The "Are You In Need Of Some Help?" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Driving through the area of Lancaster City known as Cabbage Hill on my way home.  A few months ago I wrote a few stories telling of the people and events that make Cabbage Hill so interesting an area in which to live.  Well, today is another example.  

An intersection near the Prayer Request Box in Lancaster, PA.

As I was heading East on West Vine Street, I came upon a black metal mailbox that had white, hand-painted letters on the sides that read: PRAYER REQUEST BOX.  The house is in great shape with a brick facade, light-brown wooden trim and a very interesting stained-glass front door.  A wrought-iron railing went across the small concrete porch and down the few steps to the pavement in front of the home.  I found that the Fisher family live in the home and it is Brittany and Bert Fisher who are responsible for the mailbox.  Inside the mailbox are note cards, pencil, Bible verses and brochures for the Journey Church in nearby Ronks, Pennsylvania.  That is where the Fisher's are members.  Brittany really cares about her neighbors and their spiritual lives.  So, when someone leaves a request for a prayer in her mailbox, she tries to offer a prayer for the person who left it.  Doesn't have to be signed, just has to have a request for a prayer.  According to a recent Lancaster Newspaper article, the majority of the requests deal with health issues.  One recent prayer request told of a person who was living with their father who was retired and in his 70s.  Seems the father had a medical problem, but the prayer request was also meant for the writer of the request who is the caregiver who also has medical problems.  They reported that they really need many prayers.  

The Prayer Request Box at 645 West Vine Street.

The prayer mailbox is a way for the Fisher's to offer help to others.  They lived in Brickerville for many years before moving to the city six years ago.  They did so believing that they were needed in the city to do God's work.  They also believe that God helped them find the house at 645 West Vine Street, since when they visited the home for the first time, the current owner's hit it off with Bert's grandson.  A call from the realtor, after they had left the home, told them that the owners had just taken it off the market, since they felt the Fisher's were the proper family to live there.  Bert and his wife are care team leaders at Journey Church and provide meals for people who are sick or who have had a baby or may need help moving.  The program is known as the "Hands and Feet of Jesus."  Many people use the black prayer box in front of their home to send "Thank You" notes to them for help they may have given them.  Mr. Fisher and his wife both lived in Lancaster County before their move to 645 West Vine Street.  They now feel that this is where they are supposed to be.  One neighbor placed a card in the box saying that they were praying for the Fishers.  And, the neighborhood, which is known as the "SoWe" neighborhood due to being in the South-West of downtown Lancaster, is a  beautiful place to live.  I will keep a note in the back of my head about this place I happened upon this morning.  Never know when a note in the box may help me!   It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.