(Editor’s note: This is a letter from Sue Lee and her family following an accident at Himitsu Teriyaki, the restaurant Sue owns, last month. A woman lost control of her car and drove through the Redmond Ridge eatery and caused significant damages. No one was in the restaurant or injured.)

We think that it’s amazing to see that a terrible accident can make people come together like this. We started to view this accident in a happier way.

At first, we didn’t even realize that there were people who would want to help us. It didn’t register that people cared about our family, and that they wanted to do something to help. Our first reaction was actually “why?” “Why would they want to help us?” We have insurance and this was a complete accident, so we figured that with time, everything would be resolved. We kept thinking that we shouldn’t accept the fundraiser because we had our savings for food and rent and it felt wrong and unfair to the people donating to accept the fundraiser. We thought that starting a fundraiser would be like putting a burden on our friends, family and loyal customers that we loved seeing eat and order food at Himitsu.

For six days, we were at Himitsu in and out of the restaurant cleaning up what remained, and emptying the fridges. I didn’t realize how big the damage was at first, but seeing it destroyed brought new emotions. It was upsetting to see the place where we worked for the past nine years destroyed. The kids would come back from school, sit at the tables and do their homework, our local customers would walk in through the door and order their usual dishes. It felt like all of that was gone.

I lost confidence that I had as the owner of Himitsu, and I began to worry. I worried if Himitsu could be rebuilt and if it would be like before, and I began to worry that I wouldn’t be able to work again. I had thought of just leaving Himitsu and leaving it the way it is. But then every time I went back to Himitsu, I saw the yellow poster that had been posted at the front of the building. The messages that people left filled me with gratitude, encouragement and thankfulness. It made us realize that we aren’t alone. The fundraiser was really surprising because there were people who wanted to do more to help us. People not only gave us these uplifting messages and comments, but they wanted to donate and help us. In a way, these donations made us feel ashamed, but it moved us beyond words.

Going to pick up our kids from school, staying at home with them, these are all unfamiliar feelings that we haven’t felt in nine years. It was so unfamiliar that I went to Himitsu and before I knew it, had tears in my eyes.

I know that God will take care of all our needs, and that he does everything for a reason. He has to have a purpose for this, and that is what we believe.

We can’t give you an exact date for when we’ll open again, and even we don’t know what will happen in the future. The insurance company came almost a week after the accident and left surprised at the amount of damage. No repairs are being made as of yet, but everyone’s prayers, support and encouragement is giving us strength and hope.

The Lee family, Redmond Ridge