Work Week: Richard’s Story

Hello again KCB Blog readers..

It’s Work Week.. but this time we’re not telling the story of a participant getting the paycheck. We’re telling the story of what happens when the guy who once needed a hand decides to use his new strength to lift someone else up. And to me.. this one feels like the purest picture of “work” we’ve ever shared.

If you were reading back in July, you’ll remember Willy.. we did his whole story when he stepped into the brand new Crew Manager role on the GSI Bellflower Crew. (You can catch that here) From a soul crushing job that followed him home and stole his joy.. to days filled with purpose, coming home in a good mood, fixing faucets for his wife with a smile.. that was Willy’s turnaround. In that very blog we mentioned that when George called him for the interview, Willy wasn’t just there lounging around.. he was out mowing his elderly neighbor’s yard. No pay. No recognition. Just love.

Fast forward to today.. this is that neighbor’s story.

Meet Richard Zoschke.. 28-year Bellflower resident.. Air Force Vietnam-era veteran, disabled from chemical poisoning he suffered while working as an aircraft structural mechanic.. the guy who fixed planes so our pilots could stay mission ready and the rest of us could stay safe. Collector of guitars and vinyls, car lover, photographer, and the proud builder of a twenty-year (yes, 20 year) train railroad masterpiece that takes up his whole garage. But more than any of that.. Richard is one of the most faith-filled, gracious, Jesus-loving men you’ll ever sit down with. The proudest moment of his life was not anything from his time in the service.. it was the day Jesus moved from his head to his heart. “Born again was the greatest thing of my life,” he says, and you feel it. He lights up talking about it like it happened yesterday.

But despite the joy he shows verbally.. Richard’s body has betrayed him physically over the years.. chronic pain so bad he can’t even bend to pull a weed anymore. “When I first bought this place,” he told George, “I would come home from work and mow my whole yard front to back.. now I can’t and it’s tough.” The yard he used to keep perfect now it just continues to grow. For years his next-door neighbor.. Willy.. has quietly mowed it for him. No charge. No fuss. Just because that’s who Willy is.

So when Veterans Day rolled around this year.. Willy had an idea that was bigger than one lawn.

He brought the entire GSI Bellflower Crew to Richard’s house.. mowers, blowers, edgers, the whole squad.. and turned that overgrown yard into something beautiful again. When Richard walked out and asked, “How much do I owe you?” Willy just smiled the way only Willy can.. “Nothing, brother. It’s free. It’s a gift from GSI for Veterans Day.” Richard’s reaction? “WHAT?!! Well from now on you guys are taking care of my yard!” He was laughing.. stunned.. eyes a little wet. “I was left in awe because it was a very nice gift and gesture.” He even joked, “You better watch out.. other veterans might see this and be like, hey I’m a veteran too, do my yard!”

But it was never about that.. It was about the message underneath: The message that says “You’re seen. You’re not forgotten. You still matter.”

You see.. Richard doesn’t sugarcoat what so many vets and seniors carry.. not only the physical toll.. but the scars that aren’t always visible to the naked eye.. the loneliness that comes from reintegrating to a completely new world when you come home.. the 22 veterans a day who don’t make it because the war still echoes on in their minds. “Every time I hear a helicopter fly over,” he told George, “I don’t hear a helicopter.. I hear Vietnam.” That’s why something like a free yard cleanup and the impact it has just hits different. “It was a comforting thought knowing that the help and support is right next door within my community,” Richard said. “It makes me feel less unseen.. so that is pretty cool.”

He talked about how rare real friends are.. “They say only about one and a half percent of people have really good friends.. when you have those, it’s a blessing.” Willy’s one of them. And now the whole GSI crew is too.

Richard’s favorite verse is Luke 23:34.. “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” That’s the love he lives by.. the love he felt that day. Work Week is about exactly this.. work that restores dignity on both sides of the mower. Willy.. once the guy searching for better.. now the guy giving it freely. Richard.. once the guy serving his country so others could come home safe.. now the one being served by the community he’s called home for almost three decades.

Richard.. thank you for your service. Thank you for your faith. Thank you for reminding us that real work is love in motion. And thank you for being a real friend.

So let’s keep Richard in our prayers.. for less pain, for good neighbors, for peace that keeps growing faster than that lawn ever could. Pray for Willy and every crew member choosing to pay it forward in a variety of ways. And pray for every vet and senior who feels unseen.

Richard.. we see you. We honor you. And we’re proud to call you family.

Until next time..

Make sure to check out the amazing pictures below before you go!

Until next time..