Because we feel it is important that you know how and where your donations to Helping Hands are spent, here is what was done in the past week:

Electric 3 families $ 1,211.55
Water 1 family $ 528.94
Rent 21 families $35,603.90
Total $37,344.39

We received a call on our helpline from a woman in need of help with an electric bill due to illness in the family. When we called we found that her bill was unusually high — $580 and that was just for one month! But then we learned her story: her husband, who had been battling cancer for quite some time, had finally been turned over to Hospice. He did not want to spend his last days in a hospital so he moved back into his home. The high bill resulted from the medical equipment that was used to accommodate his physical needs. Because the family was unable to afford a nurse his wife had to quit her job to care for him. His disability income covered their mortgage and insurance however, now without the wife’s income, there was no money left for utilities. On top of that, we learned that they had a slab leak and the water department had shut off their water until the leak could be repaired. Our hearts went out to this woman who had so much weight and responsibility thrust on her shoulders. We set up an appointment to meet with her the next day. She called shortly before her appointment. Her husband had just been readmitted to the hospital and she needed to be with him. We told her to call us back whenever it was convenient.

We heard from her a week later. Her husband had passed away a few days ago. While she and her family knew it was coming it was still very hard. They didn’t expect him to go so soon. She asked if the help was still available, even though her husband had passed. We assured her that the help was still there.

When we met with her we paid her electric bill and also helped her in getting her plumbing repaired and the water back on. She had been through enough…we want to do whatever we can to help her in the hard times ahead. Please pray for this grieving widow…that God’s peace and love comfort her through her time of sorrow.

PLEASE REMEMBER TO KEEP VOTING FOR HELPING HANDS TO BE YOUR FAVORITE PERMIAN BASIN CHARITY. Log into www.city.bank/communityrewards anytime until Dec. 15 and vote for Helping Hands under Basic Human Needs category. You can vote once every hour. The top three winners in each category will receive a monetary rewards ranging from $7,000 to $500 courtesy of City Bank. Please vote as often as you can!