A little kindness goes a long way

First off, I'm writing this more for me than for anyone else. Just in case you think I'm bragging. I'm not. I just don't want to forget this particular moment in my life. The Holy Ghost whispered to me to do something, and I did it.

I went to get an oil change on my van today. While I was sitting with my two youngest boys at Meineke, waiting for the oil change to be finished, a man comes in with his two little girls (ages 2 & 3). He gets them settled and starts talking with the guy at the counter about his dodge. His family was from San Diego on their way to Salt Lake City to have a small vacation with family. Except that now their transmission had gone out. The tech takes a look at the dude's car and comes back to tell him that the transmission is shot, he needs a new one, and it will be at least two days before the car can be back on the road. The man's very pregnant wife walks in with coloring books and crayons she had picked up for her little girls at the dollar store next door (Her girls by this point were watching cartoons on my phone with my little boys). Husband tells wife about needing a new transmission and the cost of it. She begins to cry. They are stuck in Vegas for several days, with two little girls, no car, very little money and 110 degree heat. A voice in my head is screaming "Find a way to help them!" I swear, if I had the money, I probably would have paid for their repairs myself. But I didn't. But I did have a (soon-to-be) working vehicle that is large enough to fit all of us. So I called out to her and asked her if her family would like a ride to where ever they needed to go. She looked at me and all she could get out was a "yes" before she began to cry some more. After a moment She composed herself and told me that they needed a hotel, but didn't know where to go. Oh, and neither her nor her husband had a smart phone, just older flip phones with no access to the internet. So I used my phone to find her a cheep hotel room for the night at the Silverton Casino and told the little girls about the mermaids that swim there. I talked with the woman for a little while to help lift her spirits. When my van was ready, we put the little girls' car-seats in the van along with some of their luggage, and the 7 of us piled in. I drove them to the Silverton Casino, all the while giving them suggestions for free things they could do with the kids while they were here in Las Vegas (Bellagio fountains, Mirage volcano, Enterprise Library Story time, etc). Once we arrived, the woman gave me a hug and thanked me, and I gave her a piece of paper with my name and phone number just in case she needed some more help tomorrow. The little girls squealed about how they couldn't wait to see the mermaids. "God Bless you!" the man called out. I waved and drove away to pick up my older kids from school. The whole family was in much better spirits when I left them than they were when I met them. I sure hope everything works out for them.