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Subject to change. This is Lee Habib and this is Our American Stories, the show where America is the star and the American people. You're about to hear from Mike Gideon. Mike was just a gearhead who loved working on cars. and restoring classics.
Something he thought. He'd retire on. But God had other plans. Here's Mike with the story of how Higher Power Garage is a non-profit car repair shop. came to be.
Been a mechanic most of my life. Started when I was a child. Young man, I always had an interest in cars. Went to work in service stations fresh out of high school. Did that for a few years and then I left and went to a corporate job running a chain of quick lubes.
And in that chain of quick loops, I was also responsible for helping to develop new business.
So I did a lot of that, working with people to design buildings and inventory and train their staff. And I did that for about five years. did car washes for a while. It was unfortunately about a 70-80 hour week. most weeks and uh after about five years of that i decided it was time to uh Do my own thing.
I'd always had a desire to own a repair shop.
So in 1995, I started Giddy and Staridado. We started off small. I started by myself as the only technician. Hired a friend of mine a year later. But uh was doing really well in business and had gotten quite large.
had six bays, six technicians working full time. And then uh Late 2000s or mid-2000s, the economy kind of changed and our business plan had to change with it. We ended up going down to two technicians. and did that for several years and just kind of hung on, but it kind of changed my perspective in that. It wasn't about bigger is better, it's about building relationships.
Over the years that that paid off as we just stayed steady. business came back and about seven years ago. We are had some major changes in our lives. The charts that we'd have been attending for 23 years. We really just felt God was leading us to leave there.
So we left, and to be honest, the next four years were really, really hard. Kind of in the desert, so to speak. It really didn't feel like God was very close. really struggling and where we were at. We knew God had us where he wanted us to be because every time we tried to leave, Something would happen that we would just end up staying there.
And this went on for a while. And I was really, really questioning God. Why? Why did you call me to leave there? And, you know, I just feel so far away.
So through that time though, I was really seeking God as to direction because I didn't feel like had purpose. I was out one day and I was just went on a hike on some place where I grew up. There's some trails. I was out there just kind of one Sunday afternoon kind of walking around and come across a quote and the quote was we shouldn't fear failure but we should fear succeeding at something that didn't matter. I really I really felt like that was God telling me that.
Bye. Focus was off. that I needed to be more focused on making a difference. than I did on being successful. Yeah, I believe God wants us to have nice things and live good lives, but I think He also wants us to be generous and care for our brothers and sisters.
So in that time frame, we got connected with an organization here in town, Water Gardens, started a project called Neighbor Connect. We got to working with them and one of the things that we found Yes. as they referred people to our shop that were in need. I got to visit him with him. And I found out that a lot of times what they were dealing with Yeah, sometimes it was addiction or it was choices, poor choices, things like that, but there was so many times it was things beyond the control.
Being in an accident and being injured to the point they can't work any longer. Or a spouse that's sick, or a child that's sick, they have to leave their job to care for and And there were just so many different situations. And as we started really getting to know people, there was one couple in particular. A younger couple, and we got to know them. We worked on their vehicle and helped them.
She was trying to get a job and needed a car. and her brakes were out and so we fixed the brakes on her car and But in visiting with them, I asked them if they went to church anywhere, and they didn't, so I invited them to church.
Well, they started coming to our church and over the next few months we just got to see God. just make big changes in their lives. And uh You really really had an impact on me. We started really looking at how we can make a bigger difference. You know, in our shop we're busy and We were trying to do this as a sideline through our business and it was really becoming a challenge.
and I really felt like God was really calling me to do a non-profit. We do a class at our church. It's about finding our God-given purpose in life, and it's called Kazone. It's based on a book by Craig Rochelle. And we were doing that class.
And one of the questions that's asked is, if God would bless you in anything you would do, what would you attempt? And I answered that question with I would do a non-profit. to help people. About two weeks after answering that question, God really just started dealing with me. One weekend in particular, I just felt so burdened losers.
