Help Riley on her devotional path!!!

Riley Reid is a dear friend of my son, Ramana Bihari Das They were introduced by Riley’s sister, Janna, and have been communicating with each other over WhatsApp for the last five months. Ramana has been preaching to her and she has become very attracted to Krishna.

Riley is only 23 years old and she is struggling to continue her schooling. She is enrolled in nursing school at Austin Community College in Austin, TX. and is having a hard time surviving.

Outside of the small amount of part-time income she brings in, she is totally dependent on help from her big sister, Janna, who is almost like a mother to her– as they were both orphaned several years ago when they lost their parents in a horrible automobile accident. Unfortunately, they have no other family to rely on and Janna is struggling as well.

Ramana has introduced her to Krishna Consciousness and she is now an aspiring devotee. She has started chanting and is following the regulative principles. She is in a very difficult situation because her only earned income is from being a server at a restaurant because that is the only work she could find that would be compatible with her school hours.

She needs your help!!! She wants to work as an Uber driver so she can get away from the bad karma of waitressing. In order to do this, she needs to get her non-functional Camry into running condition. She needs four new tires, an oil change & maintenance, and enough gas to get her on the road again. I truly believe that with $1000 she could drive for Uber and escape from the waitress job.

I am especially sympathetic to her situation because I was in a similar situation when I came to Krishna Consciousness. I was a waitress, supporting myself while going to school in Atlanta at the Montessori Institute. The huge difference between her and myself was that (1) I had parents that helped me when I was in a pinch, and (2) I was able to move right into the Hare Krishna temple due to the Lord’s mercy and the kindness of Balavanta and Balavi Prabhus.

Money is tight for everybody right now, as we all know. I cannot afford to buy her tires on my own, but I am going to start selling off things we don’t need on eBay so I can help her as much as I can. Would you please pitch in something, too? If you can give a lot or just a little, anything would help. Thank you very much! Hare Krishna!!! I explained to her that almost all my friends are devotees & I think that when she sees how compassionate devotees are, it will enhance her devotional mood.

Your servant,

Citi-Sakti devi dasi