Meet Bob: Stolen Truck Victim or The Real Deal? You decide.

Bob (left) with his Advocate and friend Dana

When Bob came out of the dance studio where he was watching his granddaughter practice, he figured he must have forgotten where he parked. As he checked and double-checked each possible spot, his stomach began knotting up as the only option remaining was unthinkable. To his dismay, security cameras confirmed what Bob feared: he was the latest victim of what has become an escalating problem in the DFW area: vehicle theft.

Last year in Dallas, over 13,000 vehicles were stolen, a 12% increase from 2021. SUVs and pickup trucks are the most common targets, and though Bob’s pickup was far from the latest model, it was stolen in broad daylight.

As is the case with all our clients, Bob’s truck represented much more value to him than Kelly Blue Book would have reflected. As a retired senior, the truck represented the ability to grocery shop, work out daily at the gym, teach a Bible study, see friends, and most importantly for him: spend time with his grandchildren. Whereas Bob was used to helping with their care each day, he was now virtually imprisoned in his apartment as this summer’s record-breaking heat began.

One of the first things we learned about Bob as we reviewed his application and met him is he is a person of faith, more specifically a follower of Jesus. Bob wanted us to know right off the bat that he wasn’t angry at the person who wronged him, but instead he forgives the person and wishes he could meet them to let them know this personally. Though he was distraught at not being able to help his family and see his grandkids, Bob said he was trusting God to help his situation. In his interview, Bob was very clear that he would be ok if our answer was “no” to his application. He had already waited several months since his vehicle was stolen, and he was certain that God would provide in His time.

As you can see, we approved Bob’s application!

On the day of the transfer, Bob was overwhelmed with thankfulness and took me aside to ask a very humble and sincere question: “How can I even begin to pay you back?” What a joy to let him know that nothing was needed, that this was truly a free gift. Knowing what kind of man Bob is, I was pretty certain he’s been on the other end of magnanimous gifts as the giver, and I told him as much. He smiled and agreed. We closed the morning in the tax office parking lot with a group prayer of thanks to the Lord, and Bob told us about his weekend plans to visit his grandchildren. What I didn’t tell him then was that Bob also gave something to us that day. Seeing how he responded when his chips were down, when his anger would have been justified, even expected, was refreshing and instructive to those of us who haven’t been in his situation yet.

Thank you, Bob for being a living example of what it looks like to forgive your enemies, to live simply yet contentedly, and to wait on the Lord to provide when your own ability to provide falls short.

Watching Bob and his Advocate, Dana, drive away to grab a celebration breakfast together at Hot Pancakes, Tim, Jon, and I discussed how great it was to start our day this way.

And then we started discussing who is next on our list who needs a car.

Thank you to all our OnRamp DFW donors who gave generously so we could give Bob a car! Thank you to our volunteers, to Joe for finding possibly our best car yet, and to Christian Brothers for your partnership and generous role behind the scenes.

If you’ve been watching OnRamp DFW for a little while or a long while (or somewhere in between) and are excited and drawn to what we’re doing, we could use your help! Over 90% of the funds you give go directly toward helping our clients. If you would like to help with your talents, we would love to plug you into our volunteer team!