Stories Matching 'Church' Tag (23)

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Warm Story From Ethiopia

--posted by Brendan Moran, on Apr 11, 2006

I traveled to Ethiopia last year with my business partner and president of OLA's Exotic Coffee & Tea. We are a coffee company that imports coffee from Africa and traveled to Ethiopia to visit the coffee plantations and speak with the government about investing.

One day our entourage traveled about 4 hours from the capital to visit the Yirgacheffe coffee region. There we were looking to survey some coffee processing plants to possibly purchase. It rained heavily that day and there was a flash flood in a nearby village that we had to travel through ...

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Act of Kindness in Zimbabwe

--posted by Rita, on Jul 17, 2006

I was in the bus in heavy traffic going to an orphanage to visit some children. What I saw brought tears to my eyes.

There had been a terrible accident. The owner of the motorbike laid bleeding, critically injured and dying on the side of the road. Members of a church nearby called an ambulance. They were having a women’s gathering day at the church.

While the man lay helpless and hurt, the women rushed to his side and around him sang beautiful hymns and prayers - some to save his body and some to save his soul. They sang like angels. The music was so sad and beautiful and the gesture was so touching at such sad and tragic moment. I shall not forget the kindness of those women being there in his hour of need.

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Weekly Grocery Shopping

--posted by Sarah, on Feb 8, 2007

When we do our weekly grocery shopping, our daughter Sarah selects one item to purchase, which will then be put aside to give to the local food bank.We are teaching Sarah that not everyone is as fortunate as we are.

During our family’s Friday night observance of the Sabbath, we put coins into our box. Sarah takes a handful of coins and, after telling us something she is thankful for or has enjoyed that day, she places a coin in her homemade box. When the box is full, we donate the money to a local charity selected by Sarah.

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Five Dollar Bus Fare

--posted by Aiya, on Mar 1, 2007

A bunch of us carpooled in a van to go to the holiday prayer at the convention center and the celebrations afterwards.

After visiting for hours, we were on our way home late that evening. (We live about an hour away from where we were going.)  Before we dropped off someone, we noticed he didn't have enough money for the bus.  He only needed 50 cents, so he kindly asked if anyone could spare some change.

While everyone looked in their wallets, I remembered I had 5 dollars in my purse I was saving for coffee. I wanted to help, so I gave him all 5 dollars.  And it made me happier than coffee does. :)

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Dare to Care

--posted by David Servan-Schreiber, on Sep 7, 2007

Originally posted in Ode Magazine It's Saturday night in the Paris métro. Two friends, Etienne and Sophie, are on their way to dinner. After sitting down in the crowded train, they discover the body of a homeless man curled up at their feet. How did he get there? How long has he been lying there? Is he dead? They look around: Everyone avoids looking at the body. Nobody has any idea how to handle this situation. Etienne and Sophie don’t know what to do either. In a study done in the 1970s, young Christian seminarians were assigned to teach a course on ...

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A Cell Phone On The Curb

--posted by mlsmolens, on Sep 25, 2007

I am visiting my oldest daughter and 2 grandsons in Coconut Grove, Miami Florida, and walking home from a wonderful lunch in the Grove with my 4 year old grandson on my head. Tonight is Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year in the Jewish religion, my family is all together - life couldn't be better. I notice a shiny new cellphone lying on the curb, which someone had obviously dropped.  We were a block away from the busy area of the Grove, and I thought for a moment - "If I leave it, someone could pick it up ...

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A Prayer Rock Minister

--posted by maryvanvliet1949, on Dec 27, 2007

You might've heard the story of a person walking along a beach who kept throwing starfish back into the ocean to save their lives.A passerby commented that the task was useless since the man couldn't save all of the starfish, but the man continued to throw them back anyway because he felt that each one he did save was important. A few years ago I had to have thyroid surgery. Because I am a school teacher, I was terrified that I would never speak again. I shared my fear with my minister, and she gave ...

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Mother’s Last Laugh

--posted by vishalsalian, on Jan 11, 2008

Consumed by my loss, I didn’t notice the hardness of the pew where I sat.  I was at the funeral of my dearest friend - my mother.  She finally had lost her long battle with cancer.  The hurt was so intense; I found it hard to breathe at times. Always supportive, Mother clapped loudest at my school plays, held a box of tissues while listening to my first heartbreak, comforted me when my father died, encouraged me in college, and prayed for me my entire life. When Mother’s illness was diagnosed, my sister had a new baby and my brother had recently ...

