Story of the Week (Fire on the Road) 1-9-09

Posted by admin

January 9, 2009

Hello, friends. A special welcome to you newcomers. You will discover that although a story is sent in each mailing, we usually have some announcements first, and today is no exception.

—-I’ve been getting some raves on my new website/blog and I wanted to introduce you to the kind and capable woman responsible for designing it and teaching me how to use it (don’t snicker.) You should be able to get around the site a little better, especially to the posted stories, comments to me through the CONTACT page, and to join Twitter if you’d like to. (Never mind). The world of computers is so daunting for so many of us that we really need someone to be there AFTER the site is built, to answer our questions and give us the encouragement we need. That’s why I’m nominating Traci Vanover as my earth angel. If you’d like o talk to Traci about your own website/computer needs, just visit her website at http://PromoDiva.com, and tell her what you need.

—-We earth angels have a particular group that we take care of whenever we can—an area in Thornton Arkansas where the poorest of the poor live. The Cayce family has been serving them for over 40 years. Here’s the long-awaited update on their Christmas giveaway. I’m going to just print Joannie Cayce’s letter—it’s long but how could anything be better?

“We helped 726 poor children and hundreds of elderly have a wonderful Christmas. This year was a year of many miracles and wonderful blessings. The day after Thanksgiving Daniel went to the gym and starting pulling out all the used toys from the back of the gym that we had saved all year. Some people had mailed us new things we saved throughout the year also. We quickly saw we would be needing TOYS. We ordered 300 basketballs and prayed for a miracle.

“Then wonderful things began to happen. Packages from angels started coming in and an angel at a church in Little Rock connected Scholastic Book Company with us. Scholastic Book Company handles all the school book fairs. They are going out of business in Little Rock. The manager called me and said she was looking for a charity to donate their store’s inventory to. I had no idea of the miracle that was about to happen. I told her about our giveaways and how many thousands of people in impoverished Arkansas are helped by Cayce’s Charities. She had the idea to donate the books to several different organizations but while she was talking to me she felt God telling her Cayce’s Charities was the organization she was looking for. Scholastic Book Company donated not just books but toys, gift sets, watches, candles, and many wonderful gifts. We had their new wonderful things in the children’s bags, and all over the gym floor for the poor to receive as gifts.

“The angels around the country sent enough warm socks, underwear, coats, tooth paste, tooth brushes, soap, shampoos and gloves for every child. Boxes of games, puzzles, books, colors, coloring books, trucks, cars and dolls came in and went into the bags. Each time I filled a bag I thought about the sacrifice each angel made, and the love they sent with each kage they mailed here. I wished there was a way of letting each of you know how wonderful you made Christmas Day for so many children. Every child we helped had a wonderful Christmas. We also had food sacks for each family filled with macaroni and cheese, soup, crackers, spaghetti sauce, spaghetti, hamburger helper, cookies, hash, stew, chicken and dumplings, oranges, apples, jelly, canned milk, peanut butter, and lots of candies. These were the nicest food boxes we have ever had at Christmas. The donations we received for food made these bags possible.

“The day of the giveaway the lady from the Scholastic Company came with 10 others to help. They said they were in shock at the lines, the poor, and the poverty in south Arkansas they did not know existed. They were so touched by the experience and said it had changed their lives forever. We had many Spanish speaking families that showed up for gifts for their children and food. They could speak no English and we can’t speak Spanish. But one of the men that came with the Scholastic Company spoke Spanish and we were able to help all the Mexican families!

“We also gave away tons of used clothing, blankets, bedding, furniture, shoes, and much more. We are really starting the year off with empty gym tables, and full hearts. We thank every one that helped us make this Christmas a wonderful day where the poor child, parents, and elderly could feel loved and have a day of hope filled happiness. Thank you. Joannie Cayce.”

Thank you, Joannie, for allowing us to help God’s poorest. Our hugs also go to Joanne who broke her foot during all of this! and has been using her convalescence to write thank you notes to all of us. The Cayces can be reached at 403 Second St, Thornton AR 71766. And finally, here’s our

story:

—She isn’t sure of the year, but Helen Kron will never forget the fires that kept spreading for what seemed like weeks. She knew full well that she should not have gotten herself in this situation. But when her son—who had been visiting her in Indiana—invited her to come back with him to Florida for awhile, she decided to go. Surely the fires she had been reading about would be out by then. And her son drove a large and sturdy van. They would be fine.

They were, for the first day. But as they got closer to Florida, Helen saw the smoke wafting through what was usually a bright path. Then as miles passed, she started to see the flames. “I was very concerned about these fires along both sides of the road,” Helen says. “From time to time the wind would pick up some burning item and blow it across the street. That piece would start something else burning.” Helen fell back on her remedy for fear—serious prayer. “I began to pray that God would send rain,” she says.

Miles passed, and Helen kept praying. “Oh Lord, give us a flood!” she murmured at one point. And then, although she could hardly believe her eyes, rain came. There was no warning—the deluge simply started as if a dam had burst. Rain pounded the van’s windshield, poured on everything in sight. The fires alongside the roads were quickly extinguished. “Isn’t this wonderful!” Helen cried out in amazement. Who would believe this timing? She thanked God and praised him. The rain kept falling.

Soon, however, the roads seemed to be flooding. Helen noticed that several cars were driving through puddles almost half as high as their tires. Traffic immediately slowed and cars began to stall. “Mom,” Helen’s son said, “I can’t see the road—the wipers can’t keep up. I’m going to have to pull off and wait it out.” There was a parking lot near them, and he splashed into it. The engine died.

Now what? Helen had prayed that rain would come, and now she was praying that it would leave. The old saying, “Be careful what you pray for–you just might get it” popped into her head. How did one ask God to stop the blessings?

Then, through the windshield on the driver’s side, Helen saw a bright light. Was it lightening? This made her even more uneasy. “Then I saw the figure of an angel,” Helen recalls. “Oh! how beautiful she was. She seemed fully grown wearing a white dress that was either eyelet or lace. She had tight blonde curls—like Shirley Temple when she was a child—and she wore a tiara.”

Helen could no longer see the windshield, as the angel’s light was filling the van’s interior. Her arms were outstretched, showing the full sleeves flowing from her dress, and she was looking at Helen. “I felt as if she was saying that everything would be all right,” Helen says. “There was no doubt in my mind what I was seeing.”

The vision lasted just a few minutes. By now the rain had stopped, and drivers seemed to be getting back on the road. “That was a lucky break,” Helen’s son mused as he turned the key and the engine sprang to life. “Look—the sun is even coming out.”

“Didn’t you see her?” Helen demanded, still awed by the vision.

“See who, Mom?”

Warmth flooded Helen. She would tell her son in a few minutes about what had happened. Right now she wished only to hold the miracle close to her heart. “This memory is still very clear to me,” she says today. “I praised God, and wondered ‘why me?’” It was a privilege I’ll never forget.”