My wife and I were talking about where to give the money and we had many thoughts.  We talked about Wal-Mart or a grocery store because folks needed to have food, but decided on something else.  We thought that we would wait at a gas station and give out money a bit at a time.  We went into a Bernalillo gas station and spoke with a clerk and also the manager to let them know that Payday had given us money for the holiday season and that we were there to give it to their customers.  They were happy to let us wait and even helped us find someone to give money.  We waited inside near the registers.

With the very next customer inside, my wife and the clerk both gave me a look for an elderly woman paying for gas.  I explained to her what Payday is doing and gave her $40.00 for her gas.  She definitely was unsure at first, waiting for me to make a joke, I think.  She said it was very nice and that it helped when coming back from the long trip to the VA hospital with her husband.  She came up to us about 2 more times to say how nice that was.

We saw many customers, but about 10 minutes later we saw a young man digging in his pockets for change to fill up his tank.  He looked to be about 18 or so and when he was standing in line waiting to pay, I asked him if it would be ok to pay for his gas.  He said yes also expecting a joke I think, but I gave him $20.00.

The last person we helped came into the station once and then went back to his car.  He came back in and asked me how far it was to Farmington.  I told him about how far it was and then asked him his name.  He said Julius and I introduced myself and my wife, and let him know about the money and Payday and that we would like to pay for some of his gas if that’d be ok.  He said that he had been on a marathon trip from Houston and that the money would be a great blessing.  We shook hands again and thought that Julius was definitely in need and we were very glad that we could help.

Lance