That One Guy

 

            An opportunity arrived in Alistair’s email inbox; it was a response to the resume that he submitted for a job in a distant town for a position within the company to do data analysis work. An offer was made, inviting him to become part of the business services team with a substantial salary.  Following the directions given in the email, he quickly placed a phone call, thanked them for the generous offer and accepted the role. He then inquired when they wanted him to start doing his data analysis work.

               He was given a start date two weeks beyond the current day, he agreed to start on that day, thanked them for the offer and said he was excited to get started on offering his skill set to the business services team. After hanging up the phone, he wandered through his house and found his wife to inform her that he had been hired and would be starting his new job in two weeks and that living arrangements would need to be put into place.

               Several phone calls were made to a number of people in order to put Alistair into a place where he could stay overnight and travel home once a week to spend time with his family over the weekend. Before the end of the day, he received an email from HR requesting details in order for him to be paid via direct deposit. He immediately responded with the necessary information and all of his personal details.

               The start day began to approach quickly, he arrived at the office excited and ready to contribute his skills, knowledge, and experience to the business services team. As he began taking on his new role, he learned that the job he would be undertaking previously did not exist and no one had done any work in this role. Initially excited as he began his work, it seemed that the others on the team were friendly and conciliatory.

               He began working through the data from the vendors to understand what needed to be done and how to load the new data into the system. As he systematically worked through the information, he learned that over a dozen other people would benefit from his work, from his efforts, and from his attention to detail. Thrilled with his success at providing valuable data to his co-workers scattered around two countries, he eventually learned that those with whom he directly worked were not actually kind, friendly or genuine.

               After several months of aggressive and diligent work, Alistair learned that he was able to accomplish what no one else ever could. He received multiple emails from those around the country, thanking him for the quality of his work and his attention to detail. As several years passed, he began to receive more data sets from other vendors, giving him plenty of work to do, and increase the over accuracy of all data in the company computer system.

               As several more years passed, he began to realize that his immediate co-workers would say one thing, live another thing, and in doing so would expose their crass hypocrisy. He would sit in meetings with some of his co-workers and with others around the company, being forced to listen to nonsense from some of his co-workers, being driven to the point of feeling physically ill at what some of them were saying directly to others and what they were saying about these same people behind their backs.

               As more years slowly crept by, he could see everything beginning to unravel, he could see the frustration in his co-workers, and their willingness to invent stories about his performance, his abilities, and the “magic” he was able to accomplish with so much data, that helped so many people throughout the entire company across two countries. He could feel his soul shriveling, his anger building, and his frustration taking over a good deal of his mind. Uncertain at this point as to what to do next, he began playing with the idea of retiring and finding another job where the quality of his work would be appreciated and acknowledged.

               As he stepped away from his role, a position that no one else could fill, he knew that his absence would leave at least a dozen people in a difficult position, unable to navigate through the work he had created. A small sliver of him felt bad for abandoning his post, because he truly loved the work he was doing and the software he had created. He offered to work part time, if and ever his work was wanted or needed by many of those throughout the company. At the same time, he was relieved and at peace, knowing that his heart, soul, and mind would finally find peace after stepping away from a hostile environment.

               After returning the hardware that had been given to him to do his work, he could feel an ocean of peace wash over him, knowing that life would be a glory to enjoy without the anger, the frustration, and the disappointment of dealing with people who were less than quality human beings. He was pulled into so many odd meetings, strange conversations, and bizarre interactions that would always leave him feeling frustrated and confused with the life choices made by his co-workers.

               Moving into a new shape of life, he could feel peace and enjoy the harmony of no longer dealing with unending frustration and disappointment with his co-workers. To be honest and fair, a few of his co-workers were good, kind, and considerate people. The tragedy of this situation was that some of the others believed that they were good people, while many people throughout the company knew that they were hypocrites and less than decent people. The tragedy of self-deception is a horrible state in which some of his co-workers found themselves. He suspected that these co-workers knew that others thought poorly of them and they knew they had no way to undo the deception they had created and imposed on others.

               Now on the outside, Alistair had no way to know what was happening now that he was absent and unable to contribute value to the company. He put in a great effort to not spend any time thinking about the state of the business services team, certain that he was no longer considered valuable by his co-workers or the company as a whole. Now that he was free from the frustration and the anger that had been building over the last several years, he redirected his attention and energy onto aspects of his life that would make life more peaceful and beautiful.

               After one year of separation from the company, he found other work into which he could pour his efforts and passion, in order to provide value and generate a monthly income for himself. Finding love, finding peace, and finding friendship in other areas of life, everything became better, became smoother, and became a glorious new reality. Now with new connections, new friends, and a peaceful life, Alistair could feel himself pulling away from destructive thoughts, corruption, and feelings of anger and frustration.

He spent the next several weeks thinking about how wonderful life had become, now that the anger, the frustration, and the disappointment of dealing with less-than-ideal people were finally gone. He could feel peace, he could feel joy, and he could now enjoy the freedom of a life free from animosity from others. Glorious freedom, beautiful life, and great times with new friends created a wonderful reality for him.

Alistair looked forward to using his data engineering skills in another setting, excited to offer quality work, excellent attention to detail, and a willingness to add value to another company that would acknowledge and appreciate his knowledge, his experience, and his skill set. His deepest desire would be to continue working remotely, regardless of where the next company would be located. A larger salary, good co-workers, and the joy of providing value that was appreciated moved his heart in the right direction. He finally came to the realization that having peace and joy in one’s life provided far greater value than working in a toxic environment with co-workers who thought only of themselves and their own satisfaction.

Rescued from Depravity

 

            Angela was eleven years old and the third child in a family of self-centered narcissists who only were concerned with their own happiness, their own satisfaction, and their own pleasure, willing to be distracted by anything they found fun or amusing. Her father worked sixteen hour days and her mother was drunk most of the time that her husband was away at work, still having the responsibility of taking care of, loving, and protecting her three children.

               Angela almost never saw her father as he was gone when she rose for school each weekday and he would return home from work several hours after she had gone to bed. The little girl slept on a pile of blankets in the corner of her parent’s bedroom, while her two brothers had their own bedroom one door down. Occasionally Angela would wake up in the middle of the night when her father returned home from work, she would crack open one eye and watch him climb into bed and begin snoring.

               The little girl would sleep peacefully and eventually crawl from her pile of blankets, use the bathroom to get ready for school, find a clean set of clothes, and scour through the kitchen for a small morning meal before leaving for school. As she passed through the front door to walk to the end of the driveway, her mother would give her two dollars to purchase lunch at school. She would drift through her school day, enjoying her time with her friends, sharing stories about dreams they hoped to accomplish as they grew into adulthood.

               The end of the school year drew near and she walked into their home to find that her mother sat crying at the dining room table, within a few minutes her two brothers entered their home and the four of the sat together as her mother informed the three children that their father would not be returning and made the decision to start a new life with other people.

               “I’m so sorry, kiddos,” she said, “I will need to find work during the day while you are at school and I will keep you informed about what will be happening with our little family. I will do the best I can to keep you safe, keep you well fed, and provide for all of your needs.”

