A sweet service project!

August 10, 2014

My brother used to say: “Did you have a good weekend, or do you own a home.”  My brother passed away several years ago and his wit and wisdom is missed sorely.  David, my son, called yesterday afternoon and when I picked up the phone he said, “Are you having a good Saturday or are you trying to run a mission?”  I appreciated how that made my heart smile and I said, “Hello Craig, so good to hear from you!”

Actually Saturday, or at least part of it, was filled with a sweet service project.  At our last Mission Council Meeting, we met at a nice chapel not far from the office.  LDS chapels always have tall fences, and sometimes guards at those fences.  This one only had the fence, but once you turned off the road to drive into the church, outside the fences, were two long concrete walls.  There were also three rock filled spaces that were encircled with a fences.  The rock places had a lot of trash in them.  The two long cement walls were covered with graffiti.  This is a ward that had some bad experiences with missionaries in the past.  Therefore they treat the great missionaries they now have, with some coldness. 

A service project was just waiting to happen.  We bought 5 gallons of paint at Home Depot, plus brushes, etc.  Saturday morning 8 missionaries, 1 newly baptized member, and the two of us met to get going.  The ward was going to send helpers but someone in the ward passed away on Friday.  Saturday morning was the funeral so that was going on while we were working.  Fences had to be scaled (including Keith and I), walls were painted and garbage was gathered.  Elder Smith, from Texas, took time to talk to the bus driver that was there to ferry people to the grave site.  He got a referral and passed it onto the missionaries serving there. 

It was a great way to start a Saturday!