Best Friend’s Good-Samaritan Mom

By Alexis Monnie, age 12

Gresham, Oregon

One day when I was in fifth grade, my best friend and I went downtown. Afterward, we stopped at a convenience store. A man came to a window of the van and asked my friend’s mom for money to catch the bus that was leaving soon. She handed him the money and smiled.

While this was happening, I spotted a poor, lonely man watching us. He came up after the first man had left and asked for money because he was hungry. My friend’s mom turned around, looked at both of us girls, and took some food from our snack boxes. She handed it to the man.

He looked at her, puzzled and amused. She said, “Have a nice day,” to him, and we started back home. We asked her why she hadn’t just given him money, too. She said, “I think he just would have gone and bought beer or cigarettes, and I know he’s better off eating carrots and juice.”

This experience made me realize how much love she had for these two men.

My friend’s mom has passed away and is with Heavenly Father now, but this story lives in my heart and mind forever. I want to be just like her and Jesus Christ and love other people and serve Heavenly Father.

Food photos by Kelly Larson