               The last day of school arrived, Angela returned home and had another short meeting with her mother and brothers, at which time she learned that her mother had not been able to find a day job and she told them that she would put in more effort to find a night job that would provide enough income to keep their family in a good, healthy, and safe place.

               Angela then stood up from the dining room table, escaped to her parent’s bedroom, flopped herself down on her pile of blankets, and began to feel sick at the idea that what had once been a relatively stable family was now falling apart with an uncertain future. The little girl had a vague and fuzzy memory of her mother’s parents and felt sad at the idea that they lived so far away from them at this time.

               Mother, Angela and her two brothers sat down and ate dinner together, giving their mother the opportunity to explain that she would be leaving the home within a few hours to search for work. The meal was complete, the three children worked together to clean the dining room, the kitchen, and they sat in the living room and watched as their mother left their home. As she slipped out the front door, they moved to the front window and watched her drive away.

               Within less than an hour, a different car pulled into their driveway and two middle aged women emerged from the car, walked to the front door and asked to speak with their father or mother. The oldest boy explained their current and sad situation to the middle-aged women. The five of them sat down in the living room, one of made a quick phone call and two other cars arrived with several other people.

               Angela sat with the two middle aged women and watched as her two brothers gathered some of their things, left the home, and drove away in one of the other cars. The two middle-aged women told Angela to gather her things and to come with them so they could find her a safe place to live. As they drove away from her home, she told them that she had grandparents that would be more than happy to take care of her. She then provided their name, the name of the city, and hoped that they would be able to locate them and make contact.

               Angela’s mother returned home at two in the morning after standing on a street corner, selling herself as a prostitute with the hope that she could earn enough money to provide for her children. She walked into a dark and cold house to find no children and only a note from the Department of Child Services, informing her that the children had been taken into custody because they were far too young to be left home alone with no parental supervision. After taking a quick shower, she put on her pajamas, crawled into bed and waking the next morning, she placed a phone call to the Department of Child Services to inform them that she would be coming into the office before noon to confirm that her children were safe.

               After the phone call, she ate a quick breakfast, dressed appropriately for the day, drove to the DCS office and found that her two sons had been delivered to foster homes and that Angela was being delivered to her grandparent’s home. She apologized for her sad situation, explained that her husband had abandoned them and that she was actively looking for work to provide for her children. Because of the situation in which she found herself, they informed her that they could not provide her with the address of the foster homes in which her sons had been placed.

               Feeling sick and defeated, she returned to a dark and cold home, sadly walking through each room, feeling empty and overcome with despair, she placed a phone call to her parents to learn more details about what was happening. She told them that she would start driving immediately to explain her sad situation. She thanked them for being understanding and willing to take care of Angela and that she would be leaving immediately and would see them soon.

               She made the six hour drive, pulled into their driveway, hugged her small daughter, greeted her parents, and apologized for the terrible situation in which they found themselves. She hugged both of her parents, hugged Angela a second time, and promised to remain in contact as the years crept by. She escaped out the front door, climbed into her car, and made the six-hour drive back home to walk into a dark and cold house.

               Thinking about the poor decisions that she had been making over the last several months, she knew that she no longer needed a large income now that she was alone. She began searching for an easy retail job that would put her in a place where she would earn enough to buy food for herself, pay her rent, and have enough money for gasoline, electricity, the phone bill, and insurance.

               After scraping by for two months with a very small income, she made the decision to go into the adult film industry, which would pay a great deal more money and would only require the occasional few hours a week for filming. She made contact with an adult film company, signed a few papers, turned in her notice to her current retail job, notifying that she would no longer be working for them after two weeks.

               She began receiving emails from the adult film company with dates, times, and addresses for her filming schedule. After transitioning into the filming industry, she began to feel sick at what she was doing so frequently with complete strangers. She found herself leaning into the use of substances to burying her feelings of despair and disappointment. She would occasionally place a phone call to her parents and speak with Angela for a few minutes every other weekend.

               Seven years crept past and she learned that Angela had graduated from high school with excellent grades and would be attending university to pursue a career as a chemist. She continued her work in the adult film industry, continued placing phone calls and learned that Angela was not available to speak as she was now at university. She left her number with her parents, asking them to have Angela call her when she had a few minutes to talk about their situation.

               Angela completed her university schooling, earned her bachelor degree, her Master’s degree and received an offer from a large chemical corporation for a high paying job. She immediately accepted the offer, informed her grandparents of the offer, moved to the city in which the company resided, rented an apartment and began working within two weeks of moving into her new apartment.

               She was incredibly shocked at the size of her paycheck every two weeks, and made the decision to pay off her grandparent’s mortgage because of their kindness to her and their willingness to provide for and protect her when her mother drastically failed as a parent. She received notification from her grandparents that her mother wanted her to call her as frequently as possible, upon hearing this she made the decision to never contact her mother again.

               She put great effort into making her life safe, comfortable, and finding new healthy, solid friends at her place of employment. She eventually purchased her own home, paid off her grandparent’s mortgage, contacted her brothers and told them about her success in life. She learned that her brothers had begun making very bad life choices. Disappointed that they were following a similar path that her father and mother had chosen to follow, she knew that giving them any kind of financial support would not end well.

               After working at her new job, she met a wonderful young man named Alexander, whom she began to date and spend a great deal of time with. After two years of their interaction, he proposed to her and she accepted his proposal. The wedding was a small event with close friends, the groom’s family, her grandparents and her two brothers in attendance. Angela learned that her father was in prison and that her mother had passed away two years prior from a drug overdose.

               Angela and Alexander took a three-week honeymoon to Paris, sold the smaller of their two homes, and consolidated their belongings. Both feeling immensely pleased with their bright new future. Both Angela and Alexander continued working at their place of employment, giving Angela several days to consider how they should approach their new life. She wondered if they should begin having children and what they would mean for their careers.

               Eventually they came to the decision that having children was probably not a good idea as the children would need to have a solid, loving, and safe environment. Angela knew that she had no idea how she could make that happen, as her childhood was completely unstable, dysfunctional and void of love. As several years passed, they continued to build up a large savings, making life solid and stable for a beautiful future in the event if they chose to eventually have children one day.

Purification

 

            Walter and Wendy sat alone at their dinner table, enjoying the lasagna that Wendy had finished preparing a short time ago. Walter commended her skills in cooking and thanked her for being so self-sacrificial and thoughtful about feeding them well. The elderly couple had reached that point in life when they began to enjoy being retired, spending time talking, interacting, and dreaming about vacationing across the globe.

               The sweet old couple finished their meal, stood from their seated positions and began working together to clear the table, clean the kitchen, and began to discuss how they would spend the rest of their evening. Everything came together in a wonderful way, Walter retrieved an Oatmeal Stout from the refrigerator, stepped outside onto the front porch and immediately noticed a massive orange glow coming from the mega church across the street.

