His name was Mario, standing in front of Walmart in a red apron, ringing a bell for the Salvation Army. As I dropped some change into the red kettle (all the coins I could scrounge out of my car), I could tell he'd had a pretty good night. I could see a bunch of bills packed in there.
I don't think he was keeping track, though. He was just leaning back against the wall, bundled in a big coat and a hat, ringing his bell. He told me he'd been there since about 3 p.m., which was five hours ago. That's a long time, I said. He just shrugged and told me it's a good way to make some extra money. So bell-ringers do get paid. Who knew?
Then there was the big question. "How often to you have to switch hands?" I asked. He chuckled a little bit, still ringing his bell. He switches about every 20 minutes.
I asked then if I could pray for him, and he agreed. I asked God to bless his work that night and that God would make Himself known to him, keeping Mario in tune with His ways. Mario thanked me, and I left.
It's hard to believe this project has reached 100 days. You'd think doing something 100 times would make it kind of old hat. But not with this project. Every day is a new one. And every person is unique.
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