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The Eight-Year-Old Flower Seller

--posted by inspiringstories, on Jan 24, 2008

Last night’s mass transformed my life.  Since we arrived late for the homily, we positioned ourselves near the door.  It was during the offertory, though, that I saw a sight that changed my life in an instant -- a young boy ran up, took out a coin from his pocket and offered it to the collector.  I didn’t see the denomination, if it was a peso or five-peso, but it wasn't the amount that caught my attention. It was his way of giving gratitude to God for all the immeasurable blessings that he might've received.  And it was from a ...

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The Holy Shadow

--posted by Mali, on Jun 16, 2008

Long, long ago there lived a saint so good that the astonished angels came down from heaven to see how a mortal could be so good. He simply went about his daily life, diffusing virtue as a star diffuses Light, and the flowers perfume, without even being aware of it. Two words summed up his day: He Gave And He Forgave.  Yet these words never fell from his lips; they were expressed in his ready smile, in his kindness, his forbearance and charity. The angels said to God, “Oh, Lord, grant him the gift of miracles.”  God replied, “I consent; ...

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A Touching Gift From My Nurse

--posted by whatthe, on Feb 13, 2009

I was in hospital for 5 weeks and was diagnosed with Intracrainial Hypertension. I had to have surgery to have a shunt put in to drain excess fluid from my brain. Following the operations I had a problem with balance and walking was a huge problem. I had to have nurses help me with everything. It was a real difficult and emotional time because it was close to Christmas and I really missed my 3 children.  While I was in the hospital, there was one nurse in particular who looked after me, who had a huge impact on my recovery. One day she came with a gift she had bought for ...

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Radical Kindness on the Battlefield

--posted by Michael Nagler, on Apr 11, 2009

[This is a true story, written by Murray Polner and Stefan Merken in Peace, Justice, and Jews (1968).] During the spring of 1921, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Muhammed Amin el-Husseini, instigated an organized pogrom  against the Jewish population in Palestine. When a group of Arabs threatened to attack Jewish homes between Jaffa and Tel Aviv, Jewish defenders went forth to meet them. An exchange of fire ensued, which threatened to escalate into full-scale warfare. In the middle of escalating violence, a remarkable man Rabbi Ben Zion Uziel intervened.  He donned his Rabbinic robes and turban and went straight onto the ...

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Teaching My Daughter Through A Real-Life Experience

--posted by gracieliz, on Jul 16, 2009

One day I had my youngest daughter, Lauren, out shopping and running errands with me. We were rounding the corner of a fast-food place to pick up something quick to eat, a rare thing for us. There was what appeared to be a homeless man, maybe 65 or so, who had a couple of dogs on wire leashes. He wasn't begging, but he smiled and waved at us. Once we picked up our food, I drove back around and asked him how he was, and said his dogs looked as though they really loved him. He said indeed they all loved ...

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57 Cents That Made History

--posted by Modestobob, on Aug 12, 2009

A young girl, Hattie, stood outside a small church from which she had been turned away because 'it was too crowded'. "I can't go to Sunday School," she said to the pastor as he walked by. The pastor carried the child inside and found a place for her to sit in the back. The next time the pastor met her he said "Hattie, we are going to have a larger Sunday school room soon. When we get the money with which to erect a school building we are going to construct one large enough to get all the little children ...

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A Gesture of Generosity that Healed a Life

--posted by live2give4ever, on Apr 7, 2010

I was in church one Sunday when my husband’s ex-wife requested the pastor and the church to pray for her.  She said that she was a drug addict and she wanted to stop using drugs.  She was crying and said that she needed God’s help because she knew that she couldn't do it alone. She was a beautiful woman with four children and they were all crying with her. After church I went to her and introduced myself. She said that she had heard about my marriage to her ex-husband. We talked for a little while and she told me that ...

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Paying Forward a $500 Gift

--posted by songinmyheart, on Apr 13, 2010

Every Wednesday for 2 years now, a group of us ladies goes to a special thrfit store to look for some bargains. At this store, you could buy anything you could put in a bag for  only $1! I bought a few bags and came home to sort it all out on my kitchen floor, as I usually do. As I was looking at a men's leather coat, I started to check it for any flaws.  I felt something in a hidden inside pocket, so I pulled it out .  It was store purchase receipts, but I did not think much of it until I unraveled it and ...