               “Oh my, that is not good,” Walter thought, “an orange glow communicates the fact that a fire has likely begun at that massive building, looks like it’s time to make a phone call to the fire department.” He stepped inside, and reported to his faithful bride, what he noticed across the street. “I’m going to walk closer and confirm that I am seeing what I think I am seeing,” he said.

               “Okay, Walter,” Wendy said, “be careful, hurry back and tell me so I know what is going on.”

               He quickly walked the two blocks, which allowed him to see that the megachurch was engulfed in flames and was declining quickly. He rushed back home, found his cellphone and placed a call to 911, providing as many details as he could about what he discovered a few moments ago.

               In less than one-hour, multiple police cars and fire engines arrived at the parking lot of the megachurch, stirring up a great deal of attention from local homes, from local traffic, and from those walking past the roaring conflagration. Walter and Wendy walked outside, stood on the nearest corner and watched the excitement of the moment.

               “Hey, I have an idea,” Walter said, “we need to check the local news, social media, and see if there are any other fires like this one. I know there are many people who despise these megachurches and are willing to take drastic action to shut them down.” In a matter of minutes, Walter uncovered that five other churches in their city had been victims of arson. “Wow, this is not good,” he said, “I hope the authorities act quickly and bring this to an end.”

               As Walter continued to dig further into all that was taking place, he uncovered that several pastors of these megachurches had been murdered in a variety of ways. They spent an hour scouring through the internet and as they began to feel sleepy, they turned off the computer, turned off the lights, took showers, and crawled into bed. Now that they were retired, they had no need to set an alarm, and woke when the morning sun pulled them from their slumber.

               After enjoying a wonderful breakfast, they immediately fell into a conversation about the excitement of the night before and Walter suggested that they engage in dialog with their friends and neighbors about all that was taking place. They finished their meal, rose from their seats, cleaned the dining room and the kitchen, dressed into comfortable clothes for the day and made the decision to take a short walk around the neighborhood.

               On their way back to their home, they stopped in the megachurch parking lot and came to the realization that the church was completely gone and nothing remained but a pile of ash and charred lumber. “Wow, that is really surprising,” Wendy said. “I’ll be curious to see how the regular members of this church respond when they pull into the parking lot to find that they have nothing left with which to engage.”

               They then returned home, turned on the laptop and began researching for more news about the other churches that had been burned. They received a notification that other churches in the city should be attentive to the possible attempts at arson for their facilities. Another warning was released that local pastors should be especially careful and thoughtful about where they go, with whom they interact, and pay attention to dangerous individuals in the area.

               Walter and Wendy rose extra early on the following Sunday morning, dressed comfortably and walked to the corner to see scores of vehicles in the megachurch parking lot, looking forlorn and disappointed that such a tragedy had taken place. Returning thirty minutes later, they found an empty parking lot and the same charred chaos that they discovered so many days before.

               Walter and Wendy were not religious people by any stretch of the imagination and wondered what would happen to the hundreds of people that had been consistently attending this megachurch across the street. They returned home after reviewing the now empty lot that once held the megachurch, began searching for addresses of the other burned churches and decides to drive to each location and view the loss and damage. After feeling despair and disappointment for the loss that these people endured, they made the decision to drive past other churches that had not been burned. As they drove past each one, they realized that several men stood outside of each church holding fire extinguishers, sacrificing their time and energy to protect their facilities.

               They returned home, worked together in the kitchen to put together lunch for the day, enjoyed friendly dialog, finished their meal, cleaned up the dining room and the kitchen. This gave Walter the idea to do further research of other facilities and the names of other pastors who had been murdered since the successful attempts at arson. Over time, Walter learned that surveillance cameras had identified those guilty for the crimes of arson.

               Several arrests had been made, contact had been made with all of the pastors in the area, warning them to be careful and thoughtful about their safety, the safety of their families, and the potential danger toward their places of worship. Walter and Wendy spent some time each day carefully watching the news, social media, and discussing the terrible nature of what these people had committed.

               Thankfully, one full month passed and there were no more fires or murders. Many discussions were had around their neighborhood, in local businesses, and in various social settings and across multiple social media websites. A sense of calm flowed over the city and within a few months one of the megachurches began reconstruction. The other locations soon sold the land and the former members transferred to other churches.

               Within a few years only one megachurch remained in the city, while the historic churches began to flourish, drawing more people into regular, consistent attendance. The concept of being entertained by a rock band performing “worship music” disappeared into oblivion. At the same time, beautiful, historically based worship became the standard across the city. One could feel the difference as he interacted with people in various locations, various businesses, and historic Churches rather than the silly, vain, distracted noise of American evangelicalism.

               Walter and Wenday finished their dinner two full years after the megachurch across the street burned into a pile of ash and rubble. They walked to the street corner and saw that a strip mall was now being built on the location that once housed the megachurch. “I have to say that seeing something of value taking over this space fills my heart with joy, rather than the ridiculous megachurch concept,” Walter said, “it will be nice to have more stores close to home.”

               “Yes, I completely agree,” Wendy said, “whoever made the decision to remove this nonsense from our city has done a great service for everyone. I know that we’ve never been people who have attended a church, but I can say that the nonsense that these megachurches have been promoting is nothing like what you find in the Holy Scripture. I’ve had many conversations with neighbors, with co-workers, and with various business owners who had pointed out that the ‘prosperity gospel’ message that you hear at these megachurches is completely contrary to what is read in Holy Scripture.”

Loving the Lonely

            Pieter sat alone in his living room wondering about the quality of his life and if he had anyone close to him that would be interested in attending his funeral whenever that sad state of reality would eventually come to pass. As he scanned through multiple social media platforms, he eventually came across a brief article about something called a “lonely funeral”. This was something of which he had never heard before, he finally came to learn that when someone dies and they have no friends or family, a poet is hired to write a poem about their life and read it during their funeral even if no one else is in attendance.

               “Wow, that is incredibly sad,” Pieter thought, “the very idea that someone dies alone, has no friends or relatives in their life who would be interested in attending their funeral, and fades into obscurity as an unknown.” Feeling overwhelmed at the idea that such an event could take place, he walked away from his laptop, flopped onto his bed, stared at the ceiling and tried to think of a way to remove this sad type of story from the history of mankind.

               “Oh, I know,” he thought, “I should contact as many people as I can think of to help me with creating an organization who will attend these empty funerals and create a situation where this person is not forgotten and ignored in history.” Feeling a bit peckish, he pulled himself to his feet, walked into the kitchen and put together a snack of cheese and crackers, which he hoped would hold him over until it was time for dinner.

               With his cheese and crackers snack, he poured himself a small glass of red wine, found a notebook and began jotting down names of anyone he suspected might be interested in helping him with this new idea. Now with a partially satiated stomach and a list in his notebook of about thirty names, he returned to his laptop and began sending emails to those who may be interested in assisting him. After one hour of thoughtful work, he stepped away into his bedroom, did a bit of light stretching and a bit of weight lifting. He then took a shower, dressed into his loose and comfortable pajamas, and returned to the kitchen to put together a dinner.

