An empty rental home, furniture, washer, dryer, kitchen and bath essentials and even a wedding band set later, and the family doesn't know how to thank their neighbors enough.

"It's amazing when people give from the heart. It's such a pure place," said Susan Stephan, who was working on her mother's house in St. Petersburg, Fla., when their neighbor called and told them the house burned on June 18.

But the one thing missing? A place for their animals.

The Stephans, who have rented the home on Highland Drive for 12 years, continuously rehabilitate and care for abandoned animals and hope to find a new location to grow their passion.

"We would love to raise enough money to find a new place to care for the animals, making it a community animal rescue center where everyone becomes involved," Susan said. "The long-term vision is to make it an educational center where special needs children and elderly can visit, or just a place for quiet prayer and to be with the animals."

Susan, her husband, Werner and their 16-year-old daughter, Malaya, are hoping for a miracle. She says they encounter one each day as they receive more donations and find important items while scouring the rubble left of their house. Werner, who is from Germany, found a piece of the Berlin Wall during the weekend. He also picked out intact pieces of their wedding album before their 23rd anniversary on June 21.

"It's the people we just met who keep asking us what else they can do for us," Werner said.

Mary and Lisa Forrester, daughters of Phil Forrester who owns Gainesville Jewelry, picked out a wedding band set and donated it to Susan when she couldn't find her own in the rubble.

"Our home burned down about 15 years ago when it was struck by lightning, and we lost everything," said Mary Forrester. "It touched me. When you've lost everything, you're in such devastation, and it's hard to overcome that. It makes a difference to be able to donate to a family that doesn't have anything."

Evelyn Reynolds, a neighbor, offered an empty home. Dewberry Baptist Church on Clarks Bridge Road is planning a home shower for the family. Melissa Harris, another neighbor, donated a washer and dryer. Blackshear Place Baptist Church in Flowery Branch offered money for food.

"Many people have been gracious to them and gone out of the way to help," said Wendy Earnest, Evelyn Reynolds' daughter. "The family is so sweet and would do anything in the world to help someone."

Hall County Fire Services is still investigating the scene, but officials believe the fire was caused by lightning, Lt. Dax Lewis said Monday. He gave the family a booklet about replacing important documents.

"As I walked up to the house at first, I thought ‘I will pass this test,'" Werner Stephan said as he shoveled blackened items that still smelled like smoke. "This is nothing new for me each day, and the more we dig, the more we find."

An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified Evelyn Reynolds.