 1st but was sure that somehow things would work out.
An hour after our conversation a man walked in to find out more about the the store and what we do there and how we help people. He handed me his card and said he had just opened up
transitional housing for men trying to get back on their feet. He said the house is located in the Tigard area. I told him I would like to introduce him to a man I though he might be able to help out.
The two spoke for quite a while. He was invited to move into the home in Tigard bringing him closer to his new job.........
The man that came to us for help is a "church-going" "bible-reading" "scripture-quoting" type of man. He reads his bible daily, he prays and he attends church. He was able to find HOPE in the ReGifting Store. I have said before that I am not a church goer, nor am a bible reader, and I can't even quote one scripture from "The Book" but I can tell you that God had something in His plans that day and somehow I was able to be just a tiny part of it.
I am grateful to be at the ReGifting Store and be part of something bigger than I ever thought possible.
