Cesia Abi Baires owns Abi’s Café in Minneapolis, Minnesota, but her influence in the community is turning heads.
One day she was having a rough day being short staffed and busy. As if to make things worse, a homeless man walked into her restaurant and begged for money. She had seen him many times walking up and down the street outside.
But maybe the words of the old Chinese proverb came to her mind:
“Give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. You teach him to fish, you feed him for a lifetime.”
Cesia talked to him for a bit learning his name was Marcus and asked why he didn’t have a job. Afterall, nobody really gets anything for free, you have to earn it.
“Well, I have a lot of felonies and no one wants to hire me for that, so now I had to turn myself to the streets and get money the only way I know: stealing and asking for money.”
Hearing this, Cesia saw an opportunity that very few people would even consider for longer than it takes to push a thought back out of their brain. She offered him a job.
As soon as her offer fell on Marcus’ ears, his face bloomed. Like the moon reflecting the suns energy, Cesia couldn’t help but feel warmed by Marcus’ joy. He said he would do anything for food!
She gave him some before he set to work, but he surprised her with what he did next. He split it and took half of it outside where a homeless woman was waiting. After he gave her the food and walked back inside the diner, Cesia pressed him with a question:
“Marcus, do you know the lady over there?”
His reply overjoyed her. He told her that no, he didn’t know the homeless woman, but he knew she was hungry and he wanted to pass on the kindness he was shown.
That’s the moment she made the decision to do more for Marcus. She made him an official employee of her establishment. He washed dishes and took out the trash for two hours the first day, then returned right on time to do it again, day after day.
She wants to give him more than two hours of work but she can only afford to pay him that much plus he has health problems preventing him from standing for very long.
People have told Cesia that she is a blessing to Marcus, but she believes it’s actually the other way around. She says that it is he who has blessed her right when she needed it. He showed her that some people really do have a heart under the dirt and grime from life.
Cesia took a chance on Marcus and it paid off in an unexpected way. It’s so encouraging to see people with that level of compassion. SHARE this story so others can be encouraged as well!
Article via: NTD.TV