So I came in that Monday morning and I was talking to my service rider and uh Some lady some work pulling me in. We were having coffee that morning and I just told him, I said, you know, I really feel like that I have a building that's empty. And I think God's called me to start a non-profit repair shop. One of the ladies that worked for me, she just kind of spoke up and said, you know what, if you do this, I really want to be a part of it. And so we started kind of talking about what it would look like and how it would work.
And I started talking to anybody that would listen. I got some really sideways looks. You're going to do a free repair shop?
Well, who doesn't want free repair? We just kind of uh Just kept going. And you've been listening to Mike Gideon share his story. And my goodness, we've all been there in that wilderness, wondering what purpose God has for us. And then he gets that question in the Bible study: If God would bless you in anything you do, what would be your attempt?
He was looking for his purpose. And so often, well, that's what so many of us are doing in our lives, looking for purpose and meaning, and very often God having a central role in that play. When we come back, more of Mike Gideon's story, Higher Power Garage's story, here on Our American Stories. Lee Habib here, the host of Our American Stories. Every day on this show, we're bringing inspiring stories from across this great country.
Stories from our big cities and small towns. But we truly can't do this show without you. Our stories are free to listen to, but they're not free to make. If you love what you hear, go to ouramericanstories.com and click the donate button. Give a little, give a lot.
Go to ouramericanstories.com and give. All right, quick quiz for the hiring managers out there. What's worse, being understaffed or being poorly staffed?
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The Nissan Pathfinder is built for it. Powered by a lauded V6 engine and smooth nine-speed automatic transmission, the new Nissan Pathfinder is Adventure on Wheels. With seating for up to eight, a premium interior, and available second-row captain's chairs, it's adventure in comfort. And with 284 horsepower and 6,000 pounds of towing capacity, Pathfinder is adventure unlimited. The new Nissan Pathfinder, Power Your Adventure.
Towing capacity varies by configuration. See Nissan Towing Guide and Owner's Manual for additional information. Always secure cargo. Eczema is unpredictable, but you can flare less with Epglis. A once-monthly treatment for moderate to severe eczema.
After an initial four-month or longer dosing phase, about four in ten people taking EBGLIS achieve itch relief and clear or almost clear skin at 16 weeks. And most of those people maintain skin that's still more clear at one year with monthly dosing. EBGLIS, Librikizumab, LBKZ, a 250 milligram per 2 milliliter injection, is a prescription medicine used to treat adults and children 12 years of age and older who weigh at least 88 pounds or 40 kilograms with moderate to severe eczema, also called atopic dermatitis that is not well controlled with prescription therapies used on the skin or topicals or who cannot use topical therapies. EBGLIS can be used with or without topical corticosteroids. Don't use if you're allergic to EBGLIS.
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Ask your doctor about EBGLIS and visit ebglis.lilly.com or call 1-800-LILIRX or 1-800-545-5979. And we return to Our American Stories and to Mike Gideon, sharing his story of how his nonprofit car repair shop Aim to be. As we heard from Mike when we left off, There were some skeptics about how he might make it happen. Let's pick back up. with the rest of the story.
Uh A few years ago, I had met a gentleman from Conroe, Texas that runs a nonprofit there called God's Garage. I had kind of kept in touch with him over the years, so when we decided to do this, I wanted to go down and just kind of see how their operation worked. And so I went to Texas and spent a couple days with them and they were just excellent in helping us. What worked, what didn't work, what we need, how we need to do it.
Some really great insight. But while we were down there, the shutdown for COVID hit.
So we decided to cut our trip short and come on back home.
So we got back and it was like, you know, it's uh, I don't know. Do we continue this? Yeah, this doesn't look good. They're talking about... businesses closing and not being able to go out and Yeah, I really don't know if we can do this or not.
And my spirit just kept telling me that we just needed to keep pushing forward.
So in March of 2020, we were in the process of trying to start a non-profit. right in the middle of a government shutdown. They told us on our 501 status that we could be as much as two years. getting that status. And actually we got that in mid-July.
