Woman donates bike to stranger she sees walking to work every day
BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) – Rebecca Wendt donated a bike to Heath Nelson Tuesday after learning he was walking nearly two hours to and from his job each day.
Nelson would ride his bike to work, but after the bike – his main way to get around town – broke down, he made his journey on foot.
“I try to do what I can to pay my bills,” Nelson, 52, said.
Wendt said she’d seen him walking on the side of the road as she drove, and felt called to find out who he was. After getting his contact information from his job, she reached out to Nelson and learned his story.
“It was just like God bopped me over the head and said, ‘Find out where that man lives and what his needs are,” Wendt said.
She decided that she would raise money however she could to purchase Nelson a new bike. She shared her mission with family, friends, and Facebook. She said she didn’t think much of her social media post at the time, but it quickly gained traction.
“Within about two hours I had over a thousand dollars raised,” she shared.
She made the Facebook post at the end of August. Tuesday, she delivered a brand new e-bike to Nelson. It was the first time the two had met in person.
“Oh it’s a blessing, trust me. You know, the Lord works in mysterious ways,” Nelson said.
Wendt ended up raising more money than the bike and its accessories cost and chose to give the remaining funds to Nelson. He plans to use the cash for a set of dentures.
“It was emotional, brought tears to my eyes. You know, I mean, what she gave me was just remarkable,” Nelson said.