"This Poor Widow Put in More..."

"Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts, but a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins worth only a fraction of a penny. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth, but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on."—Mark 12:41. 

It was about the year 1959. Mrs. Mann was an elderly widow living in an old rundown house near Elkhart, Indiana. Her income was $60 per month. Her rent was $10 per month. She had no electricity and no running water. There was a hand pump in the kitchen for water. In the winter, she heated only the living room. One time I was there, there was ice in the kitchen sink, it was so cold. 

She had a battery-powered radio which she used sparingly. She was a regular listener to Rev. Peter Eldersveld of the Back to God Hour. That was "her church." When I went to her home one time, she asked me to write a check to the Back To God Hour because she did not want to send cash in the mail. I asked her how much she wanted me to write the check for. She said, "Sixty dollars." And that was after she had previously given $20 a short time before.

Her picture later appeared in a publication of the Back To God Hour as a reflection of the "poor widow" Jesus spoke about.