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Sha'Kyra Aughtry almost never slept on the couch. But she was there waiting to hear from her kids who were stuck at their cousin’s house during a devastating snow storm in Buffalo, NY. She awoke to a shouts of a man outside asking for help.

His name was Joey White, an elderly man who was also developmentally disabled. Sha’Kyra and her boyfriend, Trent, brought him into their house only to find that he had severe frostbite and was on the verge of death.

There’s a crucial moment, which Sha’Krya narrates on a cell phone video she recorded, when she saw him outside but wasn’t sure if she should bring him into her house. He was a stranger and a man, she was a woman worried about her own family.

If we’re honest, many of us may not have brought a stranger into our own home, possibly taking a risk with our safety, in order to provide care we likely couldn’t handle, for an indeterminate amount of time.

Sha'Kyra Aughtry feeds Joey White — Photo Credit: Sha’Kyra Aughtry

But Sha’Kyra and her boyfriend made the crucial decision to help Joey. She did all she could for him, but his condition was not improving. She called 911. She called the National Guard. They were simply placed on a list.

Sha’Kyra cared for him all day Christmas Eve and on Christmas day. Finally, in desperation Sha’Krya started a Facebook Live video to ask her community for help.

Thankfully some men with a pickup truck came by. They took him to the hospital where doctors said he had fourth degree frostbite.

I looked it up—fourth degree frostbite is the severest kind you can get. According to the Mayo Clinic description, “Joints or muscles may stop working. Large blisters form 24 to 48 hours after rewarming. The tissue turns black and hard as it dies.”

Given the state Joey was in, Ska’Krya’s actions probably saved his life.

The Parable of the Good Samaritan

In the gospel of Luke, an expert in the law wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?”

Instead of responding with a set of propositions or principles, Jesus responded with a parable. We know that story as the parable of the Good Samaritan. It’s about a man who goes out of his way, committing time and money, to help a stranger. It’s meant to teach us a lesson about loving anyone in need through sacrificial action.

It’s a high standard and, honestly, most of the time most of us fail to meet it. But occasionally we find a real-life story of someone who embodies spirit of the Good Samaritan.

Sha’Kyra reminds us that nothing is more important than sharing and saving life. She disrupted her Christmas plans, took on the labor of caring for an ailing stranger, and accepted the emotional burden that comes with shouldering the suffering of others.

Sha’Kyra Aughtry not only demonstrated the lesson of the Good Samaritan, she also showed what it is like to follow the commandment, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

Support Sha’Krya and Joey with a GoFundMe donation.

Read the full story at Buffalo News.

What do you think of Sha’Kyra’s actions? What would you have done in that situation?

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Footnotes by Jemar Tisby

A Real Life Good Samaritan Story