We are Your Neighbors: Stories from The Storehouse

By Nancy Kurkowski

"We are Your Neighbors" is collection of stories that will give you a glimpse into the lives of some of the people who are seeking assistance at The Storehouse of Collin County, a large food pantry in north Texas. What would your life be like if you had been born in different shoes? By speaking to several of the Neighbors that she has met while volunteering at The Storehouse, Nancy introduces us to seven different people with seven very different lives. You will meet Cristina, who was transformed from a person seeking help to a person offering help; Arnold, who's accident changed his life in an instant; Victoria, who cares for her adult handicapped daughter; Juliana, who went from knowing only a few words of English in eight grade to making A's in college; Diusnery, who is doing whatever it takes to build a good life; and Mary, who finds a way to thrive in spite of her struggles with depression. Through the eyes of our neighbors, learn about obstacles that many of us have never even considered. This book will challenge your assumptions about who is standing in line at our nation's food pantries and open your heart to the fact that we are indeed all fellow children of God.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Apr 12, 2024
• ISBN: 9798350943092

Nancy Kurkowski

Nancy Kurkowski grew up in central Africa as the child of missionaries. She was one of the founding volunteers for the Seven Loaves Food Pantry (part of the Storehouse of Collin County) and now serves as the Dean of Job Skills for the Storehouse Academy. Nancy is an active member of Saint Andrew Methodist Church in Plano, Texas.

Book preview

BK90085706.jpg

We are Your Neighbors

Stories from The Storehouse

© 2024, Nancy Kurkowski.

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

Print ISBN: 979-8-35094-308-5

eBook ISBN: 979-8-35094-309-2

Dedication

This book is dedicated to the thousands of Neighbors who have come through the doors of The Storehouse seeking help . . . especially to the ones who had the courage to share their stories with me.

". . . so he asked Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor?’"

(Luke 10:29)

Contents

Introduction

Cristina

Arnold

Juliana

Victoria

Diusnery

Mary

Nancy

The Storehouse of Collin County

Favorite Bible verses

Book Recommendations

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Every time I volunteer at The Storehouse, I am struck by how easily it could have been me seeking help. None of us had any control over where we were born. We have a lot less control than we think about the circumstances that life throws at us. I truly was born on third base. ¹ However, I have been blessed to get to know some of the Neighbors (that’s what we call our clients) who come to The Storehouse of Collin County. They come for food, clothing, other referral resources, and educational classes. I have been fortunate enough to get a glimpse of the challenges that exist for some of them; challenges that many of us have never even thought about. Most of the Neighbors that I have encountered are strong and determined. They are generous to their fellow Neighbors, and they are doing their best to thrive. I may not agree with every decision they’ve made, but I ask myself, what decisions would I have made if I found myself in their shoes?

Occasionally, someone will ask about the Neighbors, saying, Why don’t they just get a job, seek better education, have fewer children, make better choices…? But when we know people personally, we gain perspective; we are more likely to cut others as much slack as we cut ourselves. The saying It’s hard to hate up close has become popular lately. And it’s true. It is always easier to understand the choices that people make when we take the time to get to know them! Through these stories, I hope to introduce you to some of our Storehouse Neighbors—to give you a peek into their lives. I hope these stories help us all understand that although these Neighbors may have different challenges in their lives than some of us do, they are still working hard to care for their families . . . just like we do.

Candace Winslow, the current executive director of The Storehouse, likes to say, We are all standing in line for something. It may not be for food or clothes . . . maybe it’s for acceptance or significance or love. No matter whether you are serving or receiving—no matter which side of the line you are standing on—you are reaching out to someone for something. You have hopes and dreams. You love your family. You protect your children. You are a child of God. That is also true of each one of our Storehouse Neighbors. Here are some of their stories.

Nancy Kurkowski

Spring 2024

---

1. Born on Third Base by Chuck Collins

Cristina

Do all the good you can, in all the ways you can, to all the souls you can, in every place you can, at all the times you can, with all the zeal you can, as long as ever you can.

John Wesley

Cristina

I have this picture in my head of my therapist, Jackie, walking down the hall at St. Andrew Methodist Church where The Storehouse is located. After our counseling sessions, she would go and find boxes of diapers for me. I used to watch her walk down that hallway and think, this is such a beautiful place; a beautiful building with beautiful people. Now, almost three years later, I work in that same building—at The Storehouse. God has amazing plans for us if we only wait for His timing and trust Him! It is such a blessing to be here now and be able to help others who are coming to The Storehouse. Sometimes, when I am walking down that same hallway, I can’t help but get goosebumps because God has been so obviously present in my life. It’s still a beautiful place . . . but now I get to be part of it. I get to be the one offering help.

