Veteran Christian retailers Steve and Janelle Pickering are expressing gratitude for volunteers who helped keep open their Parable Lemstone Christian Store in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, after a fire next door.

Dozens of family, friends, church members and customers cleaned, brought food and blew dry air into the soaked carpet and walls of the store from smoke and water damage from a fire at a furniture store March 27. Police said arson was the cause of the blaze at the furniture store, which is located next to Parable Lemstone in a strip mall, according to co-owner Steve Pickering.

"The store's doors were open while huge trucks were sucking up the water," he told Christian Retailing. "But we never really the closed doors. Customers kept coming because so many had special orders for Easter, and they just wanted to support us. Our cash register was not open the first day, but people just handed us cash and told us to keep the change."

He estimated damage to be between $80,000 and $90,000, although the store has insurance.

Sales were "down over 40% during Easter week from last year," said Pickering, who has owned Parable Lemstone for 25 years. "We are trying to be upbeat. We should have been closed for a couple of weeks, according to the adjuster. He is amazed at the quick time that we were able to open. We had 50 to 60 volunteers, including our children and grandchildren who were home for the Easter weekend."

He added that fellow retailers could learn from his store's misfortune.

"We need to reach out when a disaster happens to others," he said. "You really find out who your friends and good customers are."

The Pickerings were honored with Christian Retailing's Independent Store of the Year Award in 2010 for "outstanding contributions in the development of Christian retail."

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