Family finds a miracle in the mail
Updated: December 5, 2012
CHARLESTON -- A family couldn't afford to see their son graduate from basic training. But thanks to a Christmas miracle, their trip is paid off.
Rebecca Devore was the only family member going visit her son next month. With the holidays coming up, nobody else had enough money. Since not everyone could go, Devore's daughter made it her job to plan his coming home party. She says it's the least she could do for her little brother.
But a letter she found in her mailbox changed everything. It's a flight Chierstan Burns never thought she would take. But Christmas came early for this family thanks to a tattered present in the mail.
"The mail lady, I asked her if I'd gotten a letter from my brother because I've only got one and I keep it with me in my purse, and she said no but there was an envelope," said Burns.
"It came in a plastic bag. It was ripped in half, taped back together, red lettering, kind of afraid to open it," said Devore. "When you look at the envelope and the way we received it, how it ever got to her is a miracle."
Inside the beat up envelope was a cashier's check worth $1500. That's the exact amount needed to send Burns' family to her brother's graduation. Written near the top was "San Diego." That's where the ceremony will take place.
"It just hit me and I felt like I was going to faint. I was happy, I was crying," said Burns.
But she was also confused. Her family had no idea who mailed their miracle.
"You can't really read the return address other than Montgomery Drive, which our church is on Montgomery Drive," said Devore.
"I knew nothing of it personally," said Vance Oliver, pastor at the First Church of God. "I thought someone out there is being an angel for God, just being a messenger."
Oliver is confident someone from the church made the donation. Who that is remains a mystery. But they do have a hunch that a higher power could be behind the gracious gift.
"It was through God that it was made possible. He touched somebody and they touched our lives in a way that we can never repay anybody," said Burns.
The story gets better. Devore's son thinks only his mom is coming. So, seeing his sister and his relatives will be a complete surprise.
Rebecca Devore was the only family member going visit her son next month. With the holidays coming up, nobody else had enough money. Since not everyone could go, Devore's daughter made it her job to plan his coming home party. She says it's the least she could do for her little brother.
But a letter she found in her mailbox changed everything. It's a flight Chierstan Burns never thought she would take. But Christmas came early for this family thanks to a tattered present in the mail.
"The mail lady, I asked her if I'd gotten a letter from my brother because I've only got one and I keep it with me in my purse, and she said no but there was an envelope," said Burns.
"It came in a plastic bag. It was ripped in half, taped back together, red lettering, kind of afraid to open it," said Devore. "When you look at the envelope and the way we received it, how it ever got to her is a miracle."
Inside the beat up envelope was a cashier's check worth $1500. That's the exact amount needed to send Burns' family to her brother's graduation. Written near the top was "San Diego." That's where the ceremony will take place.
"It just hit me and I felt like I was going to faint. I was happy, I was crying," said Burns.
But she was also confused. Her family had no idea who mailed their miracle.
"You can't really read the return address other than Montgomery Drive, which our church is on Montgomery Drive," said Devore.
"I knew nothing of it personally," said Vance Oliver, pastor at the First Church of God. "I thought someone out there is being an angel for God, just being a messenger."
Oliver is confident someone from the church made the donation. Who that is remains a mystery. But they do have a hunch that a higher power could be behind the gracious gift.
"It was through God that it was made possible. He touched somebody and they touched our lives in a way that we can never repay anybody," said Burns.
The story gets better. Devore's son thinks only his mom is coming. So, seeing his sister and his relatives will be a complete surprise.