               He finished his evening meal, cleaned up the dining area and the kitchen, reclined on his bed and began reading a novel he had begun several days prior. Aggressively yawning, he set the novel aside, brushed his teeth, turned off his light, and slipped beneath his covers. He woke the next morning and found that twenty-five people expressed interest in assisting him with the “lonely funeral” problem that was plaguing the Netherlands.

               In response, he wrote a single email and sent it to those who had positively responded to his request. Part way through his work day, he contacted a lawyer to help him create an organization called “Loving the Lonely”. Within one week, the organization had been created, and the appropriate licenses were put into place. After receiving this positive news, he sent another email to those who had positively responded to his request, informing them about his plans to bring this effort to fruition.

               At the end of his work day, he traveled to the lawyer’s office, filled out the necessary paperwork, and could feel his heart racing, knowing that he and his associates were doing a good thing to help those who were alone and unknown. During his lunch break on the next day, he placed an online order for business cards for the new organization. Within two weeks, he received the business cards in the mail and began to create a list of funeral homes, hospitals, and churches that he could approach and communicate the purpose of this new organization.

               At the end of his work day, he sent an email inviting those interested in assisting him to a meeting wherein they could discuss how to move forward and how their work could be accomplished. Within one week, everyone interested arrived at his home, and they planned on how and who to contact with this wonderful new idea.

               Pieter took the next day off of work, and began traveling to the funeral homes, the hospitals, and the churches to discuss how he and his associates could be of service to those who would experience a lonely funeral. Every funeral home praised him for his good idea and his willingness to spend time and money on making a difference in the lives of other people. Of the forty churches that he approached, less than half of them expressed any interest in working with him to be a positive influence on the lives of others.

               Names, dates and locations were provided to Pieter and his associates, giving them the opportunity to create a schedule to visit each lonely funeral so the deceased would not be alone as they departed this world. Eight people were sent to three different lonely funerals and were warmly welcomed by the funeral home personnel, thanking them for attending the service. At each service, the poet who had written a poem of the life of the deceased, read the poem to the small group of people, who did not know the deceased and were more than happy to be involved in acknowledging this person’s existence.

               Names, dates, and locations continued to arrive to the organization email account, as they continued this sacrificial work, Pieter kept careful track of names, dates, and locations over the next twenty years. As each year passed, more people became involved in attending the lonely funerals to hear the poem about the life of the deceased. As twenty years slowly crept by, Pieter realized that he and his associates had attended over one hundred and fifty lonely funerals. On occasion they would receive a letter of thanks from those who knew some of the deceased, thanking them for their work.

               Pieter called a meeting of everyone involved in “Loving the Lonely” to discuss the idea of opening other locations throughout the Netherlands. He received encouraging words and they made plans to reach out to other regions, across the country, to eventually see hundreds of other lonely funerals no longer empty and without attendees. As the other locations began to see success and growth, Pieter was contacted by a local news service, requesting an interview. He shared the raging success that “Loving the Lonely” was seeing, not only in Amsterdam but in the other locations across the Netherlands.

                Pieter could feel himself growing older and weaker and he knew that he would not be able to continue this work and would need to appoint someone else to take over the responsibility when he too would eventually depart into eternity. Multiple decades continued past, and the documentation of each lonely funeral continued. After forty years of their sacrificial work, several news outlets began to announce the work they had been doing for so long.

               The time came when Pieter eventually reposed and his funeral was attended by several hundred people, all of them expressing words of thanks and gratitude for his work and his willingness to acknowledge the situation for so many people who were seemingly forgotten over time. A monument was built in his honor, speaking words of praise for his hard work, his willingness to do the right thing, and his overall love for mankind in general.

               The “Loving the Lonely” organization continued for another two hundred years, making a definite impact on how people thought about those who were unknown and forgotten. Beginning with Pieter, the organization saw eight different leaders take the role when the previous leader reposed. The organization continued to grow with hundreds of people volunteering to attend the lonely funerals and listen to the poems created by the hired poet in honor of the deceased.

               The idea of opening new “Loving the Lonely” offices in other countries was suggested, which took place in Belgium, Germany, France, and Spain. All of the offices across western Europe remained in contact, communicating their success and the joy that was brought into the lives of so many people as lonely funerals were no longer a problem. The leader of “Loving the Lonely” in Amsterdam received news from the United States and Russia that several offices there were being opened and were seeing success in positively impacting those societies.

Selfishness Rather Than Love

 

            Jonathan looked back on the last ten years of his life and began to wonder if there was something wrong with him that he had failed to recognize or acknowledge after so many years. Instead of relying on his limited knowledge and selfish perspective of his reality, he began developing the idea of speaking with other people who had known him for many years, seeking advice, seeking wisdom and seeking help for redirecting his life and energy.

               After spending the next three months speaking with those older and wiser than him, he finally came to an understanding of his slightly skewed perspective of reality, his errant focus of seeking after comfort, pleasure, and earning as much money as he could. After each conversation with the four other people, he began to document what they saw in his life, what they viewed in him as what seemed to be important to him and he became extremely self-critical of his lifestyle.

               When the three months of critical self-analysis came to an end, he poured a great deal of effort into embracing those things that his chosen teachers communicated to him. He eventually came to the realization that he had not been living a selfish life, or a life that focused on pleasure and comfort, he finally understood that he was putting others ahead of himself, and was struggling to be a positive influence with everyone he met and knew.

               The calendar year came to an end and he met a wonderful young lady who appeared to be very interested in forming a long-term relationship with him. He and she began spending a great deal of time together, working hard to make wise, godly, and life enhancing decisions. After three years of selfless interaction, he could feel himself drawing closer and closer to her, and he could also she her drifting away from him with her focus on being comfortable and seeking after pleasure and entertainment.

               Growing concerned with this tragic misdirection in her life, he began seeking wisdom and guidance from others, wondering if he should propose to her and begin a family with her. After speaking with ten different people, most of those he approached for wisdom and help, he received negative affirmations from them, all of those who spoke negatively, warned him that making a permanent connection with her could likely draw him away from a life of holiness, a life of self-sacrifice, and a slow transition toward a life of worldliness.

               Jonathan spent the next three months carefully thinking through the direction and advice that he received from those older and wiser than him. When his three months of mental cogitation came to an end, he observed that this young lady was moving away from him and was allowing herself to be distracted by a life of pleasure, comfort, and mindless entertainment. He practiced the intended conversation over and over in his mind for the next two weeks, guessing her possible responses to his decision to sever their relationship.

               He finally settled in his heart with the reality that a life focused on pursuing holiness, and turning away from the pleasures and distractions of this world would be to his advantage. When he finally settled on how and when he would have this discussion with the young lady, he carefully documented what he would say and what her possible responses could be and how he would respond to them.

               He continued to push the date out for having this discussion with her, and finally he contacted her, asked her to join him for a picnic on the following weekend at the local park. Terribly nervous when her picked her up from her parent’s home, they first visited the grocery store to buy their favorite food stuffs from the deli. Now with a full basket of wonderful food, he parked his car near the park, giving them a few minutes to walk in the glorious sunshine, to eventually find an empty picnic table. They began their meal, enjoyed the fried chicken, potato salad and red wine.

