Residents of a North Carolina community have rallied around a Christian bookstore that was the victim of a Nigerian e-mail scam.

Eli and Lucy Morell, owners of Lighthouse Christian Bookstore in Jacksonville, lost about $10,000 in the bogus order, The (Jacksonville, N.C.) Daily News reported. Then store customer Million Heir-Williams challenged residents to donate as much as they could. Heir-Williams gave $100, and hoped others would do the same.

Since the challenge went public Aug. 31, more than $4,000 has been donated to the bookstore, Eli Morell told the newspaper. "We're very humbled by this experience and we're grateful to God and this community for being obedient to what God has put in their hearts and their prayers," he said. "We've never had an experience like this before. We have always been givers, it's very hard to receive."

Like her husband, Lucy Morell was humbled by the community's generosity. "I'm in awe," she said. "For the first time I'm speechless. … You see people coming in and say, 'This place is a blessing to us,' and you know God hears our prayers."

The couple received an e-mail last December from a man who claimed to be a pastor in Nigeria requesting help with Bibles, the News reported. Christian retailers have been targeted by Nigerian Bible scams in recent years, and CBA addressed the issue with a workshop on loss prevention during the International Christian Retail Show in 2006.