“Phil told me they were getting this program together for widows and widowers, and they had volunteers who would visit people, and they had people who do home repairs,” she said. “I thought, ‘My mom needs some repairs; she’s on a tight income; and there are some things she needs that I can’t do.’”

Soon, a group of Prestonwood volunteers arrived at her mother’s house, Julie said.

“There were like 18 people out here working,” she said. “They cleaned out the whole garage and reorganized it—that was huge! They put up a section of fence on the side of the house. They painted the den.

“We had a pipe that had dripped forever and they came back that night to fix it. My mom was overwhelmed. To see everyone willing to help out, that was so awesome! One of the guys had a cleaning service. He said, ‘Call me when you get done painting and we’ll take care of the carpets.’

“I said, ‘How much?’ And he said his company would take care of it.”

Prestonwood volunteers are ready to help the church’s widows and widowers. But some don’t know whom to call, and others are reluctant to ask for help.

“God is using this widows’ ministry to help those who don’t know where to turn for budgeting, income tax help, or updating a will,” Marilyn Beck said. “It’s sometimes hard to do, but all you need to do is ask, whether it’s for difficult financial or legal problems or home repairs when you’re short on funds.

“I would never have thought to ask for sprinkler repair help until I asked a friend if she knew an honest company that wouldn’t charge a tremendous amount for repairs,” she said. “She suggested I call the widows’ ministry for help, and two men volunteered to look at what I needed and they repaired it, on a hot morning!

“It was such a wonderful blessing,” Marilyn said. “I can’t thank them enough!”