               He could feel his heart twisting in knots as he struggled to find the right words to begin the conversation about how it would be in both their best interest if they severed their relationship. They finished their meal and began a slow walk around the lake, enjoying the beauty of the day, and he carefully began the conversation. Articulating that he was seeing her pull away from him and becoming more distracted by the pleasures and vain entertainment of their culture.

               They completed their walk around the lake, returned to his car, and as they drove back into town to return to her parent’s home, he could feel her becoming frosty toward him, saying that she was terribly disappointed that their relationship had to end this way. “Honestly my dear,” he said, “from what I have observed in both of us, it seems that we are moving in different directions and I’m afraid that if we unite in marriage, we will both be miserable and focused on different lifestyles.”

               They began a slow drive through town, he pulled into her parent’s driveway, parked his car, opened her door for her and walked her to the front door to say goodbye one last time. “I hope things go well for you in the future and that you find someone who fits your preferred lifestyle,” he said. They shared a brief hug, said goodbye and he returned to his car, offering a brief wave as he drove away.

               As he departed alone, he could feel his heart growing cold, empty, and disappointed. Struggling with this terrible loss, he had previously convinced himself that he thought he had found the right girl who would become his wife, allowing him to start a new life that would give him the opportunity to love, embrace, and protect. With visions of starting a family, he parked in front of his apartment building, trudged up the stairs, pushed into his apartment, collapsed on his bed, and rested for a few minutes.

               He crawled off of his bed, undressed, took a shower, put on his pajamas and upon returning to his bedroom he found a lengthy text message from the young lady, expressing her deep disappointment that their relationship came to such an unfortunate end. He quickly replied, explaining that from his perspective it seemed that they were no longer a good fit for one another. “I truly believe that you will find someone who is in alignment with your chosen lifestyle, I believe you are wonderful young lady and I pray that your life will be one that is fulfilling and satisfying. I hope that we can remain friends as time passes.”

               He crawled into bed and immediately fell asleep, when he arose the next morning, he sent an email to those who previously advised him about how or if to move forward in his relationship with the young lady. He explained that he cut off their relationship as he and she seemed to be moving in different directions and asked for their prayers that his life would continue moving toward love and holiness.

               After getting dressed that morning, he ate breakfast and received four phone calls from some of those he emailed, thanking him for keeping them informed, and that they would certainly be praying for him. Each one encouraged him to focus on love and holiness, with a desire to make the world a good and holy place. He spent the rest of his day cleaning his apartment, and finally began to realize that he should be considering the young ladies in his parish as potential wives.

               Sunday morning arrived; he arrived at church extra early to discuss his situation with the head priest. He strongly emphasized his desire to find a godly wife, start a family, and make an effort to positively influence those around him. Before their conversation came to an end, the priest suggested two young ladies who he believed would be good choices for him as a wife. The Divine Liturgy came to an end and everyone left the sanctuary and entered the dining hall to enjoy a glorious meal.

               Jonathan stood in the corner and carefully scanned through the mass of people who stood together in pleasant social interaction. As he watched them all, he made the decision to approach and speak with at least two young ladies in his parish and see if a new relationship could be formed, which he hoped would lead to the creation of a godly family.

Abducted and Rescued

 

            Andreas and Marcos were sitting in Andreas’ family room playing video games, when a notification of a child abduction was announced in the group chat. They paused their game, read the details of the disappearance of the seven-year-old girl who was abducted, the vehicle in which she was last seen, and a basic description of the man who took her from the sidewalk. The two boys realized that the abduction took place near Andreas’ home and made the decision to take a break from the video game, ride their bikes to the corner store to buy some ice cream products and watch for the vehicle that was just described.

               They notified Andreas’ parents that they would be going on a bicycle ride to the corner store and would return as soon as they could. They voiced their concern about the child abduction and suggested that they greatly desired to assist in any way they could. Everyone exchanged hugs, the boys hurried outside to retrieve their bicycles from the back yard and began their trip to the corner store. As they rode together, side by side, they put in extra effort to view each vehicle near them.

               They both understood that the ride to the corner store would take them a fair bit of time as it was almost a two-mile ride. As they crested the top of the hill, they could see the corner store in the distance and enjoyed an easy coast down the hill, remaining attentive to every vehicle within sight. Marcos clicked and motioned toward a vehicle that matched the car that had abducted the little girl. The boys began following the vehicle and remained as close as possible without drawing attention to themselves. The vehicle stopped at a somewhat run-down house; the boys stopped about a block away from the residence.

               From their safe location, they could see the driver emerge from the vehicle and take the little girl from the back seat, an action that prompted Andreas to place a call to 911, informing them that they currently had the vehicle in sight and could see the little girl as well. He provided their exact location and within twenty minutes several police cars arrived as well as a first aid car. They slowly and carefully approached the police cars and the residence, identifying themselves as the ones who had made the phone call.

               The police officers warned them to stay at a safe distance as they had no idea what would happen when they approached the residence or if there would be any gun shots or danger. The boys rode their bicycles to the opposite side of the street, waited patiently, and watched as the police forced their way into the residence, to then shortly emerge with the perpetrator in handcuffs and the little girl in the embrace of another police officer.

               Andreas then placed a phone call to his mother, informing her about what was happening at the moment and their involvement in rescuing the little girl who had been abducted. The two boys remained across the street, feeling and knowing that they had done a good thing and had rescued a little girl from certain danger. Within thirty minutes, several local news stations arrived at the residence, the boys approached them and identified themselves as the ones who had identified the car and the girl and called the police about the situation.

               The boys were quickly named and praised for their bravery and their willingness to do the right thing. They stood together and answered several questions about how they had become involved, how they knew about the abduction, and why they happened to be out and were able to identify the car. Marcos gave a simple explanation about hearing about the abduction on the video game chat room and that they made the decision to ride to the corner store to buy some ice cream.

               Andreas said that they were very excited to have been involved in the rescuing of the little girl from a very dangerous and dark situation. The man in charge of the news situation approached them, asked for their contact information, and told them that the mayor would be visiting them and if they could wait for him to arrive. The boys agreed and said that they had no other plans for the rest of the day. After a brief wait, one of the employees for the news company approached them with a gift of ice cream treats, thanking them for their bravery and willingness to do the right thing.

               Andreas and Marcos sat on the curb, ate the gifted ice cream treats, and were excited to meet with and speak with the mayor. They finished eating the gloriously cool and sweet treat, stood up as the mayor’s car arrived, and greeted him with the highest respect. They were invited to sit in the mayor’s car and spend some time talking about how they were able to identify the car, recognize the girl, and how they heard about the abduction. After several minutes of friendly dialog, the boys and the mayor climbed out of the car, met the parents of the seven-year-old girl who had been abducted. Both of her parents hugged the two boys, thanked them for doing the right thing, and for their bravery.

