Displaced by House Fire, but not Discouraged

Hi, my name is Liz Ann, and I am fundraising for my good friends, the Lindeman Family. I first had the honor of meeting them in 2018; a vibrant, kind family, who showed up at church one Sunday. I was attracted by their inner light, which always shines so brightly, and also by their vivid, brightly patterned clothes. To me they seemed to be larger-than-life; the two teenage boys already inching up to their dad John's six-foot-plus stature, and their radiant mom, Effie, with her hair that was pink and lavender at the time. I knew they were not from here, and I couldn't wait to hear their story! They were from Miami, FL, a place they had fled from in 2017, when Hurricane Irma ripped through South Florida, displacing thousands of people and leaving them without power for weeks. They drove for hours and hours until they found refuge in Fairhope, and fell in love. Being displaced by a hurricane led them to embrace this community, and call it home. Since then, they opened a restaurant in Fairhope, "It's All Greek to Me", which has since closed due to Covid-19. Their restaurant, and subsequent boldly illustrated blue and white food trucks, have fed thousands in our area with authentic Greek food, based on recipes passed down from generation to generation. These dishes, created with love, have fed not only our bellies, but our souls, in a community that long ago saw the last of the great family-owned Greek restaurants close their doors. From Fairhope, they moved to Mobile, and operated the restaurant in Fairhope, plus food trucks, involving every member of their family, in true Greek tradition! I've never in my life seen a family work as hard as this one. This week, another tragedy hit, and my friends were once again displaced: on John's birthday, a huge candle was lit, as is their custom, and it quickly caught the mantle and everything on it, which included all of their cash savings, on fire. The room was engulfed in flames, but fortunately, their food truck was out front. They were able to retrieve the commercial fire extinguisher from it, and put out the flames, but not before most of the room was burnt, and toxic smoke ruined many of their things. They have been told that they must get rid of all of their clothes, and anything that was affected by the smoke, because it has carcinogens in it that cannot be cleaned. They are very thankful that all of the family, including their elderly father, was able to escape unscathed, but the fire has taken a hard toll on this beautiful family that has embraced our community as their own. Because of their extremely high insurance deductible, and damages being below that limit, our friends the Lindemans, are in need. They have been in a Red Cross provided motel for the last several days, and are not entirely sure where they are going next. These funds will help them with temporary housing, insurance deductibles, replacing lost items, and immediate needs such as food and gas. They are so grateful for the help that they are receiving from the Church, and Red Cross, but are in dire need due to losing their only savings and business recently. Any contribution that you can make to this family will be appreciated, and I feel confident that they will receive the help they need, because of all of the love that they have put forth into this community. Luke 6:48-"Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Thank you in advance, and God bless you!