Mark and I were having a relaxing afternoon. I was reading and Mark was taking a nap before going to a Red cross meeting. The phone rang. It was Sam saying that there had been a fire in another county and someone needed to go. I woke Mark up and we got ready while Sam got the ERV ready and brought it to us.
We drove in the opposite direction from scheduled meeting. We arrived on the scene of a gutted, black with soot, house. A couple was standing by their truck, drinking coffee, that someone had brought them. We invited them into the ERV, so that we could talk. She stated that she could not stop shaking and he had a very bad headache. They were grateful that they had stop by his brother's house on the way home from town. They would have been taking a nap with the four year old baby when the fire started. They were sad, that when they got home and saw the smoke billowing out, the puppy ran inside and did not make it out . They stated that the dog must have thought one of them was still in there.
While Mark started the paper work, I reached into the bag and got out a Mickey Mouse doll. She cradled the doll in her arms. She said that her baby, who had just been picked up by Grandma , loves Mickey Mouse. There was no room for them and they had no idea what to do next.
When we handed her a debit card for hotel and food and clothes, she cried. She kept thanking us. We told her that this was not from us. This was her American Red Cross at work with money donated by people in her community.
Church friends started coming by and calling. We feel like they will receive help, when the church can rally the troops. But as it is getting dark and cool outside, we are glad that Red Cross provided them a place to regroup and decide what to do next.
We were late for the meeting, but they forgave us.
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