Two things happened recently. I was only involved in one of them.
For those who don't know, there was a fatal shooting at the Columbia Mall. The shooter used a 12-gauge shotgun and killed two people before ending his own life. There are rumors that the two people he killed were his former lover and her new boyfriend, but any relationship between the perpetrator and victims has not been confirmed.
I bring this up simply to put everyone's mind at ease that I was nowhere near the mall when the incident occurred. I am perfectly safe and actually found out about it from Amanda, who texted me a warning about the shooting. I appreciate her tip, though I was in no danger of visiting the mall.
The other event that happened was that I helped out a sister in the ward that I had just met. Samuel, a member of the ward who I've been giving rides to church every week, knew of a sister near him that also needed a ride, so after picking up Samuel, I picked up Mary. Mary and Samuel are both from Nigeria, but have different native languages (he speaks Yoruba while she speaks Igbo) so their accents differ slightly. When Mary got in the car, she freaked out a little bit. I asked what was wrong and she said that her car was gone. I asked if she needed to go back, but she declined the offer, suggesting that she would take care of things after church.
When the church-block was over, we met up and she explained that due to the recent snow storm, she had accidentally double-parked her car and had slightly overlapped the adjacent handicap space. She was saying that her car was wrongfully impounded; I tried to explain that regardless of fault, she would have to pay to get her car back. She asked for a ride to the impound lot.
When the three of us arrived, no one was there, so we had to wait. Nearly thirty minutes later, a tow truck driver showed up in bad mood. Mary started to fill out the release form, when she was told that her check would not be accepted. I saw that she had gotten a check from the ward made out to the towing company, so I stepped outside and made a call. After getting confirmation to go ahead with it from my Quorum president (the Bishop was unavailable), I paid her fee. I collected the original check and made sure to get a receipt. I have already heard back from the Bishop that I took that right steps and that I'll be reimbursed this Wednesday.
I am not in a very good position to help others right now. In fact, paying Mary's fees took the majority of what I have left. Even so, I knew that I could do it and that I would see that money again soon. If I hadn't stepped in, Mary's car would still be impounded and everyday it sat there, it would just get more expensive to get released. Not only was I helping Mary, I was assisting the Ward.
In conclusion, I am safe and actively helping others.
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