Maria;s story

Maria had 2 children.She spoke very little English. She came her e with her husband. He spoke a lot of English .She was totally dependant on him for everything. When he died she  moved in with a friend who also had 2 children. We learned about these struggling moms by a restaurant owner. He mentioned his wife had become friends with them .And all though they directed them and helped them to apply for food stamps and food pantrys they really did not know where to go for clothes for the new school year. Fr John as usual was more than eager to help. And we went through our garage to see if we had clothes and some school supplies for the 4 children.2 were starting kindergarten and spoke very little English. Lucky for us someone had donated some books with Dora speaking English and Spanish. We added them to the items. We had everything for 3 of the children but still needed size 6 clothes for the one little girl .So Fr John went to the store and bought some clothes .He also bought new socks for all the children. When we went to the restaurant with items in tow the owner was surprised. He told us he never knew if he would of seen us again. Thats right we were customers at the restaurant when Fr John got into a conversation with him about Reys Of Hope and how wonderful people have been to donate stuff.(Right there was the invitation and the owner wasted no time in telling us about those in need,lol)The restaurant owner called his wife on the phone and told her to bring Maria so we could meet her. Since we had to wait we ordered something to eat.When his wife arrived with 4 children and Maria there was much excitement. The children were hugging
Fr  John and speaking in Spanish(the restaurant owner said the children thought he was Santa Claus-no doubt because of his beard).And as for Maria she kissed our hands and kept repeating the words THANK YOU<THANK YOU.When they left the restaurant owner said our meal was free. Talk about being grateful. Many times we don't hear a thank you for months regardless of who we help. But some how all those THANK YOU"S from  Maria made up for it.There is nothing in this world that can make one feel better than seeing a child:s smiling face,except maybe 4 childrens; smiling faces.