NASSAU BAY, Texas – A chance meeting between a man who was down on his luck and a woman who was eager to help him, led to a lifelong friendship.
Ginger Sprouse owns The Art of the Meal, a cooking school in Nassau Bay, and often noticed a homeless man blocks away from her business, camping under an overpass.
"He was just walking back and forth, and … all the time (it looked) like he was looking (for something)," Sprouse said.
In fact, Victor Hubbard was camped out at that particular street corner looking for his mother, according to Ginger.
She stopped to speak with him one day, and then began regularly visiting Victor every week at the same street corner.
"It was a special moment,” Hubbard said. “I think I was introduced to a very wonderful person."
Sprouse would check on her new friend, bring him food, clothes and help him to find motels to stay in on occasion.
"(She would) make sure I had something to eat, or make sure I had the right clothes on,” Hubbard said.
“You know what I'm saying? (She would) always make sure that I was in good spirits.”
But Sprouse knew she wanted to do more to help her friend. Finding Hubbard a more permanent living situation and proper medical care were top priorities for Sprouse and her husband.
Eight months after meeting him, Sprouse asked Hubbard to move in with her family.
"I felt like this was a good way for me not just to say that I had faith, but to walk it out and say I'm going to show love to someone else,” Sprouse said. “He is my neighbor -- love my neighbor as myself, so I'm committed to doing that.”
Hubbard has since been working part-time at a restaurant and helping out at Sprouse’s cooking school. More importantly, he has made a lifelong friend.
"I think it's love that holds us together and keeps our friendships together,” Hubbard said. "She's made my life better by ... being a friend, and just letting me know that she'll be there through thick and thin."
To follow Victor and Ginger’s story, visit their Facebook page.