Refresh: Paging Dr. Mrs. Anderson

"Good news refreshes the bones." - Proverbs 15:30b

This is part of an ongoing series called "Refresh" which highlight tales of God providing, especially in amazing, fun and unexpected ways. Details may be modified to protect privacy. May this tale help refresh your bones!

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As I grew up I always admired Jacob Anderson from afar. He was a prominent local doctor who always had a ready smile and led about half the committees in our church. He even preached a few times when the pastor was away. Dr. Anderson, as many called him, always smiled at me and remembered my name, but we didn't interact much personally.

When I later entered full-time ministry and started fundraising, his name was mentioned by several people as someone I should contact. While that may seem like a no-brainer, it wasn't to me. I hadn't spoken with him in years and I honestly couldn't even remember his wife's name. Plus I was just starting to contact people I didn't know very well and I figured I'd have to "work up" to talking to someone so important in the community. Maybe he'd even get mad that I was only reconnecting with him to "ask for money"!

When I finally got up the nerve to call (after much prayer and a not-so-slight prodding from my fundraising mentor), his wife picked up the phone. I'm pretty certain that I called her, "Dr. Mrs. Anderson" or something equally awkward.

Once Jacob got on the phone, he quickly expressed how thrilled he was to hear from me! He asked me to explain what I was doing and 20 minutes later he'd committed to sending $250/month!!

He's given faithfully ever since.

His wife now sends me holiday cards, too. The first one was signed, "With much love, Jacob and Dr. Mrs. Anderson :)"

Submitted by "Richard"