See the van go!

The van started to go when a story from WMTW, “Micky's Angels: Maine woman helps adults with disabilities in honor of daughter” appeared in the Disability Ministries Committee’s Google notifications. The article told about a woman in Maine who drives disabled adults to Thornton Heights UMC in South Portland. She also transports them to Special Olympics, dinner, and shopping.

But she was facing a problem—the van she used was getting older, and it was no longer safe or reliable. A member of the church started a GoFundMe account to raise funds for new vehicle.

Now, the rest of the story.

Bishop Peggy Johnson saw the story posted to DMC’s Facebook page, and followed up. Was it serendipity that she was already working with a Subaru dealer in Massachusetts and mentioned the need for a vehicle? That dealer called another dealer in Maine and mentioned the story. 

The pastor of Thornton Heights UMC, Rev. Gwyneth Arrison, wrote a couple of weeks later to tell the bishop that Patriot Subaru of Saco was able to provide a 2022 Nissan SUV with 24,000 miles, and offered the church a discount to cover the balance of the $18K the church had raised.

And Micky loves the new vehicle! See the story "Micky's Angels receives a new van." Pastor Arrison wrote: “We sincerely appreciate your help on this; if not for you we would still likely be trying to raise funds. God is good!”