A 9-year-old boy in the car going to baseball practice spotted a one-armed man selling flowers on the side of the street, and immediately knew he had to help him.
Israel Parra is 57 years old and makes a living selling flowers along the street in his California neighborhood. He lost his arm in an accident in 1999 and had to start selling flowers from ice cream because the ice cream cart was too heavy to maneuver with just one arm.
But God had better plans for the man and used a young 9-year-old boy named Jeremiah Reyes to execute them. Jeremiah Reyes was in the car with his big sister when he spotted Israel on the side of the road, struggling with his flowers.
It was extremely hot outside, and Jeremiah felt a calling to help out Israel, even though he was a stranger to him. “I felt really sad, and I really wanted to help him out,” shares Jeremiah. “It just stayed in my heart, and it just makes me really sad. I kept on thinking about it, and I really wanted to help him out.”
Jeremiah set up a GoFundMe account to help Israel and was shocked to hear that the young boy would do that for him. He was struggling financially and did not have health insurance, he also wanted to get a prosthetic arm, but he couldn’t afford it.
The GoFundMe account Jeremiah started raised over $20,000! He and his sister are pledging to use this money to help Israel out as well as other street vendors in their community. “I want to inspire everybody out there to start helping the community,” Jeremiah shares.
We are so inspired by this thoughtful, young boy, he is an example to all of those out there who want to do something but don’t know where to start.