Teenagers tend to get a bad rep as young guns who are lazy, addicted to their phones and spend way too much time hanging out in the Sonic parking lot.
While all of those things may be true, even Jesus says you should never look down on someone because of their age. There are teens like Ryan Cook, Joshua Mechell and their friend Alberto Montiel who are truly making a difference.
The three boys were at their local Chick-Fil-A in Corpus Christi, Texas, when they noticed a homeless man who was crying and struggling to buy a meal. “He had a worn Bible on the table with a picture of Jesus and some change he was counting,” Ryan wrote in a Facebook post that has now gone viral.
Ryan Cook
Chick-Fil-A employees told the teens that the homeless man, Eddie, frequents the restaurant, but never bothers anyone or asks for handouts unless it’s water for his dog, Socks.
Their hearts broke for Eddie, so the teens went above and beyond to bless him.
“He had a Bible on the table. And he also had a picture of Jesus. Which really gave us kind of a sign to help him out,” said Ryan.
They bought him a Chick-Fil-A gift card, then told Eddie to wait while they headed out to a nearby Dick’s Sporting Goods.
At Dick’s, they bought Eddie a jacket, a beanie, three shirts and a first-aid-kit. Then Dick’s donated some of their display items, and pitched in $20 toward their purchase.
In the viral video that has now been viewed 9 million times, the exchange between Eddie and his new friends is so heartwarming—not to mention Chick-Fil-A’s Christian instrumentals in the background just adding that final touch of Jesus to a wonderful situation.
Eddie was blown away by the teens’ gesture.
This was a homeless man that me and my buddies saw in Chick-Fil-A struggling to buy a meal. He had a worn bible on the…
Posted by Ryan Cook on Friday, January 27, 2017
“It was an awesome experience. He quickly got out of his chair. He was so excited and happy to see something new in his life,” Ryan explained in a later interview.
The teens said they hadn’t initially planned to post the video on social media, but they hoped that the video might inspire others to give back and take care of one another.
“We just want to make the world a better place to live in, and we want to inspire people to make a difference,” Joshua explained.
The teens say they have kept in touch with Eddie, and they plan to get him a motel and a nice meal for Super Bowl Sunday.
