Giving the gift of hope
I cannot say enough about how much it meant to come home to a beautiful plant, encouraging note and book back in May. I am embarrassingly late in writing this "thank you" but please know how much it meant to me and how loved and appreciated I feel. Losing my mom has been extremely hard for me and your kindness was such a bright spot among the sorrow. Thank you, thank you, thank you for what you did for me and what you continue to do for others. May the Lord bless you richly!
Sarah
I will never forget the very special moment when you showed up at my door during a dark time and brought such light and joy with your beautiful, caring gifts. Part of the bliss you bring to people like me is the wonderful surprise element that brings awareness that someone cares...really cares about what we cancer victims are facing. Please know what an important mission you accomplish, giving us hope through love and prayers for us, along with thoughtful, caring, useful gifts. Thank you, with all my heart. I am so very blessed to have just completed my cancer ordeal and am fully healed...praise God...and thank YOU for all the amazing things you do to make this journey easier and comforting. May you be blessed in your lives the way you bless others. I am so thankful to be one of those you brought peace and comfort and care.
Barbara
I will never forget the very special moment when you showed up at my door during a dark time and brought such light and joy with your beautiful, caring gifts. Part of the bliss you bring to people like me is the wonderful surprise element that brings awareness that someone cares...really cares about what we cancer victims are facing. Please know what an important mission you accomplish, giving us hope through love and prayers for us, along with thoughtful, caring, useful gifts. Thank you, with all my heart. I am so very blessed to have just completed my cancer ordeal and am fully healed...praise God...and thank YOU for all the amazing things you do to make this journey easier and comforting. May you be blessed in your lives the way you bless others. I am so thankful to be one of those you brought peace and comfort and care.
Earlier this week, two young ladies came to our home. I thought they were friends of our son. Our son passed away in October while helping another person. I feel this is the worst thing that any parent could endure. These two young ladies did not know our son but came because of our son. They said they had heard about our story and wanted to show their support and love through 12 Ordinary Women. I will say, this year has been very hard for me. Tears come out of nowhere. Thank you so much for your love, support and encouragement. Please keep me in your prayers. Thank you for the card, gifts and the flowers. Please continue to reach out to others. I feel blessed to have had 12 Ordinary Women show up on my doorstep. God bless.Sincerely,
Barb R.
My family and I are moved beyond words. Two lovely women appeared at my door to offer a blessing, they said, and handed me an envelope. I thanked them but wish now that I had hugged them. When I returned to the house and opened the envelope to find a generous gift that included a beautiful necklace, I ran outside, but these sweet angels were already pulling from the driveway. They smiled and waved, driving on.
I can only assume 12 Ordinary Women learned of my husband's kidney failure. Unfortunately, I am not a match for him, but after many months of waiting while his kidney function declined rapidly, we have found a paired match in Utah. I will be donating one of my kidneys to someone in need in Utah, and their donor will be sending a kidney across the country to my husband, all on the same day. It's a prayer answered...four prayers, I suppose. This act of love by 12 Ordinary Women brought me peace when I felt overwhelmed with anxiety. I have always believed in the goodness of humanity; they are the embodiment of it. I will thoroughly enjoy paying it forward. "I alone cannot change the world. But I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples." -Mother Theresa
Deltha
Last night I attended the monthly meeting of our St Vincent de Paul conference. I was handed an envelope with a check made payable to our St Vincent de Paul conference in memory of our son, Samuel Patrick Tougher. Sam passed awayon March 28thof this year. He was 31 years old. Along with the check there was a beautiful note wishing me well with the hope that this gift would "touch someone's heart like it touched Sam's." Sam struggled with addiction and physical problems for many years, but he had a generous and loving heart and always looked to reach his hand out to others even during some very difficult times. When I came home from my meeting I went online and read about this wonderful organization of 12 Ordinary Women and was so moved by the mission statement of your group to give the gift of hope to other women. As Vincentians, our members offer compassionate support to help those who struggle with poverty. Your generous gift will provide financial support to families experiencing financial hardships. Thank you so much for your gift of hope to our St Vincent de Paul group as we help those in need in our community. Your organization has touched my family's heart and we are lifted up by your kindness and generosity.
Peace, The Tougher Family
I very much appreciate the debit card that was sent to me , along with the necklace ,several months ago. Thank you so much for your kindness, concern and showing of love. Your gift touched me greatly.
I can’t even put a coherent thought together to tell you how shocked and how humbled and how grateful I am for the gift you sent.
I wish I knew exactly who to hug!!!
