God commands us to love others and one of the most simple ways to love is by helping people in need. Giving money, time, and energy to someone is a blessing to ourselves, and this is something Joyce Brown believes in with his whole heart.
“It’s just part of what I do,” she said. For the last 20 years, Brown has helped students in Richmond as a bus driver, but now her role has changed due to the pandemic, and instead of transporting students, she has been delivering meals to schools around the city as part of the meal distribution effort.
Brown recently noticed an elderly lady walking to get her grandchildren’s meals from the school. Her name was Evelyn Bullock. “I’m 80 years of age,” said Bullock. “That’s quite a walk from Carver Elementary School back down here.” It’s about a 30-minute walk, so for an 80-year-old, it was no easy task. “I am a two-time cancer survivor. I also have arthritis and I fall a lot,” she said.
That’s when Brown decided to help and pulled over her bus and picked Bullock up. From there, she decided to bring Bullock breakfast and lunch for her grandchildren every day to save her from that 30-minute walk. “She thanks me so much and tries to offer me gifts, but I don’t want gifts,” Brown said.
Brown says her true gift is her making a difference in someone else’s life. “She told me one day that when I get to heaven, the crown that God has for me will be too big for my head. I understand what she means now… she really appreciates what I do for her,” Brown said.
“I never expected it. It’s like God just poured it out,” Bullock said. “She’s just a blessing to me and I think she is just an awesome person.”