A couple have performed an amazing act of generosity by buying a complete stranger a car after finding him walking home from work one day.
Utah couple Sean and Darilyn Merrill were driving home one cold night when they spotted a man walking home in the dark at about 9.45 p.m.
Sean said: "I was stopped at a red light I saw a middle aged man walking through the crosswalk directly in front of my car.
"It was 9:45pm and this man seemed tired from a long days work, walking with lunch box in hand and a slight droop of the head. I felt a strong impression to stop and ask him if he needed a ride.
"My wife agreed, so I pulled over. In that brief trip Robert told us that he missed his bus that day.
"It takes him two and a half hours on public transportation to get to work [as a high school custodian] and that same commute home after his day is over."
Ford also explained how he used to have a car, but that it broke down last year, and because he had experienced financial difficulties he had not been able to save up the money for a replacement, forcing him on his mammoth four hour plus daily round trip commute.
Newlyweds Sean and Darilyn found themselves empathizing with Ford as they had also had their difficulties financially the year before, and they found themselves reflecting on the blessings they had received to be in a better situation now.
Darilyn said, "We were thinking we are blessed. We have so much."
Sean added, "Maybe we saw something in Robert we've experienced in our own lives."
The couple decided they wanted to do something for Ford, and set up a GoFundMe page asking for contributions from other strangers to help purchase a car for Ford.
Other generous strangers quickly rallied around and soon enough the couple's fundraising page had raised more than $2,000 - enough to begin searching for a used car good enough for a back and forth daily commute.
Sean, who is a mechanic, found a 1997 Nissan Maxima, and invested a lot of personal time into fixing up the vehicle to ensure it would be reliable for Ford.
Once Sean was done with his work, the couple went to present Ford with his car and handed him his new car keys. However, receiving a car from complete strangers was not something Ford could initially comprehend and at first he thought he was the victim of some cruel prank.
Ford told KUTV, "I thought they were full of it. I didn't think it was real. I'm a total stranger and they did this for me. It blows my mind."
The couple simply explained, "Ford was losing out so much because of his four-hour daily commute, in that all he had time to do during the week was work, travel and sleep. We want him to feel like he can succeed and provide for himself."
Through the couple's generosity and their actions to share their blessings with a complete stranger, Ford's life has been completely changed. Instad of a four hour-plus commute each day, he now can get back and forth to work in his car for a 30 minute journey each way.
The emotional moment where the couple presented Ford with his car was caught on video and can be seen below:
