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VANCOUVER, Wash. — A grieving woman went out for a cup of coffee over the weekend but ended up with so much more.
Evan Freeman was working the window at the Dutch Bros. drive-thru Saturday when he noticed that the woman placing her order was struggling to fight back tears, according to KPTV News. When Freeman asked her if she was OK, she fell apart — explaining that her 37-year-old husband had passed away the night before.
“As soon as she said that, I was like, ‘There’s nothing more you need to say. We got this,’” Freeman said. “We’re going to do what we do every time we get someone who’s in pain or hurt. We’re going to give them our love.”
Freeman offered the woman a free cup of coffee, then gathered several of his coworkers and reached out for her hand as the group prayed together, Seattle’s Q13 News reports.
Barbara Danner — who happened to be behind the woman in line — snapped a photo of the moving encounter and posted it to the Dutch Bros. Facebook page. It’s since been shared more than 115,000 times.
Snapped this picture while waiting in line at the Dutch Bros on 138th Avenue today. Turns out the young lady in line...
Posted by Barbara Danner on Saturday, March 19, 2016
“When the (Dutch Bros) guys and gals noticed she was falling apart, they stopped everything and prayed with her for several minutes, invited her to come back for prayer and support as well as anything else that she might need,” Danner wrote in her post.
Freeman’s boss, Jessica Chudek, noticed the photo on social media and was shocked when she realized her employees were responsible for the act of kindness.
“It just brought me to tears right then,” she told KPTV.
Pierce Dunn, Freeman’s co-worker, said he wasn’t expecting their experience to be shared by so many people. He told KPTV he hopes it will inspire others to look for opportunities to help where they can.
“If every single person did an act of kindness or just had a smile on their face, the world would be a completely different place,” he said.
