Sometimes life works in mysterious ways. The connections we have with people we’ve never met before can be astounding when we finally realize what we have in common. So was the case with Johnny Cavazos when he was cleaning up some of his family’s property.

His father had passed away in 2015, and Johnny was driving his father’s truck. It meant a lot to him because his father had left some of his personal items in the truck and it made Johnny feel even closer to his father.

Johnny was cleaning up one of his father’s properties, and as he was loading debris into the back of the truck a man approached him and offered to help him. The man was limping and looked like he’d had a few rough days. He explained to Johnny that he was homeless and hungry and he’d been sleeping in a nearby church.

The man said he had taken some work, but ended up not being paid or even given food or water by the men that hired him. Johnny was happy to help the man and offered to take him to a nearby restaurant for a meal and drink.

While the homeless man didn’t want to go to start with, Johnny offered to buy him a meal and so the man agreed. As they drove, the stranger told Johnny how nice his truck was and Johnny explained that it was his late father’s truck. He showed the man the funeral card with his father’s picture on it.

The man studied the picture and became emotional when he realized who the man was. His name was Juan Cavazos Sr. and he and his wife Araceli had run a local pharmacy. When the homeless man lived in Mexico, his daughter was dying and needed very expensive medicine.

The man would travel across the border to Cavazos pharmacy and received the help he desperately needed. He was grateful for their generosity and had hoped for years to be able to pay back Cavazos. Seeing the photo, he became very emotional when he realized it was too late and he’d never be able to repay the favor.

Johnny explained that helping clean up his father’s property without asking for anything in return was repayment for the favor. Johnny explained in a Facebook post that if his father were still alive he wouldn’t have accepted payment for what he did because he and Johnny’s mother believe that when you truly give to someone, you aren’t expecting anything in return.