Carlos and Markie Ribera lost all four of their children and Markie's mother in a house fire in Polk Township.
We met the Riberas at the House on the Rock Family Church Monday, where Markie is a pastor. Walking into the youth room, her daughter Kathryn's sweater was still hanging by the door.
Kathryn, her brothers Kaleb, Kristian, and Kasper, and her grandmother Rosemarie were all lost in an instant last Thursday night in the fire. Markie said her mother, a Bethlehem middle school teacher, tried to save them. Since that horrible day, the Riberas have not had to deal with tragedy alone. Support has poured in from the community, including a GoFundMe organized by Markie's friend Jessica McCormic that has already raised more than $100,000."Honestly it's been overwhelming," said Carlos Ribera."I know for the first two days, Jess was kind of handling everything, but I mean here we are. We're still getting offers of places to stay. People are still bringing food.
"It's not our job to understand it," said Markie Ribera."We just have a choice of what to do with it. We can either grow more bitter and harder, or we can grow softer and more loving. More like Jesus."