Mark Purcell, the executive chef for the Pasco County Metropolitan Ministries, was finishing his nightly routine of closing up shop when he came across what appeared to be a pile of trash outside.
Purcell was shocked to find something quite special in the pile of trash
He thought somebody perhaps left donations for the ministry, but upon closer examination, Purcell found something much more valuable nestled between the garbage bags: these 2 little boys.
Courtesy of Krystal Stewart
“There were actually four or five bags here,” he told Fox 13. “A child in a car seat was on top of a bag. The other child was sitting here with his feet, cold. They were only in diapers, no clothes.”
The infant was only 7 months old and his older brother was 2 years old. Purcell soon noticed their mother hiding from him around the corner, shielding her face as he approached.
The ministry discovered that the family was homeless and had been staying in a tent in the woods. When the pastor of Refuge Church, Ronnie Stewart, found out about their heartbreaking situation, he asked if he could take the boys home for a night to get them warm and cleaned up.