I’m going through a divorce after 24 years of marriage, and my final court date is day after tomorrow. I’ve been feeling more sick in my soul and in my stomach the closer we get. Today I’ve been a complete bundle of nerves.
When I received the phone call from my “Mystery Lady,” all I could think was, oh no, my husband must be serving me with something else to worry about in court.
I was so ashamed of my yard when she came to my home. I just paid to have my mower repaired, it don’t have a weed eater yet.
I was surprised and happy to see a little pink polka dot gift bag instead of a summons.
I think I was too surprised to say much else as she left. I was sort of in a stupor. It was so unexpected.
I wish I knew who to thank for the wonderful cards and sweet floral bouquet we received last week. Both my husband and I were overwhelmed by the cards and their kind messages. We have struggled, often alone, with our sons' health challenges for 20-plus years. It has often been a very lonely journey. At first, the "anonymous" aspect of 12 Ordinary Women threw me because I so wanted someone to thank in person! But the more we thought about it and tried to figure out WHO this gift came from, the more possible people we came up with ... confirming that we have more friends than we thought, and that there are many people out there who could be our "Secret" gift giver(s). This was a
comforting realization! That, even though people might not outwardly acknowledge the struggles of others, there are a host of secret angels out there. Thank you again!!
Last week, I received a lovely bouquet of flowers and 12 beautiful cards. However, I do not know who they are from … so do not know who to thank! Are you able to shed light on who has sent our family this wonderful gift?
Thank you-
Audrey
The word I keep hearing is Hope. As long as I’m breathing there is still hope for healing this side of Heaven. Today an envelope showed up with a beautiful note and a necklace with Hope on it. I don’t know who you are or how you know of my struggle but this was one of the sweetest things I’ve ever received. Thank you so much. I will wear this with hope and thanksgiving for the prayers.
Barbara
This beautiful person approached me and gave me compliments and praises. I had no idea of who she was and why she was here. As she spoke, my eyes filled with tears with just her words. I appreciate the thoughts and prayers. I have never had anything like this to happen to me before and I was just amazed. Thanking God the whole time, I thought about any and everyone involved and immediately started praying. Thank you for what you done for me and I will never forget it!
Thank you from the bottom of my heart and it couldn't have come at a better time. Just lost my husband and things have been a little tight for me. I promise that I will definitely do something for myself because I work so hard to support my family. It's awesome to know that someone is even thinking of me enough to say think of me as one of the 12 ordinary women. I will never forget this and just know that I am grateful. God knows my heart and my mind. He never put on you more than you could bare. I trust in God and with him, I can do all things. My favorite scripture is Phil.4:13, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!
Thank you again
Jennifer
I was sitting in apple bee's having brunch with a friend.. struggling tremendously.. and I was questioning my god.. steering away from his light and your gift gave me hope.. brought me back to realize i am never alone and he loves me. He knows.. idk why i questioned his power. Thank you so much. You have helped me with my rent and insurance bill.. my car registration and emmission. Helped me provide food on the table for me and my family ❤❤
Kanesha
Thank you for my thoughtful box of goodies. It made my day.
Nicole
Once again, I wanted to tell you how much your gift meant to us. I know that there are many who struggle with far worse problems than ours and I am grateful for the blessings we have received. Between the breast cancer and then several years later, my stroke, things have been difficult. My husband was out of work for a number of years and thankfully found a part time job. Our son is ADHD and dysgraphic. Thankfully our church has been able to provide scholarships to college and he is due to graduate next spring. God has been good!Your call from out of the blue truly gave me hope and something I haven't felt in a long time, joy! Your generous gift will make an incredible difference for us. Thank you once again. Love, Lisa
I just wanted to send a quick thank you tonight for your generous gift. I would like to say more, but I need to be more composed and I will sent more tomorrow. Tonight, just let me say, thank you for being the embodiment of angels here on earth. I do believe in angels, both heavenly and earth bound and I know you are some of the earth bound ones. Thank you for giving me hope and wings!
Lisa
I received an amazing gift yesterday from 12 ordinary women. I never knew this existed and feel there is others who deserve this gift more then I do but for some reason I was chosen. I am very blessed and grateful. Thank you and I will be paying it forward.
Heather
Thank you so much for your kind gift!!! My husband recently passed away from myeloma cancer. As I was packing to move out of my home after 30 years, your gift arrived. It came at a time when I really needed a lift in my spirit!
Phyllis
Thank you. This year has been a challenge, and there are times we fee alone. However, the first I received help remind me that people care and are trying to help. It gives me something to share with my children & let them have fun in the midst of chaos. Thank you!
Princesa