               The boys provided their contact information to their parents, expressed their delight in being helpful and that they genuinely hoped that the girl was safe and unharmed. The mayor approached the two boys, thanked them again for their willingness to do the right thing and told them that they could return home now. The boys returned to their bicycles and Andreas phoned his mother to inform her about their current situation and that they would be riding home now.

               They walked their bicycles up the steep hill and coasted down the other side until they reached Andreas’ home. They deposited their bicycles in the back yard, entered the house, and delivered a long and detailed explanation of everything that had happened in the last two hours. The following morning, Andreas’ mother received a phone call from the police department that the little girl wanted to meet the boys who helped her escape and return home. A day and time were determined for the visit, Andreas’ mother drove the two boys to the hospital to meet the little girl, who was overwhelmingly excited to see them, talk with them, and offer her gratuitous thank you for their bravery.

               The boys exchanged hugs with the little girl and commented that they were happy that everything had worked out well for her and that she was now safe and content at home. The three said goodbyes to one another, and Andreas’ mother offered to stop at a fast-food restaurant to buy lunch for them. They enjoyed their meal, and engaged in a long conversation with Andreas’ mother about the help they offered and how excited they were that the little girl was now safe and happy.

               They left the restaurant, drove home and found that the local news station had sent several of their people to speak with the boys and deliver a gift that had been put together for them for their good deed. They eventually learned that many people across the city knew about the boys and started gathering funds from several organizations, wealthy and famous people and quickly departed after the brief interview was completed.

               They boys opened the envelope and were shocked to see the huge amount of money that had been given to them from so many generous and considerate people from around the city. They divided the money evenly between themselves and deposited the money into their bank accounts. The next day at school, they were lauded as heroes, receiving many words of commendation from fellow students, from teachers, and from the office workers.

               The boys returned home and found that they had received several letters from famous people across the country, praising them for their acts of bravery and doing what was good and right. Four days later, Andreas received a letter in the mail informing him that he and Marcos were invited to meet with several very important, powerful, and influential actors, musicians, and athletes. They were given a specific date, time, and location for the meeting. Overcome with joy and excitement with this soon to take place meeting, they placed a phone call to the number provided to them that they would arrive at the aforementioned location.

               The day and time arrived, giving Andreas and Marcos the opportunity to interact with many people they held in the highest regard. Within a few weeks after the meeting, the families of Andreas and Marcos received notification that their mortgages had been paid off. Their parents were praised for raising such wonderful young men and their families began to receive large financial donations from many important and powerful people from all across the United States. Eventually the boys were offered small roles in a film that was currently in production. Both boys excitedly thanked them for the offer and agreed to arrive whenever they were needed.

Protect the Children

 

Boris made a mental note about how often he would read about homeless children, abused children, and children being trafficked all across the entire United States. Feeling frustrated and angry that the weakest members of society were being neglected, abused, and treated as mere objects to be used by the wealthy and powerful, he started putting a great deal of thought into how to improve the situation and help those who were being neglected and overlooked.

He began discussing this nationwide problem with several of his wealthy and powerful friends, and as these discussions continued to grow and raise more questions, he was advised by those in authority to contact people with good hearts, who also would be concerned and willing to financially assist in helping and protecting the weak and innocent. With this idea in mind, Boris began making contact with various bishops, patriarchs, and priests across the entire United States. He was excited to receive positive feedback from those in authority and that he should continue developing these ideas with specific plans and direction to do acts of kindness and love.

After making contact with over forty different wealthy and powerful individuals around the United States, he received encouraging words and promises of financial support for this wonderful work of philanthropy and protection of the weak and innocent. Over the course of six weeks, a large amount of money was received from these individuals which allowed Boris the opportunity to contact realtors across the United States, communicating that he would like to purchase large facilities that could be converted into housing for orphaned and abandoned children. As properties were purchased, remodeled and filled with staff, he began to make contact with Orthodox Churches near the purchased properties, who would be responsible for overseeing the proper use and direction of each location.

Personnel were hired, relocated, and properly reviewed to ensure that they were safe, loving, and kind people who would genuinely love these children, protect these children, and take care of all of their needs: physical, emotional, and psychological. As the next four months slowly crept by, Boris saw ten different facilities purchased, remodeled and fully staffed to eventually be filled with children who had been abandoned, rescued from abusive situations, and rescued from human trafficking. Money continued to arrive from many different people, many different institutions, actors, musicians, and religious leaders.

He knew that he was not capable of handling all of these details on his own, so he formed an office on the East Coast to handle the details, the legal paperwork, and to ensure that everything was handled in the appropriate manner. After hiring a number of business leaders, a legal team, and numerous secretaries to handle all of the paperwork, he learned that each location now housed anywhere from fifty to one hundred children. To assist in the adoption of these children to safe and loving homes, he hired a team of adoption experts in each location.

Over time, many of the children were adopted out to many homes and the vacant positions were quickly filled with children who had been rescued from abusive situations, and homelessness. He began receiving dozens of emails, phone calls, and texts from people all across the United States, informing him that his work was being spoken of highly and was being advertised by well known and powerful people across all social platforms and news locations.

Boris kept a close eye on each location and was pleased to see that most of the children had been adopted to good, kind, and loving parents. When each location had room available, more children were brought in, fed, loved, and protected. Money continued to be donated to the organizations headquarters which allowed for thousands of children to be fed, clothed, loved, and protected. He continued to see many famous and powerful people speaking about this work that was being done to protect the weak and innocent.

The philanthropic organization continued for multiple decades, forcing Boris to put rules into place to keep the organization functioning in the event that he would repose and would need to be replaced by someone else with the same vision. A board of individuals with the same vision as he, was formed, identified, and named as successors if he was unable to continue doing the work. He remained in continual contact with the local Orthodox Churches for each location, to communicate the details of how the organization would continue to function and with new leadership if he ever found himself in a place where he could no longer continue leading the organization.

As the decades crept passed, he and the organization began to receive letters of thanks from the children who had been rescued and placed in loving homes. Thrilled and filled with joy at the wonderful work that the organization had accomplished, made him realize how important this work was in rescuing, protecting, and caring for the weak and innocent. He would receive the occasional letter from the different locations informing him that some of the children who had been rescued in the distant past were now applying for positions at the locations.

Boris could feel himself growing old but he still remained motivated to continue the work of helping the abandoned and abused children, rescuing them from horrible futures of neglect and despair. He contacted the board of directors at the headquarters on the East Coast, informing them that he needed to step down from his position of leadership and that the previously identified board of leaders would need to begin their work of keeping everything functioning and successfully protecting the weak and innocent.

Financial support continued to flow into the headquarters, allowing for many more years of help for these children. He made the decision to travel to each location, visit with the children currently living therein, and connect with the priests at the Orthodox Churches that were overseeing the locations that were providing for, loving, and protecting the children. He was overcome with joy at the incredible work that had been accomplished over the past thirty years and the many lives that were changed because of his idea, and the financial support that came from so many good hearted and loving people.