My name is not Cristina. In fact, most of the names in this story have been changed because my family needs protection from someone. I absolutely trust that God’s Spirit will cover us. He always has protected us. But I think it’s wise to remain anonymous.

I am forty-one years old, and I have had many Helpers in my life. That’s what I call them, my Helpers, because none of us can live life without them; none of us can thrive without our Helpers. Our Helper above all others is, of course, God. He has loved me, guided me, and protected me beyond measure. Everything about my story has God’s hand on it and He will always be the center of my life! But there have been other Helpers that He has sent to me along the way also.

I was born in Maracaibo, Venezuela, in the western part of a large country at the northern tip of South America. It is very hot in Maracaibo. The normal temperature for much of the year is 105 degrees or more. But I was happy! My parents had a modest upbringing in the countryside of Venezuela at a time when farming and raising livestock were what most people depended on, to survive. But they had been able to move to the city as young adults and both had gone to college. Like many people in Venezuela then, their lives were good. Good jobs were available. We traveled, and life looked very much like it does for many people in the U.S. today. My father was an accountant, and my mother was a professor of geography.

By the 1950s, Venezuela, and Maracaibo in particular, had become a major petroleum producer. People were flocking to the cities for jobs. Exxon, Mobil, BP, Shell—they were all there. Of course, with them came many American workers. As a result, when I was growing up in the ’80s, we were exposed to a great deal of American culture. We fell in love with American baseball. In fact, while most other South American countries prioritize soccer, our favorite sport is still baseball. The whole country started speaking Spanglish because of the American influence. To this day, we, Venezuelans, call anything that we carry our things in (a backpack, for example) our macundales because it sounds like MATCO. That was the brand of toolbox that every oil worker seemed to carry in those days, so we just appropriated that word and many others.

My family was then, and remains now, very close. I am the oldest. I have one brother, Manuel, and one sister, Glenys. Living with your parents until you get married is common in many Hispanic cultures and we were no exception. Our home in Maracaibo was full of love and laughter. We depended on one another. We loved one another very much. Eventually, I got a degree in journalism and Manuel got a degree in economics. Glenys got into medical school. We were all involved in one another’s lives pretty much daily. And, for quite a while, we all still lived at home.

Eventually though, Manuel got married and moved out. Glenys got a scholarship for a special internship in gynecology in Queretaro, Mexico, so she left too. I was working as a journalist in the petroleum industry, but I was still comfortable living at home. I was the only one at home with my parents, and that was funny because I had always had a plan for my life. I had always had this plan that I would get married when I would be twenty-five years old and would have three kids. We would buy a house, get a dog, and live happily ever after. I liked my job, but all I had ever really wanted to do was to be a mom. Sadly, that didn’t seem to be happening. I worried that I was too focused on my career and would never meet somebody. But even then, I knew that God was in control of my life and that He had a purpose for me. So, I decided to study to become a radio writer/producer and to throw myself even more into my career. I started working out at the gym every day and I rededicated myself to listening to what God was saying to me. I used to go to church several times a week to pray and ask about what He wanted me to do. I told Him that if it wasn’t His plan, I would give up the obsession with having a child; and that I would be a good aunt to the little girl that Manuel had been blessed with. That would be enough.

Then, when I was thirty-six, I started dating a man who was forty and had two children from a previous marriage. Andres was from Columbia, and he was a good man. He traveled to Venezuela frequently and we soon got serious. A few months into our relationship, I went with him to Columbia to attend a family wedding. I remember when we were getting ready for the ceremony, he said to me, I think you might be pregnant. Needless to say, I was a little offended! But, laughing at him, I said that I didn’t think that was even possible. I felt like I was too old. Honestly, I didn’t think about it again for several weeks. Then one day, I was hosting an event for my company. I was in public relations with Petróleos de Venezuela at that time. When you are the face of a company, they expect you to be energetic, positive, and outgoing. But that day, I was extraordinarily tired. I had no energy. When the event was over my boss asked me what was up with me. He had noticed that I wasn’t myself. I told him that I didn’t know what was wrong, but