So this is a fun story. While at Samaritan’s Purse, we met the iconic and spectacular Aretta. The funny part is that we were only at her house for like 45 minutes because all she needed was this one tree cut down in her front yard. But let me tell you, this woman was a straight firecracker and if you even thought of getting a word in, you thought wrong. I don’t think she stopped talking once while we were at her house, even when the Chaplains stopped by. What was cool is that you could see she was lonely and really just needed people to talk to so when my squadmate Elina and I went inside to get to know her, she didn’t let us leave. She started showing us the damage to her ceiling from the hurricane and kept apologizing for how messy the house was because she was packing to temporarily move out. Anyway, the most important part was that she brought us over to her sewing station. This woman is a beast. She sews together the coolest pieces. Ranging from hats and scarves to dresses to robes to masks. You name it, she’s sewn it. I then start going through her beautiful pieces and see this one skirt that reminds me of my own country, Brazil, and I told her how much I loved it. Next thing I know Aretta is measuring my waist and handing me the skirt along with handing Elina a dress, both with matching headwraps. We insist on paying her something for them and all I remember is her repeating, “You have come in here and blessed me so LET ME BLESS YOU.” When I tell you she was adamant about not having us pay for anything, she would pretty much cut us off anytime we would offer. We got to hear some of Aretta’s incredible stories and hardships that she’s gone through in her lifetime. We also discovered that her daughter lives 15 minutes from me in GEORGIA. Take note, we were in Pensacola, FL. All I can say is that God was working through Aretta and that was a moment I will never forget.