We would call for uh the city to get our city license and they said well you got to have an inspection but we're not doing in-person inspections. And a couple days later... A guy from the city showed up to do an inspection on our building. And it was just things like that, time after time. You know, our county government was telling us to get our license.
They were shut down most of the time. they didn't have any online facilities to be able to get our license online. But we got a hold of somebody and it went through.
So it was just things like that that just kind of told us that we were on the right track and I'm still amazed because We actually opened on June 1st, 2020 as Higher Power Garage. I have a real hard time talking about this without getting emotional because. One of the things that I've heard is, you want to know what? God's called you to do, find what breaks your heart. Let me tell you about Sam.
Sam is a great example. Hove. what we do. Sam is a veteran and Sam struggled with addiction and homelessness for a lot of years. A few years ago he was able to get with the VA and get housing.
and he started to get some benefits and he started saving his money. and after a couple years of saving his money, Sam was able to buy a car. And the next day after he bought the car, the brakes started grinding. and Sam was referred to hire our garage. He came in, and I mean, his anxiety level was a 10.
He was so. Worried about what was going to happen next, that he had wasted his money. He had enough money to pay sales tax and buy tags. He didn't have enough money for any repairs. And so uh We were able to fix his car, put brakes on it for him.
That wasn't a big deal, but... in the process of the interview. Wood found out that the reason why Sam wanted a car He wanted to go back to work. That he didn't want to be in the situation he was in, and he was willing to get back out into the workforce and do that.
So, we have a partnership with AARP. which will work with seniors to train them job skills. And so we were able to point Sam into that resource. and Sam got a job to train with a local organization here. After a month he was hired on full-time with that organization.
So we were able to help him not only with his car need, but we were also able to help him with his physical need. his financial needs. But in the process of that too, we found out that Sam was really wanting to find a church and he didn't really know where to go. And so we invited him to church and he started coming on a regular basis and he started attending some of the classes that we have there on discipleship and purpose. you know, he really started to engage and After a couple months we had a baptism, Sam got baptized.
And uh To me, that's it. That's the reason. We're here. If we only do that per Sam. Everything we've done here has been a success.
But the thing is, God has used us over and over and over again to do that. and to see lives changed and people's lives impacted. And you know, we've had people come in that uh Don't really believe in God too much, but... after experience that The love of Christ. Changes their mind.
We have built some wonderful relationships. We've had people come back to the shop to volunteer. And uh We just keep every day we come in, we get to do this. This does not work. This is an opportunity.
We're not just Fixing cars. In fact, if you notice in our logo, there's a line through the word garage, and the reason it's there is because it's not about the garage. That's what we do. But our purpose is far more than that. We're here to help people to fix their lives, to improve their lives.
So one of the things we really felt strongly about is education. Almost none of our clients we were seeing were budgeting.
So we started a budgeting class just to teach them the basics to do that. Most of the cars that we were working on were neglected. We found that some of our families were second and third generation single-parent families. Fathers have been out of the home. Kids weren't taught to check the oil or rotate the tires or when to check the oil or when to change the oil or what the lights on the dash mean.
You know, a car is the second biggest investment we make in our lives next to our house.
So it's important that they know how to maintain that.
So we have a model maintenance class where we teach them the basics of why and how to maintain their vehicle. We want to be a hand up, not a hand out.
So we empower our clients to pay for the parts and we supply the labor at no charge. We sell the parts basically at what they would pay if they went into O'Reilly's and bought them. We're really not making any money there. We just want our clients to feel like they have an investment in us and skin in the game. Then we have a low-cost vehicle program.
We work with that. We're primarily single parents, families, to help them with transportation. We have cars donated to our shop and then we go through them. do the maintenance and do the repairs that are necessary on them and then we sell them to our clients for $500. That way they have an investment in the car.
And so we're really happy to be able to do that. And over the last two and a half years, we've been able to provide about 36 cars to families that didn't have transportation. You know, we've been blessed. At the end of this year, we showed where we had done 715 repairs in the two and a half years. That just for two people, we thought that was a pretty amazing number.