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Sandwich Mondays Feed Hungry People And Our Spirits

--posted by wolfhawk46, on Aug 10, 2010

I am new to this group but not to the idea of helping others.  Funny thing is, I never really give helping others much thought, it is just something I do.  I am sure that most of those who find their way here are similar in nature and action.   The opportunities are all around us if we are open to them and not so caught up in our own routines. That being said, my first post here is not about something that would raise eyebrows, elicit sighs or gain a round of applause.  It is just a simple thing but ...

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A Little Bit of Extra Love on Valentine's Day

--posted by AtoJ, on Aug 5, 2010

My church was assigned Valentine’s Day to serve a meal to homeless people.  After reading a HelpOthers.org story about giving flowers out at a meal program, I formed the idea to augment our church activity with some colorful floral life.  Building off of my intention, a fellow church member came forward to help pay for the flowers.  At the event, we fed the hungry souls until they were stuffed, and then we gave flowers to anyone who wanted one.  Our pastor even joined in to pass out flowers at the tables. Later that day, I saw a lady with a carnation in her hand hugging the pastor, which led me to believe that the flower must have touched her in a special way.  It is great that through a simple idea on this website, we were able to bring the food serving experience to a deeper level with some flower power!

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An Easter Act to Remember

--posted by god4me, on Oct 26, 2010

Two years ago, on the day before Easter, I had given my three children money instead of Easter baskets.  Later that evening, we were all sat watching TV,  when an infomercial came on about starving children.  I couldn't help tearing up when my children said, "Mom, can we give our Easter money to these children?"  I told them yes and that God was going to bless them for this.  I wrote a cheque and sent it off in the mail.  I wanted to go get them Easter baskets for their kind act, but I didn't have any more money. To my surprise, on Easter morning, a couple of ladies from a church we used to attend came over with a big box.  I didn't open it until they left, and when I did, tears started streaming down my and I fell to the floor with gratitude.  It contained Easter baskets for my children and a gas card for my family. The universe is good and sometimes knocks you on your knees in tears from the way it works...

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A Spin Cycle of Kindness

--posted by pluto178, on Feb 8, 2011

When I moved into my new house it already had a washing machine in it but I had just bought a new one so I wondered what to do with the machine already in the house.  I remembered two girls who regularly knocked at my door for religious reasons.  They never had or kept anything they didnt need.  If one of them needed something, say a winter coat, they would work for the amount of time it took to make the money they needed for the coat and then return to their religious work. They had just got their own house so I decided ...

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An Extra Special Candlelight Christmas Eve

--posted by Joy4All, on Apr 21, 2011

I am a geriatric care manager and many of my clients families live out of state. This year, a sweet old lady that I care for, Alice, had gone through a particularly rough time. She had been in the hospital twice and then to a rehab nursing facility. In November I was finally able to get her back to her "home" in to an 'assisted living facility'. Alice has dementia and thought her daughter was coming to visit on Christmas day and that they were going to have the whole family together like the old days. When she finally realized that was not going to happen she was ...

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An Answer To A Prayer

--posted by 123u2, on May 3, 2011

  Since my husband has been hospital for quite a while I have learned to make do with very little.    On Sunday I went to our church and someone there said to me, "I know you must be having a tough time." I just smiled and said, "I'm okay. I have two dollars and I have food at home, so I'll be fine."   I always think that what I have is what I have and it is up to me to make the most of it.    Anyway, then she said, "Can I borrow your Bible? I need to look up a verse." I said, ...

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More than Lunch and a Bowl of Soup

--posted by wayfarer, on Jun 18, 2012

Last year I bought lunch for a guy who had scraped his pennies together for a cup of tea. He rewarded me by telling me a little about his life, how he had lost the battle with drink but how faith had turned his life around. Now, when most men his age would be enjoying their retirement, he lived in a hostel and spent his time distributing religious tracts to shops, offices and strangers in the street.   Well, yesterday Julie and I were back in the same coffee shop. Julie looked over my shoulder and saw the same man, sitting there ...

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