The Generosity of Strangers

Nothing about Elijah’s Retreat has amazed or encouraged us more than the generosity of strangers. We never dreamed that so many people would extend a hand of help to people they don’t know and a place they’ve never seen.

Since we published the “Needs and Praise” page on our website, we have been inundated with supplies and furnishings for the cabins we are building. Our barn now looks kind of like a thrift store. We have washers, dryers, a stove, a refrigerator, kitchen cabinets, beds, mattresses, a sleeper sofa, tables, chairs, shower curtains, bedspreads, bicycles, books, toys – all donated by generous people, most of whom we’ve never met.

Besides the furnishings for the cabins, there have been wonderful donations of hay (we’re talking months worth piled to the ceiling of our barn), horses, and our beautiful collie, Gentle. An awesome couple in Nacogdoches, Roger & Rhonda Mills (same ones who donated the hay), are now busy making a sign for Elijah’s Retreat that will reside at the entrance to the ranch.

There have also been extremely generous donations of building materials. One of our dear board members, Dwight Omenson, donated a lot of the electrical and plumbing materials. He also donated his time to doing the electrical and plumbing installation for the cabin.

A wonderful gentleman named Michael Ridgley donated a central air conditioning unit for the cabin. We had planned to put a window unit in the cabin as we couldn’t afford central air, but Michael heard about the need and donated a central unit. He was going to come back and install it once the electricity was hooked up, but he died of a massive heart attack a few weeks later. He was only 48 years old. We plan to name this first cabin the Ridgley Cabin in Michael’s memory.

Then there are all the laborers who have joined us in this quest to build Elijah’s Retreat. The wonderful folks from 911 Air Charter who sent a team in April and again in May to help us for a weekend. The folks from our church, Fellowship Bible Church, who have helped out on many occasions. The great folks from Mercy Ships who are helping us with the pile of documents required to be filed for 501(c)(3) status, and who have hooked us up with an awesome couple in Rusk, Jeff and Sandy Carroll, who are helping with lots and lots of things. They have gotten their church involved, too (First Baptist in Rusk), so whole teams of people are coming out to help now.

A year ago we didn’t know any of these people. They were strangers. Now we are all working together to complete the vision for Elijah’s Retreat. The generosity of strangers – a most amazing and heart warming phenomenon.