It was a Christmas Eve they will never forget, a Minnehaha County Sheriff's Deputy, his wife and seven kids forced to watch their Hardwick, Minnesota home burn to the ground along with everything inside.
Now their church and community are coming together to try and help the Aanenson family rebuild their life.
Hundreds of people from the Luverne area have really stepped up to the plate giving the family food, clothing and other necessities.
This spirit of generosity, shown as friends, family, and members of law enforcement rally around the Aanensons is helping to put the family back on the right track.
After their home burned down, all the family was left with was the clothes on their back.
But the 4800 people living in Luverne aren't letting the family go without.
Nearly 100 people showed up at the American Reformed Church to give the Aanensons a new start.
"It just goes to show the amount of community support that we have. And the amount of friends that we have and the community and our church here," Said Jason Aanenson, husband and father of those affected.
"I think it's very important for the family to realize that the community is behind them and that they're willing to support them in this. And that's what our church family is doing to try putting this on for the," Said Barb Sandbult, Organizer of the event.
Friends, family and fellow church members took time out of their Thursday evening to bring the family of nine plates, blankets, food and clothing, all things lost on Christmas Eve.
"I don't know that words can really express what we feel about all this and how deeply it's touched and that we'll ever be able to repay. But we'll definitely be trying as much as we can," Aanenson said.
But people at the event say paying it forward for a family that's in need is more rewarding than anything.
Jason is a local sheriff's deputy for the Minnehaha County Sheriffs Office, a volunteer firefighter and a military policeman with the National Guard.
Cash donations are also being collected at any branch of the Sioux Empire Federal Credit Union in Sioux Falls.
