Barbara Nearing’s house and everything in it burned to the ground July 13. But it is a testament to both a giving community and her deep faith that she asked a reporter writing about the fire to please “keep it positive.” As she told a harrowing story of losing everything, the word “blessed” kept coming up. There was Joyce Powell-Morin at Mid-Columbia Medical Center, where Nearing works, who took on the task of getting her a replacement birth certificate, which she needs to replace her driver’s license.