The Joy of Service
Monday was a busy day. We took Andrew to the Bank first thing. He was having problems with his Debit card and needed to change his pin number. His bank was in downtown East St. Louis. We hadn't been there before and that was another eye opener for me. After we dropped him home we had some errands to run for ourselves. Got the keys to the church and borrowed a punch bowl and 2 chairs for a little get together we're having on Saturday. We went to Walmart to get a few things we needed and headed home to package up our Christmas boxes to send home to the kids.
Tuesday we mailed the boxes and then went to check-up on Patricia Traynor. We'd been trying to contact her for a few days and she hadn't responded. We wanted to make sure she wasn't back in the hospital. We dropped in and the front desk told us she was in her room and upset because her cat was sick and she didn't know what to do. She invited us in and said she'd been ignoring her phone for the last couple of days because of her cat. After visiting for a while we said we'd help her take Shadow to the Vet when she got an appointment. That afternoon we had District Council and then an interview with President and Sister McKay. They talked just a few minutes with us about how things were going in the Fairview Heights Ward then dropped a bomb! Would we be willing to serve as Mission Housing Coordinators? (WHAT? NO!!) The Howes, who are the Coordinators, have had an emergency at home and need to be released in a few weeks. After what seemed too long a pause we of course said yes, then I cried for 2 days. Dan cried on the inside. How could we leave these people that we love and care for so much? I didn't think I would have these feelings until I was going home. It's going to be a hard adjustment.
Wednesday and Thursday we were both still in a little bit of shock, trying to wrap our heads around what all this means. But we visited Robert Taylor, some others, and did some prep for our party on Saturday.
Friday President called and asked us to come in to the office. So we pretty much dropped what we were doing and headed over to the office. We met with the Howe's and they started telling us all their responsibilities. Wow! It's not just Housing, Sister Howe also has become the Mission Tech Specialist, which means preparing weekly reports of mission Key Indicators for Monday Staff Meetings. We will also be involved with transfers and arriving / departing missionaries. I'm not really sure what else.
Saturday was the East St Louis Annual Food, Clothing and Toy Giveaway! The church partners with several other churches in the area to provide these items for those in need. It was amazing and so well organized! We got there at 6:00am, many others much earlier, finished getting things set up so that they could open the doors around 7:00. We all gathered together for a few instructions and a prayer before starting. Brother O'Neal from our Ward, who actually started the whole thing about 25 years ago, gave the opening prayer. Such a joyous spirit was there the whole day. I was asked to be in charge of the dolls. Every girl under the age of 12 got a doll. The event was set up in a huge Metro Bus facility where the those needing help drove their cars in one door, unloaded, and out the other side loaded. As they entered each car had a paper on the windshield that stated how many girls or boys for each family and their ages. That helped workers know what to give. They would have their windows and rear doors / trunks open and we would throw things in as they slowly drove by. The goal was to get cars through the garage as quickly as possible. What an amazing opportunity! As they passed we would smile and wish them a "Merry Christmas". People would be in tears as they went by. They were given warm coats, gloves and hats, stuffed animals for every child, dolls for the girls and toy trucks or cars for the boy, plus other toys down the way. Then there was food- cans with flour, sugar, beans, pasta and other foods the church provided. They also had perishable foods to distribute. There were bikes, skate boards, wagons, you name it, it was there. A wonderful giveaway to all who needed. Some cars had children in them and as they would drive by there eyes where so big, clapping and shouting for joy. One mom said "Thank you, It's going to be a hard Christmas. I just lost my son to a shooting" Many tines I would be in tears as they drove by. Cars start lining up for this event around 3:00 in the morning. And when we left around 10:30 we still couldn't see the end of the line of cars hoping to get in. They gave Christmas to over 500 families!! Something I'll never forget.
That night we had a few friends from the Ward over. Everyone brought some food to share and we played a fun 'get to know you' game. It was wonderful to learn more about each of them. One couple said as they left, "Thank you, we haven't done anything social for a long time." We had planned to do this with different people each month, but at least we got to do it once.
After church on Sunday we were both so tired we took a nap and that evening went to the Stake Christmas Musical Fireside. It was wonder and we enjoyed the music so much.
Big changes are coming our way!
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