And then we've provided over $100,000 worth of free labor. That's 715 times we sat down with the person one-on-one. And we were able to talk to them and find out their story. and we were able to listen to him and we were able to point him toward resources. to help them further improve their lives.
But the most important thing we got to do is we got to talk to them about their walk with God. the relationship with God, and we got to pray with Him. You know, we feel like that's the whole reason why we're here. If we really want to share God's love, you can't do it any better than just sitting down with somebody and listening to them. And then not just giving advice or telling them, you know, well, if you hadn't have done this or if you do this, but You know, just tell them, you know, we'll help you, we'll walk with you, we'll do what we can do.
In most cases, it's about hope. You know, we see that so many times as our clients will come in here and I hear over and over and over again that man it's just bad stuff just always happens to me. It's just like I'm hitting one wall after another and my luck is so bad. I just never get over this or get ahead. And our purpose here, our goal here, is to break that.
to show them that there is hope. And through the love of Christ and through the support of our community, We're able to impact people's lives every day. And that's exactly what we're praying to do is to break cycles and to encourage people to move forward. to be more. And what a beautiful, beautiful story.
A special thanks to Katrina Hine for sourcing the story. Thanks to Madison Derricott for the production and the sound design. And a thanks to Mike Gideon for sharing the story. And that story about what he did for Sam, oh my goodness, he didn't just fix the car. He was trying to fix a life and trying to love a stranger.
715 repairs, 36 cars donated and given away.
Well, $500, so there's some skin in the game. And then all because God called on Mike to do something different with his life and to serve him differently. The story of Higher Power Garage and how God calls on ordinary Americans to do the most extraordinary and beautiful things. This is Our American Stories. Get ready for the wildest site your lawn has ever seen.
Sunday, Sunday, Sunday. This spring, unleash soil science like never before. Witness your custom lawn plan and the transformation to a soft green paradise.
Sorry, just trying to get your attention. Sunday is a boringly simple way to get a green, healthy yard. No harsh stuff, no big trucks, no chaos. Order today and get your custom Sunday yard plan for the season ahead. Sunday, smarter lawn care for less.
Getsunday.com. This is Julian Edelman from Games with Names. I want to take a second to talk about something that's personal to me. I've had the privilege of working closely with Robert Kraft for a long time. And one thing I've always respected is how seriously he takes up standing up to hate.
As a Jewish athlete my identity is something I am proud of. But I also know what it feels like to be singled out for it. That's why this new commercial for the Blue Square Alliance Against Hate that aired during the big game really hit home. It's about showing up for someone when they're targeted, even if you don't have the perfect words. And sometimes standing next to someone is enough.
And you can show support by sharing the blue square. No one knows what the future holds, but you deserve a weather app that can help. Weatherbug is easy to use and provides forecasts for your every need, from storm warnings to pollen levels, right at your fingertips. Get the fastest local alerts and comprehensive 10-day forecasts wherever you are. It's hyper-local, real-time, customizable alerts.
Make sure the weather never takes you by surprise so you can plan every day with confidence. Download the free weather bug app from the App Store today and start getting accurate weather forecasts 24-7. Big adventures, family chaos, untethered exploration. The Nissan Pathfinder is built for it. Powered by a lauded V6 engine and smooth nine-speed automatic transmission, the new Nissan Pathfinder is Adventure on Wheels.
With seating for up to eight, a premium interior, and available second-row captain's chairs, it's adventure in comfort. And with 284 horsepower and 6,000 pounds of towing capacity, Pathfinder is adventure unlimited. The new Nissan Pathfinder, power your adventure. Towing capacity varies by configuration. See Nissan Towing Guide and Owners Manual for additional information.
Always secure cargo. We all take good care of the things that matter, our homes, our pets, our cars. Are you doing the same for your brain? Acting early to protect brain health may help reduce the risk of dementia from conditions like Alzheimer's disease. Studies have found that up to 45% of dementia cases may be prevented or delayed by managing risk factors you can change.
Make brain health a priority. Ask your doctor about your risk factors and for a cognitive assessment. Learn more at brainhealthmatters.com.