He completed his tour of the United States, effectively visiting each location, and he returned home feeling old age creep upon him, leaving him feeling weak, tired, and somewhat depressed at his loss of ability to continue his work. When he returned home, he wrote many emails to those persons who had given such great financial support to their cause. He went into great detail, explaining the work that had been accomplished, and the thousands of lives that had been changed all across the country. After sending off these emails, he placed several phone calls to the religious leaders in the multiple branches of the Orthodox Church, explaining in detail the work that had been accomplished and the lives that had been changed because of their willingness to support this work.

Within the next two weeks he received multiple email responses, thanking him for his detailed explanation of the wonderful work that he and the organization had accomplished over the last three decades. As time continued to slip by, Boris could feel himself slowing down, growing weaker, and he could feel death creeping up on him, threatening to remove him from this life. He could feel himself growing excited at the prospect of moving into eternity and finding glory and peace in the presence of the Triune God.

His grandchildren began to visit him on a regular basis, insisting that he should hire a live in nurse to tend to his needs and provide basic medical care as he was constantly growing weaker. He followed their advice, hired a nurse, hired a cook, and hired a number of caretakers to clean and organize his home. He contacted a lawyer to create a will that would distribute his wealth, and his possessions to those who would use them appropriately and continue assisting the organization.

Within three weeks of having everything put into place, Boris found himself restrained to his bed, unable to reasonably function as an able adult. Two more weeks passed and Boris slipped into eternity. A funeral service was held at his local parish with hundreds in attendance, mourning the loss of such a wonderful, caring, and self-sacrificing person. Though Boris would no longer be able to see how the organization and locations would continue to function. All of these continued to help thousands of abandoned and abused children over the next two hundred years.

Financial support continued to come in and keep the organization and locations functioning. Over time, his photo, his name, and words of praise were spoken about him in each location and across many social media platforms and news locations. Those who knew and loved Boris well, met and gathered as many details as they could about the work that he began so many decades before. The story of Boris’ life was eventually published and began to sell across the entire globe, being translated into seven different languages, so that readers from many different countries could understand and appreciate the incredible effort he put into save, protect, and provide for the thousands of children across the United States.

Visiting the Sick

 

            Dmitry sat in silence wondering about the purpose of life and how he could help those who were suffering, who were ill, who were in pain and bedridden. Suddenly an idea popped into his head about how everyone should use their time, use their extra money, and take care of those who are alone, who are lonely, and have no one to care for them or protect them. “You know, I should start visiting hospitals and retirement homes and begin asking about anyone who is alone, who is struggling with sickness, pain, or overwhelming debt from medical treatment,” he thought.

               He stood up from his prostrate position on his couch, walked to his prayer corner and began to immerse himself in deep, thoughtful prayer, begging God to give him wisdom and find others who could assist him in this effort to help others. After sending one email to about twenty people who he knew had extra money and would be interested in doing good, helping others, and providing love and support. In the email he carefully articulated his idea about visiting the sick, and paying medical bills for those who were drowning in debt.

               Two hours passed and he received fifteen positive responses. He replied to each one with the explanation that he would be placing many phone calls to hospitals and retirement homes. Before the day came to an end, he called the three hospitals that were in the city, he called twelve different retirement homes, and received positive feedback from those with whom he spoke.

               Now that darkness had settled on the city, he sent another email to those who positively responded, informing them of the great success he achieved in contacting the hospitals and retirement homes. In the email, he requested that everyone who was interested in helping those in need should meet and discuss the details of how to bring this idea to a successful end. Several dates were suggested in the responses he received, he then created another email with all suggested dates and requested that everyone communicate which days and times worked best for them to meet.

               By the end of the next day, he organized and communicated the day and time that worked best for most of his respondents. Three more days passed and they all met at a local restaurant to work through the details of his act of love and compassion on those who were ill, who were suffering, and who needed help and connection. Their meeting came to an end, while everyone enjoyed eating pie and drinking coffee. Dmitry shared that he could create another email with all of the details for how they would proceed with this work.

               One full day passed and he carefully crafted and sent the promised email. An hour later, he traveled to his bank, opened a new savings account, to then return home and share the details of how those who agreed to support this effort could send money to help those in need. Two more days passed and he continually checked the balance of the new savings account to see that it was growing at a wonderful rate. He then sent another email, thanking everyone for their generosity and that a few teams of people would need to be created to visit those who were sick and suffering.

               Dmitry spent the next day creating several teams of people, based on their locations, and contact information for each hospital and retirement home, so that communication could be solid and direct. When the list was organized and articulate, he sent out another email, informing everyone about with whom they would be working and which locations they would visit. It was the responsibility of someone on each team to schedule visit days and times at each location.

               Three teams were created with one hospital and four retirement homes for each team to contact and visit. In the last email he sent out, he requested that each team leader communicate to him, when they would begin visiting those who were sick, those who were in need of financial support, and those who were lonely. Another full day passed, and he received email responses from each team, informing him of their schedules and their plans for visiting and helping as many people as they could.

               Two full weeks passed and he remained in contact with each team to learn that they had successful met, encouraged, and socially supported those in the hospital and in the retirement homes. Now that great success had been achieved, Dmitry began a routine of visiting each hospital, each retirement home, and offering the pay the medical bills of those who were in dire need of help. In each location, he wrote out a check to cover their needs, and he was absolutely thrilled that he had devised this plan to help those in need.

               At each location, he requested with the financial department that he and his team remained anonymous, because he didn’t want to draw attention to himself or them for their willingness to do what was right and loving for those who needed help. Over the next few days, he continued to watch the new savings account and was thrilled to see that the checks he had been writing had been withdrawn.

               As the dollar amount of the savings account slowly declined toward zero, he sent out another email to those who had been financially supporting this effort, requesting more financial support so they could continue helping more people. Over the next few days, he watched as the amount of money in the savings account grow, giving him the opportunity to revisit the hospitals and retirement homes, to provide more funds for those in need.

               As Dmitry sat eating his dinner, he turned on the news and listened to a report about an anonymous organization that was helping those who were ill, who were struggling with medical bills, and who were suffering from loneliness. The news reporter praised this mysterious, anonymous organization for the good they were doing and suggested that more people needed to philanthropic work like this. When the news report came to an end, Dmitry sent out another email to those who had been so generous in their financial support, informing them of the exposure that was taking place because of their financial support.

               Three days later, Dmitry revisited the hospitals and the retirement homes to learn that their financial support and social interaction was creating a great example all across the city. Each location reported that other people and other groups were beginning to imitate their financial support and social interaction. He thanked each person at each location for communicating that their work was being imitated by others, shook hands, and began his drive home. He stopped at a local coffee kiosk, bought himself a large cappuccino and returned home.

               When he settled down in front of his laptop, he sent another email to everyone who had been supporting this effort, that other people and other organizations were imitating their financial support and social support.

               “Oof,” Dmitry said to himself, “I forgot about providing social contact with the elderly who are trapped at home and bedridden. Time to make a few phone calls.” He began a thorough search of the internet for social outreach organizations. After calling four different organizations, he finally convinced one of them that he and his organization were interested in visiting the elderly in their homes to provide friendly interaction and emotional support. He then set up a time to visit their office and introduce himself and the others who were working with him.

