Back on December 5 we wrote here about a family in Arkansas who we had learned about from Randi Cairns at Homefront Hearts. Randi shared that John Smith*, the father, was a disabled veteran and that the family was struggling with no hot water heater, a poorly insulated house and little chance for some modest presents for the upcoming holiday. We offered to do what we could and sent along not only the gifts but also arranged for a new water heater as well as some insulation work on their home.
A few weeks ago the following arrived here. While we know that the work that we do often has a significant impact, nothing quite prepared us for the eloquence and heartfelt emotions John shared with us. It reminded us of the very reasons why the Good People Fund exists and of how much of an impact we can make. Please read through and see for yourself…
22 December 2010
My Dear Ms. Eisenberger,
My name is John, I live in Arkansas with my wife and two daughters, and I am a disabled veteran, 100% permanently and totally disabled in the line of duty due to a coup-contra-coup brain injury with secondary Complex Partial Seizure disorder with Temporal Lobe foci. I also suffer from severe Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). I have chosen to make my home in the backwoods of Arkansas’s Ouachita Mountains because I have wished to be out of the way of the world since having been medically retired from the military.
It has been a long time since I set my hand to compose a missive to another person, it’s something that I am normally a bit reluctant to undertake these days, but in this case it is a pleasure to sit and write to you. It has come to my attention that the Good People Fund has been a benefactor to me, my wife, and my children of late, in many wonderful ways…
To be perfectly frank Ms. Eisenberger, I had been feeling a bit less than charitable toward my fellow man for some time with the adversities that my wife, children and I have faced, and with reading the news, seeing the wars and unrest throughout the world, and observing mankind’s uncharitable behavior toward one another, and I had begun to wonder if all the people of goodwill had vacated the planet.
I now know, thanks to you and the Good People Fund that they have not. And besides the many wonderful gifts that I have received at your hand, and the help that you have rendered to me and the ones I love, you have given me the gift of seeing the world as a friendly place once again, in spite of its troubles, and that may well be the greatest gift of all. I have not felt that way since I was a child. Thank you. You and the Good People Fund have restored my hope in the face of the adversities that we have endured as a family and the troubles that I see in the world around me.
My hope for the future is that God will allow me the opportunity to follow your example, and to be of help to others in some way before my time in this world is finished. Should the opportunity arise, it is my greatest wish that I be able to do some good…
…thank you so much for your amazing kindness, and thank you for doing so much good in this world.
Yours Truly,
John Smith,
* a pseudonym