               The next afternoon he was thoroughly pleased with the successful interaction with the social outreach organization. He gave them his email address and requested that they contact the elderly who were interested in receiving social interaction and emotional support, asking as well that they provide contact information for those interested in visiting with them.

               The next afternoon he received a long list of names and phone numbers. He divided the list into three lists and sent two of them off to the other teams with whom he was working. The next two weeks were filled with many visits to most of those on the lists, which resulted in great joy and happiness for the kind interaction that Dmitry and his people provided to the lonely and elderly. When he returned home after his last visit, he sent out an email to discuss the success of their visiting the elderly and lonely, he communicated that he could see a light return to their eyes, he could see joy on their faces and could hear thankfulness in their voices.

Helping Those in Need

 

            Alexander realized that he had an extra hour before he needed to leave for the Church service, instead of sitting around and doing nothing, he made the decision to drive through the poorest part of the city and see if anything was happening or if there was anyone who needed help. He left home early and began the drive toward the poorest and most destitute part of the city, as he drove through the most poverty stricken and corrupt part of the city, he counted nearly two hundred people sitting on street corners, in dirty alleys, barely clothed and obviously hungry.

               He came to realize that he still had thirty minutes before the worship service was scheduled to start, giving him time to visit a local restaurant. As he walked inside, he asked to speak with the manager of the restaurant, he waited a few minutes and was invited into a small office to speak with the manager. “Thank you for giving me a few minutes of your time,” he said, “I have an idea to help those who are hungry and suffering. I would like to create a small, limited menu and invite the homeless and the hungry to eat for free. I will pay for every meal that is consumed by them.”

               He provided the manager his contact information, a few hundred dollars, and a suggested start date for the free meals for those who were in dire need of help. “I was thinking that we could choose one day a week at a certain time frame of three or four hours. With this decision in place, I can create flyers to hand out to the homeless and hungry.”

               “That is a wonderful idea,” the manager said, “I would recommend a Sunday evening from eight until eleven.”

               “That sounds perfect,” Alexander said, “I’ll create the flyers and we can work together to choose two or three specific meals from which they can choose. Can we start this endeavor next Sunday evening?”

               “Yes, that sounds great,” the manager said, “I’ll step out a find a couple of menus and then we can decide which items to make available.”

               “Ah yes, very good,” Alexander said, “You will need to be careful about who you allow in for free meals, you will need to determine who is actually in need, who is actually hungry, and who genuinely needs help. The last thing we need to be doing is giving free meals to those who are not actually in need but are only looking for a free hand out.”

               Alexander sat in silence as he waited for the manager to return with the menus. The two men discussed the healthiest and easiest meal to make available. Four meals were identified as the best choices, as well as soda, tea, and coffee. “This is very good,” the manager said, “I will speak with my son to create this special menu and I truly look forward to helping those who are hungry and who need assistance.”

               The two men shook hands, Alexander thanked the manager for his willingness to do good to those who needed help, and he left the restaurant to arrive at Church a few minutes before the service started. The Church service began, everyone gathered after the service came to an end, to enjoy a community meal and spend time socializing. When he had a few free moments, Alexander requested a brief meeting with the head priest to inform him about his plan for feeding the hungry of their city.

               When Alexander and the priest concluded their brief meeting, the head priest rang the bell, called for everyone’s attention, and announced the plan for feeding the hungry and if anyone was interested in donating some money to pay for food for those who were suffering. Over the next hour, multiple people approached the head priest with large amounts of cash, which resulted in over five hundred dollars being donated for those who are genuinely hungry.

               The head priest gathered the money in an envelope, gave the envelope to Alexander, and encouraged him to continue doing the good work of seeing Jesus Christ in every person, feeding the hungry, encouraging the depressed, helping the sick, and providing for the needs of others. This became a regular practice at Alexander’s church each week, which provided hot and healthy meals for the hundreds of hungry people around the city.

               The head priest once again rang the bell and thanked everyone for their generosity to feed the hungry and he would provide details about the work that was being done, with Alexander providing additional details. Alexander moved into a back room, created a flyer, added the file to a flash drive. Alexander and the head priest were the last two people to leave the church that afternoon, he then drove to a local print shop and had several hundred flyers printed. He drove back into the poorest part of town and began handing out the flyers.

               He could feel great joy and could see happiness and thankfulness in each face as he interacted with scores of people. He also stapled more flyers on telephone poles in other neighborhoods. When he completed the advertising effort, he returned to the restaurant to update the manager about the progress that was being made and that he would certainly see plenty of homeless people on Sunday evenings.

               On the following Sunday evening, Alexander drove to the restaurant, parked in obscurity, and watched as scores of people arrived and enjoyed free, hot, fresh meals. When eleven o’clock arrived, he entered the restaurant, met with the manager, and asked for the total bill. He received the total count of people fed, the total dollar amount, paid that amount and added an additional tip for the restaurant workers.

               This became a regular pattern for Alexander each week, parking in obscurity, watching scores of homeless people approach the restaurant and fill themselves with hot, healthy food. Each week after the community meal at Church, Alexander reported to everyone the number of people that had been fed the previous Sunday evening.

               After three months of this philanthropic work, Alexander approached the manager of the restaurant and informed him that their effort of providing free meals would come to an end the next Sunday evening. The next Sunday morning service came to an end and Alexander met with the head priest and suggested that they purchase a small building in the poorest part of the town and open a free soup kitchen for anyone to visit who was in need.

               The head priest called for a meeting of all the men in the parish to discuss this new idea. A great amount of excitement burst forth when the suggestion was made as well as a great deal of money was raised open the soup kitchen, purchase the ingredients for the soup and for bread.

               Alexander contacted a real estate agent about purchasing a small property in the poorest part of town, purchased equipment for preparing the food, as well as tables and chairs in the form of a makeshift restaurant. Three weeks passed, which gave them time to clean, organize, and prepare enough food for those who were hungry. Many people from Alexander’s church volunteered to prepare the food, interact with the homeless and hungry, pay for the food stuffs, and help with the advertising.

               Everything fell into place in a good way, and now that the makeshift restaurant was clean, established and organized, they opened the facility from six in the evening until nine in the evening. Someone from the Church offered to keep track of how many people arrived to eat each evening. Every evening was about the same, they received around fifty customers between six and nine pm. There was always a priest or a deacon available to answer questions, to invite the customers to the Church, and to offer help in other ways.

               To no one’s surprise, each week at the Divine Liturgy, new visitors would arrive, would interact, and expressed their gratitude for the kindness and social interaction they received at the soup kitchen that had been set up. Over the next several months, the number of people who regularly attended continued to increase. After the community meal following the Divine Liturgy, the head priest called a meeting with the men of the parish and praised them for their hard work, their willingness to reach out and support those who were in need of help.

               The soup kitchen continued it’s provision of free soup and bread five evenings a week, which consistently received at least fifty visitors each evening.